Synology DS3617xs v28 Administrator's Guide PDF

1

Administrator's Guide for

Active Backup for Business Linux

Based on Active Backup for Business 2.2.0

Table of Contents

Introduction 01

Active Backup for Business

Technical Overview 05

Application-aware backup

Forever-incremental backup

Data deduplication

Native hypervisor

Backup Configuration 08

Linux backup

Create a backup task

Manage Backup Tasks

Restoration Guide 13

Recovery Options

Restore an entire device

Recover individual files

Instantly Restore as a Virtual Machine

Fully Restore as a Virtual Machine

Instant Restore to Synology Virtual Machine Manager (VMM)

Best Practices 20

Maintain remote backup copies and relink

Learn more 22

Related articles

Software specs

Other resources

01

Introduction

Active Backup for Business

Active Backup for Business (ABB) is a centrally managed, comprehensive office backup solution

for Synology NAS.

ABB allows administrators to create different backup templates and automatically apply them

to groups of Windows and Linux PCs, servers, and file servers, as well as virtual machines

running on Microsoft Hyper-V and VMware vSphere platforms.

Advanced features of ABB include: forever incremental backup, agentless backup, Instant

Restore physical and virtual devices to virtual machines, and a powerful deduplication

mechanism that helps cut back on storage use. These features come with each installation of

ABB, which is free for Synology NAS users.

ABB also offers users a wide range of backup options and restoration tools, as well as a

number of optional technical and safety features.

Users who wish to make full use of the possibilities in ABB will benefit from the information in

this Administrators Guide.

Requirements

Full specifications for Active Backup for Business can be found here.

NAS System requirements

Item Requirements

Operating system

DSM 7.0 and above (ABB 2.2.0 and above)

DSM 6.2 and above (ABB 2.1.0 and above)

DSM 6.1.7 and above (ABB 2.0.4 and above)

CPU architecture 64-bit x86 (x64)

System memory 4 GB RAM recommended for ideal backup performance

File system Btrfs

Introduction

02

Introduction

Supported systems

Backup type System / version

PC Windows 10 Creators Update (all editions), Windows 10 (all editions), Windows 8.1 (all editions), Windows 7 SP1 (all editions)

Physical Server

Windows: Windows 10 Creators Update (all editions), Windows 10 (all editions), Windows 8.1 (all editions), Windows 7 SP1 (all editions), Windows Server 2019, Windows Server 2016, Windows Server 2012 R2, Windows Server 2012, Windows Server 2008 R2

Linux: CentOS (versions 6.10, 7.8, and 8.1), RHEL (versions 6.10, 7.8, and 8.1), Ubuntu (versions 16.04, 18.04, and 20.04), Fedora (versions 30, 31, and 32), Debian (versions 8.0 to 10)

Virtual Machine

VMware free ESXi, VMware vSphere Essentials, VMware vSphere Essentials Plus, VMware vSphere Standard, VMware vSphere Advanced, VMware vSphere Enterprise, VMware vSphere Enterprise Plus (versions 5.0, 5.1, 5.5, 6.0, 6.5, 6.7, and 7.0); Windows Server Hyper-V 2019, Windows Server Hyper-V 2016

File Server SMB protocol; rsync 3.0 and above

For a full list of requirements for backups and restorations, refer to the Requirements and Limitations section of the Active Backup for Business Help page.

Backup types

The following sections provide information on the types of backups that you can perform

using ABB.

PC Backups Back up full Windows devices with features that help keep workstations, laptops, and

personal devices protected, including a Backup by event option that backs up computers

when users lock their screen, sign out, or start up their device.

Create recovery media for bare-metal restorations or restore individual files and folders via

the Active Backup for Business Portal.

Backup restorations can only be performed by the admin account, users belonging to the

administrators group, or the account owner that is logged into Active Backup for Business Agent. Privileges to perform restorations are not configurable.

Active Backup for Business Agent can perform Application-aware backup on Windows

PCs with the help of Microsoft's Volume Shadow Copy Service (VSS).

03

Introduction

Physical Server Backups Back up Windows and Linux devices with scheduled and manual backup options.

Create recovery media for bare-metal restorations, restore individual files and folders using

the Active Backup for Business Portal, or instantly restore your physical device to a virtual

machine in Synology Virtual Machine Manager, Hyper-V, or VMware.

Privileges to perform restorations can be assigned by the admin account (if enabled), as well

as by all other DSM users or groups.

Active Backup for Business Agent can perform Application-aware backup on Windows

servers with the help of Microsoft's Volume Shadow Copy Service (VSS).

File Server Backups Back up files and folders from Windows and Linux devices using SMB and rsync file transfer

protocols.

Select a backup mode as needed:

Multi-versioned: Each time the task runs, a new version with the changes made on the

source will be copied entirely to a new folder on the destination

Mirroring: Each time the task runs, any changes made in the source folder will be

copied to the destination and overwrite the existing file, making the destination folder a

complete mirror-copy of the source.

Incremental: Each time the task runs, newly added and modified source files will be

copied to the destination, overwriting the previous version of the file.

Set up and fully control backups from one central console.

No need to install a backup agent or enter sensitive DSM login details on source devices.

Virtual Machine Backups Safely back up virtual machines directly from VMware and Hyper-V.

Enable Application-aware backup on Virtual Machines to ensure data consistency with the

help of Microsoft's Volume Shadow Copy Service (VSS).

Fully restore your entire virtual machines to VMware or Hyper-V.

Use Instant Restore to restore your virtual machine to Synologys native hypervisor,

Synology Virtual Machine Manager, as well as directly to VMware or Hyper-V.

Perform a Guest OS Files (Windows / Linux) Restore via Active Backup for Business Portal to restore specific files on your virtual machine instead of an entire virtual machine.

04

Introduction

Backup tools

Active Backup for Business Agent

Active Backup for Business Agent must be installed on the client device before backing

up your data in order to carry out backup tasks and store the back up data. Administrative

privileges are required to install, update, or uninstall Synology Active Backup for Business

Agent.

This tool is available for download in the Download Center. Refer to this article for

installation details and other information.

Active Backup for Business Portal

The Active Backup for Business Portal is the affiliated restore portal dedicated to restoration

use. This portal allows administrators and end-users appointed by an administrator to access,

browse, download, and restore backed-up data.

This tool is automatically installed during the installation of Active Backup for Business. Refer

to this article to learn more about how to navigate the portal, perform restores, and other

settings.

Active Backup for Business Recovery Media Creator

Synology Active Backup for Business Recovery Media Creator is a desktop tool that can

be used with Active Backup for Business. This tool is designed for administrators to create recovery media for bare-metal or volume-level restores. Administrators can use this tool if

the device intended to create the recovery media is running a 64-bit version of Windows and

has the same language and region settings, as well as the same Windows versions and drivers

as the device intended to be restored.

Follow the instructions in the Active Backup for Business Recovery Media Guide to learn

how to create recovery media for your device.

05

Technical Overview

Application-aware backup

Enabling application-aware backup helps to ensure that your application data is consistent.

Backups with application-aware backup enabled make it easier for application data to be

restored in the future by creating a snapshot of the application data when the backup is

performed.

This feature uses VMware Tools and Microsofts Volume Shadow Copy Service (VSS) to

make sure that the backed up data of virtual machines remain consistent and to prevent data

inconsistencies from occurring when backing up actively used data.

Forever-incremental backup

Synology recommends that users enable Forever-incremental backup to maximize the

number of available backup versions and minimize the storage used for backup retention.

When this policy is enabled, a full backup is only executed the first time that a task is

performed. After that point, Active Backup for Business tracks changes and backs up only

modified or new data.

Forever-incremental backup significantly reduces the amount of data transferred for each

backup, as well as the amount of duplicated data stored to your backup destinations.This

saves time and bandwidth on the source device. ABB relies on technologies native to Microsoft

Windows, Microsoft Hyper-V, and VMware vSphere to perform incremental backup.

Full backup (bandwidth and storage intensive) is available if you cannot or do not wish to

enable change-tracking technologies, or if you prefer to store full sets of data each time a

backup is performed.

To enable Forever-incremental backup, you must first enable the following, depending on

what type of device you are using:

For PC's or physical servers: Microsoft Volume Shadow Copy Service (VSS)

For VMware virtual machines: vSphere Changed Block Tracking (CBT)

For Hyper-V virtual machines: Hyper-V Resilient Change Tracking (RCT)

Technical Overview

06

Technical Overview

Personal computer and physical server

The CBT technology adopted in Active Backup for Business uses VSS to take snapshots for

devices and identify changed blocks between snapshots. Make sure that Microsoft Volume

Shadow Copy Service (VSS) on each protected device has been turned on to ensure that CBT is

functioning properly. After the first full backup, CBT technology allows each device to transfer

only changed blocks to your NAS, helping save bandwidth and speeding up the backup

process.

Virtual machine

Changed Block Tracking (CBT) and Resilient Change Tracking (RCT) are VMware vSphere's

and Microsoft Hyper-V's native technology that track the blocks of a virtual machine disk that

have been changed since a certain point in time. With VMware vSphere CBT and Microsoft

Hyper-V RCT enabled, the amount of data transferred after the first full backup will be greatly

reduced, speeding up the backup process.

To enable CBT for a virtual machine, refer to the instructions this article.

Data deduplication

Active Backup for Business detects and removes any data that are identical between different

files, versions, or devices when storing backups to Synology NAS. Built-in deduplication

technology can help to cut back on storage use, especially when the devices share similar

operating systems, software applications, or files.

To best benefit from ABB deduplication technology, you should back up similar computers or

virtual machines to the same Active Backup for Business host.

Native hypervisor

The integration of ABB with Synologys native hypervisor, Synology Virtual Machine Manager (VMM), powers two distinctive features of Active Backup for Business that make for a more

efficient recovery after a server crash: Backup Verification and Instant Restore to virtual

machines for physical or virtual servers.

If you want to use Backup Verification or Instant Restore, you must be using the Physical Server or Virtual Machine backup functionality in ABB. To switch devices from PC backup to

Physical Server or Virtual Machine backup mode in ABB, go to PC, select a device, and then

click More > Change device type.

07

Technical Overview

Backup Verification

If Backup Verification is enabled, a scheduled trial run of the restoration will be performed

in VMM for a configured number of seconds. This process will be recorded into a video for

your reference, allowing you to confirm that the backup can be successfully restored in case of

sudden failure.

Instant Restore

Instant Restore allows users to instantly run servers and virtual machines backed up with

ABB as virtual machines in Synology VMM. Users can use this feature to implement rapid

recoveries while continuing to use services in case of system crashes.

08

Backup Configuration

The following sections provide instructions on connecting new devices to Synology NAS,

creating backup tasks for connected devices, restoring backed up data, and managing

connected devices.

Before you start, make sure that Synology Active Backup for Business Agent is installed on

the target Linux device.

Linux backup

Before creating a backup task for your device, you need to connect your device to Synology

NAS with Synology Active Backup for Business Agent. This section will guide you through the

process of creating a backup task for a Linux physical server.

Add a device

1. Check the following information to download the installer with the compatible file type

from Download Center or Active Backup for Business > Physical Server > Linux > Add Device on your target device.

2. Download and extract the appropriate file to your target Linux devices.

Backup Configuration

09

Backup Configuration

3. After extracting the downloaded file, follow the steps in the README file and execute sudo

./install.run to install the snapshot driver and agent on your Linux device.

Notes:

Active Backup for Business allows you to set up a template of backup task, helping you apply the same backup settings to multiple devices in mass deployment. Go to Settings > Template > Create to make a new template, or select the default template and click Edit.

Create a backup task

Once the agent is installed on the physical server connected to your NAS, a backup task will be

created according to the matched template. You can also create more than one backup task

for each device.

1. Do either of the following to start the backup creation wizard:

Go to Physical Server > Linux, select a device you want to back up, and click Create Task.

Go to Physical Server > Task List > Create and select Linux task.

2. Select Target Device only appears if no device is selected before you click Create. A list of

physical servers already connected to the server will be displayed in this step.

Task Settings

Users can enable data transfer compression and data transfer encryption.

Compression and encryption can be enabled for the backup destination.

When performing physical server backups, users can select Backup Verification to

implement scheduled trial runs of the restoration, which will be performed in Virtual Machine Manager. The entire process will be recorded as a video for reference, so that

users can confirm that the backup is able to be successfully restored.

Users can customize pre/post scripts when performing physical server backups.

Notes:

The compression and encryption settings of a backup destination cannot be changed after the first backup task is created. If you wish to use different settings for future tasks, please create a task in a new destination.

When compression or encryption at backup destination are enabled, you cannot perform Instant Restore to Microsoft Hyper-V, Virtual Machine Manager, or Backup Verification on models with certain package arches: Avoton, Braswell, Bromolow, Cedarview, and Grantley. To find out which package arch your Synology NAS uses, refer to this article.

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Backup Configuration

Schedule Backup Task

If Manual backup is selected, users must start each backup task themselves.

Scheduled backups can be set to run on an hourly, daily, or weekly basis.

If you do not want tasks to run when your IT infrastructure is being heavily used, you can

select Configure Backup Windows and specify time slots for when the backup task is allowed

to run.

Select a Retention Policy

Users can choose to store all versions of their backup, limit the number of stored versions, or

keep only certain versions according to a schedule.

You can choose to set rules for keeping backup versions, such as to retain the latest version

of each day, week, month, or year. You can edit the retention policy at Active Backup for Business > Physical Server > Task List > select the task > Edit > Retention > Advanced retention policy > Set Rules.

Selecting the Keep only the latest versions option will store a set number of versions

regardless of the time intervals set. If more than one backup version exists within a certain

time range, only the latest one will be kept. For example, if you set a policy as Keep the latest version of the day for 1 day for a backup task that will run every hour, only the version

backed up at 23:00 will be kept.

A version can meet more than one retention rule at a time. For example, a version can be

retained by the weekly retention rule and daily retention rule at the same time. Advanced

retention policy employs the GFS, or Grandfather-Father-Son retention mechanism.

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Backup Configuration

Manage Backup Tasks

All existing tasks are displayed under Active Backup for Business > Physical Server > Task List.

Edit and delete backup tasks

Users can edit tasks individually or several tasks simultaneously by selecting one or several

tasks (Ctrl + left click) and clicking Edit. The Backup destination cannot be changed. Task settings and Source type can be changed both individually and simultaneously, and the Task name can only be changed individually.

To delete backup tasks, select one or more tasks in the corresponding task list. Once you

confirm the action, all backed up data will be removed along with the backup task.

Details

To view information on the Status and Logs for your task, such as the source, execution time,

duration, and log time of the backups, and more, select your task and click Details.

Versions

To view information about the backed up versions, such as the status and time of creation,

select your task and click Version. You can also click the folder icon to browse your backed-up

data and the live video of the backup if Backup Verification is enabled.

Update the agent

If your Synology NAS is connected to the internet, go to Active Backup for Business > Physical Server. Select the target device that needs an update and click Update Agent.

If your Synology NAS is not connected to the internet, but is on a private network:

1. Download the Active Backup for Business Agent installer from the Download Center,

and upload it to any folder on your Synology NAS using File Station. Make a note of the

location of the installer.

2. Sign in to DSM with root permissions on your device. Refer to this article for detailed

instructions.

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Backup Configuration

3. Execute the following command to install the agent on your target devices:

cp /[volume_where_you_uploaded_the_installer_]/[name_of_the_folder_

where_you_uploaded_installer]/[installer_name]/[volume_where_you_

installed_Active_Backup_for_Business]/\@tmp/

For example, if the location of the installer is /volume1/Files/Synology Active Backup for Business

Agent-2.2.0-1531-x64-deb and Active Backup for Business is installed on volume1, then the

command should be:

cp /[volume1]/[Files]/[Synology Active Backup for Business Agent-2.2.0-

1531-x64-deb]/[volume1]/\@tmp/

4. After completing the setup, the agent will be successfully updated.

13

Restoration Guide

Active Backup for Business offers several methods to restore your Linux device backups.

Which method is best for your case depends on if you only want to recover files, or restore an

entire device to a previous state. Linux backup tasks also give you the option of using virtual

recovery.

Recovery Options

Entire device restore: Create a bootable ISO image or USB drive and boot your device into

the wizard via the Active Backup for Business Recovery Media for Linux. You can later

restore your full device (bare-metal restoration) or a specific volume over the network via

your Synology NAS if necessary.

Granular (file or folder-level) restore: Choose a backup version, select files or folders for

recovery in the Active Backup for Business Portal and automatically restore them to their

original location, or download the data to a different device or location. You can also assign

end users restore or download permissions via Control Panel in DSM.

Linux physical server backup tasks can also be restored to a virtual machine via VMware

vSphere, Microsoft Hyper-V, or Synology VMM by using the following methods:

Instant Restore: Convert the Linux devices backed up images to a virtual machine in

VMware or Hyper-V. This method can restart a virtual machine directly from a compressed

and deduplicated backup file to minimize the downtime of the virtual machine. Instant

Restore to VMware or Hyper-V can restart a virtual machine within seconds, but has a limited

I/O performance.

Full Virtual Machine Restore: Convert the Linux devices backed up images into a virtual

machine in VMware or Hyper-V. This method can restore an entire virtual machine from a

backup file to the latest state or a previous point in time if the primary virtual machine fails.

This method requires more time and resources, but has full I/O disk performance.

Instant Restore to Synology Virtual Machine Manager (VMM): During urgent cases when

tolerance for downtime is limited, mounting the backed-up image of your physical server

on Synology Virtual Machine Manager (VMM) and power it on to continue your business

could be your choice. To mount the backed-up image of your physical server on Synology

Virtual Machine Manager, Synology Virtual Machine Manager is required to be installed on

the same DSM.

Restoration Guide

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Restoration Guide

Refer to the table below for a comparison of the different types of recovery methods to virtual

machines.

Full Restore Instant Restore to VMware

Instant Restore to Hyper-V

Instant Restore to VMM

Long RTO Short RTO Short RTO Short RTO

Full disk I/O performance

Limited disk I/O performance

Limited disk I/O performance

Full disk I/O performance (NAS)

Services and backup data are run and stored on the VMware/Hyper-V

Services are run on VMware, and backup data is stored on NAS

Services are run on Hyper-V, and backup data is stored on NAS

Services and backup data are run and stored on NAS

No further action required if its restoring to the production site

Need to migrate back to the production site to finalize

Need to export and import back to the production site to finalize

Need to migrate back to the production site to finalize

Restore an entire device

Synology Active Backup for Business Recovery Media for Linux is implemented by using

ISO images, which can also be burned to your USB. To create recovery media for Linux, go to

the Download Center and download Synology Active Backup for Business Recovery Media for Linux (Synology-Recovery-Media.iso).

For instructions on how to create a bootable USB recovery drive for your Linux device with ISO

burning software, Legacy BIOS, and for UEFI, you can refer to this tutorial.

Since the recovery wizard is already embedded in the Active Backup for Business Recovery Media for Linux (Synology-Recovery-Media.iso), it will start up automatically when booting

up your Linux device using recovery media.

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Restoration Guide

Recover individual files

Physical server backup supports granular (file- and folder-level) restore through Active Backup for Business Portal. Administrators can delegate restore permissions during task

creation and task editing. For more information, you can refer to this article.

Restore files or folders from DSM

Administrators and accounts administrating Active Backup for Business can access the

Restore Portal from any device. Follow the steps below to restore files to the original backup

source device, or to download them via browser.

1. In DSM, go to the applications menu, and select Active Backup for Business Portal.

2. Under View role at the top of the page, select a user with the appropriate restoration

privileges.

3. Under Task, select the source device to which or from which you want to restore files.

4. Select the folders or files that you want to restore.

5. Use the slider at the bottom of the page to select a backup version from which you wish to

restore folders or files, then click through the folder structure in the file explorer to select

the directory or file.

6. Click Restore, and in the pop-up window you will need to provide your Linux devices login

credentials. In the For duplicate data field, you can select whether you want to Overwrite

or Skip files that have the same name in the target directory. Click Next.

7. Choose the destination to which you want to restore your files, then click Apply.

You can view the progress of the restoration by clicking the Restore Task icon in the upper

right-hand corner.

You can also download the files via your local browser by selecting the files and clicking

Download.

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Restoration Guide

Instantly Restore as a Virtual Machine

With Instant Restore to VMware and Instant Restore to Hyper-V you can launch the restore

wizard to restore a virtual machine to its most recent state or to any available restore point

through any of the methods below.

Launch the Instant Restore Wizard

Go to Active Backup for Business > Physical Server > Linux, select the device that you want

to restore, and click Restore to launch the restore wizard. Select the device and restore points,

choose Restore to VMware vSphere or Restore to Microsoft Hyper-V, and then select

Instant Restore.

Notes:

Make sure that the hypervisor is authorized to access and mount the iSCSI target on your Synology NAS. When performing Instant Restore to Hyper-V, a backup image will be cloned to a temporary iSCSI target on your Synology NAS, and then the hypervisor will mount the iSCSI target.

iSCSI Initiator Service must be enabled on the source server for the system to perform Instant Restore to Hyper-V.

Select restore mode

Restore to the original location: Restore the selected virtual machine to its original

location, while keeping its original name and settings and minimizing the chance of input

errors by users. This option instantly unregisters and replaces the original virtual machine on

the production site.

Restore to a new location, or with different settings: Customize the destination and

settings for the restored virtual machine.

Configure restore settings

If you select Restore to the original location, you will be directed to the summary page of the

restore wizard.

If you select Restore to a new location, or with different settings, you will need to specify

the name and select a folder, hypervisor, resource pool, and network to restore the virtual

machine. Changes made during Instant Restore will be stored on your Synology NAS.

For Instant Restore to VMware, you can also select the datastore when executing virtual

machine migration.

17

Restoration Guide

Apply and Restore

A summary of the restoration will be shown. Once you have confirmed the information to be

restored, click Done. You will then be automatically directed to Restore Status to monitor the

restoration progress.

For Instant Restore to VMware, click the Migrate VM button to finalize the process.

Enable Power on VM automatically after restoration to immediately run the restored

virtual machine. If you are performing Instant Restore for testing purposes, it is recommended

to keep this option disabled, and to manually disconnect the initial virtual machine from the

production network to avoid any conflicts.

Fully Restore as a Virtual Machine

With Full Virtual Machine Restore, the backed up images of your Linux device will be

converted to a virtual machine in VMware or Hyper-V. The virutal machine can then be

restarted in VMware or Hyper-V directly from a compressed and deduplicated physical server

backup file to minimize downtime.

Launch the Full VM Restore Wizard

Go to Active Backup for Business > Physical Server > Linux, select the device that you want

to restore, and click Restore to launch the restore wizard. Select the device and restore point,

choose Restore to VMware vSphere or Restore to Microsoft Hyper-V, then select Full Virtual Machine Restore.

Select restore mode

Restore to the original location: Restore the selected virtual machine to its original

location, with the original name and settings. This option minimizes the chance of user input

error and will un-register and replace the original virtual machine at the production site.

Restore to a new location, or with different settings: This option allows you to customize

the destination and settings of the restored virtual machine.

Configure restore settings

If you choose Restore to the original location, this step will be skipped.

For users who choose Restore to a new location, or with different settings, you will need to

specify a name, and select a folder, hypervisor, datastore, resource pool, and network to run

the restored virtual machine.

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Restoration Guide

Apply and Restore

A summary of the restoration will be shown. Once you have confirmed the information to be

restored, click Done. You will then be automatically directed to Restore Status to monitor the

restoration progress.

Enable Power on VM automatically after restoration to immediately run the restored

virtual machine. If you are performing Full VM Restore for testing purposes, it is recommended

to keep this option disabled, and to manually disconnect the initial virtual machine from

the production network and connect it to an isolated non-production network to avoid any

conflicts.

Instant Restore to Synology Virtual Machine Manager (VMM)

The integration of Active Backup for Business with Synology Virtual Machine Manager (VMM) provides users with an alternative solution for disaster recovery, browsing and

restoring application data, and upgrading test environments.

In cases where downtime must be limited, you can mount the backed-up image of your Linux

physical server on Synology Virtual Machine Manager (VMM) and power it on to continue your

business. To do this, Synology Virtual Machine Manager must be installed on the same DSM.

This section provides the prerequisites and instructions for instantly restoring your backed up

device via Synology VMM.

Refer to the Synology Virtual Machine Manager product specifications for more

information on the limitations, features, and other details of Synology VMM.

Launch Synology VMM Wizard

Go to Active Backup for Business > Physical Server > Linux and select the device that you

want to restore, and click Restore to launch the restore wizard. Choose the device and restore

point, and select Instant Restore to Synology Virtual Machine Manager (VMM).

Notes:

Only one physical server in each backup task can be instantly restored on Synology VMM at a time. You cannot select multiple virtual machines and run them at the same time.

19

Restoration Guide

Configure virtual machine settings

Once you have selected a virtual machine and restore point, you will need to configure its

settings in the Synology VMM wizard. Refer to this article for more details.

Apply and restore

After you have configured the settings, click Done. The backed up virtual machine will be

imported to Synology VMM and you can power on the virtual machine in the Synology VMM

console.

20

Best Practices

The following sections provide recommendations for how you can protect your backup data

against loss, ensure backup task continuity, and deploy our backup agent to many devices at

once while keeping your Synology NAS and DSM secure.

Maintain remote backup copies and relink

Active Backup for Business safely stores backup data from all of your devices on your Synology

NAS. However, issues that occur on one device can affect a whole infrastructure.

Natural disaster, theft, or network unavailability can prevent you from retrieving your data or

slow down the recovery process. Therefore, it is strongly recommended that you keep remote

copies of all of your backups on a different device and in a different location.

It is also important to always maintain three copies of all of your data (the original copy, a

backup, and a copy of that backup in a different location). This is also referred to as the 3-2-1

backup strategy. Synology NAS includes software that allows you to execute this strategy.

Create remote copies

The following two DSM applications can be used to copy your Active Backup for Business data

and configurations from Synology NAS to other devices, or to the public cloud.

Snapshot Replication: This option is recommended if you have access to a secondary

Synology NAS. You can replicate your ABB data and settings to another Synology NAS and

quickly restart all of your ABB tasks on that device directly from the replica.

Hyper Backup: This option allows you to back up your ABB data and settings to more

locations, including portable drives, file servers, and public cloud storage. However, recovery

requires you to first restore the backup to a functioning Synology NAS before relinking and

restarting ABB tasks.

Best Practices

21

Best Practices

Relink

After creating a replication or backup task, it is important to make sure that you know how to

successfully restore or relink your existing Active Backup for Business tasks and backup data,

whether they exist on a secondary NAS, in public clouds, or other storage media.

This tutorial provides detailed instructions on how to back up and relink your Active Backup

for Business data using Snapshot Replication and Hyper Backup. To do this, make sure

that your Synology NAS has 64-bit processors, is running DSM 6.1.7 or above, is running

Active Backup for Business 2.0.4 or above, and have the necessary packages installed on

your Synology NAS. See the Environment section in the tutorial for more details.

22

Learn more

Related articles

Frequently asked questions about Active Backup for Business

How do I select a suitable NAS for running Active Backup for Business?

How do I back up and relink Active Backup for Business data to a destination Synology NAS?

How can I restore entire device backups from Active Backup for Business in Virtual Machine Manager?

I restored my Linux system with Active Backup for Business, but it fails to boot. What can I do?

How many devices can I back up concurrently with Active Backup for Business?

Software specs

Refer to the Active Backup for Business software specifications to learn more about the

packages features, components, and limitations.

Other resources

For more step-by-step tutorials and visual information, feel free to also check out Synologys YouTube channel. There, you can find related videos by searching for Active Backup for

Business.

You can also find admin guides, brochures, technical specifications, user guides, whitepapers

and more for Active Backup for Business in Synology Documentation.

Learn more

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