Unitrends protects the following SharePoint environments:
• | Deployments where the SharePoint installation type is single server, and all SharePoint data and components reside on one server. For details, see the Microsoft article "Install SharePoint 2013 on a single server with SQL Server." |
• | Deployments where the SharePoint installation type is full farm, and the SharePoint data and components reside on one or multiple servers. For details, see the Microsoft article, "Install SharePoint 2013 across multiple servers for a three-tier farm." |
For all installations, the Primary SharePoint server runs the Central Administration website service, which can be accessed using http://<machine name>:<admin port>
The Unitrends Windows agent provides protection of services and resources in a Microsoft standalone or multi-server SharePoint farm.
In a SharePoint deployment, the primary node installs SharePoint services on other member servers and initiates administrative commands to manage the farm. The Central Administration service runs on the primary node to perform farm management. All nodes directly access the SharePoint central configuration database for configuration of services, features, database connections, and the like. The central configuration database resides either on the primary node or on a stand-alone SQL server. Unitrends protects the farm from the primary node, where administrative commands are run to coordinate the backup of data across other nodes in the farm.
To ensure application consistency, the agent leverages SharePoint’s STSADM and PowerShell (SharePoint 2013 and higher) tools to run backup and recovery jobs . The agent invokes commands on the SharePoint primary node and supplies STSADM or PowerShell with a local share target (/backups/rae/<client_name>/<instance>) so that jobs run on the backup appliance itself.
The agent works with STSADM or PowerShell to back up the SharePoint-specific data and files on each node in the farm. STSADM or PowerShell discovers the online nodes and performs backup operations to the local backup appliance share. If a node is not available, the backup continues without error. The resulting backup does not include any nodes that were unavailable when the backup ran.
Notes:
• | SharePoint protection includes SharePoint data only. To protect an entire node in the farm, add the node to the backup appliance and run asset-level backups. |
• | Protecting SharePoint farms - Full catastrophic farm recovery can only be performed for deployments where the installation type is single server. To check your installation type, see To determine the SharePoint installation type. |
Consider the following before implementing your SharePoint protection strategy:
The following requirements must be met for SharePoint protection:
• | SharePoint must be running a supported version listed in the Unitrends Compatibility and Interoperability Matrix. |
• | The SharePoint farm configuration must adhere to Microsoft best practice standards. An SPFarmBackup domain account that is a member of the local administrators group must be configured on each node in the farm. |
• | SharePoint administration and timer services must be running on the primary node. |
• | The SharePoint administration and timer services must have local administrator privileges. Be sure the service is a member of the necessary Windows security groups or SharePoint groups. |
• | Prerequisite configuration steps must be performed on the primary node, as described in SharePoint backup requirements and considerations. |
• | For full farm installations only, trust credentials are needed to back up the SharePoint farm database. These credentials must be applied to the database instance. Select Full Farm to apply credentials to the instance (see Managing protected assets for details.) To ensure sufficient privilege, the credential user must be a member of the administrators group on the local computer for each member of the farm, and a member of the farm administrator’s SharePoint group. |
If you experience backup errors using new credentials, see the following Knowledge Base articles for more information: KB 3061, KB 3067, KB 3066, KB 3058, KB 1147, and KB 3076.
• | For single server installations, do not apply trust credentials to the database instance. If trust credentials are defined, Unitrends cannot back up the database. |
Note: Farms containing a single server may have been set up as a full farm or single server during installation. To verify the installation type, see To determine the SharePoint installation type.
You must perform one of these procedures before you can begin protecting your SharePoint environment:
• | For deployments where the SharePoint installation type is single server and all SharePoint data and components reside on one server, see To configure services on a standalone SharePoint server. |
• | For deployments where the SharePoint installation type is full farm and the SharePoint data and components reside on one or more servers, see To configure a farm for Unitrends protection. |
• | If you are unsure of the installation type, see To determine the SharePoint installation type. |
1 | On the Configure > Appliances page, select the appliance that is protecting the farm. |
2 | Click Protected Assets and expand the SharePoint asset to view the farm instance: |
• | If the instance is Full Farm, it was configured as a multi-server installation. Note that you must use the Untirends multi-farm procedures to protect this farm, even if there is only one physical server in the SharePoint installation. |
• | If the instance is Single Server, it was configured as a single server installation. |
Use this procedure for standalone SharePoint servers where the installation type is single server. For the full farm installation type, see To configure a farm for Unitrends protection. To check your SharePoint installation type, see To determine the SharePoint installation type.
1 | Add the server to the Unitrends appliance as described in Managing protected assets. |
2 | Log in to the SharePoint server. |
3 | Open Services and verify that the following services are running. If not, start them. |
• | SharePoint 2010/2013 Timer or Windows SharePoint Services Timer |
• | SharePoint 2010/2013 Administrator or Windows SharePoint Services Administration |
4 | For each of the above services, set the startup type to automatic. |
5 | Proceed to Backup Administration and Procedures to start protecting the server and SharePoint application. |
Use this procedure to configure a full farm deployment containing one to many servers. For single server installations, see To configure services on a standalone SharePoint server. To check your SharePoint installation type, see To determine the SharePoint installation type.
This procedure assumes your SharePoint environment has been setup with a SPFarmBackup domain account that is a member of the local administrators group, in accordance with Microsoft best practices.
If you have a non-standard configuration, see the KB 2814 article for additional requirements.
1 | Install the Unitrends Windows agent on the primary node as described in Installing the Windows agent. |
The primary node is the one running the Central Administration service. To see services on each node, log in to any node in the farm, and select All Programs > Microsoft SharePoint Products > SharePoint Central Administration. On the Central Administration page, select System Settings > Manage servers in the farm.
2 | Log in to the primary node, and open Services. |
3 | Verify that the following services are running. If not, start them. |
• | SharePoint 2010/2013 Timer or Windows SharePoint Services Timer |
• | SharePoint 2010/2013 Administrator or Windows SharePoint Services Administration |
4 | For each of the above services, set the startup type to automatic. |
5 | Add the primary node to the Unitrends appliance (as described in Managing protected assets) and apply administrative trust credentials to the Full Farm database instance. |
6 | Proceed to Backup Administration and Procedures to start protecting your SharePoint environment. |