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CHAPTER 15 Windows Client Interface
The following procedures are the same for all Microsoft Windows clients, including Windows 95, 98, NT, 2000, XP and 2003.

From a Windows client, start Backup Professional from the Backup Professional program group. The Windows main screen, along with the Backup dialog appears in Figure 63.

FIGURE 63. Windows Main Screen and Backup Dialog Overview of Events

15.1 Overview of events

The Backup Professional Windows user interface allows clients to queue Backup, Restore and Verify requests to a Backup Professional server. These requests are then processed by the server and when the resources of the server are available, those requests are made to the client.

If the server is busy handling other requests it may be some time before your request is performed.

When the server contacts the windows client it does so by connecting to the Backup Professional agent that is running either as a service or in the task tray. The agent then launches the backup engine which performs the backup or restore of the client .

Once the backup engine is running you may expand it from the Task tray to view the files that are being backed up or restored.

15.2 Capabilities

15.2.1 Preferences

FIGURE 64. This dialog lets you set the preferences as follows:
Environment Settings
These are global settings that effect the environment across all profiles. The following comprise the envrionment setting:

Station Name

This is a generic title of the workstation for reporting purposes.

Base Directory (installation directory)

This is the Directory where the BP product is installed.

Default Profile (installation directory/profiles.dir/master.spr)

This is the Default Profile that is loaded each time BP Requester starts.

Lines per Page (66)

This is the number of lines to load into Dialogs that maintain lists. If you have limited amounts of memory or lots of available memory you can adjust this down or up.

Catalog Directory (installation dir/CATOLOGS.DIR)

This is the directory that will contain the local copies of the backup catalogs. If you want to maintain a large history of catalogs on your local workstation you might have to change this directory to a drive with more space available.

To change the automatic purging. See the Catalogs section.

Low Priority

Set this if you intend to be using your workstation while backups are being performed. When not checked backups will pretty much take over the system and perform the backup as fast possible. When checked other applications can be working at the same time as the backup with very little notice, but backup speeds will decrease as well.

Log Level (0)

This specifies the log level that the application run at. It can be specified for the GUI interface (wbpr), the Backup engine (wbps), the service (bpnetd). The minimum and maximux debug levels are:

· Minimum Debug Level - 0 (Error Log only)
· Maximum Debug Level - 6 (Log All)

15.2.2 Current Profile Settings

These settings only effect the currently loaded profile. The following comprise the current profile settings:

Block Size (120)

This is the network frame size that will be used when the backup or restore is being performed. Generally leave this at 120 unless you have serious performance problems. In which case, lowering this may help. (ie 20)

Directory Depth (0)This is the default Directory Depth to bakup with. Directory depth is how many levels down int he directory tree should the backups go before stopping. 0 indicates all levels.

15.2.3 Advanced Preferences

Clicking on the button takes you to the advanced preference dialog.
FIGURE 65. This dialog lets you set the preferences as follows:

Backup Preferences

· Backup File Properties
Enable\Disable backup of file properties such as security information, extended attributes, alternate data streams etc. This applies to NTFS volumes only.
· Backup Registry Security Info
Enable\Disable backup of security information associated with registry keys.

Restore Preferences

· Enable Automatic Restart
This enables\disables the automatic restart after a restore operation. In case this is disabled, the engine will only inform the user that a restart is needed. User may restart the machine at his convenience.

Open Data Manager

The Open Data Manager is used to backup locked files (files locked for exclusive use by other programs) in the system.

· Enable ODM
Enable\Disable the Open Data Manager. If the ODM is disabled and a locked file is encountered, an error will be reported unless the file is in the skip list.
· ODM Log Level
Sets the log level for the Open Data Manager. This value can be:
0 - Error Log
1 - Warning Log
2 - Info Log
3 - Success Log
· Enable Caching for ODM
This option applies to Windows 2000 systems only. If this button is enabled, the ODM will internally cache NTFS metadata writes.

· Use Default Dir
Use a cache directory computed by the ODM internally.
· Cache Dir

Specify the cache directory that should be used by the ODM.
TABLE 10. File System Features
Feature OS Version During Backup During Restore
Sparse files Windows 2000 and above A sparse file is a very large file which is not made up of a great deal of data. When the sparse file facilities are used, the system does not allocate hard drive space to a file except in regions where it contains something other than zeros. Sparse files are backed up in a way that only valid data blocks of the files are stored on the backup media, thus saving space that would otherwise be taken up by zero filled blocks. The data blocks are reconstructed to restore the sparse file in its original form.
Encrypted files Windows 2000 systems and above (NTFS volumes only). Windows 2000 and above support encryption of files and folders. Encrypted folders are backed up and restored encrypted. When backing up encrypted files, the file data is not decrypted, instead, raw encrypted data is read and backed up. For encrypted files the raw encrypted data that was stored to the backup media is restored back into a file. Recovery agents may be required in order to access the file if it is restored to a different system.
Hard links Windows 2000 systems and above (NTFS volumes only). A hard link is a file system-level shortcut for a given file. When a hard link is created to an existing file, information is added to its directory entry at the NTFS level. The original file now has two or more names that can be used to access the same content. When backing up such files, the backup engine saves the contents of a hard linked file only once. When it encounters a different name of the linked file that has already been backed up, it simply saves the link between the names instead of saving the contents of the file again. Since the backup engine saves the information about the links between files, hard links are restored seamlessly, so that the same file contents can be accessed using many names. Restore of a hard link succeeds only if the original file containing the contents already exists on the system. In case that the file referenced by the hard link is not already present in the system, the user is notified that he/she needs to restore the original file first.
Offline files Windows 2000 systems and above (NTFS volumes only). Offline files are files whose data is not immediately available. The file data may have been physically moved to offline storage. Remote storage and the hierarchical storage management software support these types of files. When such a file is backed up, the engine indicates to the system that the file data is requested, but it should continue to reside in remote storage. It should not be transported back to local storage. Offline files are restored like normal files.
Junctions and volume mount points Windows 2000 systems and above (NTFS volumes only). Volume mount points are based on reparse points; they allow administrators to graft access to the root of one local volume. Similarly, junctions are used to graft a target folder onto another NTFS folder or "mount" a volume onto an NTFS junction point. When the engine encounters a directory junction/volume mount point, it does not backup the targeted volume/directory. Instead, the reparse data associated with the directory junction/volume mount point is backed up. The engine restores the reparse data that was backed up for a junction or volume mount point. For the restore process to be valid the target directory/volume should also exist in the system.
Compressed files Windows NT4 systems and above (NTFS volumes only). On the NTFS volume each file and directory has a compression bit. If this bit is set, all data in the file is compressed. The backup engine backs up uncompressed data on a file. During restore, the engine marks a file/folder as compressed before data is written to the file. Therefore, when data is restored, the system automatically compresses it and the file/folders are restored in their original compressed state.

TABLE 11. Registry Features
Feature OS Version During Backup During Restore
Registry aliases Windows NT4 systems and above. Registry aliases are links in the registry from one key to another. When a registry link is traversed, the path searching continues at the target of the link. The backup engine detects these links in the registry and saves these links instead of copying the target key to which they point. Thus, a lot of duplicate data is eliminated from the registry backup and restore process. The registry aliases are restored as links. The target of the link has to present in order for the link to work correctly.
Registry security information Windows 2000 systems and above. The engine provides a mechanism to save the security information related to a registry key. The user can turn this mechanism on or off using the BackupRegSec flag in the master.ini file. If the security information of the registry keys was backed up then it is reapplied to the keys during a restore process.
TABLE 12. Exclusions Features
Feature OS Version During Backup
Temporary files Windows NT4 systems and above (NTFS volumes only). The engine provides a mechanism to allow the user to exclude temporary files during a backup process. This option can be chosen from the client GUI by selecting the "Exclude Temporary Files" option in the backup menus. Once selected, this option will exclude the following: 1. All files in the Internet cache and the temporary folder of all users in the system.
2. All files marked with the flag FILE_ATTRIBUTE_TEMPORARY.
3. All files of the form ~xxx.tmp.
Wild card exclusion All systems. It is possible for the client side GUI user to specify a path containing wild cards to be excluded. The following steps describe the process: 1. Select Backup->Master/Selective->ExcludeFiles.
2. Specify the wildcard path in the "Filter" edit box.
3. No other file in the list box can be selected.
4. Click "ADD".
Exclusion of files Windows 2000 systems and above. The engine maintains a list of files and folders that are excluded from a backup or a restore process. This list contains files such as the pagefile, temporary files, etc.

TABLE 13. Other Features
Feature OS Version During Restore
Controlling automatic shutdown for reboot All systems. A new flag in the master.ini file called EnableAutomaticRestart can be specified to control automatic restart behavior. This flag can be set to either Yes or No. At the end of a restore process, if a reboot is required, a dialog box is presented to query whether the engine should reboot the system. If the dialog box times out without a response, then the status of the flag is used to resolve if the system should be automatically restarted.

15.2.4 Profiles

Profiles are files that contain textual information about a backup. You do not have to use profiles to use the program. Profiles are simply a means to save frequently performed types of backups. The default profile is what is used to initially start the program and provide basic backup information.
1. You can change the backup information like backup type, files to backup, files to exclude and save this information in a new profile by using the [Save As] menu item.
2. Once a profile is saved it can be loaded from the [Files->Load Profile] menu item and then run with or without any further modifications.

15.2.5 Master Backups

A Master backup of the Windows client will first backup the registry and then begin with the C: drive and follow with any other subsequent drives. The DOS archive bit is not used at all. Backup Professional will reset the archive bit when the file is backed up but this can cause problems with licensing programs. The resetting of the archive bit can be disabled in the settings file.
FIGURE 66. Master Backup Dialog

Choose the [Backup->Master] menu to display the Master Backup dialog (Figure 66). To request an Incremental backup, select the [Backup->Incremental] menu. The Master and Incremental option dialogs are functionally identical. The steps to perform a Master or Incremental backup request from a Windows client are as follows:

1. Specify the Backup Professional server from the SERVER NAME combo box.
2. Select the DEVICE NAME that the server should use to store the backup. In this example we select the device sctape. You can request a list of device names from the server by clicking on the combo button to the right of the name. This connects to the server and returns all known device names to the client. Select the appropriate device name by clicking on the name and choosing [OK]. When dealing with disk-to-disk devices that represent single disk files, there are restrictions regarding the devices that appear in the selection list. The only disk-to-disk devices that appear are those that have never had a backup performed or those devices that contain a previous backup of data from this client machine.
3. Choose any files or disk drives to exclude from the backup by selecting the tab , [Exclude Files]. Each choice has a respective dialog that presents you with a list of drives or directories to exclude. Once you have chosen the drives or files to exclude, click on [OK].
4. If you want the backup to be verified, select a verification level from the Options tab. Options are NONE, LEVEL 1, BIT LEVEL. Generally, Bit Level is the best choice if any verification is needed.
5. The Keep a local catolog under options tab option can be toggled on or off. This option is useful to have on so that if you ever want to see what was backed up on a specific day you can query it locally without having to make a request to the server. These files are automatically purged every seven days by default. This can be changed in the master.ini file in the install directory to whatever interval you wish.
6. To run any local commands before and/or after the task has completed, select the Advanced Options Tab toggle buttons. You can specify the command to run before and/or after the backup by activating the appropriate check box. The command should be some form of a batch file, since only one command can be specified to run.
7. If you wish, you may save the backup settings to the default profile by pressing the [SAVE PROFILE] button at the bottom of the dialog. This saves the backup options as a backup profile, which allows you to recall it by name at a later date. This saves you the time of re-entering the options all over again.
8. Once you have made all optional choices and are satisfied with the settings, select the [SUBMIT TO SERVER] button to process the backup request.

15.2.6 Incremental Backups

An Incremental backup of the Windows client will first backup the registry and then begin with the C: drive and any other subsequent drives. The server will determine when the last successful Master backup was and tell the client to backup only those files that are newer (on NT only those registry entries that are newer as well). The DOS archive bit is not used at all. Backup Professional will reset the archive bit when the file is backed up but this can cause problems with licensing programs. The resetting of the archive bit can be disabled in the settings file.

15.2.7 Selective File Backups

FIGURE 67. Include Files Dialog
Selective file and directory backups allows you to limit what you want backed up. To specify the files and/or directories that you need, click on the Include Files tab and click on the Add button of Figure 67 will be displayed.

The concept behind this dialog is to select files from the left hand list and use the [ADD] button to add them to the right hand list. As you select files and directories the Megs box will increment. Double clicking on a directory will take you to that directory. If you want to type in a path to add, type in your selection in the Filter box and click the [ADD] button. Wildcards like myfiles.* are acceptable entries as well. When you have completed the list of files on the right, click the [Ok] button.

Before you run the backup, it is generally best to save the entry prior to submitting to the server.

15.2.8 Restores

The Restore concept is to identify which backup that you want to restore from and then what files or directories you want to restore. To accomplish this you have a few options:
Entire Backup
This type of restore is intended to restore an entire backup with options. One of the most commonly used options is the exclude files option. Use this option to exclude files or directories from the full restore.
Selective Files
This type of restore is intended to restore just selective files that you know you need to restore. Use one of the methods listed above to find or specify the files or directories you need to restore.
From Inclusion list
This type of restore is intended to restore a list of files from a text file that is currently residing on the PC. This list is a text file that contains one filename per line starting with the drive letter on each line. This list of filenames will be used to restore only the files specified in the list.

15.2.8.1 Restore Entire Backup

This option lets you restore all the files of an entire backup to a system.

FIGURE 68. Entire Restore Dialog

The server tab is described here:

Server Name:

This tab allows you to select the >Server Name that you wish to back up to. If the Server Name is not correct click on the Server name combo Box. If you host table is setup it will appear and allow you to select the Server.

Device Name:

Then check the Device Name that you want to backup to. If the device name is not correct, click the dropdown list from the combo box to seledct from the list of devices on the server. This will select the device for this task only. To make the device name be the default click on the button.

Choosing the backup number:

To select a backup number form which the restore should occur, click on the button to get a listing of all available backups to restore from. If you leave the Lates and Using current tape Boxes without specifying a backup number explicitly, you will request a restore of the last backup found on the tape that is in the drive now that belongs to this workstation.

Submit to Server:

When you are ready to perform the backup. Hit the button and BP will connect too the Server and submit the task into the scheduler. Once the resources on the Server become available the Server scheduler will connect to your machine and begin the backup you requested. Generaly, the backups are performed in the background.

Save Profile:

Hit the button to save the current settings into the profile. This will open a "Save As" dialog, you can either overwrite an existing profile or create a new one.

15.2.8.2 Restore Selective Files

For selective\list backups, this tab allows you to select the files you want to restore.

The include file tab is described here:

1. To add files to the back list:
Use the A backup listing button to select files from a backup listing or,
Use the Browse for file button to select local file names or,
2. Similarly, you can use the Delete button to remove selected files form the backup list or use the Clear All button to clear the entire list altogether.

On Clicking the A backup listing button the backup listing dialog will be started.

On Clicking the Browse for file a select file dialog similar to the dialog used for selecting files for a backup will be displayed.

FIGURE 69. Selective Restore Dialog

15.2.8.3 Restore Options

This tab allows you to specify options for the restore operation.

FIGURE 70. Restore Options Dialog

Set Target Directory

This option enables you to restore a backup into a different form the original source directory on which the backup was made. This new directory can be on the same system or another system.

Keep a local Catalog

When selected will create a local Listing of the entier backup session. This file will be located in the Catalog directory you setup in the Preferenct dialog. You can use the Catalog menu choice to view any of the Catalogs recorded locally on your system.\

Newer Files only

Setting this option will restore only those files that are newer than the ones already present ont he system.

Non Destructive Restore

Setting this option will disable overwriting of files that are already present on a system during a restore operation.

15.2.8.4 Restore Advanced Options

This tab allows you to set advanced options for the restore process.

FIGURE 71. Restore Advanced Options Dialog

Run this local command before - When selected allows you to enter a command that will be run prior to the Backup commencing.

Run this local command after - When selected allows you to enter a command that will be run after the Backup is completed and possible verified.

15.2.8.5 Backup Listing Dialog

The listing of backup gives you the backup number, tape number, date and time of the backup, Starting Directory, Type of backup (Master, Incremental, Selective), size in Megabytes, How many files in the backup, the device name that it was backed onto and the workstation name it belongs to.

FIGURE 72. Backup History Dialog

Entire Restores

For entire restore operation, select a particular backup click on the backup line you wish to restore from. Then click on the OK button.

Also, you can view the files a particular backup by checking the Show Files check box. On clicking the Show files button, the dialog will look as follows:

FIGURE 73. Backup Library Dialog

The "File Listing" listbox will be updated with the files as you click on different backup lines in the "Backup Listing"

The page buttons will help you navigate through the file listing as follows:

> Next Page < Previous Page >> Last Page << First Page

You can insert a page number in the edit box and press the "Goto' button to jump to the page.

In the Preference Dialog you can specify how many filenames you want to list in a page. The default is 66. That means that each page contains 66 files. The indicator box at left indicates the Current page and the total number of pages in the list, (i.e. Page 1 or 112).

Selective Restores

For entire restore operation, select a particular backup click on the backup line you wish to restore from. Then click on the View Files button to launch a backup listing select file dialog for the files present in the backup.

Selecting Files from a Backup Listing

You select files similar to the select file dialog for backup operations.

FIGURE 74. Backup Listing Dialog

15.2.9 Verify/Compare a Backup

FIGURE 75. Verify Dialog
The Verify or Compare function is used to read the backup from the server and compare it to the hard disk as if a restore was taking place. Each bit is compared to make sure nothing was corrupted during the backup, while writing to the media, or during transmission to the client machine.

Only the last backup for this client can be compared using this dialog. If you need to verify previous backups, you will need to use the server interfaces to do so.

Once the Verify is started from the server you can click on the Backup Professional item in the task tray to view the verify process.

If files are found to be corrupt, a detail log is kept in the catalog directory entitled changes.cmp.

To increase the number of not backed up files to allow before the system considers a backup as failed and does not perform a verify, please edit the value for VerifyIncompleteFileCnt in the master.ini file under admin->setup->settings->media information (see " Media Information").

15.2.10 Other Functions

There are several other functions, and most are self-explanatory and deal with local issues such as viewing catalogs or changing fonts. Some of the more specific options are discussed below.

15.2.10.1 BareMetal Optimizer

This option is useful when using the add-on BareMetal product. This product would have been installed on the server. It performs a different type of backup of the PC than the normal Master/Incremental file-by-file type backup. It performs a snap shot backup of the PC. With this type of backup you can recover from crashed Windows environments very easily.

What this option is about is to allow you to optimize your system so that the BareMetal backups will perform at peak speed and size. This is normally run the first time a BareMetal backup is scheduled from the server, and can be turned on from the server as well. But this option is present so it can also be performed locally. This option can take several minutes as well. You should optimize your PC about every 6 months or so.

See "BareMetal Disaster Recovery: Intel® Platforms" on page 263 for more details.

15.2.10.2 Testing

FIGURE 76. Protocol Test Dialog
This feature teste the client/server communication protocol used by the BP Agent and the server. The needed protocol requests are tested to be sure that both sides have versions of the software that are fully compatible. The protocol test also will send an artificially generated data to the server and this transfer is timed. Based on this, you can determine what the maximum transfer rate will be. Most of the time, you should see a value during backup of approximately 90% of this number. Generally, if you are able to do a Protocol test and register your workstation to the server you will be able to perform backup actions.

15.2.10.3 Skip In Use

The Skip File-in-use option is used to specify those files that are commonly in use by other programs and will not be accessible. The agent will be aware of these files and will not flag this as an error.

Otherwise, files that are in use because they are accessed by other programs will be flagged as an error resulting in a failed backup.

Regardles of what setting you choose, files that are not accessible due to bac disk blocks, permissions or any other reason than being in use by other programs will be flagged as error.

If you are using the ODM (Open File Data Manager) all files that ar in use by other programs can be accessed and thus are backed up without difficulty. In this case, select the choice labeled () "No files" below. You must have a valid licanse to use the Open File Data Manager and can only be used for Windows 2000, XP, 2003 computers.

FIGURE 77. Skip File-In-Use Dialog
· All files: If this oprions is enabled, the agent will be aware of these files and will not flag this an error.
· Files selected from list below: If this option is enabled, files that are in use because they are accessed by other programs will be flagged as an error resulting in a failed backup.
· No files: If you are using ODM (Open File Data Manager) all files that are in use by other programs can be accessed and thus are backed up without difficulty.

15.2.10.4 Register client to server

When you first install the Backup Professional client software you need to register it to the server that will be servicing it. This can be done from the BP server or the client. On the client, use this menu option to register the client to the server. Once this is done you should not have to do it again unless you change servers or lose the registration on the server.

15.2.10.5 Add a Server to HOSTS File

FIGURE 78. Add a Server to HOSTS File

This dialog allows you to add a valid, usable BP server (a server that is running and is accessible by the bpclient) and an IP address pair to the HOSTs file on the client system.

Specifying a Server Name

Choose any convenient name for your server. If you choose a name that already exists in the HOSTS file you will be given the following warning:

FIGURE 79. Server Name Warning

Adding to the HOSTS file

When the user chooses the add button, the specified IP address is tested to see if it is a valid, usable BP Server. If it is, the the Server Name\IP Address pair are added to the host file and the following message is displayed:

FIGURE 80. Success Dialog

Testing a Server

The user can exiplicitly test a particular servr to check if it is valid and usable. To do this can either select a server in the list box or explicitly type in the server IP address. On hitting the "Test" button, if the server is NOT valid the following message is displayed:

FIGURE 81. Testing a Server Dialog

15.2.10.6 Settings file

The settings file is also called the master.ini file. It reside in the C:\pcbp directory and contains the settings for the Backup Professional product. There is an extensive debugging section that technical support personnel can use to uncover problems. This file is not generally changed by end users. It should only be changed by experienced users or technical support personnel. The following are the frequently used options that are not present in the settings file.

[BProfessional]

ResetArchiveBit
When this is set to True the DOS archive bit is reset when the file is backed up. When this is set to False it will not. If you experience problems with applications that do not like their attributes changed, then you should set this.
Inettime
This value is used by the Backup Professional agent. It defines the amount of milliseconds between each listen to incoming connections. If you experience a slow down when the Backup Professional is not running, then the agent maybe the cause. By increasing this value to 3,000 you should see an improvement.
BackupProperties
This value enables backup of file and folder properties (security information, alternative data streams, extended attributes, etc.). This is for Windows NT4 systems and above (NTFS volumes only). By default this value is set to True.
BackupRegSec
This enables backup of registry security information. This is for Windows 2000 systems and above (NTFS volumes only). By default this value is set to True (registry security information is backed up).
EnableAutomaticRestart
At the end of a restore process, if a restart is required, a dialog box is presented to the user to inquire his/her choice to restart or cancel. If this dialog box times out, this flag determines if the engine should restart the system or not. If this flag is enabled, the engine will restart the system. This is for all Windows systems. By default the setting is False meaning the engine will not restart the system if the restart dialog box times out.
DetectHungFiles
If this flag is set, then catalog and log files are synchronously flushed to the disk after every write. This is for all Windows systems. The default value is False.


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