RestoreIT Network ® User's Guide Copyright Notice Copyright© 2006 FarStone Technology, Inc. All Rights Reserved. No part of this publication may be copied, transmitted, stored in a retrieval system, or translated into any language in any form or by any means without the expressed written permission of FarStone Technology, Inc. FarStone grants you the right to use one copy of the enclosed software program ("SOFTWARE") on a single computer. If the SOFTWARE is installed on a network, or more than one user can run the SOFTWARE at the same time, you must purchase an additional license for each additional user or computer. Trademarks · · · · RestoreIT® and RestoreIT® Network are registered trademarks of FarStone Technology, Inc. Microsoft®, Windows® and MS-DOS® are registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation. Pentium is a registered trademark of Intel Corporation. Other product names mentioned in this manual may be trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective companies and are hereby acknowledged. Printed in the United States of America. FarStone Technology, Inc. 6 Morgan, Suite 160 Irvine, CA 92618 Phone: (949) 458-3666 Fax: (949) 458-3633 Technical Support: For technical support, please contact us at: Or use our online support system and FAQ at www.farstone.com. Copyright © 2000-2006 FarStone Technology, Inc. All rights reserved. http://www.farstone.com/home/ensite/support/support.shtml Contents Chapter 1 Introduction ..............................................................................- 6 Chapter 2 Installation .............................................................................- 10 2-1 2-2 2-3 2-4 1-1 Introduction to RestoreIT Network ........................................................................................................................- 6 1-2 RestoreIT Network Component Introduction and Features ..........................................................................- 6 System Requirements ...............................................................................................................................................- 10 Installing RITN Administrator ................................................................................................................................- 10 Installing RITN Client ................................................................................................................................................- 11 Remotely Deploying RITN Client...........................................................................................................................- 13 - Chapter 3 Using RITN Administrator .......................................................- 17 - 3-1 Introduction to RITN Administrator .....................................................................................................................- 17 3-2 Launching RITN Administrator...............................................................................................................................- 17 3-3 Member Management ...............................................................................................................................................- 17 3-3.1 Creating a New Group ......................................................................................................................................- 18 3-3.2 Renaming a Group.............................................................................................................................................- 18 3-3.3 Deleting a Group ................................................................................................................................................- 18 3-3.4 Moving a Client to another Group ...............................................................................................................- 18 3-3.5 Renaming a Client .............................................................................................................................................- 18 3-3.6 Deleting a Client .................................................................................................................................................- 19 3-3.7 Viewing Client Properties ................................................................................................................................- 19 3-4 Backing up Client Computers.................................................................................................................................- 19 3-4.1 Manually Creating a Backup for Client Computers................................................................................- 19 3-4.2 Automatically Backing up Client Computer ..............................................................................................- 20 3-5 Restoring Client Computers ....................................................................................................................................- 21 3-5.1 Manually Restoring Client Computer(s) ....................................................................................................- 21 3-5.2 Automatically Restoring Client Computer(s) ...........................................................................................- 23 3-6 Mange RITN Client Policies......................................................................................................................................- 23 3-6.1 Enabling/Disabling Incremental Backup....................................................................................................- 23 3-6.2 Enabling/Disabling File-level Backup ..........................................................................................................- 24 3-6.3 RITN Client Function Control .........................................................................................................................- 25 3-7 RITN Administrator Options....................................................................................................................................- 25 Port Settings.................................................................................................................................................................................... - 26 Administrator Password Settings............................................................................................................................................. - 26 Log File Size .................................................................................................................................................................................... - 26 Refresh Time ................................................................................................................................................................................... - 26 - Chapter 4 Using RITN Client .....................................................................- 28 - 4-1 Introduction to RITN Client .....................................................................................................................................- 28 4-2 Connecting to RITN Administrator .......................................................................................................................- 28 4-3 Opening RITN Client ..................................................................................................................................................- 28 4-4 Backing up Your System ..........................................................................................................................................- 29 4-5 Restoring Your System .............................................................................................................................................- 30 4-5.1 Quick Restore ......................................................................................................................................................- 30 4-5.2 Restoring to any Incremental Backup Point ............................................................................................- 30 4-6 File Level Backup and Restore ...............................................................................................................................- 31 4-6.1 How to Restore a Specific File.......................................................................................................................- 31 3-6.2 Backing up Specific Files or Folders ............................................................................................................- 32 3-6.2 Configuring File-Level Backup Settings .....................................................................................................- 32 5-1 Removing RITN Administrator ...............................................................................................................................- 37 5-2 Removing RestoreIT Network Clinet ...................................................................................................................- 37 - Chapter 5 Removing RestoreIT Network .................................................- 37 - Chapter 6 Software License Agreement....................................................- 39 - -4- 1 Introduction Introduction Instant recovery from a system crash, virus attack, and accidental data deletion. Chapter 1 1-1 Introduction to RestoreIT Network RestoreIT Network 4.0 is a revolutionary real time system restoration utility that runs over a TCP/IP network. Once installed, it continually monitors and keeps a complete record of all activities on client computers and allows an administrator or client to recover lost data after a system crash, virus attack, faulty software installation, accidental file deletion or unintentional formatting of their hard drive. In merely a few minutes, if not seconds, all of the content of a hard drive can be restored back to a point in time when the computer was functioning properly. File-Level Backup and Restore further allow users to restore individual files without rolling back their whole system. RestoreIT Network allows network administrators to manage client computers' backup strategies and remotely backup their systems over a network. Network administrators can even control the server computer (RITN Administrator) or any client computer over the network by using the included RestoreIT Desktop Tool. 1-2 RestoreIT Network Component Introduction and Features RestoreIT Network is based on a client-server model. One server (RITN Administrator) and several clients (RITN Client) structure is shown below. One RITN Administrator can manage up to 100 clients at a time. RITN Administrator -- RestoreIT Network server module RITN Administrator (referred as "RITN Administrator" thereafter) resides on the server computer of the local area network (LAN). It allows the network administrator to manage all clients' or group's backup/restore strategy in a user friendly interface. Once installed, a network administrator can simultaneously deploy RITN Client on multiple client computers through the RITN Administrator interface. Features of RITN Administrator: Remotely create Backup Point Manually create a backup image on client computers though RITN Administrator. An administrator can choose to back up Drive C: only or the whole hard disk on the client computer. The backup image file is stored in a RestoreIT Secure Area on client computers. Set backup/restore schedule for client computers Set a schedule for clients that automatically create/restore a Backup Point at specified times. Enable/Disable system backup and File Level Backup Disable the system backup and/or file-level backup functions on specified clients. Once disabled, the previous settings for backup/restore schedule or file-level settings will stop functioning. The client can not manually perform these operations. Show/Hide RITN Client main interface Hide the RITN Client main interface to prevent any manual operation on the client side. Once prevented, the client computer can only perform backup/restoration according to RITN Administrator's settings or commands. Group clients Divide clients in groups to help manage the members. Administrators can regroup clients at any time. View Client's logs RestoreIT Network records any activities on RITN Administrator, such as client's login, changing settings, and performing a backup or restoration. Administrators can choose to view an individual client log or all clients' logs. Be remotely controlled through RestoreIT Remote Desktop Tool Control RITN Administrator on any computer in the LAN through the included RestoreIT Remote Desktop Tool. Password protection The Administration Password is required to login RestoreIT Network Administrator and enter Pre-OS mode on Client side. Easy to use A clear and friendly Graphical User Interface (GUI) makes RestoreIT Network easy to use. Even a new network administrator can manage clients, configure settings and perform backup/restore operations without difficulty. RITN Client -- RITN Client module RITN Client (referred as "RITN Client" thereafter) resides on the client for each computer in the local area network. Client users can perform operations including system backup and restoration, file-level backup, setting and restoring files. All operations requiring authorization from the network administrator can be done through RITN Administrator. Features of RITN Clients: Incremental System Backup Back up the Drive C: or the whole hard disk as an image file to store on the local hard disk. System backup takes an incremental backup mechanism. It only and incrementally backs up all changes (e.g. additions/deletions) since the last backup point was created. It takes only seconds to complete and is stored in a hidden protected RestoreIT Secure Area on the local hard disk. System incremental backups can be done on RITN Client (only when authorized), through RITN Administrator or automatically done by schedule. Back up and restore previous versions of a specific file after it has been deleted, changed or overwritten, without having to restore the entire system to an earlier point in time. File-level settings and restoration should be done on RITN Client, but the ability to configure file-level backup settings and to restore files should be authorized by the network administrator from the RITN Administrator. 100% Protection File-Level Backup and Restore RestoreIT Network allows users to instantly recover from accidental disk formatting, file deletion, virus attacks or a system crash on client computers. It offers complete system protection, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. Network users can download files and open e-mail attachments without having to worry about virus attacks. Infected or damaged files can be rescued in seconds if a problem occurs. RestoreIT Network uses a unique real-time incremental backup technology, taking up only 5-10 percent of available hard disk space. A clear and friendly Graphical User Interface (GUI) makes RestoreIT easy to use (only if allowed by RITN Administrator). Even a novice can easily restore a computer back to working order without having to call technical support. RestoreIT Network checks the integrity of the data in the latest Incremental Backup Point and marks it as "ambiguous" if any inconsistencies are found. Intelligent Data Integrity Check Easy to use Only a fraction of disk space used Kill viruses, rescue files -8- Chapter 2 Installation Installation 2-1 System Requirements Administrator Computer Microsoft Windows 2000 (SP4)/XP/2003 Server 450 MHz Pentium III processor (or compatible) or better 30 MB of free hard disk drive 256 MB of RAM Microsoft Internet Explorer 5.5 or higher 10/100Mbps Network Adaptor TCP/IP Internet Protocol Client Computer Windows 2000 Pro(SP4)/XP Pro/XP Media Center Intel Pentium processor at 133 MHz 20MB for the program and 5 to 10% of the total hard drive space (at least 1000 MB) for backup activities. Chapter 2 256 MB of RAM 10/100Mbps Network Adaptor TCP/IP Internet Protocol Microsoft Internet Explorer 5.5 or higher CD/DVD recorder (optional) 2-2 Installing RITN Administrator Follow the steps below to install RITN Administrator on the server computer of the LAN: 1. Insert the RestoreIT Network CD-ROM disc. The Installation Guide (shown below) should start automatically. If it does not, run autorun.exe directly from the disc. 2. 3. 4. 5. Click RestoreIT Network Administrator to start the Setup wizard. When the RITN Administrator install screen appears, select Next to go to the next step. When the License Agreement screen appears, select I accept the terms... to continue. Enter the required information and your serial number. Select Continue to continue. Note: If you do not enter a serial number RestoreIT will install a trial version that has limitations on time and functions of the application. 6. RITN Administrator will be installed in the path displayed. You can click Browse to choose another location to install the program, or leave it as default. Click Next to continue. 7. A prompt message appears to confirm your settings. Click Install once you have confirmed the settings to start the installation process. 8. After RITN Administrator is successfully installed. Click Finish to exit the Setup wizard. Note: You do not need to restart the computer after the installation of RITN Administrator. 2-3 Installing RITN Client Once RITN Administrator is installed, you can remotely deploy RITN Client on multiple computers over the LAN by using the Remote Install Tool from the RITN Administrator main interface. Please refer to the next section for related instructions. - 11 - Follow the steps below to install RITN Client program on a single client computer: 1. Insert the RestoreIT Network Installation Disc. The Installation Guide (shown below) should start automatically. If it does not, run autorun.exe directly from the disc. 2. 3. 4. 5. Click RestoreIT Network Client to start the Setup wizard. The RITN Client install screen appears, select Continue to go to the next step. When the License Agreement screen appears, select I Accept to continue. Select an install type, Typical Setup (Recommend) or Customized Setup. Note: Typical Setup will apply default settings in the following steps to install RITN Client on the computer. We recommend that normal users choose Typical Setup. Customized Setup allows manual settings and is recommended for advanced users. RITN Client will be installed in the path displayed. You can choose anther location to install RITN Client, or leave it as default. 6. Click Continue and RITN Client will check the disk status to see if there is enough space to create a RestoreIT Secure Area. Note: RestoreIT Secure Area is space allocated from the hard drive. It is a hidden, protected area, used to store the system Incremental Backup Points, and File Backup Records. The RestoreIT Secure Area cannot be resized after it is created. For better performance, we recommend that you allocate at least 10% of your total hard drive space for the RestoreIT Secure Area. Note: Typical Setup will skip this step After the system check, RITN Client will give a recommended size for the Secure Area (at least 1000 MB is required), and available space and list the space usage of each partition. - 12 - You can modify each partition usage according to your need. Click Refresh below the partition list to activate your modification. 7. After you have designated the partition space, click Next to continue. Specify a size from the RestoreIT Secure Area to save File-Level Backup data (At least 200MB is required). 8. Click Next to continue the installation. 9. You will be prompted to restart the computer. Please eject the RestoreIT Network Installation Disc and click OK. RestoreIT should start an initialization and create the Secure Area. After that it will automatically restart the computer and create an initial backup point. When Windows starts, the installation process is complete. 2-4 Remotely Deploying RITN Client Once RITN Administrator is installed, you can remotely deploy RITN Client on multiple computers over the LAN by using Remote Install Tool from the RITN Administrator main interface. Note: Before the RITN Administrator performs a remote setup, please make sure the Sharing and Security module in Local Security Settings is set to "Classic" on the client computer. To set this option, click Run from Start Menu on windows, type in "secpol.msc" to launch Local Security Settings window. Locate Security Settings>Local Policies> Security Option from the directory in the left panel. Find the item Network access: sharing and security model for local accounts from the policy list in the right panel, double click it. In the popup dialog box, select Classic-local users authenticate as themselves, and click Apply. To deploy RestoreIT on multiple computers: 1. Select Tools Remote Install Tool from the menu bar of RITN Administrator main interface. 2. Select the RestoreIT Network Installer from the installer list and click Next continue. - 13 - 3. (For single setup only) Select Install to single computer tab (shown as below). Enter the computer name. You can click Browse button to locate it from the local area network list. In Login options, enter the user name and password so that the installer can get the remote setup authentication on the client computer. 4. (For multiple setups only) Select Install to multiple computers tab (shown as below). Note: To be able to install RITN Client program on multiple computer in a group on a LAN simultaneously, make sure a Windows account with the same user name and password is created on all of these computers beforehand. First you need to configure a group's login information. Click on one group name, and enter the same user name and password that was previously created in Login options on the right side. Remember to check the box "Remember password" below. Then select the target computer to install the program to. - 14 - You can choose a whole group by clicking the box before the group name. When a whole group is selected, it will use the group configuration you have set just now as the login option for all the computers. You can also double click a group name to unfold it and select specific computers from the list. You can specify the login option for each computer individually. Highlight the target computer and specify login settings in the right. When setting the login option for a computer, you can use the group configuration by checking the "Use group config" box, or enter another account name and password, and check "Remember password" option. Note: Setting login option for a computer does not select it as a target computer to install the program on. Please remember to check the box before the computer name after you have set login option for it. complete and it requires a restart of the client computer. As the client computer restarts, the program should be successfully installed. 6. You will the see progress information on the RITN Administrator side. Click Finish to exit when the operation complete. 5. Click Next to start installing RITN Client on the selected computer. This may take a few minutes to - 15 - Chapter 3 Using RITN Administrator - 16 - Using RITN Administrator 3-1 Introduction to RITN Administrator RITN Administrator is the server side of RestoreIT Network. It is installed on the server computer of the local area network (LAN). It allows the network administrator to manage all Clients' or Group's backup/restore strategy in a user friendly interface. Chapter 3 3-2 Launching RITN Administrator To launch RITN Administrator in Windows, double-click the RestoreIT icon on the desktop, or select Start on the Windows taskbar, then All Programs RestoreIT Network Administrator RestoreIT Network RITN Administrator. Enter the administrator password to start the program (shown below). Note: Upon launching the program for the first time after installation, you will be asked to set the administrator password. Follow the on-screen message to set the password. You can change it any time from RITN Administrator Tools Options Set Password. The left panel is the member list. Here you can group your clients, rename them, view client properties and log files. The upper area of the right part is the functions page. Here you can perform backup and restore operations, set schedules and configure settings for clients. The lower area of the right part is the log of activities on the RITN Administrator. 3-3 Member Management Each time when a client computer enters Windows and connects to the network server, it will automatically log into the RITN Administrator. All clients logged into the RITN Administrator will appear in the left panel of the main interface. You can divide your clients into groups to help your management. Before a client is grouped, it is shown under the default group. Note: The administrator can not manually add a client in the RITN Administrator main interface. It only displays the clients that have logged into the RITN Administrator. 3-3.1 Creating a New Group To create a new group: 1. Select Groups New Group from the menu bar of the RITN Administrator main interface, or right click on an existing group name and select New Group from the right-click menu. 2. Enter a name for the group and click OK. Note: A group name cannot contain any of the following characters: / \ : * ? " < > | 3-3.2 Renaming a Group You can change the name of an existing group. To rename a group: 1. Select an existing group (highlighted in blue) and choose Groups Rename from the menu bar of the RITN Administrator main interface, or right click on an existing group name and select Rename from the right-click menu. 2. Enter the new name in the name box. Click on any place outside the name box to finish. 3-3.3 Deleting a Group You can delete an existing group. All the clients under the deleted group will automatically moved the default group. To delete a group: 1. Select an existing group (highlighted in blue) and choose Groups Delete from the menu bar of the RITN Administrator main interface, or right click on an existing group name and select Delete from the right-click menu. 2. A confirmation dialog box should appear to get your confirmation. Click Yes to delete the target group and all clients under it will be moved to the default group. 3-3.4 Moving a Client to another Group You regroup your clients by moving it to another group. Note: you can move one client at a time. To move a Client to another group, do either of the following: Directly drag-and-drop a client to another group. Or Select a client (highlighted in blue) and choose Groups Change to from the menu bar of the RITN Administrator main interface, choose the group name you want to move to. Or Right click on the wanted client and select Change to, then the group name you want to move it to. 3-3.5 Renaming a Client As default, the client name is the computer name on which the RITN Client is installed. You can change the client name in RestoreIT Network to help you recognize and manage this resource. Note: Renaming can only be occur when the client is online. To rename a client: Select a client (highlighted in blue) and choose Groups Rename from the menu bar of the RITN Administrator main interface, choose the group name you want to move it to. Or - 18 - Right click on the wanted client and select Change to, then the group name you want to move it to. 3-3.6 Deleting a Client You can delete a client from client list. To delete a client: 1. Select the wanted client (highlighted in blue) and choose Groups Delete from the menu bar of the RITN Administrator main interface, or right click on the client name and select Delete from the right-click menu. 2. A confirmation dialog box should appear to get your confirmation. Click Yes to delete it from the RITN Administrator. 3-3.7 Viewing Client Properties You can view detailed information of a client, including its computer name, IP address, MAC address and the usage of the RestoreIT Secure Area on the client computer. To view a Client's properties: Select the wanted client (highlighted in blue) and choose Groups Properties from the menu bar of the RITN Administrator main interface, or right click on the client name and select Properties from the right-click menu. The Properties dialog box should appear. Note: You can also change a client name in the Properties dialog box. 3-4 Backing up Client Computers RestoreIT Network allows the network administrator to remotely back up specified client computers from the RITN Administrator. A manual backup can be performed at any time. In addition, backup schedules can be set to automatically back up at specified times. 3-4.1 Manually Creating a Backup for Client Computers You can specified an online client or a group of clients and create a backup point for them. The backup file is stored in the RestoreIT Secure Area on the respective local hard drive. Note: Creating an Incremental Backup Point (IBP) requires a restart of the client computer. To create an IBP for client computer: 3. Select an online client or a group from the left panel of the RITN Administrator main interface. Note: 1. If you choose a group, make sure all clients have logged into the RITN Administrator. 2. If some clients are not online, the IBP will not be created for the offline client. When you choose to restore to this IBP later, these excluded computers cannot be restored. 4. Choose Backup page from the function panel in the upper right of the RITN Administrator main interface. 5. Enter a name for the backup point in the Incremental Backup Point Name box. - 19 - 6. Click Create Now to start the operation. Once the operation starts, the Client icon in the RITN Administrator interface should change to working status and you will see a progressive status bar in the function panel (shown below). Note: The backing up process runs in background on the client computer. There will be no interference with the current operation of client computer usage. However, RestoreIT needs to lock the hard drive during the backup process. If any program is currently writing to or reading from the hard drive on the client computer, it will not create the backup. You will be notified if the backup operation failed on any client computer. You can also check if the operation succeeded from the Historic Record panel. 7. When the IBP is successfully created, click Finish to return. 3-4.2 Automatically Backing up Client Computer RITN Administrator allows you to set a schedule for a specified client or a group of clients to create a Backup Point automatically. Note: If the computer or any computer of the group is not started at the schedule backup time, you will be notified of the situation and be provided with the choice of continuing or canceling the operation. To set backup schedule: 1. Select an online client or a group from the left panel of the RITN Administrator main interface. 2. Choose Schedule page from the function panel in the upper right of the RITN Administrator main interface. (shown blow). Here are detailed instructions on to choose these options: Create a Backup Point Automatically Create new Backup Point at every system startup - 20 -