FAQs

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Can you briefly explain the idea of how the Online Backup Software
works?

The Online Backup Suite consists of 3 main modules:

• The client software – Online Backup Manager (RDSM)
• The server software – Offsite Backup Server (RDS)
• The replication server – Replication Server (RPS)

RDSM is a client application with a secure user-interface for easy backup configuration. It allows users to upload and backup selected files to the Backup server and runs scheduled backup jobs. It also allows users to create different backup sets for different backup purpose. Besides file backup, RDSM can backup applications such as MS Exchange, MS SQL, Oracle, MySQL, Lotus Domino, and much more. RDSM supports Windows 2000, XP, 2003, Linux, Mac OS X, etc.

RDS is a secure server application which stores backup data from multiple RDSMs backup accounts. It has a web-based Management Console for system administrators to manage the Backup Server, such as configuring system and backup account settings, and viewing backup statistics and reports. Users can also logon to this Management Console to manage their own backup account or restore their own backup data. RDS supports Windows, Linux and Mac OS platforms.

RPS is another server application running on a separate machine, it provides close to real-time backup for multiple RDSs. So even if one of the RDS failed, the RPS still has a copy of the backup data. That means safety and security for you.

How can I securely backup a huge data set over the Internet?

If you have a lot of data (e.g. 300GB) to backup to the server, it could take a considerable amount of time to perform the first full backup over the Internet. You can try the following method:

• Use the Seed Loading Utility to backup your data set to a local hard disk (instead of directly transferring to the backup server).
• Send the backup data, using a removable hard disk, to your backup service provider.
• The administrator can then load all your backup files from your removable hard disk into your backup account. This could save you days (even weeks) of performing your first full backup.

In addition, subsequent secure backups are easy and incremental (only new or updated files will be uploaded to the server), and the amount of data transfer should be relatively small. Please refer to the User’s Guide for details on the “Seed Loading Utility”.

What kind of encryption used by RDSM?

• Encryption of backup data - This is being done by 128-bit symmetric key encryption (AES, TripleDES, TwoFish). Anything larger is unnecessary and requires too much CPU. (The 128-bit version is currently being used by most banks.)
• Encryption of backup traffic - This is being done by 1024-bit RSA public key encryption. The strength of the encryption depends on the key size you use when you generate your CSR before submitting to your CA. Most reliable backup services use 1024-bit.

Can I backup an entire Operating System?

Currently, it is not possible to do hard disk image backup with RDSM. However, you can still backup/restore the operating system by doing the followings:

To backup all files including the operating system, please do this:

• Add all files to your backup source.
• Add a SystemState backup type to your backup account (Windows only).

To restore all files including the operating system, please do this:

• Re-install the operating system and applications.
• Restore the SystemState backup to your machine (Windows only) – To restore the System State data on a domain controller, you must first start your computer in a special startup option called “Directory Services Restore Mode.” To access “Directory Services Restore Mode,” press F8 during startup and select it from the list of startup options.
• Restore all files to your machine.