CrashPlan
CrashPlan is an enterprise level backup solution developed by Code 42- Software. It was chosen by the University of Texas at Dallas to provide an automated workstation backup solution to its employees. This backup system is only available to backup desktops/workstations.
UTD faculty and staff are eligible for CrashPlan PROe. All information is stored in a secure UTD archive.
If you would like Crashplan installed on your computer, contact the Help Desk.
How to Backup your data with CrashPlan PROe
Important Recommendations:
- Back up only what you need. This excludes data on mapped drives.
- Exclude Operating System files.
- Back up your default user folder and other important files and folders.
- Use the wired UTD network for the initial backup. Future incremental backups will run quicker over the the wired network, but will also run fine over wireless.
- Launch the CrashPlan PROe client. Log-in if prompted, then click on the Backup tab if it is not already active.
- On the Backup tab, under Files click on Change. This will open the File Selection panel.
- In the Change File Selection window, you computers hard drive will be listed. (e.g. “C:/”)
- Click the small triangle to the left of the hard drive label to see its sub-folders.
- Your default user folder will be listed under Users and will usually be labeled with your NetID.
- Expand the user folder and select the files or folders you would like to back up.
- Clicking the box to the left of your user folder will select (or un-select) all the contents of that folder and sub-folders.
- Clicking the little arrow next to your user folder will expand the list of sub-folders which will allow you to select (or un-select) individual files or folders.
- For example, you may only want to back up the Documents folder. This is accomplished by specifically check marking the box to the left of the Documents folder and un-checking everything else under the user folder.
- Certain files or folders from selected directories may also be excluded from the back up by clearing the check mark to the left of each of those folders.
Note: The example schematic above shows the user xyz123456 to have selected file2.txt under Documents for back up.
Caution! Excluding previously selected files results in excluded files being deleted from the backup archive. The now-excluded files will not be available for restoring.
- Once you have selected the files and folders you would like to backup, click on Save.
- The files and folders you selected will now appear in the Files list in the main CrashPlan PROe window.
- To initiate the backup, either click the small “Play/Pause” button to the right of the progress bar (under Destinations) or let CrashPlan initiate the backup on its own at the next time.
- During backup, remaining time will be shown under the progress bar.
- The backup will continue if you close the CrashPlan PROe window.
- If your computer goes to sleep, CrashPlan will resume backup when it wakes up.
Note: The first back up may take quite a long time depending on how much data you have chosen to back up and network type (wired or wireless).
If you would like more details about Backing Up with CrashPlan, click here.
How to Restore backed up data with CrashPlan PROe
Users may only restore their own data from the PROe client. It is not possible to restore from another user’s account. If needed, an admin may also restore data for the user.
Review the material at the link below before attempting to restore files.
http://www.crashplan.com/enterprise/support/doku.php/reference/desktop/restoreCrashPlan PROe Settings
Use the Settings tab to customize General, Backup, Account, Security, and Network settings.
Note: Your CrashPlan PROe administrator may enable/disable or, otherwise, customize, certain CrashPlan PROe client features for the purpose of standardization. Contact your administrator to learn more.
- General
The General page contains basic settings such as the name of the client computer, determining computer and battery usage (for laptops) and resource allocation to CrashPlan, and the language in which to display the program, etc.
- Backup
The Backup page contains settings that determine when CrashPlan PROe will run, selection verification, the number of file versions to keep, when deleted files can be removed, advanced settings that affect CrashPlan PROe performance and inbound backup settings, and backup sets.
- Frequency and Versions
The Frequency and versions feature lets you control the backup frequency and version settings for your desktop client.
- Filename Exclusions
The Filename exclusions feature allows you to exclude files and folders from the backup that end with “pattern”. It also lets you specify regular expressions for greater flexibility over file and folder patterns to exclude from the backup.
- Advanced Settings
The Advanced settings feature allows for disabling/enabling data de-duplication, compression, encryption, and watching file system in real-time.
- Frequency and Versions
- Network
The Network page lets you control CrashPlan PROe client’s performance and adjust its impact on the network.
For more details about CrashPlan PROe Settings, click here.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
How long are backup archives kept?
There are various configurable parameters. Click here and review the “Settings :: Frequency and Versions” section for details. Note: Excluding previously selected files results in excluded files being deleted from the backup archive. The now-excluded files will not be available for restoring.
Will Information Resources monitor the backups?
No, IR will play an administrative or support role only. The users will be responsible for monitoring their respective backups.
Can I back up my email?
Rather than allow CrashPlan PROe to backup your entire Outlook archive, create a .pst file and save it on your local drive to then be backed up. Refer to our How To guide to learn about creating .pst files: How To: Create a .pst file in Outlook.
Can I restore my data to a different computer or location?
Yes, you may use CrashPlan PROe’s web interface to restore your data to a different computer. Link to be provided later.
How can I change the default backup timing?
You can change whether CrashPlan PROe will always run or only during specified times on the Settings/General page. Additional backup configuration parameters are available on the Settings/Backup page.
How will CrashPlan PROe impact the performance of my device?
Depending on the data volume being backed up CrashPlan PROe may have some impact on other processes running on your device, especially during the initial “seeding”, i.e. during the initial transmittal of data from your device to the CrashPlan PROe server. Subsequent backup occurring (by default) every 15 minutes to handle deltas (file changes/new files) should not have a significant impact on performance. You may need to tweak the relevant settings on the General and Backup pages on the client to determine the optimal backup scenario for your device.
