How to create and configure Aliases on Appliance?

SUMMARY

ISSUE

You can create aliases for a single client in order to have multiple backup strategies. By adding multiple alias clients, you can configure separate and radically different schedules for the same client.

NOTE: Make sure you are using the 7.2 agent or higher when working with client aliases. Using aliases, you can break apart large data stores, decreasing the time required to perform the backup, and reducing the network traffic caused by large backup transfers. This ability also allows you to see, at a glance, what the system is backing up because the data stores are broken apart, and you can view them separately.

This process also gives you the benefit of having separate, and smaller Full (Master) backups. A Full backup cannot get purged until a new Full backup exists. Separating a large Full into smaller Fulls and (they must be run at different times as not to conflict with each other), increases the available space by allowing separate purging to occur. It also minimizes the need to purge large amounts of data, as your Fulls are now smaller and more manageable.

There are special considerations when determining whether to include or exclude the system state when running a backup, creating a backup schedule, or creating a selection list. See "Note about excluding the system state for client aliases" for more information.

RESOLUTION

Requirements

Ensure that the client is added as a Protected Asset (Client in Legacy recoveryconsole) to the Unitrends appliance.
The Client Agent must be on release 7.2 or newer.
The Protected Asset must have a Static IP assigned to it.

Create aliases for a single client

There are three steps involved in creating aliases for a client:

Creating the alias name
Add the alias name as a client
Creating the selection lists

Create alias names from the host

Click CONFIGURE > Protected Assets (tab) > Select the NAME of the Protected Asset > Edit
Document the spelling of the Hostname and the IP Address as you will need this later. If the IP Address is blank, you must enter the IP Address now and click Save.
Once completed, we will need to add the host entries for the aliases.
Click on CONFIGURE > Appliances (tab) > Select the Unitrends system name in the APPLIANCE (column) > Click Network (tab) below > Click Edit Hosts File.
Select the Protected Asset from the Hostname column and then click Edit.
In the Edit Hosts (Advanced) dialogue box, populate the Aliases field with the new names for the aliases.
(e.g.: SVR1_E for the alias of server SVR1 that you intend on protecting the E drive..)

If you have more than one, separate each with a comma (e.g.: SVR1_E,SVR1_F,SVR1_G)

NOTE: Do not enter spaces in the name. You are limited to 15 characters. It is recommended that you write down the alias name so you can enter the exact name when you add it as a new client.
Click Save. The names you placed in the Aliases field is what you will be using in the Add the alias name as a client section below.

Add the alias name as a client

CONFIGURE > Protected Assets > Add > Asset
Remove the check mark from the Install Agent (Windows only) field.
Populate the Hostname with the new alias name from the previous step and use the same IP address of the original Protected Asset.
Click Save.

Creating the selection lists

Now that you have set up a aliases for the Protected Asset, you can differentiate the backups with selection lists.

For example, you have a host that has large directories in a C: drive and a D: drive. You create a client alias of the host. You can now create a selection list to exclude drive C: from the client alias and another selection list to exclude drive D: from the host. This way, you have split the large directories between two different clients. At this point, you can create different full schedules for the host and the client alias and run backups separately.

It is recommended that if the Protected Asset chosen will be used for the protection of the Operating System, that you choose to exclude what is not needed, so that you do not accidentally omit any data that belongs to the Boot process or the System State of the OS.

The Job used to protect the OS is the only one that will include the System State.

The Jobs related to the aliases used to protect data only (such as volumes and/or directories), use the Inclusion tab to add the data you wish to protect. Then go to the Advanced tab and select the option Exclude System State. Click OK for the Warning popup message once you read this message. The click Save.

User-added image

Once you have completed these steps, you will want to perform a 1-Time Full/Master using KB 5580.

NOTES

Note about excluding the system state for client aliases

When you run a backup, create a backup schedule, or create a selection list, you have the option to check an Exclude System State checkbox to back up data and not include OS protection. If you are backing up an aliased client, you must decide whether to include or exclude the system state.
Keep the following in mind:

DO NOT EXCLUDE the system state on the client that contains the operating system volumes (this is typically the C: volume).
For all other client aliases that do not include the OS volume, do NOT include the system state.
Only one client alias can include the system state.
The restore fails if the system state is not included in the OS volume and if the system state is included in the client aliases that do not include the OS volume.

IMPORTANT! For Windows clients. The backup must contain the boot disk and any other system critical volumes to use the integrated bare metal recovery and Windows instant recovery features. Be sure one of the aliased clients contains all of these disks to use these features