SUMMARY
How to set up encryption on your Unitrends Backup appliance.
ISSUE
- Encryption needs to be enabled.
- Hot backup copies (replication) is failing due to a mismatch in encryption configuration between source and target systems.
RESOLUTION
To enable encryption you must first set the encryption passphrase, the global key used for all encryption on the appliance. Once set, the Master Key file must be backed up.
Enable Encryption
- Open the Unitrends UI and select "Configure" on the left.
- On the Appliances tab, select "Edit"
- Select the Advanced tab.
- The following dialog box will be displayed:
- To enable encryption, check the "Enable Encryption" box and enter a Passphrase.
- Click "Save".
Save Master Key File
Saving the master key file (crypt_image.iso) can be accomplished by burning the file to a CD or saving it to the local appliance samba share.
Always backup your master key file! Without both key file and passphrase data will be unrecoverable.
- Open the Unitrends UI and select "Configure" on the left.
- On the Appliances tab, select "Edit"
- Select the Advanced tab.
- The following dialog box will be displayed:
- Select "Save Master Key File"
- To save the master key file to a CD, insert one now. If your appliance does not have a CD drive or you wish to save the Master Key to the local samba share, just click "Continue".
If the Master Key file was saved to the local samba share, be sure to delete this file once it has been copied to offline media.
CAUSE
When backups are being replicated to a secondary Unitrends target (Hot Backup Copies) and encryption is enabled on the source appliance, the target must also have encryption enabled. Encrypted backup copies will fail to replicate to the target if the target does not have encryption enabled. Once encryption is enabled, both encrypted and non-encrypted data can be sent to the target.
For more information on Hot Backup Copy (Replication) issues, see Unitrends KB 5030 - Hot Backup Copy (Replication) Overview, Setup and Error Troubleshooting
NOTES
For more detailed information about managing encryption with Unitrends backup and recovery software, please see Encryption > To configure encryption in the Appliance settings section of the Administrator Guide.