Seeding: For Faster Initial Offsite Backups

If you have a lot of data, backing up over the Internet can be very slow and can potentially saturate your connection. You can avoid this by using a process called seeding. Seeding involves backing up your computers locally and then physically transporting the archives to the destination PRO Client or PRO Server. Initial backup complete much faster if you use seeding.

After your initial backup is completed and the backup archives are at the destination, subsequent backups contain only new files and changes. Because relatively little information is sent over the Internet to the destination, subsequent backups take much less time.

You can seed archives from PRO Client into PRO Server. If you want to seed a peer-to-peer backup, you can seed from PRO Client to PRO Client. While the overall process and concepts are the same, the steps are slightly different depending on whether you're seeding archives into the PRO Server or into a PRO Client.

You'll also need to be familiar with these concepts before reading the rest of this article and attempting the seeding process:

• Inheritance and its effect on existing users' ability to restore previous archives. See Inheritance: Settings and Destinations
• Backing Up to Multiple Destinations

The seeding process involves:

• Backing up files to an onsite destination or to an external disk
• Physically transporting the archives to the remote destination
• Placing or copying the GUID folders to the proper location at the remote destination

Go here if you need for instructions to set up a PRO Client to receive backup data.

This step is required only if your source clients have been backing up to your PRO Server.

1. In the admin console, open the organization you want to back up and navigate to the remote source computer that is currently backing up.
2. Choose Backup Destinations.
3. Uncheck the server's entry.
4. Click Save.
   This will DELETE any data backed up from the client to the server. You don't need the original, incomplete archive because you'll be replacing it with your seeded archive.

Knowing where to place the GUID folders is the key to the process. You can locate the GUID on the Organization summary page.

1. Determine the location of the GUID folder. The computer's assigned mount point is listed when you view the user's computers.
   If you're unsure where the GUID folder should go on the server's mount:
   1. Start backing up to the server.
      This will immediately create a GUID folder in the correct location.
   2. In the admin console, pause the computer's backup.
      
2. Put the GUID folder on that mount point.
   If your mount leads to /Volumes/USB1/CrashPlanArchive_m110A, then put the GUID folder within that CrashPlanArchive* folder.

NOTE: Always move or copy the entire GUID folder when seeding.

1. On the computer's Backup Destinations page, check the Use box next to the server's name.
2. Click Save.
   When the server goes to start a backup it will see that files are already there and it will use them instead of creating new.

After backup is 100% is complete…

1. In PRO Client, on the Backup page, click the pause icon at the far right end of the backup progress bar.
2. Bring (or copy) your archive to the destination client.

On the client machine that will be the host destination for offsite backups, follow these steps:

1. Launch PRO Client and go to Destinations > Folders.
2. Click Select.
3. In the Select a Directory window, navigate to the GUID folders that you've moved from your onsite location. For example, select 948212309528060501.
4. In the Attach Backup window, review the file information and click OK.
   If the attach was successful, you will see a “Archive successfully added!” message.
5. Click OK to continue.
   Repeat these steps for GUID folders you have brought from your onsite location.
6. Note the following settings:
   • On the Settings > General page, be sure the CrashPlan will run option is set to Always.
   • On the Settings > Account page, note this computer's GUID number.

1. In your browser, log in to the PRO Server admin console.
2. Click the Organizations tab, then select your organization.
3. Click Default User Settings
4. Uncheck the Inherit Default Destinations check box to display options for adding backup destinations.
5. Choose:
   • If your destination client machine was part of this organization when you first set it up, choose it from the Add new destination computer list.
   • If your destination client machine was NOT added to this organization when you first set it up, enter its 18-character GUID number in the Add new destination by guid field.
6. If you want all existing clients to begin backing up to this newly-created offsite archive, click the Apply all changes to existing users check box.
   The new destination is added to any of this organization's child organizations (provided that they are set to “inherit default destinations”).
7. Click Save.
   All computers entering this org will be granted permission to back up to both destinations in the list.

• Take special care when applying the change to all existing users. These changes also apply settings for starting a backup, adding a destination, removing a destination or stopping a backup, affecting ALL users on ALL existing computers.
• All computers entering this org will be granted permission to back up to both destinations in the list. If you re-enable Inherit Backup Destinations, and apply that change to all users, a list of the destinations that will be removed appears.

• Inheritance: Settings and Destinations
• Reference - PRO Server Default User Settings