Organizations - Device Backup Defaults - Backup settings reference

Updated May 16, 2024 18:56

Overview

This reference guide describes an organization's backup settings for when backup operations take place, what files to include and exclude from backup, the frequency of backups, and how long versions should be retained.

Access device backup settings

To view the general device backup settings, choose Administration > Environment > Organizations. When the Active tab opens, click the organization name. (You may need to expand the parent organization.) Scroll down to Device Backup Defaults and click the Backup tab.

To change these default settings for the organization, from the action menu on the Organization Details page, choose Device Backup Defaults, then click the Backup tab.

console device defaults backup tab.png

General

default backup general tab.png

Item	Description
a	Backup sets	Displays the Backup Sets tab, in which you can create and configure backup sets.
b	Backup will run	Indicates whether backups are always running or running only at specific times. Always: Backup is always running. Between specified times: Backup runs only at specified times. When set to run between specified times, the CrashPlan app uses the time provided by the device's operating system.
c	Preferred time for verification scan	Scans the system for file changes and deleted files within your backup selection at the interval and time of day that you specify. If the device is powered off or asleep at the scheduled scan time, the scan runs 15 minutes after the device reconnects.
d	Lock	Locks this setting to prevent users from changing it in their personal settings.
e	Push	Applies these settings to existing users in addition to new users.

File selection

device backup default file selection.png

Item	Description
a	Included files	Adds pathnames of directories that should be included in backups of devices. Pathnames are case-sensitive (see the alert below).
b	Add item	Adds the item to the Included Files list.
c	Included filenames list	Displays pathnames of directories that are included in backups. A yellow folder icon indicates a folder. A purple document icon indicates a file. If the File Selection settings are not locked, users can add to this list and to remove selections from this list. Click X to remove an item from the list.
d	Excluded files	Adds pathnames of directories that should be excluded from backups of this device.
e	Add item	Adds the item to the Excluded Files list.
f	Excluded filenames list	Displays pathnames of directories that are excluded from backups. A yellow folder icon indicates a folder. A purple document icon indicates a file. If the File Selection settings are not locked, users are allowed to add to this list, and to remove selections from this list. Click the X to remove an item from the list.
g	Lock	Locks this setting to prevent users from changing it in their personal settings.
h	Push	Applies these settings to existing users in addition to new users.

Consideration: Keep in mind that excluding previously selected files results in excluded files being deleted from the backup archive. The now-excluded files will not be available for restoring.

Included and excluded files
Inclusions are processed first, followed by exclusions. Files that are in both the inclusions and exclusions will be excluded, since the exclusion list is processed last.

Incorrect drive-letter capitalization may cause data loss
Drive letters are case sensitive. Adding a file path with incorrect capitalization of the drive letter removes all files from the backup file selection for devices with a different case drive letter. For example, adding a file path that starts with lowercase c (such as c:\Users) removes the backups of files whose actual path on disk starts with a capital C (such as C:\Users).

See also Real-time changes not detected due to case sensitivity for details about directory-name case sensitivity.

The CrashPlan app does not back up Windows UNC file paths
The CrashPlan app does not support Universal Naming Convention (UNC) file paths (for example, //SERVERNAME/shareddir/).

File selections must use an absolute path (for example, C:/) to enable backup and restore.

Only Linux devices honor case-sensitivity
Files whose names differ only in capitalization are recognized as distinct files on Linux devices when you select files for backup, as well as when you select files for download. On Windows and Mac devices, files whose names differ only in capitalization are treated as the same file. When you restore two Linux files whose names differ only in capitalization to a Windows or Mac device, the files have "original<number>" prefixed to their names to differentiate them from one another.

User profile backup

This section allows you to view or modify Windows user profile backup settings for all organizations in your CrashPlan environment.

user profile backup windows.png

Item	Description
a	Enable User Profile Backup	Enables Windows user profile backup.
b	Backup Frequency	Defines how often Windows user profiles are backed up.
c	User	Specifies a custom MigUser.xml file. When an .xml file is selected, the filename is displayed.
d	App	Specifies a custom MigApp.xml file. When an .xml file is selected, the filename is displayed.
e	Docs	Specifies a custom MigDocs.xml file. When an .xml file is selected, the filename is displayed.
f	Exclusion	Specifies a custom Custom.xml file. When an .xml file is selected, the filename is displayed.
g	Custom	Specifies a custom .xml file. When an .xml file is selected, the filename is displayed.
h	ScanState Options	Specifies command-line options for the USMT ScanState.
i	LoadState Options	Deprecated - no effect.
j	Push	Applies these settings to existing users in addition to new users.

Destinations

This section allows you to choose which destinations are used by newly added devices immediately upon first signing in.

autostart destinations.png

Selecting a destination causes new devices to automatically start backing up to it. Deselecting a destination allows users to back up to the destination by clicking Start Backup in the CrashPlan app.

When you select at least one destination, the label changes from Auto-start to Use:
use destinations.png

Source code exclusions

This selection allows you to exclude source code repositories from your backup selection.

Source code exclusions.png

Filename exclusions

filename exclusions.png

Item	Description
a	Platforms	Tabs display the filename patterns to hide.
b	Exclude files and folders ending with	Enter the filename pattern to exclude from backup.
c	Regular Expression	Enter text in the form of a regular expression (regex).
d	Add item	Adds the item to the Filename Exclusions list.
e	Import	Displays a window in which you can paste the contents of a text file that specifies the filename patterns or regex items to exclude.
f	Export	Displays a window in which you can copy the contents of the hidden files list. You can then paste these contents into your favorite text editor for editing.
g	Lock	Locks this setting to prevent users from changing it in their personal settings.
h	Push	Applies these settings to existing users in addition to new users.

Frequency and versions

Frequency and Versions.png

Item	Description
a	Frequency - Back up changes every	Indicates how often files are backed up and changed file versions are added to your archive.
b	Lock	Locks this setting to prevent users from changing it in their personal settings.
c	Push	Applies these settings to existing users in addition to new users.
d	For one week, keep a version	Indicates which versions to keep from last week (not including today).
e	After one week, keep a version	Indicates which versions to keep from last 90 days (not including last week).
f	After 90 days, keep a version	Indicates which versions to keep from last year (not including the last 90 days).
g	After one year, keep a version	Indicates which versions to keep from previous years (not including last year).
h	Remove deleted files	Period after which deleted files are removed from the archive.

Changes to frequency and version settings
Changes to frequency and version settings are applied to each backup archive after the user's device connects to the CrashPlan cloud.

Advanced settings

advanced settings.png

Item	Description
a	Back up open files	Indicates whether files that are open (in use) at the time of back up are backed up.
b	Lock	Locks this setting to prevent users from changing it in their personal settings.
c	Push	Applies these settings to existing users in addition to new users.

Advanced settings in the CrashPlan API

In version 6.8.3, the following settings were removed from Advanced settings in the CrashPlan console. These settings improve the performance and security of your CrashPlan environment and should always be enabled. You can use the CrashPlan API to enable these settings if they were disabled previously. For assistance with setting these APIs, contact your Customer Success Manager (CSM) to engage the CrashPlan Professional Services team.

For documentation of the APIs, see the appropriate section of the API Documentation Viewer:

Org: To set device backup defaults at the organization level, send the API call from /api/Org/<OrgId> .
Computer: To set device backup defaults at the device level, send the API call from /api/Computer/<computerId> .

Setting	Description
Data de-duplication	API: `dataDeDuplication` Controls data de-duplication rate. Automatic (default) - Full de-duplication is used when going over an Internet connection. Minimal is used when going direct to disk or over LAN. Full - Every effort is made to identify duplicate data. While being 100% effective, it requires a great deal of CPU power. You're sacrificing CPU and speed to save bandwidth and disk at destination. Minimal - Several methods are used to identify duplicate data. While about 90% effective, it requires far less CPU power and speeds up initial backup significantly, typically 400% on a single processor system. You can set the API only to FULL or its current value. Once you set the API's value to FULL, you cannot change it to another value.
Compression	API: `compression` Controls how the CrashPlan service compresses your backup. Compressed backups use less bandwidth and less disk space. Compression does consume some CPU, but not enough to offset overhead due to maxing out your bandwidth or I/O. Because you generally have more CPU available than bandwidth or disk I/O, you should not turn off compression. On (default) - All files are compressed. Off - No files are compressed. Automatic - Files that do not compress well or are already compressed are not compressed by the CrashPlan service. You can set the API only to On or its current value. Once you set the API's value to On, you cannot change it to another value.
Encryption enabled	API: `encryptionEnabled` Indicates whether encryption is turned on. True (default) - Encryption is turned on. False - Encryption is turned off. You can set the API only to True or its current value. Once you set the API's value to True, you cannot change it to another value.
Watch file system in real-time	API: `watchFiles` Indicates whether the CrashPlan service is constantly monitoring for file changes. True (default) - File changes are monitored in real-time. False - File changes are not monitored in real-time.

Pausing controls

Pausing Controls.png

Item	Description
a	Backup	Allow users of the CrashPlan app to pause backups. Leave unselected to remove all pause controls from the CrashPlan app.
b	Legal Hold Backup	Allow backups of files under legal hold to be paused. Leave unselected to disallow pausing of backups with files under legal hold.
c	Lock	Locks this setting to prevent users from changing it in their personal settings in the CrashPlan console.

Ensure complete backup sets
Disallowing users of the CrashPlan app from pausing backups ensures more complete sets of backed up files. If they pause backups often, users may not get complete sets of backed-up files.