NovaStor DataCenter
Quick Start Guide

Make sure that you have a valid NovaStor DataCenter license available.

NovaStor DataCenter can neither be tested nor operated productively without a valid license.

• “CmdSrv...” Execute installer
• Ensure that an up-to-date web browser is set as the default browser, e.g. Chrome, Firefox, Opera or Edge.
• Now start the NovaStor DataCenter user interface by double-clicking on the “DC Web Console” desktop icon.
• Log in with the user name “admin” and password “admin”.
• Web browser communication is encrypted via HTTPS.
• As long as you do not install a valid web certificate, the browser will inform you of the security risk. Click on “Advanced” and accept the risk. The browser remembers and skips this selection for all future login sessions.
• You are now on the NovaStor DataCenter dashboard with the navigation bar on the left-hand side.
• You can switch between the German and English user interface at any time by clicking on the country flag at the top left.

The following steps are only required if you want to selectively back up files or applications from other physical or virtual machines.

• Install the “Client...” installer on all relevant systems
• Go back to the NovaStor DataCenter user interface
• Switch to “Server administration” via the main navigation bar on the left
• You will now see the command/backup server that is already logged in
• Click on the “Add node” button at the top left
• In the “Host” field, enter either the host name or the IP address of the machine on which you have installed the client and then click on the “Search” button below.
• Once the node has been found, click on the “Add” button at the bottom right
• Repeat this process until all machines on which you have installed the client are logged into the server administration.

If you want to back up VMware VMs, a VMware proxy must also be configured

• Open the node that is to act as a proxy
  
  • Typically, the backup server is used for this
  • Must be a Windows machine
• Click on the “VMware proxy configuration” button in the middle.
• In the active “VMware proxy configuration” window, click on the “+” symbol on the right
• Ideally, you should now enter the access data of a user with admin/root rights to the vCenter or ESX host
  
  • only admins have VM restore rights
• If the click on the “Test” button was successful, complete the process with “Save”
• Now NovaStor DataCenter can communicate with VMware for backups/restores

First, SMTP settings must be configured in order to be able to send e-mails

• Select “Settings” in the main navigation bar on the left and go to the following tab:
  
  • Settings >> Application settings >> Mail
• Enter the access data for your SMTP server here and complete the process by clicking the “Save” button.
• The “Sender name” field is a free text field and represents the e-mail sender name
• To test whether the configuration works, send a test e-mail by entering your e-mail address in the “Test e-mail” field and clicking on “Send”.

An e-mail must now be entered for the “admin” user

• Select “Settings” in the main navigation bar on the left and go to the following tab:
  
  • Settings >> User settings >> User
• Enter the e-mail address of the NovaStor DataCenter administrator under “E-mail address” and complete the process by clicking the “Save” button.
• From now on NovaStor DataCenter can send system messages and report e-mails

Configure system notifications

• System notifications are always sent by e-mail immediately when the event is triggered
• Go one tab further to the right to “Notification”
• Activate the “E-mail notification” checkbox for the type of messages for which you want to be notified.

Set up reports

• Any number of reports can be configured and sent by e-mail on a schedule
• For example, you can send a daily e-mail report that gives you a quick and detailed overview of the status of all jobs in the last 24 hours
• Select “Settings” in the main navigation bar on the left and go to the following tab:
  
  • Reporting >> Job Reports
• Click on the “+ Add” button at the top of the “Reports” table
• In the “Add report” window, you will now find 3 tabs that you can use to configure an individual report step by step.

This example sets up a backup job for backing up Hyper-V VMs.

Select “Backup scheme” in the main navigation bar on the left

Create backup job

• Click on the “+” symbol at the top of the “Backup task” box on the left
  
  • Now you can select what you want to back up in the “01 Backup type” area and select “Hyper-V backup”
  • In the next section “02 Backup Set”, select
    
    • Under “Server”, select the Hyper-V node where the VMs to be backed up are located
    • click on the “Browse” button and select the VMs to be backed up and confirm with the “OK” button
    • select the desired “Backup scheme”. Incremental” is recommended to keep the backups fast and small
    • In the next section “03 Schedule”, create a schedule using the “Set up new schedule” button, which you can then select again later for other jobs
      
      • The schedule defines when the backup of the selected VMs is executed automatically
      • You can ignore all other options in this area
    • You can ignore the next section “04 Order options” if you do not require any of the options offered
    • In the last section “05 Job description” you only need to enter the “Job name”, e.g. “Hyper-V”
    • Complete the process by clicking on the “Save” button at the bottom right
    • You will now see a box containing all the important information about your backup job

Set up backup storage destination

• Click on the gray dashed box “Add backup destination” to the right of the backup task
• There is no backup destination to choose from yet. Therefore, click on the “Set up new destination” button on the right
• Under “01 Target type” you have 2 media pool types to choose from. The image pool should be selected for backing up VMs
• In the next section “02 Storage selection”, first select the “Backup server” that manages your storage target
• Then click on the “Browse” button, select the target drive/folder and save the selection using the “Save” button at the bottom right
• In the next section “03 Storage”, use the 3 selection fields to define the following:
  
  • How long should the backups be kept on the storage target
  • The “Retention schedule” defines when the process is started and all older backups are automatically removed
• In the last section “04 Target description”, you only need to enter a name for the target storage, e.g. “Backup storage”
• Complete the process by clicking on the “Save” button at the bottom right
• You will now see a 2nd box that is connected to the backup task box and contains all the important information about the backup memory
• Now you can start the first backup job via the “Start backup job” icon in the backup job box at the top right

Set up backup copy (optional)

• You can use “Backup level 2” to set up a copy destination in the same way as you previously set up the backup storage destination
• This could be, for example, a removable storage unit that is regularly outsourced in order to have a copy of all business-critical data available outside the business premises in case of an emergency
• See 3-2-1 Backup strategy