Active Backup for Business Backup 2 instances

[reagelda]

Hello,

How can I make a physical server doing a ABB backup for 2 different locations?

I want it to run a ABB backup instance to a local NAS and other instance to a remote NAS? Is it possible?


Best Regards,

 

[fredbert]

I don't think that this is possible. The local ABB client is connected to one server name / IP address.

Two thoughts:

1. Try to run a second instance of the client: rename the programme or run in a second logged in user account.
   1. On Mac this is possible for some applications, but ABB client has background resources and snapshots running.
   2. Might be the same on whatever OS you are using.
2. Connect ABB to a FQDN and have a [local?] DNS service that periodically switches the resolution from a local IP to the remote IP.
   1. Haven't got any idea how to achieve this, but might be possible.
   2. Needs the same certificates on both ABB servers, otherwise the connection will fail.
   3. No idea how the local background processing will react to this. Probably badly.

I would go with it won't work. Unless someone says that ABB client and server have a built-in mechanism for multiple servers.

You might want to consider backing up the local ABB server resources to the remote. I think that is best done using Snapshot Replication rather than Hyper Backup, but I've not done it. @Rusty has posted about this approach in the past.

 

[Rusty]

I think that is best done using Snapshot Replication rather than Hyper Backup, but I've not done it

While HB can do it, it won't cover all metadata, so in case of Active Backup for M365 restore will not be 100% functional. The same applies to ABB, so indeed the best option would be to use SR.

Did it a few days ago as migration steps for decommissioning one of my RS devices for another. Migration steps are simple. Make sure that no backup is running on the source, set up the SR job, wait until it is completed, and then delete the job to release the destination copy from RO mode.

After that, the ABB package on the destination side will detect a new storage source and begin importing. Once that is done, update the ABB agents (if needed), and in most cases, signing out will not be enough to switch to another ABB server. There will be an error pointing in (wrong) direction of the duplicate machine. Reinstalling the agent will solve the issue.

Jobs will then pick up where they left off.

Two thoughts

I like the 1st one better and maybe it has a higher rate of success, but somehow I am not sure (haven't tested it), as there are security elements that need to be unlocked upon installing the agent, that I don't know how the macOS system would handle. Also, ABB is image-based, so on the Windows side, VSS pushing the same data to two different locations at the same time, maybe, really have no idea how that would work (if at all).