Knowledge Center

File Server

You can add new file servers, create backup tasks, manage file servers, and open the recovery portal on this page.

Note:

  • Refer to Microsoft's TechNet official website to learn how to share folders on a Microsoft Windows server. Refer to this article by Linux to learn how to set up rsync on a Linux server.
  • To use SMB to transfer files, make sure that port 139 (netbios-ssn), 445 (microsoft-ds), 137 (Nmbd), or 138 (Nmbd) are enabled on your source server.
  • To back up another Synology NAS using SMB, sign in to the source Synology NAS, go to Control Panel > File Services > SMB/AFP/NFS, tick the Enable SMB service checkbox, and then click Apply.
  • Due to the different backup formats used by file servers, the size shown in Overview is the size of the source data instead of the size after deduplication. You can view the actual usage at Storage Manager > Volume.

Create Backup Tasks

Depending on your source, you can create SMB Backup or rsync Backup tasks.

To add a file server:

Before creating a backup task for a file server, you will need to connect to a file server first.

  1. Go to File Server > File Servers and click Add Server to connect to a file server.
  2. Select your server type and click Next.
  3. Enter the following information of the server depending on the server type you selected and click Apply.
    • For SMB server: Enter your Server address, Account, and Password.

      Note:

      • Ensure that My Network Places is enabled on the SMB server.
      • Ensure that the file server permission settings are properly configured. You can refer to Requirements and Limitations for more information on the required file server permissions.
    • For rsync server: Enter your Server address, Port, and Account, and select Connection Mode and Authentication method from the drop-down menus.
      • rsync backup offers three connection modes:
        • rsync module mode (offers data transmission without encryption)
        • rsync shell mode over SSH
        • rsync module mode over SSH.
      • rsync backup offers two authentication methods:
        • By password
        • By SSH key
    • For NetApp File server: Enter your Server address, Account, and Password.

      Note:

      • Ensure that the NetApp file server samba service and permission settings are properly configured. Refer to Create an SMB share by NetApp for details.
    • For Nutanix File server: Enter your Server address, Account, and Password.

      Note:

To create a backup task:

  1. In File Server > File Servers, select the file server you wish to back up and click Create Task.
  2. Select your backup mode:
    • Multi-versioned: Each time the task runs, changes made in the source will be completely copied to a new folder at the destination.

      Note: For Linux sources, block transfers can be configured at a later stage in the setup.

    • Mirroring: Each time the task runs, all changes made in the source folder will be copied to the destination, overwriting any existing files and creating a complete mirror image of the source.
    • Incremental: Each time the task runs, newly added and modified files in the source will be copied to the destination, overwriting previous versions of the files.

      • To learn about the differences in the final backup files on DSM for the three different backup modes, refer to the following table:

  3. Click Next to continue.
  4. Select from the following four options to specify which data you would like to transfer:
    • None of the subordinate folders or files in this folder will be backed up.
    • All subordinate folders and files in this folder will be backed up.
    • Only the subordinate folders you have selected in this folder will be backed up.
    • The files in this folder and the subordinate folders you have selected will be backed up.
  5. Click Next to continue.
  6. Enter your Task name and Local path, and set a Schedule for your backup task.
    • If you are configuring rsync Backup, you have the option of configuring Bandwidth as well as enabling compression and block transfer.
  7. If you selected Multi-versioned as your backup mode, you can set up a Retention Policy to manage backup versions and free up storage space by automatically deleting unwanted versions.
    • Number of latest versions to keep: Specify the number of the latest versions to retain.
    • Keep all versions for: Retain all versions backed up within a certain number of days.
    • Advanced retention policy: Versions can be kept for longer periods but your storage space can be saved at the same time. Click Set Rules to edit the retention rules.
      • You can set multiple rules and customize the retention policy according to your needs.
        • Specify the days on which all versions backed up versions will be saved.
        • Advanced retention policy also allows you to keep the latest versions of a different time frame for certain periods. You can choose how long the daily, weekly, monthly, and yearly versions will be retained in the system. For example, Keep the latest version of the week for "7" weeks means that the system will retain the last version during a week for seven weeks after it is backed up.
        • You will also need to set the Number of the latest versions to keep. If there are fewer versions than the specified number, the retention policy will not take effect. This is a required field.
      • Advanced retention policy employs the Long-Term Retention Policy (GFS).
      • A version can meet more than one retention rule at a time. For example, a version can be retained by the weekly retention rule and daily retention rule at the same time.

    Example:

    It's October now and you have a backup schedule that backs up once every day. If you are planning for a retention policy that covers the past nine months and want to keep the following versions, refer to the example image:

    • Daily versions for the first 3 months (September, August, and July)
    • Weekly versions for the 4th to 6th months (June, May, and April)
    • Monthly versions for the 7th to 9th months (March, February, and January)
    • 10 latest versions


    A version can meet more than one retention rule. Therefore, the first weekly version can also be the seventh daily version, and the first monthly version can also be the fourth weekly version.

    Setting the Number of latest versions to keep prevents the retention policy from deleting all versions when the system stops backing up your device, and the 10 latest versions will be the daily versions backed up in the past 10 days.

  8. Click Done and then click Yes to backup immediately, regardless of the schedule.

Note:

  • Files will not be backed up by Active Backup for Business under the following circumstances:
    • The file/folder path is longer than 4096 bytes.
    • The file/folder name is longer than 255 bytes.
    • The file/folder name is " . " or " .. "
    • The file/folder name contains @ActiveBackup or target.db.
    • The file/folder is in an encrypted shared folder, and the file/folder name is longer than 135 characters.
  • SMB Backup does not support Microsoft accounts.
  • SMB Backup does not back up junction points.
  • SMB Backup supports Windows Volume Shadow Copy Service (VSS) to ensure data consistency. Windows VSS is supported on Windows Server 2012 and above. By enabling VSS on the Windows server, Active Backup for Business can create a volume shadow copy of VSS-aware server applications that store data on remote SMB file shares.
  • Administrative shared folders (e.g., C$, D$) do not support Windows VSS by default.
  • Authentication by SSH key will require an SSH key. Supported key types include rsa2, dsa, ecdsa, and ed25519, while rsa1 and SSH keys with a passphrase are not supported.
  • The /photo folder cannot be selected as the backup destination.

Manage File Servers

To edit a file server:

You can edit the information of your file servers, including the server address, port, account, and password.

  1. In File Servers, select the desired device.
  2. Click Edit to modify the device's information.

To delete a file server:

  1. In File Servers, select the desired device.
  2. Click Delete to remove the device from the list.

To browse and restore backed up files:

  1. In File Servers, click Open Recovery Portal.
  2. The Active Backup for Business Portal will be launched, allowing you to browse the files that have been backed up from your file servers.
Create Backup Tasks
Manage File Servers