Overview
Repositories are predefined storage areas that act as the destination for backups created by the SiteBackup Agent and are required to schedule backups using Macrium SiteBackup.
A repository is a storage location with a standardized folder layout and some tracking information. Each repository contains backup information such as the storage location, network access information, credentials required to access the resource, and other basic storage management.
Creating a Local Repository
Repositories are created and managed on the 'Repositories' page of SiteBackup. If there are no existing repositories, a quick help page is shown instead:
Clicking on 'New Repository' will open the 'Add Repository' wizard.
Repository Type
The first page of the 'Add Repository' is used to select the type of repository that will be created. Which repository type is most relevant, will likely depend on the storage infrastructure that is available. There are four types of repository that can be created:
Network Share - Any Windows or SMB share may be used as repository storage. Read more about creating a network share repository here.
Amazon AWS Storage Gateway - If an AWS Storage Gateway is available, it can be used as a repository backend. Read more about Amazon AWS Storage Gateway repositories here.
Azure Storage Account - If Azure storage has been configured to be exposed as an SMB share in Azure, it can be directly used as a repository. Read more about creating an Azure Storage Account repository here.
Local Repository - Storage that is directly managed by the SiteBackup Agent computer can be used as a repository. Each system that is configured to back up to one of these repositories will back up to the local path specified.
Local Repository Limitations
Because each computer evaluates the local repository path separately, the SiteBackup server cannot provide most management features for a local repository.
This includes browsing, image verification, free space and status monitoring, SiteBackup initiated restores, and remote synchronization.
Repository browsing and restores should be done from the managed computer or using the rescue media.
Authentication
Information required for each computer to back up to the local repository is specified on the second page of the wizard, including the path that will be written to, and credentials that will be used by the SiteBackup Agents to access the local repository.
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Option
|
Description
|
|---|---|
| Path |
This is a path that is local to each computer that is configured to back up to this repository. The computer will attempt to back up to the specified path, whether it exists or not. If the path does not exist, the backup will fail. Example: E:\LocalRepo |
| Authentication |
Here you will input the authentication credentials that are needed to access the local repository. Since the credentials used may be an account local to each computer that is backed up, the credentials will not be validated by SiteBackup when the repository is created. The user is required to have read and write access to the repository so that the backup may be created and retention rules can be applied. If the field is left blank anonymous access will be used.
|
Configuration
Additional options for the repository can be specified on the final page of the wizard:
The available options are:
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Option
|
Description
|
|---|---|
| Custom Name | A name that will be displayed in the SiteBackup interface for this repository. If left blank, it will default to the network path of the repository. |
| Purge oldest backup set(s) |
An optional value that will delete your old backups once the free space has reached a defined threshold. This setting is independent of any retention rules configured in backup definitions and applies to all activity to this repository.
|
| Retry connection on credential failure |
This option will cause SiteBackup to treat credential failures like normal network errors and retry the repository connection on credential failures. This can be useful as Windows can incorrectly report network issues as credential failures. By default, SiteBackup will not retry credential failures automatically to prevent the possibility of locking accounts due to an incorrect password. |
| Simultaneous Scheduled Backups | This value sets the number of backups that can be performed to the repository simultaneously. The default value is 1, but it can be increased to a maximum of 60. |
Select 'Finish' to complete the repository configuration. Once the repository has been created, it will be displayed in the list of existing repositories:
To read more about managing existing repositories, please see this article.