Source:How to use CIFS share (NAS) as data store and how to back up data from CIFS share

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Docs latest icon.png Welcome to the latest SEP sesam documentation version 4.4.3 to 4.4.3 Tigon V2. For previous documentation version(s), check Documentation archive.


Overview

Quick Start 3.png
Quick setup
  1. Create on the storage/target side a backup user with read/write access on the volumes you want to back up.
  2. Create the same user with the same password at the backup server.
  3. Put this user to the group administrators.
  4. Go to Services.msc, edit the SEP sesam service and set start as <user_name> you created before.
  5. Restart the sesam service.
  6. Create local backup tasks. Example: //QNAP/media/* and turn off VSS.


SEP Warning.png Warning
Do not use CIFS share for deduplication!

SEP sesam provides efficient backup from as well as to Network Attached Storage (NAS) devices, such as QNap and Synology, which support data transmission through the CIFS protocol. You can use SEP sesam to save your data to CIFS shares (by creating a data store) or to back up your files on CIFS shares to another storage. Note that an Si3 deduplication data store is not supported for backing up to CIFS shares.

Using a CIFS share as a backup repository

If you want to use a CIFS share as a data store, follow the configuration steps below.

Prerequisites

  • Make sure that the volume, which is going to be used as a data store, is dedicated to the SEP sesam data store exclusively and not shared by other users or applications!
  • Ensure maximum network connection stability between the SEP sesam Server and your CIFS share.

1. Creating a new backup user

  1. Create a new backup user <user_name> on your network-attached storage (NAS) device with read/write access on the volumes you want to back up.
  2. Create the same user <user_name> with the same password at the backup server.
  3. Put the newly created user to the Administrators group.

2. Setting SEP sesam service permission

To be able to back up to CIFS or from CIFS shares, the SEP sesam service has to run as a local Administrator account. By default, SEP sesam starts as a local System account, which does not have access to network drives.

Information sign.png Note
It might be necessary to use the Domain Admin account (WINDOWS_DOMAIN/Administrator), if the target is a domain member.
  1. Run services.msc to open the Services Manager.
  2. In the details pane, double-click the SEP sesam service to open the Properties.
  3. Switch to the Log On tab to specify the user account that the SEP sesam service will use and select This account. Then specify the <user_name> account and type the password for this account in the Password and Confirm password fields. Click OK to save the changes.
  4. SEP sesam properties.png
  5. After setting up service permission, restart SEP sesam service.

3. Checking access to the CIFS share

To check the access to the CIFS share, log in with the <user_name> which you have just configured in the service settings. Check if you can access the share by using Explorer via UNC path as shown in the screenshot below. In our example, the storage is represented as \\sepnap.sep.de\winfix. Backup cifs2.jpg

Information sign.png Note
  • When checking the access with the Explorer, you must not be prompted to provide a username and/or password. Ensure that no authentication is required to enable SEP sesam to access the network share without any problems.
  • When sharing a folder for CIFS backup on a newer Windows system, you need to have a user with the same credentials as the SEP sesam service user on the machine that serves the share.
  • The CIFS share should not be mapped as a network drive at the same time!
  • The $ symbols are recommended but not required.

Configuration

Configure a data store to backup to CIFS share

In order to create a data store which can be able to back up to a CIFS share, the drive, which gets configured for a data store, has to point to the network share like shown in this screenshot:

File:Backup cifs3.jpg

In this example, the data store should back up to \\sepnap.sep.de\winfix$. The capacity cannot be set during creation. Upon the first backup to this data store, the free space on the CIFS share will be added to the data stores information!

Configure a regular media pool for backup to CIFS shares

Just like the data store, a media pool location simply points to a certain UNC Path, in this example, the location we want to back up to is \\sepnap.sep.de\winfix$:

File:Backup cifs4.jpg

Start Backup

Starting a backup to the create data store will result in folders and files to be created. If the backup fails with a WIN32 API Error: Access denied, the sesam server still has issues accessing the UNC Path correctly.

Troubleshooting

If a backup fails, check the following topics:

  • Does the service really run as local Administrator account?
  • Can you create files in the directory via the systems explorer?
  • Enough free space on the CIFS share to store enough data?
  • Is the same share you want to back up to mapped to some kind drive name?

See also

Configuring a Data StoreConfiguring a Media PoolStandard Backup ProcedureNetApp-CIFS-Backup