The Retrospect backup system

BCS & CVS operate two Retrospect backup servers to perform regular backups of computers in the departments. One server handles computers located within Meliora Hall, the other handles computers outside of Meliora Hall.

Laptops and select desktops are backed up Monday-Friday between 8:30am and 6pm. Desktops are backed up the rest of the time, including on weekends.

All data transmission and storage is encrypted, and NOBODY has access to the backed up data besides myself.

Computers within Meliora Hall *must* be on the department's wired network to be backed up. It is not possible for us to back up computers on any of the various wifi networks within the building.

Backup data is retained for ~9-12 months before the storage media are erased and reused. Data from any of the backups made of your computer during that time can be restored back to your computer.

What gets backed up?

Computers within Meliora Hall and laptops located outside of Meliora Hall are backed up in their entirety (with the exception of any "nobackup" folders the server finds...see below). Desktops outside of Meliora Hall (ie: URMC systems) often have separate boot and data drives...Retrospect treats these differently. Boot drives will always be backed up, but data drives will only be backed up upon request of the user.

If a folder with the name "nobackup" is found on a computer, that folder will be ignored by the backup server irregardless of where it may be. If you have files you don't want backed up (or shouldn't be backed up), create "nobackup" folders as-needed and place the files in them. The server will also automatically ignore iTunes music folders and Dropbox-related folders.

Installing the Retrospect Client

To have your computer(s) backed up by the system, you need to install the Retrospect Client software on your computer(s).

Mac OS X

1. Download the client installation software here (only accessible from on-campus):

Mac OSX Retrospect client 15.6

2. Double-click the disk image to expand it. Then, run the "Install OSX Client" installer.

3. When the install ends, you should be shown the 'Retrospect Client' application. Click the 'On' button to turn on backups. When asked for a password, enter something simple (like 'chris').

4. During the install, OSX may ask if you want to allow the Retrospect software through OS X's network firewall. You want to allow this.

5. If you're running MacOS 10.14 Mojave, there's an additional step necessary to ensure full backups:

• Open "System Preferences" under the Apple at the top left of your screen.

• Click on "Security & Privacy" then "Privacy". You should see "Full Disk Access" at the bottom left corner of the screen.

• Click on the lock to authenticate and allow changes
• You need to add two Retrospect apps to the "Full Disk Access" folder. They are:
  • /Library/PreferencePanes/Retrospect Client /Library/Application Support/Retrospect/RetrospectInstantScan
• To add these folders, click on the "+" button and use the file dialog box to navigate to them. The Library folder is located at the root level of your hard drive, NOT the Library folder inside your own home folder.

5) Once you've finished the install, let me know what the password is and I'll take care of things on my end (the password gets changed when I add the computer to the backup server).

Windows

1) Download the client installation software (only accessible from on-campus):

Windows Retrospect client 15.6

2) Double-click the download and run the installer.

3) During the install, Windows may ask if you want to allow the Retrospect software through Windows' network firewall. You want to allow this.

4) You'll also be asked to enter a password. Just enter something simple, like 'chris'. Once you've finished the install, let me know what the password is and I'll take care of things on my end (the password gets changed when I add the computer to the backup server).

Troubleshooting

If you find your computer running slowly after you install the Retrospect software, it may be due to a process the client runs that maintains a database of what needs to be backed up. It's usually only a problem on older computers (those running Core2Duo processors and older). This process, called Instant Scan, can be disabled in the client to restore system performance.

On a Mac, go into System Preferences, and click on the Retrospect Client preference pane while holding down the Command key. This will display an extra tab in the preference pane called 'Advanced'. In this tab, you can disable Instant Scan.

On a Windows PC, open the Retrospect Client control panel. Once open, press CONTROL-A to force the 'Advanced' tab to appear. In this tab, you can disable Instant Scan.