Q: Can I just buy an external hard drive to backup?

Traditionally, most people go out and buy an external hard drive or NAS box for their backups. But usually what happens is, an individual will purchase the drive, move their data to the drive while deleting the original files from their computer. The drive is now used to expand their storage capacity, rather than used as a backup. If the external drive fails, there’s no way to recover the data other than through a data recovery service which can be very expensive.

Q: What’s the benefit of ArchCloud’s online backup?

The main benefit is for disaster recovery and insuring that you can recover your data. No capital is required for purchasing new equipment. There are no ongoing media costs or staff costs. Running costs are limited to paying a monthly fee. Setup and installation is a simple matter of downloading the software, and takes only a few minutes to set up. Data recovery is equally fast, as there is no searching for the right tape or waiting for IT staff to recover lost data. The backup process itself is completely automated which ensures that it gets done, and the backed up files can then be accessed via a web browser in case of computer failure. Email notifications and reports are sent to you regarding your backup activities.

Q: Can you briefly explain the idea of how the ArchCloud’s Software works?

The software consists of two parts, the client (ArchCloud Pro and Lite) and our servers. The client encrypts the data, packages it on your computer before sending it to our servers. Once it’s on our servers, it’s then replicated and backed up several more times to mitigate any loss or recovery to your data.

Q: I have lost my encryption key, can you send it to me?

Your encryption key is never sent to our servers. We cannot help you retrieve it. The files that were backed up with your lost encryption key cannot be restored. You should create a new backup set with a new key and immediately backup your files.
It is extremely important to keep the key safe.

Q: When I change my password, does it change the encryption key?

Changing your password does not alter the encryption key in anyway. It is very important to keep the encryption key in a asafe place and is retrievable when needed, in case you format your computer.

Q: What are Off-line backup, Logout backup reminder and Local backup features?

Off-line Backup is basically designed for notebook users who are off-line most of the time, and cannot rely on backup schedule to backup regularly. The backup interval allows notebook users to specify the interval that they would like their data to backup. If this interval has elapsed, backup will run automatically once this machine is online.

Logout Backup Reminder asks user if they would like to backup if they logout of the computer or shutdown their computer.

Local Backup allows an extra copy of backup file to be kept on local hard disk when backup is running.

Q: What is the retention area?

The retention area is space used to store older versions of files and files that you have deleted from your computer. Whenever a file is changed on your computer the client copies the new version to our servers and moves the previously backed up version to the retention area. When you delete a file from your computer the client moves the backup copy to the retention area. Old files remain in the retention area according to the policy set in your backup set. By default old files remain in the retention area for 7 days. Files in the retention area can be restored by selecting an older version of a file when selecting files to be restored.

Q: How does Volume Shadow Copy work?

Volume Shadow Copy (VSS) technology is built into Windows XP and Windows 2003 and newer operating systems. It allows open files to be copied by creating a virtual copy of a file while it is being backed up. The file can remain open and continue to be accessed by other programs while the backup is running. Once the shadow copy is created subsequent updates to the file are not included in the backup, however, they are written to the original file as normal.

For more information see: http://technet2.microsoft.com/WindowsServer/en/library/2b0d2457-b7d8-42c3-b6c9-59c145b7765f1033.mspx?mfr=true

Q: How do I install ArchCloud Pro on a Sun Solaris Unix Machine?

Assumptions: You have root access and J2SE Java Runtime Environment (JRE) 1.4.x or later is installed to the following directory: /usr/java
1. Unpack the acp-nix.tar.gz package to the following directory: /usr/local/acp

Example:
>mkdir /usr/local/acp
>cd /usr/local/acp
>tar -zxvf acp-nix.tar.gz

2. Remove the bundled Java virtual machine that is bundled with the client.

Example:
>rm -rf /usr/local/acp/jvm

3. Create a symbolic link to the J2SE Java Runtime Environment (JRE) that was previously installed.

Example:
>ln -s /usr/java /usr/local/apc/jvm

4. Install ArchCloud Pro with the following command:

Example:
>./bin/install.sh > install.log