Protecting File Systems

Overview

Storware Backup & Recovery provides file-level protection for Windows, Linux, and macOS systems through OS Agents installed on the protected machines.

Backup policies define which directories and files are protected, when backups run, and how long backups are retained. Full and incremental backups are supported, with an optional secondary backup destination for additional copies.

Supported Operating Systems

Platform	Supported versions
Windows	Windows 10, Windows 11, Windows Server 2016, 2019, and 2022
Linux	Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 and 9, CentOS Stream 9, Ubuntu 22.04 and 24.04
macOS	macOS 13 Ventura, 14 Sonoma, and 15 Sequoia

Supported Features

Feature	Windows	Linux	macOS
Full backup	Supported	Supported	Supported
Incremental backup	Supported	Supported	Supported
Secondary backup destination	Supported	Supported	Supported
Maximum protected objects per Agent instance	5 million	5 million	5 million

Requirements

Before installing an OS Agent, ensure that:

• The protected machine runs a supported operating system.

• A Storware Node is available and reachable from the protected machine.

• The installer or package repository matches the operating system and the Storware Backup & Recovery release being deployed.

• Credentials for a Storware Backup & Recovery account authorized to register the Agent are available.

Network Access

The OS Agent connects to the Storware Node using the following port:

Source	Destination	Port	Purpose
OS Agent	Storware Node	TCP 15900	Agent communication

On Nodes using firewalld, allow this connection:

firewall-cmd --permanent --add-port=15900/tcp
firewall-cmd --reload

Apply the rule to the firewall zone used by the interface accessible to the Agent.

Install and Register the Agent

Linux

Configure the Storware package repository appropriate for the operating system and target release before installing the Agent.

For Red Hat Enterprise Linux and supported compatible distributions:

dnf install sbr-osagent

For Ubuntu:

apt-get update
apt-get install sbr-osagent

Register the Agent with the Storware Node:

osac -r <LOGIN> https://<NODE_ADDRESS>:15900

Replace:

• <LOGIN> with the Storware Backup & Recovery account used for registration.

• <NODE_ADDRESS> with the Node’s hostname or IP address.

Enter the account password when prompted.

Start the Agent service:

systemctl start sbr-osagent

Windows

Prerequisites

Install the Microsoft Visual C++ 2015–2019 Redistributable (x64) required by the OS Agent before running the installer.

Download the OS Agent MSI package for the target release from the Storware Windows repository.

Interactive Installation

1. Run the OS Agent .msi installer.

2. Provide the registration details:

Field	Description
Node address	Hostname or IP address of the Storware Node.
Login	Storware Backup & Recovery account used for registration.
Password	Password for the specified account.

1. Complete the installation.

Unattended Installation

Run the installer from an elevated command prompt:

msiexec.exe /i "Installer.msi" ADDRESS="https://<NODE_ADDRESS>:15900" LOGIN="<LOGIN>" PASSWORD="<PASSWORD>" /qn /L*v "osagent-install.log"

Parameter	Description
ADDRESS	Storware Node endpoint used for Agent registration.
LOGIN	Storware Backup & Recovery account used for registration.
PASSWORD	Password for the specified account.
/qn	Runs the installation without a user interface.
/L*v	Writes a verbose installation log to the specified file.

Ensure that the Node is reachable before starting. If installation fails, review the installation log.

Configure a Backup Policy

Go to Agents → Backup Policies and create or edit a policy.

Define at least one include rule to specify the data to protect. Add exclude rules when particular files or directories must be omitted.

The Agent first scans the file system using the include rules, then applies the exclude rules to matching items. Items matching an exclude rule are not backed up.

Rule Settings

Each rule contains:

Setting	Description
Directory pattern	Path or pattern identifying the directories to scan.
Recursive	Includes the contents of subdirectories. Without this option, scanning is limited to the selected directory; subdirectory contents are not included.
File name patterns	One or more patterns identifying files to include or exclude. Separate multiple patterns with commas. A match against any pattern is sufficient.

Use \ as the directory separator on Windows and / on Linux.

Pattern matching is case-insensitive on Windows and case-sensitive on Linux.

Pattern Matching

Pattern	Meaning
*	Matches any sequence of characters.
?	Matches zero or one character.
**	Matches directories recursively. Available in directory patterns only.

Directory Pattern Examples

Windows	Linux	Purpose
C:\Users\*\Desktop	/home/*/Desktop	Matches users’ Desktop directories.
C:\Users\?oo\Desktop	/home/?oo/Desktop	Matches Desktop directories under user names such as foo or goo.
C:\**\logs	/**/logs	Matches directories named logs at any depth below the specified root.

Use the Recursive option to include subdirectory contents within the matched directories.

File Name Pattern Examples

Pattern	Purpose
*	Matches all file names.
*.txt	Matches files with the .txt extension.
*.pdf,*.docx	Matches files with either extension.
.*	Matches names beginning with a dot, commonly used for hidden files on Linux.
a?c	Matches names such as ac and abc.

Configure a Secondary Backup Destination

A secondary backup destination stores an additional copy of a backup. Configure at least two backup destinations before enabling this option.

1. Go to Agents → Backup Policies.

2. Create or edit an OS Agent backup policy.

3. Open the Rule tab.

4. Select Enable Secondary Backup Destination.

5. Select the secondary destination and configure its retention.

6. Save the policy.

Windows Backups Using VSS

On Windows, the OS Agent can use Volume Shadow Copy Service (VSS) to read files from a file system snapshot.

The Agent creates the snapshot before reading the protected data and releases it after the backup completes.

Configure the response to snapshot creation failures in Agents → Backup Policies → Edit Policy → Backup process:

Option	Behavior
Fail backup	Stops the operation and marks the backup task as failed.
Use a regular copy	Continues by copying files directly from the live file system.
Use a regular copy with a warning	Continues with a regular file copy and reports a warning when the task completes.

A regular file copy does not provide the same snapshot-based view of the data. Select the failure behavior appropriate for the protected workload.

Verify Protection

After configuring the Agent and policy:

1. Run an initial backup.

2. Confirm that the task completes successfully.

3. Verify that the expected files are included and exclusions are applied correctly.

4. Perform a test restore.

Archive an OS Agent

To archive an Agent, click Archive in the Agent instances list or the Agent details view.

Archived Agents cannot run further backups. The available actions are Restore, Download, and Delete.

Important: Archiving is permanent. An archived Agent cannot be returned to an active state.

Limitations

• Each OS Agent instance supports a maximum of 5,000,000 protected objects.

• When using Dell Data Domain as the backup destination, local disk storage is strongly recommended for the Node’s staging space.

• The following Linux file system objects are not supported:

Object type	Description
Symbolic links	References to other files or directories.
Character devices	Special files providing character-based device access.
Block devices	Special files representing disks and block devices.
Sockets	File system objects used for inter-process communication.
Named pipes / FIFOs	File system objects used for communication through a pipe.