Since the image library scattered across different computers was around 2TB in size, we chose QNAP 459PRO II. In RAID 5 configuration the total usable size of the system filled with 3TB hard drive is slightly under 9TBs. This way there is enough room to grow and the price tag is under $1500.

After initial configuration of the system, we’ve created a share and gave domain users right to write to it, then enabled RSYNC backups to the NAS:

Home –> Application Servers–> Backup Server

Create a user-name and password for authentication purposes – this will prevent unauthorized RSYNC access.

After this we’ve downloaded and install RSYNC for Windows called DeltaCopy which was isntalled into the root of the drive C:\ on all workstations where files had been stored. Now it is time configure the DeltaCopy client to connect to the QNAP Backup server.

Click on “Add new profile” and fill Profile name, IP address and Virtual Directory Name. Now here is what you need to know: “Virtual Directory Name” is where you put in the name of the share where you want to store the files on the QNAP. In our case it was called “backups”.

Next – add the folder that you want to sync to the QNAP (in our case the files we want to backup are in G:\CAMERA).

Next you tab into the OPTIONS screen and uncheck “remove deleted files from server“. If this setting is checked, next time you remove a file from your folder and the sync runs – the removed files will also be removed from the QNAP!

In AUTHENTICATION tab enter the same username and password that you’ve entered on QNAP in “Backup server” properties.

The last piece of this simple puzzle is to automate the entire process. However, if you try to use the built-in scheduler and find out that the job never runs – you may want to modify the schedule as outlined below.

Here is how a typical, automatically created schedule task looks like. In the line where it says “C:\DeltaCopy\Images.dcp” we need to change the line so it looks like this: C:\DeltaCopy\DeltaC.exe Images.dcp

Once you change that line, provide your account credentials and save the schedule  task – it will run at whatever day and time you’ve specified.

Viola! You have working RSYNC from a workstation to your network attached QNAP storage device!

Such configuration will make future QNAP offerings the perfect backup storage and low cost iSCSI expansion storage. For example ability to write data quickly via iSCSI over multiple nics to SAS drives will make backup times with Veeam faster as one will be able to push several backup streams at the same time without fear of QNAP being the bottleneck.

We are eagerly awaiting on the announcement of the new devices which is expected to happen around end of October or beginning of November of 2011.

New features and improvements which will be important to small businesses are these:
1 – built-in virus scanning with ClamAV – an Open Source anti-virus solution widely used on computers and servers. The virus signature database is automatically updated on regular schedule and is then used during the scheduled scans of the content on the NAS.

2 – iSCSI snapshots now allow backups of iSCSI served volumes without a fear of inconsistent data state or major performance loss. The snapshot backup can then be restored in with a few clicks in through web-management interface. The one really important feature is the ability to restore to a separate LUN instead of overwriting the current one. This way two copies (current with possibly bad data and backed up version) can be brought online for examination if needed.

3 – Service binding which allows assigning specific protocols and functions to a particular network interface on the device. This is really useful for those who are using QNAP for public access (FTP, web file management, website hosting, etc).

4 – RADIUS network authentication and account control. This significantly improves security in small business networks that do not have specialized security systems for controlling network access and account logins.

5 – External hard drive encryption will now allow for safer off-site data storage. If an organization is using external drives to keep a copy of important data outside of their premise – the data used to be stored in a clear (unencrypted) state. This made it easily readable to anyone with a physical access to the hard drive. With firmware 3.5 this data can now be encrypted, so if the drive is stolen or otherwise obtained by a person with malicious intent – he or she will not be able to read the data. Replication of data to the external drive has also been improved with more options and more flexible scheduling.

Here you can read information about yet unannounced QNAP devices (big hardware changes are coming).

Here are the steps:

1. Power off the VM
2. Right click on the VM and select “Edit Settings…”
3. Select the “Options” tab
4. Click on “General” (in the “Advanced” options section)
5. Click “Configuration Parameters…” (in the pane on the right)
6. Click “Add Row”
7. Enter “cpuid.coresPerSocket” in the “Name” column
8. Enter  2 in the “Value” column
9. Click “OK”
10. Power on the VM

1 – Fast storage and network – while Veeam can work over SMB/CIFS, the speed of backups and replication will be quite slow. Even with all gigabit network, you should not expect more than 20-50Mb/s of throughput to your NAS. The best environment for Veeam is an all iSCSI over 10Gbit or dedicated fiber storage network. Without these components, a typical full backup may take anywhere between half an hour to several hours instead of 5-25 minutes on dedicated storage 10Gbit Ethernet or fiber  network.

2 – CPU power for compression – all of the compression and data mangling is done by the Veeam server. Whether it is installed on an actual hardware or is running as a virtual machine – it will need a lot of processing power. It is recommend to assign at least 4 cores from the current generation of Xeon (or similar) processors. While those who plan on making backups as small as possible through the highest rate of compression will want to assign at least two physical CPUs with at least 4 cores each for a total of 8 cores. If you don’t – your backup speeds descrease substantially while the Veeam server is compressing the data. A change in compression level from Low to Optimal decreases the backup space requirements by around 20- 30%!

3 – Do not manage the backup files directly – as an administrator, you are not supposed to move, delete or otherwise manipulate the backup files directly. If you do so, your entire backup chain may become unusable (basically, you will loose your entire backup). This is due to the fact that Veeam tracks, manages and updates the files with the help of SQL and some complex block injection mechanisms.  If you want to delete, remove or add a backup to the Veeam server – you should only do it through the Backup and Recovery console.

4 – Not all backup strategies allow off-siting – when you install and configure Veeam backup software, you should careful think through your backup strategy and goals. If you only make local backups (not taking data off-site) then you can select any backup schema. However, if you plan on moving your data off-site, some of the backup scenarios will not support this. If you move an incremental or full backup file that needs to be updated by the system and the system can’t find it – again, either a part or an entire backup chain may become unusable. Think your strategy through before implementing it.

5 – Veeam backup server backup - this may sound funny or scary, but Veeam backup server can not backup itself. There is a good technical reason behind this, as it would have to “pause” itself while it backups the data. However for it to process the data, it needs to be running, which creates a logical loop. In order to backup the backup server, it has to be either done with a second installation of Veeam on a different host, or with a different software/methodology.

Do you have more tips or ideas? Let us know in the comments!

If you are running a Ubuntu (or any kind of Linux/BSD flavor with SSMTP)  mail host that is sending e-mails with “www-data” appearing in the “From” field – then you should look and see if you have SSMTP installed and if the FromLineOverride is set to “NO”.