Remote Replication

This chapter covers the following topics:

•	NAS to NAS and Rsync

•

RTRR

•	Downloading Replication Job Logs

Note: Starting from QTS 4.2, if a source storage pool supports snapshots, a snapshot will be taken before an Rsync or RTRR backup job starts to ensure data consistency. Please check that there is enough space reserved for taking snapshots before creating the job.

NAS to NAS and Rsync

The NAS data can be backed up to a remote NAS or Rsync server using Rsync remote replication.

For Rsync and NAS to NAS, there is no limitation for the maximum number of jobs. However, the actual result will be limited and affected by the size of NAS memory and the file structure. Each job supports 1 folder pair.

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If the backup destination is a NAS, go to "Main Menu" > "Backup Station" > "Rsync Server" and enable the remote NAS as an Rsync backup server.

1.	To create a replication job, click "Create a Replication Job".

2.	Specify the server type (NAS or Rsync server) of the remote server. Enter a job name. Click "Next".

3.	Enter the IP address, port number, username and password to login to the remote server. The default port number is 873. The login username must have read/write access to the remote server and a sufficient quota limit on the server. Click "Test" to verify the connection, then click "Apply".

4.	Specify the local folder by clicking the Source folder box. After expanding and locating the folder, double click on it to set it as the directory where the data will be replicated from.

5.	Specify the destination folder Destination folder box. Locate the folder in the folder tree and double click on it to set it as the directory where the data will be replicated to. And, click "Add" to add this pair of replication folders.

6.	Click "Backup frequency" to configure the backup frequency. Select to immediately replicate the data or to specify a backup schedule.

7.	Specify the following options for remote replication jobs by clicking "Options" and click "Apply".

o	Enable encryption: Select this option to execute encrypted remote replication. Note that you must enable "Allow SSH connection" in "Network Services > "Telnet/SSH" and specify the same port number for SSH and encrypted remote replication.

o	Activate file compression: Allows file compression during the data transfer process. This option is recommended for low bandwidth environments or remote replication over WAN.

Perform incremental replication: When this option is enabled, after the first-time replication, the NAS will only back up files that have been changed since the last backup. The files of the same name, size, and modified time will not be copied again. Enabling this option is recommended for replication jobs that will be executed multiple times in order to shorten the backup time.

o	Delete extra files on remote destination: Select this option to synchronize the source data with the destination data (one-way synchronization.) Extra files on the destination will be deleted. Source data will remain unchanged.

o	Handle sparse files efficiently: A sparse file is a type of computer file that contains large blocks of zero-byte data. Turning on this option may reduce the time required for remote replication.

8.	Click "Apply". If you selected "Execute backup immediately", the replication task will start at once. Otherwise it will be performed according to your schedule. Note that the job is recursive. Do not turn off the local NAS and the remote server when remote replication is running.

Note: For step 5, the order of selecting the source and destination folders can be changed. The above is just an example.

Icon	Name	Description
	Start	Start a replication job immediately.
	Stop	Stop a running replication job.
	View	View Rsync logs (replication results).
	Edit	Edit a replication job.
	Disable	Disable replication schedule.
	Enable	Enable replication schedule.

To configure the timeout and retry settings of the replications jobs, click "Options".

•	Timeout (second): Specify a timeout value for each replication job. This is the maximum number of seconds to wait until a replication job is cancelled if no data has been received.

•	Number of retries: Specify the number of times the NAS should try to execute a replication job if it fails.

•	Retry intervals (second): Specify the number of seconds to wait in between each retry.

For example, if you entered 600 seconds for timeout, 3 retries, and 60 seconds for retry intervals, a replication job will timeout in 600 seconds if no data is received. The NAS will wait for 60 seconds and try to execute the job a second time. If the job timed out again, the NAS wait for another 60 seconds and retry for a third and final time.

RTRR

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Real-time Remote Replication (RTRR) provides real-time or scheduled data replication and one-way and two-way data synchronization between two locations (such as a local NAS and a remote NAS, local NAS and an FTP server, or local NAS and an external drive, or replication between two local folders.) In real-time mode, the source folder will be monitored and any files that are new, changed, and renamed will be immediately replicated to the target folder. In scheduled mode, the source folder will be replicated to the target folder according to the pre-defined schedule.

One way synchronization refers to data synchronization from the source to the destination, while two-way synchronization means both the source and destination are synchronized after new files are copied in either side or files stored on either side are changed or deleted.

If the backup destination is a NAS, the RTRR server ("Main Menu" > "Backup Station" > "RTRR Server") or FTP service must first be enabled ("Main Menu" > "Control Panel" > "Network Services" > "FTP") on the remote NAS.

For RTRR, the maximum number of jobs is 400. Each job supports up to 16 folder pairs.

Follow these steps to create a replication job.

1.	Click "Create a Replication Job".

2.	When the wizard shows up, click "Next".

Select the synchronization locations and click "Next". Make sure the destination device has been formatted and folders have been created. Select the action to take (Backup, Synchronize, or Restore), the synchronization locations, and click "Next". Make sure the destination device has been formatted and folders have been created. For comparison between available actions and their folder pairs, refer to the following table:

Direction Action	Local folder to remote folder	Local folder to local folder/external drive	Remote folder to local folder
Backup	a	a
Synchronization	a	a	a
Restoration		a	a

Two synchronization options are available: one-way synchronization and two-way synchronization.

o	For one-way synchronization, you can choose to:

▪	Synchronize data from a local folder to a remote folder (NAS or FTP server)

▪	Synchronize data from a remote folder (NAS or FTP server) to a local folder

▪	Synchronize data from a local folder to another local folder or an external drive

o	For two-way synchronization, you can choose to:

▪	Synchronize data between the source and destination

4.	Enter the IP address or host name. Select the server type (Windows Share (CIFS/SMB), FTP server or NAS server with RTRR service enabled; For two-way synchronization, only the NAS server is available.)

o	Remote replication to FTP server: Specify the port number and if you want to enable FTP with SSL/TLS (Explicit) for encrypted data transfer. If the FTP server is behind a firewall, enable passive mode. Enter the username and password with read/write access to the server. Click "Next".

Remote replication to NAS with RTRR service: Enter the IP address of the RTRR service-enabled server. Specify the connection port and select whether or not to enable secure connection. The default port number for remote replication via RTRR is 8899. Enter the password for RTRR connection. Click "Next".

o	Remote replication to Windows Share (CIFS/SMB): Enter the IP address of the Windows server. Specify the destination folder, username and password and click "Next".

5.	Select the folder pair for data synchronization.

6.	Each sync job supports up to 5 folder pairs. Select more folder pairs and click "Add". Click "Next".

Choose between real-time and scheduled synchronization. Real-time synchronization copies files that are new, changed, and renamed from the source folder to the target folder as soon as the changes are made after the first-time backup. Scheduled synchronization copies files from the source folder to the target folder according to the pre-configured schedule. The options are:

o	Replicate Now: Replicate data immediately.

o	Periodically: Enter the time interval in hours and minutes that the backup should be executed. The minimum time interval is 5 minutes.

o	Hourly: Specify the minute when an hourly backup should be executed (for example, enter "01" to execute backup on the first minute of every hour.)

o	Daily: Specify the time when a daily backup should be executed (for example: 02:02 every day.)

o	Weekly: Select a day of the week and the time when a weekly backup should be executed.

o	Monthly: Select a day of the month and the time when a monthly backup should be executed.

o	Occurs once at: Specify the date and time the scheduled replication job will once be executed and this replication job will be executed only once.

Note:

•	If a folder or its parent folder or child folder has been selected as the source or destination in a folder pair of a replication job, you cannot select the folder as the source or destination of another folder pair of the same job.

•	You can also create a folder as you select the folder pair. To do so, enter the folder name and click the folder icon from the drop down list.

•	From QTS 4.1, RTRR can also back up the entire FTP site. To do so, select the root (/) from the folder drop-down list. Please note that this is only the case when the source is a FTP site.

•	Two-way synchronization only supports scheduled data replication.

•	The expiration time setting is not available for "Replicate Now" and "Occurs once at" in Step 7.

•	Bandwidth Control in both RTRR and Rsync only works if both NAS servers of a replication job (sender and receiver) are QNAP NAS and use firmware version 3.6 or above.

8.	To configure synchronization policy, select "Configure policy and filter" and click "Next". Select whether or not to enable the following options:

o	Delete extra files: Delete extra files in the target folder. Deletions made on the source folder will be repeated on the target folder. This option is not available for real-time synchronization.

o	Detect sparse files: Select this option to ignore files of null data.

o	Check file contents: Specify to examine file contents, date, size, and name to determine if two files are identical. This option is not available for real-time synchronization.

o	Compress files during transmissions: Specify whether or not the files should be compressed for synchronization operations. Note that more CPU resources will be used.

o	Ignore symbolic links: Select this option to ignore symbolic links in the pair folder.

o	Extended attributes: Select this option to keep the information in extended attributes.

o	Timeout and retry settings: Specify the timeout period and retry settings if a synchronization operation fails.

9.	Specify the file size, file types to include/exclude, and file date/time to filter data synchronization. Enter a job name.

o	File size: Specify the minimum and maximum size of the files to be replicated.

o	Last modified: Specify the number of days files are last modified for replication.

o	Include file types: Specify the file types to be replicated.

o	Exclude file types: Specify the file types to be excluded for replication.

o	File date/time: Specify the date and time of the files to be replicated.

10.	Click "Next".

11.	Confirm the settings and click "Next".

12.	Click "Finish" to exit the wizard.

Icon	Name	Description
	Enable and Start	Enable connection to a remote server. Start a replication job.
	Stop	Stop connection to a remote server or external drive.
	Stop	Stop a replication job.
	View	View job status and logs; download logs.
	Edit	Edit the connection settings of a remote server. Edit the settings of a replication job.
	Delete	Delete connection settings to a remote server. Delete a replication job. This button is available only after a replication job is stopped or the connection to the remote server is stopped.

To edit the replication job properties, click "Options".

Under "Event Logs" you can enable "Download Detailed Logs" and specify the maximum file size of log files. You can also set up sending email alerts when synchronization fails or completes. SMTP server settings must be set up on the NAS before using email alerts ("System Settings" > "Notification".)

Specify the replication policy in "Policy" and filter settings in "Filter". These will become the default settings for all RTRR replication jobs.

Downloading Replication Job Logs

To view the status and logs of a replication job, click the "View" button under "Action". You can view job logs or download them by clicking "Download Logs". Log files can be opened by Microsoft Excel or text editors. This button is only available after you have enabled "Download Detailed Logs" in "Options" > "Event Logs" and executed at least one replication job.

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