First Steps

This Catalogic 4.14 Quick Start Guide aims at a seamless introduction to the Catalogic Software Data Protection Suite. With this Quick Start Guide, you will learn how to:

• deploy and configure your data protection environment

• create agent-based and agentless backups

• successfully restore data from backups

General Prerequisites

This Quick Start Guide assumes a VMware environment with the following configuration:

• vCenter version 7.3 or 8.0.3

• AlmaLinux 9.x virtual machine

• Windows Server 2022 virtual machine

• Permissions to deploy VMs from .OVA templates.

Deployment

A basic data protection environment consists of the following components:

• DPX Master Server – the central control unit for managing and monitoring all backup and restore operations.

• vStor – a virtual storage appliance integrated with the Catalogic DPX environment.

• (Optional) DPX Client software installed on the Windows and Linux VMs to execute agent-based backup and restore tasks on the machines.

Additional deployment steps may be required depending on the backup type. You will find detailed description in the respective sections.

Deploying DPX Master Server

Typically, DPX Master Server is deployed from an .OVA (open virtual appliance) template as a dedicated virtual machine on VMware datacenter.

To deploy DPX Master Server:

1. Download the .OVA file from the Catalogic MySupport website.

2. Run the OVF Template Deployment Wizard to deploy the DPX Master Server.

Note. When selecting a name for your virtual machine, make sure the machine name is unique throughout the vCenter. To avoid issues, we recommend only using the following characters: 0-9, a-z, A-Z and -_ .

Logging in to DPX Master Server

Open a supported web browser and enter the resolvable hostname or IP address of the DPX Master Server in the browser’s address bar.

• The standard user name for DPX Master Server is sysadmin .

• The default password is sysadmin . After a successful initial login, you will be prompted to change the password.

Deploying vStor

vStor can be deployed from an .OVA (open virtual appliance) template as a virtual machine, or from an .ISO image on a clean physical appliance. This guide focuses on the virtual deployment.

To deploy vStor:

1. Download the .OVA file from the Catalogic MySupport website.

2. Run the OVF Template Deployment Wizard to deploy vStor.

Note. When selecting a name for your virtual machine, make sure the machine name is unique throughout the vCenter. To avoid issues, we recommend only using the following characters: 0-9, a-z, A-Z and -_ .

1. Reboot the vStor machine.

Initializing vStor

A newly deployed vStor requires initialization, which consists in creating a pool where volumes for storing backups can be created.

1. Open a supported web browser and enter the vStor resolvable hostname or IP address in the browser’s address bar.

   • The standard user name for vStor is admin .

   • The default password is admin . After a successful initial login, you will be prompted to change the password.

1. Select Create pool during initialization and click Start.

2. Wait a while until the initialization completes.

Creating a Volume

When vStor is initialized, you need to create at least one volume to store backups.

1. Select Storage from the sidebar. The upper part will show tabs for each pool existing on the vStor.

1. Click Create Volume in the upper-right corner of the Volumes pane to create a new volume within the pool.

1. Complete the required fields (*), including:

   • Name – must be unique within the vStor

   • Type – leave default, i.e. Filesystem

2. Click Save. The dialog will close, and the Add Share dialog will be displayed.

1. Make the following selections in the Add Share dialog:

   • Share Type – leave default, i.e. nfs

   • Allowed Hosts – select All hosts

2. Click Add. Your newly created volume will now have a network share visible to all hosts in the network.

Finding Volume Directory

To determine the local directory of the volume:

1. Click the volume’s name to open the Details view.

2. Look for Local path, e.g. /vstor/vpool1/fs11 . You will need it for file backup.

Adding vStor Node to DPX Master Server

Note. vStor must be visible in the network that the DPX Master Server has access to.

1. Log in to the DPX Master Server (see Logging to the DPX Master Server above).

2. Select Nodes from the sidebar, then click Add Node in the upper right corner of the Nodes tab.

1. Complete the required fields (*), including:

   • Type – select vStor

   • Node name – must be unique within the DPX Master Server

   • Resolvable hostname or IP address

   • Group name – leave default or create a new node group.

   • Username / API Key – specify the username. The standard user name for vStor is admin.

   • Password/Token – provide the password for the vStor user.

2. Click Test to check the connection and accessibility to the vStor.

3. Click Save. Your node has been added to the list.