Win: In the same folder as Retrospect Client MSI file. Mac: In the same folder as "Retrospect Client Installer".
Remote Data Protection
Optimized for remote employees on VPN that you want to protect with an on-site Retrospect Backup instance. Retrospect Backup works seamlessly with virtual private networks (VPNs) with automatic agent discovery and protection capabilities for remote employees, and you can quickly onboard new remote employees using Automatic Onboarding on Retrospect Management Console.
Optimized for remote employees not on VPN that you want to protect with an on-site Retrospect Backup instance. Retrospect Backup allows you to protect remote employee endpoints outside of your VPN without any client-side router changes using Remote Backup, with full support for on-demand restore for employees to get files back without assistance and seamless Automatic Onboarding for easy deployment.
Optimized for remote employees that you want to back up directly to the cloud. Retrospect Backup Solo Premium protects a computer and any connected device, and you can easily deploy it to all of your remote employees using Automatic Onboarding on Retrospect Management Console.
Optimized for remote employees outside of VPN that you want to protect with an on-site Retrospect Backup instance.
With Remote Backup, remote employee endpoints can be automatically added to a Retrospect Backup instance inside the corporate firewall and protected with a ProactiveAI script. There are no router changes needed on the employees side, and the IT administrator can make a simple change on the corporate firewall to forward inbound connections to Retrospect Backup. Remote employees are able to use on-demand restore to get files fast without assistance. Automatic Onboarding is a great way to deploy the Retrospect Client agent to your remote employees.
Remote Backup is designed specifically for endpoint protection and is not supported for server protection.
For Remote Backup to work, the Retrospect Client agent needs to be able to make a network connection the Retrospect Backup instance.
Enable port forwarding for two ports to forward from the server-side public-facing IP on the router/NAT/firewall to the Retrospect engine.
Set up the Retrospect engine to accept remote backups.
Set up the Retrospect client to send periodic backup requests to the engine.
We’ll walk through each step.
Port Forwarding is a standard mechanism to redirect connections on a specific port from one IP to another. Retrospect Backup requires two ports:
Port 497: multicast and remote backup broadcast
Port 22024: on-demand requests
You need to set up your public-facing router/NAT/firewall to forward these ports to the IP address of the computer running your Retrospect Backup instance. With this networking change, a remote endpoint running the Retrospect Client agent will be able to make a connection to the Retrospect Backup instance, even though the computer running the Retrospect Backup instance is running on the internal network.
For guidance on enabling port forwarding, please refer to the hardware’s manual. The process varies by manufacturer.
You can verify that the ports are open using https://www.yougetsignal.com/tools/open-ports/. Remote backup will not work unless the ports are open.
Retrospect Backup utilizes the following features for Remote Backup:
Public/Private Keypair Authentication: This authentication automatically and securely identifies the remote endpoint as a trusted client without a password.
ProactiveAI Backup: This backup script will automatically starts a backup for any remote endpoint that notifies the Retrospect Backup instance of its availability.
On-Demand Restore: This restore workflow allows remote employees to restore files themselves without IT assistance.
Let’s walk through the steps with Automatic Onboarding on Retrospect Management Console.
Retrospect Backup for Windows: Onboard a new server or endpoint
Retrospect Backup for Mac: Onboard a new server or endpoint
In the backup server’s page, scroll down to see "Deploy Retrospect clients for endpoint protection".
Upload the server’s public key. Retrospect Backup 17 enables you to automatically upload it to Retrospect Management Console. Simply go to Preferences. The public key file is located on the engine under /Library/Application Support/Retrospect/pubkey.dat on Mac and C:/ProgramData/Retrospect/pubkey.dat on Windows. Find it with "Upload Key" and then click "Upload".
Enter the IP address or DNS name of the Retrospect Backup server under "Remote Backup", so that remote computers can connect to the port-forwarded public IP/DNS address.
Under "Retrospect client installers", there is a link to share with end users. They can download the Retrospect Client for Windows, Retrospect Client for Mac, or Retrospect Client for Linux installers with the public key and remote backup address bundled in.
Let’s walk through setting these up in Retrospect Backup without Retrospect Management Console.
Under Preferences > Clients, create a public/private keypair.
Locate the public key file.
Copy the public key file into the Retrospect Client installer’s "public_key" folder. You can download the Retrospect Client installer from Retrospect Downloads.
Create a file called "server.txt" in the following location with the public DNS/IP address of the Retrospect Backup instance.
Win: In the same folder as Retrospect Client MSI file. Mac: In the same folder as "Retrospect Client Installer".
Sample `server.txt` File backup.example.com
Compress the new installer and send it to your remote employee to install.
Now that the Retrospect Client agent can connect to the Retrospect Backup instance, let’s create a ProactiveAI backup script.
In Retrospect Backup, go to Preference then Clients and check "Automatically add clients using public keys".
Create a ProactiveAI script. This is under ProactiveAI on Windows and under Scripts on Mac.
Add a backup set as a destination. This can be either local storage or a cloud storage location.
Add "Remote Backup Clients" as the source. This is under Volumes on Windows and under Tags on Mac.
After you save, Remote Backup will be configured.
On-demand restore will automatically work using public key authentication.
If you encounter any issues, please see further details in our User’s Guide: Retrospect Backup for Windows or Retrospect Backup for Mac.