Getting Started with Rackspace Cloud Backup - Part 2

If you have a Managed Cloud account and do not see your Server under Systems, check with your account manager to install the RCBU Agent.

Other users who do not see their Server listed under Systems should begin with the instructions on How to Install the Agent.

How to Create a Backup

1. After you have logged into your Cloud control panel, select Backup from the navigation menu.

2. Next, Click the name of the Server listed under "Backup Systems". If you do not see the Server you want to backup, you will need to install the agent on it. See How to Install the Agent for instructions or contact your Account Manager.
   We address the gear icon next to your System name in the System Actions section of this guide.

3. The System Details Screen displays. Click the Create Backup button.

4. In the next screen, enter a name for your Backup job, and under Scheduling, select how often you'd like to run the backup.
   • Manually -- Whenever you click a button to backup
   • Hourly -- Every one hour, two hours, three hours, etc.
   • Daily -- Every day at a given time. Times are in Central Time.
   • Weekly -- Select a day of the week and time on that day. Times are in Central Time

   Select how long you want to keep your backups (30 days / 60 days / indefinitely). Lastly, select how you would like to be notified about your backup jobs.

•   Scheduling and De-Duplication: Feel free to schedule your backups for as often as you expect your files to change. Rackspace Cloud Backup uses block-level de-duplication, which means we only save those parts of a file that have changed. In this way, a unique piece of data is saved only once, which maximizes the effectiveness of the backup, while minimizing your storage overhead. Another benefit is that by using this method, you can retrieve previous versions of files, up to the limits specified by the customer-defined retention settings.
  De-duplication also gives you flexibility because we only save the changed portions of files. You can then restore to any point in time you like. Also, the changed portions are smaller in size than in standard backup systems and overall they make for faster backups and restores.
  To save on additional overhead, we may then compress the files if it reduces the size of the block. You can expect compression rates equivalent to those of gzip.
  You should not try to manually compress or encrypt your data before running backups, as our de-duplication will not work; you will create larger backups than you need. If you want to encrypt your backups, see the section on Encrypting your System in this guide.
  For advanced Linux users, if you create tarballs with gzip that will get backed up, be sure to use gzip's --rsyncable option as this allows RCBU to de-dupe those files as well.

5. Next, select the files and folders you want to back up by clicking the [folder name] to view its file name. Check the boxes of the files and folders you want to back up; you can move through your folders by clicking Up or an individual folder name at top fo the file or folder list.

• After you've selected your files, you can confirm your selection by clicking the Selected and Excluded Items tab. A list of your files excluded from the backup is at the bottom of the screen.
• When you are satisfied with your selections, click the Next button. You may also go back a screen to change your settings by clicking the Back button.
• To backup MySQL databases: If you have a MySQL database you would like to add to your Backup job, please follow the instruction on our page Using Rackspace Cloud Backup for your Database.

6. Lastly, the confirmation screen displays. Confirm the settings you see listed. If you would like to make any changes to your backup, click the Back button. If you are satisfied with your settings, click the Finish button.

7. The Backup Details screen displays when your Backup is configured. When your Backup is running, you will see an activity bar in the Activity area.

On the next page in this guide, you will learn How to View Backup Information.