WebDAV seeding

WebDAV is an extension of the HTTP protocol that allows clients to perform remote Web content authoring operations. For backups, this means it can be used to transfer data from BackupAssist to a remote server or device with WebDAV enabled. BackupAssist supports WebDAV as a Cloud Backup destination, and will back up to a remote WebDAV server (private cloud) or third party cloud service that supports WebDAV. The process of seeding to a WebDAV destination will depend on the type of destination, as outlined below.

Seeding to a private cloud

If you have set up a private cloud destination, the seeding process will involve copying the backup jobs source data to a removable drive, and then copying it from the removable drive to the backup destination, as outlined below.

Step 1 - Copy the source data to a removable drive

Use the BackupAssist Cloud Seeding Tool to copy the source data to a removable drive as documented in the Cloud Seeding Tool guide. The Cloud Seeding Tool must be used so that the data is prepared in the correct format.

Step 2 - Copy the data from the removable drive to the backup destination

Copy the backup from the seeded removable drive to the container folder on your destination. This is the destination defined in the backup job. The container folder location depends on the type of WebDAV configuration and hardware that you have used.

Some examples

  • If you set up WebDAV using our instructions for IIS in Private Cloud destinations , the default location may be under c:\inetpub\wwwroot. Check the built-in Internet Information Services (IIS) Manager tool for details.
  • If you set up WebDAV on a NAS device, please refer to the NAS administration console and manual for instructions on how to attach an external HDD to the device.
  • If you set up WebDAV using a Linux distribution or macOS, read the system documentation or contact your IT partner for assistance.

Step 3 - Run and check the first incremental backup

To confirm that the seeding was successful, you should review the backup job's first run and check that it was incremental. This means only data that has changed since the data was seeded is backed up. You can manually change some source files to make sure that some data has changed, and should be backed up.

Seeding to a cloud provider

If you are backing up to a cloud provider using the WebDAV protocol, you will need to follow that provider's instructions for seeding. This will be a detailed process that may involve running commands and will involve physically posting a removable drive to the cloud provider so that they can copy the data to the backup destination.

Note: Not all cloud providers will support WebDAV, so it's important to research your cloud provider and their requirements before committing to their cloud storage service.

 

To learn about the seeding tool and drive preparation process, see Cloud Seeding Tool