KB-132656: Creating images in 4 steps

Creating images in 4 steps

1. Creating components

  1. Start the UserClient.
  2. Create a component of the type PC images ->Image Service and check it in without base version.
  3. For a description of this process, please see the UserClient tutorial.

2. Creating a job

  1. Start the AdminClient and open the Jobs module.
  2. In the project tree, select the newly-created component.
  3. In the menu tab, select Create or drag-and-drop the components into the Jobs section.
  4. In the Job configuration section, deploy your usual settings.
  5. For more information, see the AdminClient tutorial.
  6. The following entries are of particular relevance for Image Service jobs:
    1. Number of remaining Backups (Rollover): Here, you need to specify the number of images to be kept. If the number is reached, the new image will overwrite the oldest one.
    2. Comparison strategy: Select here the value Previous Backup <-> Backup. This compares the device information with that of the previous job execution.
  7. In the section Image Service settings, implement the following settings:
  8. Example:
    1. ![1. Image: Job configuration, section Image Service settings

](AIS_Jobconfig_Settings.PNG)

1. In **Device**, enter the IP address or name of the device that you want to create an image of. If you want to create an image of the computer, on which the job will be executed, you will need to enter the entry **localhost**.
1. Then fill in the **User** and **Password** fields with the necssary login details for the device.
1. You can specify the username as follows:
1.`<domain>` `<username>` or `<computername>` `<username>`
1. Administrative rights will be required to access this device.
1. If you enter a value in the **Device alias field**, it will be placed in front of the device name when the images are stored in the directory name.  This may be necessary if images are to be created automatically from a large number of computers and the images are created using upload and compare agents that are used directly on the target computers. Since in this case, the device name would be **localhost** for all images, the storage of the images would very quickly become very confusing.
1. From the drop-down menu **Operating system**, select whether the device in question is a Windows work station or a server.
1. From the drop-down menu **What to save**, select which device drive you want to be saved.
1. When you select the **Drives selected**, this will automatically start the **Image Service** remote installation to determine the device’s current disks and partions. Additionally, it also tests whether the remote installation works on the device.
1. If a new version of the **Image Service** is available, the update to this version will be performed automatically when the job is executed. This only applies if remote installation is possible. Alternatively, the update can also be done manually via the web installer.
1. In the drop-down menu **Transfer way**, it is set as standard that the first image of the device is saved in a configured storage location.
1. In this case, the image itself cannot be versioned because it is not in versiondog. When you create a version of the backup, only the metadata of the image is saved in it. To be able to version the image itself, you must store it in the server archive.
  1. In the section Data storage, enter the path and the necessary login information required for the directory in which the created image is to be stored.
    1. ![1. Image: Job configuration, Section Storage

](AIS_Jobconfig_Datastorage.PNG)

  1. In Advanced, carry out the following:
    1. ![1. Image: Job configuration, Section additional information

](AIS_Jobconfig_additional_Infos.PNG)

1. In the **Excluded files** field, you can enter paths to files that are to be excluded from image creation.
1. For remote installation, an admin share is required to access drives on the device that is to be backed up. This is the **C$** share by default. To be able to back up devices that do not have a C$ share, such as KUKA KRC, enter the desired share name in the **Admin share** field.
1. In the **Limit IO rate** field, you can specify the maximum amount of data in megabytes per second to limit the network load and not overload the network during backup. The default value is 0, which means that the transmission speed is not limited.
1. If you enter a password in the **Image Password** field, the image file (SNA file) is encrypted. The password can also not be read in the log.
  1. Select Save and execute the job directly as required.

Note

As an administrator, you can maintain some of the values mentioned above in Global settings. This will remove the

necessity of having to enter this information for each job individually.

3. Executing a job

  1. The job can both be executed in the AdminClient and the UserClient.
  2. For more information, see the relevant tutorials.
  3. The created image is stored in the configured directory in the following directory structure: 1.<StorageLocation>
  4. For each job run and image, a new directory<timestamp>is created in the directory<device name>.
  5. If a device alias is used, it will be written in front of the device name in the directory name.
  6. The image directory contains the following files:
    • HSH file: changes to the previous image
    • SNA file: the actual image that can be restored
    • snapshot.log: the Drive Snapshot joblog

Note

The job result is not the created images but the current device information compared to the previous backup.

4. Accessing the image

To be able to access all elements of the created image and perform a restore with it, you must copy the job result in the UserClient to a directory as a backup.

  1. Start the UserClient.
  2. In the Project tree, select the component used to create the image.
  3. Select the Jobs tab. This is located in Component details.
  4. Right click on the job result that you want to restore.
  5. Select the entry Copy backup to directory. A dialog will then open.
  6. Select the directory that you wish to copy the image into.
  7. Select Next. The image will then be copied into the directory.

During this process, the following elements are additionally made available in the target directory:

  • snapshot.exe: application to restore an image.
  • imagename.txt: name of the directory created.
  • software_info: a list with the software installed on the secured computer.

All that is required for a recovery can be found in the directory.

You can also access the data directly from the Explorer, but in that case the additional elements will not be created.


Last update: September 15, 2023

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