Backup Application User Guide

The following document will assist in explaining how to install and use the Bitvibe Backup Application. This document is relevant for both Mac and Windows users. If you don't find what you're looking for in our user guide, please visit the Bitvibe Support website at support.bitvibe.com. We're here to help!

What is Bitvibe Backup all about?

There are three primary uses of the Bitvibe Backup service and application:

1. Backup all your critical data and then restore your data if you lose something.

2. Archive your data so that years of file revisions are available to you.

3. Use your Bitvibe Backup online storage space as an unlimited virtual drive and/or data server.

Backup and Restore

The Bitvibe Backup Application is a robust automated backup and restore program. The automated backup feature allows you to keep files and folders from your local computer stored (backed up) automatically off-site, protecting you (and your data) from catastrophic failure of a hard drive, theft of a computer or some other disaster that might otherwise cause you to lose your critical data. You select what data you'd like backed up and how often. Bitvibe Backup does the rest. You can easily backup all of your computers.

If you ever lose some data from a local hard drive, that you'd like to restore, Bitvibe Backup will help you restore that data to the correct location.

Archive

Bitvibe Backup has comprehensive archiving capabilities which allow you to keep unlimited previous versions of files. You can keep versions of files you delete files from your computer and you can even keep files from computers you no longer use. 

The great thing about this feature is that all of these files are readily available to you through the Bitvibe Backup Network Drive (Win) or Volume (Mac). Read on!

Virtual Drive (Network Drive and Volume)

With Bitvibe Backup, you have full access to all the data that has been backed up and archived. The data is accessible 24/7 as long as you have an Internet connection.

Your Bitvibe Backup storage can be set up as a Network Drive if you're on Windows or a Volume on the Mac.

When connected as a Network Drive or Volume, Bitvibe Backup appears on your desktop just like a local hard drive, but the data is fully secured on the Bitvibe Backup service using the Internet. You can copy files to it in Windows Explorer or the Mac Finder with drag & drop, work with and edit files directly from the Virtual Drive and copy files back to your local machine with ease. When used as a Network Drive or Volume you can easily move, rename and delete files just like you were working with them on your local computer; however the changes you make are actually occurring on the remote server through the Internet.

You can easily open or copy backed up files from your Network Drive or Volume to your local computer. Additionally, your network drive is available to you from any computer on which you have the Bitvibe Backup application installed. In this way, you can be on one computer and if you're looking for a file that you backed up from a different computer, you can simply locate it on the network drive, just like would access files on a server.

Installation

Windows

1. Download the Bitvibe Backup installer to your hard drive.
2. Double Click and run the installer.
3. After installation is complete, the application will start and display the configuration screen.
4. Follow the instructions on the screen.

Mac

1. Download the Bitvibe Backup DMG file. Your web browser should automatically open the drive image and place the application on your desktop or in your Downloads folder.
2. Drag the bitvibebackup.app file from your Downloads folder to your Applications folder.
3. Double-click the bitvibebackup.app file to start it. A configuration screen will appear.
4. Follow the instructions on the screen.

Initial Setup and Configuration

When first launching Bitvibe Backup you will be presented with an initial configuration wizard that will guide you through the process of configuring the application.

Bitvibe Backup has many advanced features and options available but the most important ones are part of the initial setup process. After completing the initial setup, you will be able to see all of the additional options and change your settings at any time within the configuration manager.

1. Internet Connection Check


2. Bitvibe Backup Application Configuration

• Automatic Backup: When configured for Automatic Backup, you can select files and folders that you want backed up to your online storage space and how often they are backed up. When a backup runs, only new or changed files are uploaded. The easy to use restore feature allows you to restore files to your computer whenever you like.
• Network Drive: When configured as a Network Drive, your online storage space appears as a network drive on your computer. You can copy files to the drive via drag & drop or use the virtual drive as part of a 3rd party backup program.
• Automatic Backup & Network Drive: You may select both of the above listed options if you would like to use Bitvibe Backup as both your automatic backup solution and  as a Network Drive.
  

3. Automatic Backup Schedule (if selected)
If you selected the option to use Bitvibe Backup for automatic backup, you will now create an initial backup job. The first option is to identify when your backup will occur, followed by selecting the files and folders that you want to backup. Automatic backups can be customized to run automatically at any time you wish. You also have the option of running any backup job manually from the Bitvibe Backup Activity Monitor.

• Automatically backup my files every: This option allows you to choose the frequency with
•  which your backup will run. You have the option to run the backup manually or at intervals of every 5 minutes, every 15 minutes, hourly, every 6 hours, daily, or weekly.
• When a scheduled backup time is missed: If your backup time is missed because your computer was off or your Internet connection was lost, you can choose to have Bitvibe Backup wait until the next scheduled interval is reached before it runs again or have it run as soon as possible, once the computer is turned on and/or an Internet connection is restored.
• Selecting files and folders for backup: Using the selection window you can easily choose the desired files and folders that will be included or excluded from your backup.

Account Settings

The Account Settings shows you some important information.

• Domain: In addition to being able to access your files through your own dashboard at www.bitvibebackup.com, from on any computer anywhere in the world, you may also access your files directly at this web address (internet connection and web browser required in both cases).
• Username: This is the username you created (typically the e-mail address you used when you signed up) for your Bitvibe Backup subscription.
• Remove Configuration: This option appears only if you have "Show Advanced Options" selected (in the bottom left corner of the window). Selecting "Remove Configuration" clears the configuration to allow you to initiate the first time setup wizard again. You probably don't want to do this unless instructed to do so by Bitvibe Backup technical support. Note: If you do select this, it will not delete your data! It will only reset the configuration of the Bitvibe Backup application itself.
  

Network Settings

The network settings options control all network connections made by the Bitvibe Backup software. The application makes only outgoing TCP connections to ports 80 and 443.

• Connect using SSL (encrypts all network traffic): Enabling this option will protect and encrypt your data while it is in transit between your computer and the data servers. This does not apply to the actual encryption of the file once it reaches its final destination.
• Optimize performance for high bandwidth connections: This option, which enables large TCP window sizes, MAY increase performance if you have greater than 2 Mbps upstream bandwidth. You should NOT enable it on slower connections as it may actually reduce performance.
• Proxy Server Configuration Options:
• Connect via an HTTP proxy server: When this option is enabled, your data will be routed via your selected proxy server.
• Verify: Clicking the Verify button will allow you to test your proxy server configuration.

Bandwidth Limiting

Bitvibe Backup can limit how much of your available Internet bandwidth it uses to ensure that bandwidth is available for other applications like web browsing, VOIP communications and games. You can change these settings without interrupting transfers in progress.

• Upload Bandwidth:
• Limit upload bandwidth to: Limits your upload bandwidth to the number of kbps you select (10 kbps is the minimum setting).
• Enforce this limit: You have the option to enforce bandwidth limitation at all times or only during the times you select. For example, if you need more upload bandwidth available for other applications during business hours, you might limit your upload bandwidth from 9 AM - 5 PM only. Using that setting means that Bitvibe Backup will use the maximum available bandwidth from 5:01 PM and 8:59 AM.
  
• Download Bandwidth:
• Limit upload bandwidth to: Limits your download bandwidth to number of kbps you select (10 kbps is the minimum setting).
• Enforce this limit: You have the option to enforce bandwidth limitation at all times or only during the times you select. For example, if you need more download bandwidth available for other applications during business hours, you might limit your download bandwidth from 9 AM - 5 PM only. Using that setting means that Bitvibe Backup will use the maximum available bandwidth from 5:01 PM and 8:59 AM.

Online Disk

Note: To see this setting you must check "Show Advanced Options" in the lower left hand corner of the Bitvibe Backup Configuration page.

This section displays details specifically related to your Online Disk. It allows you to remove or delete the online disk if you do not require its use any longer. This is a fairly technical question and we DO NOT recommend that you do this.

If you decide that you do not need access to the selected online disk, you can remove it from the configuration by clicking the Disconnect Online Disk button. This does not delete the data within it, it simply 'disconnects' the online disk from Bitvibe Backup. Please consult Bitvibe Technical Support before doing this!

Online Disk Settings

Online Disk settings apply for both the network drive and automatic backup.

Local Cache Validation:

Bitvibe Backup stores recently accessed files and directories locally to minimize network traffic. If you use Bitvibe Backup on multiple computers, Bitvibe Backup needs to check with the remote server occasionally to see if changes have been made by another computer.

If you have selected "Show Advanced Options" in the bottom left corner of the Bitvibe Backup Application Configuration Window, you will also see these features:

• Retry failed uploads: If a network or file systems error occurs while uploading, the Bitvibe Backup will attempt to upload the file again automatically. You can configure the number of times (retries) Bitvibe Backup will attempt to upload again here. If the retry count is exceeded, the application will move on to the next file to be uploaded.
• Enable upload resume for large files: Large file uploads that are interrupted can be resumed where they left off rather than starting the upload from the beginning of the file. The default is that this feature is enabled.
• Only upload changed portions of large files: Bitvibe Backup will only upload the changed portions of large files rather than re-uploading the entire new file. The default is that this feature is enabled.

Network Drive

Bitvibe Backup can be setup so that your online storage disk will appear on your computer as a local network drive. This allows you to easily copy files back and forth via drag and drop, and open files directly from your online storage disk.

• Network Drive Letter (Windows): You have the option to assign a network drive letter to your Bitvibe Backup network drive. To stop using the network drive functionality, change the Network Drive Letter to (disabled).
• Network Drive Name (Mac): You have the option to assign a network drive name to your Bitvibe Backup network drive. To stop using the network drive functionality, leave the Network Drive Name field blank.
• Maximum Cache Size: In an effort to minimize network traffic and improve performance, Bitvibe Backup stores recently accessed files and directories locally. This option allows you to choose how much space is allocated for this functionality.
• Upload Files in the Background for Faster Performance: When this option is enabled, Bitvibe Backup will quickly copy any new files into the local cache, then upload them in the background. This will cause your network drive to become faster and easier to use and will also allow the software to automatically retry any failed uploads.
• Use a Native File System Driver for Better Integration with Windows (Windows): By default, Bitvibe Backup uses a native file system driver so it can work more like a regular disk drive. If you have trouble with your network drive, try disabling this option and Bitvibe Backup will use WebDav instead. You may need to reboot for changes to take effect.
• Use localhost Drive Mapping for Improved Compatibility (Windows): If you encounter errors mapping the network drive, try enabling this option for improved compatibility.

Previous Versions

Bitvibe Backup can be configured to keep an archive of previous versions of files that are changed or deleted. By default, this previous version archive is only kept for Automatic Backup files, however you can also enable it for your Network Drive as well. Enabling previous versions will use more space on your drive and will also slow backups and uploads slightly as a copy is made of the previous version prior to uploading the new version.

Previous versions are kept in a special directory named "~VersionArchive" on your Bitvibe Backup online storage. To restore a previous version you can use the built-in restore feature. Previous versions can be restored to any location you select on your local drive or to their original Bitvibe Backup location.

You can configure Bitvibe Backup to delete previous versions after a period of time. The length of time is calculated from the time the file was updated or deleted, so if you have Bitvibe Backup configured to remove previous versions after 60 days, all files that were updated or deleted more than 60 days ago will be purged from the previous version archive and can no longer be recovered.

What to keep:

• Keep previous versions of changed files: When enabled, Bitvibe Backup will keep copies of the previous versions of files when you modify the file or upload a new file with the same name.
• Keep previous versions of deleted files: When enabled, Bitvibe Backup will keep a copy of files that are deleted either manually or during backup cleanup.
• Keep previous versions for: When “Automatic Backup files only” is selected (the default setting) previous versions of changed and deleted files will only be kept for files backed up using the Automatic Backup feature. Files that are manually uploaded or deleted via the Network Drive will not have previous versions kept. When “All Files” is selected, previous versions will be kept for both automatic backup files and any files uploaded directly via the Network Drive.
• Don't keep previous versions for files over: When enabled, files larger than the specified size will not be archived when modified or deleted.
• Don't keep certain types of files: When enabled, files with the selected types will not be archived when modified or deleted.
• Don't keep files in certain folders: When enabled, files under the selected folders will not be archived when modified or deleted.

How long to keep it:

• Remove previous versions after: When enabled, previous versions will be deleted once they are older than the specified number of days. For example, if the setting is 30 days, a file that is deleted on April 1 will be kept in the version archive until at least May 1, after which it may be purged. Previous versions are cleaned up once a week automatically. When this setting is disabled, previous versions are never deleted and will continue to take up space. You can manually remove previous versions by deleting the files from your “~VersionArchive” folder.
• Keep at least: When enabled, allows you to select a minimum number of versions to keep regardless of the age of a file.

Automatic Backup

The Automatic Backup feature allows you to keep files and folders on your local machine backed up automatically off-site to your Bitvibe Backup. If you mainly want to use your online storage space for backup, the Automatic Backup feature makes it easy and eliminates the need to copy files to your Network Drive manually on a regular basis.

Once backed up with Automatic Backup, your files will also be accessible via the Network Drive (if enabled) and you can always easily open or copy backed up files from your Network Drive back to your local machine.

Create a new backup job: To create a new backup job, start by choosing a name for your backup in the Job Name field.

Import a backup job: You may also import previously exported backup job configurations.  A new backup job will be created with the imported settings.

After performing one of the two options above, your new backup job will be added under the Automatic Backup section of your online disk where you can further customize the job's specific settings.

Backup Jobs 

Automatic backups can be customized to run automatically at any time you wish. You also have the option of running any backup job manually from the Bitvibe Backup Monitor.

Automatically backup my files every: This option allows you to choose the frequency with which your backup will run. You have the option to run the backup manually, or at intervals of every 5 minutes, every 15 minutes, hourly, every 6 hours, daily, or weekly.

Selecting either the "Day" or "Week" option will allow you to select the specific time of day your backups will run, using the slider.



Stop the backup if it runs longer than: To prevent backups from running for extended periods of time, this option, when enabled, allows you to set a maximum run time for your backups.

When a scheduled backup time is missed: If your backup time should happened to be missed (i.e. computer is off, Internet connection is lost), your backup can be configured to either wait until the next scheduled interval is reached or to run as soon as possible, once the condition that prevented it from running is no longer present.

Wake my computer from sleep for scheduled backups: If your computer is in a sleep mode, this option will allow the software to wake the computer from sleep mode in order to perform the scheduled backup.

What to Backup


What to Back Up displays a list of the folders you have currently selected to backup. Use the Add or Change Backup Folders to add to or change the folders in the list. Clicking Add or Change Backup Folders will display this window:


On the left is the folder and file selection tree. Clock on the + and - boxes to open and close folders to make your selections of what you would like to backup.

Basic Folder and File Selection

The folder selection menu is divided into two sections to allow you to quickly and easily choose or exclude the folders for your backup jobs.

The Common Folders section contains the most common folders that are typically selected for backup.

For a greater level of control, you can select the specific files and folders under the All Folders section.

When a folder is selected, you will have the following options:

• Do not backup this folder
• Backup all the files in this folder
• Backup only certain types of files
• Backup all files, except certain types
• Backup only the files I select in this folder
• Backup files in sub-folders

The state of your selected folders and the files beneath them are indicated by the status of the selection box to the left.

Please refer to the Folder Status Indications table to understand what each status represents.



Specific options for your folders can be selected using the option panel to the right of the folder tree. This allows you to customize files for inclusion, exclusion, etc.:


Backup Options


To give you the most control over your automatic backups, these additional options will allow you to customize your specific backup job.

• Remove locally deleted files from my remote backup: With this option enabled, files that are deleted from your computer are also deleted from the Cloud Files servers however, the file will still be maintained in the Previous Versions archive.
• Backup in-use files (NTFS formatted drives only): For NTFS drives, Bitvibe Backup has the ability to backup files that are currently in use by the computer. For Mac, locked files are already able to be backed up.
• Ignore timezone shifts when detecting changed files: For FAT file systems, this feature will assume files modified within even hour increments from the previous version are due to time zone shifts. If you enable this option, there is a small potential that a file update may be overlooked if you happen to update a file on increments of exactly one hour from the recent version. If you do not have a FAT file system, this option should not be selected.

Previous Versions

• Use the previous version settings for this backup job: All settings as configured in the Previous Versions section will apply to this specific backup.
• Use customized previous version settings for this backup job:
  
• Keep previous versions of changed files: Copies of the previous versions of files are maintained when you modify the file or upload a new file with the same name.
  
• Keep previous versions of deleted files: Copies of files that are deleted either manually or during backup cleanup are still maintained.
  
• Don't keep previous versions for files over: Files larger than the specified size will not be archived when modified or deleted.
  
• Keep at most: Allows you to select a maximum number of versions to keep regardless of the age of a file.
  

Using Bitvibe Backup

Bitvibe Backup Activity Monitor

The Bitvibe Backup Activity Monitor serves several functions to support the overall functionality of Bitvibe Backup.

The activity monitor will allow you to:

• Manually start a backup job
• Preview a backup job
• Display any errors or warnings that are generated
• Cancel an active backup job
• Initiate a file/folder restoration
• Conduct a backup cleanup operation
• Expire or remove cached files/folders
• View your network drive activity log
• View your backup history log
• Launch the Bitvibe Backup Configuration Window
  
• View your account activity report
• View the debug log
• View the time/date of your last backup
• Check Bitvibe Backup Consistency
• Launch the Bitvibe Backup User Guide
  
• View the time/date of your next scheduled backup
• View pending Network Drive activity
• View progress indicators for backups that may be running
  
• Check for updates to the software
• View the current version of the Bitvibe Backup software
  

Initiating Manual Backups

For any existing backup job, you can always manually initiate the job by selecting the applicable job under the selected online disk. You may also choose to start all backup jobs for a selected online disk.


1. Initiate Backup by selecting Online Disk from the menu and then select the backup job to start. You have the option to initiate All Backup Jobs or select an individual backup job from the list.

2. Initiate Backup with the Start Backup button:

Clicking this button will list all individual backup jobs for a online disk. In this example you see that "Protools Project Backups" has been selected.


Please note that using this method will only allow you to initiate a single backup job. To manually start all backup jobs, please use method number 1 above.

Once the backup is started, the Bitvibe Backup Activity Monitor will look similar to this.


Backup Preview


Prior to initiating any backup job, you have the option to preview which files will be updated. The initial view shows all files and their status as either New, Updated, Unchanged or Deleted.

• New: Indicates that a current version of the file does not exist in your backup and will be uploaded.
• Updated: Indicates that the version on your local drive is newer than the version in your backup and will be updated.
• Unchanged: Indicates that the local version matches the version in your backup.
• Deleted: Indicates that your local version has been deleted and that the version in your backup will be removed. Please note: If you have selected to keep versions or archives of deleted files, these will still be maintained in your file archives.

Checking the Hide unchanged files option in the lower left hand corner of this window, will hide any files listed with an Unchanged, status allowing you to easily identify the actions that the backup will take.

Canceling Backups in Progress

When a backup job is in progress, you can stop the current backup in progress by clicking the STOP BACKUP button in the Activity Monitor.

Disabling Backups

Bitvibe Backup allows you to temporarily suspend all of your configured backup jobs to prevent them from running at their scheduled times.

After clicking the Disable Backups button, you should see that your Next Scheduled Backup is listed as: None Scheduled

Please note that your backups will be disabled until you manually enable backups.

Once you are ready to have your all of your backup jobs resume as scheduled, click the Enable Backups button.

You should see the Next Scheduled Backup job change from None Scheduled to one of your configured backup jobs.

Restoring Backups

If you should need to restore the files from a backup job, you can either manually copy those files from your Network Drive, or use the Restore feature in the Bitvibe Backup Activity Monitor.

To restore your files from a previous backup, start by clicking the Restore option under the Online Disk menu or the Restore button on the navigation bar.


The Restore files window will open.


The Restore files window allows you to select which files to be restored, as well as the location to restore to. Bitvibe Backup helps you restore the files to the correct location.


By default, Bitvibe Backup attempts to select the original destination from where the files were originally backed up from.

Cached Data

The cache directory is where files are stored during background upload and after upload for quick access should you need to open the file from the Bitvibe Backup Network Drive. You may want to change the default location of the cache directory to a different drive with more space available for example, as a large cache reduces the need to re-download content from Bitvibe Backup. If your cache fills up during a large upload, you may notice that background uploads from the operating system to the cache slow significantly (to 32kbps or less). This is normal and as space is freed in the cache from completed uploads, the cache upload will return to normal speed.


The default location for Bitvibe Backup's cache for each platform is listed below. You can change the cache location and set a maximum size for the local cache in the Bitvibe Backup configuration.

• Windows: %APPDATA%\bitvibebackup\cache
• (e.g. C:\Documents and Settings\username\Application Data\Bitvibe Backup)
• Mac: ~/Library/Caches/bitvibebackup/cache

Expire Cached Data: This will reset the expiration timeout on any cached files and directories. The next time a file or directory is accessed, Bitvibe Backup will re-verify that it has not been modified on the server. If you are accessing the same online disk from multiple machines at the same time, there will be a delay of 2-4 minutes before changes made on one machine appear on the other machine due to caching. You can reduce this delay by expiring cached data when you know changes have occurred that are not yet visible.

Remove Cached Directories: This will delete the the cached directory structure of your online disk and allow it to be rebuilt should it become out of sync. This can occur when using Bitvibe Backup with multiple computers. Your cached files will not be removed as part of this process.

Remove Cached Files: This will delete any cached files. It should not be needed in most circumstances, but can free space in your cache and remove any invalid directory listings should they occur. This only affects your cache of the data and does not remove any actual data from the Cloud Files servers. In addition, any files stored in the cache for background upload are not removed.

To manage the cached data of a selected online disk, choose the Cached Data option from the applicable online disk via the dropdown menu on the top navigation bar of the Bitvibe Backup Activity Monitor.

You will then choose expire your cached data, or remove your cached directories/files.

Logs

The Backup History and Network Drive Activity Logs can be used to provide valuable information about the file and application activity.

To view these logs, click the Logs option from the top navigation bar on the Bitvibe Backup Activity Monitor.


Network Drive Activity Log: Shows non-backup activity (i.e. uploads/downloads directly via the mapped Network Drive).

The fields for the Activity Log are:

• BackupID (corresponds to the log file)
• Start Time
• Duration
• Online Disk
• Total Files
• Total Size
• Files Transferred
• File Size
• Errors
• Status

Backup History Log: Shows the backup history for completed backup jobs (Entries for current backups not shown until completed or canceled)

For the individual Backup Logs, the fields are:

• Operation Type
• Online Disk
• Path
• Total File Size
• Amount Transferred (usually the same unless failed)
• Start Time (in Unix time_t format - seconds since 1/1/1970 GMT)
• Duration
• Result
• Additional Details

Consistency Checks

To get a complete measurement of the storage space you are using, use the Consistency Check feature.

To check consistency, choose the option from the Help menu on the Bitvibe Backup Activity Monitor top navigation bar.


After running the consistency check you will need to double click the "Consistency Check Complete" message in the Errors & Warnings section to see the full details of the check. Your storage total is located on the "Detailed Message" line and is in the following format:

8981 dirs (the number of folders/directories), 9590 attrs (the number of files), 18304601296 bytes total size (the amount of data stored)

To approximate the data stored, divide the bytes total size by 1,000,000,000 or move the decimal place 9 spaces and this will give you the number of gigabytes. In the example above, this would equate to 18.304 gigabytes of data.

Debug Log

To facilitate the troubleshooting process, the Bitvibe Backup support team can often use the data located in the debug log to track down an issue. The information in the log can be captured by clicking on the View Debug Log option within the Activity Monitor.


This should open a new window that contains the text from the debug log. To capture the log so that it can be pasted into a support email or forum post, click the Copy to Clipboard button. This will temporarily store the data from the log into memory and allow you to paste the debug log wherever you need.

Errors and Warnings

If while using the Bitvibe Backup you should happen to receive an error or warning in the Errors & Warnings status field, you can obtain further information about the error by clicking on the warning and selecting Show Details...