Backing up, Restoring and Syncing your data
To start a new backup of your data, or to restore a previous backup job, log in to the NAS OS and click on the green 'Backup Manager' icon.
On the left are 4 options, with descriptions below:
This section of the article covers the first option simply labeled ‘Backup’. Click it to see a list of any backup jobs that have already been configured, click ‘Add backup’ to configure a new backup job. See the NAS OS 4 User Manual, chapter “Backup Manager” for detailed instructions on how to configure these backup functions. When “DAS” is mentioned it’s referring to an external USB or eSATA hard drive and stands for “Direct Attached Storage”.
There are 4 source options available in the Backup Wizard:
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The first option 'Name of Currently logged into NAS device' configures a backup from the NAS to itself, an external DAS device, a Cloud service, or another NAS device:
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‘Currently logged into NAS device’: for example back up data from one Share to another Share
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USB device: back up to a USB drive that’s been connected directly to the NAS
** NAS to DAS incremental backups are NOT available if the DAS is formatted NTFS. Only EXT2, EXT3, EXT4, XFS and HFS+ Non-Journaled are compatible with incremental backups.
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Cloud: back up to Amazon S3, Baidu (pcs), Box, Dropbox, Google Drive, Strato HiDrive, Yandex.Disk or OneDrive. You must have a registered account with one of these Cloud services to use it as the backup destination
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Network device: back up to another NAS using Rsync, FTP, SMB, NFS or the WebDAV protocols.
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Another NAS OS device: back up to another Seagate NAS running NAS OS
** The receiving Seagate NAS must have its Network backup Server enabled
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The second option 'USB device’ configures a new backup job from a currently connected USB device to the NAS, the Cloud, another Network device, or another NAS OS device.
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The third option 'Cloud' configures a new backup job from one of your Cloud accounts to the NAS, or a currently connected USB device.
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The fourth option ‘Network Device’ configures a new backup job from a different NAS device to this NAS device, or a currently connected USB device, using Rsync, FTP, SMB, NFS or the WebDav Protocols
*Please be aware that your Cloud Service subscription might have a limited capacity, so be sure to configure the Cloud backup job with the available capacity in mind.
Computer to NAS Backups
A backup from a computer to the NAS needs to be configured from the computer’s operating system, not from the NAS OS Backup Manager. See below for tips on Windows and Mac:
Windows
Consult this Windows’ Article on how to use Windows 7’s built-in backup software to perform a computer to NAS backup. Details for other versions of Windows can be found on Microsoft’s Support website.
Third party backup software can also be installed to a Windows computer and used to configure a computer to Seagate NAS backup.
When assigning a backup destination, simply choose ‘Network Location’ and browse for the NAS Share you’d like to use. It might be necessary to map a network drive to the Share first from Windows Explorer.
Mac OSX
For details on setting up a Time Machine backup, see this article on Apple’s Support website. Instead of selecting an external hard drive as the destination, select a NAS Share. It might be necessary to mount the Share first from Finder using proper NAS user credentials.
Use the second option in the menu on the left called ‘Restore’ to copy files from previous backups back to your destination in the event of data loss. These restore functions do not allow restoring individual files or folders, however during the setup you are able to choose different dates if the backup job has completed multiple times.
If you would like to restore just a few files or a specific folder manually, browse to the backup destination folder through Windows Explorer or Finder, copy the desired files, and paste them back into the Source folder.
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Log in to the NAS OS, click the Backup Manager shortcut, click “Restore”
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There are 4 options to restore from:
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A backup: Restore data based on previous backup jobs
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A 4-Bay or USB device backup folder: Restore data from available folders the NAS OS recognizes as a backup folder
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A cloud backup folder: Restore data from available Cloud folders the NAS OS recognizes as a backup folder
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A network backup folder: Choose the desired protocol and restore data from available Network folders the NAS OS recognizes as a backup folder.
Another feature in the Backup Manager is called Sync. Unlike a regular backup, once the Sync has been configured it works both ways, so if any changes are made to the destination folder in the Cloud, depending on the schedule, these changes will also be applied to the Sync source on the NAS.
Log in to the NAS’ Dashboard, click the ‘Backup Manager’ shortcut and Sync is available in the list on the left. Click it.
Now click 'Add sync job' to get a new task started, there are multiple Cloud options you can choose from to use as the destination for this Sync job:
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Google Drive
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Dropbox
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Onedrive
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Baidu (pcs)
You must have an active account with one of these Cloud services to use this Sync option. Once you’ve chosen a Cloud Service, the Sync Wizard will ask you to sign into your account for that Cloud Service.
You can configure:
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The Sync Destination (a directory on the Cloud Service)
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The Sync Source (a directory on the NAS*)
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And the Sync schedule
*Please be aware that your Cloud Service subscription might have a limited capacity, so be sure to configure the Cloud backup job with the available capacity in mind.
When the Network backup Server is enabled, (most) other Rsync compatible devices will be able to use your NAS as a Network backup destination. This service does not need to be enabled for you to configure your own outgoing (Net) backups.
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Go to the NAS’ Dashboard and click 'Backup Manager'
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In the list on the left, click 'Network backup Server'
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To enable the Network backup Server service, simply click 'Enable'
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It asks you to create a Network backup Server password and confirm it
(You will be prompted for this password when starting a Network backup from another device and using this NAS device as the destination)
Once enabled, the Network backup server settings page shows you:
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The device name
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Login (networkbackup)
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Password (****** and a 'show password' feature)
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Which port is used for regular Network backups (default 873)
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Which port is used for encrypted Network backups (default 22)
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The Rsync Module (Network backup)
If you wish to set up a remote Network backup, the ports will need to be forwarded in the router’s settings on the receiving end, referencing the local IP address of the NAS device.
Enabling the Network backup server creates a new local Share called Network Backup. By default no user has access to this Share. To give a user access to the Network Backup Share:
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Go to the NAS OS Device Manager
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Under Share, click 'Shares'
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Hover over the new Network Backup Share and click 'edit' to the right of it
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Click 'Users' to open that Share’s User Access Control Panel
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Drag and drop the desired user into the 'Read+write access' window
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You might consider just giving Read access as a precaution
