Wasabi Covert Copy With BackupAssist Classic

BackupAssist Classic has been validated for use with Wasabi. For information on how BackupAssist Classic works with Wasabi, refer to BackupAssist.

This article describes the procedure to use Wasabi Covert Copy to protect a “Golden Copy” of BackupAssist Classic backups for use in case of a disaster that affects other copies of backups.

Covert Copy is a static, one-time copy, not an ongoing replication.

The data restoration process is handled by your specific backup software application. As there are many potential variables that will affect your unique environment, Wasabi strongly recommends that you seek the guidance of your backup software's technical support team in the event that you encounter difficulty or have application-specific inquiries.

Requirements

• BackupAssist Classic version 15.0.2 or higher installed and licensed.

• An active Wasabi Hot Cloud Storage account.

• Active BackupAssist Classic backup job pointing to a Wasabi bucket.

• Existing backups reside in a Wasabi Object-Locked (immutable) bucket. The Object Lock feature must have been previously enabled on the bucket.

• Multi-Factor Authentication is enabled for the Wasabi account root user. See MFA (Multi-Factor Authentication) for details on how to enable and use MFA on your account.

High-Level Steps

Follow the high-level steps below to implement Covert Copy for your BackupAssist Classic backups. These are detailed further in the sections below.

1. Enable Multi-User Authorization (MUA) on your account and configure Covert Copy activities that your security contacts approve.

2. Pause BackupAssist backup activities by disabling backup jobs pointing to Wasabi.

3. Enable Covert Copy on your bucket containing BackupAssist backups.

4. Wait for your BackupAssist backups to be copied to the Covert Copy bucket.

5. Resume BackupAssist backup activities by enabling backup jobs pointing to Wasabi.

6. In the case of a disaster, a recovery may be performed from the Covert Copy bucket. This will require that a Wasabi Support ticket be created to place the Covert Copy bucket in Restore Mode and make it visible to BackupAssist.

Enabling Multi-User Authorization (MUA) on Your Account

1. Log in to the Wasabi Console (https://console.wasabisys.com/login).

2. Click Security in the navigation panel. Then, click MUA.

   

3. If you have existing security contact(s), follow this step. If you do not have existing security contact(s), follow Step 4.

   1. Click the three vertical dots under Action. Then, click Edit Activities.

      

   2. Click the drop-down arrow under Activities.

      

   3. Check to select the Delete Covert Copy Bucket and Access Covert Copy Bucket options.

      

   4. Click Continue.

      

   5. Enter your Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) code. Then, click Send. This will send an invitation to your security contact, who must approve within 15 minutes for the changes to take effect.

      

   6. Repeat Step 3 for your other security contact(s).

4. If you do not have any security contacts:

   1. Click Add Security Contact.

      

   2. Enter the security contact’s email address and select all activities.

      

   3. Click Continue.

      

   4. Enter your Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) code and click Send. This will send an invitation to your security contact, who must approve within 15 minutes for the changes to take effect.

      

   5. Repeat Step 4 for your other security contact(s).

Enabling Covert Copy Email Notifications

1. In the Wasabi Console, click Settings, then click Notifications. Enable the Email Notification slider next to Covert Copy, enter your MFA code, and click Save Changes.      

   

2. Click Save Changes on the popup window.

   

Pausing BackupAssist Backup Activities

1. Log in to your server or workstation running BackupAssist. On the Overview tab disable the backup job by selecting it and clicking Disable.

   

Enabling Covert Copy

1. Log in to the Wasabi Console (https://console.wasabisys.com/login).

2. Click Buckets, then click the three vertical dots next to the bucket containing your BackupAssist Classic backups.

   

3. Click Covert Copy.

   

4. Enter the region for the Covert Copy bucket. For the other settings, it is recommended to keep the default values as shown in the screenshot below. Click Next.

   

   This configuration example discusses the use of Wasabi's us-west-1 storage region for the Covert Copy bucket. For a list of regions, see Available Storage Regions. The region must be in the same continent as the primary bucket.

5. Enter your MFA code on the next screen. Then, click Create Bucket.

   

6. Move the slider to enable Show Covert Copy Buckets pn your list of buckets. The Covert Copy Status will show In Progress until all objects in the source bucket have been copied to the Covert Copy bucket.

   

7. There is no estimated time for how long the Covert Copy process will take, as there are many variables affecting it, such as how many objects are in the source bucket. It may take a significant amount of time. When the process is complete, the Covert Copy Status will show Covert Copy Completed. You will also receive an email letting you know the process has completed.

   

8. Optionally, to see the data in the Covert Copy bucket, click the three vertical dots next to the bucket on the right side of the Wasabi console. Click Request Access.

   

9. Click Send Request to request permission from your security contact(s) to view the Covert Copy bucket contents.

   

10. The security contact(s) have 15 minutes to approve the request. After the security contacts approve the request, you may view the contents of the bucket for 24 hours. Go to Buckets and enable Show Covert Copy Buckets. Click the name of the Covert Copy bucket.

    

Resuming BackupAssist Backup Activities

1. Log in to your server or workstation running BackupAssist.  On the Overview tab enable the backup job by selecting it and clicking Enable.

   

2. You will now see the backup job is enabled.

   

In Case of Disaster

In the example below shows how to recover files and apps from a Covert Copy bucket.

1. In the case of a disaster, the root user must submit a Wasabi Support ticket by using this email address to contact Wasabi Support (support@wasabi.com). In the email, request Restore Mode and include the name of your Covert Copy bucket. After Support enables Restore Mode, the Covert Copy bucket will be visible to BackupAssist and will allow a restore to be performed from backups in the bucket.

2. In the BackupAssist Classic client, click either option under the RECOVER tab depending on what you want to recover. In our example we are recovering files and apps.  Click on the appropriate option (we selected local and network files).

   

3. Click Discover Backups.

   

4. Click the cloud icon.

   

5. Click Wasabi.  Enter the name of your Wasabi Covert Copy bucket, select its region, and enter your Wasabi root access and secret keys.  Click OK.

   

6. In the popup window, enter your backup’s password and click OK.

   

7. BackupAssist will tell you how many backups were added.  Click OK.

   

8. Select the checkboxes as shown in the screenshot below and click OK.

   

9. Click the name of the backup job next to the backup location that lists your Covert Copy bucket.

   

10. Enter your backup’s password and click OK.

    

11. Select what to restore and where to restore it to. Click Restore.

    

12. After the restore shows being Completed, click Done.