Seed restore in Backup Manager

Seed restore is a reverse seeding process to download data from the cloud in bulk for use in a local restore. This is useful if the Internet connection on the target computer isn’t fast enough or if uploading data from the Internet is undesirable (for example, due to security reasons).

Seed restore is a self-service operation. It can be performed without the involvement of service providers.

Definitions

  • A host computer – the computer on which a seed restore is initiated
  • A target computer – the computer to which the data will be restored
  • A removable drive – a storage device for the transfer of recovery data to the target computer

Requirements

  1. The host computer must run on Windows and must have a high-speed Internet connection
  2. The target computer can run on Windows, macOS or Linux. It must have the Backup Manager installed with the same device name and installation key that was used for backup
  3. The removable drive must have a sufficient amount of free space for recovery data

During the seed restore all backup sessions available in the cloud are copied to the removable drive (therefore the free space requirement).

Instructions

Step 1: Get the Server Tool

  1. On the host computer, download the Server Tool utility. Version 17.10 or later is required (it contains important fixes). You can get an installer from the Downloads page in the Management Console or from the Additional downloads section of the N-able Backup Downloads page
  2. Unpack the archive you have downloaded

Step 2: Create a recovery folder

  1. Connect the removable drive to the host computer
  2. On the removable drive, create a folder where recovery data will be downloaded to, for example D:\OfflineRestore

Step 3: Download backup data to the recovery folder

  1. Start the Command Prompt
  2. Go to the folder where the Server Tool is located, for example:
    cd "C:\Users\Administrator\Downloads\mxb-st-windows-x64"
  3. Run the seed.download command. Here is an example:
    ServerTool.exe seed.download -account sony-vaio-frontdesk -password 123456 -path 
D:\OfflineRestore

Values containing spaces must be submitted in straight double quotes.

Required parameters

Parameter Definition Supported values
-account The name of the backup device recovery is performed for Text
-password The installation key for access to the backup device Text
-path The path to the recovery folder on the removable drive Path

Optional parameters

Parameter Definition Supported values
-retry-count The number of attempts to connect to the remote server (if the initial attempt fails). A whole number (set to 5 by default). Recommended range: 1 to 5
-thread-count The number of simultaneous download threads A whole number (set to 1 by default). 4 is recommended.

For security reasons, the backup data downloaded to the removable drive is encrypted. To make it accessible, add it to the backup device that was used for its creation (see the next step for details).

Step 4: Recover the data to target computer

  1. When the download is completed, eject the removable drive and connect it to the target computer
  2. In the Backup Manager, go to Preferences > LocalSpeedVault. Enable the feature and set Vault location to the recovery folder on the removable drive, for example D:\OfflineRestore
  3. When the local storage synchronization status changes to "Synchronized", open the Restore tab and perform recovery