1. What is Connected Desktop Backup?
2. How secure is Connected Desktop Backup?
3. What are the system requirements?
4. What is the recommended internet connection speed?
5. How are backup users provisioned?
6. How are backups scheduled?
7. How are backup sets defined?
8. How are data restores handled?
9. Can I retrieve multiple/historic versions of files?
10. Can I backup multiple computers with a single account?
11. What happens to open files during a backup?
12. Can I backup external drives, such as USB hard drives, flash drives, etc.?
13. What if there are network interrupts or outages?
14. Can using 123Together.com’s Desktop Backup service ensure compliance?
15. What is the maximum file size for backup and restore?
16. What reporting features are available?
1. What is Connected® Desktop Backup?
123Together.com has chosen to partner with Iron Mountain to offer its customers the leading Desktop Data Backup service. Iron Mountain created the PC backup technology market in 1995. Today, Connected Desktop Backup protects more than 2.5 million PC’s and laptops. Connected Desktop Backup is a fully automated online data backup and recovery solution for your desktop and notebook PCs and Macs – where 60% of a company’s data is stored. It eliminates the day-to-day burden of backing up and recovering data for remote users and greatly reduces the need for IT intervention. Connected Desktop Backup eliminates the uncertainty of traditional PC backup methods which generally rely on users to perform backups to CD or the network – through an automated process that sends your users’ critical data off site via the Internet to a secure data center.
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2. How secure is Connected Desktop Backup?
123Together.com takes data protection very seriously, and we have gone to great lengths to protect data from all credible threats. 123Together.com’s advanced systems and processes, along with its highly secure, off-site Equinix data center, ensure the highest level of physical and data security. Data is encrypted at the desktop, using government-level, 128-bit, Advanced Encryption Standard (AES). All desktop and laptop data is kept encrypted both during transmission and in storage.
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On the user side, the Agent software provides feedback to users if files have not been successfully backed up. Users can then run an unscheduled backup to ensure that all their data is protected.
3. What are the system requirements?
PC
OS: Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows 7
Memory: 1 GB or greater recommended (XP/Vista)
2 GB or greater recommended (Windows 7)
Browser: Internet Explorer 6 or higher
Java: JRE 6.0 or later (embedded in the Connected Backup Agent download)
Mac
OS: Mac OS X 10.4 (Tiger), 10.5 (Leopard), 10.6 (Snow Leopard)
Memory: 2 GB or greater recommended
Browser: Safari 2x or higher
Java: J2SE 5.0 (Tiger/Leopard)
J2SE 6.0 (Snow Leopard)
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4. What is the recommended internet connection speed?
This Desktop Data Backup solution is based on technologies that minimize bandwidth requirements and ensure reliable, consistent and secure backups even over a dial-up connection.
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5. How are backup users provisioned?
This Desktop Backup solution must first be enabled from the 123Together.com hosted services Control Panel. After enabling the service, you can backup-enable existing 123Together.com users or create new backup users. When users are enabled or created, a welcome email will be sent with instructions on how to login to their connected web portal and download the agent. The user will be asked to enter their email address and password at times during the installation process. Please ensure the user has this information at hand.
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6. How are backups scheduled?
By default, backups are set to run Sunday – Saturday between 11PM-5AM, local time. Backup frequency and times may be adjusted at the user level. Additionally, the user can run backups on-demand.
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7. How are backup sets defined?
Desktop Backup features flexible deployment options that can be mixed and matched as needed for different users across the company. You, as the Administrator, can chose from the following configurations on a user level:
- Flexible Select Data Backup – Back up all data files* in My Documents (PC), and Document (Mac). End users are allowed to modify folders and files included in the backup set.
- Select Data Backup – Back up data files* in My Documents (PC), and Documents (Mac). End users CAN NOT modify folders or file types included in the backup set.
- Complete Data Backup – Back up all data files* on the system. End users CAN NOT modify folders or file types included in the backup set.
* Excludes the following files:
Multimedia Extensions: AVI, AVS, MOV, MOVIE, OOV, MPEG, MPG, QT, QTM, SCM, M4V, MP4, WMV.
Audio Extensions: AA, AIF, AIFF, IFO, CDA, MID, MPE, MUS, MP1, MP2, MP3, M4A, M4P, RA, RAM, WAV, WMA.
Other Extensions: TMP, TEMP, CHK, MOZ, SWP, HFV, HIB, $$$.
Miscellaneous: Temp Internet Files, Hibernation Files, Page File, Recycle Bin, System Volume directory, TEMP directory.
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8. How are data restores handled?
Recovery is a self-service process without requiring any calls to the Help Desk or additional work on the part of the IT staff. Users have instant access to their backed-up data through the Connected agent or by accessing it via MyRoam, which offers secure, real-time, web-based access for true end user self-service point-in-time restores, without administrative intervention. In this way, the PC user can restore accidentally deleted files in minutes.
The retrieve session:
• The Agent contacts the data center.
• The Agent then sends to the data center a list of files to retrieve.
• The data center transmits the encrypted files to the client, and the Agent decrypts them upon arrival and places them back on the client’s disk.
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9. Can I retrieve multiple/historic versions of files?
Yes. You can restore the most current or up to ten previous versions of files that have been backed up. This is especially important when data gets corrupted, for example, due to an application crash. The ability to revert back to a version which was backed-up prior to the infection makes recovery faster and easier, minimizing the amount of data lost as well as keeping user downtime to a minimum.
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10. Can I backup multiple computers with a single account?
Each account is associated with a single computer. If you install the software on a different computer, the Agent prompts you to move the account.
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11. What happens to open files during a backup?
Connected Desktop Backup will backup all files that are in use, regardless of the file types.
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12. Can I backup external drives, such as USB hard drives, flash drives, etc..?
It will backup anything that Windows LDM (Disk Manager) reports back as a ‘Fixed-Disk’, USB Hard Drives are supported, USB Flash Drives are not.
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13. What if there are network interrupts or outages?
The Connected Backup solution will automatically reconnect after an Internet connection has been dropped and also offers mid-file restart, minimizing backup time even when Internet interruptions occur.
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14. Can using 123Together.com’s Desktop Backup service ensure compliance?
Because compliance is usually an ongoing, company-wide initiative, just implementing a data protection and recovery solution will not ensure that your company is compliant with federal or state regulations. 123Together.com’s GuardDoc Hosted Archiving for Compliance service is specifically designed to help meet regulatory demands placed on the electronic communications systems of many companies. Additional information on GuardDoc hosted archiving service can be found at www.123Together.com.
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15. What is the maximum file size for backup and restore?
The largest file size that can be backed up and restored by the agent is 128GB in Microsoft systems, and 20GB in Mac. MyRoam data restores are limited to 2GB per session.
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16. What reporting features are available?
The desktop backup usage report is available in the hosted control panel. The report contains the following information:
Users with backup access
Date of last backup – per user
Total protected data – per user
Total protected data – per company.
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