How to "Set-n-Forget" backup with Synology Data Replicator 3

Step 1:

Begin by starting executing DR3

Step 2:

Press the Select key to find a Synology Server to use

Step 3:

Select the default parameter of Synology Server and press Ok to continue.
Note: Selecting Other Location will bring about a new text box for input. The new location can be another Synology Server or even another computer as long as it is within the same LAN. This function can be used to target destinations which are on different subnets.

Step 4:

After selecting Synology Server from the previous step, DR3 will begin to search for Synology Servers to use. Here, this guide will use SynologyServer as the target destination.

Step 5:

Enter the credentials needed to access the target server.
Be sure to enable Auto-Connect on Data Replicator 3 startup. Using this function will set DR3 to automatically connect to the selected server, and thus searching for the target server is no longer necessary in the future.

Step 6:

Select a target folder to use, to store the data you wish to backup

Step 7:

Note the Backup Destination has been set, and that DR3 is ready to begin a backup job

Step 8:

Select Options on the left hand side, and enable these recommended functions for your backup

• File Versions: Enabling this function will allow DR3 to keep redundant versions of the same file, up to twenty revisions of the same file can be made in DR3.
• Restore Points: Enabling this function will allow DR3 will create whole restore points of each backup jobs, such as having multiple days worth of backups. Up to 128 restore points can be created; I would recommend having 7~10 restore points. Seven for one backup job per day of the week, and an extra three as a security measure.

Note: Restore points can only be used on Windows 2000, Windows XP, Windows 2003, or Windows Vista

• Auto Start Data Replicator 3 on Windows Startup: This function must be enabled for Set-n-Forget Backup to function correctly. This will allow DR3 to start up automatically when Windows boots up.
• Note, using File Versions and/or Restore points with DR3 will create Hard Links for the different versions/points on the Synology system, where data is not changed. The usage of Hard Links will inflate the logical disk space usage, however, physical disk space will remain the same.

Step 9:

Now with all options set, select which folders/data that need to be backed up. Afterwards, press the Sync button near the bottom of the window.

• Note: the ability of backing up opened files, such as Outlook data, or an open Publisher file, can only be done using Windows XP, Windows 2003, or Windows Vista

Step 10:

When enabling Synchronization mode, DR3 will prompt how often the Outlook Mail file should be backed up. Recommended is every four hours.

• Note: Please note that Outlook Mail data can be very large, selecting a smaller interval may result in large amounts of being backed up to the Synology Server to often.
• Note: If you wish to use Scheduled Backup, proceed to Alternative Method

Step 11:

DR3 is performing Synchronization

Step 12:

After all data has been Synchronized, DR3 will begin to monitor for file changes, as noted by the "Status Bar" near the bottom of the program Window. All options to the backup job will be locked, and cannot be changed unless Sync mode is disabled. On the right hand of the desktop, DR3 will also display status box when it is performing activity, or if there is an error during the backup task.

Step 13:

A view of the data backed up on the SynologyServer

Step 1:

Begin by pressing the Schedule button and set the how often and when Scheduled Backup should take place.

Step 2:

Enter the password of the Windows terminal so that DR3 can execute the backup job while there is no user "Logged In" to the terminal.

• Note: This step may be skipped if scheduled backup is to occur when there is a user logged into the terminal

Step 3:

Scheduled backup is now enabled, as noted by the text at the bottom of the buttons. If the schedule needs to be updated or changed, delete the old schedule and create a new one.