Frequently Asked Questions

How do I add my Linux machine to the Dashboard?

If you are a new user,

1. Download the latest IDrive for Linux package to your Linux machine.
2. Copy or move the downloaded IDrive for Linux package to a location of your choice in your Linux machine.
3. Provide an appropriate permission (executable permission) to the downloaded idriveforlinux.bin
   chmod a+x idriveforlinux.bin
4. Run the command ./idriveforlinux.bin --install for installation, and then navigate to /opt/IDriveForLinux/bin.
5. Execute ./idrive --account-setting OR ./idrive -a to view or modify user details locally for your configured IDrive account.
6. Execute ./idrive --login OR ./idrive -i to log in to your account, if you have not logged in while setting up your account.

Log in to your account via the web interface and your Linux machine will appear in the dashboard now. You can remotely configure the backup set, manage backup schedules, settings etc.

If you are an existing user,

1. Run . ./idrive --check-update OR ./idrive -C from your IDrive for Linux package location on your Linux machine and follow the instructions.
2. Post updating your package to the latest version, you must login to your account.

Your Linux machine will appear in the dashboard now. You can remotely configure backup set, manage backup schedules, settings etc.

Visit our read me page for more information.

How can I manage my Linux machines from the Dashboard?

You can manage all your connected Linux machines from the 'Computers' tab on the dashboard. You can also view backup details like last backed up time and the status of each backup.

To manage,

1. Log in to the IDrive web interface with your user credentials.
2. Click the 'Computers' tab. The list of all the backed up computers appear here.
3. Click the Linux machine name to initiate or schedule backups, perform restores, configure settings and view logs.

The following statuses indicate that the connected computer is online or offline:

The computer is online and web access is enabled.

The computer is offline and web access is enabled.

Indicates that web access is disabled for the computer

Why am I unable to access my Linux machine via dashboard?

If you are unable to access your Linux machine via Dashboard, it could be because of the following reasons:

1. Dashboard service is not running
   
   1. Run ./idrive --account-setting OR ./idrive -a and post validation, your account details will appear on the screen.
   2. Check if Dashboard service is 'Running'. If not, go to 'Edit your account details' and select 'Start/Restart dashboard service' to start it.

After performing the above checks try to access your machine via dashboard and if the issue persists contact support.

What is Archive Cleanup?

Archive Cleanup compares the files of your local storage, selected for backup, with the files in your IDrive online backup account. It then deletes the files present in your account but not on your local machine. This feature thus helps you to free up space in your online backup account.

When you try to set periodic archive cleanup via dashboard, you can change number of days after which you like to run archive cleanup and percentage of the total no. of files to be considered for deletion. This percentage based control helps to avoid large-scale deletion of files in your account.

Archive cleanup will run only after the days you have selected above from the current date.

How do I backup my Linux server using IDrive?

You can backup your Linux servers using IDrive for Linux package. To perform all your IDrive operations, download the package and follow the instructions provided in the readme.

Can I schedule backups from my Linux server?

Yes. You can do the schedule backup using IDrive backup schedule option.

Is there any preliminary setting that needs to be done before I start my backup?

Ensure that you have provided appropriate permissions (executable permission) to the IDrive for Linux package.

When I restore data, the permissions and owner / group information is different from source. Why?

IDrive stores your data with a fixed owner / group and set of permissions that may be different from original set of owner / group and permissions. After you restore the data, ensure that the permissions and ownership information is modified appropriately.

Is there any simple way to backup MySQL database?

Follow the below steps to backup your MySQL database.

1. Create MySQL database dump file using following command
   $mysqldump sample_database > /usr/local/mysql_sample_database
2. Backup the database dump file using Backup command.

While configuring my account, I see two options, ‘Create new Backup location’ and ‘Select from the existing backup location’. Why is that?

While configuring your account, two options such as, ‘Create new Backup location’ and ‘Select from the existing backup location’ may appear. This is because, one or more devices are configured with your account but there is no backup location configured for that particular device from which you have logged into the account. So you can either create new backup location for that device or link the device with the existing Backup Location.

Why can't I see the ‘Backup type’ for my IDrive account?

For some IDrive accounts users may be unable to see ‘Backup type’, because the default backup type for these accounts is set as Mirror.

What is default exclude?

It refers to the types of files or directories that the IDrive backup service automatically excludes from backup operations. This is typically done to save storage space and avoid backing up unnecessary or temporary files.

Example:

/proc/

/opt/IDriveForLinux/bin/

/opt/IDriveForLinux/idriveIt/

/tmp/IDriveLocal/

What is propagated exclude?

1. Login to Dashboard.
2. Select 'Settings' from left side panel.
3. Select 'Backup Content' and then choose 'Linux'.
4. From 'Exclude Files/Folders' section, provide items which you want to exclude and then propagate to respective device.
   

Note: Propagated exclude items can be removed via propagation only. Also, if admin users propagate exclude values to sub accounts only admin can remove the value by editing the same.

What is user exclude?

It refers to specific files or directories that a user can choose to exclude from their backup. This allows users to customize their backup settings by selecting certain files or folders that they don’t want to be included in the backup process.

This feature helps manage backup storage efficiently and can speed up the backup process by excluding unnecessary data. Users can usually set these exclusions in the iDrive interface under backup settings.

To edit files/folders for user Exclude,

1. Run ./idrive -e and select option 'View/Edit your Exclude List'. The file will open in a text editor.
2. Add the full path of the files/folders that you wish to exclude.
3. Enter each full path in a new line.
4. Save and exit.

Note: The user can provide a full path, partial path, and regex exclude, all within the same user exclude section.

How do I uninstall the IDrive for Linux package?

Uninstalling the IDrive for Linux package from your system will leave the files/folders of your system liable to digital disasters.

To uninstall the IDrive for Linux package, run the below command and follow the instructions.
./idriveforlinux.bin --uninstall OR ./idrive -u

This will automatically remove all the IDrive for Linux package files and other dependency files. It will also cleanup the scheduled backup/restore jobs if any.

My scheduled jobs are not running. What should I do?

IDrive cron service must be running for all scheduled jobs to work.

To verify status of the cron service and restart,

1. Run the ./idrive --account-setting OR ./idrive -a and verify if 'IDrive cron service' is running.
2. If the service is not running, select the 'Edit your account details' option.
3. Select 'Start/Restart IDrive cron service' option and follow the instructions to start the IDrive cron service.

My local Express drive is not listed for selection. How can I get it listed?

The Express drive must be mounted on your Linux machine to get listed on the dashboard. If the connected device is not listed, then you need to manually enter a mount path to use Express Backup.

I am getting the message "You do not have permission to modify the selected settings. Contact the admin of your account". Why?

If you are getting this message, it means your account administrator has locked the setting for you. You must contact your admin to unlock and allow access.

What is snapshot feature in the dashboard in restore page?

Snapshots are historical view of your data, stored in IDrive account, which allow you to perform point-in-time recovery. They are useful especially in case your systems were attacked by ransomware or other malicious software.

If your data is infected with encryption-based ransomware, all you need to do is select a time-line before the infection and restore it.

To perform snapshot based restore,

1. Go to the 'Restore' tab and click 'Snapshots'.
2. Select the date and time and click 'Submit'. A list of all the data backed up on or before the selected date appears.
3. Select the required files/folders and click 'Restore to <Computer Name>'.

   Note: For some accounts Snapshots are not available.