Create and use a MyArchive hard drive

COURSE OBJECTIVES

Upon completion of this course you should be able to:

1. Create and begin using a MyArchive hard drive.
2. Back up data from an ASUSTOR NAS to a MyArchive hard drive.

PREREQUISITES

Course Prerequisites:

None

Students are expected to have a working knowledge of:

N/A

OUTLINE

1. Creating a MyArchive hard drive

1.1 Before you get started

1.2 Creating a MyArchive hard drive

2. What to Do if Your MyArchive Drive Bays are Already Occupied

2.1 When the NAS has other empty drive bays available

2.2 When all NAS drive bays are full

2.2.1 Drive bays are fully occupied by Volume 1

2.2.2 Drive bays are fully occupied by multiple volumes

3. Configuring USB binding for an encrypted MyArchive hard drive

4. Unmounting a MyArchive hard drive

5. Backing up data to a MyArchive hard drive

6. Naming Rules for MyArchive Bays

1. Creating a MyArchive hard drive

The MyArchive function allows you to use hard drives as removable storage archives. Plug in an archive when you need it and swap it out for a different archive when you don't. Enjoy "plug and play" convenience as you swap between different data collections. Furthermore, the MyArchive function helps you to save power as the archives you are not using can be taken out for storage and do not always have to be powered on.

1.1 Before you get started

Before using the MyArchive function, your ASUSTOR NAS must meet the following requirements:

• Volume 1 must exist.
• A MyArchive bay must be unoccupied and available.

Note: Two bay NAS devices are not recommended for use with MyArchive if a RAID array is built. If RAID 0 or RAID 1 is already built, please click here to re-initialize NAS.

1.2 Creating a MyArchive hard drive

Follow the steps below to create your first MyArchive hard drive.

STEP 1

• Insert a hard drive into a MyArchive drive bay.
• Select [Storage Manager] from the ADM desktop.
• Click on the [Create] button under the [Volume] section.
• The Volume Setup Wizard should now appear. Select the [MyArchive] radio button.
  (Note: The system will delete all data on the hard drive that you are using to create a MyArchive hard drive. Please make sure that you have backed up any data on the hard drive.)
• Click on [Next] and follow the rest of the steps to create your MyArchive hard drive.

STEP 2

• Select the hard drive that you wish to create a MyArchive hard drive with.

STEP 3

• You can choose to format this MyArchive hard drive in EXT4, Btrfs, exFAT*, NTFS, or HFS+ file systems here.
• The [Alias name] field is optional. It can be used to quickly determine the contents of MyArchive drives from within ADM File Explorer when multiple drives are mounted simultaneously.
• If you choose to format the MyArchive drive in EXT4 or Btrfs, you can enable the encryption feature and configure the related settings to make your data more secure.

*The exFAT license is required if using ADM 3.5.x and previous version.

STEP 4

• Confirm the settings made in previous steps, and click [Finish] to start the creation of the MyArchive drive.

STEP 5

• After the successful creation of your MyArchive drive, you will be able to see the MyArchive volume in Storage Manager.

• You can now open up File Explorer from the ADM desktop to begin using MyArchive. The alias name will be displayed here.

2. What to Do if Your MyArchive Drive Bays are Already Occupied

2.1 When the NAS has other empty drive bays available

If you still have other empty drive bays that can be used, you can readjust the positioning of your hard drives in order to free up a MyArchive drive bay. You can follow the steps below to readjust the positioning of your hard drives in the drive bays.

STEP 1

• Select [Storage Manager] from the ADM desktop.
• Verify the position/drive bay for all hard drives in your existing storage volumes.
• Shut down the NAS.

STEP 2

• For tower models, insert the hard drives from your storage volumes into the drive bays starting from top to bottom and then from left to right (Storage volumes should be positioned in order by volume number, starting from smallest to largest).
• For rackmount models, insert the hard drives from your storage volumes into the drive bays starting from left to right and then from top to bottom (Storage volumes should be positioned in order by volume number, starting from smallest to largest).
• Power on the NAS after all of the hard drives have been positioned properly.

Diagram for 4-bay NAS:

Diagram for 6-bay NAS:

STEP 3

• Please refer to section 1.2 Creating a MyArchive hard drive for instructions to create a MyArchive hard drive.

2.2 When all NAS drive bays are full

If all your NAS drive bays are currently occupied, you will need to remove a volume in order to free up a drive bay for the MyArchive function to use. Having all hard drive bays fully occupied by storage volumes can be separated into the following 2 scenarios.

Note: After removing a volume, all data on the volume will be permanently deleted and cannot be recovered.

2.2.1 Drive bays are fully occupied by Volume 1

Under this scenario, you will have to reinitialize the NAS in order to use the MyArchive function and free up drive bays.
Before you reinitialize the NAS, please ensure that you have backed up all data on Volume 1. Follow the steps below to reinitialize the NAS:

STEP 1

• Select [Settings] from the ADM desktop.
• Select [Factory Default] from the left-hand panel and then click on [Apply].
• When the system initialization screen appears, reconfigure your storage volume, reserving drive bays for MyArchive use.

STEP 2

• After initialization has completed, you can then insert a hard drive into a MyArchive drive bay to create a MyArchive hard drive. Please refer to section 1.2 Creating a MyArchive hard drive for further instructions.

2.2.2 Drive bays are fully occupied by multiple volumes

Under this scenario, you will have to remove a storage volume in order to free up drive bays for MyArchive use. Follow the steps below to remove a storage volume.

STEP 1

• Select [Storage Manager] from the ADM desktop.
• Select the volume that you wish to remove and then click on the [Remove] button.

Note: The volume that you are removing cannot be Volume 1. After removing the volume, all data on the volume will be permanently deleted and cannot be recovered.

STEP 2

• You are now ready to create a MyArchive Hard Drive. Please refer to section 1.2 Creating a MyArchive hard drive for further instructions.

Note: If MyArchive drive bays are still being occupied by hard drives, please refer to section 2.1 When the NAS has other empty drive bays available for further instructions.

3. Configuring USB binding for an encrypted MyArchive hard drive

You can decrypt encrypted MyArchive hard drives by entering a password, importing an electronic encryption key, or by inserting a USB device with a decryption key into your NAS. To bind a USB device with an encrypted MyArchive hard drive, please follow the steps below:

STEP 1

• Select [Storage Manager] [Volume] and ensure that there is an EXT4 or Btrfs MyArchive hard drive is mounted.

STEP 2

• Insert a USB device into the USB port located on the front of the NAS. (the binding process does not affect the data on the USB device).
• When the NAS successfully detects the USB device, the [Binding] button will become available.
• Click on [Binding], enter a MyArchive password or import the encrypted key, and then click [OK] to complete the setup.

Note: After binding the USB device to a MyArchive hard drive, please eject MyArchive hard drive and the USB device. Insert the USB device into any one of the vacant USB ports on the NAS and the encrypted MyArchive hard drive will automatically mount. Removing the USB device from the NAS will unmount the encrypted MyArchive hard drive automatically.

4. Unmounting a MyArchive hard drive

There are a variety of ways to unmount a MyArchive hard drive.

• Select [Storage Manager] from the ADM desktop.
• Select the MyArchive that you wish to unmount and then click on [Eject].

• Please refer to NAS 242: Using AiMaster to install AiMaster, and log in to the NAS with MyArchive mounted.
• When MyArchive or external USB devices are mounted in an ASUSTOR NAS, the icon will be displayed on the main page of AiMaster to easily eject MyArchive or external drives.

Remounting a MyArchive hard drive:

• Select [Storage Manager] from the ADM desktop.
• Select the MyArchive that you wish to mount and then click on [Remount].

5. Backing up data to a MyArchive hard drive

Internal Backup allows you to backup data from NAS to local shared folders. Using Internal Backup with MyArchive hard drives creates a perfect off-site backup solution.

ADM now supports automatic mounting and dismounting of MyArchive drives when backing up important data from an ASUSTOR NAS to a MyArchive drive. ADM will automatically mount a connected MyArchive when a backup begins, and automatically eject a MyArchive drive after the backup is complete. In addition to making performing 3-2-1 easier than ever, MyArchive drives are more comprehensively protected from various threats due to a different set of risks that complement the risks to data on a NAS.

In this section we will create and execute a backup job to back up ASUSTOR NAS data to the MyArchive hard drive.

STEP 1

• Select [Backup & Restore] [Internal Backup].
• Click on [Create].

STEP 2

• Select a backup type here.
  • Back up multiple items to a singular location: All chosen source folders will be copied one by one to the destination folder. Multiple folders can be selected.
  • One on one folder backup: All data in the designated destination folder will be synchronized with the data in your source folder. The contents of both folders will be identical.

• Select the source folders or files that you wish to back up and then click [Next].

STEP 3

• Select the destination folder that you wish to back up to and then click [Next].

STEP 4

• These options allow for both an immediate backup as well as scheduled backups. Both can be selected.
• Here you can set the frequency of repeated backups during the backup period. (New to ADM 4.2.5)

STEP 5

• Enter a name for the backup job into the [Save job as] field and click [Next].
• Here you will also see additional checkboxes for a variety of backup options. These options are described as follows:
  • Skip existing file if not modified: When enabling this option, existing files that have not been modified will be skipped to save time backing up.
  • Support sparse files replication: You will only need to enable this option when the data that you wish to back up contains sparse files. Normally, you will not have to enable this option.
  • Supports symbolic link replication: You will only need to enable this option when the data that you wish to back up contains symbolic link files. Normally, you will not have to enable this option. A symbolic link (also symlink or soft link) is a term for any file that contains a reference to another file or directory in the form of an absolute or relative path and that affects pathname resolution.
  • Automatically mount MyArchive 1 before starting a backup, and eject when complete: When enabling this option, ADM will automatically mount a connected MyArchive drive when a backup begins and automatically eject a MyArchive drive upon completion.
  • Mission Mode: ASUSTOR's Mission Mode option for internal backup allows you to configure the time period under which your backup job will be active, after which it will be aborted if not started.

Here you will also see additional options if using one on one folder backup.

• Keep extra files at the destination: Once the copying and synchronization of files is completed, the data at the source and destination should be exactly the same. However, sometimes there are extra files present at the destination. These files are only present at the destination but not at the source. By enabling this option, these extra files will be kept at the destination and will remain untouched.

STEP 6

• Configure the file access permissions of the backup destination, and click [Next].
  • Preferred file permission for all users in the destination: If the ACL status of the source and destination are not the same, this permission setting will be applied to the files at the destination.
  • Keep owner: By default, the owner of the files at the destination will be the user who created the backup job. Enabling this option can allow you to maintain the original ownership of the files at the destination.

STEP 7

• Look over a final summary of your settings. Once you’re done, confirm these settings by clicking [Finish].

STEP 8

• You should now be able to see the job that you just created under the Internal Backup tab. Select the job you have created and then click on [Back up now] to execute the backup job.

6. Naming Rules for MyArchive Bays

As many MyArchive drives may be used as there are free SATA hard drive bays. On NAS models without m.2 slots still need one drive to be occupied for ADM while NAS models with m.2 slots can use up to all of the available free SATA 3½" bays for archive drives. Please check illustrations below for details.

2-bay tower models:	4-bay tower models:
6-bay tower models:
8-bay tower models:	10-bay tower models:
4-bay rackmount models:
9-bay rackmount models:
12-bay rackmount models:
16-bay rackmount models:

Learn More