Thecus N4100 Nsync Quick Guide

Contents
1. Overview ..................................................................................................................................2 2. Nsync from an N4100 (172.16.66.88) to another N4100 (172.16.66.99)..................................2 2-1. Setup Target N4100 (where backup data will be stored)................................................2 2-2. Setup Nsync N4100 (file source) ...................................................................................3 2-3. Restore Backup Data .....................................................................................................7 3. Nsync from an N4100 (172.16.66.88) to an FTP Server (172.16.66.99) ..................................8 3-1. Setup Target FTP Server (where backup data will be stored) ........................................8 3-2. Setup Nsync N4100 (file source) ...................................................................................8 3-3. Restore Backup Data ...................................................................................................12 4. Nsync Troubleshooting...........................................................................................................13 4-1. Filename and FTP encoding ........................................................................................13 4-2. Incremental Backup .....................................................................................................13 4-3. Restore Nsync Task .....................................................................................................13 4-4. Data Security on Target Server ....................................................................................13

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Thecus N4100 Nsync Quick Guide 1. Overview

Nsync is a folder-to-folder level synchronization/backup function brought by Thecus NAS N4100. The backup task could be scheduled periodically or manually start it whenever you want. Basically you will need a target machine to store the backup data. Either another N4100 or a traditional FTP server is okay.

2. Nsync from an N4100 (172.16.66.88) to another N4100 (172.16.66.99)

2-1. Setup Target N4100 (where backup data will be stored) 1) The target N4100 should have RAID created. In addition, create a user account that will have writable permission of Nsync folder, say john. Then add john into the writable list of Nsync folder ACL. [Storage / Folder]

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2) Nsync Target setting: leave Nsync Target Server as enabled. [Network / Target]

2-2. Setup Nsync N4100 (file source) 1) Add a new Nsync task. [Storage / Nsync]

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Task Name: give the task a name or use default Nsync_task_1. Target Server Manufacturer: Thecus NAS means the target file server is a Thecus N4100 and you prefer a secure transfer. In case you want to backup files to a traditional FTP server or to a Thecus N4100 with non-secure transfer, please choose Legacy FTP Server. Please note secure transfer takes about 4 times longer to complete the task, compared to non-secure transfer. Target Server IP address: 172.16.66.99 is the IP address of Target N4100, not Source N4100. Source Folder: since we want the share folder david on Source N4100 periodically backed up, we choose david as the Source Folder. Authorized Username on Target Server: to put files on to the Target N4100, you should have a user account that has writable permission to the Nsync folder on it. Please note that user account john is on Target N4100 (172.16.66.99), not on Source N4100 (172.16.66.88). Test Connection: to make sure the authorized FTP account works well.
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Schedule: scheduling the task, if necessary. 2) Apply Bandwidth Limit to the task and start it.

3) The status is indicated on Last Status column. By clicking it, you will see the details.

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2-3. Restore Backup Data 1) Check the task you want to restore, and then click Restore button.

2) The status is indicated on Last Status column. By clicking it, you will see the details.

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Thecus N4100 Nsync Quick Guide 3. Nsync from an N4100 (172.16.66.88) to an FTP Server (172.16.66.99)
3-1. Setup Target FTP Server (where backup data will be stored) 1) A user account that has full permissions to his FTP login folder is prerequisite. In case the permissions are incomplete, Nsync wont work well.

3-2. Setup Nsync N4100 (file source) 1) Add a new Nsync task. [Storage / Nsync]

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Task Name: give the task a name or use default Nsync_task_1. Target Server Manufacturer: Legacy FTP Server means the target file server is a traditional FTP server. In case its another N4100 but we want a non-secure transfer to speed up the task, click Legacy FTP Server too. Target Server IP address: 172.16.66.99 is the IP address of Target FTP Server, not Source N4100. Source Folder: since we want the share folder david on Source N4100 periodically backed up, we choose david as the Source Folder. Authorized Username on Target Server: to put files on to the FTP server, you should have a user account that has full permission to the login folder. Please note that user account john is on the FTP Server (172.16.66.99), not on Source N4100 (172.16.66.88). Test Connection: to make sure the authorized user account works well. Schedule: scheduling the task, if necessary.

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2) Apply Bandwidth Limit to the task and start it.

3) The status is indicated on Last Status column. By clicking it, you will see the details.

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3-3. Restore Backup Data 1) Check the box of the task you want to restore, and then click Restore button.

2) The status is indicated on Last Status column. By clicking it, you will see the details.

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4. Nsync Troubleshooting
4-1. Filename and FTP encoding Basically Nsync uses FTP to synchronize files and subfolders to another FTP server. So you have to make sure the file and folder names are without strange characters such as / \ : * ? < > | [ ] = + ; , . In addition, both Nsync Source N4100 and Nsync Target server should have the same FTP encoding. In case not, the restored files and subfolders may have their names changed. 4-2. Incremental Backup Nsync task will create an incremental backup backup on Target Server. It means if you deleted subfolder A and add B subfolder on the Source N4100 then executed the task, the backup subfolder A will existed still, and copy subfolder B on Target Server. Which means system would keeping all of data on Target Server, and copy new add or changed file while task executed to saving bandwidth & time, also a complete file back on the Target Server. 4-3. Restore Nsync Task Restoring an Nsync task will restore the whole folder to the last status. It means all files synchronized to Target Server will be completely copied back to the source folder. Not only changed files are copied. 4-4. Data Security on Target Server In case the synchronized files on Target Server were modified or deleted by other user accounts that have full permission to the backup folder, the Nsync restore process will copy modified files back and may miss some deleted files. EOF

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