Administering remote storage for MSS backups

You can back up MSS data to the backup media in the local DVD-RAM drive installed in the MSS or to a remote storage location in the network via FTP or SFTP. This topic provides the following information about the administration you must complete to back up MSS data to a remote storage location on the customer-provided LAN:

• Administering the remote storage server for FTP/SFTP backups
• Administering the remote storage location on the MSS

Administering the remote storage server for FTP/SFTP backups

Backing up the MSS to a remote storage location requires a customer-provided FTP/SFTP server on the customer LAN. See the Concepts and Planning Guide for more detailed information on the requirements of the customer-provided LAN and the server required to support MSS backups via FTP or SFTP.

Note: It is the responsibility of the customer to configure the FTP/SFTP server to support remote storage of MSS data. This configuration must be complete before you attempt to administer the MSS to support remote storage of backup data.

Complete the following basic steps to administer a customer-provided FTP or SFTP server to support MSS backups to a remote location on the customer-provided LAN:

1. Create the directory on the remote server that you want to serve as the remote storage location for MSS backups.
2. Administer a user with read and write permissions for the directory you created in Step 1.
3. Test that the user can access the directory on the server.
4. Record the IP address or host name, directory name, user name, and password (not required for SFTP) for the remote server. This information is required when administering the MSS to support MSS backups to a remote storage location.

Administering the remote storage location on the MSS

Complete the following procedure to administer the remote storage location on the MSS.

To administer the remote storage location:

1. On the Configure Remote Storage page, in the Backup Mode field, select FTP or SFTP to specify the mode to use for the file backup to the remote location.

   The system displays the fields required for the backup mode you selected.

2. Complete the fields on the page. For more information about this page, click the field names or Help.
3. If you selected FTP in the Backup Mode field, proceed to step 5. If you selected SFTP in the Backup Mode field, you must generate the public cryptographic key to be used for authentication between the MSS and the remote SFTP server:
   1. Click Regenerate RSA public key. The system displays the generated key in the RSA public cryptographic key window.
   2. Transfer the public key to the customer's SFTP server. One way to do this is to copy the text from the cryptographic key window to a file, paste the key into a file, transfer the file to the remote SFTP server, and then paste the key into the appropriate file on the remote SFTP server. The file to which you must copy the public key information depends on the SFTP version being used on the remote server. For example, for SSH1 use the $HOME/.ssh/authorized_keys or $HOME/.ssh/authorized_key2 file.

   Note: After you generate the initial public key, you should not need to regenerate the public key unless it is a customer security requirement.

4. Click Save.

   The system displays a message that the parameters have been saved.

5. Click OK.
6. Click Test Connection to validate the connection to the FTP server based on the page settings.

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