BackupMate

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Quick start

Install the server, connect one PC, take a backup and restore a file. Allow about fifteen minutes. Do every step once on one PC before rolling out to the rest.

You will need: the two installers from the download page, administrator rights on both machines, and both machines on the same office network.

Part 1: the server

1. Install it

On the PC that will hold the backups, run BackupMateServer and accept the prompts. It starts by itself; there is nothing to configure first.

2. Decide where backups are stored (optional, but do it now)

By default they go under C:\ProgramData\BackupMate\Server\storage. To use another disk, open C:\ProgramData\BackupMate\Server\server.json in Notepad as administrator, change storageDir, save, and restart the BackupMateServer service from the Services app.

"storageDir": "D:/BackupMate/storage"
  • Use forward slashes, as above.
  • Use a folder, not the top of a drive: D:/BackupMate/storage, not D:/.
  • Do this before any PC backs up. Changing it later does not move existing backups.

3. Let the office PCs reach it

Windows Firewall blocks incoming connections until told otherwise. On the server, open PowerShell as administrator and run:

New-NetFirewallRule -DisplayName "BackupMate storage" -Direction Inbound -LocalPort 8443 -Protocol TCP -Action Allow -Profile Private,Domain
New-NetFirewallRule -DisplayName "BackupMate control" -Direction Inbound -LocalPort 8444 -Protocol TCP -Action Allow -Profile Private,Domain

This allows the two ports on private and domain networks only. Do not forward these ports through your router.

4. Open the server's console

From the Start menu on the server, open BackupMate Admin Console (it opens https://localhost:8445).

  • Your browser will warn that the certificate is not trusted. That is expected: the server issues its own. Choose to continue.
  • Sign in as admin. The password was generated for you and is in C:\ProgramData\BackupMate\Server\ca\admin-password.txt.

5. Create a code for the first PC

Go to Settings → Licence and machines → Add a machine and press Create an enrolment token. Copy the token shown. It connects one PC, once, and is shown only this time. Create a new one for each PC you add.

6. Copy the server's certificate

Copy the file C:\ProgramData\BackupMate\Server\ca\ca.pem from the server to the PC you are about to connect, for example on a USB stick. A good place to put it is C:\ProgramData\BackupMate\ca.pem.

Copy ca.pem only. Never copy ca.key, which sits beside it: that file must not leave the server.

Part 2: the first PC

7. Install the client

Run BackupMate on the PC. A BackupMate icon appears in the notification area by the clock. Click it and choose Open BackupMate.

8. Connect it to the server

Under Backup servers, press Scan and choose your server when it appears. If it does not appear, press Connect… and type the addresses yourself. Fill in:

Control URLhttps://SERVER:8444, where SERVER is the server's computer name or IP address
Storage URLhttps://SERVER:8443
CA certificate fileWhere you put ca.pem in step 6
Enrolment tokenThe token from step 5
Client IDA name for this PC, such as reception-pc. It must be different for every PC.
Repository passphraseThe passphrase that encrypts the backups. See the warning below.

Write the passphrase down somewhere safe before you press Connect. Files are encrypted with it before they leave the PC, and the server never sees it. If it is lost, the backups cannot be opened by anyone, including us. A password manager is the right place for it. If you would rather the server kept a copy so that an administrator can always recover files, read Who holds the key first and ask us how to switch that on.

Press Connect. The PC is now enrolled.

9. Choose what to back up

  1. Tick the folders that matter, or press Add my Desktop, Documents and Downloads.
  2. Choose when it should run, for example every day at 1 pm.
  3. Check how long backups are kept. The page says what your numbers mean.
  4. Press Add to backups.

10. Take the first backup

Press Run now. The first run reads everything and takes the longest; later runs send only what changed.

Part 3: prove it works

11. Restore one file

A backup you have never restored from is a hope, not a backup. In the Backups panel press Restore, choose Latest, choose one file, and restore it to a different folder such as C:\RestoreTest. Open it.

12. Check the server sees it

In the server's console, the Fleet page should list the PC with a recent backup and the status ok.

13. Get told when something fails

In the server's console go to Settings → Email alerts, enter your mail account's details, save, and press Send test email. Without this, a backup that stops is only visible to someone who looks.

Then

  • Repeat steps 5 to 10 on each PC, with a new token and a different Client ID each time.
  • After 30 days, more than 3 PCs need a licence.
  • Keep a second copy of the server's storage folder on another disk. BackupMate protects your PCs; this protects BackupMate.

If something does not work

What you seeWhat to check
Scan finds no serverBoth machines are on the same network; then use Connect… and type the addresses.
Connect fails or times outThe firewall rules in step 3, and that you can reach the server by the name or address you typed.
"Token already used"Each token connects one PC once. Create another in step 5.
Certificate error on ConnectThe ca.pem on the PC is the one from this server, and the path is typed correctly.
A file was skippedThe backup carries on and names the file. Antivirus blocking it is the usual cause.

Still stuck? Write to us with a diagnostics file from the PC and one from the server.