Before you install DLO

Before you install DLO, you should consider the following:

Table: Pre-installation considerations

Item

Description

Domains and Active Directory

The media server and DLO Storage Locations must be in a Windows Domain or Active Directory. Computers that run the Desktop Agent can be outside of a Windows Domain or Active Directory. However, they must authenticate with the domain or directory to access the media server or Storage Locations.

Server loading

DLO can be treated as a network file server. The ideal server for DLO has a fast network connection and a fast set of disks. The CPU is not as critical as these other factors for the DLO file server.

The number of Desktop Agents that can successfully back up to one DLO server depends on many factors. However, Symantec recommends less than 400 clients per server when the server runs WIndows 2000 Advanced Server. If more than 400 clients are attached, file operations may begin to fail when Paged Pool memory runs out.

Authentication

DLO Administration Console

Any user who has full admin rights on the media server where DLO is installed can manage the DLO Administration Console.

The user's account must be a domain account.

In addition, the account must have rights to do the following on any remote server used for Storage Locations or network user data folders:

  • Create network shares

  • Manage permissions of network shares and directories

You can use a domain administrator account, or grant a standard domain account with local administrative rights to the servers hosting the DLO resources.

See About administrator accounts in DLO.

Desktop Agent

DLO requires domain accounts. Every Desktop Agent user must log in to DLO using a domain account. If you have users who log in using local accounts, they can still use DLO, but they must have domain credentials to authenticate with DLO.

Database Selection

By default DLO installs its own instance of SQL Express 2005.

Note:

If you use an existing database instance, named pipes must be enabled. If DLO installs its own SQL Express 2005 instance, named pipes are enabled automatically.

You can also manually configure DLO to use an existing local or remote instance of the following:

  • SQL Express 2005

  • SQL Server 2000

  • SQL Server 2005

  • MSDE 2000

The following are pros for SQL Express 2005:

  • Free

  • Unless you back up more than 1000 Desktop Agents per media server, SQL Express should be sufficient for most needs.

The following are cons for SQL Express 2005:

  • The database is limited to a single processor, resulting in slower I/O to the database under load.

  • A maximum table size of 4 GB for SQL Express, although DLO is unlikely to reach this limit.

The following are pros for SQL Server:

  • Allows reasonable scalability beyond 1000 Desktop Agents.

  • Database tools are included with SQL Server.

The following are cons for SQL Server:

  • Cost, however you do not need to purchase a SQL Server client license for each Desktop Agent.

The following are pros for MSDE:

  • Free

  • Unless you back up more than 1000 Desktop Agents per media server, MSDE should be sufficient for most needs.

The following are cons for MSDE:

  • The number of concurrent connections to the database is limited, resulting in slower I/O to the database under load.

  • A maximum table size of 2 GB for MSDE, although DLO is unlikely to reach this limit.

Time Synchronization

All computers running the DLO Administration Console or the Desktop Agent should be set to a common time. You can configure the Windows Time Synchronization service on the network.

See the Microsoft Web site for additional information.

Firewalls

DLO is designed to work in firewall environments. In order for DLO to function properly in a firewall environment, network file shares must be visible after establishing a remote connection such as VPN. If file sharing is not allowed, DLO does not transfer files to or from the network user data folder. Desktop computer files are still protected to the desktop user data folder, and are transferred when the network user data folder is accessible.

You can push-install DLO through a firewall to a computer that runs Windows XP Professional with Service Pack 2. Before you being the push-install, enable the group policy called "Allow remote administration exception" on the destination computer. See your Windows documentation for more information.

You can also push-install DLO through a firewall to a Windows Server 2008 computer. Before you begin the push-install, enable Print and File Sharing, along with Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI) on the desination computer's Winows Firewall Exception list. See your Windows documentation for more information.

MDAC Support for the DLO Administration Console

DLO supports versions 2.7 and 2.8 of MDAC. However, MDAC 2.8 is the default and is installed during the installation if it is not already installed. When MDAC 2.8 is installed, a restart may be required, and a computer administrator must complete the installation process. If a non-administrator logs on first after the MDAC 2.8 installation, the process generates a number of errors.

To force the use of MDAC 2.7, you can add the following CmdLine value in the setup.ini file in the DLO installation set:

REQUIREDMDACVERSION="2.7".

Example:

CmdLine=REQUIREDMDACVERSION="2.7" /l*v %TEMP%\DLOConsoleInstall.log

MDAC Support for the Desktop Agent

The Desktop Agent supports versions 2.7 and 2.8 of MDAC. However, MDAC 2.8 is the default and is installed during the Desktop Agent installation if it is not already installed. When MDAC 2.8 is installed, a restart may be required, and a computer administrator must complete the installation process. If a non-administrator logs on first after the MDAC 2.8 installation, the process generates a number of errors.

To force the use of MDAC 2.7, you can add the following CmdLine value in the setup.ini file in the Desktop Agent installation set:

REQUIREDMDACVERSION="2.7".

Example:

CmdLine=/qf DEFAULTMEDIASERVER="SERVERNAME" DLODBINSTANCENAME="BKUPEXEC" LAUNCHCLIENT="1" REQUIREDMDACVERSION="2.7" /l*v "%TEMP%\DLOAgentInstall.log"