How to Set up Remote Replication on QNAP NAS

Remote Replication

“Protect files from data loss by remote replication”

What is Remote Replication?

Remote replication is the process of sharing information across the network so as to ensure the consistency between two different sites, e.g. the storage servers. In other words, it is a kind of data mirroring over distance.

Why do I need Remote Replication?

One of the major benefits of mirroring is that in case of data loss at the primary site, the remote site can be brought online and continues to work at the exact point of time when the primary site failed. This not only ensures you a complete data backup but also keeps the system in an operating condition continuously with the least amount of downtime.

Below is a remote replication scenario.

Please follow the procedure below to set up remote replication on the NAS using Rsync.

Notes:

• There are other methods for setting up remote replication, e.g., RTRR (Real-time, two-way shared folder synchronization with backup versioning). Please choose the appropriate method according to your needs.
• Some screenshots may look different depending on the firmware version you are using.

Step 1: Configure the settings on the remote NAS

A) Forward the port 873 on your NAT router to the LAN IP address of the remote NAS, e.g. forward port 873 to 192.168.1.3.
B) Log into the remote QNAP NAS as an administrator, and go to “Backup Station” > “Rsync Server”.

C) To enable a remote QNAP NAS to back up data to this NAS, check the option “Enable backup from a remote server to the local host”.
D) To allow a standard Rsync server to back up data to this NAS, check the option “Allow remote Rsync server to back up data to NAS”. Then enter the username and password for Rsync service authentication.
E) Create a share folder as the replication destination on the remote NAS. (For example, create a network share called “Sales” and a subfolder “2014” on the remote NAS.)

If you change the port number, remember to forward it on your NAT router as you did in step A.

Step 2: Configure the settings on the local NAS

A) Log into your local NAS.
B) Go to “Backup Station” > “Remote Replication” > “NAS to NAS”.
C) Click “Create a Replication Job” to create a new backup job. The “Create a Replication Job” window will pop up.

1. Enter a name for the replication job.

2. Click “Settings”, and enter the remote server’s information: Name/IP address, User Name, Password, and Port number. The Name of the remote server can be obtained by going to “Control Panel” > “General Settings” >”System Administration” > “Server name”. Make sure that the specified user has the proper permission to access the destination folder of the remote server.

3. Select the source and destination folder from the drop-down menu. Only shared folders to which you have the access privileges will be listed here. Then click “Add” to add the selected folders. The data in the source folder will be replicated to the destination folder.

4. Click “Backup frequency” to specify the replication schedule. Then click “Apply”.

5. Click “Options” to select the desired options for the replication, and then click “Apply”.

Notes:

• If you enable encrypted replication, you may need to forward the port 22 (or the correct port number for SSH) as you have done for the port 873 in Step 1. To specify or identify the port number for SSH, go to “Control Panel” > “Network Services” > “Telnet/SSH”.
• The encrypted replication is possible only with the user “admin” (Step 2).
• Check “Only copy files that differ from files at the destination” to save time for future replication. So if any of the files already exists on the remote system, the replication process will only update the file by sending only the differences. This saves the time for future replication.
• Check “Enable maximum transfer rate” to set a limit on I/O bandwidth (Kilobytes per second). Additionally, the option “Activate file compression” can be used to reduce the size of data portions of the transfer.

6. Click “Execute backup immediately” to start replication immediately. Uncheck this option if you do not want to perform replication right now. Click “Apply” to save your settings.

Upon successful job creation you will see the status of your current job as “Replicating” if you’ve selected “Execute backup immediately”. For the scheduled replication job which has not been started yet, the status will be “Ready”.