Customizing installation settings

This section describes settings that can be changed during installation.

Common settings

  • The components to be installed.
Component Description
Management Server Management Server is the central point for managing all of your backups. With the on-premise deployment, it is installed in your local network.
Agent for Windows This agent backs up disks, volumes, files and will be installed on Windows machines. It will be always installed, not selectable.
Agent for Hyper-V This agent backs up Hyper-V virtual machines and will be installed on Hyper-V hosts. It will be installed if selected and detected Hyper-V role on a machine.
Agent for SQL This agent backs up SQL Server databases and will be installed on machines running Microsoft SQL Server. It will be installed if selected and application detected on a machine.
Agent for Exchange This agent backs up Exchange databases and mailboxes and will be installed on machines running the Mailbox role of Microsoft Exchange Server. I will be installed if selected and application detected on a machine.
Agent for Active Directory This agent backs up the data of Active Directory Domain Services and will be installed on domain controllers. It will be installed if selected and application detected on a machine.
Agent for VMware (Windows) This agent backs up VMware virtual machines and will be installed on Windows machines that have network access to vCenter Server. It will be installed if selected.
Agent for Office 365 This agent backs up Microsoft Office 365 mailboxes to a local destination and will be installed on Windows machines. It will be installed if selected.
Agent for Oracle This agent backs up Oracle databases and will be installed on machines running Oracle Database. It will be installed if selected.

Cyber Backup Monitor

 This component enables a user to monitor execution of running tasks in the notification area and will be installed on Windows machines. It will be installed if selected.
Command-line tool

Cyber Backup supports the command-line interface with the acrocmd utility. acrocmd does not contain any tools that physically execute the commands. It only provides the command-line interface to Cyber Backup components - agents and the management server. It will be installed if selected.
  • The folder where the product will be installed.

  • The accounts under which the services will run.

    You can choose one of the following:

    • Use Service User Accounts (default for the agent service)

      Service User Accounts are Windows system accounts that are used to run services. The advantage of this setting is that the domain security policies do not affect these accounts' user rights. By default, the agent runs under the Local System account.

    • Create a new account (default for the management server service and the storage node service)

      The account names will be Acronis Agent User, AMS User, and ASN User for the agent, management server, and the storage node services, respectively.

    • Use the following account

      If you install the product on a domain controller, the setup program prompts you to specify existing accounts (or the same account) for each service. For security reasons, the setup program does not automatically create new accounts on a domain controller.

      Also, choose this setting if you want the management server to use an existing Microsoft SQL server installed on a different machine and use Windows Authentication for the SQL Server.

    If you chose the Create a new account or Use the following account option, ensure that the domain security policies do not affect the related accounts' rights. If an account is deprived of the user rights assigned during the installation, the component may work incorrectly or not work.

Privileges required for a logon account

A protection agent is run as a Managed Machine Service (MMS) on a Windows machine. The account under which the agent will run must have specific rights for the agent to work correctly. Thus, the MMS user should be assigned the following privileges:

  1. Included in the Backup Operators and Administrators groups. On a Domain Controller, the user must be included in the group Domain Admins.
  2. Granted the Full Control permission on the folder %PROGRAMDATA%\Acronis (in Windows XP and Server 2003, %ALLUSERSPROFILE%\Application Data\Acronis) and on its subfolders.
  3. Granted the Full Control permission on certain registry keys in the following key: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Acronis.

  4. Assigned the following user rights:

    • Log on as a service
    • Adjust memory quotas for a process
    • Replace a process level token
    • Modify firmware environment values

The ASN user must have local administrator rights on the machine where Acronis Storage Node is installed.

How to assign the user rights

Follow the instructions below to assign the user rights (this example uses the Log on as service user right, the steps are the same for other user rights):

  1. Logon to the computer by using an account with administrative privileges.
  2. Open Administrative Tools from Control Panel (or click Win+R, type control admintools, and press Enter) and open Local Security Policy.
  3. Expand Local Policies and click on User Rights Assignment.
  4. In the right pane, right-click Log on as a service and select Properties.
  5. Click on the Add User or Group… button to add a new user.
  6. In the Select Users, Computers, Service Accounts, or Groups window, find the user you wish to enter and click OK.
  7. Click OK in the Log on as a service Properties to save the changes.

Ensure that the user which you have added to the Log on as service user right is not listed in the Deny log on as a service policy in Local Security Policy.

Note that it is not recommended to change logon accounts manually after the installation is completed.

Management server installation

  • The database to be used by the management server. By default, the built-in SQLite database is used.

    You can select any edition of the following Microsoft SQL Server versions:

    • Microsoft SQL Server 2012
    • Microsoft SQL Server 2014
    • Microsoft SQL Server 2016
    • Microsoft SQL Server 2017
    • Microsoft SQL Server 2019

    The instance you choose can also be used by other programs.

    Before selecting an instance installed on another machine, ensure that SQL Server Browser Service and the TCP/IP protocol are enabled on that machine. For instructions on how to start SQL Server Browser Service, refer to: http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms189093.aspx. You can enable the TCP/IP protocol by using a similar procedure.

  • The port that will be used by a web browser to access the management server (by default, 9877) and the port that will be used for communication between the product components (by default, 7780). Changing the latter port after the installation will require re-registering of all of the components.

    Windows Firewall is configured automatically during the installation. If you use a different firewall, ensure that the ports are open for both incoming and outgoing requests through that firewall.

Agent installation

  • Whether the agent will connect to the Internet through an HTTP proxy server, when backing up to and recovering from the cloud storage.

    If a proxy server is required, specify its host name or IP address and the port number. If your proxy server requires authentication, specify the proxy server credentials.