Topic
This article describes the GUI-based installation process for the Datto Windows Agent.
For silent installation instructions, see Performing A Silent Install Of The Datto Windows Agent.
For RMM deployment instructions, see Deploying the Datto Windows Agent (Version 2.0) via Datto RMM or Deploying the Datto Windows Agent (Version 2.1) via Datto RMM.
Environment
- Datto Windows Agent (all versions)
Description
- Prerequisites
- Pre-deployment requirements
- Installation
- Verifying the installation
- Installer logging
- Technical notes
- Setting schedules / Initial configurations
- Local file creation
Prerequisites
This article assumes that you have reviewed both theUnified Backup networking and bandwidth requirements and the Getting started with the Datto Windows Agent articles and that your production environment meets the configurations described in both resources.
Pre-deployment requirements
- The newest DWA Version (3.0 and above) requires Windows Server 2008 R2 Service Pack 1 or newer.
- Versions 2.1 to 2.8 of the Datto Windows Agent require Windows Vista, Windows Server 2008, or newer.
- For complete pre-deployment requirements for your version of DWA, ,be sure to review Getting started with the Datto Windows Agent
IMPORTANT Acronis software can prevent the installation of the Datto Windows Agent. For any machine that previously had an Acronis product installed, follow the steps in the Removing Acronis (external link) article to perform system cleanup.
IMPORTANT Anti-Virus software can interfere with installation and should be temporarily disabled prior to installing the Datto Windows Agent.
Installation
For Windows Server 2008 R2 and Above
- Download the agent software from the Datto Downloads page. This will be the newest version 3.x
- Navigate to download.datto.com and click the Windows icon in the Backup Agent Download category.
- Proceed to the Setup section of this article.
For Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008
- Download the agent software for version
- Proceed to the Setup section of this article.
For Windows XP and Windows Server 2003
- Download the agent software from the following link: Datto Windows Agent: Legacy Installer.
- Proceed to the Setup section of this article.
Setup
- Launch the downloaded installer. You must have internet access both during the install and during the first start of the agent so that the software can retrieve certificates.
- When the installer completes, you must reboot the production machine to finalize the installation of the agent.
- If you are reinstalling the Datto Windows Agent after previously uninstalling it, use the Force a Differential Merge feature on your Datto appliance to re-associate the backup increments for the protected system. If you do not schedule the protected system's next backup to be a differential merge, the first snapshot it captures following reinstallation of the Datto Windows Agent will be a full backup.
- After you restart the production machine, pair the endpoint with your Datto appliance to begin taking backups.
IMPORTANT If the installer is unable to install the necessary certificates, ensure that the Group Policy is not set to "Allow only Enterprise Administrators"
Verifying the installation
The Datto Windows Agent does not have a GUI. Follow these steps to confirm that the installation was successful:
- Make sure the production machine reboots following the installation of the Datto Windows Agent.
- Check Programs and Features to ensure that Datto Windows Agent appears as an installed program.
- Make sure that Datto Backup Agent Serviceservice is now installed on your Windows machine.
- For versions prior to 3.x, make sure that both Datto Backup Agent Service and DattoProvider services are now installed on your Windows machine.
- If upgrading from an older version of DWA to 3.x, you should no longer see the Datto Provider service as it is not required in DWA 3.x.
Installer logging
The Datto Windows Agent includes installer logging. The logs the installation process generates can help Datto Technical Support troubleshoot common setup issues. See our Gathering Datto Windows Agent Installation Logs content for more information.
Technical Notes
Setting schedules / Initial configurations
Items to consider when configuring the Datto Windows Agent:
- Before establishing a backup schedule, discuss with your organization how far back they would ever need to go to retrieve data. Configure that agent's backup plan accordingly. Set the local data retention policies based on these conversations and expectations. Remember that long-running retention policies will require more disk space; consider this information when sizing an appliance.
- Consider the servers application: while you may need to back up a fileserver during business hours as files are in constant change, a terminal server that houses configurations may not require as many backups per day as there is little to no change provided. Backups are just like any other service on a server; they consume resources and take disk input/output. Consider this while setting a schedule.
- The size of your server's backups can grow if you use Distributed File System (DFS) in your environment. See Explaining the Inverse Chain and Investigating Large Recovery Points for more information.
- Before you take the first backup, make sure that you exclude any volumes that you do not want to back up. Remember that any additional drives that are attached to the machine may attempt to include themselves in the backup.
NOTE For information on other Datto backup configurations, see Configuring Alerts.
Local file creation and space requirements
- The newest DWA 3.x uses a simplified architecture with only one driver (DattoCbt).
- Versions previous to 3.x will create a DattoCtrl (datto.ctl for DWA 2.1 agents) file and a DattoSnap (datto.snp for Datto Windows 2.1 endpoints) file on the protected server, in the root directory of each protected volume. You may need to select the Show hidden files and folders option or uncheck the Hide protected operating system files option in Windows to see them.
- DWA requires sufficient space for both backups and any related files created during the process. Each protected volume must meet the space requirements defined in Getting Started with the Datto Windows Agent.
- The newest Datto Windows Agent, version 3.x makes greater use of VSS (Microsoft Volume Shadow Copy Service) and so does not create or require Copy on Write (CoW) files. This means DWA 3.x needs less free space per volume compared to earlier versions.
- On DWA versions prior to 3.x, DattoCtrl (or Datto.ctl) generates at the start of the first backup, and holds the space for the Copy On Write (COW) information during the backup.CoW files require more free space on each protected volume.
See Getting Started with the Datto Windows Agent for details on space requirements based on your DWA version.
DattoSnap (or datto.snp) is the file that the Datto Windows Agent records changed block information so that it knows what it needs to move during each backup.
Additional Resources
- Getting started with the Datto Windows Agent
