Getting started

Topic

This article describes system requirements for the Datto Cloud Continuity for PCs Agent.

Environment

  • Datto Cloud Continuity for PCs

Description

As of April 26th, 2022, We've added some great new features and expanded capability to Datto Cloud Continuity for PCs. See What's new? for details.

System requirements

OS
  • Windows 11 (all 64-bit versions)
  • Windows 10 (all 64-bit versions)
  • Windows 7 (all 64-bit versions)
  • Latest updates and service packs should be installed

Windows 7 systems must have the latest updates for TLS 1.2 compatability..
See Update to enable TLS 1.1 and TLS 1.2 as default secure protocols in WinHTTP in Windows (external link)
Hardware
  • Multi-volume backup is now supported but the total combined capacity of all volumes being backed up must add up to 1.5 TB of data or less (Increased from 1TB as of mid-December 2022).
Memory requirements
  • At least 1 GB of free RAM on the production machine
Disk space requirements
  • Each protected volume must have 10% of the volume's total size available for the DattoCtrl or Datto.ctl file, The minimum size of this file will be 1GB.
    If 10% of the volume is more than 10 GB, the file's size will be 10 GB regardless of the size of the volume.
Network

  • Port 443 on the protected machine must be open outbound.

    • Additionally, port 993, 80, or 587 on the protected machine must be open outbound. Only one of these three ports is necessary; the agent will try all three when attempting to connect to the cloud storage node.

    • The agent will use a TLS-based proprietary protocol for communication over the first port that it can reach.
  • The Cloud Continuity Agent's installer will attempt to create an outbound firewall exception for outbound traffic on ports 443, 993, 80, and 587 for the agent's executable (%SYSTEMROOT%\Program Files\Datto\Datto Cloud Continuity\DattoCloudContinuity.exe).
  • Port 3262 must be open outbound for Bare Metal Restore functionality.

  • All protected machines must be able to resolve mothership.dtc.datto.com,agent-update.datto.comand dattolocal.net in the local DNS.

  • See BCDR networking and bandwidth requirements for detailed network requirements and WAN uplink considerations.
Anti-virus exceptions Create exceptions for Datto Cloud Continuity Service and the DattoProvider service.

Versioning

For the latest Cloud Continuity Agent version information, see Release Notes. You can check your protected machine's installed version from the agent tray icon. The Cloud Continuity Agent's latest release is always available at download.datto.com.

Overview

The Cloud Continuity Agent lets you back up protected Windows 11,10, and Windows 7 systems' volumes directly to the Datto Cloud without using a SIRIS, ALTO, or NAS appliance.

Datto designed Cloud Continuity to be mobile and agile. If your protected machine loses connectivity to the Internet or shuts down in the middle of a backup, Cloud Continuity's intelligent agent software will resume the backup where it left off when the system restarts or reconnects.

File restore, virtualization, and Bare Metal Restore are available with the Cloud Continuity Agent. You can restore from any snapshot.

Client access can be setup to allow your client to perform self service file restores. See Creating a Client User.

Warnings

  • The Cloud Continuity Agent can only back up hard drives that are physically attached to the protected machine. The Cloud Continuity Agent cannot back up mapped drives.
  • Cloud Continuity is not for installation or use on systems already protected by the Datto Windows Agent or other backup solutions. If your protected endpoint currently uses another backup solutions, do not switch to the Cloud Continuity Agent.
  • You do not need to reboot the protected system to start a backup, but snapshotting will not begin until the system reboots.
  • Screenshots will not run if Windows updates are pending. You may need to reboot your protected machine for Screenshots to resume on the next backup.
  • The file restore option is not compatible with Microsoft One Drive. You'll need to mount a virtualization to retrieve these files in the event of a disaster recovery.
  • The Cloud Continuity agent does not support 64-bit ARM-based processors (such as the Surface Pro X).
  • GDPR Compliance Notice: During the agent registration process, you will have the option to select either the United States, Canada, or the United Kingdom to host your offsite data. Additional regional data centers may be available in future releases.
  • Windows 7 systems must have the latest updates for TLS 1.2 compatability. Ensure you have installed all available updates. See Update to enable TLS 1.1 and TLS 1.2 as default secure protocols in WinHTTP in Windows (external link)
Cloud Continuity virtualizations automatically power off after seven days but remain mounted. If you need your virtualization running longer, you will need to power it back on every seven days.

Installation

You can download the Cloud Continuity agent from http://dat.to/cloudcontinuity.

  • Before installing the Cloud Continuity Agent, verify that no other backup software is present on the protected machine and that any VSS providers left behind by the prior installation of backup software are no longer present. Ensure that the target machine is in good health. It is critical to run a virus scan, disk defragmentation, and a disk health check (chkdsk /r) on the system before installation. Be sure to remove Microsoft Volume ShadowCopies as well.
  • The agent software will install the Datto Cloud Continuity Service on the protected machine during this process.
  • Datto recommends reviewing the Encryption Compatibility With The Datto Solution Knowledge Base article when deploying the agent to encrypted machines.

NOTE: During the registration of Cloud Continuity for PC agents, the agent is tied to a Client account in the Datto Partner Portal. Removing the client account will result in the deletion of any Cloud Continuity agent datasets linked to that client."

To learn how to deploy, register, or uninstall the Cloud Continuity for PCs Agent, see our Installing and Registering the Cloud Continuity Agent article.

Frequently asked questions

Can I backup more than one volume?

Yes! New agent installs (after 4/26/22), support multi volume backup. However, the initial default on new agent installs is to only backup the OS volume. You will need to adjust the Agent Settings if you want to backup more than just the OS drive. Its also important to note that the maximum capacity of all volumes combined that are selected to backup may not exceed 1.5 TB (Increased from 1TB as of mid-December 2022). See Agent Settings for details.

Can I back up my machine with both a SIRIS and the Cloud Continuity Agent at the same time?

No. You can only use one type of backup solution at a time. Attempting to protect your machine with more than one kind of solution simultaneously can cause conflicts and backup failures.

What is the retention policy for my Cloud Continuity offsite backups?

We currently offer 1-year Time-Based Retention (TBR). Under the time-based retention model, your Cloud Continuity agents will:

  • keep all intra-daily backups for seven days
  • after that, keep daily backups for the next week
  • after that, keep weekly backups for the next month
  • keep the remaining backups for one year

To learn more about retention, see our Understanding the Retention Process article. For further information about Time-Based Retention (TBR), including pricing details, contact your Datto Sales Executive.

Are RoundTrips available for Cloud Continuity products?

Unlike Datto BCDR products, RoundTrips and Reverse RoundTrips are not available for Cloud Continuity.

Can I delete individual backups?

Yes, with the assistance of Datto Technical Support. See Deleting local and cloud data for more information.

Can I set a custom backup schedule for my Cloud Continuity backups?

The Cloud Continuity Agent backs up your protected endpoint once every two hours. The schedule is not customizable.

Can I configure Advanced Backup Verification (including Screenshot Verification) for the Cloud Continuity Agent, and view the results?

Cloud Continuity backups cannot perform Advanced Backup Verification tasks at this time, but basic screenshot verification is available. See Cloud Continuity: Screenshot Verification Overview for more information.

Can I configure the Cloud Continuity Agent to alert me when a backup has failed?

Not at this time. However, specific email alert settings are available, and you can use the Cloud Continuity Status page to see if one or more backups completed on a given day.

What type of network speeds do I need for Cloud Continuity for PCs?

The initial full backup of your protected machine will generally be the largest and take the most time to upload. Differential merges can also take longer than standard incremental backups. Upload times will vary greatly depending on your network speed and the size of the data being transferred. See our BCDR networking and bandwidth requirements article for more details.

Next steps

To learn more about the Cloud Continuity installation on your protected system and how to interact with your cloud-based backups, see the following articles:

Additional Resources