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How to Backup Windows Network Shares and UNC Paths

eazyBackup can back up Windows network shares (SMB), however, because eazyBackup runs as a background service user, there are some issues with authentication to be aware of.

When possible, the best option would be to to install eazyBackup directly on the device rather than backing up over the network.

Network Authentication Issues

On Windows, your logged-on user session may have its own mapped network drives. These mapped drives belong to your logged in user session and are not available to background service accounts.

Most UNC shares will require network authentication. If your backup logs show messages like WARNING Lstat: CreateFile \\?\UNC\...: Access is denied., this is likely because the eazyBackup service account is not logged into your network shares.

We will show you different methods of adding network authentication to avoid these issues.

  • To start, you will need to add a new protected item or modify an existing file and folder protected item.
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  • You can name the protected item, which will make it easier to identify later if you multiple jobs.
  • Select the file and folders backup type and then proceed to the next step
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  • Click the drop down arrow to reveal the extra options and select "Choose items"
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  • Click the options box and select Browse UNC Path. Even if you already have a network drive mapped like you see in the example below, the most reliable method for backing up your files will be to add the shares UNC path.
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  • Enter the path to network share in the format shown in the example below, than click OK. The most reliable method is to use the servers IP address rather than the network name.
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  • At this point you should be able to browse the network location and make your file & folder selections. Check the boxes next to the files or folders you want included in the backup and then click OK.
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  • Click the drop down arrow to show the extra options, this time select the Log in to network share option.
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  • Enter the path to your network share as shown below, for example
    \\192.168.31.21\Public
  • When adding the username, in some cases you may need to specify the network name of the server before the username in this format
    myservername\Administrator
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  • You should now have one or more included locations for the backup and your network credentials as shown below.
  • You can remove the checkbox from the "Take filesystem snapshot" option. This feature cannot be used on network shares. If you are also backing up from the local machine, you can leave that option enabled.
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  • Keep the default selection on the Commands page and continue to the next step.
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  • The Retention page allows you to customize the policy for this protected item.
  • If you need to keep snapshots for longer than the default of 30 days, click the pen button to modify.
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  • Create a schedule to run this backup automatically. Click the + button to create a new schedule for this job.
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  • Run the backup job immediately when you click finish or let the backup run according to the schedule you made.
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