Installing Backup Agent for Windows
Installation Instructions for Backup Agent on Windows
•
Backup Agent Installation Overview
•
Backup Agent Windows Installation Checklists
•
Before You Begin
•
Installing Backup Agent
•
Common Questions After Installing Backup Agent
•
Installing Backup Agent as Part of Your Application
•
Uninstalling Backup Agent
Note For instructions to install or uninstall Backup Agent on Linux and OS X, see Backup Agent on Linux and OS X.
Backup Agent Installation Overview
This section provides an overview of the requirements needed for installation, instructions for installing Backup Agent on your Windows machine, and information about the files included during installation.
See the chapter Backup Agent on Linux and OS X for installing and using Backup Agent on Linux and OS X.
Where to Install Backup Agent
Backup Agent must be installed on the same computer as the PSQL database engine. (That is, not solely with the PSQL Client.) The Backup Agent installation process detects the location of your PSQL engine and automatically determines the installation location for Backup Agent. You cannot alter this location.
Note See Getting Started with PSQL for detailed information on installation directory locations.
Backup Agent Windows Installation Checklists
This section provides you with checklists and other information to prepare you for installation.
Precautions
The following lists important precautions to follow prior to installing Backup Agent.
*
Your system hardware and software meets the minimum requirements to install Backup Agent.
Note To install Backup Agent, ensure that your system meets the minimum requirements to install the database engine. The hardware and software requirements are listed on the Actian Corporation web site.
*
As with any software application, you should always back up any important files on the hard drive before you begin the installation.
*
If you are running PSQL Control Center, you must close PCC prior to installation. Closing PCC during installation allows Backup Agent to get added to the PCC Tools menu.
*
If you have enabled Archival Logging, you must disable it before you can use Backup Agent.
*
The PSQL database engine is stopped and restarted during the installation of Backup Agent. If your business requirements prohibit stopping the database engine during certain hours, install Backup Agent during an acceptable period.
Backup Agent PSQL Engine Requirements
See PSQL Database Engine Requirements for Backup Agent.
Before You Begin
This section contains information with which you need to be familiar to successfully install Backup Agent on Windows. Before installing Backup Agent, review the following:
•
Backup Agent Installation Overview. This section provides important information including system requirements and platform specific notes that are relevant to your operation.
•
Release notes. The release notes are in a readme file (readme_ba.htm) and contain late-breaking product news that could not be included in the product documentation. The readme file is located in the distribution media and also posted online.
Windows Platform Notes
Be aware of the following conditions.
•
You must have full administrator-level rights on the machine where you install Backup Agent.
•
If you run with Advanced Power Management, disable it while installing Backup Agent. The power management can cause an installation to fail if the server is suspended during the install. You control the advanced power management through the Power Options on Control Panel.
•
You may need to disable antivirus software or change its settings to allow installation of Backup Agent.
•
Some installation settings can be specified in the installation configuration file (BAsetup.ini). Refer to comments in that file for details. This .ini file is located in the same folder as the .msi file that uses it.
Installing Backup Agent
Backup Agent must be installed after the PSQL database engine. Be sure that your machine has a database engine before installing Backup Agent.
If your machine lacks a database engine, install one from your original CD media or download the appropriate PSQL product from the PSQL website. For PSQL installation steps, see the user documentation for your PSQL database engine product.
►
To install Backup Agent
1
Launch the installation program from your Windows machine.
•
Insert the CD in the CD-ROM drive.
•
If the installation does not start automatically, run the following command at a prompt:
drive:\"Backup Agent - Windows"\Install_BackupAgent.exe
where drive is the letter of your CD-ROM device.
The installation wizard checks your system as it prepares to install Backup Agent.
Once the wizard checks and verifies the system, the Welcome screen appears.
2
Click Next to begin installation.
The License Agreement dialog appears.
3
Accept the license agreement and click Next.
4
If prompted for a key, enter your Backup Agent key in the License field.
See Table 1‑1 for additional details.
Tip Leave the field blank to install an evaluation license.
The product license number is provided on the following:
•
The case of the Backup Agent installation CD
•
The product registration card
•
The printed license agreement
Caution If you install an evaluation copy, Backup Agent returns an error message when you attempt to use the program after the evaluation period.
You may install the evaluation version and apply a key later using the License Administrator utility. See PSQL User's Guide for detailed instructions on using License Administrator.
5
Click Next.
A dialog box indicates that the install program is ready to begin.
6
Click Install to proceed with installation. (If you need to return to the license agreement, click Back.)
7
The installation process continues, displaying a series of status messages that inform you what action is taking place. Most of the message dialogs contain a progress bar to indicate the progress.
At the end of the installation, a dialog informs you that setup is complete.
8
Click Finish.
What to Do After You Install Backup Agent
After you successfully install Backup Agent you are ready to begin using the agent to manage your PSQL live backups. The chapter Using Backup Agent discusses using the graphical user and the command-line interfaces of the utility.
Common Questions After Installing Backup Agent
This section contains information you should read after running the Backup Agent installation program.
Do I have to configure anything in PSQL Control Center for Backup Agent?
No. Backup Agent requires no special settings in PCC, but you should make sure that you close PCC prior to installing (or uninstalling) Backup Agent.
Does Backup Agent create any log files?
Yes. See Log File.
How do I integrate Backup Agent with my backup software?
For help on integrating Backup Agent to work with your backup software, refer to Integrating with your Backup Software and to your backup software user documentation.
Where are the Backup Agent files installed?
Backup Agent requires that you have a PSQL database engine installed. Backup Agent installs to a PBA subdirectory of the PSQL installation directories. The directory in which Backup Agent files are installed depend on the platform to which you are installing.
For the list of default Windows installation locations, see the topic “Where are the PSQL files installed?” in Getting Started with PSQL.
 
Installing Backup Agent as Part of Your Application
This guide explains how to install Backup Agent interactively from a CD. You can also install Backup Agent as part of your own application installation process. The Backup Agent installation can be noninteractive, in which no input is required from the user. This is referred to as a silent installation.
How To Perform a Silent Install of Backup Agent
The following steps explain how to perform a silent installation of Backup Agent. It is important to note that these instructions are only for the installation of Backup Agent.
Before you begin, ensure that all PSQL utilities, such as PCC, and all applications that use PSQL are closed before performing a silent install.
►
To install Backup Agent silently
1
Copy all files from the Backup Agent CD to a temporary directory on a hard disk.
Use a machine that does not have Backup Agent already installed.
2
Open a command prompt and navigate to the directory location where you copied the program files.
3
Execute the Backup Agent installer command, and specify a key if applicable, similar to the following:
Install_BackupAgent.exe /s /v" /qn PVSW_BA_LICENSE_KEY=key"
Where key is the Backup Agent key. Note that, for the current version of PSQL Server or PSQL Vx Server, you may omit the string PVSW_BA_LICENSE_KEY=key. No separate key for Backup Agent is required if the product is installed on the same machine as the current version of PSQL Server or PSQL Vx Server.
A key is required if you install Backup Agent on the same machine as PSQL Workgroup.
The product license number is provided on the following:
•
The case of the Backup Agent installation CD
•
The product registration card
•
The printed license agreement
Because the silent install has no user interaction, you will not receive notification of a successful installation. You will notice though, that Backup Agent is automatically installed in your PSQL program group once installation has completed.
Uninstalling Backup Agent
The uninstall program removes all Backup Agent components from your system.
Caution If you are running PSQL Control Center (PCC), you must close PCC before uninstalling. Closing PCC allows Backup Agent to be removed from the PCC Tools menu.
►
To uninstall Backup Agent
1
Access the Add/Remove Programs from the Control Panel on your Windows operating system.
2
Click Backup Agent in the list.
3
Click the button to remove a program. The button may be labeled Add/Remove or Remove. A dialog appears to confirm the removal of Backup Agent.
4
Click Yes to confirm removal of Backup Agent.
A status box displays progress of the uninstall.
When the uninstall completes, you will be returned to the Add or Remove Programs dialog.