Introducing CA ARCserve Backup Agents and Options › Using Agents › Client Agent › Understanding the Client Agent › Client Agents

Client Agents

What is a Client Agent?

The CA ARCserve Backup Client Agents are optional software products that can be used with CA ARCserve Backup. The benefits of using the Client Agent in conjunction with CA ARCserve Backup are:

• Maximize your CA ARCserve Backup server's capabilities and speed by off-loading the processing of the backup, restore, and compare functionality directly to the machine on which the Client Agent resides.
• Compatibility and support for TCP/IP protocols.
• Support for file system "browsing" of the remote clients.
• The Client Agent for NetWare enables CA ARCserve Backup to back up all NetWare-specific information (such as bindery and trustee information).

Client Agents are available for the following operating systems:

• Windows
• NetWare
• UNIX and Linux
• OS/2
• Mac

Note: For more information about the Windows Client Agents, see the online Help and Documentation that resides on the machine where the respective Agent is installed.

How do the Client Agents work?

CA ARCserve Backup allows you the option of performing complete and safe backup, compare, and restore jobs with or without the Client Agents running. However, Client Agents provide added functionality when you perform these jobs; for example, Client Agents use Windows security for remote authentication.

Push Agent technology and efficient backups

All seven Client Agents utilize the Push Agent technology to accomplish backup, restore, and compare jobs. The advantage of Push Agent technology is that it requires a NetWare server or a Windows server for Windows machine to perform the necessary filtering of files and directories prior to "pushing" them to the host server (the server running CA ARCserve Backup) for processing. By utilizing this technology, the transfer of data to the CA ARCserve Backup host is now minimized thereby reducing load on your communications network. The host server is more efficient because it no longer has to process the files or directories that were flagged for a job.

System Files

An important advantage of the Push Agent technology is that it retains the attributes of system files. This is useful, particularly as it relates to NetWare servers. Because the attributes of the system files are maintained, they are restored as system files rather than as DOS files. This enables you to perform complete disaster recovery. While a backup done without using the Push Agent technology is as effective and safe, the Push Agent technology allows the restore operation to be completed much more efficiently. Since the system files are backed up intact (native attributes are maintained), they can be restored as is in the event of a disaster, thereby reducing your down time. A restore operation on a server that was backed up without utilizing the Push Agent technology would require that the system files and bindery be rebuilt. In effect, your NetWare server would be restored but it would be generic.