How to Backup your PC to a Network using Kiwi Cat Tools?

We all love our data and files, however, we can never be too careful. A certain malfunction can make accessing your data quite tedious and you will have to go through many hurdles to access it once again. That is where backups come in handy. If you are not able to access your data for some reason, you won’t have much to worry about as your backup will be fully operational. Backups have become almost prominent these days due to the notoriety of information technology. More and more people are stepping into this field and thus we have different variations. Some spend their time ethically while others love chaos.

Nonetheless, point being, malware, and operating system exploits have become more generic and we can lose our data any time. Therefore, having a backup is always a good choice. In this article, we will be covering how you can backup your PC to a network using Kiwi Cat Tools. Kiwi Cat Tools is a network management tool from Solarwinds; an American company that specializes in developing tools for network and systems.

Installation

Before we jump into backing up your data, we will first of all have to download and install Kiwi Cat Tools. You can get a 14-day free trial of the software by using this link. Open it up, fill in the fields and then download the tool. Once done, do the following:

1. Extract the downloaded zip file to your Desktop or wherever you like.
2. Navigate to the location where you have extracted the zip file.
3. Run the setup.
4. Go through the prompts to install the tool.
5. During the installation, you’ll be asked whether you want to install the tool as a service or an application. The necessary information is provided under each option.

   

6. Wait for it to finish.
7. Once done, make sure the ‘Run CatTools’ option is checked.
8. Finally, click Finish.

Backing up your PC to a Network using Kiwi Cat Tools

Now that you have installed the tool successfully, it is we get into the real stuff and backup your data. The procedure is pretty simple and there’s nothing much complicated. We will be guiding you step-by-step so don’t worry about anything. All you have to do is go through the provided instructions one by one so that you don’t miss anything.

Adding a Device

The first step to backing up your data is adding a device. Kiwi Cat tools a vast range of manufacturers and models, and the added devices are stored in the Cat tools database. Here’s how to add your device:

1. When you launch Kiwi Cat tools, you will be prompted with a Setup wizard. This wizard is for adding a device. Click Next.
2. Now, you will be to see a list of fields.
3.  Here, you will have to provide the Vendor of your router (keep it on All Vendors). After that, you will have to choose your device type from the list provided.
4. Once you have done that, name the device anything you like. The name should be unique and not repetitive.
5. For the Host address, you will have to enter the gateway of your router. In case you don’t know it, just open up a command prompt and type in ipconfig. The Default gateway is what you are looking for.
6. After that, provide a file name for the router.
7. You can also provide the model of your router, however, it’s not important.
8. You can change the method of connection in the Method box by choosing a different one from the list.
9. Once you have filled in all the fields, you can ping your device to check for a successful connection.
10. Click Next.

    

11. Now, you will have to provide the login details of the device that you have added.
12. Once you have done that, click Next.

Adding an Activity

Now that you have added your device, we will have to schedule some activities that the tool will have to perform. An activity is a task that the tool performs against your added devices. So let’s continue and add an activity for backing up your data.

1. Once you have added a device, you will be prompted automatically to the activity section.
2. Here, from the list activity types, select Device.Backup TFTP.
3. After that, give the activity a suitable name so that you can recognize it down the road. You can also provide a description.
4. If you want the activity to be permanent, leave the Persistence on Permanent. Otherwise, you can change it as well.
5. Select a suitable location for the report files (these are .txt files that contain information once the tool performs a task against your device).
6. You should leave Client Threads at Maximum available so that the tool can perform your tasks faster.
7. Once done, click Next.

   

8. After clicking Next, you will be asked for the time and day the task should run at. Choose it to your needs. Click Next once you are done.
9. Select the device you want to apply the activity to and then click Next.
10. Now, choose the file you want to backup in the Current file box.
11. After that, select the file to which it is supposed to be compared. If there are any changes in between the files, the old file is moved to Dated Configs and the newly-downloaded file becomes the current file.
12. You can also add-in optional commands that are explained thoroughly here.

    

13. You can choose whether the tool notifies you through email when the files have changed or not.
14. One done, click Next.

Configuring Notifications

The tool also comes in with a notification system. It will notify you when there’s an issue with an activity, send you reports or notify when the files have changed. You can fill in the files accordingly and specify different emails for different types of notifications.