The Move data to a remote server using NFS archive method connects to a shared directory of the target server with the Network File Share protocol.

The version of NFS used is automatically detected. All versions of NFS, up to and including NFS version 4 protocol, are supported.

1. Navigate to Policies > Backup & Archive/Cleanup and click in the Archive/Cleanup policies section to create a new archive policy.

2. Enter a name for the archive policy.

3. Enter the time when the archive process should start into the Start time field in HH:MM format (for example 23:00).

   You can add the start time for additional archive processes.

   Caution: When specifying an additional start time, ensure that the previous archive process finishes before the new archive process starts.

4. To archive the data collected on more than once a day, click . You can schedule multiple archive times.

   NOTE: In case an archive process is not finished before the next one would start, the next archive process waits for the previous process to be completed.

5. Fill the Delete data from SPS after field. Data older than this value is archived to the external server.

   NOTE: The archived data is deleted from SPS.

6. Select Move data to a remote server using NFS from the Before deleting data from PSM radio buttons.

   Figure 73: Policies > Backup & Archive/Cleanup —Configuring cleanup and archiving

   

7. Enter the domain name of the remote server into the Target server field.

8. Enter the name of the NFS export into the Export field.

   SPS saves all data into this directory, automatically creating the subdirectories.

9. The remote server must also be configured to accept connections from SPS.

   Add a line that corresponds to the settings of SPS to the /etc/exports file of the remote server. This line should contain the following parameters:

   • The path to the archive directory as set in the Export field of the SPS archive policy.

   • The IP address of the SPS interface that is used to access the remote server. For more information on the network interfaces of SPS, see Network settings.

     Use an IPv4 address.

   • The following parameters: (rw,no_root_squash,sync).

   Example: Configuring NFS on the remote server

   For example, if SPS connects the remote server from the 192.168.1.15 IP address and the data is saved into the /var/backups/SPS directory, add the following line to the /etc/exports file:

   /var/backups/SPS 192.168.1.15(rw,no_root_squash,sync)

10. On the remote server, execute the following command:

    exportfs -a

    Verify that the rpc portmapper and rpc.statd applications are running.

11. SPS organizes the audit trails into directories based on the date or the protocol. The subdirectories are created directly into the archive directory. Select one of the following directory structures:

    • Protocol/Connection/Archive Date/

    • Archive Date/Connection/Protocol/

    • Connection Date/Protocol/Connection/

    • Archive Date/

    • Connection Date/

    For example, the Protocol/Connection/Archive Date template will have create subdirectories for the audited protocols (that is, ssh, rdp, telnet, vnc), for the name of the connection policy, and finally, for the date (YEAR-MONTH-DAY in YYYY-MM-DD format).

    NOTE: Connection Date refers to the time the connection started, while Archive Date to the time it was archived. The difference between the two dates depends on the retention time set for the archiving policy.

12. When your SPS instance is a node in a cluster, select Include the Cluster Node ID in the path. This ensures that the ID of the node is included in the path of the relevant directory, which is required to prevent cluster nodes from archiving data to the same location, and so overwriting each other's data and resulting in data loss. In addition, having the node's ID in the directory name also enables easy identification.

    Caution: Hazard of data loss Unchecking Include the Cluster Node ID in the path when your SPS is a node in a cluster can result in data loss if you have configured configuration synchronization across your cluster nodes.

13. To receive e-mail notifications, select the Send notification on errors only or the Send notification on all events option. Notifications are sent to the administrator e-mail address set on the Management tab, and include the list of the files that were backed up.

    NOTE: This e-mail notification is different from the one set on the Alerting & Monitoring tab. This notification is sent to the administrator's e-mail address, while the alerts are sent to the alert e-mail address (see Configuring system monitoring on SPS).

14. Click .

15. To assign the archive policy to the connection you want to archive, see Archiving or cleaning up the collected data.