Synology Active Backup for Business Recovery Wizard

Active Backup for Business supports bare-metal and volume-level backup and restoration through a preconfigured recovery media. This article will explain how the recovery media works when restoring the entire machine or specific volumes with a specific backed up version stored on Synology NAS. For more information on how to configure the recovery media, please refer to Recovery Media Creation Guide.

Requirements and Limitations

Boot Recovery Media

After you have mounted the ISO image or attached the USB drive to the device intended for restoration, press F2 to enter the BIOS mode once your device has been rebooted. Please note that this hotkey may vary according to different vendors. Afterward, navigate to the Boot tab, and prioritize the order of CD-ROM Drive and Removable Devices according to where the recovery media is located. Exit the setup process and you will be directed to Synology Active Backup for Business Recovery Wizard, which will start the recovery process automatically. You can either browse the user interface of Synology Active Backup for Business Recovery Wizard as displayed in the Overview section or immediately start the recovery process as shown in the Recovery section.

Synology Active Backup for Business Recovery Wizard: Overview

Synology Active Backup for Business Recovery Wizard: Recovery

To restore a version from the server:

After you have entered the BIOS menu and selected the boot order for booting recovery media, you will be directed to the welcome page of Synology Active Backup for Business Recovery Wizard. Once you have been directed to the welcome page, you can follow the steps below to start the recovery process:

  1. Load drivers and network adapters:

    This step is optional and is only required when you are using specific network adapters or drivers. Recovery may fail if the necessary driver has not been installed. To ensure a smoother recovery process, we strongly suggest you to double check the installed drivers and adapters in this step.

  2. Sign in to the Synology NAS:

    Enter the server's address and the administrator's credentials to sign in to the Synology NAS to retrieve the stored versions. The devices and versions displayed in the next two steps are based on your signed-in account.

  3. Select the device and the task:

    Available backed up devices and tasks for the signed-in account are displayed. Information on the backup type and Latest Restore Point is listed on the table. You can view the time of the latest successful backup version in the Latest Restore Point column.

  4. Select the restore mode:
  5. Select a version:

    After you select a restore mode, the eligible versions of the selected task are displayed on the left panel, and the detailed information of the selected version is displayed on the right panel. The backup version will only be available when it is compatible with the selected restore mode. For example, when selecting System volume restore, you can only restore the versions containing the system volume.

  6. Note:

  7. Check and confirm the summary to start the recovery process:

    Please note that recovery is an irreversible action. Once started, it is not allowed to be stopped and rolled back to where it was before the recovery. Cancellation during the process may prevent the device from booting successfully.

  8. Finish and reboot:

    Click Finish and decide if you wish to reboot the device or turn it off when the recovery is ready. Please remove the recovery media before rebooting the device.

  9. Note:

To cancel the recovery:

  1. Click on Cancel at the bottom of the wizard to cancel the recovery before it finishes. Please note that both recovery and cancellation is irreversible.
  2. Click Finish to choose either to reboot the device or turn it off.

To retrieve "recovery.log" and send it to Synology Technical Support when the recovery fails:

When a entire device or volume-level recovery fails, you can retrieve the "recovery.log" file and send it to Synology Technical Support for further assistance. Please note that "recovery.log" is only retrievable on Recovery Wizard before you restart or shut down your device.

To retrieve the "recovery.log" file, please follow the steps below: