The Web Services Interface

Theory of Operation

BackupEDGE Web Services provides access to the EDGEMENU user interface of a

BackupEDGE installation from any Java-enabled web browser. By using SSL1 to communicate with the server, BackupEDGE Web Services provides secure access to a BackupEDGE

installation even via the Internet.

Requirements

In order to run the BackupEDGE Web Services interface:

• You must have a Java-enabled web browser. The JRE must be 1.4.2 or later. Earlier versions of the JRE will not work with BackupEDGE Web Services.

• The web browser must be able to access the BackupEDGE server via the network.

NOTE: This section has changed for BackupEDGE 3.x. It is no longer necessary to copy files to the computer that will be running the web services interface. The user simply points the browser at port 3946 on the server using https.

1. This product includes software developed by the OpenSSL Project for use in the OpenSSL Toolkit (http://www.openssl.org/). Please see /usr/lib/edge/docs/LICENSE.OPENSSL for more information about the OpenSSL project and its licensing terms.

• Port 3946 must be open if the web service will be connected through a firewall. It is not necessary for the BackupEDGE server to have JRE installed on it to use the

BackupEDGE Web Services interface. Only the client web browser is required to have a Java

plug-in installed.

Configuring and Starting the Web Services Daemon

BackupEDGE Web Services must be configured before they can be used. To do this, log in as root, go into EDGEMENU and select

Setup -> Configure BackupEDGE -> Configure ->BackupEDGE Web Interface.

Or from the command line, type:

edge.config -web_setup

Either of these will start the BackupEDGE Web Services configuration program. This program takes the following steps:

• An SSL key is generated. BackupEDGE Web Services uses this key to communicate with the web browser client securely. This can take a moment.

• You are asked for a BackupEDGE Web Services password. If a password is already set, you are given the option to keep it. Either way, the BackupEDGE Web Services password must be entered before the web browser client is allowed to access BackupEDGE. This password does not have to be the same as any user account on the system. Remember, however, that

BackupEDGE Web Services provides access as root to the EDGEMENU user interface. While the BackupEDGE Web Services password does not have to be the same as your root

password, you should be ensure that it is not easily guessed.

• You are asked if BackupEDGE Web Services should be started automatically on system bootup. If this is enabled, then the BackupEDGE Web Services daemon will be available to accept client connections after any reboot. If it is disabled, then the BackupEDGE Web

Services daemon will have to be started manually before any clients can connect. It is

generally a good idea to enable this feature.

Note that enabling this feature does not start the BackupEDGE Web Services daemon at this point; it only causes it to be started during the bootup sequence.

• If the BackupEDGE Web Services daemon is not currently running, then you are given the option to start it immediately. This daemon allows web browser clients to use the

BackupEDGE Web Services interface.

After these steps have been completed, BackupEDGE Web Services should be configured and ready for use (assuming that the daemon has been started, of course).

Access Through Firewalls

If you would like to access BackupEDGE Web Services from beyond a firewall, then you must allow connections to port 3946/tcp. This port is used by the Java client to talk to the

BackupEDGE Web Services daemon.

Stopping Web Services

To stop any currently running BackupEDGE Web Services daemon, issue the following command while logged in as root:

/usr/lib/edge/bin/edge.launch stop websrv

This will stop any new clients from connecting to BackupEDGE Web Services on this machine. Existing clients will not be disconnected.

To stop the BackupEDGE Web Services daemon from restart on the next system reboot, you should use

edge.config -web_setup

or Setup -> Configure BackupEDGE -> Configure ->BackupEDGE Web Interface from

EDGEMENU.

This won't stop any currently running daemon; you must run both edge.launch as shown above

and edgemenu -web_setup to stop the current daemon and disable the start-on-bootup

behavior. Of course, if no daemon is running, it is not necessary to run edge.launch. Similarly, if BackupEDGE Web Services is not configured to start during bootup, then

edge.config -web_setup may be skipped.

Launching EDGEMENU through Web Services

Open a browser and Browse to:

https://server_name:3946, where server_name is the hostname or IP address of the server to

be administered. The browser will pop up a window and ask you for your Web Services password. If authentication succeeds, the EDGEMENU user interface will be displayed after a brief pause. Running EDGEMENU as a Web Service and performing live backups of large numbers of files implies significant processing and network bandwidth usage as the filenames and backup status are transmitted through the network. This overhead can impact backup performance. It is anticipated that the primary uses of Web Services would be backup scheduling and management, and file and directory restores, as opposed to performing interactive live backups of large

numbers of files.