Manager Day-One Checklist

Do these on the day you install the Manager, and check them again after any change to it. Each item is something that cannot be recovered from the Manager once it is gone. For why each one matters, see Protecting the Manager.

Store these offline

Keep these together, offline, somewhere that does not depend on your directory, such as a safe:

Item Where to get it
The break-glass username and password Shown once at the first sign-in. The username is breakglass. If you change the password later, update the record in the same sitting. If you turn on multi-factor authentication for the account, store its recovery codes with it. See Multi-Factor Authentication.
The recovery passphrase Set at the first sign-in. It opens the escrow copy of the CA key and every configuration backup. If you change it later on the Manager recovery card, copies made from then on need the new one, and copies made before still open with the old one. Replace the record in the same sitting.
The enrollment token The value you gave ENROLLMENTTOKEN when you installed the Manager. It is not in the database, so no snapshot brings it back, and a Manager rebuilt from a snapshot must be installed with the same token for agents to enroll again. A configuration backup carries it.
The Manager's IP address The address every agent was installed with.
The storage volume's BitLocker recovery key Saved when you turn on BitLocker for the storage volume. The storage machine is not domain-joined, so the key is not in Active Directory. See Encrypting the vault volume.
The license key The key Cygna sent you. The Manager keeps it in its database, so a Manager recovered from a snapshot keeps its license. A Manager rebuilt without a snapshot refuses backups and recovery operations until the key is applied again. See Licensing.
The SMTP password, if the Manager sends email The password of the SMTP user in the Email settings. The Manager never shows it again once saved, and a database moved to another machine cannot read it, so you enter it again after recovering the Manager from a snapshot. A configuration backup carries it. Until it is entered, recovery plans send no notifications and no report email.

Keep with your recovery notes

The Manager CA fingerprint is public, so it does not belong in the safe. Keep a copy with your recovery notes, such as your runbook. After you recover the Manager, you compare its fingerprint with a copy that did not come from the recovered Manager itself.

The fingerprint is shown on the Agents screen and the Manager recovery card, by cdr trust list, and in the Application log at every Manager start. Every agent also keeps the fingerprint it was installed with, so a surviving agent machine gives you a second copy. See The fingerprint to compare against.

Checklist

  1. Store the items above offline.

  2. Confirm the license is applied. On Administration > License, the status should be Licensed, or Ending soon for a short trial. Without a license, the Manager refuses every backup. To be told by email before it ends, set Expiry warning recipients. See Licensing.

  3. Turn on alert email. Set Recipients in the Alert notifications settings, then select Send test email on the Alerts screen. See Alerts Reference.

  4. Confirm the recovery passphrase is set. At the foot of the License screen (Administration > License), the Manager recovery card shows Set with a date. If it shows Not set, a copy of the database cannot bring the Manager back on another machine. Select Set the recovery passphrase…, which needs the System Admin role. The passphrase must be at least 16 characters; a few unrelated words are easier to keep than a short complex one.

  5. Confirm configuration backups reach the storage machine. Once the passphrase is set, the Manager sends an encrypted configuration backup to the storage machine every day, the first a few minutes after the service starts. On the License screen, the Configuration backups card should show Current and the folder on the storage machine that holds them. Note the folder in your recovery notes. See Manager Configuration Backups.

  6. Back up the database snapshots. The Manager writes a consistent copy of its database every day to %ProgramData%\Cygna Labs\Disaster Recovery Suite Manager\snapshots and keeps the newest seven. The first is written a few minutes after the service starts. Include this folder in the Manager machine's file backup, and protect the backup as you would the database: a snapshot holds the operator accounts and, with the passphrase, the CA.

  7. Do not back up the live database file. cygnadr.db is written continuously, so a file copy of it can be inconsistent or miss recent changes. Back up the snapshots instead.

  8. Back up the whole Manager machine, if your platform can. A virtual machine backup or snapshot, or a bare-metal backup, is the simplest way back.

  9. Keep the Manager's address stable. Give it a static IP address or a reserved DHCP lease. A replacement Manager that can take the same address needs nothing done to any agent.

  10. Create named operators. Keep the break-glass account for emergencies. See Managing Operators and Roles.

Taking a snapshot on demand

Take an extra snapshot before an upgrade or any other change to the Manager. In an elevated command prompt on the Manager, in its program folder, run:

CygnaDR.Manager.exe db snapshot

The snapshot is written to the snapshots folder, and the command prints its path. To write it somewhere else, give a path: CygnaDR.Manager.exe db snapshot D:\ManagerBackup\before-upgrade.db. This command is safe to run while the service is running.