Backup for Files - Combining Axcient Select and Axcient Basic Service Plans

Written By Tami Sutcliffe (Super Administrator)

Updated at March 31st, 2021

Save yourself and your customers money.  Only Axcient has the unique ability to combine its two different services, Axcient Select and Axcient Basic, in order to give you the most bang for your buck in the remote back-up space.  

Following the steps in this “How To” guide will allow your customers to back up static data to an Axcient Basic account while backing up data that is changing to an Axcient Select account.  Save time and money by taking advantage of this unique feature that only Axcient offers!

The setup is simple and requires three steps:

Step 1:  Set up a Basic account for your customer

 (This step assumes you have previously set up an Axcient Select account for your customer.  You may choose to set up a Basic account first).

  • Log in to your portal.  Click on Accounts at the top of the menu, and then select Create Account
  • Choose Existing Customer in the first field.
  • Scroll down, and change the Parent Account ID field to none.
  • You may now change the Service Plan field to Basic.
  • Give this account a User Name.  We suggest something like CustomerUserName.basic. Give this account a Password.  The password may be the same for both the Basic and Select accounts.
  • Click Add User at the bottom.

Step 2:  Create a New profile within the Axcient software client

  • Open the backup software client.  
  • Select File at the top, then Switch Profile.
  • You will see a list of your profiles.  Click on the green “+” symbol on the right.  This will create a new profile.  Name it Basic.  Do not switch to this profile yet. Select File at the top, then Export Profile.  Choose a location to save to. 
  • Select File at the top again, choose Switch Profile.  Choose your newly created Basic profile and switch to it.
  • Click on My Account on the left.  Select File at the top, and then Import Profile.  Choose the location you previously saved your profile to.  This step will import your previous profile settings to your new profile.  Thus, you will not need to edit this profile’s settings to match your old profile (such as re-creating a passphrase, and re-selecting data to back up).
  • Now, in the User Name field, type the Basic account username (we suggested CustomerUserName.basic).  Make sure your password is typed in as well.
  • Click Test Connection at the top right.  This will verify your connection to our server. Click Save near the bottom right to save the changes in this profile.

Step 3:  Configure each profile to back up desired data set

  • Switch back to your Select profile (File, Switch Profile).
  • Choose Folders on the left.  Right click on any folder in the list and choose Edit Policy.  
  • You will see a Policy name at the top (for example: “Default Policy” or “My Folder Policy”).  You will also see a numbered list of policy rules underneath.
  • Highlight the rule (by left clicking with your mouse), which states “Apply all rules in „Default Policy‟ policy.”  Now, click the “Edit Default Policy” button on the right.
  • You will see a numbered list of rules on the left side with parameters that may be changed on the right side.  Now, we are going to add a new wildcard rule.  Click on the green “+” and select “wildcard rule.”  You will see your new wildcard rule added to the bottom of the numbered list.  
  • Change the parameters of this new rule by using the drop down boxes on the right.  The rule should state: Exclude Files whose Relative pathname matches the wildcard *.*  Older than X days (any file that has not been modified in the last X days will be migrated to the Basic account).
  • Select save at the bottom.  Now, select save again at the bottom.  Select the Options button on the left.  Select the Versioning tab at the top.  Check the “Destroy Excluded Files” box.  Finally, Save your changes at the bottom right.
  • Remember to repeat the above process for all folders in your folder list.  This will ensure that all data can be freely moved from your Select account to your Basic account when it has not been modified in X days.
  • Switch to your Basic profile (File, Switch Profile).
  • Choose Folders on the left.  Right click on any folder in the list and choose Edit Policy.  
  • You will see a Policy name at the top (for example: “Default Policy” or “My Folder Policy”).  You will also see a numbered list of policy rules underneath.
  • Highlight the rule (by left clicking with your mouse), which states “Apply all rules in „Default Policy‟ policy.”  Now, click the “Edit Default Policy” button on the right.
  • You will see a numbered list of rules on the left side with parameters that may be changed on the right side.  Now, we are going to add a new wildcard rule.  Click on the green “+” and select “wildcard rule.”  You will see your new wildcard rule added to the bottom of the numbered list.  
  • Change the parameters of this new rule by using the drop down boxes on the right.  The rule should state: Exclude Files whose Relative pathname matches the wildcard *.*  Newer than Y days (note that Y should be X minus 5 to give the Basic account 5 days to upload data that is expiring from the Select account).
  • Select save at the bottom.  Now, select save again at the bottom.  Select the Options button on the left.  Select the Versioning tab at the top.  Check the “Destroy Excluded Files” box.  Finally, Save your changes at the bottom right.  

Remember to repeat the above process for all folders in your folder list.  This will ensure that all data can be freely moved from your Select account to your Basic account when it has not been modified in X days.

Please be sure that your policy rules match exactly the rules described above unless you understand precisely what you are doing. Otherwise unexpected behavior may result. If you have questions about how to configure your backups, please contact us.

You are now ready to run a backup that combines Axcient Select and Basic accounts.  Data that has changed will be automatically saved in the Axcient Select account.  Data that has not changed will be automatically saved in the Axcient Basic account.   

Remember, each profile may have a different schedule.  You may also change other settings--such as passphrase, data set, notifications, etc.  

To configure these and other settings, simply switch to the related profile and edit the settings.