Frequently asked questions about HDP for SaaS

HDP for SaaS 2.0 has added many new features and options to HDP for SaaS. When upgrading from Boxafe 1.5, there are several things you will have to do before performing backups/restores in HDP for SaaS 2.0: 

1. Configure the HDP for SaaS storage path
   The HDP for SaaS storage path is where your backup data will be stored. This is a configurable file path on your NAS. HDP for SaaS 2.0 has a default storage path, but this default storage path is not accessible to 3rd party apps like File Station. For details on configuring the HDP for SaaS storage path, see How do I set up or change the storage path in HDP for SaaS 2.0 and later?
2. Create HDP for SaaS users and assign roles
   The first NAS administrator to login to HDP for SaaS 2.0 will be set as the HDP for SaaS Super Admin. To allow other NAS users to use HDP for SaaS, you will need to create a HDP for SaaS user for the NAS user inside HDP for SaaS > Settings > Users.
3. Acquire HDP for SaaS licenses
   Backing up and restoring data from a user's Google or Microsoft 365 account requires a HDP for SaaS license. A free HDP for SaaS license with certain limitations can be acquired free of charge. Licenses can be purchased in the QNAP Software Storeand then activated on your NAS.
   1. For details on HDP for SaaS license changes, see: QNAP to Change HDP for SaaS Policy from Version 2.0
   2. For details on purchasing and activating software licenses, see Licenses (QTS 5.0.x) or Licenses (QuTS hero 5.0.x).

In Boxafe 1.5 you can delete logs by clicking the Delete All button on the Logs page:

In HDP for SaaS 2.0, logs are managed automatically. You can configure HDP for SaaS's log retention settings in Settings > Preferences > Log Retention Settings. Log retention settings determines how long logs are saved before being automatically deleted:

In HDP for SaaS 2.0, users can configure performance related settings that determine the system resources that HDP for SaaS can utilize when performing backup jobs. To reduce the time needed to perform backup jobs, go to Settings > Preferences > HDP for SaaS Performance Settings, and configure the following settings:

• Maximum number of concurrent tasks: Increase this number.
• Maximum database cache size: Increase this number.
  

In HDP for SaaS 2.0, users can configure performance related settings that determine the system resources that HDP for SaaS can utilize when performing backup jobs. To reduce the memory needed while performing backup jobs, go to Settings > Preferences > HDP for SaaS Performance Settings, and configure the following settings:

• Maximum number of concurrent tasks: Decrease this number.
• Maximum database cache size: Decrease this number.

These cloud services do not provide support for HDP for SaaS.

No, HDP for SaaS uses APIs provided by Google and Microsoft services and no additional configuration of ports is needed. If your network environment has strict firewall rules, you may need to configure certain settings within your network. See the following articles for more information:

• Office 365 URLs and IP address ranges - Microsoft 365 Enterprise | Microsoft Learn
• Service-specific Google Workspace requirements - Google Workspace Admin Help

If HDP for SaaS becomes unresponsive, tasks do not run, or running tasks never complete, there may be several causes:

• The volume where HDP for SaaS data is stored does not have sufficient space for the backup. Try clearing space on the volume. In HDP for SaaS 2.0, you can also change the HDP for SaaS storage path and the Required free storage space setting in Settings > Preferences > Storage Settings.
• Your NAS does not have sufficient system resources, such as CPU or memory, for HDP for SaaS to work properly. Try stopping or closing apps on your NAS to free up system resources. Open Resource Monitor to view your system's resource consumption.
• HDP for SaaS may need to be restarted.

When a HDP for SaaS user is deleted, no cloud data of the user (email, contacts, shared drives, etc.) is deleted from the cloud service. However, when deleting a HDP for SaaS user:

1. All backed up data on your NAS for that user (email, contacts, shared drives, etc.) will be deleted from HDP for SaaS.
2. You cannot backup or restore data for the deleted user.
3. Scheduled backups will not backup data for the deleted user.
4. The license assigned to the user will be unassigned, but remain valid and can be re-assigned to another user.

The Super Admin role in HDP for SaaS grants the assigned user all possible permissions. If a user has Super User role, then their HDP for SaaS user account has no restrictions and can perform all actions inside HDP for SaaS. The first NAS administrator to ever log into to HDP for SaaS is automatically assigned the Super Admin role. All other HDP for SaaS users can be assigned the Super Admin role.

The Self Service User role in HDP for SaaS grants the assigned HDP for SaaS user permissions to manage a single Google/Microsoft domain user. When assigning the Self Service User to a HDP for SaaS user, you must specify a domain and domain user that the HDP for SaaS user will have permission to manage. Usually, the HDP for SaaS user and the Google/Microsoft user will be the same person so that a given HDP for SaaS user can manager their own Google/Microsoft service backups.

Permissions for roles can be changed in Settings > Roles > Action column > . Changes to permissions for any role will apply to all users who are assigned that role.

In Boxafe 1.5, HDP for SaaS users who have the role "User" have the following restrictions:

• Cannot view the Dashboard page
• Cannot view or edit domain settings
• Cannot delete or add domains
• On the Domains page, certain domain information is not displayed
• Cannot access the Settings page
• Cannot view, add, delete, or edit other HDP for SaaS users
• Cannot perform backups
• Cannot view, edit, or create backup schedules
• On the Tasks page, certain tasks are not displayed
• On the Logs page, certain logs are not displayed
• Cannot delete logs
• Cannot access Help and Quick Start

In HDP for SaaS 2.0, permissions of HDP for SaaS users depend on their role, and what permissions have been assigned to their roles. Role permissions can be viewed and configured in Settings > Roles.

A HDP for SaaS user is a NAS user who has been added to HDP for SaaS. Every NAS user added to HDP for SaaS is a assigned a role and domain. HDP for SaaS users can be managed in Settings > Users.

The HDP for SaaS storage path can be changed at most five times. Attempting to change the storage path more than five times may result in your HDP for SaaS licenses becoming invalid. If you licenses become invalid as a result of changing the HDP for SaaS storage path more than five times, please contact Customer Service.

When HDP for SaaS is first installed, the HDP for SaaS storage path is set to a default value. If the HDP for SaaS storage path is changed, then it is not possible to later change the storage path back to the default value.

If you change the HDP for SaaS storage path, the following will occur:

• Existing backup data is deleted from the current storage path
• All domains are removed from HDP for SaaS
• All backup schedules are deleted and no further backups are performed
• All custom created roles are removed from HDP for SaaS
• All permissions are reset to default permissions
• All licenses are removed from users. The licenses do not become invalid, and can be reassigned.

After changing the HDP for SaaS storage path, you will need to configure your domains, roles, permissions, and licenses again.

After changing the HDP for SaaS storge path, all HDP for SaaS roles are removed and permissions are reset to default permissions.

If the HDP for SaaS storage path, existing backup data will be deleted and cannot be recovered.

No cloud data is deleted when a domain is removed from HDP for SaaS.

You can add the same domain to HDP for SaaS more than once, but there are very few use cases where it is necessary to add a domain more than once. Note that when adding a given domain multiple times to HDP for SaaS, each addition will require an additional license.

in HDP for SaaS 2.0 subdomains can be added and managed similar to domains. When adding a subdomain, the subdomain's default settings will be inherited from the parent domain but can be configured independent of the parent domain. To add a subdomain to HDP for SaaS, follow these steps:

1. Go to Domains.
2. Select a domain by clicking on the left side of the domain.
   
3. Click + Add Subdomains.
   The Add Subdomains window appears.
   
4. Select a subdomain.
5. Click Add Subdomains.

When adding a subdomain, the subdomain's default settings will be inherited from the parent domain but can be configured independent of the parent domain. To configure a subdomain, perform the following steps:

1. Go to Domains.
2. Identify the subdomain.
3. Click .
   The Domain Settings page appears.
4. Configure the subdomain settings.
5. Click Update.
   The subdomain settings are applied.

Only one subdomain can be added at a time.

When deleting a domain from HDP for SaaS:

1. All backed up data on your NAS for all users (email, contacts, shared drives, etc.) of that domain will be deleted from HDP for SaaS.
2. All users of the domain that have been added to HDP for SaaS are removed.
3. Backup or restore jobs for that domain will not backup or restore any data.
4. Licenses assigned to users of the domain will be removed, but remain valid and can be re-assigned to users of other domains.

When a domain is added to HDP for SaaS, HDP for SaaS queries the domain to create a list of all users belonging to the domain. Users added to the domain after the domain has been added to HDP for SaaS are not visible to HDP for SaaS. To allow HDP for SaaS to view and access new domain users, perform the following steps:

1. Go to Domains.
2. Click for the domain.
   The Domain Settings page appears.
3. Go to the Users tab.
4. Click + Add Users.
5. Click Add User.
   The Add User window appears.
6. Click Sync User List.
   The user list is synced and all domain users appear on the user list.

In Boxafe 1.5, backup data is stored in a folder that is only accessible by Boxafe and cannot be changed.

In HDP for SaaS 2.0 and later, backup data is stored at the HDP for SaaS storage path, which by default is a folder that is only accessible by HDP for SaaS, and can be configured in Settings > Preferences > Storage Settings.

In Boxafe 1.5, backup data is stored in a folder that is only accessible by Boxafe and cannot be changed.

In HDP for SaaS 2.0 and later, backup data is stored at the HDP for SaaS storage path, which by default is a folder that is only accessible by HDP for SaaS, and can be configured in Settings > Preferences > Storage Settings.

HDP for SaaS does not version email backups. Subsequent email backups will always overwrite existing email backups.

If you do not see any calendar event backups, it may be because there are no calendar events present in the date range specified by the date range filter. Make sure to set the date range filter with the needed date range:

Service backups can be enabled/disabled for individual users in Domains > Domain Settings > Users > Enable Backup. If the Enable Backup setting for a particular domain user cannot be enabled, then the following may have happened:

1. Service backups for all users have been disabled in Domain Settings > Overview > Domain Services.
2. The domain user has been deleted from the domain.
   
   

HDP for SaaS 2.0 does not have continuous backups. You can perform frequent backups by configuring an appropriate backup schedule for your domain. When upgrading to HDP for SaaS 2.0 from 1.5, continuous backup schedules are converted into daily backup schedules.

HDP for SaaS cannot backup Microsoft Office 365 shared mail box folders due to Microsoft service limitations.

In Boxafe 1.5, you can configure backup data to be deleted automatically after a specified number of months in Domain Settings > Edit Domain > Backup Schedule > Delete older versions of backed up data after.

In HDP for SaaS 2.0, you can configure backup data to be deleted automatically after a specified number of months in Domain Settings > Backup Schedule > Enable Version Management > Number of days to retain each version.

Yes, HDP for SaaS can display links, emojis, and images in Microsoft Teams messages.

HDP for SaaS versions all backup data and does not delete or overwrite existing backup data. However, the setting Delete older versions of backed up data after might be enabled in your domain's backup schedule, which will automatically delete older backup data when a backup is performed.

In Boxafe 1.5, when restoring to a cloud service (email, contacts, shared drives, etc.), HDP for SaaS will restore the data to a folder created by HDP for SaaS on your cloud service.
In HDP for SaaS 2.0, when restoring to a cloud service, except email and Microsoft Teams, (contacts, shared drives, etc.) you can select Restore to original location or Create a new copy. Create a new copy will restore the data to a folder created by HDP for SaaS on your cloud service.

HDP for SaaS cannot restore original emails.

Microsoft Teams data cannot be restored.

When restoring data, for some cloud services you can specify the restore method. If the restore method is set to Restore to original location, then the Conflict Management Policy can be specified. The Conflict Management Policy specifies how backup data will be restored when identical data already exists on the cloud service. The Conflict Management Policy can be one of the following:

• Overwrite: If the data already exists on the could service, overwrite the data with the backup data.
• Rename: If the data already exists on the cloud service, rename the backup data and save to a new folder created by HDP for SaaS.
• Skip: If the data already exists on the cloud service, do not restore the backup data.

Read-only calendar events cannot be restored. HDP for SaaS will skip these calendar events when restoring calendar data.

A license is not required to export backed up data from HDP for SaaS.

When exporting data for multiple users and multiple domain services, the size of the exported data may be very large, exceeding multiple TBs. To avoid letting users accidentally download very large data, the download to local computer is disabled.  However, HDP for SaaS users can export to a selected folder on their NAS first, then download the files from File Station.  

Only one restore task per domain user can be run at a time.

If your backup/restore tasks are failing, there may be several causes:

• The domain service provider has limited the number of transactions that HDP for SaaS can request, and HDP for SaaS has exceeded that limit. Try scheduling less frequent backups.
• You may not have sufficient storage space either on your NAS or with the user account of the domain service provider.

If your backup/restore tasks are failing, there may be several causes:

• The domain service provider has limited the number of transactions that HDP for SaaS can request, and HDP for SaaS has exceeded that limit. Try scheduling less frequent backups.
• You may not have sufficient storage space either on your NAS or with the user account of the domain service provider.
• Your NAS has insufficient system resources for HDP for SaaS to successfully perform the task

Tasks that have been canceled, skipped, or generated warnings cannot be retried.

If a running task is deleted, the task will stop running, be moved to the Completed Tasks page, and any data backed up by the task will be deleted. If the task was a restore task, HDP for SaaS will not delete any data already restored to the domain service.

If a queued task is delete, the task will be removed from the queue so that it will not run, and be moved to the Completed Tasks page.

If there is a duplicate task of another task in the queue, then the duplicate task will be skipped. A task is considered a duplicate of another task when the task is backing up/restoring the same domain services for the same domain users within a small amount of time.

If you change the HDP for SaaS storage path more than 5 times, then your HDP for SaaS licenses will become blacklisted. Blacklisted licenses are invalid licenses and cannot be assigned to domain users. To perform backups and restores, a valid license must be assigned to domain users. If your HDP for SaaS licenses are blacklisted, please contact QNAP Customer Service. 

Licenses can be deactivated in License Center or License Manager. For details, see Deactivating a License Using QNAP ID (QTS)  or Deactivating a License Using QNAP ID (QuTS hero). Before deactivating the free HDP for SaaS license, the following must be done:

• All domains uers assigned the license must be deleted
• All Google shared drives, Microsoft Teams, and SharePoint sites assigned the license must be deleted.

If a HDP for SaaS license expires, then you cannot backup or restore data for the domain user who is assigned the license. Existing backup data, however, is not deleted and can still be exported from HDP for SaaS. After renewing the license or assigning a different valid license to the domain user, you will be able to backup and restore that users data like normal.

HDP for SaaS licenses can be purchased from the QNAP Software Store. 

There is no limit to the number of HDP for SaaS licenses that you can activate on a single NAS.

For HDP for SaaS 2.0 for QuTSCloud license options, please contact QNAP Customer Service.

By default HDP for SaaS will automatically assign licenses to newly added domain users or services. You can configure what licenses are assigned automatically in Settings > Preferences > Default License for Automatically Added Users:

A HDP for SaaS license for Google Workspace is required to backup or restore user data from a Google user, and a HDP for SaaS license for Microsoft 365 is required to backup or restore user data for a Microsoft 365 user.

When a HDP for SaaS license is removed from a domain user, the following occurs:

1. All backed up data on your NAS for that user (email, contacts, shared drives, etc.) will be deleted from HDP for SaaS.
2. The user will be deleted from HDP for SaaS.
3. You cannot backup or restore data for that user.
4. Scheduled backups will not backup data for that user.
5. The license assigned to the user will be unassigned from the user, but remain valid and can be re-assigned to another user.

To assign a HDP for SaaS licenses to a different user, first remove the license from that user, then assign the license to another user. To remove a HDP for SaaS license from a domain user go to Domains > Domain Settings > Users, select a user, and click Actions > Licenses > Remove. To assign a license to a user go to Domains > Domain Settings > Users, select the user, and click Actions > Licenses > Assign.

Warning

If a HDP for SaaS license is removed from a user, that user will be removed from HDP for SaaS, and their backup data will be deleted from HDP for SaaS. For details see the section What happens when I remove a HDP for SaaS license from a user? of this FAQ.

The free HDP for SaaS license cannot be assigned to Google shared drives, SharePoint sites, or Microsoft Teams. Only premium licenses can be assigned to these services.