Starting the Application

Peer DRS can be run in three distinct modes:

Standalone Application Mode

Client Application Mode

Service Mode

Regardless of the mode, only one instance of the Peer DRS GUI application can be running at any given time on a computer.

Standalone Application Mode

This is the default mode and runs the application as a regular desktop application under the current user’s account.  Peer DRS will startup in this mode as long as it is not already running as a service.  This mode allows you to configure and schedule backup jobs that run in the background as long as the application is running.  It also enables you to view the status of any job and monitor all system activity in real-time which is useful for tracking down backup and restore errors.  The application can also be installed into the System Tray via the Global Options dialog so that it can run in the background and notify you when any alerts are encountered.

To start the application in this mode, go to the Peer DRS installation directory and run the following executable program:

You can optionally start Peer DRS in Standalone Application Mode with a System Console which can be used to assist with troubleshooting application startup problems.  In addition, you can provide advanced command line options in this mode.

To start the application in this mode, go to the Peer DRS installation directory and run the following executable program:

Windows users can also place a shortcut to the above executable in the Windows Startup folder so that the application starts up after the user logs in.

Client Application Mode

If Peer DRS is installed and running as a system service then launching the application as per the instructions in the Standalone Application Mode section will start Peer DRS in Client Application Mode which will automatically attach to the running service and allow you to monitor and configure replication jobs in the same way as Standalone Application Mode.

If the service is shutdown or the connection to the service is somehow lost, you will need to restart the application in order to reconnect to the service.

Service Mode

This will run the application as a system service in the background without a graphical interface.  All configured Replication Jobs will run as scheduled, along with any configured alert email settings, with all operational activities being logged in the database for future viewing.

Once Peer DRS is running as a system service you can connect to the running service by starting the application in Client Application Mode

To start the application in Service Mode, go to the Peer DRS installation directory and run the following command:

To stop the application running in Service Mode, go to the Peer DRS installation directory and run the following command:

Note: In all cases, the user account that will be starting the service must have read-rewrite access to all configured drives and network shares, as well as network access to all databases.

Windows Service Installation

Windows installations will also have the ability to install Peer DRS as a Windows NT Service which will allow you to configure, start and stop Peer DRS using the standard Windows service facilities.  During installation, you will be prompted whether you want to install Peer DRS as a system service.  To install as a service at a later time or to uninstall the service, see the Global Options section for instructions on installing and uninstalling Peer DRS as a windows service.

By default, the service will run under a local system account.  This usually will not work under most circumstances because the local system account will not have access to any of the configured network shares.  Therefore, make sure the service is run under an account with the proper permissions to all configured drives and network shares

If you are having problems running in Service Mode, then the first place to look is in the drs.log file in the installation directory.  If your configuration is working in Standalone Application Mode, but not in Service Mode, then look for permission errors for Backup and File Copy jobs.