First steps to protect Google Workspace with Afi backup

With Afi G Suite Backup you can configure regular automated backups of your Google Workspace resources with a few quick steps.

1. Set up Afi service and configure backup

Install Afi Backup application to your Google Workspace domain by following the installation guide.

In rare cases it can take up to 24 hours until all Google Workspace domain resources become visible and accessible for the application.

Configure protected resources

Choose user accounts and Shared (Team) Drives you want to protect and their protection policies (SLAs). Protection policy determines how often the backups are performed, what Google Workspace data is protected and how long the backup data is retained.

Afi Google Workspace Backup application provides several pre-defined backup policies that you can use right away, or modify/create new policies:

You can assign protection policies to all resources (Users and Shared drives) in your Google Workspace domain, or select specific resources or Organizational units to be protected.

Assign SLA for a specific resource

or for an Organizational unit

2. Backup

When using Bronze, Silver and Gold protection policies backups are performed automatically in accordance with the schedule defined by the SLA policy. Afi service shows the time of the next scheduled backup on the Protection screen for every protected resource.

Run backup

With the Manual protection policy backups will not be automatically performed, instead you need to trigger them manually by pressing the Backup now button for a user/resource on the Protection screen, or the Backup all now button on the Overview screen to initiate a full domain backup. Backup now button also triggers an out-schedule backup run for any resource protected by any protection policy.

Monitor backup progress

Backup status can be monitored both on the Service -> Protection screen (see progress wheel in the Status column) or on the Activity -> Tasks screen:

To simplify progress monitoring, you can filter out the In Progress Status on the Activity -> Tasks screen:

Once a backup is finished, you can access the backup data by clicking on Recover button next to a resource name on the Service -> Protection screen.

3. Data browse

The recovery screen helps preview, search and browse user mailboxes, individual and Shared drives, contact lists and calendar events:

4. Data download

Afi application allows to download all the data from a backup in various formats, including:

• Email data (email folders, individual emails or the entire mailbox) in PST, MBOX and EML;
• Individual and Shared drive data in ZIP format (for several files or folders) or as individual files;
• Calendar data in ICS and PST;
• Contacts data in VCF and PST.

Choose emails to download and press Download button:

Choose files and/or folders to download and press Download button:

You can monitor the progress of long data exports on Activity -> Tasks tab; Afi will also send you an email notification with a link to exported data once your export is ready.

5. Data restore

A restore operation can be performed for:

• a full user account or Shared drive;
• selected Google Workspace services (for example, only user mailbox);
• individual items (for example, specific emails or folders inside a Drive).

To initiate a restore process:

• (optional) select specific items for restore by checking the checkboxes before the item type (for example, choose emails to restore);
• press Recover button;
• select if you need to restore the full account/service or only specific items;
• select the recovery destination (another user/Shared drive or the same user/Shared drive);
• select if you need to perform an in-place recovery or restore data to a separate folder.

You can monitor recovery progress on Activity -> Tasks tab, and Afi will send you an email notification once recovery is completed.