View device backup status with the Code42 API
Instructor, no.
Incydr Professional, Enterprise, Horizon, and Gov F2, no.
Incydr Basic, Advanced, and Gov F1, yes.
Overview
The Code42 API DeviceBackupReport resource efficiently retrieves the data you need to address common problems and answer common questions about users and devices in your Code42 environment. DeviceBackupReport provides centralized reporting and better performance than separate calls to the User, Computer, and Destination resources.
Capabilities of the DeviceBackupReport resource
DeviceBackupReport provides information about users and devices in your Code42 environment, such as:
- Backup status
- Disk usage
- Cold storage state
- Connection status and alerts
- Organization and destination details
- User information
- Operating system type
- Network information
Considerations
The DeviceBackupReport resource cannot modify your Code42 environment, and the results it can provide are limited by the user's role.
In very large Code42 environments (100,000+ devices), sending a request to the
DeviceBackupReport resource without specifying at least one parameter-value pair puts an unusually heavy load on the Code42 cloud and can cause noticeable performance delays. Specify query parameters and values whenever possible.Before you begin
Before you attempt to use DeviceBackupReport, become familiar with the basics.
- Get started with the Code42 API in our introductory article.
- Learn about the syntax and usage of the Code42 API.
Usage details
Use the Code42 API Documentation Viewer to learn about the following aspects of DeviceBackupReport:
- Query parameters
- Output values
- Example usage
Partial string matches and flexible search
You can search for users, organizations, devices, destinations, and operating systems using partial string matching. The search is conducted against multiple source fields for each entity. For example, you can search for a user based on the user's last name, username, email, or the userExtRef field.
For a complete explanation of which fields are used by flexible searches, see the DeviceBackupReport entry in the Code42 API Documentation Viewer.
Output formats
DeviceBackupReport provides JSON-formatted output by default, but you can also get output in CSV format with the query parameter export=csv.
- All records are returned when exporting to CSV format.
- Paging is not used when exporting in CSV format, even if the
pgSizequery parameter is specified. - CSV format is ideal when the
DeviceBackupReportresource does not provide the sorting, grouping or filtering you require. Simply open the CSV file in your spreadsheet, and apply the sorting and grouping options you require.
Sorting and paging
When sorting using the srtKey query parameter, paging is limited to the first page.
Example use cases
The following examples show how to use DeviceBackupReport to administrate your Code42 environment.
Use case 1: Backup status report
This backup status report identifies which devices have not backed up for a long period of time.
Example request
This request shows device backup status for active devices, sorted by the time they last connected to the Code42 cloud:
https://console.us.code42.com/api/DeviceBackupReport?srtKey=lastConnectedDate&active=true
Interpret the results
The default sorting direction is ascending, so the first devices listed are the devices that have not connected for the longest period of time. The backupCompletePercentage data can help you identify whether some or all data on a device has successfully backed up.
Using this information, you can investigate user devices that have not connected for a long time. Some possible causes:
- The user is on vacation or sabbatical.
- A remote user's router or firewall is preventing connection.
- The Code42 service has been disabled on the device.
- The user uninstalled the Code42 agent.
Use case 2: Disk usage
This disk usage report identifies the users who are consuming the most storage space.
Example request
This request shows devices sorted by the size of their archives:
https://console.us.code42.com/api/DeviceBackupReport?srtKey=archiveBytes&srtDir=desc
Interpret the results
The devices with the largest archives are listed first, highlighting the users and devices that are taking up the most disk space in your Code42 environment. You can then examine the file exclusions, version settings, and other device backup settings for these users.
Alternative request
Alternatively, you may want to sort the output by the total size of the files and folders selected for backup, rather than by the size of the archives stored by the Code42 environment:
https://console.us.code42.com/api/DeviceBackupReport?srtKey=selectedBytes&srtDir=desc
Use case 3: Device migration plan
DeviceBackupReport can identify devices on a particular operating system in an organization, and how much data will need to be migrated to replacement devices.
Example request
This request shows all Mac devices in the organization named "Accounting:"
https://console.us.code42.com/api/DeviceBackupReport?os=mac&org=Accounting&active=true&srtKey=selectedBytes&srtDir=desc
Replace the operating system type and organization name in this example request with values appropriate for your Code42 environment.
Interpret the results
The Mac devices with the largest archives are listed first, highlighting the migrations that may take longer.
Use case 4: Purge cold storage to free space
To locate archives that can be purged from cold storage, DeviceBackupReport shows all devices with archives in cold storage, along with the date on which the devices last connected.
This is an example only. Before purging any archives from cold storage, confirm that the archives are no longer needed. Depending on your company's data retention policy, archives may need to be kept for a defined period of time.
Example request
The following request generates a CSV file with backup information for all devices:
https://console.us.code42.com/api/DeviceBackupReport?export=csv
Interpret the results
In this example, the data is available for download through your web browser. After downloading the file, open the file in a spreadsheet, and sort the results by the output value coldStorage. The coldStorage output value has the boolean data type.
- True indicates that a device's archive is in cold storage.
- False indicates that a device's archive is not in cold storage.
The report contains a list of all the devices in the Code42 environment. By filtering the results to show only devices with archives in cold storage, and sorting this filtered list by the last connected date, the administrator can confirm that the archives are no longer needed and purge the archives to free up space.
Use case 5: Search with custom metadata fields
DeviceBackupReport also searches reference fields, which are used to store descriptive information for users (userExtRef), devices (computerExtRef. deviceExtRef) and organizations (orgExtRef).
Example request
The user query parameter flexibly searches on username, email, userExtRef, or last name. The following request finds all devices for a user based on userExtRef, such as an employee ID number stored in the reference field:
https://console.us.code42.com/api/DeviceBackupReport?user=1001
Security and permissions
Read-only reports
The DeviceBackupReport resource cannot make changes to your Code42 environment, so it is safer to use than other resources that provide the same data.
Roles and permissions
The DeviceBackupReport resource can be used by any user in your Code42 environment, but the results that it can provide are limited by the the permissions that are assigned to the user's role. For example:
- A standard desktop user with no additional permissions can get information on her own devices, but cannot get information on anyone else's devices.
- An org manager can get information on all the devices of the organization that he manages, but not for devices in other organizations.
- A system administrator can get information on any user in the Code42 environment.