Cove Backup Check Reference

All configuration fields, alert thresholds, and platform support for the Cove Backup check in octoja.

Written By Stefan Steuer

Last updated 25 days ago

Cove Backup Check Reference

Configuration options and alert behaviour for the Cove Backup check.

The Cove Backup check monitors N-able Cove (Backup Manager) on the device where Cove is installed. It runs hourly by default on the octoja agent, reading the latest backup session per Cove data source and evaluating it against configurable age thresholds.

Configuration fields

FieldTypeRequiredDefaultDescription
Data sourceselectNo (pre-selected)All data sourcesWhich Cove data source to evaluate. All covers every data source the local Cove instance protects. Other values: File system, System state, Network shares, MS SQL Server, Exchange, SharePoint, Hyper-V, VMware, MySQL, Oracle
Warning threshold (hours)numberNo24Raise a warning when the latest successful Cove backup session is older than this. If set higher than the critical threshold, the agent swaps the two values automatically
Critical threshold (hours)numberNo48Raise a critical alert when the latest successful Cove backup session is older than this

Alert behaviour

ConditionSeverity
Cove ClientTool binary not found on the deviceFailure
Cove backup service not runningCritical
ClientTool call failed or timed outFailure
No backup sessions found for the selected data sourceWarning
Latest session state is Failed, Interrupted, or AbortedCritical
Latest session state is CompletedWithErrorsWarning
Latest Completed or Skipped session is older than the critical thresholdCritical
Latest Completed or Skipped session is older than the warning thresholdWarning
Latest session state is InProcess or NotStartedOK
Latest session state is Completed or Skipped within the warning thresholdOK
Latest session state is an unrecognised Cove stateWarning

Why does the check warn although the backup is green?

A warning does not always mean a failed backup. These conditions raise a warning even when the last backup completed:

ConditionWhy the check warnsWhat to do
Latest session is CompletedWithErrorsThe session finished, but Cove logged errors for part of the data — a partial success stays a warning until a session completes cleanlyOpen the session in Cove (Backup Manager) and resolve the reported errors
Latest Completed session is older than the warning threshold (default 24 hours)The age is measured from the start of the latest session and re-evaluated every hour. A backup cadence close to the threshold — a daily backup against the default 24-hour threshold — crosses the line shortly before the next runSet the warning threshold above the backup cadence (for example 26–30 hours for daily backups)
Data source is All data sources and one data source lags behindEvery data source Cove protects is evaluated, and the worst result becomes the check status. A data source with a slower cadence (for example a weekly backup) warns while the daily one is greenConfigure one check per data source so each threshold matches its cadence
Latest session is Skipped and older than the warning thresholdSkipped sessions count like completed ones for the age evaluation, so repeatedly skipped runs eventually breach the thresholdCheck the job schedule and the skip reason in Cove
No backup sessions found for the selected data sourceThe selected data source has no sessions on this device — usually the filter points to a data source this device does not protectSelect a data source the device actually backs up, or All data sources
Latest session reports an unrecognised stateUnknown Cove session states are reported as a warning instead of being silently ignoredReview the session in Cove; the check recovers as soon as a recognised state is reported

Metrics collected

For each Cove data source reported by the device, the check records:

  • Data source name (e.g. FileSystem, VssMsSql)
  • Cove session state (Completed, Failed, CompletedWithErrors, InProcess, …)
  • Age in hours since the session started
  • Computed severity (OK, Warning, Critical, or Failure) based on the session state and the configured age thresholds. The worst per-source result becomes the overall check status

Platform support

PlatformSupportedClientTool locations probed
WindowsYesC:\Program Files\Backup Manager\ClientTool.exe, C:\Program Files (x86)\Backup Manager\ClientTool.exe
macOSYes/Applications/Backup Manager.app/Contents/MacOS/ClientTool, /Library/Application Support/Backup Manager/ClientTool, /opt/MXB/bin/ClientTool
LinuxYes/opt/MXB/bin/ClientTool, /opt/MXB/ClientTool

Notes

  • The check runs every 60 minutes on the agent. The interval is not user-configurable.
  • The agent locates Cove via fixed-path discovery — if your environment uses a non-default install location, the check reports Cove Backup Manager not installed (ClientTool not found).
  • Service-presence detection on Windows uses the Backup Service Controller service, so non-English Windows hosts work without configuration.
  • On macOS and Linux, the agent looks for the ProcessController or BackupFP Cove processes to confirm the service is alive.
  • Set Data source to All data sources to monitor everything Cove protects on the device. If different workloads have very different cadences, configure one check per data source so the age thresholds match each workload.
  • This check does not monitor Cove's cloud-side recovery testing or LocalSpeedVault status — both are tracked in the Cove portal.

See also: Configure the Cove Backup Check