Docs / Getting Started

Getting Started

NET Backup Vault runs three ways. Pick the one that matches your environment and skip everything else.

Choose your deployment path

NET Backup Vault is available in three configurations. All three give you the same feature set: granular backup, atomic restore, audit trail, and multi-tenant management. The difference is who runs the infrastructure.

Option 1: SaaS No install required

The SaaS version of NET Backup Vault is fully managed. There is nothing to install, configure, or maintain on your side. We run the platform across redundant infrastructure with guaranteed uptime and automatic updates.

What you need

Meraki API Key

Organisation-level read/write access to the Meraki Dashboard API.

A web browser

NET Backup Vault is fully browser-based. No desktop client required.

Account credentials

Provided by our team when your account is provisioned.

What we handle

Infrastructure and hosting
Uptime and availability
Security patching
Platform updates
Database backups
SSL and encryption
Monitoring and alerting
Support and incident response

Ready to get started?

Request access and we will provision your account and walk you through connecting your first Meraki network.

Request Access

Option 2: Managed Install

NET Backup Vault is deployed inside your own environment (your VPS, cloud account, or on-premises server) and we manage it for you. Your data never leaves your infrastructure. This is the preferred option for organisations with data residency requirements or clients who cannot use external SaaS.

How it works

1

You provide a server

A Linux VPS, cloud VM, or on-premises machine. We work with Hetzner, DigitalOcean, AWS, Azure, and bare metal. Minimum: 2 vCPU, 4 GB RAM.

2

We install and configure

Our team handles the full setup: dependencies, database, encryption keys, environment configuration, SSL, and reverse proxy.

3

We maintain it

Security patches, updates, backups of the platform database, and monitoring are handled by us. You focus on using NET Backup Vault, not running it.

4

You get credentials

Once provisioned, we hand over your admin login. Your Meraki API key is added under Settings and you are ready to start backing up.

Get your environment set up

Tell us about your server environment and requirements. We will confirm compatibility and arrange the deployment.

Contact Us

Option 3: Self-Hosted

Full control. You install, configure, and maintain NET Backup Vault on your own infrastructure. This path assumes familiarity with Linux server administration, Python environments, and PostgreSQL.

Prerequisites

Requirement Version Notes
Python 3.11+ Backend runtime
Node.js 18 LTS+ Frontend build
PostgreSQL 14+ Primary database
Docker Compose Latest stable Docker deployments only
Meraki API Key N/A Organisation-level access

Docker Compose (recommended)

Step 1: Create your .env file

DB_PASSWORD=secure-db-password
JWT_SECRET_KEY=replace-with-generated-secret
[email protected]
ADMIN_PASSWORD=secure-admin-password
ENCRYPTION_KEY=replace-with-generated-key
MERAKI_API_KEY=your_meraki_api_key_here

Generate secrets:

python -c "import secrets; print(secrets.token_hex(32))"
python -c "import base64,os;print(base64.b64encode(os.urandom(32)).decode())"

Step 2: Start containers

docker-compose up -d
docker-compose --profile production up -d

Step 3: Apply database migrations

docker-compose exec backend alembic upgrade head

Access URLs

Frontend http://localhost:3000
Backend API http://localhost:8000
Swagger Docs http://localhost:8000/docs

Manual install

Create the Python environment

python -m venv venv
source venv/bin/activate   # Linux / macOS
venv\Scripts\activate      # Windows
pip install -r requirements.txt

Initialise the database

cd app && python create_db.py
alembic upgrade head

Start the services

# Backend (terminal 1)
cd app && uvicorn main:app --reload

# Frontend (terminal 2)
cd frontend && npm run dev

Default credentials

Admin: [email protected] / Admin123!
Change these immediately after first login.

First steps after access

Regardless of which deployment option you chose, complete these steps once you have access to your NET Backup Vault instance.

1 Log in and change the default admin password
2 Go to Settings → API Keys and add your Meraki API key
3 Select the Meraki organisation you want to back up
4 Trigger a manual backup to confirm connectivity
5 Set up a backup schedule under Settings → Schedules
6 Configure email or webhook notifications for backup events
7 Invite additional users and assign roles if managing a team