Understanding backup location control...

Discussion in 'Acronis True Image Product Line' started by nicko, Apr 12, 2007.

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  1. nicko

    nicko Registered Member

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    Supposing I have taken a full b/u of a system as a once-off, and every day take a scheduled differential, #1, #2, #3...

    Suppose my limit on the location is 10.

    When I come to the limit of my backups, i.e. differential #10, what actually will happen - what files will be deleted/merged etc.?

    Also, If I have several hosts, all backup up to a single physical location on the SAN, there will be several base full backups & lots of differentials...

    What happens then?

    Thanks
     
  2. CatFan432

    CatFan432 Registered Member

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    nicko,

    For an example, if you set your Backup Location to keep 3 backups, and set your scheduled task to create a new full backup after 2 incremental backups, you are asking for three total backups in this task, matching the number in your Backup Location. If you run this task six times, you should have created two full backups (call them A and B) with two incrementals each. This is the sequence I see:

    A-F (full backup)
    A-F2 (first incremental)
    A-F3 (second incremental) Now you’ve reached the Backup Location limit.
    B-F (full backup) A-F2 and A-F3 are consolidated into A-F2 so you now have A-F, A-F2, B-F
    B-F2 (first incremental) A-F2 is consolidated back into A-F so you now have A-F, B-F, B-F2
    B-F3 (second incremental) A-F is deleted so you now have B-F, B-F2, B-F3

    TI will not delete a full backup until a new full backup has been created, so be sure to have abundant extra space available in your Backup Locations.

    I’ve only tested this with small amounts of data, (for my own system I only use full images) but still noticed that the consolidation process can be very time consuming, and the backup task can appear to “hang” with a second or two left on the progress bar for quite a long time.


    It’s not advisable to have different backup tasks sharing the same Backup Location, as the parameters for the Backup Locations will not pay attention to the source of the incoming files and separate backup task incrementals may overwrite or intermingle. Each task that you assign to a Backup Location should have its own separate Backup Location.

    Regards, CatFan
     
  3. MikeE

    MikeE Registered Member

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    Excellent summary of exactly the consolidation process does. I was about to post a question but this already answered it.

    This forum has a lot of postings which seem to indicate the program doesn't always treat location and scheduled task limits properly. Many posted problems may arise from a lack of understanding of how to properly create and use backup "locations" (the manual is terrible on this subject) but I wonder if the program has some bugs that need fixing. Do any of you out there who are very familiar with the program think this is the case?

    I would be interested in your answers.

    Jim
     
  4. thomasjk

    thomasjk Registered Member

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    In this thread is an explanation of how to set up backup locations.
    https://www.wilderssecurity.com/showthread.php?t=172470#13
     
  5. MikeE

    MikeE Registered Member

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    Thanks for the link. Its attched text file is worth coping and keeping for reference. It occurs to me that once the managed "Location" size limit is reached that from then on every backup (full or incremental) will end with a consolidation step. Since consolidation is reportedly very slow all subsequent backups will take a considerable amount of time. I suppose not an issue since they can be scheduled for over night.
     
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