Microsoft VSS & Image Backup

If I enable VSS in Acronis TI to handle backing up an SQL database properly, do I have to set the Microsoft Volume Shadow Copy Service for automatic startup as well (its set to manual by default) or does the Acronis VSS setting use it regardless?

Steve...

 

Hi snmavronis,

You shouldn't need to change the VSS startup type. If you enable the VSS option in TI, the VSS service will be started when a backup operation starts. After the backup is completed and TI is shut down, the VSS service continues to run until you stop it or reboot.

 

Thank you very much!!!

 

Hi snmavronis,

You're welcome.

If you like, you can stop the VSS service after a backup by using a Post Command in the TI options.

 

It won't hurt anything in Windows leaving it on does it? If it does have an impact I'll have to read up on the VSS command line to do that. Thanks again for your follow-up.

Steve

 

Hi snmavronis,

It don't think it will cause any problems if you leave VSS running.

If you prefer to stop VSS. You could just use this simple file:

StopVSS.cmd

Code:

net stop VSS
exit

Point to the file in the TI Post Command option box.

 

Thanks, thats what I did. I also added a pre-command to start vss just in case. Right now its just making incremental images. Should I redo the backup schedle with a new full image backup just to make sure the SQL database is properly done because originally I didn't have VSS enabled or anthing to pause the SQL service as an alternate method. I need to re-think the whole set of backup image files and come up with a proper schedule. I've only been using Acronis for a week so far.

I'm used to using tapes in the past (with Veritas BackupExec) instead of external USB drive media. Back then I'd have separate backup jobs for full friday and monthly backups and the monday through thursdays were incrementals that overwrote the previous weekday file. That way I'd only have to restore from a friday and a few incrementals.

I really don't like how with Acronis you start with an initial full backup and then all these (potentially hundreds of) incremental files are done afterwards. Thats gonna be a pain to do a full bare metal restore from. The only other thing I can think of is just have separate full images done each day of the week but then I can only go back 7 days. I need to see examples of what other Acronis users are doing in a work environment.

[EDIT] I just read this in another users post: under "Backup policy", there is this: "Create differential backups - having chosen this parameter, check the Create a new full backup after ... parameter and specify number of differential backups, after which a new full backup will be created.

Maybe I should be doing Differential backups instead. I started with Incrementals because it was the recommended option and it doesn't have this feature so I didn't know about it until now!

- Steve

 

Hi snmavronis,

You're on your own when it comes to a backup strategy. You need to determine what works for you in your situation.

Good luck.