Question for Acronis Users

fireberd said:

I only do full hard drive backups with Acronis. I also keep, at a minimum, the previous backup on the hard drive I use for backups when I do a backup. This eliminates "Murphy's Law" of something happening during a backup and no longer having a backup because the drive used for backups was erased first.

Where I used to work (I was a LAN/WAN Network Manager) we initially did a full backup of our file servers on Monday and then incremental backups on Tuesday through Friday. However, we found that if we needed to restore a server from the backups it took longer to restore with all the incremental backups. We also had a couple of isolated problems with the incrementals and lost some data. Thus the decision was made to do full backups every night. That eliminated any potential for data loss from the incrementals and rebuilding a file server from a full backup took less time.

It is my understanding fireberd, that the differential system takes longer to backup, but restores much quicker, and the incremental is vice versa.

I think I understand your examples and logic, but let me use a simple example wise, and see where my error in thinking is:

I have Acronis scheduled to do a full backup after every 3 version changes.
I also have it programmed to store no more than 3 version changes.
I also have it programmed never to delete the first version change of any full backup.

If my senior citizen mind is understanding correctly, wouldn't it be the following scenario:

Full backup #1
Version change 1a
Version change 1b
Version change 1c
Full backup #2
Version change 2a
(After Version change 2a, since it's programmed to keep no more than 3 version changes, and also programmed not to remove the first version change after each full backup, wouldn't it delete Version change 1b, keeping 1a, 1c, and 2a?)

On the next version change 2b, it would remove 1c, and leave 1a, 2a, and 2b.

On the next version change 2c, it would remove 2b, and leave 1a, 2a, and 2c. etc.

So you would always have a full backup and the first version change?

Believe it or not, I'm not confused, and I guess the best way to see, is to set it up like I have described above, and see what happens!

BOTTOM LINE: My goal is to use as little space as possible, and yet have it programmed to where I can restore it as 'up to date' as I can, regardless of when I would need to do so.

Thanks again to everyone!

Jack

pparks1 said:

jack1953 said:

1. It sounds to me that the differential would be better for me, because I have plenty of external drive space and it would be more beneficial to me to have the quicker restore time, with my business, in exchange for the longer backup time. Agree?

Usually in business case scenarios, the faster restore times are preferred.

jack1953 said:

Create a full version after every 7 differential versions

Store no more than 7 recent version changes

2. With those settings, am I to assume that after initial full backup, it will back up 7 differential versions, then another full backup, and on the next differential backup, it will delete the previous 7 version changes?

I don't use Differentials or Incrementals with Acronis, however if the program works like almost any other backup application, things won't work like you are describing.

Using my example, if you were to do your first full backup on Sunday, and then differentials on Monday, Tuesday, Wed, Thurs, Fri and Sat...that would mean that on Sunday morning you would have 7 restore points.

On Sunday night, your system would then create a new full backup. So, technically you would be left with 1 full backup from previous Sunday, incrementals all week, and 1 new full backup from this Sunday. Now, this would give you more than 7 restore points....but "if" the system were to delete the first full backup from the 1st sunday...it would render all of the differentials form the 1st week as unusable since they need that first full backup. So, "if" the 1st sunday were deleted, and all subsequent differentials were useless, come Sunday night if you had to restore, you would only have 1 restore point (from that current day).

So, come the 2nd Monday you have
--Full backup from Sunday
--Diff from Monday
--Diff from Tues
--Diff from Wed
--Diff from Thurs
--Diff from Fri
--Diff from Sat
--Full from Sun *
--Diff from monday

So, technically you have 9 files. But the system will most likely not be able to delete anything until you have 7 additional backups after the Full backup on the 2nd Sunday. (which I noted with an * above). Otherwise you wouldn't have 7 restore points to pick from.

Hopefully that makes sense...it can be a little confusing at first. I've tried to explain it best that I could.

jack1953 said:

3. So the most I will ever have on the external is a full backup, and 7 differential versions?

No, see above.

The most I would expect if you kept 7 restore points would be.

--Full backup from Sunday
--Diff from Monday
--Diff from Tues
--Diff from Wed
--Diff from Thurs
--Diff from Fri
--Diff from Sat
--Full from Sun *
--Diff from monday
--Diff from Tues
--Diff from Wed
--Diff from Thurs
--Diff from Fri
--Diff from Sat (first deletion would occur here).

Because you now have 7 since the 2nd full backup. That first week can go. So, I would say the most you would have would be 2 fulls and 11 differentials.

I suspect you need to test Acronis to find out exactly what it does on your system with your chosen settings, rather than speculate or rely on opinion.

Not many things worse with a PC than discovering, after you have a disaster, that your carefully thought out backup plan didn't actually do what you thought it was doing. Or did what you thought, but won't restore for whatever reason.

And I'd hate to see you blindly rely on "automatic" anything. Scheduling can fail.

When in doubt, I'd lean toward full backups rather than differentials or incrementals, regardless of speed or restoration times.

And maybe consider more than one application--i.e. Acronis and another product, perhaps alternating, but independent of each other.

pparks1 said:

Jack,

What version of Acronis are you using? I think the options per version are different. I'm on Home 2010, and my option is
Full, Incremental (recommended) and Differential.
Check box to "Create a new full backup after ## of "incremental or differential" backups
check box to "delete previous backup archive.

When I run this, it gives me

--Full
--Differential
--Differential
--Differential

The next run becomes a full, and it wipes out everything previously, giving me only 1 backup restore point.


The key is how the dialog is worded. I assumed it said something like, # of restore points to keep. BUt instead, it simply says run a new full after 3 differentials and then delete previous backups (check is a check box with no option). This is quite different from most enterprise backup applications that I have used at work.

I don't see the option you reference that says;
"I also have it programmed never to delete the first version change of any full backup."

I have 2012 parks. Here are the options:

(Box to check) Create only differential versions after initial full version

Create a full version after every ____ differential versions

Old version cleanup rules:
Delete version chains older than ____ days
Store no more than ___ recent version chains
Keep size of the backup no more than ____ G

(Box to check) Do not delete the first version of the backup

I had only once installed Acronis TrueImage and Acronis Disk Director on my computer. Then after making the boot disks I have deleted both of them. I think the custom schemes described above are unavailable on the boot disk.