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Disk backup
Disk-level data protection is based on backing up either a disk or a volume file system as a whole,
along with all information necessary for the operating system to boot; or all the disk sectors using the
sector-by-sector approach (raw mode.) A backup that contains a copy of a disk or a volume in a
packaged form is called a disk (volume) backup or a disk (volume) image. It is possible to recover
disks or volumes as a whole from such backup, as well as individual folders or files.
File backup
File-level data protection is based on backing up files and directories residing on the machine where
the agent is installed or on a network share accessed using the smb or nfs protocol. Files can be
recovered to their original location or to another place. It is possible to recover all files and
directories that were backed up or select which of them to recover.
Conversion to a virtual machine
Agent for Linux performs the conversion by recovering a disk backup to a new virtual machine of any
of the following types: VMware Workstation, Microsoft Virtual PC, Citrix XenServer Open Virtual
Appliance (OVA) or Red Hat Kernel-based Virtual Machine (KVM). Files of the fully configured and
operational machine will be placed in the directory you select. You can start the machine using the
respective virtualization software or prepare the machine files for further usage.
Recovery to dissimilar hardware
You can use the restore to dissimilar hardware functionality on the machine where the agent is
installed and create bootable media with this functionality. Acronis Universal Restore handles
differences in devices that are critical for the operating system start-up, such as storage controllers,
motherboard or chipset.
1.8.3 Agent for VMware
Acronis Backup Agent for VMware enables backup and recovery of ESX(i) virtual machines without
installing agents into the guest systems. This backup method is known as agent-less backup or
backup at a hypervisor level.
The agent is delivered in two versions:
Agent for VMware (Virtual Appliance) can be imported or deployed to a VMware ESX(i) host.
For off-loaded backup, Agent for VMware (Windows) can be installed on a machine running
Windows.
1.8.4 Agent for Hyper-V
Acronis Backup Agent for Hyper-V protects virtual machines residing on a Hyper-V virtualization
server. The agent allows for backing up virtual machines from the host without having to install
agents on each virtual machine.
1.8.5 Agent for SQL
Acronis Backup Agent for SQL enables you to create single-pass disk and application backups and to
recover Microsoft SQL databases from them. The databases can be recovered directly to a running
SQL Server instance or extracted to a folder on a file system.
