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Acronis True Image for Microsoft Windows Small Business Server Manual

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User’s Guide
Acronis
®
True Image
for Microsoft
®
Windows
Small Business Server
2 Copyright © Acronis, Inc., 2000-2009
Copyright © Acronis, Inc., 2000-2009. All rights reserved.
“Acronis” and “Acronis Secure Zone” are registered trademarks of Acronis, Inc.
"Acronis Compute with Confidence", “Acronis Startup Recovery Manager”, “Acronis Active
restore” and the Acronis logo are trademarks of Acronis, Inc.
Linux is a registered trademark of Linus Torvalds.
Windows and MS-DOS are registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation.
All other trademarks and copyrights referred to are the property of their respective
owners.
Distribution of substantively modified versions of this document is prohibited without the
explicit permission of the copyright holder.
Distribution of this work or derivative work in any standard (paper) book form for
commercial purposes is prohibited unless prior permission is obtained from the copyright
holder.
DOCUMENTATION IS PROVIDED «AS IS» AND ALL EXPRESS OR IMPLIED CONDITIONS,
REPRESENTATIONS AND WARRANTIES, INCLUDING ANY IMPLIED WARRANTY OF
MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE OR NON-INFRINGEMENT,
ARE DISCLAIMED, EXCEPT TO THE EXTENT THAT SUCH DISCLAIMERS ARE HELD TO BE
LEGALLY INVALID.
Copyright © Acronis, Inc., 2000-2009 3
Table of Contents
Chapter 1. Introduction .......................................................................................... 7
1.1 Acronis
®
True Image for Microsoft Small Business Server – a complete solution for corporate
users 7
1.2 Acronis True Image for Microsoft Small Business Server components ..................................... 9
1.3 New in Acronis for Microsoft Small Business Server............................................................... 9
1.4 Supported file systems and storage media ......................................................................... 11
1.4.1 Supported file systems .............................................................................................. 11
1.4.2 Supported storage media ........................................................................................... 11
1.5 License policy .................................................................................................................. 12
1.6 Technical support ............................................................................................................ 12
Chapter 2. Acronis True Image for Microsoft Small Business Server installation
and startup ............................................................................................................. 13
2.1 System requirements ....................................................................................................... 13
2.1.1 Minimum hardware requirements ............................................................................... 13
2.1.2 Supported operating systems ..................................................................................... 13
2.2 Security parameters ......................................................................................................... 13
2.2.1 Credentials ............................................................................................................... 13
2.2.2 Firewall setup ........................................................................................................... 14
2.2.3 Encrypted communication .......................................................................................... 14
2.2.4 Security parameters in Acronis Administrative Template ............................................... 15
2.3 Installing Acronis True Image for Microsoft Small Business Server components ..................... 16
2.3.1 Installation of Acronis True Image for Microsoft Small Business Server local version and
Acronis True Image Agent for Windows ................................................................................ 17
2.3.2 Installation of Acronis Group Server ............................................................................ 18
2.3.3 Acronis Backup Server installation and setup ............................................................... 18
2.3.4 Acronis Universal Restore installation .......................................................................... 22
2.4 Extracting Acronis True Image for Microsoft Small Business Server components .................... 22
2.5 Running Acronis True Image for Microsoft Small Business Server components ...................... 22
2.5.1 Running Acronis True Image for Microsoft Small Business Server (local version) ............. 22
2.5.2 Running Acronis True Image Management Console ...................................................... 23
2.5.3 Running other Acronis components ............................................................................. 23
2.6 Removing Acronis True Image for Microsoft Small Business Server components .................... 23
Chapter 3. General information and proprietary Acronis technologies ................ 24
3.1 The difference between file archives and disk/partition images ............................................ 24
3.2 Full, incremental and differential backups .......................................................................... 24
3.3 Acronis Secure Zone
®
...................................................................................................... 25
3.4 Acronis Startup Recovery Manager .................................................................................... 26
3.4.1 How it works ............................................................................................................ 26
3.4.2 How to use ............................................................................................................... 26
3.5 Acronis Backup Server ..................................................................................................... 27
3.5.1 Backup locations ....................................................................................................... 27
3.5.2 Quotas and time limits for computers and users ........................................................... 28
3.5.3 Administrators and Users ........................................................................................... 29
3.5.4 Operations with archives ............................................................................................ 29
3.6 Acronis Active restore ...................................................................................................... 29
3.6.1 Limitations in using Acronis Active restore ................................................................... 29
3.6.2 How it works ............................................................................................................ 30
3.6.3 How to use ............................................................................................................... 30
3.7 Acronis Universal Restore ................................................................................................. 31
3.7.1 Acronis Universal Restore purpose .............................................................................. 31
3.7.2 Acronis Universal Restore general principles ................................................................ 31
3.7.3 Acronis Universal Restore and Microsoft Sysprep .......................................................... 32
3.7.4 Limitations in using Acronis Universal Restore .............................................................. 32
4 Copyright © Acronis, Inc., 2000-2009
3.7.5 Getting Acronis Universal Restore ............................................................................... 32
3.8 Backing up to tape libraries and tape drives ....................................................................... 33
3.8.1 Backing up to a locally attached tape device ................................................................ 34
3.8.2 Understanding backup to tape devices attached to the Backup Server ........................... 35
3.8.3 Backing up to a tape device through Acronis Backup Server .......................................... 36
3.8.4 Restoring data from archives located on tape devices ................................................... 37
3.9 Viewing disk and partition information ............................................................................... 37
Chapter 4. Using Acronis True Image Management Console ................................ 39
4.1 General information ......................................................................................................... 39
4.2 Installing/updating Acronis components on remote machines .............................................. 39
4.3 Managing a single remote computer .................................................................................. 42
4.3.1 Connecting to a remote computer .............................................................................. 42
4.3.2 Backup and recovery tasks ......................................................................................... 43
4.4 Managing groups of computers ......................................................................................... 46
4.4.1 Group status display .................................................................................................. 46
4.4.2 Creating new group tasks .......................................................................................... 48
4.4.3 Group tasks management .......................................................................................... 50
4.4.4 Acronis Group Server options ..................................................................................... 51
4.5 Managing backup server .................................................................................................. 52
4.5.1 Default settings ......................................................................................................... 53
4.5.2 Set up Administrator profiles ...................................................................................... 54
4.5.3 Adding Users and Administrators to the Acronis Backup Server database ....................... 55
4.5.4 Changing User profiles ............................................................................................... 57
4.5.5 Configuring Backup Locations ..................................................................................... 58
4.5.6 Managing Archives .................................................................................................... 59
4.5.7 Limiting access to Acronis Backup Server .................................................................... 60
Chapter 5. Using Acronis True Image for Microsoft Small Business Server (local
version) .................................................................................................................. 61
5.1 Main program window ..................................................................................................... 61
5.2 Managing a local computer ............................................................................................... 63
Chapter 6. Creating backup archives .................................................................... 66
6.1 Backing up files and folders (file backup) ........................................................................... 66
6.2 Backing up disks and partitions (image backup) ................................................................. 70
6.3 Setting backup options ..................................................................................................... 72
6.3.1 Archive protection ..................................................................................................... 73
6.3.2 Source files exclusion ................................................................................................ 73
6.3.3 Pre/post commands .................................................................................................. 74
6.3.4 Database support ...................................................................................................... 74
6.3.5 Compression level ..................................................................................................... 75
6.3.6 Backup performance ................................................................................................. 76
6.3.7 Fast incremental/differential backup ........................................................................... 77
6.3.8 Archive splitting ........................................................................................................ 77
6.3.9 File-level security settings .......................................................................................... 77
6.3.10 Media components .................................................................................................. 78
6.3.11 Error handling ......................................................................................................... 79
6.3.12 Dual destination backup ........................................................................................... 79
6.3.13 Wake On LAN ......................................................................................................... 80
6.3.14 Additional settings ................................................................................................... 80
Chapter 7. Restoring the backup data .................................................................. 82
7.1 Considerations before recovery ......................................................................................... 82
7.1.1 Restore under Windows or boot from CD? ................................................................... 82
7.1.2 Network settings in rescue mode ................................................................................ 82
7.1.3 Recovering dynamic volumes ..................................................................................... 83
7.2 Restoring files and folders from file archives ...................................................................... 84
Copyright © Acronis, Inc., 2000-2009 5
7.3 Restoring disks/partitions or files from images ................................................................... 86
7.3.1 Starting the Restore Data Wizard ................................................................................ 87
7.3.2 Archive selection ....................................................................................................... 87
7.3.3 Restoration type selection .......................................................................................... 88
7.3.4 Selecting a disk/partition to restore ............................................................................ 89
7.3.5 Selecting a target disk/partition .................................................................................. 90
7.3.6 Changing the restored partition type ........................................................................... 91
7.3.7 Changing the restored partition file system .................................................................. 92
7.3.8 Changing the restored partition size and location ......................................................... 92
7.3.9 Assigning a letter to the restored partition ................................................................... 93
7.3.10 Restoring several disks or partitions at once .............................................................. 93
7.3.11 Using Acronis Universal Restore ................................................................................ 93
7.3.12 Setting restore options ............................................................................................. 94
7.3.13 Restoration summary and executing restoration ......................................................... 94
7.4 Setting restore options ..................................................................................................... 94
7.4.1 Files to exclude from restoration ................................................................................. 95
7.4.2 Files overwriting mode ............................................................................................... 95
7.4.3 Pre/post commands .................................................................................................. 95
7.4.4 Restoration priority .................................................................................................... 96
7.4.5 File-level security settings .......................................................................................... 96
7.4.6 Specifying mass storage drivers .................................................................................. 96
7.4.7 Additional settings ..................................................................................................... 97
7.4.8 Error handling ........................................................................................................... 98
7.5 Creating dynamic disks and volumes ................................................................................. 98
7.5.1 Creating dynamic volumes ......................................................................................... 98
Chapter 8. Scheduling tasks ................................................................................ 101
8.1 Creating scheduled tasks ................................................................................................ 101
8.1.1 Setting up daily execution ........................................................................................ 103
8.1.2 Setting up weekly execution ..................................................................................... 104
8.1.3 Setting up monthly execution ................................................................................... 105
8.1.4 Setting up one-time execution .................................................................................. 105
8.1.5 Setting up event-driven execution ............................................................................ 106
8.2 Managing scheduled tasks .............................................................................................. 106
Chapter 9. Managing the Acronis Secure Zone ................................................... 107
9.1 Creating Acronis Secure Zone ......................................................................................... 107
9.2 Resizing the Acronis Secure Zone .................................................................................... 109
9.3 Changing the password for Acronis Secure Zone .............................................................. 110
9.4 Deleting Acronis Secure Zone ......................................................................................... 111
Chapter 10. Creating bootable media ................................................................. 112
10.1 Creating Acronis rescue media ...................................................................................... 112
10.2 Creating a Win PE ISO with Acronis True Image for Microsoft Small Business Server ......... 114
Chapter 11. Operations with archives ................................................................. 115
11.1 Validating backup archives ........................................................................................... 115
11.2 Exploring archives and mounting images ....................................................................... 115
11.2.1 Exploring an archive .............................................................................................. 116
11.2.2 Mounting an image ................................................................................................ 117
11.2.3 Unmounting an image ........................................................................................... 119
11.3 Consolidating backups .................................................................................................. 119
Chapter 12. Notifications and event tracing ....................................................... 123
12.1 Email notification ......................................................................................................... 123
12.2 WinPopup notification .................................................................................................. 124
12.3 Viewing logs ................................................................................................................ 124
12.4 Event tracing ............................................................................................................... 125
6 Copyright © Acronis, Inc., 2000-2009
12.4.1 Windows event log ................................................................................................ 125
12.4.2 SNMP notifications ................................................................................................. 126
12.5 Managing System Restore ............................................................................................ 126
Chapter 13. Working with a virtual environment ............................................... 128
13.1 Backing up data on virtual machines ............................................................................. 128
13.2 Recovering data on virtual machines ............................................................................. 128
13.3 Using the disk conversion feature .................................................................................. 129
13.3.1 Recover data on the VM ......................................................................................... 129
13.3.2 Recover both data and the VM ............................................................................... 129
13.3.3 Physical to virtual migration ................................................................................... 129
13.3.4 Converting workloads ............................................................................................ 130
13. 4 Converting disk images to virtual disks ......................................................................... 130
Chapter 14. Transferring the system to a new disk ............................................ 132
14.1 General information ..................................................................................................... 132
14.2 Security ...................................................................................................................... 133
14.3 Executing transfers ...................................................................................................... 133
14.3.1 Selecting Clone mode ............................................................................................ 133
14.3.2 Selecting source disk ............................................................................................. 133
14.3.3 Selecting destination disk ....................................................................................... 134
14.3.4 Partitioned destination disk .................................................................................... 135
14.3.5 Old and new disk partition layout ............................................................................ 135
14.3.6 Old disk data ........................................................................................................ 135
14.3.7 Destroying the old disk data ................................................................................... 136
14.3.8 Selecting partition transfer method ......................................................................... 137
14.3.9 Partitioning the old disk ......................................................................................... 138
14.3.10 Old and new disk partition layouts ........................................................................ 138
14.3.11 Cloning summary ................................................................................................. 139
14.4 Cloning with manual partitioning ................................................................................... 139
14.4.1 Old and new disk partition layouts .......................................................................... 139
Chapter 15. Adding a new hard disk ................................................................... 141
15.1 Selecting a hard disk .................................................................................................... 141
15.2 Creating new partitions ................................................................................................ 141
15.3 Disk add summary ....................................................................................................... 142
Chapter 16. Command-line mode and scripting ................................................. 143
16.1 Working in the command-line mode .............................................................................. 143
16.1.1 Supported commands ............................................................................................ 143
16.1.2 Common options (options common for most trueimagecmd commands) .................... 146
16.1.3 Specific options (options specific for individual trueimagecmd commands) .................. 147
16.1.4 trueimagecmd.exe usage examples ......................................................................... 152
16.1.5 Command-line mode usage under DOS ................................................................... 158
16.2 Scripting ..................................................................................................................... 158
16.2.1 Script execution parameters ................................................................................... 158
16.2.2 Script structure ..................................................................................................... 159
16.2.3 Script usage examples ........................................................................................... 160
Copyright © Acronis, Inc., 2000-2009 7
Chapter 1. Introduction
1.1 Acronis
®
True Image for Microsoft Small Business Server – a
complete solution for corporate users
Acronis True Image for Microsoft Small Business Server is a comprehensive backup and
recovery solution for heterogeneous computer infrastructure that may include any
combination of physical and virtual, networked and standalone, Windows- and Linux-
based servers.
Acronis True Image for Microsoft Small Business Server creates a transportable image,
independent of the hardware platform that can be restored directly to and from any
virtual or physical environment.
Minimizes downtime
Acronis True Image for Microsoft Small Business Server enables you to restore systems in
minutes, not hours or days. An entire system can be restored from an image that includes
everything the system needs to run: the operating system, applications, databases, and
configurations. it is not necessary to reinstall software or reconfigure your system or
network settings. The complete system restoration can be performed to an existing
system, to a new system with different hardware, or to virtual machines. With the Acronis
Active restore feature, users can access the server and begin working during the restore
process, further decreasing downtime. File-level backups provide you with the flexibility to
only backup specific, critical files.
Eases Administration
Wizards guide users through backup and recovery tasks, ensuring the product can be
implemented with minimal user training. A central management console provides remote
administration, ensuring that all systems in the network, regardless of the domain or
workgroup structure, can be managed from one location. Complete, unattended restores
from remote locations are supported with a remote bootable agent.
Automates Backup
With the scheduling capability in Acronis True Image for Microsoft Small Business Server,
you simply create backup tasks, tailored by group, or certain times or events.
To ensure that backups have occurred, or if user intervention is required, you can request
notifications via email or Windows Pop-up. You can view Acronis events in the Windows
Application Events Log or Acronis own log files. Log messages can be automatically sent
out to SNMP clients.
The product also supports the creation of custom commands before and after backups.
For example, users can automatically run anti-virus products before an image is created
and verify the validity of backups after the image has been created. And because these
tasks can be scheduled, you need not recreate the script to run the pre- and post-event
tasks each time; you can set the scheduled events once and they will run each time
automatically.
Ensures 24 X 7 Uptime
With Acronis’ patented drive snapshot technology, systems can be imaged while they are
in use, ensuring 24-by-7 system availability. This technology enables the product to
backup and image critical operating system files, the master boot record and any
partition-based boot records without requiring a reboot. A CPU allocation feature allows
8 Copyright © Acronis, Inc., 2000-2009
you to limit the amount of CPU usage for the application to maximize the CPU’s
availability for mission critical applications. Additionally, users can control hard disk drive
writing speeds and control network bandwidth used during backups, allowing minimal
disruption of business operations.
A feature that allows you to suspend database activity for several seconds is provided so
that you can create a valid image of mission-critical applications such as Microsoft
Exchange Server, Microsoft SQL Server and Oracle. This database suspension process
supports Microsoft’s Volume Shadow Copy Service (VSS). If your database or operating
system does not support VSS, Acronis True Image for Microsoft Small Business Server will
execute your custom commands to execute database suspension.
Supports Leading Edge Technology
Businesses today are moving to leverage the latest technologies, including dual-core, 64-
bit processors and 64-bit operating systems. With Acronis True Image for Microsoft Small
Business Server, you can protect these new machines, as well as legacy servers, running
a single application with a common interface.
Leverages Existing Technology Investments
The product can leverage your current storage infrastructure by supporting a variety of
storage media, so you can avoid costly hardware purchases to implement the solution.
The product supports key storage technologies such as: Direct Attached Storage (DAS),
Network Attached Storage (NAS), Storage Area Networks (SAN), Redundant Arrays of
Independent Disks (RAID), tapes, USB and IEEE-1394 (FireWire) compliant storage
devices, CDs, DVDs, removable drives (Floppy, Zip, etc.) and shared storage. Moreover,
the product ensures that you maximize the space on these resources with four levels of
compression.
Disk cloning and new disk deployment
Acronis True Image for Microsoft Small Business Server can be used to clone an image
onto multiple servers. For example, let’s say a company purchased several servers and
needs similar environments on each of them. Traditionally, the IT manager would install
the operating system and programs on every server. With Acronis True Image for
Microsoft Small Business Server, the IT manager would configure a single server, then
create a disk image of the system. That image can then be duplicated onto multiple
servers.
If you need to upgrade the server hard disk drive, Acronis True Image for Microsoft Small
Business Server simplifies the task to few mouse clicks creating the exact copy of your old
disk to a new one and adjusting partitions size to fit a new hard disk.
Volumes conversion
Acronis True Image for Microsoft Small Business Server can back up and recover dynamic
volumes.
Dynamic volume as is can be recovered over the same volume or unallocated space of a
dynamic group. Acronis True Image for Microsoft Small Business Server has necessary
tools for any-to-any disks conversion in terms of basic disks and dynamic volumes of any
type (simple, spanned, striped, mirrored or RAID 5). The tools are available in bootable
program version as well. Having booted the Acronis environment, you can easily prepare
the desired dynamic group on bare metal or a computer with non-Windows operating
system.
Copyright © Acronis, Inc., 2000-2009 9
1.2 Acronis True Image for Microsoft Small Business Server
components
Acronis True Image for Microsoft Small Business Server includes the following
components.
1. Acronis True Image Management Console is a tool for remote access to Acronis
components. Administrator uses the console to install, configure and control the
components from remote.
2. Acronis True Image Agent is an application that resides on client computers and
performs Acronis operations such as data backup or restore.
3. Acronis Group Server is a management tool that provides ability to schedule,
monitor and manage group backup tasks. It deploys group tasks to the agents, polls the
agents for the status of running tasks and provides the administrator with the summary
tasks state display over the network.
4. Acronis Backup Server is an application for centralized storage and management of
enterprise backup archives.
The administrator can set space quotas and backup schemes, schedule check tasks that
consolidate backups in case of quota violation, perform one-time backups consolidation.
This ensures optimal usage of the storage capacity. Acronis Backup Server also enables
users to access a tape library, connected to the server.
5. Acronis True Image for Microsoft Small Business Server (local version) is a
locally controlled server management tool with additional functionality as compared to
Acronis True Image Agent. The local version supports, besides backup and recovery
operations, exploring archives, mounting images as virtual drives, cloning hard disks data
and formatting partitions on new hard disks, creating dynamic volumes, command-line
mode and scripts execution.
6. Acronis Universal Restore is an add-on to Acronis True Image for Microsoft Small
Business Server that automatically configures Windows drivers in a system, recovered on
dissimilar hardware. This enables the seamless system start and operation.
7. Acronis Bootable Rescue Media Builder - creates bootable media, its ISO image or
the RIS package thus enabling data recovery over bare metal, non-Windows or corrupted
operating systems.
1.3 New in Acronis for Microsoft Small Business Server
Management console
Reconnect (last connect) option
Centralized installation and update of Acronis components on multiple computers
Group server
Import and export computers through txt/csv files
Run, stop, restart, edit, check group tasks
Group validation tasks
Set how often to check the computers state (status refresh rate)
Wake on LAN for backup
10 Copyright © Acronis, Inc., 2000-2009
Backup server
Import/export archives from external locations
Limit number of connections
Limit bandwidth used per connection
Access to tape library for every user
Backup
Backup and restore of 2+TB volumes
Encrypting backups with industry-standard AES cryptographic algorithm (key size 128,
192, 256 bit)
Multi-volume snapshot for databases spread on several disks
Control network bandwidth usage when backing up to FTP
Error handling: ignore bad sectors, silent mode (no pop-ups, continue on all errors)
Dual destination backup: Acronis Secure Zone + network share
Support for VMware Consolidated backup
Archive bit reset (file-level backup only)
Generating time-based names for backup files
Recovery
Recovery of dynamic volumes
Recovery of system dynamic volumes on dissimilar hardware using Acronis Universal
Restore or Acronis Active restore
Scheduling
Schedule archive validation
Start every N hours within daily schedule
Start on free disk space change by the specified amount
Cloning a task
Notification via e-mail
Multiple e-mail addresses
From and Subject fields
Logon to incoming mail server
Operations with archives
Convert disk images to virtual disks for VMware, Microsoft, XenServer and Parallels virtual
machines
Consolidate backup files (create a consistent copy of archive while deleting selected
backups)
Explore archives (open in read-only mode any image or file-level backup)
Operations with hard disks
Convert basic disk to dynamic
Copyright © Acronis, Inc., 2000-2009 11
Create dynamic volumes
CLI features
MBR restore
Backup to FTP server
Allow logs on net share
Merge unallocated space by moving partitions and create Acronis Secure Zone on the
space
Security
Encrypted (SSL) communication between Acronis True Image for Microsoft Small Business
Server components
1.4 Supported file systems and storage media
1.4.1 Supported file systems
FAT16/32
NTFS
Ext2/Ext3
ReiserFS
Reiser4
Linux SWAP
XFS
JFS
DFS
If a file system is not supported or is corrupted, Acronis True Image for Microsoft Small
Business Server can copy data using a sector-by-sector approach.
For XFS and JFS file systems the partition resizing feature is not supported.
1.4.2 Supported storage media
Hard disk drives
Networked storage devices such as Storage Area Networks (SANs) and Network Attached
Storage (NAS)
Tape libraries, autoloaders, SCSI tape drives
IDE and SCSI RAID controllers of any level
FTP-servers*
CD-R/RW, DVD-R/RW, DVD+R (including double-layer DVD+R), DVD+RW, DVD-RAM**
USB 1.0 / 2.0, FireWire (IEEE-1394) and PC card storage devices
ZIP
®
, Jaz
®
and other removable media
12 Copyright © Acronis, Inc., 2000-2009
* - an FTP-server must allow passive mode for file transfers. Data recovery directly from
FTP-server requires the archive to consist of files no more than 2GB in size. It is
recommended that you change the source computer firewall settings to open ports 20
and 21 for both TCP and UDP protocols and disable the Routing and Remote Access
Windows service.
** - Burned rewritable discs cannot be read in Linux without kernel patch.
1.5 License policy
Acronis True Image for Microsoft Small Business Server licensing is based on number of
servers on which Acronis True Image Agent and/or Acronis True Image for Microsoft
Small Business Server local version are to be installed. This means you need one license
for each server you are going to backup, whether you will control it on-site (with the local
program version) or remotely (using Acronis True Image Agent), or use both ways of
control. The number of Acronis True Image Management Console, Acronis Group Server
and Acronis Backup Server installations is not counted.
Acronis Universal Restore is an option to Acronis True Image for Microsoft Small Business
Server and has its own serial number.
1.6 Technical support
As part of a purchased annual Support charge you are entitled to Technical Support as
follows: to the extent that electronic services are available, you may electronically access
at no additional charge, Support services for the Software, which Acronis shall endeavor
to make available twenty four (24) hours a day, seven (7) days per week. Such electronic
services may include, but are not limited to: user forums; software-specific information;
hints and tips; bug fix retrieval via the internet; software maintenance and demonstration
code retrieval via a WAN-accessible FTP server; and access to a problem resolution
database via Acronis customer support system.
Support shall consist of supplying telephone or other electronic support to you in order to
help you locate and, on its own, correct problems with the Software and supplying
patches, updates and other changes that Acronis, at its sole discretion, makes or adds to
the Software and which Acronis makes generally available , without additional charge, to
other licensees of the Software that are enrolled in Support. Upon mutual agreement by
both parties, Acronis shall: (i) supply code corrections to you to correct Software
malfunctions in order to bring such Software into substantial conformity with the
published operating specifications for the most current version of the Software unless
your unauthorized modifications prohibit or hamper such corrections or cause the
malfunction; or (ii) supply code corrections to correct insubstantial problems at the next
general release of the Software.
More information about contacting Acronis Technical Support is available at the following
link: http://www.acronis.com/support/
Copyright © Acronis, Inc., 2000-2009 13
Chapter 2. Acronis True Image for
Microsoft Small Business Server
installation and startup
2.1 System requirements
2.1.1 Minimum hardware requirements
Acronis True Image for Microsoft Small Business Server requires the following hardware:
Pentium processor or higher
512MB RAM
FDD or CD-RW drive for bootable media creation
Mouse (recommended).
2.1.2 Supported operating systems
Acronis True Image Management Console
Windows Small Business Server 2003, 2008
Windows Professional 2000 SP4/XP Professional SP3
Windows Server 2000/Advanced Server 2000/Server 2003/ Server 2008
Windows Server 2003 x64 Editions, Windows Server 2008 x64 Editions
Windows Vista all Editions (except for installation of Acronis components on remote
machines running Vista)
Acronis True Image Agent for Windows
Acronis True Image for Microsoft Small Business Server
Acronis Backup Server
Acronis Group Server
Acronis Universal Restore (optional)
Windows Small Business Server 2003
Acronis True Image for Microsoft Small Business Server bootable version enables disk-
level backup and recovery on a computer running any PC-based operating system.
2.2 Security parameters
2.2.1 Credentials
Acronis True Image for Microsoft Small Business Server fully supports all security
standards used in Windows.
To install Acronis components on a computer, the user must be a member of the
Administrators group on the computer.
To get access to Acronis True Image Agent, installed on a computer, the user must be a
member of the Administrators or Backup operators group on the computer.
14 Copyright © Acronis, Inc., 2000-2009
The Acronis Group Server uses administrator’s credentials to perform data backup tasks
on the computers. You will be asked for the credentials during the Acronis Group Server
installation. The credentials you provide will be used for running the Acronis Group Server
service and also applied to all networked computers.
Therefore, it is recommended that you have a uniform account for all computers where
the Acronis True Image Agent is installed. Domain administrators can use the domain
administrator account. In a workgroup, it would make sense to create identical accounts
in the Administrators group on each computer with Acronis True Image Agent.
If you do not wish to create a uniform account, provide credentials for each computer
after Acronis Group Server installation as described in point 4 of
4.4.1 Group status
display
.
You can combine both methods, for example, to set up a uniform account for domain
members and set individual accounts for members of a workgroup.
2.2.2 Firewall setup
Acronis True Image for Microsoft Small Business Server uses the following ports and IP
addresses for remote operation:
server (Acronis True Image Agent) UDP port: 9876
server (Acronis True Image Agent) TCP port: 9876, if busy choose a port at random
client (Acronis True Image Management Console) UDP port: 9877, if busy choose a port
at random
IPv4 multicast address: 239.255.219.45
IPv6 multicast address: FF05::fAA5:741E.
You might have to set the appropriate firewall access options. Options for the Windows
Firewall, included in Windows XP Service Pack 2 and Windows 2003 Server, are set
automatically during Acronis True Image for Microsoft Small Business Server components
installation. However, make sure that the option File and Printer Sharing in the
Control panel -> Windows Firewall -> Exceptions is enabled on the remote
computer, before the remote operation starts.
2.2.3 Encrypted communication
Acronis True Image for Microsoft Small Business Server provides capability to secure all
data transferred between Acronis components within local net and through DMZ,
including the backup stream.
Encryption starts on the first (earliest) stage of connection attempt, so all data transferred
on the next steps (including data required for client authentication) is encrypted.
Once Acronis True Image for Microsoft Small Business Server components are installed,
encrypted communication between the components is enabled automatically.
The earlier versions of Acronis True Image Enterprise Server did not support encrypted
communication, therefore connection to such components, if they present on the
network, will not be encrypted. You have an option to completely disable non-encrypted
communication with some or all Acronis True Image for Microsoft Small Business Server
components. In this case, the components will not be able to communicate with
components of earlier versions. For how to disable non-encrypted communication, see the
next section.
Copyright © Acronis, Inc., 2000-2009 15
The earlier versions of Acronis True Image Management Console cannot communicate
with Acronis True Image for Microsoft Small Business Server agents. The console must be
upgraded to the Acronis True Image for Microsoft Small Business Server console.
Encryption is provided with Secure Socket Layer mechanism. There are two stakeholders
of the encryption operation:
Client application – the application that tries to establish (initiates) connection. This
could be the Acronis True Image Management Console or Acronis Group Server.
Acronis True Image for Microsoft Small Business Server local version can also be a
client when it performs backup to Acronis Backup Server.
Server application – the application to which the client tries to connect. This could be
Acronis True Image Agent, Acronis Group Server, Acronis Backup Server.
2.2.4 Security parameters in Acronis Administrative Template
As stated above, encryption generally does not require setting up. However, connection to
Acronis components of earlier versions will not be encrypted. To completely disable non-
encrypted communication with some or all Acronis True Image for Microsoft Small
Business Server components, use the Administrative Template, provided by Acronis.
Through the Microsoft Group Policy mechanism, the template can be applied to a single
computer as well as to a domain.
How to apply Acronis Administrative Template
1. Run Windows Group Policy Objects Editor (\WINDOWS\system32\gpedit.msc).
2. Open the Group Policy object you want to edit, and in the console tree right-click
Administrative Templates.
3. Click Add/Remove Templates.
4. Click Add.
5. Browse to the Acronis Administrative Template
(\Program files\Common Files\Acronis\Agent \acronis_agent.adm or \Program
files\Acronis\TrueImageConsole\acronis_agent.adm), and click Open.
6. Once the template is added, open it and edit the desired settings.
For detailed information about Windows GPO Editor please see:
http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-u
s/library/aa374163.aspx
For detailed information about Group Policies please see:
http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-u
s/library/aa374177.aspx
The Acronis Administrative Template contains the following settings.
16 Copyright © Acronis, Inc., 2000-2009
Encryption Options
Server Requires Encryption
This option defines the server behavior in case the client does not support encryption.
When enabled, connection to the client will be terminated. When disabled, the client will
be allowed to establish non-encrypted connection.
Client Requires Encryption
When connecting to server applications, the Acronis client applications always attempt to
establish an encrypted connection. The Client Requires Encryption option defines the
client behavior in case the server does not support encryption. When disabled, the non-
encrypted connection will be established. When enabled, the connection will be
terminated.
After applying the template or editing the encryption options, you should restart the
Remote Agent(s).
2.3 Installing Acronis True Image for Microsoft Small Business Server
components
To install Acronis True Image for Microsoft Small Business Server components, run the
Acronis True Image for Microsoft Small Business Server setup file.
If you have the trial version of Acronis True Image for Microsoft Small Business Server
installed on your system, you must uninstall it before installing the commercial version of
the product.
Select the program to install and follow instructions on the screen.
Copyright © Acronis, Inc., 2000-2009 17
Acronis True Image for Microsoft Small Business Server Install Window
It is recommended that you install Acronis True Image Management Console first. After
that you will be able to install Acronis True Image for Microsoft Small Business Server
(local version) and Acronis True Image Agent for Windows remotely to networked
computers.
2.3.1 Installation of Acronis True Image for Microsoft Small Business
Server local version and Acronis True Image Agent for Windows
For Acronis True Image for Microsoft Small Business Server and Acronis True Image
Agent for Windows, Typical, Custom and Complete installation is available. Having
pressed Custom, you can choose to install, besides the main component, Rescue Media
Builder and Bart PE plug-in for Acronis True Image for Microsoft Small Business
Server, or Acronis Secure Zone manager for Acronis True Image Agent.
With Rescue Media Builder you can create bootable rescue disks or RIS packages (see
details in
Chapter 10. Creating bootable media
). Installing the Bootable Rescue Media
Builder will allow you to create bootable media, its ISO image or a bootable RIS package
at any time from the main program window or running Bootable Rescue Media
Builder on its own.
The widely used Bart PE utility provides a Windows-like operating environment invoked
via removable bootable media. Applications are installed into Bart PE in the form of plug-
ins. Choosing Bart PE plug-in installation (disabled by default) provides the ability to
include Acronis True Image for Microsoft Small Business Server into a Bart PE plug-in tab.
The plug-in files will be placed into the component installation folder along with other
program files.
Acronis Secure Zone manager lets you create, delete and resize a special partition for
storing backup archives (see
3.3 Acronis Secure Zone
).
When installed, Acronis True Image for Microsoft Small Business Server (local version)
creates a new device in the Device Manager list (Control Panel -> System ->
Hardware -> Device Manager -> Acronis Devices -> Acronis TrueImage
Backup Archive Explorer). Do not disable or uninstall this device, as it is necessary for
18 Copyright © Acronis, Inc., 2000-2009
connecting image backups as virtual disks (see
11.2.2 Mounting an image
).
2.3.2 Installation of Acronis Group Server
The Acronis Group Server only can be installed locally on a computer by running the setup
program.
When installing Acronis Group Server, you will be asked for credentials. The credentials
you provide are used for running the Acronis Group Server service and also applied to all
networked computers.
Enter the uniform account information discussed in
2.2.1 Credentials
. If you do not use a
uniform account, provide credentials for each computer after the Acronis Group Server
installation as described in point 4 of
4.4.1 Group status display
.
2.3.3 Acronis Backup Server installation and setup
The Acronis Backup Server only can be installed locally on a computer by running the
setup program.
Before starting installation of this component, please read section
3.5 Acronis Backup
Server
to get understanding of this component functionality and define the storage policy
advantageous to your network.
We suggest that you start using Acronis Backup Server as follows:
1. Set up a server with a system drive and a high capacity storage drive.
2. Install Acronis Backup Server on the system drive. Reboot on prompt.
In Windows XP SP2 or Windows 2003 Server, the option Control panel -> Windows
Firewall -> Exceptions -> File and Printer Sharing must be enabled. Otherwise
remote users will not be able to back up on the backup server.
3. Connect the console to Acronis Backup Server.
When connecting to a backup server inside a domain, mind whether your domain or
local account is saved on the backup server. If you used your local account to install the
backup server, and then logged in Windows on the console computer using your domain
account, enter the local user name along with the backup server name (for example,
Server1\username). Otherwise the name will be identified as a domain one.
Copyright © Acronis, Inc., 2000-2009 19
4. Acronis Backup Server Management -> Specify Default Settings -> Set
Backup Location -> specify path to the storage drive. You can create a folder for the
backup location on the storage drive. To see the folder in the tree and add it to the path,
collapse and expand the drive.
5. Click Back -> Configure Backup Locations -> make sure that the new default
location is created and delete the location in \Documents and Settings.
6. Set limitations to disk space and storage period for the location, if needed,
according to the selected policy.
To do so, select Configure Backup Locations -> select location -> Quotas and
time limits. The maximum backup location size can be set to the storage drive capacity
minus the estimated size of the largest backup (some space must be reserved for the
temporary file created at consolidation).
7. Set the default limitations for users/computers, if needed, according to the
selected policy.
To do so, select Acronis Backup Server Management -> Specify Default Settings
-> Set Quotas and time limits. The maximum disk space allowed for a user/computer
can be set as the max location size divided by total number of users and computers.
Generally, value of this setting can reach the maximum location size.
8. Read about administrators and users profiles in
3.5.3 Administrators and Users
.
Define if you need more than one administrator on the backup server. If yes, add
administrators as follows:
Add the person’s local or domain account to the AcronisBackupServerUsers group on the
backup server.
Click Set up User profiles -> Add.
Choose the user name.
20 Copyright © Acronis, Inc., 2000-2009
Select from the local backup server users or the domain users
Choose Create user with administrator’s rights.
Click Proceed.
User or administrator?
9. Define which users will be allowed to back up data on the backup server. Add the
users as follows:
Add the person’s local or domain account to the AcronisBackupServerUsers group on the
backup server.
Click Set up User profiles -> Add.
Choose the user name.
Choose Use default settings.
Click Proceed.
Copyright © Acronis, Inc., 2000-2009 21
10. Define the computers which administrators will back up using Acronis True Image
Agents. Add the computers as follows.
Click Set up Administrator profiles -> Add.
Choose the computer or enter its name.
Choose Use default settings.
Click Proceed.
Adding a computer to the administrator profile
11. Schedule a check for exceeding the quotas and time limits, if needed according to
the selected policy.
To do so, select Acronis Backup Server Management -> Specify Default Settings
-> Schedule automatic consolidation and backup management.
Choose Periodically.
Choose Weekly.
Schedule check to be performed once a week during off-peak time.
Click Proceed.
The backup server is ready to work. To perform backup using the Administrator profile,
connect the console to the agent on a remote computer and create a standard backup
task while selecting Acronis Backup Servers -> backup server name -> Personal
Backup Location as backup destination. Or create a group task for several computers
with the same destination.
Users can back up their data with local program versions while selecting the same
destination.
22 Copyright © Acronis, Inc., 2000-2009
2.3.4 Acronis Universal Restore installation
Acronis Universal Restore is an option for Acronis True Image for Microsoft Small Business
Server. It is included at no extra charge with Acronis True Image for Microsoft Small
Business Server and installed from a separate setup file. Acronis Universal Restore has its
own serial number that is required at installation.
Acronis Universal Restore can only be installed on a computer where at least one of the
following Acronis components is installed:
Acronis True Image Agent for Windows
Acronis True Image for Microsoft Small Business Server (local version)
Bootable Media Builder.
Acronis Universal Restore can be installed on a networked computer either locally, by
running the setup program, or remotely, using one of remote installation services such as
Systems Management Server (a component of Microsoft Windows NT BackOffice program
package). Remote installation of Acronis Universal Restore with Acronis True Image
Management Console is not supported.
After installation, Acronis Universal Restore automatically plugs in one or more of above
program components. Acronis True Image for Microsoft Small Business Server (local
version) name, displayed in its main window, changes to Acronis True Image for
Microsoft Small Business Server with Universal Restore.
2.4 Extracting Acronis True Image for Microsoft Small Business
Server components
During Acronis True Image Management Console installation, all Acronis True Image for
Microsoft Small Business Server components’ setup (.msi) files will be placed to
C:\Program Files\Common Files\Acronis\RemoteInstall folder. Thus, you will be able to
remotely install, modify or repair the components using Acronis True Image Management
Console or msiexec.exe utility.
When installing Acronis True Image for Microsoft Small Business Server components on a
local computer, you can save setup files for each Acronis True Image for Microsoft Small
Business Server component separately on a local or network drive. This will help when
modifying or recovering the existing component installation on a local computer.
To save a component’s setup file:
run the Acronis True Image for Microsoft Small Business Server setup file
in the Install Menu, right-click on the component name and select Extract
select a location for the setup file and click Save.
2.5 Running Acronis True Image for Microsoft Small Business Server
components
2.5.1 Running Acronis True Image for Microsoft Small Business
Server (local version)
You can run Acronis True Image for Microsoft Small Business Server in Windows by
selecting Start -> Programs -> Acronis -> Acronis True Image for Microsoft
Small Business Server -> Acronis True Image for Microsoft Small Business
Server or clicking the appropriate shortcut on the desktop.
Copyright © Acronis, Inc., 2000-2009 23
If your operating system fails to load, you can run Acronis Startup Recovery Manager.
However, this must be activated
prior
to use; see
3.4 Acronis Startup Recovery Manager
to learn more about this procedure. To run the program, press F11 during the server
bootup when you see a corresponding message that tells you to press that key. Acronis
True Image for Microsoft Small Business Server will be run in the standalone mode,
allowing you to recover the damaged partitions.
If your disk data is totally corrupted and you cannot boot (or if you have not activated
Acronis Startup Recovery Manager), load the standalone Acronis True Image for Microsoft
Small Business Server version from the bootable media (created by you using Rescue
Media Builder) or RIS-server. Then you will be able to restore the disk from a previously
created image.
2.5.2 Running Acronis True Image Management Console
To run Acronis True Image Management Console, select Start -> Programs -> Acronis
-> Acronis True Image Management Console -> Acronis True Image
Management Console.
2.5.3 Running other Acronis components
Acronis True Image Agents, Acronis Backup Server and Acronis Group Server run as
services immediately after installation and the consequent system reboot (if the latter is
required). Later on they will automatically launch at every system restart. You can stop
and start these programs in the same way as other services.
2.6 Removing Acronis True Image for Microsoft Small Business
Server components
You can remove any Acronis True Image for Microsoft Small Business Server component
separately by selecting Control panel -> Add or remove programs -> <The
component name> -> Remove. Then follow instructions on the screen. You may have
to reboot your computer afterwards to complete the task.
In case you remove Acronis True Image Agent or Acronis True Image for Microsoft Small
Business Server local version from the system, there is an option to keep the Acronis
Secure Zone along with its contents (which will enable data recovery on booting from
bootable media) or remove Acronis Secure Zone.
24 Copyright © Acronis, Inc., 2000-2009
Chapter 3. General information and
proprietary Acronis technologies
3.1 The difference between file archives and disk/partition images
A backup archive is a file or a group of files (also called in this guide “backups”), that
contains a copy of selected files/folders data or a copy of all information stored on
selected disks/partitions.
When you back up files and folders, only the data, along with the folder tree, is
compressed and stored.
Backing up disks and partitions is performed in a different way: Acronis True Image for
Microsoft Small Business Server saves a sector-based snapshot of the disk, which includes
the operating system, registry, drivers, software applications and data files, as well as
system areas hidden from the user. This procedure is called “creating a disk image,” and
the resulting backup archive is often called a disk/partition image.
Acronis True Image for Microsoft Small Business Server stores only those hard disk parts
that contain data (for supported file systems). Further, it does not back up swap file
information (pagefile.sys) and hiberfil.sys (a file that keeps RAM contents when the
computer goes into hibernation). This reduces image size and speeds up image creation
and restoration.
A partition image includes all files and folders independent of their attributes (including
hidden and system files), boot record, FAT (file allocation table), root and the zero track
of the hard disk with master boot record (MBR).
A disk image includes images of all disk partitions as well as the zero track with the
master boot record (MBR).
All Acronis True Image for Microsoft Small Business Server archives files have a “.tib”
extension by default.
It is important to note that you can restore files and folders not only from file archives,
but from disk/partition images, too. To do so, mount the image as a virtual disk (see
11.2.2 Mounting an image
) or start the image restoration and select Restore specified
files or folders.
3.2 Full, incremental and differential backups
Acronis True Image for Microsoft Small Business Server can create full, incremental and
differential backups.
A full backup contains all data at the moment of backup creation. It forms a base for
further incremental or differential backup or is used as a standalone archive. A full backup
has the shortest restore time as compared to incremental or differential ones.
An incremental backup only contains data changed since the last full or incremental
backup creation. Therefore, it is smaller and takes less time to create. However, since it
does not contain all data needed to restore an image,
all
the previous incremental
backups
and
the initial full backup are required for restoration.
A differential backup creates an independent file containing all changes since the last
full archive. Generally, data from a differential backup will be restored faster than an
Copyright © Acronis, Inc., 2000-2009 25
incremental backup, as it does not have to process through a long chain of previous
backups.
A standalone, full backup could be an optimal solution if you often roll back the system to
the initial state (for example, systems in a gaming club or Internet café where you need
to undo changes made by the guests). In this case, you need not re-create the initial full
image, so the backup time is not crucial and the restore time will be minimal.
Alternatively, if you are interested in saving only the most current data state to be able to
restore it in case of system failure, consider the differential backup. It is particularly
effective if your data changes tend to be little as compared to the full data volume.
An incremental backup is most useful when you need frequent backups and possibility to
roll back to any one of multiple stored states. For example, let’s say you create a full
backup once a month. If you then create an incremental backup each day of a month,
you will get the same result as if you created full backups every day. However, the cost in
time and disk space (or removable media usage) will be as little as one tenth as much.
It is important to note that the above arguments are just examples for your information.
Feel free to make up your own backup policy in accordance with your specific tasks and
conditions. Acronis True Image for Microsoft Small Business Server is flexible enough to
meet any real-life demands.
An incremental or differential backup created after a disk is defragmented might be
considerably larger than usual. This is because the defragmentation program changes file
locations on disk and the backups reflect these changes. Therefore, it is recommended
that you re-create a full backup after disk defragmentation.
3.3 Acronis Secure Zone
®
The Acronis Secure Zone is a special partition for storing archives on the computer system
itself. Certain Windows applications, such as Acronis disk management tools, can access
the zone. In the Acronis True Image for Microsoft Small Business Server Wizards’
windows the zone is listed along with all partitions available for storing archives.
A consistent external copy of archives, saved on Acronis Secure Zone, can be created on
a network share using dual destination backup feature. See details in
6.3.12 Dual
destination backup
.
Acronis Secure Zone is always available for archive creation as long as there is space for
the backup file. If there is not enough space, older archives will be deleted to create
space.
Acronis True Image for Microsoft Small Business Server uses the following approaches to
free up the space in the Acronis Secure Zone:
If there is not enough free space in the zone to create a backup, the program deletes the
oldest full backup with all subsequent incremental/differential backups.
If there is only one full backup (with subsequent incremental/differential backups) left and
a full backup is in progress, then the old full backup and incremental/differential
backups are deleted.
If there is only one full backup left, and an incremental or differential backup is in
progress, you will get an error message telling you there is a lack of available space.
In that case, you will have to either re-create the full backup or increase the size of
the Acronis Secure Zone.
26 Copyright © Acronis, Inc., 2000-2009
You can back up data automatically on a schedule (see
Chapter 8. Scheduling tasks
), and
not worry about zone overflow issues. However, if you keep long chains of incremental
backups, it is a good practice to check the zone free space periodically. To do so, start the
Manage Acronis Secure Zone wizard and check the zone free space, or manually
remove or consolidate unnecessary backups. For manual backup consolidation and
removal, see
9.4 Managing backups in Acronis Secure Zone
Acronis Secure Zone contents can be viewed directly from Windows Explorer. Open My
Computer (Start -> My computer, or Start -> Run… -> explorer /n, /e, /select, c:\ ) and
double-click on the Acronis Secure Zone icon. In the window that opens, all backup
archives stored in the zone along with their creation dates will be listed. However, viewing
backup archive contents, backup restoration, consolidation, and deleiton can be perfomed
from Acronis True Image for Microsoft Small Business Server only. For more information,
see
9.4 Managing backups in Acronis Secure Zone.
For information on how to create, resize or delete Acronis Secure Zone, see
Chapter 9.
Managing the Acronis Secure Zone
.
For information on how to create, resize or delete Acronis Secure Zone, or manage
Acronis Secure Zone backup archives using this wizard, see
Chapter 9. Managing the
Acronis Secure Zone
.
In case you remove Acronis True Image Agent or Acronis True Image for Microsoft Small
Business Server local version from the system, there is an option to keep Acronis Secure
Zone along with its contents (which will enable data recovery on booting from bootable
media) or remove Acronis Secure Zone.
The Acronis Secure Zone should not be the only location where a backup is stored.
Should the disk have a physical failure, the Acronis Secure Zone could be lost. This is
particularly critical for backups of servers; the Acronis Secure Zone should only be one
part of an overall backup strategy.
3.4 Acronis Startup Recovery Manager
3.4.1 How it works
The Acronis Startup Recovery Manager enables starting Acronis True Image for Microsoft
Small Business Server on a local computer without loading the operating system. If the
operating system won't load, you can run Acronis True Image for Microsoft Small
Business Server by itself to restore damaged partitions. Unlike booting from the Acronis
removable media or RIS server, you will not need a separate media or network
connection to start Acronis True Image for Microsoft Small Business Server. It is especially
handy for mobile users who need to run a server operating system on their laptop.
3.4.2 How to use
To be able to use Acronis Startup Recovery Manager at boot time, prepare as follows (you
can do it either locally, using Acronis True Image for Microsoft Small Business Server local
version, or remotely, using Acronis True Image Management Console):
1. Install Acronis True Image for Microsoft Small Business Server local version or Acronis
True Image Agent on a computer.
2. Activate Acronis Startup Recovery Manager. To do so, click Activate Acronis Startup
Recovery Manager and follow the Wizard’s instructions.
Copyright © Acronis, Inc., 2000-2009 27
When Acronis Startup Recovery Manager is activated, it overwrites the master boot
record (MBR) with its own boot code. If you have any third-party boot managers
installed, you will have to reactivate them after activating the Startup Recovery Manager.
For Linux loaders (e.g. LiLo and GRUB), you might consider installing them to a Linux
root (or boot) partition boot record instead of MBR before activating Acronis Startup
Recovery Manager.
Here’s an example of how you would use this feature. If failure occurs on a computer,
turn on the computer and press F11 when you see the "Press F11 for Acronis Startup
Recovery Manager" message. This will run a standalone version of Acronis True Image for
Microsoft Small Business Server that only slightly differs from the complete version. For
information on restoring damaged partitions, see
Chapter 7. Restoring the backup data
.
Be careful! Disk letters in standalone Acronis True Image for Microsoft Small Business
Server might sometimes differ from the way Windows identifies drives. For example, the
D: drive identified in the standalone Acronis True Image might correspond to the E: drive
in Windows.
3.5 Acronis Backup Server
Acronis Backup Server is an application for centralized storage and management of
enterprise backup archives in accordance with the policies, set by an administrator. It
ensures optimal usage of storage resources used for backup archives. Outdated archives
will be automatically deleted; at the same time, the latest data recovery is always
possible. In addition, Acronis Backup Server facilitates creation and executing group
backup tasks.
For information on how to install and set up Acronis Backup Server, see
2.3.3 Acronis
Backup Server installation and setup
. For information on how to manage Acronis Backup
Server, see
4.5 Managing backup server
.
3.5.1 Backup locations
Backup server is a networked computer where Acronis Backup Server is installed. A
backup location is a storage area for backups on a local backup server hard drive.
At installation, Acronis Backup Server creates one (default) backup location. The location
has the following properties:
Path: C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\Acronis\BackupServer\
Backups
Maximum backup location size: Unlimited
Maximum storage period (days): Unlimited
All backup data destined to the backup server will be saved in the default backup location.
Because it may not be practical or efficient for you to store all backup data in one
location, the backup server allows you to create as many locations as you need, each with
its own properties. The three basic rules are:
any location, except for the default one, must be assigned to at least one user or
computer
only one location can be assigned to a user or computer
the default location may not be assigned to a user or computer. There must be a default
backup location on a backup server though.
28 Copyright © Acronis, Inc., 2000-2009
You can create a separate location for each user or computer while adding them to the
backup server, distribute the users/computers between several locations, or assign the
same location to all users/computers.
Maintaining multiple small backup locations on a single disk does not allow for tracking
changes in total disk space usage. At the same time, manual management of thousands
of archives in a location may be a serious problem. Practice is the best criterion for your
choice.
You can move, clear or delete existing backup locations or edit their size limitations and
storage period.
3.5.2 Quotas and time limits for computers and users
Individual quotas and time limits determine every computer’s or user’s quota on a backup
server. This include
1) maximum storage space, allocated to a user/computer, in MB, GB or TB
2) maximum number of backups
3) maximum number of incremental backups for each full backup
4) maximum storage period for the user’s/computer’s backups.
A storage period is the amount of time that is allotted for a user or the backup location to
maintain a file.
These values define how Acronis Backup Server itself will handle the backup archives.
At first backup of the computer/user’s data to the backup server, a full backup will be
created. The next backups will be incremental, until the maximum number of incremental
backups is reached. After that a full backup and a set of subsequent incremental backups
is created, then again a full backup and so on.
When backing up to backup server, a user cannot select backup mode (full, incremental,
differential). The backup mode will be set by Acronis Backup Server.
An attempt to direct user/computer backup data to the backup server while space or
number quota is exceeded will not succeed. Backup to the full location will also be
prohibited.
An administrator can schedule a check of meeting the limitations. All archives on the
backup server will be checked and, if the space quota is violated or the maximum number
of backups is exceeded, the backups will be processed as follows:
Acronis Backup Server will combine the first full backup with the next incremental one
into one full backup which will be dated the later backup date. Then, if necessary, this
backup will be combined with the next, until the occupied storage space (or number
of backups) decreases to the preset limit. Thus, the archive integrity will not be
affected, in spite of the fact that the oldest backups will be deleted. This procedure is
called automatic consolidation.
The actual number of backups can exceed the Maximum number of backups by one.
This enables the program to detect the fact of quota violation and start consolidation.
Copyright © Acronis, Inc., 2000-2009 29
3.5.3 Administrators and Users
At installation, Acronis Backup Server creates the user group called
AcronisBackupServerUsers:
Control Panel -> Administrative Tools -> Computer Management -> Local Users and
Groups -> AcronisBackupServerUsers.
The person who installed the program becomes the administrator in this group. The
administrator is automatically registered on the backup server.
Generally, there are two types of profiles on the backup server: Administrators and Users.
The Administrators profiles are designed to perform backups on remote computers with
Acronis True Image Agents. Whatever computer the administrator backs up, backup data
will be sent to the same location, assigned to the computer. Administrators can also
manage archives on the backup server, including archives created via Users’ profiles.
The Users profiles are designed to back up data from computers with Acronis True
Image for Microsoft Small Business Server local version. Whatever computer the user
operates on, backup data will be sent to the same location assigned to that user.
A domain/local administrator added as administrator to the Backup Server can restore
archives created by any other user/administrator of the Backup Server. A Backup Server
administrator who doesn’t have domain/local administrative rights cannot restore archives
created by any other user/administrator of the Backup Server.
3.5.4 Operations with archives
Acronis Backup Server can display a list of backups, stored on the backup server, and sort
the list by location or owners (users and computers).
An administrator, if need be, can consolidate any backup (except for the oldest one in the
archive) manually with the preceding backup file. This operation deletes the preceding
backup and sets concatenation between the backup being consolidated and the backup
before the deleted one. Thus, the archive integrity will not be affected, in spite of the fact
that one backup will be deleted. Data recovery from any of the remaining backups will be
possible.
An archive can be exported from Acronis Backup Server to a local hard drive or network
share or imported from external location to a computer’s or user’s backup location on the
backup server.
3.6 Acronis Active restore
With this feature you can boot the OS on a crashed computer before the system is
completely restored from an image and start work seconds after the restoration is
launched. The restoration will be continued in the background.
3.6.1 Limitations in using Acronis Active restore
1. Acronis Active restore is currently available for images located in the Acronis Secure
Zone only.
2. Acronis Active restore does not support images of Windows Vista and Windows Server
2008. If any Vista edition or Windows 2008 is detected in an image, the Active restore
option will not appear.
30 Copyright © Acronis, Inc., 2000-2009
3. Acronis Active restore does not work if the image contains dynamic disks and volumes.
4. Acronis Active restore cannot be used if the image contains no operating system (a
logical partition or disk image) or when restoring file archives.
3.6.2 How it works
When the restoration procedure is started, Acronis True Image for Microsoft Small
Business Server:
1. Finds the sectors in the image which contain system files, and restores these sectors
first. First the OS is restored and can be started very quickly. Having started the OS, the
user sees the folder tree with files, though file contents still is not recovered.
Nevertheless, the user can start working.
2. Next, the application writes on the hard disk its own drivers, which intercept system
queries to the files. When the user attempts to open files or launch applications, the
drivers receive the system queries and restore the sectors that are necessary for the
requested operation.
3. At the same time, Acronis True Image for Microsoft Small Business Server proceeds
with the complete sector-by-sector image restoration in the background. However, the
requested sectors have the highest priority.
Finally, the image will be fully restored even if the user performs no actions at all. But if
you choose to start working as soon as possible after the system failure, you will gain at
least several minutes, considering that restoration of a 10-20GB image (most common
image size) takes about 10 minutes. The larger the image size, the more time you save.
3.6.3 How to use
To be able to use Acronis Active restore, prepare your system this way: (you can do it
either locally, using Acronis True Image for Microsoft Small Business Server local version,
or remotely using Acronis True Image Management Console):
1. Install Acronis True Image for Microsoft Small Business Server local version or Acronis
True Image Agent on the local computer.
2. Create the Acronis Secure Zone on the local computer hard disk (see
Chapter 9.
Managing the Acronis Secure Zone
).
3. Activate Acronis Startup Recovery manager (see
3.4 Acronis Startup Recovery
Manager
) and create bootable media or RIS package with Acronis True Image for
Microsoft Small Business Server (see
Chapter 10. Creating bootable
media).
4. Back up (image) the local computer’s system disk to Acronis Secure Zone (see
6.2
Backing up disks and partitions (image backup)). You can back up other disks/partitions
as well, but the system image is mandatory.
When performing Active restore, the current Acronis True Image for Microsoft Small
Business Server version always restores the entire system disk. Therefore, if your system
disk consists of several partitions, all of them must be included in the image. Any
partitions which are missing from the image will be lost.
If failure occurs, boot the local computer from the bootable media, or RIS server, or using
F11. Start the recovery procedure (see
7.3 Restoring disks/partitions or files from
images
), select the system disk image from Acronis Secure Zone, choose Use Active
restore and in the next window click Proceed. In a few seconds the computer will
Copyright © Acronis, Inc., 2000-2009 31
reboot to the restored system. Log in and start work – no additional reboots or other
actions are required.
You can perform Active restore running Acronis True Image for Microsoft Small Business
Server in Windows operating systems as well. However, it is mandatory to have bootable
media in case Windows cannot boot.
3.7 Acronis Universal Restore
3.7.1 Acronis Universal Restore purpose
A system disk image can be deployed easily on the hardware where it was created or to
identical hardware. However, if you change a motherboard or use another processor
version — a likely possibility in case of hardware failure — the restored system could be
unbootable. An attempt to transfer the system to a new, much more powerful computer
will usually produce the same unbootable result because the new hardware is
incompatible with the most critical drivers included in the image.
Using Microsoft System Preparation Tool (Sysprep) does not solve this problem, because
Sysprep permits replacing drivers only for Plug-and-Play devices (sound cards, network
adapters, video cards etc.). As for system Hardware Abstraction Layer (HAL) and mass
storage device drivers, they must be identical on the source and the target computers
(see Microsoft Knowledge Base, articles 302577 and 216915).
Acronis Universal Restore technology provides an efficient solution for hardware-
independent system restoration by replacing the crucial Hardware Abstraction Layer (HAL)
and mass storage device drivers.
Acronis Universal Restore is applicable for:
1. Instant recovery of a failed system on different hardware
2. Hardware-independent cloning and deployment of operating systems
3. Real-to-virtual and virtual-to-real computer migration for system recovery, test and
other purposes.
3.7.2 Acronis Universal Restore general principles
1. Automatic HAL and mass storage drivers selection
Acronis Universal Restore searches the Windows default driver storage folders (in the
image being restored) for HAL and mass storage device drivers and installs drivers that
better fit the target hardware. You can specify a custom driver repository (a folder or
folders on a network drive or CD) which will also be used for drivers search.
The Windows default driver storage folder is determined in the registry key
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\Current version\DevicePath. This
storage folder is usually WINDOWS/inf.
2. Manual selection of mass storage device driver
If the target hardware has a specific mass storage controller (such as a SCSI, RAID, or
Fibre Channel adapter) for the hard disk, you can install the appropriate driver manually,
bypassing the automatic driver search-and-install procedure.
3. Installing drivers for plug and play devices
Acronis Universal Restore relies on built-in plug and play discovery and configuration
process to handle hardware differences in devices that are not critical for the system
32 Copyright © Acronis, Inc., 2000-2009
start, such as video, audio and USB. Windows takes control over this process during the
logon phase, and if some of the new hardware is not detected, you will have a chance to
install drivers for it later manually.
3.7.3 Acronis Universal Restore and Microsoft Sysprep
Acronis Universal Restore is
not
a system preparation tool. You can apply it to any system
image created by Acronis products, including images prepared with Microsoft System
Preparation Tool (Sysprep). The following is an example of using both tools on the same
system.
Acronis Universal Restore does not strip security identifier (SID) and user profile settings
in order to run the system immediately after recovery without re-joining the domain or re-
mapping network user profiles. If you are going to change the above settings on a
recovered system, you can prepare the system with Sysprep, image it and restore, if need
be, using Acronis Universal Restore.
3.7.4 Limitations in using Acronis Universal Restore
1. The system recovered by Acronis Universal Restore might not start if the partition
structure in the image or the target disk partitioning does not coincide with that of the
source disk. As a result, the loader, restored from the image, will point to the wrong
partition and the system will not boot or will malfunction.
Such might be the case if you:
- image only selected partitions but not the entire source disk
Keep in mind, that the source disk may have a hidden maintenance partition created by
the computer vendor. Therefore, if you check each partition for backup instead of
checking the disk, this hidden partition will not be included into the image.
- restore not the entire source disk, but only the selected partitions. In some cases,
especially if your system resides on a partition other than the first, this can confuse the
loader and prevent the restored system from startup.
To avoid the problem, we recommend that you image and restore the entire system disk.
2. The Acronis Universal Restore option does not work if a computer is booted with
Acronis Startup Recovery Manager (using F11) or the backup image is located in Acronis
Secure Zone. This is because Acronis Startup Recovery Manager and Acronis Secure Zone
are primarily meant for instant data recovery on the same computer.
3.7.5 Getting Acronis Universal Restore
Acronis Universal Restore is an add-on to Acronis True Image for Microsoft Small Business
Server. It is included at no extra charge with with Acronis True Image for Microsoft Small
Business Server , has its own license, and is installed from a separate setup file.
Let’s assume for a moment that you own Acronis True Image for Microsoft Small Business
Server but have not purchased Acronis Universal Restore. When you create a task for
restoring a Windows system disk and select a target disk (either physical or virtual) in the
Restore Data Wizard, the program compares crucial for the system start devices found in
the image registry and the target computer registry. If the chipset, motherboard or mass
storage device are different, and therefore there is a risk that the system cannot boot,
you will be prompted whether you want to use Acronis Universal Restore. Follow the link
and Acronis Universal Restore will be added automatically for free.
Copyright © Acronis, Inc., 2000-2009 33
If you already have Acronis Universal Restore, the prompt will not come up and you will
have an option to enable Acronis Universal Restore later in the Restore Data Wizard.
3.8 Backing up to tape libraries and tape drives
A tape library is a high-capacity storage device consisting of one or more tape drives and
a loader that automatically selects and loads multiple tape cartridges. Tape libraries with
only one drive and loader are known as autoloaders.
Acronis True Image for Microsoft Small Business Server supports tape libraries,
autoloaders, and SCSI tape drives as storage devices.
Tape libraries, autoloaders and tape drives are accessible through the Acronis Backup
Server. Acronis True Image for Microsoft Small Business Server local version can access
tape drives only. The following diagram illustrates ways of access to tape devices for
networks with (I) and without (II) backup server.
1 U
1 U
1 U
Server Server Server Server
Workstation
Acronis True Image
Management Console
Acronis True Image
Agent
Acronis
Backup Server
Acronis True Image for
Microsoft Small Business Server
(local version)
Acronis True Image for
Microsoft Small Business Server
(local version)
Tape library,
Autoloader, or
Tape drive
Tape drive
Tape drive
I
II
.
The devices must be locally attached to the servers. The devices attached to the Backup
Server must work through Windows Removable Storage Management (RSM). Locally
attached devices do not require RSM.
The following operations are available for backups stored on tape devices:
Validation
data recovery
converting an image to virtual disk.
Limitations
Devices that use the Network Data Management Protocol (NDMP) are not supported.
Consolidation, mounting or exploring backups stored on tape devices is not supported.
Tapes created by a tape device attached to the Backup Server are not compatible with
tapes created by a locally attached tape device
34 Copyright © Acronis, Inc., 2000-2009
All backups stored on one tape must be of the same backup type - either image backups,
or file-level backups, performing an image backup on the tape containing a file-level
backup also is not supported.
Acronis True Image for Microsoft Small Business Server does not support tape devices
when working in preinstallation environment such as Win PE or Bart PE.
3.8.1 Backing up to a locally attached tape device
Backup to a locally attached tape device can be performed using either Acronis True
Image for Microsoft Small Business Server local version or bootable media.
Only SCSI tape drives are supported when backing up in this mode. Tape libraries and
autoloaders are not supported.
When working with locally attached tape drives, you do not need the RSM service
(opposing to the Backup Server, where you do need to use RSM for tape management).
Acronis True Image for Microsoft Small Business Server local version will disable the RSM
service on your computer while backing up to a locally attached tape device.
To enable backup to a locally attached tape device with Acronis True Image for Microsoft
Small Business Server local version:
1. Install Acronis True Image for Microsoft Small Business Server local version.
2. Attach the tape device to the computer.
3. If the tape contains data, its contents will be overwritten on prompt. You have an
option to disable prompts, see
6.3.14 Additional settings
.
4. When creating a backup task, you will be able to select the tape device from the list of
destination devices. Filenames for backups are not needed when backing up to tape.
5. As soon as the tape is full, a dialog window with a request to insert a new tape will
appear.
You might experience short pauses that are required to rewind the tape. Low-quality or
old tape, as well as dirt on the magnetic head, might lead to pauses that can last up to
several minutes.
Limitations for a locally attached tape device
A full backup can be stored on an empty tape only. If you use tape that already contains
data, its contents will be overwritten.
Acronis True Image Agent doesn’t support a locally attached tape device. If you want to
back up to tape via Acronis True Image Agent, select the tape device attached to the
Backup Server as the backup location.
A tape cannot store two and more archives: thus the following scenarios are not possible:
• Two full backups on one tape (only a full backup and its incremental
backups\differential backup)
• Two archives of different backup type, for example the first archive is a disk archive,
and the second one is a file-level archive.
Copyright © Acronis, Inc., 2000-2009 35
3.8.2 Understanding backup to tape devices attached to the Backup
Server
Archives cataloguing
Acronis True Image for Microsoft Small Business Server creates a dedicated database for
archives and tapes cataloguing (\Program files\Common
Files\Acronis\Fomatik\tape_archives.fdb.)
Each tape of an RSM-managed device has its own GUID stored in the Windows registry.
Acronis True Image for Microsoft Small Business Server creates its own ID for each tape,
sets up the correspondence between this ID and the RSM GUID and stores that
information along with information about the archive in its own database. Additionally, the
program stores metadata on tape, so that identification information can be obtained when
mounting a tape that is not registered in the database.
If the database is lost or not available (say, you detach the tape device and attach it to
another computer or reinstall Windows) the necessary information is derived from the
metadata saved on the tape and the database will be recreated on the new host using the
new host RSM. This operation is performed at first access to the tape device while setting
up a backup, recovery or validation task. Therefore, under Windows the program knows
which tape should be mounted even if the data is recovered on another machine.
When booted from Acronis rescue media or backing up to a locally attached tape device,
Acronis True Image for Microsoft Small Business Server uses another mechanism for
access to tape devices since RSM is not available.
Moving tapes between tape devices
A tape that already has backups can be added to a tape device. When the tape device is
selected in the recovery or validation wizard, the newly added tape is scanned by the RSM
and then by Acronis and added to the Acronis database and the Acronis, or Import Media
pool. The access to the archives on the tape becomes available.
However, Acronis will not scan the added tape for changes if the tape already is in the
Acronis database. If you eject a tape, back up another machine on this tape and take the
tape back to the first tape device, the second machine archive will not be discovered by
Acronis and therefore cannot be restored by the first tape device. Please be aware of this
limitation when using tapes between multiple computers.
Using RSM pools
At first backup to the tape device, Acronis True Image for Microsoft Small Business Server
takes a tape from the Free pool. The program creates the Acronis pool and puts the 1st
tape in the pool. The tape stays mounted after writing a backup is completed. The next
backups, regardless of their contents, will be placed on the same tape, unless the tape
free space runs out.
When the 1st tape is full, the program looks for another cartridge in the Free pool and
uses it without user intervention. If the Free pool is empty, a cartridge from the Import
media pool is used through a prompt. (You have an option to disable prompts, see
6.3.14 Additional settings
.)
So, to fully automate changing tapes at backup, you must always have at least one tape
in the Free pool (or a tape in the Import media pool and the prompt disabled.)
Overwriting old archives
You can move tapes with outdated archives from the Acronis pool to the Free pool
periodically using the Removable storage snap-in. To do so:
36 Copyright © Acronis, Inc., 2000-2009
1. Select Control panel -> Administrative tools -> Computer management -> Removable
storage -> Media pools -> Acronis.
2. Right click on the tape in the Acronis pool, dismount the tape if it is has a status
Loaded and select Free from the context menu. The tape will be moved to the Free pool.
After putting a tape in the Free pool RSM and then Acronis will rescan it and record it to
the database with a new GUID.
A deleted archive is not necessarily deleted from the tape, it can be just marked as
deleted in the catalogue.
Saving a full backup to a new tape
You can enable saving a full backup on a new tape even if the currently mounted tape is
not full. To do so, dismount the current tape and eject it, add a new tape and move the
tape to the Free pool using RSM. Incremental or differential backups cannot be
performed in this way because access to the previous backups is required.
3.8.3 Backing up to a tape device through Acronis Backup Server
To enable backup to a tape device in the local network:
1. Install Acronis Backup Server on a server accessible to all users.
2. Attach the tape device to that server.
3. Move tapes from the Unrecognized or Backup pool to the Free pool using the
Removable storage snap-in (Control panel -> Administrative tools -> Computer
management -> Removable storage -> Media pools.)
4. Create local accounts on that server for all users who will back up their data to the
autoloader. Accounts must belong to the AcronisBackupServerUsers group and be the real
accounts with which users log in Windows.
5. When creating backup tasks (if logged in Windows with the above accounts), users of
Acronis True Image for Microsoft Small Business Server local version will be able to select
the tape device from the list of Backup Server locatons.
The backup server administrator can create group or individual tasks for computers to
back up their data to the tape device using Acronis True Image Management Console.
Filenames for backups are not needed when backing up to tape.
Archives, created on tape devices through Acronis Backup Server, cannot be accessed by
Acronis True Image for Microsoft Small Business Server local and bootable versions and
agents for validation, data recovery and converting images to virtual disks.
When the tape is full, you must dismount it first before ejecting.
Sometimes Acronis True Image for Microsoft Small Business Server cannot recognize any
Acronis Tape Plugin backups on tapes, though the archive is mounted in the RSM Import
Media pool. The reason for this is when you are trying to restore\validate an archive
spanned over two or more tapes made by earlier versions of Acronis True Image Echo
(builds up to 8163) via Acronis Backup Server of the latest version. Use the
Tdbrepair.exe command-line tool to add information about such tape archives to the
Backup Server database. For more information see
16.1.7 Tdbrepair.exe tool: rescan
tapes and add information to Acronis tape database.
Copyright © Acronis, Inc., 2000-2009 37
Acronis Backup Server does not allow for creating manageable backup locations on tape
devices. This means that you cannot limit the number of backups or the period while the
archives are stored on tape devices. This functionality is supported only on the backup
server internal hard drives.
3.8.4 Restoring data from archives located on tape devices
Data recovery from archives located on tape devices is performed in the same way as
with other storage devices.
When recovering, you start the restore wizard, select the local tape device or tape device
under the backup server, select the archive and the backup to restore data from.
[Tape drive] You will be prompted to insert tapes required for restoring data from the
selected backup.
[Tape library or autoloader] The program finds the tapes and inserts them automatically
in the right order. A prompt comes up if the required tape is not found.
Archives created on tape devices through Acronis Backup Server cannot be accessed by a
locally attached tape device in Acronis True Image for Microsoft Small Business Server
local version.
Implementation notice
Due to the wide variety of tape libraries and configuration complexity, for detailed
information on how to implement Acronis True Image for Microsoft Small Business Server
with tape devices please contact Acronis support specialists.
3.9 Viewing disk and partition information
You can change the way data is represented in all schemes you see in various wizards.
To the right are three icons: Arrange Icons by, Choose Details and i (Display the
properties of the selected item), the last duplicated in the context menu invoked by
right-clicking objects.
To sort messages by a particular column, click the header (another click will switch the
messages to the opposite order) or Arrange Icons by button and select the column.
To select columns to view, right-click the headers line or left-click the Choose Details
button. Then flag the columns you want to display.
If you click the i (Display the properties of the selected item) button, you will see
the selected partition or disk properties window.
This window contains two panels. The left panel contains the properties tree and the right
describes the selected property in detail. The disk information includes its physical
parameters (connection type, device type, size, etc.); partition information includes both
physical (sectors, location, etc.), and logical (file system, free space, assigned letter, etc.)
parameters.
You can change the width of a column by dragging its borders with the mouse.
3.10 Changing Acronis temporary folder path
By default, Acronis True Image for Microsoft Small Business Server saves its temporary
files in a system directory designated for temporary files. You will need to create a new
system variable for saving them in other location: right-click on My Computer and
38 Copyright © Acronis, Inc., 2000-2009
choose "Properties". In the box that opens, click the "Advanced" tab. Next, click the
button "Environment Variables". Create a system variable
“ACRONIS_SNAPSHOT_TMP_DIR” and specify the location for Acronis temporary
files.
Copyright © Acronis, Inc., 2000-2009 39
Chapter 4. Using Acronis True Image
Management Console
4.1 General information
Acronis True Image Management Console is the primary tool for managing data
backup/restore on remote computers where Acronis True Image Agent is installed. The
console allows for the managing of computer groups and corporate backup archives using
Group and Backup Servers, as well as managing individual backup/restore tasks for every
computer.
Acronis True Image Management Console main window
4.2 Installing/updating Acronis components on remote machines
Acronis True Image Management Console allows for group installation and updates of
Acronis True Image for Microsoft Small Business Server (local version) and Acronis True
Image Agent for Windows on remote computers. To perform any of these operations, you
will need administrator rights on the target machines.
Installation of Acronis components onto remote machines running all Windows Vista
editions is not possible. You will have to install the components locally on such
computers.
If the remote computer runs Windows XP, the option Control panel -> Folder options
-> View -> Use simple file sharing must be disabled on that computer.
If the remote computer runs Windows XP with Service Pack 2 or Windows 2003 Server,
the option Control panel -> Windows Firewall -> Exceptions -> File and Printer
Sharing must be enabled on that computer.
40 Copyright © Acronis, Inc., 2000-2009
To install Acronis components:
1. Click Install Acronis components to a remote computer in the center of Acronis
True Image Management Console main window, on the toolbar or the sidebar, or select
the same item from the Tools menu.
2. Select the installer location from the list (Registered Components, Search
removable media or Specify location). The default selection Registered
Components will use setup files from the default C:\Program Files\Common
Files\Acronis\RemoteInstall folder.
3. Select the Acronis component and specify the component features you want to install
(for custom component features see
2.3 Installing Acronis True Image for Microsoft Small
Business
Server components.)
4. Select computers on which the Acronis component is to be installed. This can be done
by:
- browsing the network. When browsing the network, you can select entire workgroups or
domains
- typing the computers names or addresses (click Next then add computers to the list)
- importing the computers list from .txt or .csv files.
Copyright © Acronis, Inc., 2000-2009 41
5. Provide administrator username and password for each computer. If there is a
universal administrator account on the network, enter the account credentials for one
computer and set the option to apply it to all computers that you select. Domain
administrator credentials and universal credentials for workgroups can be applied in this
way.
If you do not specify credentials for all machines involved, or if the credentials are not
valid for some machines, you will have an option to provide credentials during installation
(there is an option Other user in the username/password error prompt.)
Most Acronis components require the system restart on their installation. To allow
immediate remote computer reboot, check the Reboot the remote computer box. This
option also can be applied to all computers or set to each machine individually.
6. The summary window displays a list of computers where the Acronis component will be
installed.
42 Copyright © Acronis, Inc., 2000-2009
7. Once the installation starts, the program displays the operation progress and the name
of the computer on which the component is being installed.
To update an Acronis component on a remote computer, perform the same procedure.
4.3 Managing a single remote computer
To perform any operation on a single remote computer, you must first connect to it.
4.3.1 Connecting to a remote computer
To establish a remote connection:
1. Click Connect to a remote computer in the center of Acronis True Image
Management Console main window or on the toolbar, or select New connection from
the sidebar or the Connect menu.
2. Enter the computer network name, IP address or select it using Browse… button.
Browse… will open a list, including all computers controllable with Acronis True Image
Management Console.
3. Enter administrator or backup operator username and password.
When connecting to a backup server inside a domain, mind whether your domain or
local account is registered on the backup server. If you entered Windows on a network
computer using your domain account while your local account is registered, enter the
local user name along with the backup server name (for example, Server1\username).
Otherwise the name will be identified as a domain one.
After a connection is established, you will see a list of operations available in the central
part of Acronis True Image Management Console main window:
Main window of Acronis True Image Management Console when connected to a remote
computer
Copyright © Acronis, Inc., 2000-2009 43
The task list content depends on the programs installed on the connected computer. The
most populated list will include managing Backup and Recovery Tasks (using the
Acronis True Image Agent), Acronis Group Server Management and Acronis
Backup Server Management.
While you are operating on a remote computer, the computer could reboot or the
connection to the computer could be broken for other reasons. This will result in
operations failure, such as hiding of the remote computer file system in wizards, or
operation may hang. Use Reconnect on the sidebar to test whether the computer is
available again or eliminate any malfunction that persists.
The console automatically attempts to reconnect to the last connected machine every 30
sec. To change the time interval between the attempts, select Tools -> Options ->
Network -> Reconnect options.
When the console is disconnected, Reconnect provides a handy one-click connection to
the most recently accessed machine.
4.3.2 Backup and recovery tasks
After clicking on Backup and Recovery Tasks, the program window will appear like the
graphic below:
If Acronis Recovery for MS Exchange Console is not installed on the local computer or
Acronis Recovery for MS Exchange Agent is not installed on the remote computer,
Microsoft Exchange tasks and tools options will be disabled and unavailable.
44 Copyright © Acronis, Inc., 2000-2009
With the Console you can perform the following operations on the remote computer.
Operation How to access
Back up and Recover
Back up and restore data, including system
disks/partitions
Click Backup or Recovery, then follow the
Wizard’s instructions. See details in
Chapter
6. Creating backup archives
and
Chapter 7.
Restoring the backup data.
Browse logs of Acronis True Image Agent
operation
Click Show Log. See details in
12.3
Viewing logs
.
Set up default backup or restore options,
such as system/network resources usage,
before/after backup commands, etc.
Click Remote Computer Options, select
Default backup options or Default
restoration options and make settings.
See details in
6.3 Setting backup options
and
7.4 Setting restore options.
Set up default parameters for sending
notifications about Acronis True Image for
Microsoft Small Business Server operation
and tracing this operation in the Windows
Application Event Log
Click Remote Computer Options, select
Notifications or Event tracing and make
settings. See details in
Chapter 12.
Notifications and event tracing.
Scheduling Tasks
Schedule backup and archive validation
operations
Click Show tasks to navigate to the
Manage Computer Tasks window. Click
Create then follow the wizard’s
instructions. See details in
Chapter 8.
Scheduling tasks
.
Run, stop, edit, clone, rename, delete
backup and archive validation tasks
Click Show tasks to navigate to the
Manage Computer Tasks window. See
details in
8.2 Managing scheduled tasks
.
Archives Management
Validate backup archives wherever they
reside, be it local, network or removable
media
Click Validate Backup Archive, then
follow the wizard’s instructions. See details
in
11.1 Validating backup archives
.
Consolidate backup files in an archive
Click Consolidate archive, then follow the
Wizard’s instructions. See details in
11.3
Consolidating backup.
Convert disk images to virtual disk files of
the type you select (.vmdk, .vhd, .hdd)
Click Convert backup to Virtual Disk
and follow the wizard’s instructions. See
details in
13. 4 Converting disk images to
virtual disks
Hard Disk Management
Manage Acronis Secure Zone (create, Click Manage Acronis Secure Zone, then
follow the wizard’s instructions. See details
Copyright © Acronis, Inc., 2000-2009 45
delete, resize, remove or change password) in
Chapter 9. Managing the Acronis Secure
Zone
.
Activate Acronis Startup Recovery Manager Click Activate Acronis Startup Recovery
Manager, then follow the wizard’s
instructions. See details in
3.4 Acronis
Startup Recovery Manager
.
Other Tools
Create bootable rescue media, its ISO or
RIS package
See
Chapter 10. Creating bootable media
.
Update the remote agent Click Update the remote agent, then
follow the Wizard’s instructions. The
procedure is the same as described in
4.2
Installing/updating Acronis components on
remote machine
Microsoft Exchange Tasks and Tools (only if the MSE Agent is locally installed)
Create a database archive, or schedule its
creation setting the necessary back up
options.
Click Back Up Information Store, then
follow the Wizard’s instructions.
Restore a previously created database
archive, or schedule its restoring setting the
necessary restore options.
Click Restore Information Store, then
follow the Wizard’s instructions.
Create a database archive at the
documents and folders level, or schedule its
creation setting the necessary back up
options.
Click Back Up Mailboxes, then follow the
Wizard’s instructions.
Restore a previously created database
archive at the documents and folders level,
or schedule its restoring setting the
necessary restore options.
Click Restore Mailboxes, then follow the
Wizard’s instructions.
Configure and schedule tasks for cleaning a
database from the outdated entries.
Click Backup Location Clean-Up, then
follow the Wizard’s instructions.
Restore separate e-mails form database
backups.
Click Restore E-mails, then follow the
Wizard’s instructions.
Edit, start, and delete the scheduled tasks
for MSE, as well as edit the scheduled sets
of tasks.
Click Manage Tasks, then follow the
Wizard’s instructions.
View Acronis Recovery for MS Exchange
working logs.
Click Logs.
See the prepared Disaster Recovery Plan in
the HTML format.
Click Disaster Recovery Plan.
46 Copyright © Acronis, Inc., 2000-2009
View Acronis Recovery for MS Exchange
Management Console from which you can
manage tasks for database back up and
recovery
Click Show Console.
The tasks you have planned for the remote computer can be checked and edited at the
Manage Computer Tasks screen. From this screen you can also proceed to managing
Microsoft Exchange Tasks, if you follow the link, presented there.
After you perform all necessary operations on the remote computer, select Disconnect
or New connection on the toolbar, sidebar or the Connect menu.
4.4 Managing groups of computers
4.4.1 Group status display
When connected to a computer where Acronis Group Server is installed, click Acronis
Group Server management to display the following window.
Copyright © Acronis, Inc., 2000-2009 47
Here you can monitor states of Acronis True Image for Microsoft Small Business Server
tasks (backup, restore, validating backup archives) on all networked computers:
Ready – the remote computer is available for the next task
Prepare - preparations are being made on a remote machine for the task execution
(analyzing partitions, preparing backup scripts, etc.)
Running – a task is being executed on the remote computer
Paused – the task is paused and waiting for user input on the remote computer
Failed – the task could not be completed because of an error
Finished – the task has been completed successfully
Cancelled – the task has been cancelled on the remote computer
Offline - the remote computer is not connected to the network or is switched off
Inaccessible - the remote computer is not accessible due to lack of access rights,
firewall and security settings, etc.
Unmanaged - the Acronis True Image Agent is not installed on the remote machine.
Waiting for status info – the remote computer fails to send backup progress
information to the Group Server.
Use Search to find a computer in the list quickly.
To see details of the computer in brief (the computer role, operating system and IP
address), click the computer name. The details are displayed on the sidebar.
To see details of the group task being executed on a remote computer, mouse over the
computer name.
In this window you can also:
1. Filter out from the list offline, inaccessible or unmanaged computers or filter out
online computers to see those that cannot be managed (use buttons in the Filter group).
48 Copyright © Acronis, Inc., 2000-2009
2. Import computers into the group server in case they are not discovered
automatically due to network behavior. It makes sense to install Acronis components on
these computers first so that you will be able to create tasks for these computers.
To add a single computer:
click Add on the toolbar
type in the computer name or IP address.
To add computers from Active directory:
click Add on the toolbar
type in the name of the domain controller
when the active directory is expanded, tick off the desired computers or the entire
directory.
To add multiple computers from a file:
prepare a .txt or .csv file, listing semicolon-separated computers names and IP addresses
as follows: Name1; IP1; Name2; IP2;…
click Add on the toolbar
specify path to the above file.
3. Export computers from the group server to a .txt or .csv file that can be used by
other application or new versions of Acronis Group Server. To do so:
click Export on the toolbar
specify name of the file and a path to a folder where you want to create it.
4. Set and test credentials for access to each computer. To do so, select the computer,
then select on the sidebar Computer details -> Credentials: Set, type username and
password and click Test connection. The program will display the test result. Key icons
for successfully tested connections are colored gold.
5. Set (or change) the MAC address for each computer. To do so, select the computer,
then select on the sidebar Computer details -> MAC address: Set or Change and type
the hex MAC address as XXXXXXXXXXXX or XX-XX-XX-XX-XX. The program will test the
MAC address for validity and display the test result.
6. Hide computers that you do not wish to browse or make a hidden computer visible. To
hide a computer, select it, then select on the sidebar Computer details -> Visibility:
Hide. To make a hidden computer visible (and monitored), enable Show hidden
computers in the Filter group, select the hidden computer, then select on the sidebar
Computer details -> Visibility: Unhide.
7. Create a group backup task for several remote computers at once (see
4.4.2
Creating new group tasks
).
8. Connect to a remote computer to see the operation log, start or edit tasks for this
computer etc. (see
4.3 Managing a single remote computer
). To do so, select a computer
and click Connect.
9. Switch to the Group tasks management window for managing group tasks.
4.4.2 Creating new group tasks
You can create a disk/partition backup task or archive validation task for several remote
computers at once. File-level backup for groups of computers is unavailable.
Copyright © Acronis, Inc., 2000-2009 49
1. In Group status or Group tasks management window, select New Group Task
on the toolbar. The Create Group Task Wizard starts to guide you through the task
creation procedure.
2. Select the type of the task: backup or validation.
3. Form a group for the current task: check computers in the list of remote computers.
4. For the backup task only: Select disks/partitions to backup. You can select any
combination of hard disks (by number, according to Windows numeration) and partitions
(by letter); or All hard disks. This setting is applied to every computer in the group, so
having a standard (similar) disks/partitions layout on remote computers would be a plus.
5. Specify the paths for the backup archives. To place every archive on its local computer,
specify Local path or select Acronis Secure Zone, if there is such a zone on every
remote computer. For more information about the Acronis Secure Zone see
3.3 Acronis
Secure Zone
. To place backups on the network, check Network path, select the target
folder and specify the username and password for access to the network drive. When
backing up to a backup server, choose Personal Backup Location or tape drive and
enter backup server administrator’s credentials. For more information about backup
servers see
3.5 Acronis Backup Server
.
You should also provide the archive name for each computer, unless the archives are
targeted to Acronis Secure Zones or a backup server. Pressing the button to the right of
the name input field will assign to each archive the respective computer’s name.
6. For the backup task only: Specify the usual backup settings: backup mode (full,
incremental or differential), a password for the backup archive (if necessary), default or
custom backup options and comment. For more information see
Chapter 6. Creating
backup archives
.
7. Provide a name for the group task. The name will be displayed in the Group Tasks
Management window (see below) to allow quick task identification.
8. Select when you would like the task to be started. The scheduling procedure is almost
the same for individual and group tasks, see
Chapter 8. Scheduling tasks
for details.
50 Copyright © Acronis, Inc., 2000-2009
9. If, for any reason (traffic limitation, for example), you do not want the task to start on
all computers simultaneously, set the Start time shift parameter. The task will start on
all computers in turn, with the time shift you specify. As soon as you select time shift, the
resulting task start time for the first and the last computer will be displayed.
10. Now enter the username and password. It is assumed that accounts with the same
username and password exist on all computers of the group. In this case, the task will be
automatically distributed to the computers. Otherwise, you will be asked for the username
and password for every computer during the task distribution.
11. At the final step, the group task summary is displayed. Up to this point, you can click
Back to make changes in the created task.
12. After you click Proceed, Acronis True Image Management Console connects to every
computer of the group in turn to distribute the task. If a remote computer is inaccessible
(shut down, for example), a dialog box appears. In this box, choose Ignore to exclude
the computer from the group or Cancel to cancel the entire task.
When distribution is complete, the group task appears in Group Tasks Management
window. If you connect to any computer included into the group, you will see its
individual task, based on the group task you successfully created.
4.4.3 Group tasks management
The Group Tasks Management window displays the list of group tasks.
To see details of a group task, mouse over the task name.
To create new or delete existing backup task, use the New and Delete items on the
Group tasks toolbar.
To edit a task, select it and click Edit. Editing is performed in the same way as creation,
however, the earlier selected options will be set, so you have to enter only the changes.
Deleting or editing a task does not affect the current task execution. A task, that has been
edited or deleted while running, will come to an end without any changes. The changes
you made will be applied when execution is completed.
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In addition to editing tasks for groups, you can edit individual tasks produced by the
group task on each computer involved. To do so, connect the console to the desired
computer. For details, see
8.2 Managing scheduled tasks
.
To stop or restart the task execution, use the Stop or Restart toolbar items. The task
schedule, if created, remains valid.
For a group task that is not currently being executed on either computer, the following
operations are also available:
Run now - an instant task start command. The task schedule, if created, remains valid.
Check – the group server will connect in turn to all computers involved in the group task
and check if the child tasks are intact on the computers so that the group task can run
effectively. The result will be displayed.
When managing a group task, enter the same username and password you entered when
created the task.
4.4.4 Acronis Group Server options
Acronis Group Server regularly polls computers included in its database for their status
(Ready, Offline and so on, according to
4.4.1 Group status display.
) The default interval
between enquires is 2 seconds. You have an option to set the status refresh rate based
on your network requirements.
There is usually no need to refresh the view at all when the console is disconnected from
the group server. A separate option allows you to disable the polling on console
disconnection or set a wider interval between packets.
There is also an option to stop scanning network for newly connected computers. This
can speed up operations with the computers already discovered. After the scanning is
disabled, Acronis Group Server stops sending the packets, but the response may come to
the packets already sent. Therefore, some computers may be added to the computer list
after scanning is disabled. This is not a malfunction.
52 Copyright © Acronis, Inc., 2000-2009
To adjust the status refresh rate, connect the console to the computer where Acronis
Group Server is installed and select Tools -> Options -> Network -> Status check
interval.
4.5 Managing backup server
Before you start managing the backup server, be sure to read section
3.5 Acronis Backup
Server
stating the basic operating principles of this application.
When connected to a computer where Acronis Backup Server is installed, click Acronis
Backup Server management to display the following window.
When connecting to a backup server inside a domain, be aware whether your domain
or local account is registered on the backup server. If you entered Windows on a network
computer using your domain account while your local account is registered, enter the
local user name along with the backup server name (for example, Server1\username).
Copyright © Acronis, Inc., 2000-2009 53
Otherwise the name will be identified as a domain one.
4.5.1 Default settings
Each user or computer, added to Acronis Backup Server database, is associated with the
default backup location and the default user/computer quotas and time limits.
When installed on a computer (which becomes a backup server from this point on),
Acronis Backup Server creates the following folder:
C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\Acronis\BackupServer.
This folder is a default backup location.
You can change the default backup location and its quotas/time limits by selecting
Specify Default Settings -> Set backup location and entering the desired location
and values. Changing the default backup location will direct backups of newly added
users/computers to another folder, while users/computers associated with old default
backup location will continue back up to the old place.
The default quotas/time limits are preset to Unlimited, except for Maximum number
of incremental backups for each full backup, which is set to 5 (the largest value of
this parameter is not limited, but it is recommended that you do not set unreasonably
large values).
You can change the default user/computer quotas/time limits by selecting Specify
Default Settings -> Set Quotas/Time limits and entering the desired values.
54 Copyright © Acronis, Inc., 2000-2009
To enable Acronis Backup Server to process archives, schedule quotas/time limits check
task. Select Specify Default Settings -> Schedule Automatic Consolidation and
Backup Management and schedule one-time, daily, weekly or monthly check of all
user’s/computers archives on the backup server for meeting limitations. If the check
reveals that some of quotas/time limits are exceeded, the archive processing described in
3.5.2 Quotas and time limits for
computers and users
will be executed.
Please take note of the fact that checking limitations makes no sense if you have not
changed at least one of the preset Unlimited values for quotas/time limits.
The actual number of backups created in a backup location can exceed the Maximum
number of backups by one. This enables the program to detect the fact of exceeding
and start consolidation. Backup to the full location will be prohibited until the
consolidation takes place.
4.5.2 Set up Administrator profiles
Add a remote computer to Acronis Backup Server database if you want to be able to
remotely back up data from that networked computer where Acronis True Image Agent is
installed. Click Set up Administrator profiles -> Add, select the computer and specify
backup location, quotas and time limits for this computer in Add Computer Profile
Wizard windows.
You can use the default backup location, quotas and time limits or make particular
settings for the new computer. If you specify a new path to backup location for the new
computer, a new backup location will be created.
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You might need to change a computer profile already set. To do so, select the computer
and click Edit. The Edit Computer Profile Wizard will guide you through the same
selections, as the Add Computer Profile Wizard.
Changing the computer backup location will move all existing and redirect future backups
of this computer to another folder (device etc.). As moving files may take a lot of time
and system resources, it is recommended that you schedule this operation for the time
when the backup server computing load will be minimal. You can do this in the Start
Parameters window. To complete configuring the profile, click Finish in the final
summary window.
To change a computer backup location within the same device, you must have at least as
much free space on the device as the computer archives occupy because the archives will
first be copied to the new location and then deleted from the old folder.
If you select a computer and click Clear, all archives of this computer data will be
deleted.
Deleting a computer profile will disable backup to backup server for this computer and
delete its existing archives. This operation can be time-consuming so schedule it for the
off-peak period.
4.5.3 Adding Users and Administrators to the Acronis Backup Server
database
Acronis Backup Server creates a user group named AcronisBackupServerUsers (see
Control Panel -> Administrative Tools -> Computer Management -> Local
Users and Groups) on the backup server when it is installed. At this point, the group
contains the only user who installed the program.
By default, this user has administrator’s rights on the backup server and is able to
manage the backup server and perform backups using computer profiles.
56 Copyright © Acronis, Inc., 2000-2009
To enable any other user to back up data from any networked computer where Acronis
True Image for Microsoft Small Business Server local version is installed to backup server,
an administrator should add this user to Acronis Backup Server database.
To do so, first, add this person’s local or domain account to the AcronisBackupServerUsers
group. Then click Set up User profiles -> Add User.
The Add User Profile Wizard will offer you a choice of adding the new user name from
the list of domain users, or entering it manually. In some cases, when the list of domain
users is excessively big, the manual way of entering the new user name will prove
quicker, but you have to know the exact user name.
If you click Next, you will go to the window where you can enter the user name
manually, if you don’t know the correct user name, you will be able to return to the
previous window and pick the other option.
If you opted for picking the user name out of the domain user list, you will skip the above
window and proceed to the other windows where you will select the user name and
specify backup location, quotas and time limits for this user in Add User Profile Wizard
windows. Use the default backup location, quotas and time limits or make specific settings
Copyright © Acronis, Inc., 2000-2009 57
for the new user. If you specify a new path to backup location for the new user, a new
backup location will be created.
To add another administrator, first add this person’s local or domain account to the
AcronisBackupServerUsers group. Then click Set up User profiles -> Add, select the
user name and choose Create user with administrator’s rights on the next page.
An administrator can manage all archives on the backup server regardless of their owner,
while a common user can only backup or restore his data from the backup server. An
administrator has no user profile, in other words, the administrator is not assigned a
backup location, quotas and time limits like common users are and uses the administrator
profile for both remotely and locally controlled backups.
4.5.4 Changing User profiles
You might need to change a user profile that is already set. To do so, select the user and
click Edit. The Edit User Profile Wizard will guide you through the same selections, as
the Add User Profile Wizard, except administrator’s or user’s rights. To change the
rights, you will have to delete the user profile and then add the user again with the new
rights.
Changing the user’s backup location will move all existing and redirect future backups,
performed by the user, to another folder (device, etc). As moving files can take a lot of
time and system resources, it is recommended that you schedule this operation for the
time when the backup server computing load will be minimal. You can do it in the Start
Parameters window. To complete configuring the profile, click Finish in the final
summary window.
To change a user’s backup location within the same device, you must have at least as
much free space on the device as the user’s archives occupy because the archives will
first be copied to the new location and then deleted from the old place.
If you select a user profile and click Clear, all archives created by this user will be
deleted. However, this operation will not work for the administrators’ profiles.
58 Copyright © Acronis, Inc., 2000-2009
If you select a user profile and click Delete, this will disable backup to the backup server
for this user and his existing archives will be deleted. This operation might also be time-
consuming, so you can schedule it for the off-peak period.
Deleting an administrator profile will not result in deleting any archives. The person
whose profile is deleted just loses the right to back up to the backup server and to
manage the backup server.
There must be at least one administrator on a backup server. Therefore, deleting the last
administrator profile is not possible. The maximum number of administrators is not
limited.
4.5.5 Configuring Backup Locations
To display a full list of backup locations, click Configure Backup Locations.
To edit limitations for a backup location, select the backup location, click Quotas and
Time Limits and enter the new values in the appearing window.
To move a backup location along with all archives existing on it, select the backup
location and click Move to. The Move Backup Location Wizard will display all users
and computers associated with the selected backup location so you could make sure your
choice is right. Then select the new location for the archives.
As moving files can take a lot of time and system resources, it is recommended that you
schedule this operation for the time when the backup server computing load will be
minimal. You can do it in the Start Parameters window. To complete configuring the
operation, click Finish in the final summary window.
To move a backup location within the same device, you must have at least as much free
space on the device as all the archives in the backup location occupy, because the
archives will first be copied to the new place, and then deleted from the old place.
To delete all archives stored in a backup location, select the location and click Clear.
Copyright © Acronis, Inc., 2000-2009 59
To delete a backup location, select the location and click Delete. This will delete all
archives stored in this location and redirect the associated computer/user’s backups to the
default backup location.
The default backup location cannot be deleted. If you try to do so, the program will clean
the default backup location and issue an appropriate message. To delete the location
completely, first reassign the default backup location by selecting Specify Default
Settings -> Set backup location.
Cleaning and deleting backup locations might be time-consuming operations, so you can
schedule them for the off-peak period.
4.5.6 Managing Archives
To display a full list of backups, stored on the backup server, click Manage Backup
Archives.
You can:
1. Sort the list by Location or Owners (users and computers) by clicking on the
respective item above the list.
2. Filter out from the list all user’s or all computer’s backups (use buttons in the Filter
group).
3. Consolidate any backup (except for the oldest one in the archive) with the preceding
backup file. This operation deletes the preceding backup and sets concatenation between
the backup being consolidated and the backup before the deleted one. Thus, the archive
integrity will not be affected, in spite of the fact that one backup will be deleted. Data
recovery from any of the remaining backups will be possible.
4. Export an archive from Acronis Backup Server to a local hard drive or network share.
To do so, select any backup belonging to the archive and click Export. Then provide
name for the archive copy and a path to the location where the copy will be created.
5. Import an archive from external location to a computer’s or user’s backup location on
the backup server. To do so, use Import on the toolbar.
60 Copyright © Acronis, Inc., 2000-2009
Editing images, mounted in R/W mode, results in creating incremental backups, that are
a kind of offshoots of the incremental chain. Such backups are always excluded from the
archive being imported.
4.5.7 Limiting access to Acronis Backup Server
To access the Acronis Backup Server options, connect the console to the backup server
and select Tools -> Options from the menu.
1. Maximum number of connections
This comes in handy when you want to back up a group of computers quickly and not
allow users to access the backup server at the time. Generally, limiting number of tasks
simultaneously processed by Acronis Backup Server may speed up each taken separately
backup procedure at the expense of its possible delay.
If maximum number of connections is set, then some agents or local Acronis True Image
for Microsoft Small Business Server versions may be unable to access the server
immediately after starting their task. They will be trying to connect to the server every 5
seconds until the connection is allowed. Therefore, the real backup start time may differ
from the scheduled one. If it is not practical or efficient for you, be aware of this setting
when creating group tasks so that number of computers in the group does not exceed the
limit you set.
By default, the number of connections is unlimited. This corresponds to setting “0”. The
console connection to Acronis Backup Server is not counted.
2. Limit bandwidth for a connection to:
Limiting bandwidth for each connection helps equalize the server usage among
simultaneously running tasks. Practice is the best way to determine the correct limit. In
most cases you can leave it as is.
By default, bandwidth per connection is not limited. This corresponds to setting “0”.
Copyright © Acronis, Inc., 2000-2009 61
Chapter 5. Using Acronis True Image for
Microsoft Small Business Server (local
version)
Acronis True Image for Microsoft Small Business Server (local version) supports the GUI
mode, the command-line mode, and can be used to execute XML scripts. Here we
describe the operations available in the GUI mode, which provides the widest
functionality. For console commands and scripting please see
Chapter 16. Command-line
mode and scripting
.
5.1 Main program window
The main program window contains the menu, the toolbar, the sidebar and the main
area. The sidebar features a pane for selecting task category, the Tools and Help panes.
The main area displays operation icons or tasks depending on the category selected.
By default, the program displays operations included in the Backup and Recovery
category. Operation icons are divided into three groups.
The Task group contains the following operations:
Backup – create a backup archive
Recovery – restore data from a previously created archive
The Manage Tasks group contains the following operations:
Tasks – schedule backup or archive validation tasks on your computer and manage them
Logs – open the Log Viewer window
62 Copyright © Acronis, Inc., 2000-2009
The Tools group contains the following items:
Explore and Validate Backup Archives – explore file-level archives, mount
disk/partition images as virtual drives, run the archive integrity checking procedure
Manage Hard Disks – clone disk (i.e. transfer the OS, applications and data from the
old disk to the new one) or mark out partitions on a new hard disk added for data
storage with the OS and applications kept on the old one, convert basic disks to
dynamic and create dynamic volumes
Activate Acronis Startup Recovery Manager – activate the boot restoration manager (F11
key)
Manage System Restore – turn on/off Microsoft Windows System Restore tool and set
its options directly from Acronis True Image for Microsoft Small Business Server
Create Bootable Rescue Media – run the bootable media creation procedure
Program menu
The program menu bar features the Operations, View, Tools and Help items.
The Operations menu contains a list of the available operations, including scheduling
tasks.
The View menu contains items for managing the program window look:
Toolbars – contains commands that control toolbar icons
Common Task Bar – enables/disables the sidebar
Status Bar – enables/disables the status bar
The Tools menu contains the following items:
Manage Acronis Secure Zone – create, delete and resize a special partition for storing
archives (Acronis Secure Zone)
Activate Acronis Startup Recovery Manager – activate the boot restoration manager (F11
key)
Explore Backup Archive – explore file-level archives or mount disk/partition images as
virtual drives
Validate Backup Archive – run the archive integrity checking procedure
Consolidate archive – applicable for archives containing more than one backups. This
will create a consistent copy of the archive with an option to exclude backups that are
no more needed
Convert Backup to Virtual Disk - convert a disk image, created with the program
(.tib), to a virtual disk file of the type you select (.vmdk, .vhd, .hdd)
Create Bootable Rescue Media – run the bootable media creation procedure
Dynamic Volume Creation Wizard – create dynamic volumes on basic or dynamic
disks
Show Log – open the Log Viewer window
Options – open a window for editing default backup/restore options, setting text
appearance (fonts), configuring e-mail or Windows pop-up notifications etc.
The Help menu is used to view help and obtain information about Acronis True Image for
Microsoft Small Business Server.
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Most of the operations are represented two or even three times in different window areas,
providing several ways to select them for more convenience. For example, you can start
the necessary operation or tool by clicking its icon in the main area or by selecting the
same item from the Operations or Tools menu.
Status bar
There is a status bar divided into two parts at the bottom of the main window. The left
side briefly describes the selected operation; the right side indicates operation progress
and results. If you double-click on the operation results, you will see the log window.
Taskbar notification area icon
During most of the operations, a special indicator icon appears in the Windows taskbar
notification area. If you mouse over the icon, you will see a tool tip indicating the
operation’s progress. This icon doesn’t depend on the main program window being open.
It is present for background execution of scheduled tasks as well.
5.2 Managing a local computer
You can perform the following operations on the local computer.
Operation How to access
Back up and Recover
Back up and restore data, including system
disks/partitions
Click Backup or Recovery, then follow the
wizard’s instructions. See details in
Chapter
6. Creating backup archives
and
Chapter 7.
Restoring the backup data.
Browse logs of Acronis True Image for
Microsoft Small Business Server operation
Click Logs in the Manage Tasks group or
select the Show Log tool on the sidebar to
navigate to the Event Log window. See
details in
12.3 Viewing logs
.
Set up default backup or restore options,
such as system/network resources usage,
before/after backup commands etc.
Select Tools -> Options -> Default
backup options or Default restoration
options and make settings. See details in
6.3 Setting backup options
and
7.4 Setting
restore options.
Set up default parameters for sending
notifications about Acronis True Image for
Microsoft Small Business Server operation
and tracing this operation in Windows
Application Event Log
Select Tools -> Options -> Notifications
or Event tracing and make settings. See
details in
Chapter 12. Notifications and
event tracing
.
Scheduling Tasks
Schedule backup and archive validation
operations
Click Tasks in the Manage Tasks group
or select the Task Scheduling category
on the sidebar to navigate to the Scheduled
Tasks window. Then click the Create
button on the toolbar and follow the
wizard’s instructions. See details in
Chapter
8. Scheduling tasks
.
64 Copyright © Acronis, Inc., 2000-2009
Run, stop, edit, clone, rename, delete
backup and archive validation tasks
Click Tasks in the Manage Tasks group
or select the Task Scheduling category
on the sidebar to navigate to the Scheduled
Tasks window. See details in
8.2 Managing
scheduled tasks
.
Archives Management
Explore any archive’s contents and restore
individual files from any archive
Select Tools -> Explore Backup Archive
and follow the wizard’s instructions. See
details in
11.2.1 Exploring an archive
Validate backup archives wherever they
reside, be it local, network or removable
media
Select Tools -> Validate Backup
Archive, then follow the wizard’s
instructions. See details in
11.1 Validating
backup archives
.
Consolidate backup files inside an archive
Select Tools -> Consolidate archive,
then follow the Wizard’s instructions. See
details in
11.3 Consolidating backup.
Convert disk images to virtual disk files of
the type you select (.vmdk, .vhd, .hdd)
Select Tools -> Convert backup to
Virtual Disk and follow the wizard’s
instructions. See details in
13. 4
Converting disk images to virtual disks
Mount partitions’ images to explore and
modify their contents, or to restore
individual files
Select Operations -> Mount Image and
follow the wizard’s instructions. See details
in
11.2.2 Mounting an image.
Unmount previously mounted partition
images
Select Operations -> Unmount Image
and follow the wizard’s instructions. See
details in
11.2.3 Unmounting an image
.
Hard Disk Management
Manage Acronis Secure Zone (create,
delete, resize, remove or change password)
Click Manage Acronis Secure Zone, then
follow the wizard’s instructions. See details
in
Chapter 9. Managing the Acronis Secure
Zone
.
Activate Acronis Startup Recovery Manager Click Activate Acronis Startup Recovery
Manager, then follow the wizard’s
instructions. See details in
3.4 Acronis
Startup Recovery Manager
.
Create a dynamic volume Select Tools -> Dynamic volume
creation wizard, then follow the Wizard’s
instructions. See details in
7.5.1 Creating
dynamic volumes.
Transfer the system to a new hard disk See
Chapter 14. Transferring the system to
a new disk
.
Format partitions on a new hard disk See
Chapter 15. Adding a new hard disk
.
Copyright © Acronis, Inc., 2000-2009 65
Other Tools
Create bootable rescue media, its ISO or
RIS package
See
Chapter 10. Creating bootable media
.
Turn on/off Windows System Restore tool See
12.5 Managing System Restore
.
Some of the above operations can be executed in command-line mode. For more
information on Acronis True Image for Microsoft Small Business Server command-line
mode see
16.1 Working in the command-line mode
.
66 Copyright © Acronis, Inc., 2000-2009
Chapter 6. Creating backup archives
To be able to restore the lost data or roll back your system to a predetermined state, you
should first create a data or entire system backup file.
If you are not concerned about restoration of your operating system along with all
settings and applications, but plan to keep safe only certain data (the current project, for
example), choose file/folder backup. This will reduce the archive size, thus saving disk
space and possibly reducing removable media costs.
Backing up the entire system disk (creating a disk image) takes more disk space but
enables you to restore the system in minutes in case of severe data damage or hardware
failure. Moreover, the imaging procedure is much faster than copying files, and may
significantly speed the backup process when it comes to backing up large volumes of data
(see details in
3.1 The difference between file archives and disk/partition images
).
6.1 Backing up files and folders (file backup)
1. Start the Create Backup Wizard by clicking on the backup operation icon in the main
program window.
2. Select My Data.
3. From the tree pane, select files and folders to back up. You can select a random set of
files, folders, partitions, disks and even computers.
In order to restore your operating system, you must image the system disk or partition; a
file-based backup is not sufficient for the operating system restore.
4. You can exclude specific files from a backup by setting filters for the types of files you
do not wish to back up. For example, you may want to exclude hidden and system files
and folders or files with .~, .tmp and .bak extensions.
Copyright © Acronis, Inc., 2000-2009 67
You can also apply custom filters, using the common Windows masking rules. For
example, to exclude all files with extension .exe, add *.exe. My???.exe will exclude all
.exe files with names consisting of five symbols and starting with “my”.
All of these settings will take effect for the current task. For information on how to set the
default filters that will be called each time you create a file backup task, see
6.3.2 Source
files exclusion.
5. Select the name and location of the archive.
If you are going to create a full backup, type the file name in the File Name line, or use
the file name generator (a button to the right of the line). If you select an existing full
backup, it will be overwritten.
Including [date] in the backup file name will add to the name the time and date of the
backup creation formatted as <DD-Month-YYYY HH:MM:SS>. Example:
C:\MyBackup[date].tib.
If you are going to create an incremental backup (see
3.2 Full, incremental and
differential backup
), select the latest full or incremental backup you have.
In fact, if all incremental backup files are stored together with the basic full backup, it
doesn't matter which one you select, as the program will recognize them as a single
archive. If you stored the files on several removable disks, you must provide the latest
archive file; otherwise, restoration problems might occur.
If you are going to create a differential backup, select the full backup which will be a
base, or any of the existing differential backups. Either way, the program will create a
new differential backup.
68 Copyright © Acronis, Inc., 2000-2009
The “farther” you store the archive from the original folders, the safer it will be in case of
data damage. For example, saving the archive to another hard disk will protect your data
if the primary disk is damaged, but won’t be useful if the computer is destroyed in a fire
or flood. Data saved to a network disk, ftp server or removable media will survive even if
all your local hard disks are down. You can also use Acronis Secure Zone (see details in
3.3 Acronis Secure Zone
) or Acronis Backup Server (see details in
3.5 Acronis Backup
Server
) for storing backups. In those cases, you need not provide the file name.
When backing up to Acronis Secure Zone, you have an option of dual destination backup.
If enabled, the program will automatically place a copy of your backup archives on a local
drive or network share as well as Acronis Secure Zone. See details in
6.3.12 Dual
destination backup
.
Dynamic volumes are fully supported as a backup destination place. Acronis True Image
for Microsoft Small Business Server can access backup archives, created on dynamic
volumes, in standalone (rescue) mode as well as under Windows control.
See notes and recommendations for using the FTP server in
1.4.2 Supported storage
media
.
6. If your choice was not Acronis Backup Server, select whether you want to create a full,
incremental or differential backup. If you have not backed up the selected files/folders
yet, or the full archive seems too old to append incremental changes to it, choose full
backup. Otherwise it is recommended that you create an incremental or differential
backup (see
3.2 Full, incremental and differential backup
).
Copyright © Acronis, Inc., 2000-2009 69
7. Select the backup options (that is, backup file splitting, compression level, password
protection, pre/post backup commands etc.). You may select Use default options or
Set the options manually. If the latter is the case, the settings will be applied only to
the current backup task. Alternatively, you can edit the default options from the current
screen. Then your settings will be saved as the defaults. See
6.3 Setting backup options
for more information.
8. Provide a comment for the archive. This can help prevent you from restoring the wrong
files. However, you can choose not to make any notes. The backup file size and creation
date are automatically appended to the description, so you do not need to enter this
information.
9. At the final step, the backup task summary is displayed. Up to this point, you can click
Back to make changes in the created task. Clicking Proceed will launch the task.
10. (For Acronis True Image for Microsoft Small Business Server local version only) The
task progress will be shown in a special window. You can stop the procedure by clicking
Cancel.
You can also close the progress window by clicking Hide. The backup creation will
continue, but you will be able to start another operation or close the main program
window. In the latter case, the program will continue working in the background and will
automatically close once the backup archive is ready. If you prepare some more backup
operations, they will be queued after the current one.
70 Copyright © Acronis, Inc., 2000-2009
You can adjust the backup process priority. To do so, click on the process icon in the
System Tray and select Low, Normal, or High priority from the menu that appears. For
information on how to set the default priority, see
6.3.6 Backup performance
.
11. You may want to see the log when the task is completed. To view the log, click the
Show Operation Logs button on the toolbar.
If you burn an archive to multiple removable media, be sure to number them, since you
will have to insert them in order during the restoration.
6.2 Backing up disks and partitions (image backup)
1. Start the Create Backup Wizard by clicking on the backup operation icon in the main
program window.
2. Select My Computer.
3. Select disks, partitions or dynamic volumes to back up. You can select a random set of
disks, partitions and dynamic volumes.
Copyright © Acronis, Inc., 2000-2009 71
4. Select the name and location of the archive.
If you are going to create a full backup, type the file name in the File Name line, or use
the file name generator (a button to the right of the line). If you select an existing full
backup, it will be overwritten.
Including [date] in the backup file name will add to the name the time and date of the
backup creation formatted as <DD-Month-YYYY HH:MM:SS>. Example:
C:\MyBackup[date].tib.
If you are going to create an incremental backup (see
3.2 Full, incremental and
differential backup
), select the latest full or incremental backup you have.
In fact, if all incremental backup files are stored together with the basic full backup, it
doesn't matter which one you select, as the program will recognize them as a single
archive. If you stored the files on several removable disks, you must provide the latest
archive file; otherwise, restoration problems might occur.
If you are going to create a differential backup, select the full backup which will be a
base, or any of the existing differential backups. Either way, the program will create a
new differential backup.
The “farther” you store the archive from the original partition, the safer it will be in case
of data damage. For example, saving the archive to another hard disk will protect your
data if your primary disk is damaged. Data saved to a network disk, ftp server or
removable media will survive even if all your local hard disks are down. You can also use
Acronis Secure Zone (see details in
3.3 Acronis Secure Zone
) or Acronis Backup Server
(see details in
3.5 Acronis Backup Server
) for storing backups. In those cases, you need
not provide the file name.
When backing up to Acronis Secure Zone, you have an option of dual destination backup.
If enabled, the program will automatically place a copy of your backup archives on a local
drive or network share. See details in
6.3.12 Dual destination backup.
Dynamic volumes are fully supported as a backup destination place. Acronis True Image
for Microsoft Small Business Server can access backup archives, created on dynamic
volumes, in standalone (rescue) mode as well as under Windows control.
72 Copyright © Acronis, Inc., 2000-2009
See notes and recommendations for using the FTP server in
1.4.2 Supported storage
media
.
5. If your choice was not Acronis Backup Server, select whether you want to create a full
or incremental backup. If you have not backed up the selected disks/partitions yet, or the
full archive seems too old to append incremental changes to it, choose full backup.
Otherwise it is recommended that you create an incremental or differential backup (see
3.2 Full, incremental and differential backup
).
6. Select the backup options (that is, backup file splitting, compression level, password
protection, pre/post backup commands etc.). You may Use default options or Set the
options manually. If the latter is the case, the settings will be applied only to the
current backup task. Alternatively, you can edit the default options from the current
screen. Then your settings will be saved as the defaults. See
6.3 Setting backup options
for more information.
7. Provide a comment for the archive. This can help prevent you from restoring the wrong
disk or partition. However, you also can choose not to make any notes. The backup file
size and creation date are automatically appended to the description, so you do not need
to enter this information.
8. At the final step, the backup task summary is displayed. Up to this point, you can click
Back to make changes in the created task. Clicking Proceed will launch the task.
9. (For Acronis True Image for Microsoft Small Business Server local version only) The
task progress will be shown in a special window. You can stop the procedure by clicking
Cancel.
You can also close the progress window by clicking Hide. The backup creation will
continue, but you will be able to start another operation or close the main program
window. In the latter case, the program will continue working in the background and will
automatically close once the backup archive is ready. If you prepare some more backup
operations, they will be queued after the current.
You can adjust the backup process priority. To do so, click on the process icon in the
System Tray and select Low, Normal, or High priority from the menu that appears. For
information on how to set the default priority, see
6.3.6 Backup performance
.
10. You may want to see the log when the task is completed. To view the log, click the
Show Operation Logs button on the toolbar.
If you burn an archive to multiple removable media, be sure to number them, since you
will have to insert them in order during the restoration.
6.3 Setting backup options
To view or edit the default backup options in Acronis True Image for Microsoft Small
Business Server local version, select Tools -> Options -> Default Backup Options
from the main program menu.
To do the same remotely, connect Acronis True Image Management Console to the
remote computer, click Remote Computer Options and select Default backup
options.
You can edit the default (or set the temporary) backup options while creating a backup
task as well.
Copyright © Acronis, Inc., 2000-2009 73
6.3.1 Archive protection
Password
The preset is no password.
An archive can be protected with a password. To protect the archive data from being
accessed by anybody except you, enter a password and its confirmation into the text
fields. A password should consist of at least eight symbols and contain both letters (in the
upper and lower cases preferably) and numbers to make it more difficult to guess.
If you try to restore data from a password-protected archive, or append an
incremental/differential backup to such an archive, Acronis True Image for Microsoft Small
Business Server will ask for the password in a special window, allowing access only to
authorized users.
Passwords cannot be set for archives created in the Acronis Secure Zone. To protect such
archives, set a password for the zone itself.
Encryption
The preset is 128 bit.
Once the password has been set, you can choose to encrypt the backup for advanced
security with industry-standard AES cryptographic algorithm. The password is used to
generate a key which may differ in length. There are 4 choices: no encryption, 128, 192
and 256-bit encryption. The more the key size, the longer time to cipher and the greater
is your data security.
6.3.2 Source files exclusion
By default, all files from the selected folders will be included in the archive.
You can set default filters for the specific types of files you do not wish to back up. For
example, you may want hidden and system files and folders, as well as files with .~,
.tmp and .bak extensions, not to be stored in the archive.
74 Copyright © Acronis, Inc., 2000-2009
You can also apply custom filters, using the common Windows masking rules. For
example, to exclude all files with extension .exe, add *.exe. My???.exe will exclude all
.exe files with names consisting of five symbols and starting with “my”.
This option is effective for file/folders backup only. When creating a disk/partition image,
you cannot filter out any files.
6.3.3 Pre/post commands
You can specify commands or batch files to be automatically executed before and after
the
backup procedure
. For example, you may want to remove some tmp files from the
disk before starting backup or configure a third-party antivirus product to be started each
time before the backup starts. Click Edit to open the Edit Command window where you
can easily input the command, its arguments and working directory or browse folders to
find a batch file.
The program does not support interactive commands, i.e. commands that require user
input (for example, “pause”.)
The backup process will run concurrently with your commands if you uncheck the Do not
perform operations until the commands execution is complete box, which is
checked by default.
6.3.4 Database support
Database servers, such as MS SQL Server and MS Exchange, can be problematic to
backup, partially due to open files and indexes and partially due to rapid data changes.
Therefore it is usually recommended that the database be suspended just before the
backup (data capture). You can suspend the database and clear all caches to ensure that
all transactions are completed at the moment of data capture. If it become necessary to
restore a damaged database, it will be restored completely and be ready to access after
recovery.
1. Volume Shadow Copy Service
Microsoft Volume Shadow Copy Service (VSS) provides the infrastructure for
backup on running systems by keeping up coordination between user applications that
update data on disk and backup applications. VSS is available in Microsoft Windows XP
and Microsoft Windows Server 2003 operating systems.
If your database is compatible with Microsoft Volume Shadow Copy Service (VSS), then
checking the Enable VSS support box in Database support window will ensure
completion of all transactions before the backup process starts. The examples of VSS-
aware databases are Exchange, Oracle, SQL Server.
2. Before/after data capture commands
However, VSS is not available in server operation systems older than Windows 2003
Server, and not all databases support VSS. In these cases, the transactions completion
can be ensured by executing batch files or scripts that pause the appropriate Windows
services and automatically resume them after data capture.
An example of a batch file, suspending the Windows services for MS Exchange:
net stop msexchangesa /y /y
net stop “Microsoft Exchange Routing Engine”
An example of a batch file, resuming the Windows services for MS Exchange:
net start “Microsoft Exchange System Attendant”
Copyright © Acronis, Inc., 2000-2009 75
net start “Microsoft Exchange Event”
net start “Microsoft Exchange IMAP4”
net start “Microsoft Exchange MTA Stacks”
net start “Microsoft Exchange POP3”
net start “Microsoft Exchange Routing Engine”
Create batch files in any text editor (for example, name it
pause_services.bat
and
resume_services.bat
). Use Edit buttons to the right of Before data capture command
and After data capture command fields, to open the Edit Command window where
you can browse folders to find the respective batch files or scripts. A single command can
be specified in the same window along with its arguments and working directory.
It is critical to note that these commands, as opposed to Pre/post commands above,
will be executed before and after the
data capture
process, which takes seconds, while
the entire backup procedure may take much longer, depending on the amount of data to
be imaged. Therefore, the database idle time will be minimal.
Before/after data capture commands can also be used for other purposes, especially
if VSS support is enabled. You may want to suspend an application other than a database,
for example. The commands execution and the VSS actions will be sequenced as follows:
“before” commands -> VSS Suspend -> data capture -> VSS Resume -> “after”
commands.
The backup process will run concurrently with your commands if you uncheck the Do not
perform operations until the commands execution is complete box, which is
checked by default.
3. Multi-volume snapshot
The preset is disabled.
Enable the Multi-volume snapshot feature if you are going to back up data located on
multiple volumes and you must preserve its consistency (such as a database spanned
across the volumes). In this case, a single snapshot for all volumes is created, which will
be used for backup creation. When disabled, snapshots for volumes will be taken one by
one.
6.3.5 Compression level
The preset is Normal.
The data will be copied without any compression, which may significantly increase the
backup file size, if you select None as the compression level. However, if you select
Maximum compression, the backup will take longer to create.
The optimal data compression level depends on the type of files stored in the archive. For
example, even maximum compression will not significantly reduce the archive size if the
archive contains essentially compressed files, such as .jpg, .pdf or .mp3. However,
formats such as .doc or .xls will compress more than other file types.
Generally, it is recommended that you use the default Normal compression level. You
might want to select Maximum compression for removable media to reduce the number
of blank disks required.
76 Copyright © Acronis, Inc., 2000-2009
6.3.6 Backup performance
The three options below might have a more or less noticeable effect on the backup
process speed. This depends on overall system configuration and physical characteristics
of devices.
1. Backup process priority
The preset is Low.
The priority of any process running in a system determines the amount of CPU usage and
system resources allocated to that process. Decreasing the backup priority will free more
resources for other CPU tasks. Increasing the backup priority may speed up the backup
process due to taking resources from the other currently running processes. The effect
will depend on total CPU usage and other factors.
2. HDD writing speed
The preset is Maximum.
Backing up in the background to an internal hard disk (for example, to the Acronis Secure
Zone) may slow other programs’ performance because of the large amounts of data
transferred to the disk. You can limit the hard disk usage by Acronis True Image for
Microsoft Small Business Server to the desired level. To set the desired HDD writing speed
for data being backed up, drag the slider or enter the writing speed in kilobytes per
second.
3. Network connection speed
The preset is Maximum.
If you frequently backup data to network drives, think of limiting the network usage used
by Acronis True Image for Microsoft Small Business Server. To set the desired data
transfer speed, drag the slider or enter the bandwidth limit for transferring backup data in
kilobytes per second. This setting is also applied to an FTP connection, if an FTP server is
selected as backup destination device.
Copyright © Acronis, Inc., 2000-2009 77
6.3.7 Fast incremental/differential backup
The preset is Use fast incremental/differential backup.
Incremental/differential backup captures only changes in data occurred since the last
backup. To speed up the backup process, Acronis True Image for Microsoft Small
Business Server determines whether the file has changed by file size and the date/time
when the file was last saved. Disabling this feature will make the program compare the
entire file contents to that stored in the archive.
This option relates only to disk/partition (image) backup.
6.3.8 Archive splitting
Sizeable backups can be split into several files that together make the original backup. A
backup file can be split for burning to removable media or saving on an FTP server (data
recovery directly from an FTP server requires the archive to be split into files no more
than 2GB in size).
The preset is Automatic. With this setting, Acronis True Image for Microsoft Small
Business Server will act as follows:
When backing up to the hard disk:
The program will create a single archive file if the
selected disk has enough space and its file system allows the estimated file size.
The program will automatically split the backup into several files if the storage disk has
enough space, but its file system does not allow the estimated file size.
FAT16 and FAT32 file systems have a 4GB file size limit. However, the existing hard
drive’s capacity can reach as much as 2TB. Therefore, an archive file might easily exceed
this limit if you are going to back up the entire disk.
If you do not have enough space to store the backup on your hard disk, the program will
warn you and wait for your decision as to how you plan to fix the problem. You can try to
free some additional space and continue or click Back and select another disk.
When backing up to a diskette, CD-R/RW or DVD+R/RW:
Acronis True Image for
Microsoft Small Business Server will ask you to insert a new disk when the previous one is
full.
Alternatively, you can select Fixed size and enter the desired file size or select it from
the drop-down list. The backup will then be split into multiple files of the specified size.
That comes in handy when backing up to a hard disk with a view to burning the archive
to CD-R/RW or DVD+
R/RW later on.
Creating a backup directly on CD-R/RW or DVD+R/RW generally will take considerably
more time than it would on a hard disk.
6.3.9 File-level security settings
Preserve files’ security settings in archives
By default, files and folders are saved in the archive with their original Windows security
settings (i.e. permissions for read, write, execute and so on for each user or user group,
set in file Properties -> Security). If you restore a secured file/folder on a computer
without the user account, specified in the permissions, you may not be able to read or
modify this file.
78 Copyright © Acronis, Inc., 2000-2009
You can disable preserving the files’ security settings in archives to completely eliminate
this kind of problem. Then the restored files/folders will always inherit the permissions
from the folder to which they are restored (parent folder or disk, if restored to the root).
Alternatively, you can disable files’ security settings during restoration, even if they are
available in the archive (see
7.4.5 File-level security
settings
below). The result will be
the same - the files will inherit the permissions from the parent folder.
In archives, store encrypted files in decrypted state
The preset is disabled.
Simply ignore this option if you do not use the encryption feature available in Windows
2003 Server and Windows XP operating systems. (Files/folders encryption is set in
Properties -> General -> Advanced Attributes -> Encrypt contents to secure
data).
Check the option if there are encrypted files in the backup and you want them to be
accessed by any user after restore. Otherwise, only the user who encrypted the
files/folders will be able to read them. Decryption may also be useful if you are going to
restore encrypted files on another computer.
These options relate only to file/folders backup.
6.3.10 Media components
The preset is disabled.
When backing up to removable media, you can make this media bootable by writing to it
additional components. As a result, you will not need a separate rescue disk.
Choose the basic components necessary for boot and restoring data on the General tab.
The Acronis One-Click Restore is a minimal addition to the image archive, stored on
removable media, allowing one-click disk recovery from this archive. This means that at
boot from the media and clicking “restore” all the data contained in the image will be
silently restored.
Because the one-click approach does not presume user selections, such as selecting
partitions to restore, Acronis One-Click Restore always restores the entire disk. Therefore,
if your disk consists of several partitions and you are planning to use Acronis One-Click
Restore, all the partitions must be included in the image. Any partitions missing from the
image will be lost.
If you want more functionality during restoration, write a standalone version of Acronis
True Image for Microsoft Small Business Server to the rescue disk. Then you will be
able to configure the restore task using Restore Data Wizard, use Acronis Active restore
or Acronis Universal Restore.
The Advanced tab lets you select full, safe or both Acronis True Image for Microsoft
Small Business Server loader versions. The safe version does not have USB, PC card or
SCSI drivers and is useful only in cases where the full version does not load. If you want
the computer, booted from the media to be accessible for remote control with Acronis
True Image Management Console, add Acronis Bootable Agent to the media. If you
have other Acronis products, such as Acronis Disk Director Suite, installed on your
computer, the bootable versions of these programs’ components will be offered as
Advanced as well.
Copyright © Acronis, Inc., 2000-2009 79
6.3.11 Error handling
1. Ignore bad sectors
The preset is disabled.
With the default setting, the program will display a pop-up window each time it comes
across a bad sector and ask for user decision whether to continue or stop the backup
procedure. In order to back up the valid information on a rapidly dying disk, enable
ignoring bad sectors. The rest of the data will be backed up and you will be able to mount
the image and extract valid files to another disk.
2. Do not show messages and dialogs while processing (“silent” mode)
The preset is disabled.
Corporate administrators need an option to continue a back up despite any errors that
might occur without the system popping up an error box. Details of the operation,
including errors, if any, could be found in the operation log.
With the silent mode enabled, the program will not display interactive windows. Instead,
it will automatically handle situations requiring user intervention such as running out disk
space (except for handling bad sectors, which is defined as a separate option.) No
prompts will be displayed, including those for removable media or overwriting data on a
tape. If an operation cannot continue without user action, it will fail.
Therefore, enable this feature if you do not want unattended backup operations hang on
pop-ups and errors.
3. If an error occurs, re-attempt in (minutes)
The preset is enabled.
When the backup destination location on the network is not available or not reachable,
the program will attempt to reach the location at the specified time interval.
6.3.12 Dual destination backup
The preset is disabled.
If enabled, the program will automatically place a copy of each backup being created
locally to a separate location on a local drive or network share. The consistency of the
additional archive copy is maintained automatically. After a backup is saved to the main
location, the program compares the updated archive contents to the copy contents, and if
some backups are missing from the copy, they will be copied to the external location
along with the new backup.
In addition to enhancing the archive security provided with replication, this feature allows
traveling users to keep a consistent copy of the laptop data both on the laptop and the
corporate server. When the remote destination for the creation of the archive copy is not
available, e.g. due to the network absence, the program will back up data to the local
destination alone. When connected again, all changes made to the archive will be
transferred to the copy during the first backup operation.
The feature provides quick desktop backup to the internal drive as an intermediate step
before saving the ready backup on the network. This comes in handy in cases of slow or
busy networks and time-consuming backup procedures. Disconnection during the copy
transfer will not affect the backup procedure as opposed to backing up directly to the
remote location.
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Even if a password is set for the Acronis Secure Zone, the copy archive will not be
protected with the password.
6.3.13 Wake On LAN
This option is available only for tasks created by the Acronis Group Server.
The preset is Enable Wake On LAN.
With this setting, Acronis Group Server will send a magic packet to the remote computer
network interface card (NIC) before starting backup. (A magic packet is a packet that
contains 16 contiguous copies of the receiving NIC's Ethernet address.) This will power on
the computer for running the backup task. Once the backup procedure is over, the
computer can go to sleep if it times out.
Before using the feature, make sure that Wake On LAN is enabled both on the computers
that you intend to back up and the Acronis Group Server.
To enable the Wake On LAN feature on a computer to be backed up:
1. Enter the computer BIOS and set Power -> Wake On PCI PME -> Power On.
2. Set the NIC properties on the computer as follows.
Control Panel -> System -> Device Manager -> Network adapters -> select the NIC ->
Properties -> Advanced:
Enable PME -> Enabled
Wake On Link Settings -> OS Controlled
Wake On Settings -> Wake On Magic Packet.
3. Find out the computer MAC address (Local Area Connection -> Status -> Support ->
Details -> Physical Address.)
4. Repeat steps 1-3 for all computers you wish to wake on LAN.
To enable the Wake On LAN option on the Acronis Group Server:
1. Find the computer to be backed up in the list of computers.
2. Select the computer and enter its MAC address in the Acronis Group Server (sidebar ->
Computer details -> MAC address: Set -> type the hex MAC address as XXXXXXXXXXXX
or XX-XX-XX-XX-XX -> click OK). The program will test the MAC address for validity and
display the test result.
3. Repeat steps 1-2 for all computers you wish to wake on LAN.
4. Schedule a group backup task for the above computers. When setting the backup
options, ensure that the Wake On LAN option is enabled. Any computer that is asleep as
the task starts will be powered on for running the task.
6.3.14 Additional settings
1. Validate backup archive upon operation completion
The preset is disabled.
The program will check integrity of the just created or supplemented archive immediately
after backup when enabled.
Copyright © Acronis, Inc., 2000-2009 81
To check archive data integrity, you must have all incremental and differential backups
belonging to the archive and the initial full backup. If any of successive backups is
missing, validation is not possible.
2. Overwrite data on a tape without user confirmation
The preset is enabled.
A full backup, when created on a tape drive, overwrites all data stored on the tape (see
Archives cataloguing
for more information). In this situation, Acronis True Image for
Microsoft Small Business Server will warn that you are about to lose data on the tape. To
disable this warning, check the middle box.
3. Ask for first media while creating backup archives on removable media
The preset is enabled.
You can choose whether to display the Insert First Media prompt when backing up to
removable media. With the default setting, backing up to removable media may be not
possible if the user is away, because the program will wait for someone to press OK in
the prompt box. Therefore, you should disable the prompt when scheduling a backup to
removable media. Then, if the removable media is available (for example, CD-R/RW
inserted), the task can run unattended.
4. Reset archive bit
The preset is disabled. The option relates only to file-level backup.
In Windows operating systems, each file has an attribute File is ready for archiving,
available at selecting file -> Properties -> General -> Advanced -> Archive and
Index attributes. This attribute, also known as archive bit, is set by the operating
system each time the file is changed and can be reset by backup applications each time
they include the file in a backup copy. Archive bit value is used by various applications
such as databases.
With Reset archive bit enabled, Acronis True Image for Microsoft Small Business Server
will reset archive bits of all files being backed up. Acronis True Image for Microsoft Small
Business Server itself does not use the archive bit value. When performing incremental or
differential backup, it determines whether a file has changed by the file size and the
date/time when the file was last saved.
82 Copyright © Acronis, Inc., 2000-2009
Chapter 7. Restoring the backup data
7.1 Considerations before recovery
7.1.1 Restore under Windows or boot from CD?
As mentioned above (see
2.5.1 Running Acronis True Image for Microsoft Small Business
Server
(local version)), Acronis True Image for Microsoft Small Business Server can be run
in several ways. We recommend that you first try to restore data running Acronis True
Image for Microsoft Small Business Server under Windows because this method provides
more functionality. Boot from the bootable media or use the Startup Recovery Manager
(see
3.4 Acronis Startup Recovery Manager)
only if Windows does not load.
The boot CD from which you loaded the program does not keep you from using other CDs
with backups. Acronis True Image for Microsoft Small Business Server is loaded entirely
into RAM, so you can remove the bootable CD to insert the archive disk.
Be careful! Disk letters in standalone Acronis True Image for Microsoft Small Business
Server might sometimes differ from the way Windows identifies drives. For example, the
D: drive identified in the standalone Acronis True Image for Microsoft Small Business
Server might correspond to the E: drive in Windows.
If a backup image is located on bootable media, you might have a choice of using Acronis
One-Click Restore. This operation always restores the entire physical disk. Therefore, if
your disk consists of several partitions, the partitions that are missing from the image will
be lost. Please make sure that the image contains all disk partitions or you do not need
the partitions that are not imaged before using Acronis One-Click Restore. For more
information on Acronis One-Click Restore, see
6.3.10 Media components
.
7.1.2 Network settings in rescue mode
When booted from removable media, RIS server or by Startup Recovery Manager, Acronis
True Image for Microsoft Small Business Server may not detect the network. This can
occur if there is no DHCP server in your network or if your computer address was not
identified automatically for some reason.
To enable a network connection, specify network settings manually in the window
available at Tools -> Options -> Network adapters.
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7.1.3 Recovering dynamic volumes
Dynamic volumes are volumes located on dynamic disks, i.e. disks managed by Windows
Logical Disk Manager (LDM). For more information on dynamic disks, please refer to your
Windows documentation.
Acronis True Image for Microsoft Small Business Server can back up and recover dynamic
volumes.
A dynamic volume can be recovered over the same volume or unallocated space of a
dynamic group. If recovered over another volume, the target volume’s contents will be
overwritten with the image contents, but the type or other properties of the target
volume will not be changed.
To restore a dynamic volume exactly as it is, prepare a target dynamic group without
volumes. In case you want to restore a dynamic volume in place of some volumes already
existing on the target disks, delete the original volumes using third-party tools, such as
the Windows Disk Management tool.
Dynamic volume contents alone can be recovered onto a basic or dynamic volume
without changing the target volume type. Acronis True Image for Microsoft Small
Business Server local version has the Create dynamic volume tool so that you be able
to prepare the desired volumes on the target disks.
Backward conversion of dynamic volume to basic disks can be performed, if need be,
using the Add new disk operation (see
Chapter 15. Adding a new hard disk
).
With these tools, anywhere-to-anywhere data recovery becomes available, in terms of
basic disks and dynamic volumes of any type (simple, spanned, striped, mirrored or RAID
5). The tools are available in bootable program version. Having booted the Acronis
environment, you can easily prepare the desired dynamic group on bare metal or a
computer with non-Windows operating system.
For how to use the above tools see
7.5 Creating dynamic disks and volumes
.
84 Copyright © Acronis, Inc., 2000-2009
7.2 Restoring files and folders from file archives
Here we describe how to restore files/folders from a file backup archive. You can restore
the desired files/folders from a disk/partition image as well. To do so, mount the image
(see
11.2.2 Mounting an image
) or start the image restoration and select Restore
specified files or folders (see
7.3 Restoring disks/partitions or files from images
).
1. Start the Restore Data Wizard by clicking on the restore operation icon in the main
program window.
2. Select the archive. If the archive is located in Acronis Secure Zone, select it to choose
the archive on the next step.
If the archive is located on removable media, e.g. CD, first insert the last CD and then
insert disks in reverse order when Restore Data Wizard prompts.
Data recovery directly from an FTP server requires the archive to consist of files no more
than 2GB in size. If you suspect that some of the files may be larger, first copy the entire
archive (along with the initial full backup) to a local hard disk or network share disk. See
notes and recommendations for supporting FTP server in
1.4.2 Supported storage
media
.
If you added a comment to the archive, it will be displayed to the right of the drives tree.
If the archive was protected with a password, Acronis True Image for Microsoft Small
Business Server will ask for it. The comment and the Next button will be unavailable until
you enter the correct password.
3. If the selected archive contains incremental backups, Acronis True Image for Microsoft
Small Business Server will suggest that you select one of successive incremental backups
by its creation date/time. Thus, you can return the files/folders to a specific time and
date.
To restore data from an incremental backup, you must have all previous incremental
backups and the initial full backup. If any of successive backups is missing, restoration is
not possible.
To restore data from a differential backup, you must have the initial full backup as well.
Copyright © Acronis, Inc., 2000-2009 85
4. Select a folder on your computer where you want to restore selected folders/files (a
target folder). You can restore data to their original location or choose another folder, if
necessary.
5. Select files and folders to restore. You can choose to restore all data or browse the
archive contents and select the desired folders or files.
6. Select the options for the restoration process (that is, pre/post restoration commands,
restoration process priority, file-level security settings etc.). You may Use default
options or Set the options manually. If you set options manually, the settings will be
applied only to the current restore task. Alternatively, you can edit the default options
from the current screen. Then your settings will be saved as default. See
7.4 Setting
restore options
for more information.
86 Copyright © Acronis, Inc., 2000-2009
7. Set filters for the specific types of files that are not to be restored. For example, you
may want hidden and system files and folders, as well as files with .~, .tmp and .bak
extensions, not to be restored from the archive.
You can also apply custom filters, using the common Windows masking rules. For
example, to exclude all files with extension .exe, add *.exe. My???.exe will reject all
.exe files with names consisting of five symbols and starting with “my”.
All of these settings will take effect for the current task. How to set the default filters that
will be called each time you restore data, see
7.4.1 Files to exclude from restoration
.
8. The next selection allows you to keep useful data changes made since the selected
backup was created. Choose what to do if the program finds in the target folder a file
with the same name as in the archive.
Overwrite existing file – this will give the archived file unconditional priority over the
file on the hard disk.
Overwrite existing file if it is older – this will give the priority to the most recent file
modification, whether it be in the archive or on the disk
Do not overwrite existing file – this will give the file on the hard disk unconditional
priority over the archived file.
9. At the final step, the restoration summary is displayed. Up to this point, you can click
Back to make changes in the created task. Clicking Proceed will launch the task.
10. (For Acronis True Image for Microsoft Small Business Server local or bootable version)
The task progress will be shown in a special window. You can stop the procedure by
clicking Cancel. Please keep in mind that the aborted procedure still may cause changes
in the destination folder.
7.3 Restoring disks/partitions or files from images
To restore a partition (disk) from an image, Acronis True Image for Microsoft Small
Business Server must obtain exclusive access to the target partition (disk). This means
no other applications can access it at that time. If you receive a message stating that the
partition (disk) can not be blocked, close applications that use this partition (disk) and
Copyright © Acronis, Inc., 2000-2009 87
start over. If you can not determine which applications use the partition (disk), close them
all.
7.3.1 Starting the Restore Data Wizard
Start the Restore Data Wizard by clicking on the restore operation icon in the main
program window.
7.3.2 Archive selection
1. Select the archive. If the archive is located in Acronis Secure Zone, select it to choose
the archive at the next step.
If the archive is located on removable media, e.g. CD, first insert the last CD and then
insert disks in reverse order when Restore Data Wizard prompts.
Data recovery directly from an FTP server requires the archive to be split into files no
more than 2GB in size. If you suspect that some of the files may be larger, first copy the
entire archive (along with the initial full backup) to a local hard disk or network share
disk. See notes and recommendations for supporting FTP server in
1.4.2 Supported
storage media
.
If you added a comment to the archive, it will be displayed to the right of the drives tree.
If the archive was protected with a password, Acronis True Image for Microsoft Small
Business Server will ask for it. The partitions layout, the comment and the Next button
will be unavailable until you enter the correct password.
2. If the selected archive contains incremental backups, Acronis True Image for Microsoft
Small Business Server will suggest that you select one of successive incremental backups
by its creation date/time. Thus, you can return the disk data to a certain moment.
To restore data from an incremental backup, you must have all previous incremental
backups and the initial full backup. If any of successive backups is missing, restoration is
not possible.
To restore data from a differential backup, you must have the initial full backup as well.
88 Copyright © Acronis, Inc., 2000-2009
7.3.3 Restoration type selection
Select what you want to restore:
Restore specified files or folders
With this selection, you will be further offered to select where to restore selected
folders/files (original or new location), choose files/folders to be restored and so on.
These steps look like those in file archive restore. However, watch your selection; if you
want to restore files instead of disk/partition, uncheck the unnecessary folders. Otherwise
you will restore a lot of extra files. Then you will be taken directly to Restoration
Summary screen (
7.3.13 Restoration summary and executing restoration)
Restore disks or partitions
Having selected a usual way of disks/partitions recovery, you will have to make all
settings described below.
Using Active restore
When restoring a system disk/partition image (except for Windows Vista images) from
Acronis Secure Zone, you will have the third choice – to use Acronis Active restore.
Having selected this option, you will proceed directly to the summary window (
7.3.13
Restoration summary and executing restoration
). A few seconds after pressing Proceed,
the computer will reboot to the restored system. Log in and start work – no more reboots
or other actions are required. For more about Acronis Active restore, see
3.6 Acronis
Active restore
.
When performing Active restore, the Acronis True Image for Microsoft Small Business
Server always restores the entire system disk. Therefore, if your disk consists of several
partitions, the partitions which are missing from the image will be lost. Please make sure
that the image contains all disk partitions or you do not need the partitions that are not
imaged before using Acronis Active restore.
However, you can choose an ordinary way of restoration for that image. This will allow
you to make changes to the restored partition that would not be possible when using
Acronis Active restore.
Copyright © Acronis, Inc., 2000-2009 89
Finally, if you are not going to recover the system, but only want to repair damaged files,
select Restore specified files or folders.
7.3.4 Selecting a disk/partition to restore
The selected backup can contain images of several partitions or even disks. Select which
disk/partition to restore.
Disks and partitions images contain a copy of track 0 along with the MBR (Master Boot
Record). It appears in this window in a separate line. You can choose whether to restore
MBR and track 0 by checking the respective box. Restore the MBR if it is critical to your
system boot.
7.3.5 Restoring NT disk signature
Windows NT disk signature is a record in MBR that keeps information about all the
partitions on any disk ever connected to the computer under that operating system.
When restoring MBR along with a disk backup, choose what the program must do with a
disk signature:
Create new
The program will generate a new disk signature for the recovered drive.
Set this option when you are restoring an image backup on another hard drive (i.e.
cloning the volume, not recovering the corrupted one). If the option is not set, the cloned
disk will not be able to boot independently without the source drive after the cloning
process is complete. This happens because during Windows startup the loader checks disk
signatures of all connected drives. If two identical disk signatures are found, the loader
changes the signature of the cloned drive. But the loader cannot modify the cloned drive’s
registry. The
MountedDevices
registry values of the cloned drive store the disk signature
of the original drive. Thus, the cloned disk will not be available if the original disk is
disconnected.
Recover from backup
The program will replace the existing disk signature with the one from the backup.
90 Copyright © Acronis, Inc., 2000-2009
Set this option when you are performing a disaster recovery restoration. Recovering a
disk signature will allow you to:
• access all Windows Restore Points on the recovered disk,
• access VSS snapshots via Windows Vista's "Previous Versions" feature on the recovered
disk,
• keep licensing and other information for installed appliacations as some programs may
use NT disk signature for licensing and other purposes,
• keep the existing scheduled task without the need to re-create or edit it, as all
scheduled tasks of the program use the NT disk signature for disk identification.
7.3.6 Selecting a target disk/partition
1. Select a target disk or partition where you want to deploy the selected image. You can
restore data to its initial location, to another disk/partition or to an unallocated space. The
target partition should be at least the same size as the uncompressed image data.
All the data stored on the target partition will be replaced by the image data, so be
careful and watch for non-backed-up data that you might need.
When restoring a Windows system disk and select a target disk, the program compares
critical for the system start devices, found in the image registry and the target computer
registry.
If the chipset, motherboard or mass storage device are different, there is a risk that the
system will not be able to boot. Then you will be prompted whether you want to use
Acronis Universal Restore. To find out more about this option, see
3.7 Acronis
Universal Restore
. To get the option, follow the link.
If you already have Acronis Universal Restore, the prompt will not come up and you will
have an option to enable Acronis Universal Restore later in the Restore Data Wizard.
2. When restoring an entire disk, the program will analyze the target disk structure to see
if the disk is free.
Copyright © Acronis, Inc., 2000-2009 91
If there are partitions on the target disk, you will be prompted by the Nonempty
Destination Hard Disk Drive window stating that the destination disk contains
partitions, perhaps with data.
You will have to select between:
Yes, I want to delete all the partitions on the destination hard disk before restoring – all
existing partitions will be deleted and all their data will be lost.
No, I do not want to delete partitions – no existing partition will be deleted,
discontinuing the recovery operation. You will be able to cancel the operation or
return to select another disk.
Note that no real changes or data destruction will be performed at this time! For now, the
program will just map out the procedure. All changes will be implemented only when you
click Proceed in the wizard’s final window.
To continue, select the first choice and click Next. You will be taken directly to step
7.3.10 Restoring several disks or partitions at once
.
7.3.7 Changing the restored partition type
When restoring a partition, you can change its type, though it is not required in most
cases.
To illustrate why you might need to do this, let’s imagine that both the operating system
and data were stored on the same primary partition on a damaged disk.
If you are restoring a system partition to the new (or the same) disk and want to load an
operating system from it, you will select Active.
If you restore a system partition to another hard disk with its own partitions and OS, most
likely you will need only the data. In this case, you can restore the partition as Logical to
access the data only.
By default, the original partition type is selected.
92 Copyright © Acronis, Inc., 2000-2009
Selecting Active for a partition without an installed operating system could prevent your
server from booting.
7.3.8 Changing the restored partition file system
You can change the partition file system during its restoration, although it is seldom
required. Acronis True Image for Microsoft Small Business Server can make the following
file system conversions: FAT 16 -> FAT 32 and Ext2 -> Ext3. For partitions with other
native file systems, this option is not available.
Let us imagine you are to restore a partition from an old, low-capacity FAT16 disk to a
newer disk. FAT16 would not be effective and might even be impossible to set on the
high-capacity hard disk. That's because FAT16 supports partitions up to 4GB, so you will
not be able to restore a 4GB FAT16 partition to a partition that exceeds that limit without
changing the file system. It would make sense here to change the file system from FAT16
to FAT32.
However, keep in mind that not all operating systems support FAT32. MS-DOS, Windows
95 and Windows NT 3.x, 4.x do not support FAT32 and will not be operable after you
restore a partition and change its file system. These can be normally restored on a FAT16
partition only.
7.3.9 Changing the restored partition size and location
You can resize and relocate a partition by dragging it or its borders with a mouse or by
entering corresponding values in the appropriate fields.
Using this feature, you can redistribute the disk space between partitions being restored.
In this case, you will have to restore the partition to be reduced first.
These changes might be useful if you are to copy your hard disk to a new, high-capacity
one by creating its image and restoring it to a new disk with larger partitions.
Copyright © Acronis, Inc., 2000-2009 93
7.3.10 Assigning a letter to the restored partition
Acronis True Image for Microsoft Small Business Server will assign an unused letter to a
restored partition. You can select the desired letter from a drop-down list. If you set the
switch to No, no letters will be assigned to the restored partition, hiding it from OS.
You should not assign letters to partitions inaccessible to Windows, such as to those other
than FAT and NTFS.
7.3.11 Restoring several disks or partitions at once
During a single session, you can restore several partitions or disks, one by one, by
selecting one disk and setting its parameters first and then repeating these actions for
every partition or disk to be restored.
If you want to restore another disk (partition), select Yes, I want to restore another
partition or hard disk drive. Then you will return to the partition selection window
(7.3.4) again and will have to repeat the above steps. Otherwise, do not set this switch.
7.3.12 Using Acronis Universal Restore
Acronis Universal Restore is an add-on to Acronis True Image for Microsoft Small Business
Server. It is included at no extra charge with with Acronis True Image for Microsoft Small
Business Server and installed from a separate setup file. The following is true for Acronis
True Image for Microsoft Small Business Server installations including Acronis Universal
Restore.
1. Using Acronis Universal Restore will help you create a bootable system clone on
different hardware (for more information see
3.7 Acronis Universal Restore
). Choose this
when restoring a system disk to a computer with a dissimilar processor, different
motherboard or other mass storage device than in the imaged system.
2. If the target hardware has a specific mass storage controller (such as a SCSI, RAID, or
Fibre Channel adapter) for the hard disk, you can install the appropriate driver manually,
bypassing the automatic driver search-and-install procedure.
Use this option only if the automatic search-and-install procedure was unsuccessful.
94 Copyright © Acronis, Inc., 2000-2009
Acronis Universal Restore uses three sources for drivers:
- the driver repository - a folder or folders on a network drive or CD specified in restore
options. If you have not specified the driver repository in advance, you can do it at next
step.
- the mass storage device driver specified by the user at the current step
- the Windows default driver storage folders (in the image being restored).
The program will find the most suitable drivers of all available drivers and install them into
the restored system. However, the driver defined by the user, will have the priority. It will
be installed, with appropriate warnings, even if the program finds the better driver.
When restoring the system to a virtual machine that uses SCSI hard drive controller, be
sure to specify SCSI drivers for virtual environment in the Specifying Mass Storage
Drivers window. Use drivers bundled with your virtual machine software or download
the latest drivers versions from the software manufacturer website.
7.3.13 Setting restore options
Select the options for the restoration process (that is, pre/post restoration commands,
restoration process priority etc.). You may Use default options or Set the options
manually. If you set the options manually, the settings will be applied only to the current
restore task. Alternatively, you can edit the default options from the current screen. Then
your settings will be saved as default. See
7.4 Setting restore options
for more
information.
7.3.14 Restoration summary and executing restoration
1. At the final step, the restoration summary is displayed. Up to this point, you can click
Back to make changes in the created task. If you click Cancel, no changes will be made
to disk(s). Clicking Proceed will launch the task execution.
2. (For Acronis True Image for Microsoft Small Business Server local or standalone
version) The task progress will be shown in a special window.
You can stop the procedure by clicking Cancel. However, it is critical to note that the
target partition will be deleted and its space unallocated – the same result you will get if
the restoration is unsuccessful. To recover the “lost” partition, you will have to restore it
from the image again.
If Acronis Universal Restore finds no Hardware Abstraction Layer (HAL) or mass storage
devices drivers compatible with the new hardware in all available sources, you will be
prompted to browse to a network share drive or insert a floppy disk or CD with the
necessary drivers. Upon starting Windows, it will initialize the standard procedure for
installing new hardware. At this point, you will be able to specify drivers for devices if
Windows cannot find them automatically.
7.4 Setting restore options
To view or edit the default restore options in Acronis True Image for Microsoft Small
Business Server local version, select Tools -> Options -> Default Restoration
Options from the main program menu.
To do the same remotely, connect the Acronis True Image Management Console to the
remote computer, click Remote Computer Options and select Default Restoration
options.
Copyright © Acronis, Inc., 2000-2009 95
You can edit the default (or set the temporary) restore options while creating a restore
task as well.
7.4.1 Files to exclude from restoration
The preset is Restore all files.
You can set the default filters for the specific types of files that are not to be restored.
Use the common Windows masking rules. For example, to exclude all files with extension
.exe, add *.exe. My???.exe will exclude all .exe files with names, consisting of five
symbols and starting with “my”.
This option is effective only when restoring files from file/folders archives. When restoring
files from a disk/partition image, you cannot filter out any files.
7.4.2 Files overwriting mode
This option allows you to keep useful data changes made since the backup being restored
was done. Choose what to do if the program finds in the target folder a file with the same
name as in the archive.
Overwrite existing file – this will give the archived file unconditional priority over the
file on the hard disk.
Overwrite existing file if it is older – this will give the priority to the most recent file
modification, whether it be in the archive or on the disk.
Do not overwrite existing file – this will give the file on the hard disk unconditional
priority over the archived file.
This option is effective only when restoring files from file/folders archives.
7.4.3 Pre/post commands
You can specify commands or batch files to be automatically executed before and after
the restore procedure. Click Edit to open the Edit Command window where you can
easily input the command, its arguments and working directory or browse folders to find a
batch file.
96 Copyright © Acronis, Inc., 2000-2009
The program does not support interactive commands, i.e. commands that require user
input (for example, “pause”.)
The backup process will run concurrently with your commands if you uncheck the Do not
perform operations until the commands execution is complete box, which is
checked by default.
7.4.4 Restoration priority
The default setting – Low.
The priority of any process running in a system determines the amount of CPU usage and
system resources allocated to that process. Decreasing the restoration priority will free
more resources for other CPU tasks. Increasing of restoration priority may speed up the
restore process due to taking resources from the other currently running processes. The
effect will depend on total CPU usage and other factors.
7.4.5 File-level security settings
The preset is Restore files with their security settings.
If the files’ security settings were preserved during backup (see
6.3.9 File-level security
settings
), you can choose whether to restore files’ security settings or let the files inherit
the security settings of the folder where they will be restored.
This option is effective only when restoring files from file/folders archives.
7.4.6 Specifying mass storage drivers
This option appears only in those computers’ options, where Acronis Universal Restore is
installed.
Acronis Universal Restore is an option to Acronis True Image for Microsoft Small Business
Server. It should be included at no extra charge with with Acronis True Image for
Microsoft Small Business Server and installed from a separate setup file. For more
information see
3.7 Acronis Universal Restore
.
Copyright © Acronis, Inc., 2000-2009 97
Here you can specify a path to the driver repository on a network drive or CD where
Acronis Universal Restore will search for drivers at restoring a system disk on dissimilar
hardware. If several paths are specified, the program will scan all locations and choose
the most suitable driver.
7.4.7 Additional settings
1. Set current date and time for the restored files
The preset is enabled.
Choose whether to restore files’ date and time from the archive or assign the files the
current date and time.
2. Validate backup archive before restoration
The preset is disabled.
Before data is restored from the archive, Acronis True Image Echo Enterprise Server can
check its integrity. If you suspect that the archive might have been corrupted, select this
option.
To check archive data integrity you must have all incremental and differential backups
belonging to the archive and the initial full backup. If any of successive backups is
missing, validation is not possible.
3. Having restored a disk/partition from an image, Acronis True Image for Microsoft Small
Business Server can check the integrity of the file system. To do so, select Check file
system after restoration.
Verification of the file system is available only when restoring disk/partitions under
Windows and for FAT16/32 and NTFS file systems.
4. Restore file and folders without full path
The preset is disabled.
When enabled, files and folders are restored directly to the folder that you specified as a
target folder. When disabled, the full path to the files and folders that exists in the backup
will be reproduced within the target folder.
5. Change SID after restoration is finished
The preset is disabled.
Acronis True Image for Microsoft Small Business Server can generate a unique security
identifier (SID) for the restored system. You do not need a new SID when restoring a
system on the same computer where the image was taken from or when creating a full
duplicate that will replace the original system. Generate a new SID if the original and the
restored systems will work concurrently in the same workgroup or domain.
6. Run Acronis Recovery for MS Exchange Bare Metal Restore after data
Recovery
The preset is disabled
If you are going to restore Microsoft Exchange Server on bare metal, select this
parameter in order to start the Acronis Recovery for MS Exchange bare metal restore task
automatically after the image restoration is finished.
7. Restart the machine automatically
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The preset is disabled.
Sometimes one or more reboots may be required during the restoration process. With this
option enabled, the program will not ask you for permission to reboot now or later, but
immediately reboots the machine.
8. Use FTP in active mode
The preset is disabled.
Previous versions of the software required usage of passive mode for the target FTP
server and usage of TCP and UDP ports 20 and 21 on the source computer. The current
version has no such limitations: you can use either active or passive mode.
Check this option if the FTP server where the target backup is stored uses active mode
and specify the port number in the FTP port number field.
It is recommended that you change the source computer firewall settings to disable the
Routing and Remote Access Windows service.
7.4.8 Error handling
1. Do not show messages and dialogs while processing (“silent” mode)
The preset is disabled.
With the silent mode enabled, the program will not display interactive windows. Instead,
it will automatically handle situations requiring user intervention. No prompts will be
displayed, including those for inserting removable media or the next tape. If an operation
cannot continue without user action, it will fail. Details of the operation, including errors,
if any, could be found in the operation log.
2. If an error occurs, re-attempt in (minutes)
The preset is enabled.
When the backup location on the network is not available or not reachable, the program
will attempt to reach the location at the specified time interval.
7.5 Creating dynamic disks and volumes
Acronis True Image for Microsoft Small Business Server must obtain exclusive access to
the disks to perform operations with disks and volumes. This means no other applications
can access it at that time. Please close all other applications that use the disks (such as
Windows Disk Management) before starting the disk conversion and dynamic volume
creation wizards.
7.5.1 Creating dynamic volumes
This operation is available only in Acronis True Image for Microsoft Small Business Server
local version, including bootable version of this component. Having booted to the Acronis
environment, you can easily prepare the desired dynamic group on bare metal or a
computer with a non-Windows operating system.
The operation supports both dynamic disks and MBR or GPT basic disks. Basic disks will
be converted to dynamic.
All data contained on the basic disk and the basic disk partitioning will be lost. On
dynamic disks, only unallocated space will be used for the new volume.
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An MBR basic disk must have at least 1MB of free space at the end of the disk for the
dynamic disk database.
To create a dynamic volume:
1. Close all applications that use the disk(s) on which the volume is to be created.
2. Start the Dynamic Volume Creation Wizard by selecting Tools -> Create Dynamic
Volume in the main program menu.
3. Select basic, dynamic or newly connected disks on which the dynamic volume will be
created. Dynamic disks are selected by default. You can deselect any, if need be, later in
the wizard.
If you tick off disks other than dynamic, these will be converted to dynamic disks and
included in the dynamic group. However, this will be done when the operation starts.
While you are using the wizard, no changes are made to disks.
4. Select the type of dynamic volume that will be created: simple/spanned, striped,
mirrored or RAID 5.
5. Specify amount of space that the dynamic volume will occupy on each of the selected
disks. The value you set is adjusted to the selected volume type.
For a spanned volume, amount of space on each disk is selected independently. If only
one disk is selected, a simple volume is created.
Striped, mirrored and RAID 5 volumes imply even distribution of data between disks.
Therefore, the volume must occupy the same space on each disk. If you set different
values, your latest setting will be applied to all the disks. If the set value is more than
unallocated space on any disk, the minimal available space amount will be applied to all
the disks. The resulting volume size is displayed under the disk selection field.
At this step, you can deselect disks that you do not want to be included in the volume.
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6. Click Proceed in the summary window.
On completion of operations, the dynamic volumes are unformatted and have no letters
assigned. You will be able to assign the letters using Windows Disk Management tool after
restoring Windows on the created volumes.
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Chapter 8. Scheduling tasks
Acronis True Image for Microsoft Small Business Server allows you to schedule periodic
backup and archive validation tasks. Doing so will give you peace of mind, knowing that
your data are safe.
You can create more than one independently scheduled task. For example, you can back
up your current project daily and back up the application disk once a week.
All the scheduled tasks appear in the Scheduled Tasks window, where you can start,
stop, edit, delete and rename them. To navigate to the Scheduled Tasks window, click
Tasks in the Manage Tasks group or select the Task Scheduling category on the
sidebar.
8.1 Creating scheduled tasks
1. To start the Schedule Task Wizard, click Create on the Scheduled Tasks window
toolbar or select Operations -> Schedule Task from the main menu.
2. Choose the Backup or Validate operation. If the latter is the case, choose the archive
in the next window and you will be taken straight to step 4.
3. If backup is your choice, configure a backup task in the usual way (see
Chapter 6.
Creating backup archives
). If you choose to create the backup archive on a network drive,
enter a user name and a password for the drive access.
4. Set the task execution periodicity.
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Manually later – the task will be saved, but not launched automatically. You will be able
to launch it later by clicking Run in the Scheduled Tasks window
Daily – the task will be executed once a day or once in several days
Weekly – the task will be executed once a week or once in several weeks on the selected
day
Monthly – the task will be executed once a month on the selected day
One time only – the task will be executed once at the specified time and day
Free disk space change – the task will be executed when the free disk space changes
by the specified amount
When my computer starts – the task will be executed at every OS startup
When I log on – the task will be executed each time the current user logs in to the OS
When my computer shuts down – the task will be executed before every server
shutdown or reboot
When I log off – the task will be executed each time the current user logs off of the OS.
Some of these options might be disabled depending on the operating system.
5. Specify the task start time and other schedule parameters, according to the selected
periodicity (see 8.1.1 - 8.1.5).
6. Next you will have to specify the name of the user who owns the executed task;
otherwise no scheduled execution will be available.
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In the upper field, enter a user name. Enter a password twice in two fields below.
7. At the final step, the task configuration is displayed. Up to this point, you can click
Back to make changes in the created task. If you click Cancel, all settings will be lost.
Click Finish to save the task.
8. The task schedule and default name appear in the Scheduled Tasks window. You can
rename the task, if need be.
8.1.1 Setting up daily execution
If you select daily execution, set the Start time and days on which you want to execute
the task:
Every day
Weekdays
Every х days – once in several days (specify the interval).
Repeat task every – set this if the task must be performed several times a day.
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If the computer is off when the scheduled time comes, the task won’t be performed, but
you can force the missed task to launch at the next system startup by checking a box
under the Start time fields.
8.1.2 Setting up weekly execution
If you select weekly execution, set the Start time, specify the task execution periodicity
in the Every x weeks box (every week, every two weeks, etc.) and check the days on
which to execute the task.
If the computer is off when the scheduled time comes, the task won’t be performed, but
you can force the missed task to launch at the next system startup by checking a box
under the Start time fields.
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8.1.3 Setting up monthly execution
If you select monthly execution, set the Start time and days on which to execute the
task:
Day – on the specified date
The <specify a day> – on the specified day (e.g. on second Tuesday or fourth Friday);
select this from the drop-down lists.
If the computer is off when the scheduled time comes, the task won’t be performed, but
you can force the missed task to launch at the next system startup by checking a box
under the Start time fields.
8.1.4 Setting up one-time execution
If you select the one-time execution, set the Start time and date on which to execute
the task:
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If the computer is off when the scheduled time comes, the task won’t be performed, but
you can force the missed task to launch at the next system startup by checking a box
under the Start time fields.
8.1.5 Setting up event-driven execution
Execution on increasing or decreasing free space on a disk. The task will be started when
the free space on the either disk selected for the backup changes by the specified value.
The preset is 20MB.
8.2 Managing scheduled tasks
The task Status, Schedule, Last Run Time and Last Result are shown in the Scheduled
Tasks window. To view the other task details, right-click on its name.
There are two ways of changing the task parameters. Editing allows you to change any
task parameters. This is performed in the same way as creation, however, the earlier
selected options will be set, so you have to enter only the changes. To edit a task, select
it and click Edit on the toolbar.
If you want to change only the task start trigger (time or event), click Schedule on the
toolbar. Then you will have to perform only scheduling steps, leaving other settings the
same.
To delete a task with confirmation, select it and click Delete on the toolbar.
To rename a task, select it, click Rename on the toolbar, enter the new task name and
press Enter.
In Acronis True Image for Microsoft Small Business Server local version there is an option
to duplicate a task so that you need program it only once. Select the task and click Clone
on the toolbar. Pass through the same wizard as when editing a task and make changes if
necessary. As opposed to editing, the result will be saved as a separate task. You will
have the option to rename the clone for better identification.
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Chapter 9. Managing the Acronis Secure
Zone
The Acronis Secure Zone is a special partition for storing archives on the computer system
itself. For more information, see
3.3 Acronis Secure Zone
.
When you click Manage Acronis Secure Zone in the menu, the program searches for
the zone on all local drives. If a zone is found, the wizard will offer to manage it
(consolidate or remove backups, resize or change the password) or delete. If there is no
zone, you’ll be prompted to create it.
If the Acronis Secure Zone is password-protected, the proper password must be entered
before any operation can take place.
9.1 Creating Acronis Secure Zone
The Acronis Secure Zone can be located on any internal disk. It is created using
unallocated space, if available, or at the expense of free space on a partition. Partition
resizing may require a reboot.
A computer can have only one Acronis Secure Zone. To create a zone on another disk,
you must first delete an existing zone.
1. Before creating a zone, you may want to estimate its size. To do so, start a backup and
select all data you are going to copy into it. At the Set Backup Options step, choose
Set the options manually, then set the compression level. You will see the estimated
full backup size (for disk/partition backup) or the approximate compression ratio (for file-
level backup) with which you can calculate the estimated full backup size. Multiply this by
about 1.5 to be able to create incremental or differential backups.
2. If there are several disks installed, select one on which to create Acronis Secure Zone.
108 Copyright © Acronis, Inc., 2000-2009
3. Select the partitions from which space will be used to create the zone.
4. In the next window, enter the Acronis Secure Zone size or drag the slider to select any
size between the minimum and maximum ones.
The minimum size is approximately 35MB, depending on the geometry of the hard disk.
The maximum size is equal to the disk’s unallocated space plus the total free space on all
partitions selected at the previous step.
When creating the zone, the program will first use the unallocated space. If there is not
enough unallocated space, the selected partitions will be decreased. Partition resizing may
require a reboot.
Please keep in mind that reducing a system partition to the minimum size might prevent
your operating system from booting.
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5. You can set a password to restrict access to the zone. The program will ask for the
password at any operation relating to it, such as data backup and recovery, mounting
images or validating archives on the zone, using the Acronis Startup Recovery Manager
with the F11 key, resizing and deleting the zone.
Acronis True Image for Microsoft Small Business Server repair or update will not affect
the password. However, if the program is removed and then installed again while keeping
the Acronis Secure Zone on the disk, the password for the zone will be reset.
6. After this, you will be prompted to activate Acronis Startup Recovery Manager, which
will enable you to start Acronis True Image for Microsoft Small Business Server at boot
time by pressing F11 key. Or, you can activate this feature later from the main program
window.
7. Then you will see a list of operations to be performed on partitions (disks).
After you click Proceed, Acronis True Image for Microsoft Small Business Server will start
creating the zone. Progress will be reflected in a special window. If necessary, you can
stop zone creation by clicking Cancel. However, the procedure will be canceled only after
the current operation is finished.
Acronis Secure Zone creation might take several minutes or more. Please wait until the
whole procedure is finished.
9.2 Resizing the Acronis Secure Zone
1. When prompted by the wizard, select Manage Acronis Secure Zone.
2. Select to increase or decrease the zone. You might need to increase it to provide more
space for archives. The opposite situation could arise if either partition lacks free space.
3. Select partitions from which free space will be used to increase Acronis Secure Zone or
that will receive free space after the zone is reduced.
4. Enter the new size of the zone or drag the slider to select the size.
When increasing the Acronis Secure Zone, the program will first use unallocated space. If
there is not enough unallocated space, the selected partitions will be decreased. Resizing
of the partitions may require a reboot.
Please keep in mind that reducing a system partition to the minimum size may prevent
your operating system from booting.
When reducing the zone, any unallocated space, if the hard disk has it, will be allocated
to the selected partitions along with the space freed from the zone. Thus, no unallocated
space will remain on the disk.
5. Next you will see a list of briefly described operations to be performed on partitions
(disks).
After you click Proceed, Acronis True Image for Microsoft Small Business Server will start
resizing the zone. Progress will be reflected in a special window. If necessary, you can
stop the procedure by clicking Cancel. However, the procedure will be canceled only
after the current operation is finished.
Zone resizing can take several minutes or longer. Please wait until the whole procedure is
finished.
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9.3 Changing the password for Acronis Secure Zone
1. When prompted by the wizard, select Manage Acronis Secure Zone.
2. Select Change password.
3. Enter the new password and confirm it or select Do not use password protection.
You can also select a secret question that will be asked in case you forget the password.
4. To perform the password change operation, click Proceed in the final wizard window.
9.4 Managing backups in Acronis Secure Zone
The purpose of Acronis Secure Zone management is to manually free up space in Acronis
Secure Zone by deleting or consolidating backups.
1. Invoke the Manage Acronis Secure Zone Wizard (Tools -> Manage Acronis Secure
Zone) and click Next.
2. On the Action Selection step, choose Manage archives in Acronis Secure Zone.
3. On the Backup Date selection step, select an action: consolidate or remove.
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4. [Consolidation]: Select the backup. Backups created earlier will be consolidated into the
selected backup. Backups created later will remain untouched.
[Remove]: Select the backup you want to remove. Be careful: all dependent incremental
and differential backups will be also removed.
5. After you click Proceed, Acronis True Image for Microsoft Small Business Server will
start backup consolidation\deletion.
9.5 Deleting Acronis Secure Zone
Acronis Secure Zone deletion will destroy all backups stored in the zone.
There is an option to keep Acronis Secure Zone along with its contents (which will enable
data recovery on booting from bootable media) or remove Acronis Secure Zone if you
remove Acronis True Image Agent or Acronis True Image for Microsoft Small Business
Server local version from the system. To delete the zone without uninstalling the
program, proceed as follows.
1. When prompted by the wizard, select Remove Acronis Secure Zone.
2. Select the partitions to which you want to add the space freed from the zone. If you
select several partitions, the space will be distributed proportionally to each partition.
3. Next, you will see a list of briefly described operations to be performed on partitions
(disks).
After you click Proceed, Acronis True Image for Microsoft Small Business Server will start
deleting the zone. Progress will be reflected in the opened window. If necessary, you can
stop the procedure by clicking Cancel. However, the procedure will be canceled only
after the current operation is finished.
Zone deletion might take several minutes or more. Please wait until the whole procedure
is finished.
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Chapter 10. Creating bootable media
10.1 Creating Acronis rescue media
You can run Acronis True Image for Microsoft Small Business Server on a bare metal or
on a crashed computer that cannot boot. You can also back up disks on a non-Windows
computer, copying all its data sector-by-sector into the backup archive. To do so, you will
need bootable media with the standalone Acronis True Image for Microsoft Small Business
Server version.
Because Acronis True Image for Microsoft Small Business Server is available only as a
download, you must create bootable media using the Bootable Media Builder. For this,
you will need a blank CD-R/RW, DVD+
R/RW, several formatted diskettes (the wizard will
tell you the exact number), or any other media your server can boot from, such as a Zip
drive.
Acronis True Image for Microsoft Small Business Server also has the ability to create an
ISO image of a bootable disk on the hard disk. If there is a Microsoft RIS server in your
local network, an IT administrator can save the bootable data on this server as well. Then
any networked computer will be able to boot Acronis True Image for Microsoft Small
Business Server from the RIS package.
If you have other Acronis products, such as Acronis Disk Director Server, installed on your
computer, you can include standalone versions of these programs on the same bootable
disk as well.
This feature is available both in Acronis True Image for Microsoft Small Business Server
local version and Acronis True Image Management Console. However, Acronis True
Image Management Console does not contain Rescue Media Builder in its own
installation. Therefore, to be able to create bootable media/RIS package from Acronis
True Image Management Console, you must have Acronis True Image for Microsoft Small
Business Server local version or another Acronis product including Rescue Media Builder
installed on the same computer.
If you have chosen not to install the Bootable Media Builder during Acronis True Image
for Microsoft Small Business Server installation, you will not be able to use this feature.
1. Click Create Bootable Rescue Media on the toolbar or the sidebar, or select Create
Bootable Rescue Media from the Tools menu. You can also run the Bootable Rescue
Media Builder without loading Acronis True Image for Microsoft Small Business Server by
selecting Programs -> Acronis -> True Image -> Bootable Rescue Media Builder
from the Start menu.
2. Select which components of Acronis programs you want to place on the bootable
media.
Acronis True Image for Microsoft Small Business Server offers the following components:
Acronis True Image for Microsoft Small Business Server full version
Includes support of USB, PC Card and SCSI interfaces along with the storage devices
connected via them, and therefore is highly recommended.
Acronis True Image for Microsoft Small Business Server safe version
Does not include USB, PC Card, or SCSI drivers. Recommended for use in case of
problems with running Full version
Copyright © Acronis, Inc., 2000-2009 113
Acronis Bootable Agent full version
The bootable version of Acronis True Image Agent. This component is designed to
provide unattended restores from remote locations.
аукциона на право поставки мусоровоза КО-440-8
To find more about components of other Acronis products, see the respective user guides.
The Start automatically after parameter specifies the timeout interval for the boot
menu. If this parameter is not specified, at booting a computer the program will display
the boot menu and wait for someone to select whether to boot the OS or the Acronis
component. If you set 10 sec for Acronis Bootable Agent, for example, the agent will
launch in 10 seconds after the menu is displayed. This enables fully remote operations if
you are booting from a RIS server.
3. Select the type of bootable media (CD-R/RW, DVD+
R/RW or 3.5” diskettes) to create.
If your BIOS has this feature, you can create other bootable media such as removable
USB flash drives. You can also choose to create a bootable disk ISO image or save
bootable data on the RIS server.
When using 3.5” diskettes, you will be able to write on a diskette (or a set of the
diskettes) only one component at a time — for example, Acronis True Image for Microsoft
Small Business Server. To write another component, start the Bootable Media Builder
once again.
4. If you are creating a CD, DVD, diskettes or any removable media, insert the blank disk
so the program can determine its capacity. If you chose to create a bootable disk ISO
image, specify the ISO file name and the folder in which to place it. If you chose to save
bootable data on a RIS server, specify the server and provide the user name and
password to access it.
5. Next, the program will calculate how many blank disks are required (in case you have
not chosen ISO or RIS) and give you time to prepare them. When you are finished, click
Proceed.
After you create a boot disk, mark it and keep it in a safe place.
114 Copyright © Acronis, Inc., 2000-2009
10.2 Creating a Win PE ISO with Acronis True Image for Microsoft
Small Business Server
Windows Preinstallation Environment (Win PE) is a minimal Windows system based on the
Windows XP Professional and the Windows Server 2003 kernels. Win PE is commonly
used by OEMs and corporations for deployment, test, diagnostic and system repair
purposes. Using Acronis True Image for Microsoft Small Business Server in Windows
Preinstallation Environment allows a combination of Acronis True Image for Microsoft
Small Business Server and Win PE facilities and provides more functionality than using
only-Acronis bootable media. The Acronis Universal Restore add-on to Acronis True Image
for Microsoft Small Business Server, if installed, will also be included in the ISO image.
To add the Acronis True Image for Microsoft Small Business Server plug-in to your Win PE
distribution:
1. Make sure that Acronis Bart PE plug-in is installed on the computer (the default
path is \Program Files\Acronis\TrueImageEchoEnterpriseServer\BartPE). If not, run
Acronis True Image for Microsoft Small Business Server setup file, choose Modify and
install the Acronis Bart PE plug-in.
Acronis Win PE ISO Builder locates the Acronis Bart PE plug-in using the registry key
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Acronis\TrueImageEchoEnterpriseServer
\ Settings\BartPE, created at the time of installation. If you moved the Bart PE plug-in
to another folder after installation, change the key accordingly. If the above key is
missing, the builder does not work.
2. Insert your Win PE distribution CD into the media drive of the computer. If you have a
distribution copy on the hard disk, copy the path to it. The distribution files must be
unpacked and allocated in a separate folder.
3. Select Programs -> Acronis ->Acronis True Image for Microsoft Small Business Server -
> Acronis Win PE ISO Builder.
4. Specify a source folder for building Win PE ISO, i.e. the media drive with Win PE
distribution or a folder with the distribution copy.
5. Locate a folder where you want to create Win PE ISO and provide the name for the
ISO file.
6. Specify path to storage controller and NIC drivers that you want to add to Windows PE
media. Click Add and specify the path to the necessary *.inf file for a corresponding
SCSI, RAID, SATA controller or a network adapter. You will have to repeat this procedure
for each driver you want to be included in the resulting Win PE boot media.
7. Check your settings in the summary screen and click Proceed.
8. Use any third-party tool that will burn ISO images to CD or DVD.
Media based on Win PE 2.0 and including Acronis True Image for Microsoft Small
Business Server requires at least 768MB RAM to work.
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Chapter 11. Operations with archives
11.1 Validating backup archives
You can check the integrity of an archive to be certain that the archive is not damaged.
Here’s how to run a one-time validation task. For how to schedule regular archive
validation, see
8.1 Creating scheduled tasks.
1. To start the Backup Archive Validation Wizard, select Validate Backup Archive
in the main window or in the Tools group or click Validate Backup Archive on the
toolbar.
2. Select the archive to validate. If the archive is located in Acronis Secure Zone, select it
to choose the archive at the next step.
3. Click Proceed to launch the validation procedure. After the validation is complete, you
will see the results window. You can cancel checking by clicking Cancel.
You must have all incremental and differential backups belonging to the archive and the
initial full backup to check archive data integrity. If any successive backups are missing,
validation is not possible.
11.2 Exploring archives and mounting images
Acronis True Image for Microsoft Small Business Server offers two kinds of archive
contents management: mounting for images and exploring for both images and file-level
archives.
This feature is available in Acronis True Image for Microsoft Small Business Server local
version only. Mounting images using Acronis True Image Management Console is not
supported.
Archives located on an Acronis Backup Server or an FTP server cannot be explored or
mounted.
Both operations are performed through the Backup Archives category.
116 Copyright © Acronis, Inc., 2000-2009
Exploring images and file-level archives lets you view their contents and copy the
selected files to the hard disk.
Mounting images as virtual drives lets you access them as though they were physical
drives. This means that:
a new disk with its own letter will appear in the drives list
using Windows Explorer and other file managers, you can view the image contents as if
they were located on a physical disk or partition
you will be able to use the virtual disk in the same way as the real one: open, save, copy,
move, create, delete files or folders. If necessary, the image can be mounted in read-
only mode
Please keep in mind that although both file archives and disk/partition images have a
default “.tib” extension, only images can be mounted. If you want to view file archive
contents, use the Explore operation. The following is a brief summary of the Explore and
Mount operations:
Explore Mount
Archive type File-level, disk or partition image Partition image
Assigning a letter No Yes
Archive modification No Yes (in R/W mode)
Files extraction Yes Yes
Acronis True Image for Microsoft Small Business Server can mount or explore an image
archive only if all its volumes reside in the same directory. If your archive spans several
CD-R/RW discs and you want to mount the image, copy all volumes to a hard disk drive
or network drive.
11.2.1 Exploring an archive
1. Click Explore and Validate Backup Archives in the Tools group or select the
Backup Archives category on the sidebar to navigate to the Manage Backup Archives
window. Then select Explore Backup Archive. Or, you can select Tools -> Explore
Backup Archive in the main program menu.
2. Select an archive from the drive tree and click Open. If the archive is located in
Acronis Secure Zone, select it to choose the archive at the next step. The explore
operation does not support Acronis Backup Server, so backup servers are not displayed in
the tree.
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If you added a comment to the archive, it will be displayed to the right of the drives tree.
If the archive was protected with a password, Acronis True Image for Microsoft Small
Business Server will ask for it. Further steps will not be enabled until you enter the correct
password.
3. The program opens a Windows Explorer window displaying the archive contents. If you
selected an archive containing incremental or differential backups, Acronis True Image for
Microsoft Small Business Server will suggest that you select one of the successive backups
by its creation date/time. This allows you to explore the data state for a given point in
time.
To explore an incremental backup, you must have all previous incremental backups and
the initial full backup. If any successive backups are missing, exploring is not possible.
To explore a differential backup, you must have the initial full backup as well.
Double-click the backup icon to view the data saved in the backup. You can copy and
paste or drag-and-drop any file or folder from the backup being explored to any hard disk
folder.
11.2.2 Mounting an image
1. Start the Mount Image Wizard by selecting Operations -> Mount Image in the
main program menu.
2. Select the archive from the drives tree. If the archive is located in the Acronis Secure
Zone, select it to choose the archive. The mount operation does not support Acronis
Backup Server, so backup servers are not displayed in the tree.
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If you added a comment to the archive, it will be displayed to the right of the drives tree.
If the archive was protected with a password, Acronis True Image for Microsoft Small
Business Server will ask for it. Neither the partitions layout, nor the Next button will be
enabled until you enter the correct password.
3. If you selected an archive containing incremental images, Acronis True Image for
Microsoft Small Business Server will suggest that you select one of the successive
incremental images by its creation date/time. This allows you to explore the partition
state for a given point in time.
To mount an incremental image, you must have all previous incremental images and the
initial full image. If any of the successive images are missing, mounting is not possible.
To explore a differential backup, you must have the initial full backup as well.
4. Select a partition to mount. (Note that you cannot mount the entire disk.)
You can also select a letter to be assigned to the virtual drive from the Drive letter drop-
down list. If you do not want to assign a letter to the virtual drive, select Do not assign.
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5. Select whether you want to mount image in Read-only or Read/Write mode.
6. If you select Read/Write mode, the program assumes that the connected image will
be modified, and creates an incremental archive file to capture the changes. It is strongly
recommended that you list the forthcoming changes in the comment to this file.
7. The program displays a summary containing a single operation. Click Proceed to
connect the selected partition image as a virtual disk.
8. After the image is connected, the program will run Windows Explorer, showing its
contents. Now you can operate with files or folders as if they were located on a physical
disk.
You can connect multiple partition images. If you want to connect another partition
image, repeat the procedure.
11.2.3 Unmounting an image
We recommend that you unmount the virtual disk after all necessary operations are
finished, as keeping up virtual disks takes considerable system resources. If you do not,
the virtual disk will disappear after your server is turned off.
To disconnect the virtual disk, click Unmount Image and select the disk to unmount.
You can also unmount the disk in Windows Explorer by right-clicking on its icon and
selecting Unmount.
11.3 Consolidating backups
The file name-based consolidation allows deleting the backups that you do not need any
more from any archive while keeping the archive consistency. The operation is somewhat
similar to consolidating backups on the Acronis Backup Server. In either case, you can
delete from an archive, if need be, the base full backup. The program will create another
full backup in place of the oldest remaining backup. The difference is as follows:
1. On the backup server, backups are deleted permanently. File name-based consolidation
creates a consistent copy of the archive that does not contain deleted backups, but the
source archive stays as is unless you delete it. This requires more disk space but ensures
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security of the archive in case the consolidation fails because of power failure or lack of
disk space.
2. On the backup server, you only can consolidate two backups in one. File name-based
consolidation keeps whichever backups you choose and deletes any backups that are not
selected.
Consolidation can be performed both using the Acronis True Image Management Console
connected to Acronis True Image Agent and with Acronis True Image for Microsoft Small
Business Server local version. The bootable program version also supports consolidation.
To consolidate backups in the archive:
1. Do one of the following:
Connect the console to the computer where Acronis True Image Agent is installed, select
Backup and Recovery tasks and click Consolidate Archive.
In Acronis True Image for Microsoft Small Business Server local version, start the Backup
Consolidation Wizard by selecting Tools -> Consolidate archive in the main
program menu.
2. Select the archive from the drives tree. The file name based consolidation does not
support Acronis Backup Server and Acronis Secure Zone, so these are not displayed in the
tree. For a backup consolidation in Acronis Secure Zone, see
9.4 Managing backups in
Acronis Secure Zone.
An archive MyBackup consisting of one full (MyBackup) and four incremental backups
(MyBackup2-5) is selected
3. The program displays a list of backups belonging to the selected archive with the
backups creation date and time. The list is similar to that in the restore wizard. The upper
backup is the full backup; the rest are incremental backups. Select the backups you want
to
keep
.
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Editing images, mounted in R/W mode, results in creating incremental backups, that are
a kind of offshoots of the incremental chain. Therefore, they cannot be consolidated and
always will be excluded from the archive copy.
The clone archive will consist of MyBackup3 and MyBackup5, however, their numbers will
be zero (no number) and 2. MyBackup3 will change into a full backup
4. Choose location and name for the archive copy. By default, the program suggests the
same location and the source archive name with (1) added.
New archive will be created in the same folder and named MyBackup(1)
5. The program displays the summary window. Click Proceed to start consolidation.
In our example, when consolidation is completed, the folder Backups will contain two
archives MyBackup and MyBackup(1). The first is the source archive, the second is the
copy consisting of MyBackup(1) and MyBackup(1)2.
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MyBackup(1) is a full backup containing data as of Tuesday, July 17, 2007, 5:35:09 PM.
MyBackup(1)2 is an incremental backup containing data as of Tuesday, July 17, 2007,
6:54:40 PM. You can make sure of this by starting the consolidation wizard again,
selecting the archive MyBackup(1) and proceeding to the next window.
The resulting archive contents
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Chapter 12. Notifications and event tracing
Sometimes a backup or restore procedure can last for 30 minutes or more. Acronis True
Image for Microsoft Small Business Server can notify you when it is finished through the
WinPopup service or e-mail. The program can also duplicate messages issued during the
operation or send you the full operation log after operation completion.
By default all notifications are disabled.
12.1 Email notification
To set up e-mail notification, select Tools -> Options -> Notifications -> E-mail:
Provide the e-mail address to which notifications will be sent. You can enter several
addresses separated by semicolons.
Provide the outgoing SMTP server name. A user name and a password might also be
needed if the SMTP server requires authentication.
Some Internet service providers require authentication on the incoming mail server before
being allowed to send anything. If this is your case, click Advanced and tick off Log on
to incoming mail server and provide the server name.
Filling up the From and Subject fields will help the e-mail client program filter
notifications to the appropriate folder. If the From field is left blank, messages will be
constructed as if they are from the destination address.
Below, in this window, you can choose whether you want to get notifications:
- when the operation is completed successfully (check Add full log to the notification
to add the full operation log to the message)
- when the operation failed (check Add full log to the notification to add the full
operation log to the message)
- during the operation when user interaction is required.
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12.2 WinPopup notification
To set up WinPopup notification:
1. Enable the Messenger service on both the computer executing the task and the
computer that will receive messages.
The Messenger service is disabled by default in Windows Server 2003 family. Change the
service Startup mode to Automatic and start the service.
2. Select Tools -> Options -> Notifications -> Windows Messenger (WinPopup):
Provide the name of the computer to which notifications will be sent.
Below in this window you can choose whether you want to get notifications:
- when the operation is completed successfully
- when the operation failed
- during the operation when user interaction is required.
12.3 Viewing logs
Acronis True Image for Microsoft Small Business Server allows users to view its working
logs. These logs can provide information about scheduled tasks results, including reasons
for failure, if any.
To view the log window, select Show log on the toolbar or from the Tools menu.
The log browsing window contains two panes: the left one features the log list, while the
right one shows selected log contents.
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The left panel can contain up to 50 logs. If there are more, you can browse the list using
the More and Less buttons with the left and right arrows.
To delete a log, select it and click Delete.
If any step was terminated by an error, the corresponding log will be marked with a red
circle with a white “X” inside.
The right window features the list of steps contained in the selected log. The three
buttons to the right control message filters: the white “X” in the red circle filters error
messages, the exclamation sign in a yellow triangle filters warnings, and the “i” in the
blue circle filters information messages.
To select columns (step parameters) to display, right-click the headers line or left-click the
Choose Details button. Then check the desired parameters.
To sort messages by a particular parameter, click its header (click again to reverse order)
or the Arrange Icons by button (the second from the right) and select the desired
parameter.
You can also change column width by dragging the borders with a mouse.
12.4 Event tracing
12.4.1 Windows event log
You can choose whether to store event log messages issued by Acronis True Image for
Microsoft Small Business Server to Windows Event Log (to see this log, run
eventvwr.exe or select Control Panel -> Administrative tools -> Event Viewer ->
Application).
The default setting – Do not save messages
To change this setting, select Tools -> Options -> Windows event log.
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An additional choice is available - recording All events, Warnings and Errors, or
Errors only.
12.4.2 SNMP notifications
Acronis True Image for Microsoft Small Business Server can provide the following Simple
Network Management Protocol (SNMP) objects to SNMP management applications:
1.3.6.1.4.1.24769.100.200.1.0 - string identifying a type of occurred event (Information,
Warning, Error)
1.3.6.1.4.1.24769.100.200.2.0 - string containing text description of occurred event (it
looks identically to messages published by Acronis True Image for Microsoft Small
Business Server in its log).
Sending SNMP messages is disabled by default. To set up sending messages, select Send
messages to SNMP server and specify:
types of events to be reported: All events, Warnings and Errors, or Errors only
Please note: Depending on the reasons of the operation failure, sometimes the SNMP
notification about this failure might not be sent to you, please, make sure to check the
operation log.
name or IP address of the host running the SNMP management application, to which
notifications will be sent
name of SNMP community to which both the host running SNMP management application
and the computers executing the task belong.
12.5 Managing System Restore
Microsoft Windows System Restore tool, available in Windows XP and Windows Vista
operating systems, is used to undo harmful changes to the system without losing recently
changed or created user data. To run the System Restore tool or find out more about it,
select Start -> Programs -> Accessories -> System Tools -> System Restore.
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If you run Acronis True Image for Microsoft Small Business Server regularly, this feature
in your operating system is redundant. You can turn it off, freeing up to 12% of your hard
disk space, directly from Acronis True Image for Microsoft Small Business Server.
This feature is available in Acronis True Image for Microsoft Small Business Server local
version only. Managing System Restore using Acronis True Image Management Console
is not possible.
1. To start the System Restore Management Wizard, click the Manage System
Restore icon in the main program window.
2. Click Next.
3. Now you can turn on/off System Restore on all your hard disk(s) partitions at once or
do it individually for each partition.
Note that you cannot turn off System Restore on the system disk (partition), yet keep it
on other disks (partitions).
4. Click Next.
5. The program lists the configured changes. You can click Back to choose different
settings. If you click Cancel, all new settings will be lost. Click Proceed to apply the
changes.
If you turn off System Restore on any disk or partition, all previously created restore
points for that disk (partition) will be deleted. Please make sure you do not need those
restore points before proceeding.
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Chapter 13. Working with a virtual
environment
Virtual machine technologies provide a powerful tool to help accelerate the development,
testing, deployment and support of PC applications.
As with physical machines, virtual machine (VM) data needs to be backed up periodically
to prevent its loss due to hardware failure or human errors. Since more and more
organizations choose running their business processes in a virtual environment, they need
a solution to perform the data backup and restore on virtual machines. This chapter
covers how Acronis True Image for Microsoft Small Business Server can be used in virtual
and heterogeneous environments.
13.1 Backing up data on virtual machines
A virtual machine is an emulated computer running within a host operating system. The
software that emulates the computer is called the virtualization software. The most
popular types of virtualization software are VMware Server and VMware Workstation,
Microsoft Virtual Server and Microsoft Virtual PC, Citrix XenServer and Parallels
Workstation.
Generally, a virtual machine can be treated:
1. As a physical computer (when it is online). Most Acronis True Image for Microsoft Small
Business Server features and settings are applicable to a VM. The backup procedure is
almost the same (see details in
Chapter 6. Creating backup archives
).
2. As a set of files that change in line with the VM state. The files represent the VM
configuration, storage, memory or other parameters. The files can be backed up with
both imaging and file-level backup.
However, backing up the running VM files can prevent us from restoring the virtual
system to a consistent point-in-time state. The issue is somewhat like backing up a
database. (The classic example is the Active Directory database, which seldom can be
recovered to a usable state.) Therefore, integration with dedicated tools available from
VM vendors is advisable.
Acronis True Image for Microsoft Small Business Server supports VMware Consolidated
backup available in VMware Infrastructure 3. This application takes snapshots of virtual
machines and uploads them to the proxy server. This enables LAN-free VM backup from
the server rather than directly from ESX server.
Microsoft Virtual Server 2005 R2 SP1 has the Virtual Server Volume Shadow Copy Service
(VSS) writer (VS Writer), which takes the VM snapshot by the backup software request.
Support for the VS writer may be considered in future Acronis True Image Enterprise
versions.
If you plan to back up the virtual machine files, stop or suspend the virtual machine.
Since the virtual disk file changes from session to session and therefore will be always
included in the backup, incremental or differential backups are not appropriate in this
case. An incremental backup size will be almost equal to a full backup size.
13.2 Recovering data on virtual machines
A virtual disk can be restored from its image (.tib file), previously created with Acronis
True Image for Microsoft Small Business Server just as physical disk can be recovered.
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If the virtual machine cannot start, boot it into Acronis rescue environment using physical
bootable media or RIS server, or by adding the bootable media ISO to the virtual
machine. Another option is to create a new virtual machine with same configuration and
disk size as the imaged machine and recover data to this disk.
The procedure is the same as with physical machines. See details in
Chapter 7. Restoring
the backup data.
The alternative way of recovering a VM is by converting the image (.tib) file to a virtual
disk file of appropriate format and adding this disk to the VM. This is the easiest way to
recover data on a virtual machine.
13.3 Using the disk conversion feature
A virtual hard disk is a file that provides storage for a virtual machine. Different
virtualization software use different virtual disk format and therefore the file extension.
Acronis True Image for Microsoft Small Business Server has the ability to convert a disk
image, created with the program (.tib), to a virtual disk file of the type you select
(.vmdk, .vhd, .hdd and .vhd). You will then be able to add the disk to a virtual machine
of compatible type (VMware, MS virtual machine, Parallels virtual machine and
Citrix XenServer, respectively). The further usage of the disk is as follows.
13.3.1 Recover data on the VM
In case data is corrupted or inadvertently deleted while the VM is running, do one of the
following:
add the converted disk, either system or non-system, to the VM, copy the needed data to
the original disk, then remove the converted disk, or
add the converted disk, either system or non-system, to the VM and use the data
contained on the disk.
13.3.2 Recover both data and the VM
In case the VM cannot start, do one of the following:
add the converted system disk to the VM and remove the corrupted disk, or
create a new VM with the converted system disk, or
add the disk to the previously created machine clone (this allows replacing the machine
on the network in seconds because you need not configure a new VM).
13.3.3 Physical to virtual migration
Physical disks images can be converted to virtual disks as well as virtual disks images.
A Windows system image will be supplemented with appropriate system drivers during
conversion, so that Windows could boot up on the VM. (In fact, the Acronis Universal
Restore technology is applied in background because the program is aware which drivers
are needed for compatible virtual machines.)
The conversion operation enables five-step physical to virtual migration:
1. Create images of all (or some) physical machine disks, including the system disk.
2. Convert the images to virtual disks.
3. Create a new VM with the converted system disk.
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4. Add the other converted disks to the VM.
5. Start the VM and complete the hardware drivers configuration, if Windows prompts.
This allows:
the fastest replacement of the physical machine with the previously created virtual copy
moving multiple workloads from legacy physical servers to virtual machines to reduce
hardware maintenance and power consumption costs.
The alternative method of physical to virtual migration is by restoring a physical disk
from an image to a virtual machine. The procedure is the same as with restoring physical
machines.
To ensure booting up the system on the virtual machine, use Acronis Universal Restore. If
the target virtual drive is a SCSI hard drive, provide appropriate drivers. For example, the
VMware environment requires Buslogic or LSI logic drivers. Use drivers bundled with your
virtualization software or download the latest drivers versions from the software
manufacturer’s website. For more information about the recovery procedure see
Chapter
7. Restoring the backup data.
The inverse migration - virtual to physical - is done using common disk imaging and
restoring:
1. Create images of all (or some) virtual machine disks, including the system disk.
2. Restore the images to physical disks. When restoring a system disk, use Acronis
Universal Restore. Complete the hardware driver configuration if Windows prompts.
Combination of the two migration features gives you the flexibility to implement a lot of
scenarios, for example:
replace your physical server on the network with its virtual copy, while the server is
recovered or upgraded
test the new software or other changes you wish to make to the server on its virtual copy
and then apply the changes to the physical server.
13.3.4 Converting workloads
You can convert workloads from one virtual technology to another through imaging virtual
drives. For example, let’s say your company uses Microsoft Virtual Servers, but you need
to use VMware-based virtual appliances. This is easy to do with the conversion
functionality. Again, a Windows system image will be supplemented with appropriate
system drivers during conversion so that Windows could boot up on the another type of
VM.
1. Create images of all (or some) virtual machine disks, including the system disk.
2. Convert the images to virtual disks of desired format.
3. Create a new VM of the desired type with the converted system disk.
4. Add the other converted disks to the VM.
5. Start the VM and complete the hardware driver configuration if Windows prompts.
13. 4 Converting disk images to virtual disks
To convert a disk image to a virtual disk file:
1. Do one of the following:
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Connect the console to the computer where Acronis True Image Agent is installed. Select
Backup and Recovery tasks and click Convert to Virtual disk.
On a computer where Acronis True Image for Microsoft Small Business Server local
version is installed, select Tools -> Convert to Virtual Disk in the main program menu.
2. Select the disk image to convert. If the image is located on an Acronis Backup Server
or in the Acronis Secure Zone, select Personal backup location or Acronis Secure Zone, to
select the image during the next step.
3. If there are several disks in the image, select one to convert.
4. Choose a type of the disk to be created.
5. Specify the path to the file to be created. The file can be directed to any storage
supported by Acronis True Image for Microsoft Small Business Server, except for an
Acronis Backup Server or the Acronis Secure Zone.
Since the disk space is not preallocated, the physical disk on which the virtual disk will run
is expected to have sufficient space for the virtual disk to grow.
6. Click Proceed in the summary window.
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Chapter 14. Transferring the system to a
new disk
14.1 General information
Sooner or later computer users find that their hard disk is just too small. If you don’t have
space for more data, you can add another disk specifically for data storage.
For example, you might find that your hard disk does not have enough space for the
operating system and installed applications, preventing you from updating your software.
In this case, you have to transfer the system to a higher-capacity hard disk.
This feature is available in Acronis True Image for Microsoft Small Business Server local
version only. Transferring systems using Acronis True Image Management Console is not
supported.
To transfer the system, you must first install the disk in the server. If a server doesn’t
have a bay for another hard disk, you can temporarily install it in place of your CD-ROM.
If that is not possible, you can clone a hard disk by creating its image and restoring it to a
new hard disk with larger partitions.
There are two transfer modes available: automatic and manual.
In the automatic mode, you will only have to take some simple actions to transfer all the
data, including partitions, folders and files, to a newer disk, making it bootable if the
original disk was bootable.
There will be only one difference between these disks – partitions on the newer disk will
be larger. Everything else, including the installed operating systems, data, disk labels,
settings, software and everything else on the disk, will remain the same.
This is the only result available in the automatic mode. The program can only duplicate
the original disk layout to the new one. To obtain a different result, you will have to
answer additional questions about cloning parameters.
The manual mode will provide additional data transfer flexibility.
1. You will be able to select the method of partition and data transfer:
as is
new disk space is proportionally distributed among the old disk partitions
new disk space is distributed manually
2. You will also be able to select operations to perform on the old disk:
leave partitions (and data) on the old disk
remove all information from the old disk
create new partitions on the old disk (and remove all the older information)
On program screens, damaged partitions are marked with a red circle and a white “X”
inside in the upper left corner. Before you start cloning, you should check such disks for
errors using the appropriate operating system tools.
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14.2 Security
Please note the following: If the power goes out or you accidentally press RESET during
the transfer, the procedure will be incomplete and you will have to partition and format or
clone the hard disk again.
No data will be lost because the original disk is only being read (no partitions are changed
or resized) until data transfer is completed.
We recommend that you do not delete data from the old disk until you are sure it is
correctly transferred to the new disk, the server boots up from it and all applications
work.
14.3 Executing transfers
14.3.1 Selecting Clone mode
You will see the Clone mode window just after the welcome window.
We recommend using automatic mode in most cases. The manual mode can be useful if
you need to change the disk partition layout.
If the program finds two disks, one partitioned and another unpartitioned, it will
automatically recognize the source disk as the partitioned disk and the destination disk as
the unpartitioned disk, so the next two steps will be bypassed.
14.3.2 Selecting source disk
If the program finds several partitioned disks, it will ask you which is the source (i.e. the
older data disk).
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You can determine the source and destination using the information provided in this
window (disk number, capacity, label, partition and file system information).
14.3.3 Selecting destination disk
After you select the source disk, select the destination where the disk information will be
copied.
The previously selected source becomes grayed-out and disabled for selection.
If either disk is unpartitioned, the program will automatically recognize it as the
destination and bypass this step.
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14.3.4 Partitioned destination disk
At this point, the program checks to see if the destination disk is free. If not, you will be
prompted by the Nonempty Destination Hard Disk window stating that the
destination disk contains partitions, perhaps with data.
You will have to select between:
Delete partitions on the destination hard disk – all existing partitions will be deleted
during cloning and all their data will be lost.
No, I do not want to delete partitions – no existing partition will be deleted,
discontinuing the cloning operation. You will only be able to cancel this operation and
return to select another disk.
To continue, select the first choice and click Next.
Note that no real changes or data destruction will be performed at this time! For now, the
program will just map out cloning. All changes will be implemented only when you click
Proceed.
14.3.5 Old and new disk partition layout
If you selected the automatic mode before, the program will ask you for nothing further.
You will see the window graphically illustrating information (as rectangles) about the
source disk (partitions and unallocated space) and the destination disk layout.
Along with the disk number, some additional information is provided: disk capacity, label,
partition and file system information. Partition types — primary, logical — and unallocated
space are marked with different colors.
Next you will see the cloning summary.
14.3.6 Old disk data
If you selected the manual mode, the program will ask you what to do with the old disk:
Create a new partition layout – All existing partitions and their data will be deleted
(but they will also be cloned to the new disk, so you won’t lose them)
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Keep data – leave the old disk partitions and data intact
Destroy data – destroy all data on the old disk.
If you are going to sell or give away your old disk, we recommend that you make sure
you destroyed the data on it.
If you are going to keep it for data storage, you can create a new partition layout on it. In
this case, the disk will be ready right after cloning is complete.
To protect yourself from unforeseen consequences, it would be better to leave the old
disk data intact, as you will be able to delete it later.
14.3.7 Destroying the old disk data
If you elected to destroy the old disk data in the previous step, you will have to select the
destruction method now:
Quick – quick one-pass destruction
Normal – multipass destruction
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The second method takes more time, but makes it impossible to recover data afterwards,
even with special equipment.
The first method is less secure, but is still suitable for most cases.
14.3.8 Selecting partition transfer method
Acronis True Image for Microsoft Small Business Server will offer you the following data
transfer methods:
As is
Proportional – the new disk space will be proportionally distributed among cloned
partitions
Manual – you will specify the new size and other parameters yourself
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If you elect to transfer information "as is," a new partition will be created for every old
one with the same size and type, file system and label. The unused space will become
unallocated. Further, you will be able to use the unallocated space to create new
partitions or to enlarge the existing partitions with special tools, such as Acronis Disk
Director Suite.
As a rule, "as is" transfers are not recommended, as they leave much unallocated space
on the new disk. Using the "as is" method, Acronis True Image for Microsoft Small
Business Server transfers unsupported and damaged file systems.
If you transfer data proportionally, each partition will be enlarged, according to the
proportion of the old and new disk capacities.
FAT16 partitions are enlarged less than others, as they have a 4GB size limit.
Depending on the selected combination, you will proceed to either the old disk
partitioning window, or the disk partition layout window (see below).
14.3.9 Partitioning the old disk
If you selected Create a new partition layout earlier in the process, it is now time to
repartition your old disk.
During this step, you will see the current disk partition layout. Initially, the disk has
unallocated space only. This will change when you create new partitions.
Having completed the required steps, you will add a new partition. To create another one,
simply repeat those steps.
If you make a mistake, click Back to redo.
After you create the necessary partitions, uncheck the Create new partition in
unallocated space box and click Next.
14.3.10 Old and new disk partition layouts
In the next window, you will see rectangles indicating the source hard disk, including its
partitions and unallocated space, as well as the new disk layout.
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Along with the hard disk number, you will also see disk capacity, label, partition and file
system information. Different partition types, including primary, logical and unallocated
space are marked with different colors.
If you selected manual partition creation earlier, the partition layout will look different.
This partitioning method is described below.
14.3.11 Cloning summary
In the next window, you will see a list of briefly described operations to be performed on
the disks.
Cloning a disk containing the currently active operating system will require a reboot. In
that case, after clicking Proceed you will be asked to confirm the reboot. Canceling the
reboot will cancel the entire procedure.
Cloning a non-system disk or a disk containing an operating system, but one that is not
currently active, will proceed without reboot. After you click Proceed, Acronis True Image
for Microsoft Small Business Server will start cloning the old disk to the new disk,
indicating the progress in a special window. You can stop this procedure by clicking
Cancel. In that case, you will have to repartition and format the new disk or repeat the
cloning procedure. After the operation is complete, you will see the results message.
14.4 Cloning with manual partitioning
14.4.1 Old and new disk partition layouts
The manual transfer method enables you to resize partitions on the new disk. By default,
the program resizes them proportionally.
In the next window, you will see rectangles indicating the source hard disk, including its
partitions and unallocated space, as well as the new disk layout.
Along with the hard disk number, you will see disk capacity, label, partition and file
system information. Different partition types, including primary, logical and unallocated
space are marked with different colors.
140 Copyright © Acronis, Inc., 2000-2009
To resize either partition, check the Proceed relayout box. If you are satisfied with the
partition layout shown, uncheck this box (if checked). Clicking Next, you will proceed to
the cloning summary window.
Be careful! Clicking Back in this window will reset all size and location changes that
you've selected, so you will have to specify them again.
First, select a partition to resize. It will be underlined in red.
Resize and relocate it on the next step.
You can do this by entering values to the Unallocated space before, Partition size, or
Unallocated space after fields, by dragging the partition borders or by dragging the
partition itself.
If the cursor turns to two vertical lines with left and right arrows, it is pointed at the
partition border and you can drag it to enlarge or reduce the partition’s size. If the cursor
turns to four arrows, it is pointed at the partition, so you can move it to the left or right (if
there's unallocated space near it).
Having provided the new location and size, click Next. You will be taken two steps back
to the partition layout. You might have to perform some more resizing and relocation
before you get the layout you need.
Copyright © Acronis, Inc., 2000-2009 141
Chapter 15. Adding a new hard disk
If you don't have enough space for your data, you can either replace the old disk with a
new, higher-capacity one (data transfers to new disks are described in the previous
chapter), or add a new disk to store data, leaving the system on the old disk. If the server
has space for another disk, it would be easier to add a data disk drive than to clone a
system one.
This feature is available in Acronis True Image for Microsoft Small Business Server local
version only. Adding disks using Acronis True Image Management Console is not
supported.
To add a new disk, you must first install it in your server.
15.1 Selecting a hard disk
Select the disk that you've added to the server.
This window might be bypassed if the program detects the new disk itself. In this case,
you will immediately proceed to the new partition creation.
If there are any partitions on the new disk, they must be deleted first.
Select Delete partitions on the destination hard disk and click Next to continue.
15.2 Creating new partitions
Next you will see the current partition layout. Initially, all disk space will be unallocated.
This will change after you add new partitions.
To create a partition, select Create new partition in unallocated space and click
Next to perform steps required by the partition creation wizard.
You will be prompted to set the new partition location and size. You can do this by
entering values to the Unallocated space before, Partition size, or Unallocated
space after fields, by dragging the partition borders or by dragging the partition itself.
142 Copyright © Acronis, Inc., 2000-2009
If the cursor turns to two vertical lines with left and right arrows, it is pointed at the
partition border and you can drag it to enlarge or reduce the partition size. If the cursor
turns to four arrows, it is pointed at the partition, so you can move it to the left or right (if
there is unallocated space near it). Having provided the new partition location and size,
you can input a label for the new partition.
If you make a mistake at partitioning, click Back to redo the process.
Finally, you will be taken back to the partition layout screen. Check the resulting partitions
layout and start creating another partition or move on by unchecking Create new
partition in unallocated space and clicking Next.
15.3 Disk add summary
The disk add summary contains a list of operations to be performed on disks.
After you click Proceed, Acronis True Image for Microsoft Small Business Server will start
creating and formatting new partitions, indicating the progress in a special window. You
can stop this procedure by clicking Cancel. In that case, you will have to repartition and
format the new disk or repeat the disk add procedure.
Copyright © Acronis, Inc., 2000-2009 143
Chapter 16. Command-line mode and
scripting
Acronis True Image for Microsoft Small Business Server (local version) supports the
command-line mode and enables backup automation by executing XML scripts.
The command-line mode functionality is somewhat limited as compared to the GUI mode.
You will not be able to perform operations that require the reboot of the system, such as
restore a system partition or clone a system drive. These operations only can be done
through the GUI.
Scripting is intended only for backup.
16.1 Working in the command-line mode
An administrator might need a console interface in some situations. Acronis True Image
for Microsoft Small Business Server supports this mode with TrueImageCmd.exe utility
as well as ICompGS.exe, Ebasrvdb.exe, Tdbrepair.exe, and Adv_report.exe tools.
TrueImageCmd.exe is located in the folder where Acronis True Image for Microsoft
Small Business Server has been installed, by default it is
C:\Program Files\Acronis\TrueImageEchoEnterpriseServer.
ICompGS.exe is located in the folder where the Group Server is installed, by default it is
C:\Program Files\Acronis\GroupServer
Ebasrvdb.exe and Tdbrepair.exe are located in the folder where the Backup Server is
installed, by default it is
C:\Program Files\Acronis\BackupServer
Adv_report.exe is located in
C:\Program Files\Common files\Acronis\AdvReport
16.1.1 TrueImageCmd.exe supported commands
TrueImageCmd has the following format:
trueimagecmd /command /option1 /option2…
Commands may be accompanied with options. Some options are common for most
trueimagecmd commands, while other are specific for individual commands. Below is a list
of supported commands and compatible options.
Command Common Options Specific Options
create
Creates an image of
specified disks and
partitions
/filename:[file name]
/password:[password] /asz
/net_user:[username]
/net_password:[password]
/ftp_user /ftp_password
/incremental /differential
/compression:[0…9]
/split:[size in MB]
/oss_numbers /reboot
/log:[file name]
/log_net_user:[remote user]
/log_net_password:[password]
/harddisk:[disk number]
/partition:[partition number]
/file_partition:[partition letter]
/raw /progress:[on|off]
144 Copyright © Acronis, Inc., 2000-2009
filebackup
Backs up specified
files and folders
/filename:[file name]
/password:[password] /asz
/net_user:[username]
/net_password:[password]
/ftp_user /ftp_password
/incremental /differential
/compression:[0…9]
/split:[size in MB] /reboot
/log:[file name]
/log_net_user:[remote user]
/log_net_password:[password]
/include:[names]
/exclude_names:[names]
/exclude_masks:[masks]
/exclude_system /exclude_hidden
deploy
Restores disks and
partitions, except for
the MBR, from an
image
/filename:[file name]
/password:[password] /asz
/index:N
/net_user:[username]
/net_password:[password]
/ftp_user /ftp_password
/oss_numbers /reboot
/log:[file name]
/log_net_user:[remote user]
/log_net_password:[password]
/harddisk:[disk number]
/partition:[partition number]
/target_harddisk:[disk number]
/target_partition:[partition
number] /file_partition:[partition
letter]
/start:[start sector]
/fat16_32 /size:[partition size in
sectors]
/type:[active|primary|logical]
/preserve_mbr
When using the Acronis Universal Restore
option:
/ur_path:[path]
/ur_username:[user]
/ur_password:[pwd]
/ur_driver:[inf-filename]
deploy_mbr
Restores the MBR
from a disk or
partition image
/filename:[file name]
/password:[password] /asz
/index:N
/net_user:[username]
/net_password:[password]
/ftp_user /ftp_password
/oss_numbers /reboot
/log:[file name]
/log_net_user:[remote user]
/log_net_password:[password]
/harddisk:[disk number]
/target_harddisk:[disk number]
filerestore
Restores files and
folders from a file
archive
/filename:[file name]
/password:[password] /asz
/index:N
/net_user:[username]
/net_password:[password]
/ftp_user /ftp_password
/reboot /log:[file name]
/log_net_user:[remote user]
/log_net_password:[password]
/target_folder:[target folder]
/overwrite:[older|never|always]
/restore_security:[on|off]
/original_date:[on|off]
verify
Verifies the archive
data integrity
/filename:[file name]
/password:[password] /asz
/net_user:[username]
/net_password:[password]
/ftp_user /ftp_password
/reboot /log:[file name]
/log_net_user:[remote user]
/log_net_password:[password]
pit_info
Displays the
numbered list of
backups, contained
in the specified
archive
/filename:[file name]
/password:[password] /asz
/net_user:[username]
/net_password:[password]
/ftp_user /ftp_password
Copyright © Acronis, Inc., 2000-2009 145
consolidate
Creates a consistent
copy of the archive
which will contain
only the specified
backups
/filename:[file name]
/password:[password]
/ftp_user /ftp_password
/reboot /log:[file name]
/log_net_user:[remote user]
/log_net_password:[password]
/target_filename:[file name]
/include_pits:[pits numbers]
/net_src_user:[username]
/net_src_password:[password]
/net_user:[username]
/net_password:[password]
convert
Converts an image
to virtual disk format
for using with a
virtual machine
/filename:[file name]
/password:[password] /asz
/index:N
/net_user:[username]
/net_password:[password]
/ftp_user /ftp_password
/log:[file name]
/log_net_user:[remote user]
/log_net_password:[password]
/target_filename:[file name]
/harddisk:[disk number]
/vm_type:[vmware|esx|microsoft|par
allels]
/ur /ur_path:[path]
list
Lists available drives
and partitions. With
the
filename
option; lists the
image contents
/password:[password]
/index:N /asz
/net_user:[username]
/net_password:[password]
/ftp_user /ftp_password
/filename:[file name]
explore
Connects an image
as a virtual drive
/filename:[file name]*
/password:[password] /asz
/index:N
/net_user:[username]
/net_password:[password]
/log:[file name]
/log_net_user:[remote user]
/log_net_password:[password]
*for a split image, the name of
the last created file
/partition:[partition number]
/letter:X
unplug
Disconnects the
image connected as
a virtual drive
/letter:X /letter:all
asz_create
Creates the Acronis
Secure Zone on the
selected drive
/password:[password]
/oss_numbers /reboot
/log:[file name]
/log_net_user:[remote user]
/log_net_password:[password]
/harddisk:X
/partition:[partition number]
/size:[ASZ size in
sectors]|unallocated /asz_activate
asz_activate
Activates the Acronis
Startup Recovery
Manager
/password:[password]
asz_content
Displays the Acronis
Secure Zone size,
free space and
contents
/password:[password]
asz_files
Displays the Acronis
/password:[password]
146 Copyright © Acronis, Inc., 2000-2009
Secure Zone size,
free space and
contents using the
generated file names
asz_delete_fi
les
Deletes the most
recent backup in the
archive located in
the Acronis Secure
Zone
/filename:[file name]
/password:[password]
/log:[file name]
/log_net_user:[remote user]
/log_net_password:[password]
asz_delete
Deletes the Acronis
Secure Zone
/password:[password]
/oss_numbers /reboot
/log:[file name]
/log_net_user:[remote user]
/log_net_password:[password]
/partition:[partition number]
clone
Clones a hard disk
/reboot /harddisk:[disk number]
/target_harddisk:[disk number]
help
Shows usage
16.1.2 Common options (options common for most trueimagecmd
commands)
Option Description Archive location
Access to archives
/filename:[file name]
Backup file name Other than ASZ
Archive name (when restoring or deleting
files from ASZ). Can be obtained with
asz_files)
ASZ
/password:[password]
Specify the password for the archive (if
required)
Other than ASZ
Specify the password for the ASZ (if
required)
ASZ
/asz:[number of archive]
Addresses to the ASZ and selects the
archive (a full backup with or without
increments). To get the archive number,
use
/asz_content
ASZ
/index:N
N = Number of the backup in an
archive:
1 = basic full backup
2 = 1st increment… and so on
0 (default) = latest increment
Selects a backup in a sequence of
incremental backups inside the archive. To
get a backup index from the ASZ, use
/asz_content
Any
/net_user:[username]
Specify a user name for network drive
access
Network drive
/net_password:[password]
Specify a password for network drive Network drive
Copyright © Acronis, Inc., 2000-2009 147
access
/ftp_user:[username]
Specify a user name for access to an FTP
server
FTP server
/ftp_password:[password]
Specify a password for access to an FTP
server
FTP server
Backup options
/incremental
Set the backup type to incremental. If not
specified or there is no basic full backup, a
full backup will be created
Any
/differential
Set the backup type to differential. If not
specified or there is no basic full backup, a
full backup will be created
Any
/compression:[0…9]
Specify the data compression level. It
ranges from 0 to 9 and is set to 3 by
default
Any
/split:[size in MB]
Split the backup into parts of the specified
size
Other than ASZ
General options
/oss_numbers
Declares that numbers of partitions in the
/partition option are adjusted for the
MBR partition table rather than just as
ascending numbers. This means that
primary partitions have numbers 1-1, 1-2,
1-3, 1-4; logical partitions numbers start
with 1-5. For example, if the disk has one
primary and two logical partitions, their
numbers can appear as follows:
/partition:1-1,1-2,1-3 or
/oss_numbers /partition:1-1,1-5,1-6
Any
/reboot
Reboot the server after the operation is
completed
Any
/log:[file name]
Create a log file of the current operation
with the specified file name
Any
/log_net_user:[remote user]
If the log file is created on a network
share, include the user name for logon to
the share
Any
/log_net_password:[password]
If the log file is created on a network
share, include the password for logon to
the share
Any
16.1.3 Specific options (options specific for individual trueimagecmd
commands)
Option Description
create
/harddisk:[disk number]
Specifies the hard disks to include into the image file. The list of
available hard disks is provided by the
/list command. An image
148 Copyright © Acronis, Inc., 2000-2009
may contain data of more than one hard disk. In that case,
separate disk numbers by commas, e.g.:
/harddisk:1,3
By specifying
/harddisk:DYN
you will back up all dynamic volumes present in the system.
/partition:[partition
number]
Specifies the partitions to include into the image file. The list of
available partitions is provided by
/list. Partition numbers are
specified as <disk number>-<partition number>, e.g.:
/partition:1-1,1-2,3-1
Dynamic volumes are specified with prefix DYN, e.g.:
/partition:DYN1,DYN2
/file_partition:[partition
letter]
Specifies the partition where the image file will be stored (by letter
or number). This option is used with
/filename:[file_name]. In
that case the file name must be specified without drive letter or root
folder. For example:
/file_partition:D /filename:”\1.tib”
Dynamic volumes are specified with prefix DYN, e.g.:
/file_partition:DYN1 /filename:”\1.tib”
/raw
Use this option to create an image of a disk (partition) with an
unrecognized or unsupported file system. This will copy all
disk/partition contents sector-by-sector. Without this option only the
sectors containing useful system and user data are imaged (for the
supported file systems).
/progress:[on | off]
Shows/hides the progress information (percent completed). It is
shown by default.
filebackup
/include:[names]
Files and folders to be included in the backup (comma separated).
For example:
/include:E:\Workarea\MyProject
/exclude_names:[names]
Files and folders to be excluded from the backup (comma
separated). For example:
/exclude_names:E:\Workarea\MyProject\111.doc,E:\W
orkarea\MyProject\Old
/exclude_masks:[masks]
Applies masks to select files to be excluded from the backup. Use
the common Windows masking rules. For example, to exclude all
files with extension .exe, add *.exe. My???.exe will exclude all
.exe files with names consisting of five symbols and starting with
“my”.
/exclude_masks:*.txt,111.*
/exclude_system
Excludes all system files from the backup.
/exclude_hidden
Excludes all hidden files from the backup.
deploy
/file_partition:[partition
letter]
Specifies the partition where the image file is stored (by letter or
number). This option is used with
/filename:file_name. In this
case the file name must be specified without drive letter or root
Copyright © Acronis, Inc., 2000-2009 149
folder. For example:
/file_partition:D /filename:"\1.tib”
Dynamic volumes are specified with prefix DYN, e.g.:
/file_partition:DYN1 /filename:”\1.tib”
/harddisk:[disk number]
Specifies the basic hard disks to restore.
/partition:[partition
number]
Specifies the partitions to restore.
Dynamic volumes are specified with prefix DYN, e.g.:
/partition:DYN1
/target_harddisk:[disk
number]
Specifies the hard disk number where the image will be restored.
By specifying
/target_harddisk:DYN
you will select unallocated space on all dynamic disks that present
in the system.
/target_partition:[partiti
on number]
Specifies the target partition number for restoring a partition over
the existing one. If the option is not specified, the program assumes
that the target partition number is the same as the partition number
specified with the
/partition option.
Dynamic volumes are specified with prefix DYN, e.g.:
/target_partition:DYN1
/start:[start sector]
Sets the start sector for restoring a partition to the hard disk
unallocated space.
/size:[partition size in
sectors]
Sets the new partition size (in sectors).
/fat16_32
Enables the file system conversion from FAT16 to FAT32 if the
partition size after recovery is likely to exceed 2GB. Without this
option, the recovered partition will inherit the file system from the
image.
/type:[active | primary |
logical]
Sets the restored partition active, primary or logical, if possible (for
example, there cannot be more than four primary partitions on the
disk.) Setting a partition active always sets it primary, while a
partition set primary may stay inactive.
If the type is not specified, the program tries to keep the target
partition type. If the target partition is active, the restored partition
is set active. If the target partition is primary, and there are other
primary partitions on the disk, one of them will be set active, while
the restored partition becomes primary. If no other primary
partitions remain on the disk, the restored partition is set active.
When restoring a partition on unallocated space, the program
extracts the partition type from the image. For the primary
partition, the type will be set as follows:
- if the target disk is the 1st according to BIOS and it has not other
primary partitions, the restored partition will be set active
- if the target disk is the 1st according to BIOS and there are other
primary partitions on it, the restored partition will be set logical
- if the target disk is not the 1st, the restored partition will be set
logical.
/preserve_mbr
When restoring a partition over an existing one, the target partition
is deleted from the disk along with its entry in the target disk MBR.
150 Copyright © Acronis, Inc., 2000-2009
Then, with the /preserve_mbr option, the restored partition’s entry
will occupy the upper empty position in the target disk MBR. Thus,
the target disk MBR is preserved. If not specified, the restored
partition’s entry will occupy the same position as in the source disk
MBR saved in the image. If the position is not empty, the existing
entry will be moved to another position.
The following options are available when using the Acronis Universal Restore add-on to Acronis True
Image for Microsoft Small Business Server. For more information see
3.7 Acronis Universal Restore
.
/ur_path:[path]
/ur_username:[user]
/ur_password:[pwd]
Specifies using Acronis Universal Restore and the path to the drivers
storage.
/ur_driver:[inf-filename]
Specifies using Acronis Universal Restore and the mass-storage
driver to be installed.
filerestore
/target_folder:[target
folder]
Specifies a folder where folders/files will be restored (a target
folder). If not specified, the original path is re-created from the
archive.
/overwrite:[older | never
| always]
This option allows you to keep useful data changes made since the
backup being restored was done. Choose what to do if the program
finds in the target folder a file with the same name as in the
archive:
older – this will give the priority to the most recent file
modification, whether it be in the archive or on the disk.
never – this will give the file on the hard disk unconditional
priority over the archived file.
always – this will give the archived file unconditional priority
over the file on the hard disk.
If not specified, the files on the disk will
always be replaced
with the archived files.
/restore_security:[on |
off]
Specifies whether to restore files’ security attributes (default) or the
files will inherit the security settings of the folder where they will be
restored.
/original_date:[on | off]
Specifies whether to restore files’ original date and time from the
archive or assign the current date and time to the restored files. If
not specified, the current date is assigned.
consolidate
/target_filename:[file
name]
Specifies the path to and name of the archive copy to be created. If
there are two or more backups (pits) in the copy, numbers will be
added to their names.
/include_pits:[pits
numbers]
Specifies the backups (pits) to be included in the archive copy. To
get the numbers of pits, use
/pit_info. Separate multiple values
with semicolon, for example:
/include_pits:2,4,5
/net_src_user:[username]
Specifies the username for logon to network share to access the
source archive
/net_src_user:[password]
Specifies the password for logon to network share to access the
source archive
Copyright © Acronis, Inc., 2000-2009 151
/net_user:[username]
Specifies the username for logon to network share to save the
resulting archive
/net_user:[password]
Specifies the password for logon to network share to save the
resulting archive
convert
/target_filename:[file
name]
Specifies the path to and name of the virtual disk file to be created.
The file extension corresponds to the type of the virtual machine to
which the virtual disk will be added:
VMware virtual machine - .vmdk
MS virtual machine and Citrix XenServer - .vhd
Parallels virtual machine - .hdd.
/harddisk:[disk number]
Specifies the hard disks to convert by numbers. For each disk, a
separate virtual disk will be created.
By specifying
/harddisk:DYN
you will convert all dynamic volumes that present in the system.
/vm_type:[vmware|esx|Micro
soft|parallels]
The type of the virtual machine to which the virtual disk will be
added.
/ur
Use when converting image of a disk, containing Windows, and the
resulting virtual disk is supposed to be bootable. With this key, the
program will add drivers, necessary for the virtual machine type
selected with
/vm_type key, to the resulting virtual disk. If the
image was taken from a virtual machine of the same type, normally
the key is not needed.
Drivers for the virtual machine reside in the storage, defined by the
registry key
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Acronis\UniversalRestore\Drive
rsPackPath. In case the storage has been moved, please change the
key or use the command
/ur_path:[path].
/ur_path:[path]
The same as /ur with custom path to the virtual machine drivers
storage.
list
/filename:[file_name]
With this option, the image contents is displayed.
When listing image contents, partition numbers may not coincide
with those in the drives/partitions list, if the image does not contain
all the disk partitions. For example, if the image contains partitions
2-3 and 2-5, they will be listed as 2-1 and 2-2.
If the
deploy /partition command cannot find a partition in the
image by its physical number, use
/partition:<number in the
image> /target_partition:<physical number of the target
partition>
keys. For the above example, to restore partition 2-5
to its original place use:
/partition:2-2 /target partition:2-5.
explore
/partition:[partition
number]
Specifies a list of partitions to be mounted as virtual drives. Without
this option, all partitions stored in the image will be mounted.
To obtain the partition number for this option, list the image
152 Copyright © Acronis, Inc., 2000-2009
contents with the /list/filename command an use the number
from the Idx column.
/letter
Assigns letters to the mounted drives. This option is used with
/partition option only.
unplug
/letter:X
Specifies the virtual drive to be disconnected by letter.
/letter:all
Disconnects all virtual drives.
asz_create
/password:[password]
Sets a password for the Acronis Secure Zone.
/harddisk:X
Specifies the hard disk number where the Acronis Secure Zone will
be created.
/partition:[partition
number]
Specifies partitions from which free space will be taken for Acronis
Secure Zone.
/size:[ASZ size in sectors
| unallocated]
Sets the Acronis Secure Zone size (in sectors).
If not specified, the size is set as an average between the maximal
(unallocated space plus free space on all partitions selected with the
/partition option) and minimal (about 35MB) values.
Either way, the program will first use the unallocated space. If there
is not enough unallocated space, the selected partitions will be
decreased. Resizing of locked partitions requires a reboot.
With “unallocated”, the zone will use all unallocated space on the
disk. Partitions will be moved, if necessary, but not resized. Moving
of locked partitions requires a reboot. The
/partition option is
ignored.
/asz_activate
Activates the Acronis Startup Recovery Manager. The option will not
take effect if the system partition is resized during Acronis Secure
Zone creation. In that case, use the separate
/asz_activate
command.
asz_activate
/password:[password]
Specifies a password for the Acronis Secure Zone.
asz_delete
/partition:[partition
number]
Specifies partitions to which free space will be added after the
Acronis Secure Zone is deleted. If you specify several partitions, the
space will be distributed proportionally to each partition’s size.
clone
/harddisk:[disk number]
Specifies a source hard disk which will be cloned to the new hard
disk.
/target_harddisk:[disk
number]
Specifies the target hard disk number where the source hard disk
will be cloned.
16.1.4 trueimagecmd.exe usage examples
1. Image disks and partitions
Copyright © Acronis, Inc., 2000-2009 153
trueimagecmd /create /filename:"C:\Test\1.tib" /partition:2-
1,1-3
This will create an image named 1.tib of the partitions 2-1 and 1-3. The image will be
saved to the C:\Test\ folder.
trueimagecmd /create /asz /partition:2-1,1-3
This will create an image of the partitions 2-1 and 1-3 in the Acronis Secure Zone.
trueimagecmd /create /filename:"\Test\1.tib" /partition:2-
1,1-3 /file_partition:3-1
This will create an image named 1.tib of the partitions 2-1 and 1-3. The image will be
saved in the folder \Test on partition 3-1.
trueimagecmd /create /filename:"C:\Test\1.tib"
/password:qwerty /harddisk:2 /reboot /raw /incremental
/compression:5 /split:640 /progress:off
This will append an incremental image to the image named 1.tib of hard disk 2. The
image will be saved to C:\Test\ folder, protected with password “qwerty”, split into
parts of 640MB, and contain all cluster data. Image compression level is 5. The server
will be rebooted after the operation is completed.
trueimagecmd /create /partition:2-1
/filename:\\server1\folder\arc.tib /net_user:user1
/net_password:pw1 /log:\\server2\dir\log1.log
/log_net_user:user2 /log_net_password:pw2
This will create an image of partition 2-1 named arc.tib in the shared folder
\\server1\folder. The operation log file log1.log will be saved on another share
\\server2\dir\. Credentials for both shares are provided.
trueimagecmd /create /partition:2-1
/filename:ftp://server/folder/archive.tib /ftp_user:usr1
/ftp_password:pswd1
This will create an image of partition 2-1 in the archive.tib file located on the FTP server.
2. Restore disks and partitions
trueimagecmd /deploy /filename:"C:\Test\1.tib" /partition:2-1
This will restore partition 2-1 from image 1.tib.
trueimagecmd /deploy /filename:"C:\Test\1.tib"
/password:qwerty /harddisk:2
This will restore hard disk 2 from image 1.tib, protected with password ‘qwerty’.
trueimagecmd /deploy /filename:"C:\Test\1.tib" /partition:2-1
/target_partition:1-1
This will restore partition 2-1, stored in image 1.tib, to partition 1-1.
trueimagecmd /deploy /filename:"C:\Test\1.tib" /partition:2-1
/target_harddisk:3 /start:63 /size:64000 /type:logical
This will restore partition 2-1, stored in image 1.tib, to hard disk 3. A new logical partition
will be created on disk 3 from 63 to 64000 sector.
154 Copyright © Acronis, Inc., 2000-2009
trueimagecmd /deploy /filename:z:\Server30Cdrive.tib
/partition:1-1 /target_partition:2-1 /type:active
/password:123qwe
This will restore partition 1-1, stored in image Server30Cdrive.tib, protected with
password ‘123qwe’, to partition 2-1. The restored partition will be of active type.
trueimagecmd /deploy_mbr /harddisk:1 /asz:2 /index:3
/password:pswd
This will restore MBR from the image of hard disk 1 to the same hard disk 1. The image is
contained in the backup 3rd created in the archive number 2, located in Acronis
Secure Zone that is protected with the ‘pswd’ password.
trueimagecmd /deploy_mbr /harddisk:1 /target_harddisk:2
/filename:ftp://server/folder/arc.tib /ftp_user:fuser
/ftp_password:fpswd
This will restore MBR from the image of hard disk 1 to the hard disk 2. The image is
contained in the arc.tib file located on the FTP server.
3. Back up files
trueimagecmd /filebackup /filename:E:\Backups\Myproject.tib
/include:D:\Workarea\MyProject /exclude_names:
D:\Workarea\MyProject\Old /exclude_hidden
This will back up files from the MyProject folder residing in D:\Workarea, except for files
in the Old subfolder and hidden files, to the file Myproject.tib and save this file in
E:\Backups folder.
4. Restore files
trueimagecmd /filerestore /filename:E:\Backups\Myproject.tib
/original_date
This will restore all files from E:\Backups\Myproject.tib to the original folder and assign
the files the original date and time. Since the
/overwrite option is not specified,
the latest files modifications will be replaced with the original ones.
5. Consolidate backups
trueimagecmd /pit_info /filename:\\smbsrv\Archives\Kons.tib
This will display the numbered list of backups, contained in the archive Kons.tib residing
on the network share \\smbsrv\Archives\.
trueimagecmd /consolidate
/filename:\\smbsrv\Archives\Kons.tib
/target_filename:D:\Kons_new.tib /include pits:2,4,5
Copyright © Acronis, Inc., 2000-2009 155
This will create on the disk D: an archive consisting of three files Kons_new.tib, (pit 2 of
the archive \\smbsrv\Archives\Kons.tib, former \\smbsrv\Archives\Kons2.tib)
Kons_new2.tib (pit 4, former \\smbsrv\Archives\Kons4.tib) and Kons_new3.tib (pit 5,
former \\smbsrv\Archives\Kons5.tib).
6. Convert an image to virtual disk
trueimagecmd /convert /filename:C:\MyBackup.tib
/target_filename:C:\MyHDD.vmdk /vm_type:vmware /harddisk:1,3
This will convert images of disks 1 and 3, contained in the file C:\MyBackup.tib, to the
virtual disks C:\MyHDD.vmdk and C:\MyHDD2.vmdk for using with VMware type
virtual machines.
7. List
trueimagecmd /list
This will list available partitions.
trueimagecmd /list /asz
This will list contents of the latest image located in Acronis Secure Zone.
8. Acronis Secure Zone: managing backups by archive numbers
trueimagecmd /asz_content
This will list the Acronis Secure Zone size, free space and contents.
In our example, the Acronis Secure Zone contains two archives. The older archive #1
consists of one full (base) file-level backup created on 4/2/2007 at 3:52. The second
archive contains a base file-level backup with two increments. You can restore data from
any backup as follows:
trueimagecmd /filerestore /asz:2 /index:2 /target_folder:e:
This will restore files and folders from the backup created on 4/4/2007 at 6:31 PM with
their original paths to the root of partition E.
trueimage /list /filename:asz://2 /index:3 /password:aszpw
which is equal to:
trueimagecmd /list /asz:2 /index:3 /password:aszpw
This will list content of the backup 3
rd
created in the archive number 2, located in Acronis
Secure Zone that is protected with the ‘aszpw’ password.
9. Acronis Secure Zone: managing backups by file names
trueimagecmd /asz_files /password:aszpw
This will list the Acronis Secure Zone size, free space and contents using generated
filenames.
156 Copyright © Acronis, Inc., 2000-2009
In our example, the Acronis Secure Zone contains three archives.
The archive AAA2 (2 stands for number of backups in the archive) consists of:
- full (base) image backup created on 2/16/2007 at 3:43
- incremental backup created on 4/25/2007 at 11:44.
The archive FAAA (F means that this is a file-level archive) contains one base file-level
backup.
The archive FAAB2 (B means that this is the second file-level archive in the zone) consists
of:
- full (base) file-level backup created on 8/14/2007 at 2:17
- incremental backup created on 8/14/2007 at 2:19.
trueimagecmd /filerestore /filename:asz//FAAA
/target_folder:e: /password:aszpw
This will restore files and folders with their original paths from the sole base backup FAAA
to the root of partition E.
10. Acronis Secure Zone: deleting backups
trueimagecmd /asz_delete_files /password:aszpw
/filename:FAAB.tib
This will delete the most recent backup in the FAAB archive.
In our example (7), the incremental backup created on 8/14/2007 at 2:19 will be deleted.
The next execution of the same command will delete the base FAAB backup. By
continuing with the FAAA and AAA names, you can clear the Acronis Secure Zone except
for the last remaining base backup that cannot be deleted.
11. Clone
trueimagecmd /clone /harddisk:2 /target_harddisk:3
Clone hard disk 2 to hard disk 3.
12. Explore image
trueimagecmd /explore
/filename:\\myserver\backup\mybackup.tib /net_user:john
/net_password:qwerty
Copyright © Acronis, Inc., 2000-2009 157
This will connect all images, stored in file mybackup.tib on the network drive, as virtual
drives.
16.1.5 ICompGS.exe tool: adding machines to the group server out of a
*.txt file
Syntax:
ICompGS.exe /filename <path to the file>
The names of the machines in the file can be separated by commas, semicolons or
carriage returns as follows:
Name_of_machine1, Name_of_machine2, … , Name_of_machineN
or: Name_of_machine1; Name_of_machine2; … ; Name_of_machineN
or: Name_of_machine1
Name_of_machine2
…
Name_of_machineN
The ICompGS.exe command has to be executed at the same machine where the group
server is located, but the named *.txt file can be placed anywhere as long as the
ICompGS.exe has access to it.
16.1.6 Ebasrvdb.exe tool: generate an XML file with the backup
mapping details
Syntax:
EBaSrvDB.exe /filename:<path to the XML file>
The purpose of this tool is to provide a way to understand the mapping between a
specific backup done on a specific computer at a specific time and the name of the file
stored on the backup server. While this information can be useful in case of disaster
recovery, it should not be used to manipulate directly the file stored on the backup
server. Doing so may lead to inconsistencies in the backup server management and
result in turning the archives unusable through backup server or even directly.
The EBaSrvDB.exe tool has to be executed on the same machine where the Backup
Server resides. The generated XML file can be located anywhere as long as the
EBaSrvDB.exe tool has the write access to it.
If a file with the same name already exists at the target location, it will be overwritten
without any warnings.
16.1.7 Tdbrepair.exe tool: rescan tapes and add information to Acronis
tape database
Syntax:
tdbrepair.exe /
The purpose of the Tdbrepair.exe tool is to rescan tapes and add tape information into
Acronis tape database. It is necessary when Acronis True Image Echo cannot
recognize any Acronis Tape Plugin backups on tapes, though the archive is mounted
in the RSM Import Media pool. The reason for this is when you are trying to
restore\validate an archive spanned over two or more tapes made by earlier versions
158 Copyright © Acronis, Inc., 2000-2009
of Acronis True Image Echo (builds up to 8163) via Acronis Backup Server of the
latest version. This may also happen if Acronis tape database is corrupted or missing
(after Windows reinstallation, for example).
The tool establishes connection with RSM and mounts the tape. Then it rescans tapes one
by one and derives metadata from each tape. The metadata includes device ID,
archive type, creation time, program components that performed backup (Acronis
True Image agent, local version or the Backup Server), computer name, etc. After
that, the tool adds the received information to the Acronis database and sets up the
correspondence between tapes ID, the RSM GUID and Acronis tape database ID.
For more information about tape management see
3.8 Backing up to tape libraries and
tape drives.
16.1.8 Adv_report.exe: a report generation tool
Syntax:
adv_report.exe c:\<filename>.zip
The tool gathers system information and packs it into a zip archive. The collected
information will help Acronis Support to provide quick and efficient response.
Specify the file name and the path where the tool will save the generated report. If the
name and path are not specified, the AdvReport tool will save the report in C:\Program
Files\Common Files\Acronis\AdvReport\adv_report.zip
By default the tool is located in
C:\Program Files\Common Files\Acronis\AdvReport.
Adv_report.exe [arguments]
-help – outputs help information about Adv_report.exe commands.
16.1.9 Command-line mode usage under DOS
For use in the MS-DOS-compatible environments Acronis True Image for Microsoft Small
Business Server includes the TrueImageCmdDos.exe utility. It is located in a folder
where Acronis True Image for Microsoft Small Business Server has been installed, by
default it is C:\Program Files\Acronis\TrueImageEchoEnterpriseServer.
16.2 Scripting
16.2.1 Script execution parameters
Scripts are executed by the TrueImageTerminal.exe utility located in the Acronis True
Image for Microsoft Small Business Server installation folder (i.e. C:\Program
Files\Acronis\TrueImageEchoEnterpriseServer). This utility is also used to monitor backup
progress.
TrueImageTerminal execution parameters:
TrueImageTerminal.exe [arguments]
Arguments include the following:
/help – outputs help information about TrueImageTerminal.exe parameters.
/progress – outputs progress of backup operations run either from Acronis True Image
for Microsoft Small Business Server graphics user interface, or from the script.
Copyright © Acronis, Inc., 2000-2009 159
/execute: [script file name] – executes a script. If there are several scripts to be
executed, they are queued. An example for executing MyBackup.tis script:
TrueImageTerminal.exe /execute:C:\MyBackup.tis
/nowait – an optional script execution argument. Enables to terminate
TrueImageTerminal before backup is finished. Example:
TrueImageTerminal /execute:C:\MyBackup.tis /nowait
By pressing Ctrl+C you can force backup progress output off and switch
TrueImageTerminal to background operation.
You can terminate backup operation executed by TrueImageTerminal by pressing
Ctrl+B.
16.2.2 Script structure
Scripts are written in the XML language and you can use the following tags:
Source. Specifies the partitions or disks to be imaged. Letters assigned to partitions must
be used without a colon. Disk numbers correspond to their system numbers. To create
images of several partitions or disks, use the SOURCE tag for each of them, e.g.:
<source letter =”C” />
<source letter =”D” />
<source disk =”1” />
<source disk =”2” />
Target. Specifies the name and the location of an image file, e.g.:
<target file=“E:\Mybackup2.tib” username=”username”
password=”password” />
username
and
password
parameters are optional. They are used to access networked
resources.
As a target for the image files you can indicate CD-R/RW or tape drive.
Options. This tag can be used with a number of additional parameters:
Compression:
specifies the backup compression level. Can be
None, Low, Normal, High
.
Incremental:
specifies whether you need to create an incremental image file. If equal to
”false” (or “0”), a complete image file will be created. If there is already a file with the
name specified, it will be replaced without warnings. If equal to “true” (or “1”) and there
is already a file with the name specified, an incremental image will be created. Otherwise
the program will create a complete image file. The default value for this parameter is
“true”.
Description:
adds a description to an image file. The comment must be a single string
(though its length is not limited.)
Split:
splits a large image file into a number of smaller files of the specified size, which
can be provided in bytes, kilobytes, megabytes, etc.
Password:
adds password protection to an image file.
160 Copyright © Acronis, Inc., 2000-2009
16.2.3 Script usage examples
The following example illustrates the usage of a script to backup two partitions (logical
drives), C and F.
mybackup2.tib
is specified as an incremental image file. High
compression level is selected and the image is to be split into 650MB parts for recording
to CD-R/RW media. Password protection will also be added. The entire script must be
located between the
<backup>
and
</backup>
tags.
<? xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8" ?>
<backup>
<source letter ="c" />
<source letter ="f" />
<target file="e:\mybackup2.tib" />
<options compression="high" incremental="true"
description="this is my backup" split="650 Mb" password="" />
</backup>
The script for backing up to tape (tapeN specifies the tapes numbers):
<? xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8" ?>
<backup>
<source letter =”c” />
<source letter ="f" />
<target cdrw="\taperecorder\\\.\tape0|||” />
<target cdrw="\taperecorder\\\.\tape1|||” />
<options compression="high" incremental="true"
description="this is my backup" />
</backup>
… 7 …


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