18 Copyright © Acronis International GmbH, 2002-2013
3.2.1 Acronis Nonstop Backup data storage
Acronis Nonstop Backup data storage can be created on local hard disk drives (both internal and
external).
In many cases an external hard disk will be the best choice for Nonstop Backup data storage. You can
use an external disk with any of the following interfaces: USB (including USB 3.0), eSATA, FireWire,
and SCSI.
You can also use an NAS as the storage, but with one limitation - it must be accessible with the SMB
protocol. It does not matter whether an NAS share you want to use for the storage is mapped as a
local disk or not. If the share requires login, you will need to provide the correct user name and
password. For more information see Authentication settings (p. 19). True Image Lite 2013
remembers the credentials and the subsequent connections to the share do not require login.
When an external hard disk or NAS is unavailable, the Nonstop Backup destination can be an internal
disk, including a dynamic one. Please note that you cannot use a partition to be protected as a
Nonstop Backup storage.
Before creating Acronis Nonstop Backup data storage, True Image Lite 2013 checks whether the
selected destination has enough free space. It multiplies the volume of data to be protected by 1.2
and compares the calculated value with the available space. If the free space on the destination
satisfies this minimum storage size criterion, the destination can be used for storing Nonstop Backup
data.
When the Acronis Nonstop Backup data storage becomes full, you can clean up your current storage
or set another one. See details in What to do when Nonstop Backup storage is full (p. 19).
3.2.1.1 Deciding where to store your backups
True Image Lite 2013 supports quite a few of storage devices. For more information see Supported
storage media. Some of the supported storage locations are discussed below.
Hard disk drives
Since hard disk drives are now quite inexpensive, in most cases purchasing an external hard drive for
storing your backups will be an optimal solution. An external drive enhances the security of your data
because you can keep it off-site (for example, at home if you back up your office computer and vice
versa). You can choose various interfaces – USB, FireWire, eSATA depending on the configuration of
your computer ports and the required data transfer rate. In many cases the best choice will be an
external USB hard drive, especially if your computer supports USB 3.0.
If you plan to use an external USB hard drive with your desktop PC, connecting the drive to a rear
connector using a short cable will usually provide the most reliable operation. This reduces the
chance of data transfer errors during backup/recovery.
Home file server, NAS or NDAS
If you have a Gigabit Ethernet home network and a dedicated file server or NAS, you can store
backups on the file server or NAS practically like on an internal drive.
If you decide to use an external hard drive, NAS, NDAS, etc., you will need to check whether True
Image Lite 2013 detects the selected backup storage.
