User Guide

Backup options

Configuration parameters of a backup operation (p. 170), such as pre/post backup commands,

maximum network bandwidth allotted for the backup stream or data compression level. Backup

options are a part of a backup plan (p. 171).

Backup plan (Plan)

A set of rules that specify how the given data will be protected on a given machine. A backup plan

specifies:

• what data to back up

• where to store the backup archive (p. 170) (the backup archive name and location)

• the backup scheme (p. 172), that includes the backup schedule and [optionally] the retention

rules

• [optionally] the archive validation rules (p. 182)

• the backup options (p. 170).

For example, a backup plan can contain the following information:

• back up volume C: (this is the data the plan will protect)

• name the archive MySystemVolume and place it to \\server\backups\ (this is the backup archive

name and location)

• perform full backup monthly on the last day of the month at 10:00AM and incremental backup on

Sundays at 10:00PM. Delete backups that are older than 3 months (this is a backup scheme)

• validate the last backup immediately after its creation (this is a validation rule)

• protect the archive with a password (this is an option).

Physically, a backup plan is a bundle of tasks (p. 181) configured for execution on a managed machine

(p. 178).

A backup plan can be created directly on the machine (local plan) or appears on the machine as a

result of a backup policy (p. 171) deployment (centralized plan (p. 173)).

Backup policy (Policy)

A backup plan template created by the management server (p. 179) administrator and stored on the

management server. A backup policy contains the same rules as a backup plan, but might not

explicitly specify what data items to back up. Instead, selection rules (p. 180), such as environment

variables, can be used. Because of this flexible selection, a backup policy can be centrally applied to

multiple machines. If a data item is specified explicitly (e.g. /dev/sda or C:\Windows), the policy will

back up this item on each machine where this exact path is found.

By applying a policy to a group of machines, the administrator deploys multiple backup plans with a

single action.

The workflow when using policies is as follows.

1. The administrator creates a backup policy.

2. The administrator applies the policy to a group of machines or a single machine (p. 178).