Server for Linux

A standalone full backup may be an optimal solution if you often roll back the system to
the initial state (like in a gaming club or Internet café, 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 last 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.
The same is true for incremental backup. In addition, it is most useful when you need
frequent backups and possibility to roll back to any of stored states. Having created a full
backup once, 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 nothing but examples for your
information. Feel free to make up your own backup policy in accordance with your specific
tasks and conditions. Acronis True Image Echo 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. In the Acronis True Image Echo Server Wizards’ windows the zone is listed along
with all partitions available for storing archives.
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 Echo Server uses the following scheme to clean up 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.
• Otherwise, (only one full backup left, and an incremental/differential backup is in
progress) you will get a message about space error. In that case you will have to
either re-create the full backup or increase Acronis Secure Zone.
Thus, you can back up data automatically on a schedule (see
Chapter 7. Scheduling
tasks
), and not worry about the zone overflow issues. However, if you keep long chains of
incremental backups, it will be a good practice to periodically check the zone free space,
indicated on the second page of the Manage Acronis Secure Zone wizard.
For information on how to create, resize or delete Acronis Secure Zone using this wizard,
see
Chapter 8. Managing Acronis Secure Zone .