User Guide
Table Of Contents
- Chapter 1. Introduction
- 1.1 Acronis® True Image Server – a complete solution for corporate users
- 1.2 New in Acronis True Image 9.1 Server for Windows
- 1.3 System requirements and supported media
- 1.4 Technical support
- Chapter 2. Acronis True Image Server installation and starting
- Chapter 3. General information and proprietary Acronis technologies
- 3.1 The difference between file archives and disk/partition images
- 3.2 Full, incremental and differential backups
- 3.3 Acronis Secure Zone
- 3.4 Acronis Startup Recovery Manager
- 3.5 Acronis Snap Restore
- 3.6 Acronis Universal Restore
- 3.7 Using dynamic disks and volumes
- 3.8 Backing up to tape drive
- 3.9 Viewing disk and partition information
- Chapter 4. Using Acronis True Image Server
- Chapter 5. Creating backup archives
- Chapter 6. Restoring the backup data
- 6.1 Restore under Windows or boot from CD?
- 6.2 Restoring files and folders from file archives
- 6.3 Restoring disks/partitions or files from images
- 6.3.1 Starting the Restore Data Wizard
- 6.3.2 Archive selection
- 6.3.3 Restoration type selection
- 6.3.4 Selecting a disk/partition to restore
- 6.3.5 Selecting a target disk/partition
- 6.3.6 Changing the restored partition type
- 6.3.7 Changing the restored partition file system
- 6.3.8 Changing the restored partition size and location
- 6.3.9 Assigning a letter to the restored partition
- 6.3.10 Restoring several disks or partitions at once
- 6.3.11 Using Acronis Universal Restore
- 6.3.12 Setting restore options
- 6.3.13 Restoration summary and executing restoration
- 6.4 Setting restore options
- Chapter 7. Scheduling tasks
- Chapter 8. Managing Acronis Secure Zone
- Chapter 9. Creating bootable media
- Chapter 10. Other operations
- Chapter 11. Mounting an image as a virtual drive
- Chapter 12. Transferring the system to a new disk
- 12.1 General information
- 12.2 Security
- 12.3 Executing transfers
- 12.3.1 Selecting Clone mode
- 12.3.2 Selecting source disk
- 12.3.3 Selecting destination disk
- 12.3.4 Partitioned destination disk
- 12.3.5 Old and new disk partition layout
- 12.3.6 Old disk data
- 12.3.7 Destroying the old disk data
- 12.3.8 Selecting partition transfer method
- 12.3.9 Partitioning the old disk
- 12.3.10 Old and new disk partition layouts
- 12.3.11 Cloning summary
- 12.4 Cloning with manual partitioning
- Chapter 13. Adding a new hard disk
- Chapter 14. Command-line mode and scripting
Copyright © Acronis, Inc., 2000-2007 17
3.5.2 How it works
When the restoration procedure is started, Acronis True Image Server:
1. Finds the sectors in the image which contain system files, and restores these sectors first.
Thus, the OS is restored and can be started in a very short timeframe. 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. Writes on the hard disk its own drivers, which intercept system queries to the files. When
the user opens files or launches applications, the drivers receive the system queries and
restore the sectors that are necessary for the current operation.
3. At the same time, Acronis True Image Server proceeds with the complete sector-by-sector
image restoration in the background. However, the system 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.
3.5.3 How to use
To be able to use Acronis Snap Restore in case of system crash, prepare as follows:
1. Install Acronis True Image Server.
2. Create Acronis Secure Zone on the server hard disk (see
Chapter 8. Managing 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 Server (see
Chapter 9.
Creating bootable
media).
4. Back up (image) the computer’s system disk to Acronis Secure Zone (see
5.2 Backing up
disks and partitions (image backup)
). You can back up other disks/partitions as well, but the
system image is mandatory.
When performing Snap Restore, the current Acronis True Image 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 server from the bootable media, or RIS server, or using F11. Start
the recovery procedure (see
6.3 Restoring disks/partitions or files from images
), select the
system disk image from Acronis Secure Zone, choose Use Snap Restore and in the next
window click Proceed. In a few seconds the computer will reboot to the restored system.
Log in and start work – no more reboots or other actions are required.
You can perform Snap Restore running Acronis True Image Server in supported Windows
Server operating systems as well. However, it is mandatory to have bootable media in case
Windows cannot boot.
3.6 Acronis Universal Restore
3.6.1 Acronis Universal Restore purpose
A system disk image can be deployed easily on the hardware where it was created or the
identical hardware. However, if you change, for example, a motherboard or use another