Backing Up Data › Global Backup Options › Backup Manager Operation Options

Backup Manager Operation Options

The operation options for backup determine related actions that occur during or after the backup, and the level of information that is recorded in the database. Arcserve Backup provides the following options:

Append Backup of Arcserve Backup data at the end of job Options

The following options affect how the level of information that is recorded in the Arcserve Backup database for the Arcserve Backup underlying database.

• Arcserve Backup database--This option allows to explicitly select the Arcserve Backup database or instance from the Backup Manager, Source directory tree with all backup jobs.
• Catalog files--This option allows you to back up the related Arcserve Backup database catalog files when the backup job is complete.
• Job scripts--This options allows you to back up the related job scripts when the backup job is complete.
• SQL Server Disaster Recovery Elements for the Arcserve Backup Database--This option ensures that the elements required to recover a SQL Server database from a disaster are backed up after jobs are complete.

Operation Options

The following options affect only backup operations.

• Disable File Estimate--By default, file estimation is disabled. To enable file estimation, deselect this option so that before any file is backed up to media, Arcserve Backup performs an estimate of how long the job will take.

  Be aware of considerations that follow:

  • File estimation is no longer the default value.
  • If you are in a Novell server environment and you select Disable File Estimate from the Operations tab of the Global Options dialog, when you look at the View Job Queue/Statistics window from the back-end, there is no status bar at the bottom of the window.
• Calculate and Store CRC Value on Backup Media--Calculating and storing the CRC value on the backup media will enable Arcserve Backup to perform CRC verification during the backup job. To instruct Arcserve Backup to use the CRC value stored on media, see the Backup Options, Verification tab.
• Delete Source Files After Backup to Media (use with caution)--This argument deletes the files from the hard disk after the file backup is completed. Select this option if you want to delete source files from the source machine after they have been backed up to media. This option deletes only the files from the specified unprotected folder. It does not delete the empty folder itself.

  You can use this option to perform disk grooming. For example, if you set up a backup job with a filter to back up files that haven't been accessed for a certain period of time, you could then include this option to delete those files from the source disk.

  Be aware of the considerations that follow:

  • On Windows computers, protected system files and files that are excluded from the backup by other filters are not deleted. For a remote backup job or a 64-bit operating system local backup job or a Windows Server 2008 local backup, the Windows Client Agent backs up the files. After the backup, this option deletes only the files from the specified unprotected folder. It does not delete the empty folder itself. Boot files, however, are not protected and can be deleted.
  • On Linux/UNIX and Mac computers, all files that are backed up are deleted, except for those in protected directories, such as /bin, /etc, and /lib. To designate additional directories as protected, add them to the groom.cntl file on the client agent machine.

  Note: As a best practice, you should specify Verification options when using Delete Source Files After Backup to Media. With verification options, Arcserve Backup compares the source files to the backup data to ensure that backup data is identical to the source data. For more information, see Backup Manager Verification Options.

• Preserve File Access Time (Used for Windows file system only)--This option directs Arcserve Backup to preserve the last access time of files when a backup is performed.

  Note: The Access Time of a file is automatically updated by the operating system whenever a file is accessed (read or write). However, after a compare is performed, the Access Times of all the backed up files are also updated. Therefore, if you want to track whether or not a file has actually been accessed (and not just compared), you need to preserve the original access time.

  • If this option is not selected (no check in box), the last file access time of any files that are backed up is updated to the new value that is present when the backup is completed. This is the default setting.
  • If this option is selected (check in box), Arcserve Backup preserves the last file access time of any files that are backed as the original value that was present before the backup was performed.

  Note: For UNIX based agents, you must apply this option locally. For more information, see Local Backup Options for UNIX Agents.

• Reset Archive bit for backup to deduplication device--Select this option for custom backup jobs in which optimization is enabled to reset the archive bit on all files included in the job after the job completes. Optimization deduplicates only files that have changed since the last backup job, indicated by archive bits with a value of 1. Archive bits must be reset back to 0 so that subsequent backup jobs in which optimization is enabled can deduplicate only changed files. If you do not select this option with optimization-enabled jobs, files that have not changed since the previous backup could be included in subsequent jobs, resulting in significant performance reductions.
• Back up deduplication device data--Select this option if you want to forcibly include deduplication device files (index, reference and data files) in the backup job. These files are normally skipped in local backups. If you select this option, you should also enable the Use VSS option and disable the Revert to traditional backup if VSS fails option, both on the Volume Shadow Copy Service tab. If you forget to enable the Use VSS option and disable the Revert to traditional backup if VSS fails option, then the backup job automatically enables this option when the backup job runs.
• Eject Backup Media upon Completion--Select one of the following options:
  • Use Default Device Setting--Select this if you want to use the setting you selected during library configuration.
  • Eject Media--Select this if you want to eject media from the drive after the job finishes. This helps prevent any other job from overwriting information on this media. If you select this, it overrides the setting you selected during library configuration.
  • Do not Eject Media--Select this if you do not want to eject media from the drive after the job finishes. If you select this, it overrides the setting you selected during library configuration.

    Note: For more information on library configuration, see Tape Cleaning and Changing Configuration Details.

Retry Missed Targets Options

• Retry Missed Targets--Reschedule a backup for any workstations, file systems, databases, and so on, that failed during the backup job.

  You can specify one of the following reschedule options for a backup job:

  After Job Finishes

  Specifies the number of minutes that you want to elapse after the original job finished to start the makeup job.

  Default: 5 minutes

  Maximum: 1439 minutes

  At

  Specifies the time when the makeup is to run.

  • Max Times--Specifies the maximum number of times to repeat the makeup jobs.

    Default: 1 time

    Maximum: 12 times

    With respect to the Retry Missed Targets options, be aware of the following considerations:

    • By default, Retry Missed Targets is enabled, After Job Finishes is selected, and the value of Max Times is 1.
    • File system backups--If the backup job requiring a makeup job consists of file system backups, and the file system contains directories that reside in different volumes, the makeup job backs up only the failed volumes or directories. The makeup job does not back up the entire file system if it contained successful volume or directory backups.
    • Child jobs--The child makeup jobs (makeup of makeup jobs) run based on the value specified for After Job Finishes.
    • Microsoft SQL Server backups--If the backup job requiring a makeup job consists of Microsoft SQL Server instance backups, the makeup job backs up only the failed databases. The makeup job does not back up the entire instance if it contained successful database backups.
    • Microsoft Exchange Server backups--If the backup job requiring a makeup job consists of Microsoft Exchange Server, database level backups, the makeup job backs up only the failed storage groups or mailbox database. The makeup job does not back up the entire database if it contained successful storage group backups. If the backup job consists of (Microsoft Exchange Server) document level backups, the makeup job backs up only the failed mailbox stores and databases. The makeup job does not back up the all of the items selected if it contained successful mailbox store and database backups.
    • Agent-based backups--If the backup job requiring a makeup job consists of agent-based backups (for example, Sybase, Informix, Oracle, and so on), the makeup job attempts to back up all of the source that was specified (instances, databases, tables, and so on) for the backup. If the makeup job fails after one unsuccessful attempt, Arcserve Backup will create another makeup job that consists of all of the source selected for the original job, and submit the makeup job with a status of Hold.

More information:

Local Backup Options for UNIX and Linux Agents