Introducing the Enterprise Module › Image Option › Using the Option › Backup Job Definition

Backup Job Definition

You can use the Backup Manager to configure and set up your backup jobs. You can back up an image only on a computer where Arcserve Backup and the option are both installed.

You can back up a partition to a File System Device. The File System Device can be on the same partition, but the backup job may fail if the other drives do not have sufficient disk space. We recommend that you have the File System Device on a different drive.

During backup, the Snapshot feature is required to freeze the drive. The drive is then synchronized, which means that it waits for a period when nothing is being written to the drive. If this write-inactivity period cannot be found, the synchronization times out after a specified time and the freeze request fails. The inactivity period is the number of seconds of inactivity on the drive before the drive is deemed safe to freeze.

To change the default registry value for SyncTimeout, InactivityPeriod, and PreviewFilename, you must create the following key and set the values for these parameters:

Software\ComputerAssociates\CA ARCserve Backup\Base\TapeEngine\Image

While SyncTimeout is 80 seconds by default, the Inactivity Period is 3 seconds by default.

If the registry contains a value and a key for PreviewFilename, the path name identifies the location of the preview file. If the file name is not specified, the path name identifies the volume that contains the most free space and is on a drive that is not being backed up. (If there is only one drive, the path name identifies the only drive). If the PreviewFilename specifies one or more subdirectories, the subdirectories will automatically be created.

Be aware of the following behaviors:

• There is no attempt to validate the directory. During backup, if the directory cannot be accessed or created (due to an invalid volume), the backup job fails.
• Arcserve Backup does not use the driver on Windows Server 2012. Instead, Arcserve Backup uses VSS to take a snapshot of the device. Therefore, configuration of the registry key described in this topic is not applicable to backing up Windows Server 2012 systems.

Note: Encryption and compression are not supported as a global backup option.