ACRONIS Backup & Recovery Advanced Server 11.5 User guide

Acronis Backup & Recovery 11.5

User Guide

Applies to the following editions:



Advanced Server



Virtual Edition



Advanced Server SBS Edition



Advanced Workstation



Server for Linux



Server for Windows



Workstation

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Table of contents

1 Introducing Acronis Backup & Recovery 11.5 ........................................................................ 11

1.1 What's new in Acronis Backup & Recovery 11.5 .....................................................................11

1.2 Acronis Backup & Recovery 11.5 components ........................................................................13

1.2.1 Agent for Windows ....................................................................................................................................... 13

1.2.2 Agent for Linux .............................................................................................................................................. 14

1.2.3 Agent for VMware vSphere ESX(i) ............................................................................................................... 15

1.2.4 Agent for Hyper-V ......................................................................................................................................... 15

1.2.5 Components for centralized management ................................................................................................. 15

1.2.6 Management Console ................................................................................................................................... 17

1.2.7 Bootable Media Builder ................................................................................................................................ 17

1.2.8 Acronis Wake-on-LAN Proxy ........................................................................................................................ 17

1.3 About the trial product version ...............................................................................................18

1.4 Supported file systems ............................................................................................................18

1.5 Technical Support ....................................................................................................................18

2 Getting started .................................................................................................................... 20

2.1 Using the management console ..............................................................................................23

2.1.1 "Navigation" pane ......................................................................................................................................... 24

2.1.2 Main area, views and action pages .............................................................................................................. 26

2.1.3 Console options ............................................................................................................................................. 29

3 Understanding Acronis Backup & Recovery 11.5 ................................................................... 32

3.1 Owners .....................................................................................................................................32

3.2 Credentials used in backup plans and tasks ............................................................................32

3.3 User privileges on a managed machine ...................................................................................34

3.4 List of Acronis services .............................................................................................................34

3.5 Full, incremental and differential backups ..............................................................................37

3.6 What does a disk or volume backup store?.............................................................................39

3.7 About dynamic and logical volumes ........................................................................................39

3.7.1 Backup and recovery of dynamic volumes (Windows) .............................................................................. 39

3.7.2 Backup and recovery of logical volumes and MD devices (Linux) ............................................................. 41

3.8 Support for UEFI-based machines ...........................................................................................47

3.9 Compatibility with encryption software ..................................................................................48

3.10 Support for SNMP ....................................................................................................................49

4 Backup ................................................................................................................................ 51

4.1 Back up now .............................................................................................................................51

4.2 Creating a backup plan ............................................................................................................51

4.2.1 Selecting data to back up .............................................................................................................................. 53

4.2.2 Access credentials for source ....................................................................................................................... 55

4.2.3 Source files exclusion .................................................................................................................................... 55

4.2.4 Backup location selection ............................................................................................................................. 57

4.2.5 Access credentials for archive location ........................................................................................................ 59

4.2.6 Backup schemes ............................................................................................................................................ 60

4.2.7 Archive validation .......................................................................................................................................... 70

4.2.8 Backup plan's credentials ............................................................................................................................. 70

4.2.9 Label (Preserving machine properties in a backup) .................................................................................... 71

4.2.10 Why is the program asking for the password? ........................................................................................... 72

4.3 Simplified naming of backup files ............................................................................................72

4.3.1 The [DATE] variable ....................................................................................................................................... 73

4.3.2 Backup splitting and simplified file naming ................................................................................................. 74

4.3.3 Usage examples ............................................................................................................................................. 74

4.4 Scheduling ................................................................................................................................77

4.4.1 Daily schedule ................................................................................................................................................ 79

4.4.2 Weekly schedule ........................................................................................................................................... 81

4.4.3 Monthly schedule .......................................................................................................................................... 83

4.4.4 At Windows Event Log event ....................................................................................................................... 85

4.4.5 Advanced scheduling settings ...................................................................................................................... 87

4.4.6 Conditions ...................................................................................................................................................... 88

4.5 Replication and retention of backups ......................................................................................92

4.5.1 Supported locations ...................................................................................................................................... 93

4.5.2 Setting up replication of backups ................................................................................................................. 94

4.5.3 Setting up retention of backups ................................................................................................................... 95

4.5.4 Retention rules for the Custom scheme ...................................................................................................... 96

4.5.5 Replication/cleanup inactivity time ............................................................................................................. 97

4.5.6 Usage examples ............................................................................................................................................. 98

4.6 Default backup options ..........................................................................................................101

4.6.1 Additional settings....................................................................................................................................... 103

4.6.2 Archive protection ....................................................................................................................................... 104

4.6.3 Backup cataloging ....................................................................................................................................... 105

4.6.4 Backup performance ................................................................................................................................... 106

4.6.5 Backup splitting ........................................................................................................................................... 107

4.6.6 Compression level ....................................................................................................................................... 108

4.6.7 Disaster recovery plan (DRP) ...................................................................................................................... 109

4.6.8 Error handling .............................................................................................................................................. 109

4.6.9 Event tracing ................................................................................................................................................ 110

4.6.10 Fast incremental/differential backup ........................................................................................................ 111

4.6.11 File-level backup snapshot ......................................................................................................................... 112

4.6.12 File-level security ......................................................................................................................................... 112

4.6.13 LVM snapshotting ....................................................................................................................................... 113

4.6.14 Media components ..................................................................................................................................... 114

4.6.15 Mount points ............................................................................................................................................... 115

4.6.16 Multi-volume snapshot ............................................................................................................................... 116

4.6.17 Notifications ................................................................................................................................................. 116

4.6.18 Pre/Post commands .................................................................................................................................... 118

4.6.19 Pre/Post data capture commands ............................................................................................................. 119

4.6.20 Replication/cleanup inactivity time ........................................................................................................... 121

4.6.21 Sector-by-sector backup ............................................................................................................................. 122

4.6.22 Tape management ...................................................................................................................................... 122

4.6.23 Task failure handling ................................................................................................................................... 123

4.6.24 Task start conditions ................................................................................................................................... 124

4.6.25 Volume Shadow Copy Service .................................................................................................................... 125

5 Recovery ........................................................................................................................... 127

5.1 Creating a recovery task ........................................................................................................127

5.1.1 What to recover .......................................................................................................................................... 129

5.1.2 Access credentials for location ................................................................................................................... 133

5.1.3 Access credentials for destination ............................................................................................................. 133

5.1.4 Where to recover ........................................................................................................................................ 134

5.1.5 When to recover ......................................................................................................................................... 142

5.1.6 Task credentials ........................................................................................................................................... 143

5.2 Acronis Universal Restore ......................................................................................................143

5.2.1 Getting Universal Restore ........................................................................................................................... 143

5.2.2 Using Universal Restore .............................................................................................................................. 144

5.3 Recovering BIOS-based systems to UEFI-based and vice versa .............................................147

5.3.1 Recovering volumes .................................................................................................................................... 148

5.3.2 Recovering disks .......................................................................................................................................... 149

5.4 Acronis Active Restore ...........................................................................................................150

5.5 Bootability troubleshooting ...................................................................................................152

5.5.1 How to reactivate GRUB and change its configuration ............................................................................ 154

5.5.2 About Windows loaders ............................................................................................................................. 155

5.6 Reverting a Windows system to its factory settings..............................................................155

5.7 Default recovery options .......................................................................................................156

5.7.1 Additional settings....................................................................................................................................... 157

5.7.2 Error handling .............................................................................................................................................. 159

5.7.3 Event tracing ................................................................................................................................................ 159

5.7.4 File-level security ......................................................................................................................................... 160

5.7.5 Mount points ............................................................................................................................................... 160

5.7.6 Notifications ................................................................................................................................................. 161

5.7.7 Pre/Post commands .................................................................................................................................... 162

5.7.8 Recovery priority ......................................................................................................................................... 164

6 Conversion to a virtual machine ......................................................................................... 164

6.1 Conversion methods ..............................................................................................................165

6.2 Conversion to an automatically created virtual machine ......................................................165

6.2.1 Considerations before conversion ............................................................................................................. 166

6.2.2 Setting up regular conversion to a virtual machine .................................................................................. 167

6.2.3 Recovery to the ''New virtual machine'' destination ................................................................................ 170

6.3 Recovery to a manually created virtual machine ..................................................................173

6.3.1 Considerations before conversion ............................................................................................................. 173

6.3.2 Steps to perform ......................................................................................................................................... 174

7 Storing the backed up data ................................................................................................ 175

7.1 Vaults .....................................................................................................................................175

7.1.1 Working with vaults .................................................................................................................................... 176

7.1.2 Centralized vaults ........................................................................................................................................ 177

7.1.3 Personal vaults ............................................................................................................................................ 185

7.1.4 Changing the default cache folder for catalog files .................................................................................. 187

7.2 Acronis Secure Zone ..............................................................................................................189

7.2.1 Creating Acronis Secure Zone .................................................................................................................... 189

7.2.2 Managing Acronis Secure Zone .................................................................................................................. 191

7.3 Removable devices ................................................................................................................192

7.4 Tape devices ..........................................................................................................................193

7.4.1 What is a tape device? ................................................................................................................................ 194

7.4.2 Overview of tape support ........................................................................................................................... 194

7.4.3 Getting started with a tape device ............................................................................................................. 198

7.4.4 Tape management ...................................................................................................................................... 202

7.4.5 Vaults on tapes ............................................................................................................................................ 210

7.4.6 Usage examples ........................................................................................................................................... 211

7.5 Storage nodes ........................................................................................................................214

7.5.1 What is a storage node? ............................................................................................................................. 214

7.5.2 Supported types of storage ........................................................................................................................ 215

7.5.3 Operations performed by storage nodes .................................................................................................. 215

7.5.4 Getting started with a storage node .......................................................................................................... 215

7.5.5 User privileges on a storage node .............................................................................................................. 217

7.5.6 Operations with storage nodes .................................................................................................................. 218

7.5.7 Deduplication .............................................................................................................................................. 225

8 Operations with archives and backups ............................................................................... 232

8.1 Validating archives and backups ............................................................................................232

8.1.1 Archive selection ......................................................................................................................................... 233

8.1.2 Backup selection .......................................................................................................................................... 233

8.1.3 Vault selection ............................................................................................................................................. 234

8.1.4 Access credentials for source ..................................................................................................................... 234

8.1.5 When to validate ......................................................................................................................................... 235

8.1.6 Task credentials ........................................................................................................................................... 235

8.2 Exporting archives and backups ............................................................................................235

8.2.1 Archive selection ......................................................................................................................................... 238

8.2.2 Backup selection .......................................................................................................................................... 238

8.2.3 Access credentials for source ..................................................................................................................... 239

8.2.4 Destination selection .................................................................................................................................. 239

8.2.5 Access credentials for destination ............................................................................................................. 240

8.3 Mounting an image ................................................................................................................241

8.3.1 Archive selection ......................................................................................................................................... 242

8.3.2 Backup selection .......................................................................................................................................... 242

8.3.3 Access credentials ....................................................................................................................................... 242

8.3.4 Volume selection ......................................................................................................................................... 243

8.3.5 Managing mounted images........................................................................................................................ 243

8.4 Operations available in vaults................................................................................................244

8.4.1 Operations with archives ............................................................................................................................ 244

8.4.2 Operations with backups ............................................................................................................................ 245

8.4.3 Converting a backup to full ......................................................................................................................... 246

8.4.4 Deleting archives and backups ................................................................................................................... 246

9 Bootable media ................................................................................................................. 248

9.1 How to create bootable media ..............................................................................................249

9.1.1 Linux-based bootable media ...................................................................................................................... 250

9.1.2 Adding the Acronis Plug-in to WinPE 2.x or 3.x......................................................................................... 254

9.2 Connecting to a machine booted from media .......................................................................256

9.3 Working under bootable media ............................................................................................256

9.3.1 Setting up a display mode .......................................................................................................................... 257

9.3.2 Configuring iSCSI and NDAS devices .......................................................................................................... 257

9.4 List of commands and utilities available in Linux-based bootable media .............................258

9.5 Acronis Startup Recovery Manager .......................................................................................259

9.6 Acronis PXE Server .................................................................................................................260

9.6.1 Acronis PXE Server Installation ................................................................................................................... 260

9.6.2 Setting up a machine to boot from PXE .................................................................................................... 260

9.6.3 Work across subnets ................................................................................................................................... 261

10 Disk management .............................................................................................................. 262

10.1 Supported file systems ..........................................................................................................262

10.2 Basic precautions ...................................................................................................................262

10.3 Running Acronis Disk Director Lite ........................................................................................263

10.4 Choosing the operating system for disk management ..........................................................263

10.5 "Disk management" view ......................................................................................................263

10.6 Disk operations ......................................................................................................................264

10.6.1 Disk initialization .......................................................................................................................................... 264

10.6.2 Basic disk cloning ......................................................................................................................................... 265

10.6.3 Disk conversion: MBR to GPT ..................................................................................................................... 267

10.6.4 Disk conversion: GPT to MBR ..................................................................................................................... 268

10.6.5 Disk conversion: basic to dynamic ............................................................................................................. 268

10.6.6 Disk conversion: dynamic to basic ............................................................................................................. 269

10.6.7 Changing disk status .................................................................................................................................... 270

10.7 Volume operations ................................................................................................................270

10.7.1 Creating a volume ....................................................................................................................................... 270

10.7.2 Delete volume ............................................................................................................................................. 274

10.7.3 Set active volume ........................................................................................................................................ 275

10.7.4 Change volume letter.................................................................................................................................. 275

10.7.5 Change volume label ................................................................................................................................... 276

10.7.6 Format volume ............................................................................................................................................ 276

10.8 Pending operations ................................................................................................................277

11 Protecting applications with disk-level backup .................................................................... 278

11.1 Backing up an application server ...........................................................................................278

11.1.1 Locating database files ................................................................................................................................ 280

11.1.2 Truncating transaction logs ........................................................................................................................ 283

11.1.3 Best practices when backing up application servers ................................................................................ 286

11.2 Recovering SQL Server data ...................................................................................................288

11.2.1 Recovering SQL Server databases from a disk backup ............................................................................. 288

11.2.2 Accessing SQL Server databases from a disk backup ............................................................................... 289

11.2.3 Attaching SQL Server databases ................................................................................................................ 290

11.3 Recovering Exchange Server data ..........................................................................................290

11.3.1 Recovering Exchange Server database files from a disk backup ............................................................. 290

11.3.2 Mounting Exchange Server databases ...................................................................................................... 291

11.3.3 Granular recovery of mailboxes ................................................................................................................. 291

11.4 Recovering Active Directory data ..........................................................................................292

11.4.1 Recovering a domain controller (other DCs are available) ...................................................................... 292

11.4.2 Recovering a domain controller (no other DCs are available) ................................................................. 293

11.4.3 Restoring the Active Directory database ................................................................................................... 294

11.4.4 Restoring accidentally deleted information .............................................................................................. 295

11.4.5 Avoiding a USN rollback .............................................................................................................................. 295

11.5 Recovering SharePoint data ..................................................................................................297

11.5.1 Recovering a content database .................................................................................................................. 297

11.5.2 Recovering configuration and service databases ..................................................................................... 298

11.5.3 Recovering individual items........................................................................................................................ 299

12 Administering a managed machine ..................................................................................... 301

12.1 Backup plans and tasks ..........................................................................................................301

12.1.1 Actions on backup plans and tasks ............................................................................................................ 301

12.1.2 States and statuses of backup plans and tasks ......................................................................................... 303

12.1.3 Export and import of backup plans ............................................................................................................ 306

12.1.4 Deploying backup plans as files .................................................................................................................. 309

12.1.5 Backup plan details ..................................................................................................................................... 310

12.1.6 Task/activity details ..................................................................................................................................... 311

12.2 Log ..........................................................................................................................................312

12.2.1 Actions on log entries.................................................................................................................................. 312

12.2.2 Log entry details .......................................................................................................................................... 313

12.3 Alerts ......................................................................................................................................313

12.4 Changing a license .................................................................................................................314

12.5 Collecting system information ...............................................................................................316

12.6 Adjusting machine options ....................................................................................................316

12.6.1 Additional settings....................................................................................................................................... 316

12.6.2 Acronis Customer Experience Program ..................................................................................................... 316

12.6.3 Alerts ............................................................................................................................................................ 317

12.6.4 E-mail settings ............................................................................................................................................. 318

12.6.5 Event tracing ................................................................................................................................................ 319

12.6.6 Log cleanup rules ......................................................................................................................................... 321

12.6.7 Machine management................................................................................................................................ 321

12.6.8 Online backup proxy ................................................................................................................................... 322

13 Centralized management ................................................................................................... 324

13.1 Understanding centralized management ..............................................................................324

13.1.1 Basic concepts ............................................................................................................................................. 324

13.1.2 Privileges for centralized management ..................................................................................................... 325

13.1.3 Communication between Acronis Backup & Recovery 11.5 components ............................................. 329

13.2 Back up now ...........................................................................................................................333

13.3 Creating a centralized backup plan........................................................................................333

13.3.1 Selecting data to back up ............................................................................................................................ 334

13.3.2 Selection rules for files and folders ............................................................................................................ 336

13.3.3 Selection rules for volumes ........................................................................................................................ 337

13.3.4 Backup location selection ........................................................................................................................... 340

13.3.5 Centralized backup plan's credentials ....................................................................................................... 341

13.3.6 What if a machine does not have data meeting the selection rules ....................................................... 342

13.4 Administering Acronis Backup & Recovery 11.5 Management Server ..................................342

13.4.1 Dashboard .................................................................................................................................................... 342

13.4.2 Machines with agents ................................................................................................................................. 343

13.4.3 Virtual machines .......................................................................................................................................... 356

13.4.4 Backup plans and tasks ............................................................................................................................... 357

13.4.5 Storage nodes .............................................................................................................................................. 360

13.4.6 Licenses ........................................................................................................................................................ 360

13.4.7 Reporting ..................................................................................................................................................... 362

13.4.8 Alerts ............................................................................................................................................................ 367

13.4.9 Log ................................................................................................................................................................ 369

13.4.10 Management server options ...................................................................................................................... 371

13.5 Configuring Acronis Backup & Recovery 11.5 components ..................................................376

13.5.1 Parameters set through administrative template .................................................................................... 376

14 Online backup .................................................................................................................... 391

14.1 Introduction to Acronis Backup & Recovery Online ..............................................................391

14.1.1 What is Acronis Backup & Recovery Online? ............................................................................................ 391

14.1.2 What data can I back up and recover? ...................................................................................................... 391

14.1.3 How long will my backups be kept in the online storage? ....................................................................... 392

14.1.4 How to secure my data? ............................................................................................................................. 392

14.1.5 How to back up virtual machines to the online storage?......................................................................... 392

14.1.6 Backup and recovery FAQ .......................................................................................................................... 393

14.1.7 Initial Seeding FAQ ...................................................................................................................................... 395

14.1.8 Large Scale Recovery FAQ .......................................................................................................................... 400

14.1.9 Subscription lifecycle FAQ .......................................................................................................................... 402

14.2 Where do I start? ...................................................................................................................404

14.3 Choosing a subscription .........................................................................................................404

14.4 Activating online backup subscriptions .................................................................................406

14.4.1 Activating subscriptions .............................................................................................................................. 406

14.4.2 Reassigning an activated subscription ....................................................................................................... 407

14.5 Configuring proxy settings .....................................................................................................408

14.6 Retrieving files from the online storage by using a Web browser ........................................409

14.7 Limitations of the online storage ...........................................................................................410

14.8 Terminology reference ..........................................................................................................411

15 Glossary ............................................................................................................................ 413

1 Introducing Acronis Backup & Recovery 11.5

1.1 What's new in Acronis Backup & Recovery 11.5

Expanding the backup and recovery capabilities in physical, virtual, and cloud environments, Acronis

has now added backup and recovery of the Microsoft Exchange Server data.

The following is a summary of the product's new features and enhancements.

Backup and recovery of Microsoft Exchange Server data

Key features

 Support for Microsoft Exchange Server 2010

Acronis Backup & Recovery 11.5 supports Microsoft Exchange Server 2010 as well as Microsoft

Exchange Server 2003/2007.

 Express full backup method

This method is based on monitoring changes of the Exchange database files. Once the initial full

backup is taken, all subsequent backups will only back up changes to this database without

needing to read the entire database file. Combining this method with the data deduplication

functionality makes it possible to back up large databases of 1TB or more during business hours

and even over WANs.

 Exchange clustering support

Acronis Backup & Recovery 11.5 supports SCC, CCR and DAG cluster configurations. You can

choose to back up database replicas rather than active databases for minimal production impact.

If the Mailbox role is moved to another server due to a switchover or a failover, the software will

track all relocations of the data and safely back it up.

 Continuous Data Protection

By using Continuous Data Protection, you can revert Exchange data to almost any point in time. If

the most recent transaction log file survived, you can revert Exchange data to the point of failure.

 Backup destinations

The backups can be saved to any type of storage supported by Acronis Backup & Recovery 11.5,

except for Acronis Online Backup Storage, Acronis Secure Zone, and removable media.

 Enhanced granular recovery

Browse Exchange Server database or mailbox backups and recover single or multiple mailboxes

or just specific e-mails. You can also recover calendar items, notes, tasks and journal entries.

 New recovery destinations

Besides being able to recover data to a live Exchange server, you can recover

 Exchange databases to regular disk folders.

 E-mails and mailboxes to .pst files.

Virtualization

 Support for UEFI-based virtual machines (p. 47) (applies to VMware ESXi 5 only)

Back up and recover virtual machines that use Unified Extensible Firmware Interface (UEFI).

Convert a UEFI-based physical machine (p. 164) to a virtual machine that uses the same boot

firmware.

 File-level recovery

Recover individual files and folders to the agent's local file system (in Windows only), a network

share, FTP or SFTP server.

 Support for Changed Block Tracking (CBT) (applies to VMware ESX(i) 4.0 and later)

Perform faster incremental and differential backups of ESX(i) virtual machines by using the

Changed Block Tracking (CBT) feature of ESX(i).

 Support for VM templates

Back up and recover virtual machine templates the same way as normal ESX(i) virtual machines.

 Bare-metal recovery of Microsoft Hyper-V hosts

Back up an entire Hyper-V host along with its virtual machines without interrupting its normal

operation. You can then recover the host to the same or a different hardware.

 Enhanced support for Red Hat Enterprise Virtualization environments

Back up and recover virtual machines running in a RHEV environment. Migrate physical machines

to the RHEV environment (P2V); and migrate a virtual machine from a different virtualization

platform to the RHEV platform (V2V).

Installation

 Remote installation of Acronis Backup & Recovery 11.5 Agent for Linux.

Support for various types of storage

Acronis Online Backup Storage (only for machines running Windows and virtual machines)

 Replicating or moving backups to Acronis Online Backup Storage (p. 98).

 The Grandfather-Father-Son and Tower of Hanoi backup schemes are now available when

backing up to Acronis Online Backup Storage.

Tapes (only for advanced editions)

 File-level recovery is possible from disk backups stored on tapes.

This feature can be enabled or disabled by setting the corresponding tape management option

(p. 122).

Centralized management

 Vault selection in Data catalog (p. 131)

You can select the vault to recover the data from, if the backed up data has multiple replicas

stored in more than one managed vault.

Linux

 Support for Linux kernel 3.x

 Support for the following Linux distributions:

 Ubuntu 11.04, 11.10, 12.04

 Fedora 15, 16, 17

 Debian 6

 CentOS 6.x

 Support for Unified Extensible Firmware Interface (UEFI) (p. 47)

Back up a UEFI-based machine running Linux and recover it to the same or a different UEFI-based

machine.

Bootable media

 New Linux kernel version (3.4.5) in Linux-based bootable media. The new kernel makes for better

hardware support.

Usability

 Support for 800x600 screen resolution

1.2 Acronis Backup & Recovery 11.5 components

This section contains a full list of Acronis Backup & Recovery 11.5 components with a brief

description of their functionality.

Acronis Backup & Recovery 11.5 includes the following main types of components.

Components for a managed machine (agents)

These are applications that perform data backup, recovery and other operations on the machines

managed with Acronis Backup & Recovery 11.5. Agents require a license to perform operations on

each managed machine. Agents have multiple features, or add-ons, that enable additional

functionality and so might require additional licenses.

Components for centralized management

These components, delivered with the advanced editions, provide centralized management

capability. Usage of these components is not licensed.

Console

The console provides Graphical User Interface and remote connection to the agents and other

Acronis Backup & Recovery 11.5 components. Usage of the console is not licensed.

Bootable media builder

With bootable media builder, you can create bootable media in order to use the agents and other

rescue utilities in a rescue environment.

Bootable Media Builder does not require a license if installed together with an agent. All add-ons to

the agent, if installed, will be available in a rescue environment. To use a media builder on a machine

without an agent, you need to enter the license key or have at least one license on the license server.

The license may be either available or assigned.

1.2.1 Agent for Windows

This agent enables disk-level and file-level data protection under Windows.

Disk backup

Disk-level data protection is based on backing up either a disk or a volume file system as a whole,

along with all the information necessary for the operating system to boot; or all the disk sectors using

the sector-by-sector approach (raw mode). A backup that contains a copy of a disk or a volume in a

packaged form is called a disk (volume) backup or a disk (volume) image. It is possible to recover

disks or volumes as a whole from such backup, as well as individual folders or files.

File backup

File-level data protection is based on backing up files and folders residing on the machine where the

agent is installed or on a network share. Files can be recovered to their original location or to another

place. It is possible to recover all files and folders that were backed up or select which of them to

recover.

Other operations

Conversion to a virtual machine

Agent for Windows performs the conversion by recovering a disk backup to a new virtual machine of

any of the following types: VMware Workstation, Microsoft Virtual PC, Parallels Workstation, Citrix

XenServer Open Virtual Appliance (OVA) or Red Hat Kernel-based Virtual Machine (KVM). Files of the

fully configured and operational machine will be placed in the folder you select. You can start the

machine using the respective virtualization software or prepare the machine files for further usage.

Disk management

Agent for Windows includes Acronis Disk Director Lite - a handy disk management utility. Disk

management operations, such as cloning disks; converting disks; creating, formatting and deleting

volumes; changing a disk partitioning style between MBR and GPT or changing a disk label, can be

performed either in the operating system or using bootable media.

1.2.1.1 Universal Restore

The Universal Restore add-on enables you to use the restore to dissimilar hardware functionality on

the machine where the agent is installed and create bootable media with this functionality. Universal

Restore handles differences in devices that are critical for the operating system start-up, such as

storage controllers, motherboard or chipset.

1.2.1.2 Deduplication

This add-on enables the agent to back up data to deduplicating vaults managed by Acronis Backup &

Recovery 11.5 Storage Node.

1.2.2 Agent for Linux

This agent enables disk-level and file-level data protection under Linux.

Disk backup

Disk-level data protection is based on backing up either a disk or a volume file system as a whole,

along with all information necessary for the operating system to boot; or all the disk sectors using the

sector-by-sector approach (raw mode.) A backup that contains a copy of a disk or a volume in a

packaged form is called a disk (volume) backup or a disk (volume) image. It is possible to recover

disks or volumes as a whole from such backup, as well as individual folders or files.

File backup

File-level data protection is based on backing up files and directories residing on the machine where

the agent is installed or on a network share accessed using the smb or nfs protocol. Files can be

recovered to their original location or to another place. It is possible to recover all files and

directories that were backed up or select which of them to recover.

Conversion to a virtual machine

Agent for Linux performs the conversion by recovering a disk backup to a new virtual machine of any

of the following types: VMware Workstation, Microsoft Virtual PC, Parallels Workstation, Citrix

XenServer Open Virtual Appliance (OVA) or Red Hat Kernel-based Virtual Machine (KVM). Files of the

fully configured and operational machine will be placed in the directory you select. You can start the

machine using the respective virtualization software or prepare the machine files for further usage.

1.2.2.1 Universal Restore

The Universal Restore add-on enables you to use the restore to dissimilar hardware functionality on

the machine where the agent is installed and create bootable media with this functionality. Universal

Restore handles differences in devices that are critical for the operating system start-up, such as

storage controllers, motherboard or chipset.

1.2.2.2 Deduplication

This add-on enables the agent to back up data to deduplicating vaults managed by Acronis Backup &

Recovery 11.5 Storage Node.

1.2.3 Agent for VMware vSphere ESX(i)

Acronis Backup & Recovery 11.5 Agent for VMware vSphere ESX(i) enables backup and recovery of

ESX(i) virtual machines without installing agents into the guest systems. This backup method is

known as agent-less backup or backup at a hypervisor level.

The agent is delivered in two versions:

 Agent for VMware vSphere ESX(i) (Virtual Appliance) can be imported or deployed to a VMware

ESX(i) host.

 For off-loaded backup, Agent for VMware vSphere ESX(i) (Windows) can be installed on a

machine running Windows.

Acronis Backup & Recovery 11.5 Agent for VMware vSphere ESX(i) is referred to as Agent for ESX(i)

later in this document.

1.2.4 Agent for Hyper-V

Acronis Backup & Recovery 11.5 Agent for Hyper-V protects virtual machines residing on a Hyper-V

virtualization server. The agent allows for backing up virtual machines from the host without having

to install agents on each virtual machine. The agent installs on Windows 2008 Server x64 (any

edition) or Microsoft Hyper-V Server 2008.

1.2.5 Components for centralized management

This section lists the components included in the Acronis Backup & Recovery 11.5 editions that

provide the centralized management capability. Besides these components, Acronis Backup &

Recovery 11.5 Agents have to be installed on all machines that need data protection.

1.2.5.1 Management Server

Acronis Backup & Recovery 11.5 Management Server is the central server that drives data protection

within the enterprise network. The management server provides the administrator with:

 a single entry point to the Acronis Backup & Recovery 11.5 infrastructure

 an easy way to protect data on numerous machines (p. 423) using centralized backup plans and

grouping

 integration with VMware vCenter to discover virtual machines for protection

 enterprise-wide monitoring and reporting functionality

 built-in license management

 the ability to create centralized vaults (p. 417) for storing enterprise backup archives (p. 414)

 the ability to manage storage nodes (p. 425)

 the centralized catalog (p. 418) of all data stored on the storage nodes.

If there are multiple management servers on the network, they operate independently, manage

different machines and use different centralized vaults for storing archives.

1.2.5.2 Storage Node

Acronis Backup & Recovery 11.5 Storage Node is a server designed to optimize the usage of various

resources (such as the corporate storage capacity, the network bandwidth, or the managed

machines' CPU load) which are required to protect the enterprise data. This goal is achieved by

organizing and managing the locations that serve as dedicated storages of the enterprise backup

archives (managed vaults).

The most important function of a storage node is deduplication (p. 225) of backups stored in its

vaults. This means that identical data will be backed up to this vault only once. This minimizes the

network usage during backup and storage space taken by the archives.

The storage nodes enable creating highly scalable and flexible, in terms of the hardware support,

storage infrastructure. Up to 50 storage nodes can be set up, each being able to manage up to 20

vaults.

The administrator controls the storage nodes centrally from the Acronis Backup & Recovery 11.5

Management Server (p. 16). Direct console connection to a storage node is not possible.

1.2.5.3 Components for Remote Installation

These are Acronis component installation packages used by the management console (p. 17) for

installation on remote machines.

Components for Remote Installation need to be installed on the machine with the console or with

the management server (p. 16). During installation, the setup program saves the components in the

default location and saves this location path in the registry. As a result, the components are readily

available in the Remote Installation Wizard as "registered components".

1.2.5.4 PXE Server

Acronis PXE Server allows for booting machines into Acronis bootable components through the

network.

The network booting:

 Eliminates the need to have a technician onsite to install the bootable media (p. 416) into the

system that has to be booted

 During group operations, reduces the time required for booting multiple machines as compared

to using physical bootable media.

1.2.5.5 License Server

The server enables you to manage licenses of Acronis products and install the components that

require licenses.

You can install a license server as a separate component or use the one integrated into the

management server. The functionality of the license server (p. 360) is similar for both types of

installation.

1.2.6 Management Console

Acronis Backup & Recovery 11.5 Management Console is an administrative tool for remote or local

access to Acronis Backup & Recovery 11.5 agents and, in the product editions that include the

centralized management capability, to the Acronis Backup & Recovery 11.5 Management Server.

The console has two distributions: for installation on Windows and installation on Linux. While both

distributions enable connection to any Acronis Backup & Recovery 11.5 agent and Acronis Backup &

Recovery 11.5 Management Server, we recommend that you use the console for Windows if you

have a choice between the two. The console that installs on Linux has limited functionality:

 Remote installation of Acronis Backup & Recovery 11.5 components is not available.

 The Active Directory-related features, such as browsing the AD, are not available.

1.2.7 Bootable Media Builder

Acronis Bootable Media Builder is a dedicated tool for creating bootable media (p. 416). There are

two media builder distributions: for installation in Windows and installation in Linux.

The media builder that installs on Windows can create bootable media based on either Windows

Preinstallation Environment, or Linux kernel. The media builder that installs on Linux creates

bootable media based on Linux kernel.

The Universal Restore (p. 14) add-on enables you to create bootable media with the restore to

dissimilar hardware functionality. Universal Restore handles differences in devices that are critical for

the operating system start-up, such as storage controllers, motherboard or chipset.

The Deduplication (p. 14) add-on enables you to create bootable media with the back up to a

deduplicating vault functionality. This add-on can be installed to either of the media builder

distributions.

1.2.8 Acronis Wake-on-LAN Proxy

Acronis Wake-on-LAN Proxy enables Acronis Backup & Recovery 11.5 Management Server to wake

up for backup machines located in another subnet. Acronis Wake-on-LAN Proxy installs on any server

in the subnet where the machines to be backed up are located.

1.3 About the trial product version

Before buying an Acronis Backup & Recovery 11.5 license, you may want to try the software. The trial

key required at installation can be obtained on the Acronis Web site.

Limitations of the trial version

The Acronis Backup & Recovery 11.5 trial version has the following limitation:

 The Universal Restore functionality is disabled.

Additional limitations for bootable media:

 The disk management functionality is not available. You can try the user interface, but there is no

option to commit the changes.

 The recovery functionality is available, but the backup functionality is not. To try the backup

functionality, install the software in the operating system.

Upgrading from trial to full product version

To upgrade from the trial version to the standard product you do not need to re-download the

software. When the trial period is over, the product GUI displays a notification requesting you to

specify a standard license key.

To specify the standard license key, use the Change License (p. 314) window in the management

console. Specifying the standard key by running the setup program is not possible.

1.4 Supported file systems

Acronis Backup & Recovery 11.5 can back up and recover the following file systems with the

following limitations:

 FAT16/32

 NTFS

 Ext2/Ext3/Ext4

 ReiserFS3 - particular files cannot be recovered from disk backups located on Acronis Backup &

Recovery 11.5 Storage Node

 ReiserFS4 - volume recovery without the volume resize capability; particular files cannot be

recovered from disk backups located on Acronis Backup & Recovery 11.5 Storage Node

 XFS - volume recovery without the volume resize capability; particular files cannot be recovered

from disk backups located on Acronis Backup & Recovery 11.5 Storage Node

 JFS - particular files cannot be recovered from disk backups located on Acronis Backup &

Recovery 11.5 Storage Node

 Linux SWAP

Acronis Backup & Recovery 11.5 can back up and recover corrupted or non-supported file systems

using the sector-by-sector approach.

1.5 Technical Support

Maintenance and Support Program

If you need assistance with your Acronis product, please go to http://www.acronis.com/support/

Product Updates

You can download the latest updates for all your registered Acronis software products from our

website at any time after logging into your Account (https://www.acronis.com/my) and registering

the product. See Registering Acronis Products at the Website (http://kb.acronis.com/content/4834)

and Acronis Website User Guide (http://kb.acronis.com/content/8128).

2 Getting started

Step 1. Installation

These brief installation instructions enable you to start using the product quickly. For the

complete description of installation methods and procedures, please refer to the Installation

documentation.

Before installation, make sure that:

 Your hardware meets the system requirements.

 You have license keys for the edition of your choice.

 You have the setup program. You can download it from the Acronis Web site.

Procedure

When following the instructions below, you can select more than one machine role.

1. Install the management server to be able to manage multiple machines.

a. Run the setup program and click Install Acronis Backup & Recovery 11.5.

b. After accepting the terms of the license agreement, select the Centrally monitor and

configure the backing up of physical and virtual machines check box.

c. Type your license keys or import them from a text file.

d. Follow the on-screen instructions.

Details. The console will also be installed so that you can control the management server locally.

2. Install an agent on each machine you want to back up.

a. Run the setup program and click Install Acronis Backup & Recovery 11.5.

b. After accepting the terms of the license agreement, select the Back up this machine's data

check box.

c. Click Specify, select the Use the following license server check box, and then enter the name

or IP address of the previously installed management server.

d. When prompted, register the machine on the management server.

e. Follow the on-screen instructions.

3. [Optional] Install the storage node on the machine that will serve as a storage for backups of

other machines.

a. Run the setup program and click Install Acronis Backup & Recovery 11.5.

b. After accepting the terms of the license agreement, select the Store the backups of other

machines on this machine check box.

c. When prompted, register the storage node on the management server.

d. Follow the on-screen instructions.

4. [Optional] Install the console on a machine from which you prefer to operate, if this machine is

not the management server.

a. Run the setup program and click Install Acronis Backup & Recovery 11.5.

b. After accepting the terms of the license agreement, select the Connect to remote machines

check box.

c. Follow the on-screen instructions.

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