Backup Exec 21 Administrator's Guide
- Introducing Backup Exec
- Installation
- Methods for installing the Agent for Windows
- Using a command prompt to install the Agent for Windows on a remote computer
- Using a command script to install the Agent for Windows
- Installing the Remote Administrator
- Installing Backup Exec using the command line (silent mode)
- Updating Backup Exec with Veritas Update
- Backup Exec license contract information
- About upgrading to Backup Exec
- Getting Started
- Backups
- Backing up data
- Restores
- How Backup Exec catalogs work
- Job management and monitoring
- About the Job Monitor
- About the Job History
- Viewing the job log
- Error-handling rules for failed or canceled jobs
- Alerts and notifications
- Enabling active alerts and alert history to display on the Home tab
- Adding a recipient group for alert notifications
- Sending a notification when a job completes
- SNMP traps for Backup Exec alerts
- Disk-based and network-based storage
- Configuring disk storage
- Configuring disk cartridge storage
- Backup sets
- Cloud-based storage devices
- Amazon S3 cloud-based storage
- Google cloud-based storage
- Microsoft Azure cloud-based storage
- Private cloud-based storage
- About S3-Compatible Cloud Storage
- About the Backup Exec™ CloudConnect Optimizer
- Legacy backup-to-disk folders
- Legacy backup-to-disk folders
- Legacy backup-to-disk folders
- Tape storage
- Robotic libraries in Backup Exec
- Creating robotic library partitions
- Managing tapes
- Creating media sets for tapes
- Labeling tape media
- Default media vaults
- Storage device pools
- Storage operations
- Conversion to virtual machines
- Configuration and settings
- Changing network and security options for Backup Exec
- Using Backup Exec with firewalls
- Deleting DBA-initiated job templates
- Backup Exec logon accounts
- Reports
- Creating a custom report
- List of Backup Exec standard reports
- Instant Cloud Recovery
- Preconfigurations to be completed in the Azure portal
- GDPR Guard
- Troubleshooting Backup Exec
- Troubleshooting failed components in the SAN
- Generating a diagnostic file for troubleshooting Backup Exec
- Using Backup Exec in cluster environments
- Configurations for Backup Exec and Microsoft Cluster Servers
- Disaster recovery of a cluster
- Simplified Disaster Recovery
- Setting or changing the alternate location for the disaster recovery information file
- Creating a Simplified Disaster Recovery disk image
- Preparing to recover from a disaster by using Simplified Disaster Recovery
- Recovering a computer with Simplified Disaster Recovery
- Performing manual disaster recovery
- Integration with Veritas™ Information Map
- Integration with Veritas SaaS Backup
- Forever Incremental Backup
- Appendix A. Backup Exec Agent for Windows
- About the Backup Exec Agent Utility for Windows
- Appendix B. Backup Exec Deduplication Feature
- Creating or importing deduplication disk storage
- Selecting storage devices for direct access sharing
- Appendix C. Backup Exec Agent for VMware
- About establishing trust for a vCenter/ESX(i) server
- Backing up VMware virtual machines
- About instant recovery of a VMware virtual machine
- About Recovery Ready for VMware virtual machines
- Appendix D. Backup Exec Agent for Microsoft Hyper-V
- Backing up Microsoft Hyper-V virtual machines
- About instant recovery of a Hyper-V virtual machine
- About Recovery Ready for Hyper-V virtual machines
- Appendix E. Backup Exec Agent for Microsoft SQL Server
- Backing up SQL databases and transaction logs
- Restoring SQL databases and transaction logs
- Disaster recovery of a SQL Server
- Appendix F. Backup Exec Agent for Microsoft Exchange Server
- Backing up Exchange data
- Appendix G. Backup Exec Agent for Microsoft SharePoint
- Backing up Microsoft SharePoint data
- Appendix H. Backup Exec Agent for Oracle on Windows or Linux Servers
- Configuring the Oracle Agent on Windows computers and Linux servers
- Configuring an Oracle instance on Windows computers
- Viewing an Oracle instance on Windows computers
- About authentication credentials on the Backup Exec server
- About backing up Oracle databases
- About restoring Oracle resources
- Appendix I. Backup Exec Agent for Enterprise Vault
- About backup methods for Enterprise Vault backup jobs
- Restoring Enterprise Vault
- About the Backup Exec Migrator for Enterprise Vault
- Configuring the Backup Exec Migrator
- About retrieving migrated Enterprise Vault data
- About the Partition Recovery Utility
- Appendix J. Backup Exec Agent for Microsoft Active Directory
- Appendix K. Backup Exec Central Admin Server Feature
- About installing the Central Admin Server feature
- What happens when CAS communication thresholds are reached
- About job delegation in CAS
- How to use Backup Exec server pools in CAS
- How centralized restore works in CAS
- Appendix L. Backup Exec Advanced Disk-based Backup Feature
- Appendix M. Backup Exec NDMP Feature
- About restoring and redirecting restore data for NDMP servers
- Viewing the properties of an NDMP server
- Viewing storage properties for an NDMP server
- Appendix N. Backup Exec Agent for Linux
- About installing the Agent for Linux
- About establishing trust for a remote Linux computer in the Backup Exec list of servers
- Editing configuration options for Linux computers
- About backing up a Linux computer by using the Agent for Linux
- About restoring data to Linux computers
- Editing the default backup job options for Linux computers
- Uninstalling the Agent for Linux
- Appendix O. Backup Exec Remote Media Agent for Linux
- About installing the Remote Media Agent for Linux
- About establishing trust for a Remote Media Agent for Linux computer in the Backup Exec list of servers
- About the Backup Exec operators (beoper) group for the Remote Media Agent for Linux
- About adding a Linux server as a Remote Media Agent for Linux
- Editing properties for the Remote Media Agent for Linux
- Creating a simulated tape library
- Viewing simulated tape libraries properties
- Appendix P. Accessibility and Backup Exec
- About keyboard shortcuts in Backup Exec
- Backup and Restore tab keyboard shortcuts
- Storage tab keyboard shortcuts
Backup methods in Backup Exec
When you create a backup definition, you must select backup methods for each backup job. The backup method determines what data Backup Exec backs up. The standard backup methods are full, differential, and incremental. However, you can also select specific types of backup methods for some agents and types of data.
Each backup definition must contain one backup job that uses the full backup method. This initial full backup job establishes a baseline by backing up all of the data that you selected. Then, you can add additional differential or incremental backup jobs to the backup definition. You can select to use data-specific backup methods instead of the standard backup methods by selecting the appropriate backup method on the options page for that agent.
This topic includes the following information:
Backup method advantages and disadvantages
Backup methods for specific types of data
Full backups include all of the data that was selected for backup. Backup Exec detects that the server was backed up.
Note:
You should perform a full backup of your server to establish a baseline for disaster recovery.
Duplicate backups, which include all selected data, are a type of full backup. Duplicate backups do not affect any tape media rotation strategy because the archive bit is not reset.
It is recommended that you always run full backups before and after you upgrade, update, or modify any backup sources. This recommendation applies to any significant operating system and application configuration or modifications.
Table: Backup sources and scenarios for which a full backup is recommended
Backup source | Scenarios for which a full backup is recommended |
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Operating system | You should run a full backup when you:
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Applications | You should run a full backup when you:
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Backup Exec | You should run a full backup when you:
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Running full backups before and after each of these scenarios helps to ensure that you can restore back to the previous configuration, if necessary.
Differential backups include all files that have changed since the last full backup or incremental backup. The difference between differential and incremental backups is that differential backups are cumulative. After a differential backup, each subsequent differential backup backs up the same files as the previous differential backup. It also backs up as any new files or changed files dating back to the last full backup or incremental backup.
Note:
In a backup definition that includes a differential task, all of the backup tasks must use storage devices that the same Backup Exec server can access.
By default, Backup Exec uses the Windows Change Journal to determine if files were previously backed up. You can also configure Backup Exec to use a file's modified time or archive bit to determine if the file was backed up.
Note:
You cannot use Backup Exec catalogs to determine if files were backed up for any differential backups.
See Configuring file and folder options for backup jobs.
Differential backups allow much easier restoration of an entire device than incremental backups since fewer backups are required. Using fewer media also decreases the risk of having a restore job fail because of media errors.
Incremental backups include only the files that have changed since the last full or incremental backup. The difference between incremental and differential backups is that incremental backups are not cumulative. Each incremental backup creates a baseline. After the incremental backup, the subsequent incremental backup or differential backup backs up only any new files or changed files dating back to the baseline.
Note:
In a backup definition that includes an incremental task, all of the backup tasks must use storage devices that the same Backup Exec server can access.
By default, Backup Exec uses the Windows Change Journal to determine if files were previously backed up. You can also configure Backup Exec to use a file's modified time, archive bit, or the Backup Exec catalogs to determine if the file was backed up.
See Configuring file and folder options for backup jobs.
Incremental backups take much less time than full or differential backups to complete. They also require less storage space for backed up data since only any files that have changed since the last backup are backed up.
Each backup method has advantages and disadvantages.
Table: Backup method Advantages and Disadvantages
Method | Advantages | Disadvantages |
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Consider the following backup strategy scenario:
You want to implement a backup strategy for the office file server. All backup strategies begin with a full backup (the backup of an entire server using the full backup method). So you create and submit a full backup job to run at the end of the day on Friday.
Most files on the server, such as operating system files and application files seldom change. Therefore, you decide that you can save time and storage by using incremental backups or differential backups. You opt to use incremental backups. You schedule a job to run at the end of each day, Monday through Thursday, with the incremental backup method.
On Friday, your backup sets contain all of the data on the file server. Backup Exec changes all of the files' statuses to backed up. At the end of the day on Monday, the incremental job runs and only the files that were created or changed are backed up. When the incremental job completes, Backup Exec turns off the archive bit, showing that the files have been backed up. On Tuesday through Thursday, the same events happen.
If your file server then crashed on Thursday, you would restore each backup in the order in which it was created. You would begin with Friday's backup and proceed through Wednesday's backup.
If you had decided to perform differential backups on Monday through Thursday, you would have only needed Friday's and Wednesday's backup sets. Friday's backup sets would have included all of the data from the original backup. Wednesday's backup sets would have included every file that had been created or changed since Friday's backup.
Agents and features may have specific types of backup methods.
By default, each backup definition contains a backup job that limits the available backup method to the initial full backup for most data types. You can configure additional backup jobs that contain special backup methods for specific types of data. You can name the job templates for those backup jobs so that they have additional meaning to your organization's overall backup strategy.
See Configuring backup methods for backup jobs.
When you create a backup definition that contains more than one backup method for multiple data types, it is called a mixed backup in the Job Monitor.
Table: Available Backup Methods By Data Type
Data type | Job type and backup method |
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Files and Folders | Initial full:
Additional backup methods for files and folders:
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Enterprise Vault | Initial full:
Additional backup methods for Enterprise Vault:
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Microsoft Exchange | Initial full:
Additional backup methods for Microsoft Exchange:
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Virtual Machines | Initial full:
Additional backup methods for virtual machines:
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Microsoft SharePoint | Initial full:
Additional backup methods for Microsoft SharePoint:
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Microsoft SQL | Initial full:
Additional backup methods for Microsoft SQL:
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NDMP (all) | Initial full:
Additional backup methods for NDMP:
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Oracle | Initial full:
Additional backup methods for Oracle:
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