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Acronis patented technologies
Technologies, used in this product, are covered and protected by one or more U.S. Patent Numbers:
7,047,380; 7,275,139; 7,281,104; 7,318,135; 7,353,355; 7,366,859; 7,475,282; 7,603,533; 7,636,824;
7,650,473; 7,721,138; 7,779,221; 7,831,789; 7,886,120; 7,895,403; 7,934,064; 7,937,612; 7,949,635;
7,953,948; 7,979,690; 8,005,797; 8,051,044; 8,069,320; 8,073,815; 8,074,035; 8,145,607; 8,180,984;
8,225,133; 8,261,035; 8,296,264; 8,312,259; 8,347,137; and patent pending applications.
2.3.4 Microsoft Exchange ....................................................................................................................................... 31
2.3.5 Microsoft SQL ................................................................................................................................................ 36
2.3.6 Microsoft Active Directory............................................................................................................................ 39
2.4 Operations with archives and backups ....................................................................................40
2.7 Operations with tapes .............................................................................................................58
2.7.1 list tape_libraries ........................................................................................................................................... 58
2.7.2 list tape_slots ................................................................................................................................................. 59
2.9 Operations with disks ..............................................................................................................61
2.9.1 clone disk ....................................................................................................................................................... 61
2.10.1 Collecting information .................................................................................................................................. 62
3.1.2 service ............................................................................................................................................................ 71
3.2.1 Access to a virtual machine .......................................................................................................................... 72
3.2.2 New virtual machine ..................................................................................................................................... 73
3.3 Access to applications ..............................................................................................................74
3.3.4 Specifying Exchange data ............................................................................................................................. 75
3.3.5 Specifying SQL data ....................................................................................................................................... 76
3.3.6 Access to SQL Server instance ...................................................................................................................... 77
3.4.1 loc ................................................................................................................................................................... 77
3.5 Disks and volumes ...................................................................................................................82
3.5.1 disk ................................................................................................................................................................. 82
3.6.10 include ............................................................................................................................................................ 89
3.6.13 raw .................................................................................................................................................................. 91
3.7.23 type ............................................................................................................................................................... 106
3.8.2 letter ............................................................................................................................................................. 106
4.1.4 Microsoft Exchange ..................................................................................................................................... 125
4.1.5 Microsoft SQL .............................................................................................................................................. 127
4.1.6 Microsoft Active Directory.......................................................................................................................... 128
4.2 Operations with archives and backups ..................................................................................128
4.8.1 Collecting information ................................................................................................................................ 135
Acronis Backup supports the command-line interface with the acrocmd utility.
Unlike the trueimagecmd utility used in the older Acronis products, acrocmd does not contain any
tools that physically execute the commands. It merely provides the command-line interface to
Acronis Backup components—agents, storage nodes and the management server.
Once installed on a Windows or Linux machine, the acrocmd utility can be run from any folder or
directory. This utility is also available when operating in both Linux-based and PE-based bootable
media.
1.1 Installation
Products with local management only (Acronis Backup)
If you have installed Acronis Backup, the command-line utility is already on your machine. Only local
management of this machine is available. This means that any command or script for this machine
can be run only locally.
Products with centralized management (Acronis Backup Advanced)
Acronis Backup Advanced enables you to perform local, remote and centralized management (p. 10)
of any machine where an Acronis Backup agent is installed.
As with Management Console, you install the command-line utility on the machine from which you
prefer to operate (run commands or scripts). The machine may run Windows or Linux. Using the
command-line utility, you can manage a Windows machine from a machine running Linux or vice
versa.
Installation steps
In Linux, the command-line utility is installed by default with Management Console or Agent for
Linux.
In Windows, you install the utility from the setup file as a separate component. To access this
component in the installer, select the I want to manually select the Acronis components and customize the installation process check box. Or, you can extract and run the corresponding .msi
file.
To install the command-line utility from the .msi file:
1. Run the Acronis Backup setup program.
2. Click Extract installation files.
3. Select the check box corresponding to the AcronisCommandLineTool.msi file.
4. Specify the folder where to extract the file.
5. Click Extract.
6. After the file is successfully extracted, click Finish.
7. Go to the folder where the AcronisCommandLineTool.msi file is extracted, and launch the file.
8. Follow the Install Wizard instructions on the screen.
%ProgramFiles%\Acronis\CommandLineTool (in 32-bit Windows)
%ProgramFiles(x86)%\Acronis\CommandLineTool (in 64-bit Windows)
/usr/lib/Acronis/CommandLineTool (in Linux)
1.2 Backward compatibility and upgrade
Upgrading the command-line utility from Acronis Backup & Recovery 10
When you upgrade a stand-alone edition of Acronis Backup & Recovery 10 to Acronis Backup, no
additional actions are needed to upgrade the command-line utility.
When you upgrade an edition with centralized management, the software installs the command-line
utility on every machine where an agent is installed. No additional actions are needed.
Backward compatibility
The Acronis Backup command-line utility is backward compatible with the Acronis Backup &
Recovery 10 command-line utility. You can continue using the old syntax. Just type acrocmd instead
of trueimagecmd.
To continue using your existing scripts, edit the scripts so that trueimagecmd is replaced with
acrocmd. If your scripts contain the path to the trueimagecmd utility, replace it with the path to
the acrocmd utility. Retain all other parameters and values.
Before switching to acrocmd, make sure that all the product components are upgraded. Acronis Backup &
Recovery 10 does not support acrocmd.
Combination of the old and new syntaxes is acceptable within a script, but is not acceptable within a
command string. When you create new scripts, we recommend that you use the new syntax.
Even when using the old syntax, logs and commands' output will appear in the new format.
Extensions of backup file names
The behavior of the /filename parameter with the backup commands is slightly different in Acronis
Backup & Recovery 10 and Acronis Backup. Unlike Acronis Backup & Recovery 10, where the
extension of a backup file is exactly the same as you specify in the parameter value, Acronis Backup
adds the *.tib extension to this value.
For example:
In Acronis Backup & Recovery 10, if you specify /filename:<path>my_backup.bak, the
backup file name will be my_backup.bak
In Acronis Backup, if you specify /filename:<path>my_backup.bak, the backup file name
will be my_backup.bak.tib. However, if you specify /filename:<path>my_backup.tib,
the backup file name will also be my_backup.tib.
1.3 Syntax
acrocmd has the following format:
acrocmd <command> --<parameter 1>=<value list 1> … --<parameter N>=<value list N>
--include="\"D:\my photos\my wife, my kids
and me\""
Descriptions of commands and parameters use the following specific typographic conventions.
Between angle brackets (<>) – information that the user must supply. Example: <IP address or
hostname>
Between braces ({}); choices separated by pipe (|) – a set of choices from which the user must
choose only one. Example: {on|off}.
Parameter values
For some parameters, you should specify only one value. The description of such value is written in
the singular. For example, if you see --arc=<archive name>, specify only one archive name in this
parameter.
For some parameters, you can enter one or more values. The description of such values is written in
the plural. For example, if you see --volume=<volume numbers>, you can specify a list of volume
numbers in this parameter.
Separators
A parameter name and a value list can be separated by either an equals sign or a space character.
Values in a value list can be separated by either a comma or a space character.
Examples:
acrocmd backup disk --disk=1,2
acrocmd backup disk --disk=1 2
acrocmd backup disk --disk 1,2
acrocmd backup disk --disk 1 2
Enclosing parameter values that contain commas and space characters
Files with input parameters
acrocmd supports files with input parameters. The contents of an input parameter file are
concatenated with the parameters in the command line.
For example, the command
acrocmd backup disk -f params.txt
where the content of the file params.txt is
--disk=1 --loc=e:\my_backups --arc=archive123
equals to
acrocmd backup disk --disk=1 --loc=e:\my_backups --arc=archive123
Acronis Backup Advanced enables you to perform local, remote and centralized management of any
machine where an Acronis Backup agent is installed.
Local management
For local management, you install the command-line utility on the same machine where the Acronis
Backup agent is installed. The operations are performed under the user account you are logged on
with.
Example
To view all disks of the local machine, run the following command:
acrocmd list disks
Remote management
For remote management, you install the command-line utility on the machine from which you prefer
to operate (run commands or scripts).
Along with the command, you specify:
the IP address or host name of the remote machine that has an Acronis Backup agent (--host)
credentials (a pair of user name and password) for access to that machine
The user whose credentials you specify must be a member of the Acronis Remote Users security
group on that machine. The operations are performed under this user account.
Example
To view all disks of a remote machine, run the following command:
acrocmd list disks --host=<IP address or hostname> --credentials=<user name>,<password>
Centralized management
Commands on a machine
Through Acronis Backup Management Server, you can manage any registered machine using the
credentials of the management server's administrator. Credentials for each remote machine are not
required.
For a number of commands, you can specify comma-separated addresses of multiple machines. The
operation will be executed on all the specified machines one after another.
Along with the command, you specify:
the IP address or host name of the machine that has an Acronis Backup agent (--address)
the IP address or host name of the management server (--host)
the name of the management server service (--service=ams)
credentials for access to the management server
The user whose credentials you specify must be a member of the Acronis Centralized Admins security
group on the management server. If you are running the command-line utility on a different machine,
the user must also be a member of the Acronis Remote Users security group on the management
server.
# cd /usr/lib/Acronis/CommandLineTool/uninstall
# ./uninstall
To uninstall the command-line utility in the unattended mode, run the ./uninstall commands
with the -a parameter.
Uninstallation in Windows
When you uninstall Acronis Backup by clicking Start -> All Programs -> Acronis -> Uninstall Acronis
Backup, the command-line utility is uninstalled along with all product components.
To uninstall the command-line utility separately from the product
1. Run the Acronis Backup setup program.
2. Click Extract installation files.
3. Select the check box corresponding to the AcronisCommandLineTool.msi file.
4. Specify the folder where to extract the file.
5. Click Extract.
6. After the file is successfully extracted, click Close.
where <path> is the folder where the file is extracted.
If you have Acronis Backup Advanced, you can also uninstall the command-line utility as follows. Run
the Acronis Backup setup program, click Install Acronis Backup, then click Modify, and then clear the
check box next to the name of the command-line utility.
1.6 List of abbreviated names
This document uses the following abbreviated names.
AMS – Acronis Backup Management Server and this component's service.
MMS – Acronis Managed Machine Service, the service running on a machine where an Acronis agent
is installed.
ASN – Acronis Backup Storage Node and this component's service.
This section lists the supported commands and compatible parameters.
When using the command-line utility, you can view the information about the supported commands
by means of the help (p. 17) command.
2.1 Commands by services
2.1.1 Disk, file, virtual machine backup
The following table summarizes the commands that can be executed by the Acronis services. For
questions on how to connect to an Acronis service, please see the --service (p. 71) command
description.
* The AMS service does not execute these commands by itself. It only defines which Agent for VMware or
Command
AMS
MMS
ASN
Agent for
Exchange
Agent for
SQL (single-
pass)*
Agent for
Active
Directory
(single- pass)*
Reserved
Backup and recovery
list
exchange_databases (p.
31)
+
list
exchange_mailboxes (p.
31)
+
backup
exchange_database (p.
32)
+
backup
exchange_mailbox (p.
33)
+
Agent for Hyper-V can execute the command and transmits the command to the corresponding MMS.
2.1.2 Application backup
The following table summarizes the commands that can be executed by the Acronis services. For
questions on how to connect to an Acronis service, please see the --service (p. 71) command
description.
* This agent can also execute all of the commands that can be executed by Agent for Windows (p. 13).
** When exporting a transaction log backup, the data from the entire backup chain (the full database backup
plus the set of subsequent transaction log backups including the selected one) is copied to a single backup.
Transaction log files will be applied to the database during recovery.
When exporting an incremental mailbox backup, the data from the backup chain (the full backup plus the set of
the subsequent incremental mailbox backups including the selected one) is consolidated into a single backup.
*** Backups that have no dependencies are deleted without any limitations. A backup that has dependencies
cannot be deleted separately from its dependent backups.
2.2 help
The command provides the information about the supported commands.
Type acrocmd help to get the list of all available commands.
Type acrocmd help<text fragment> to get the list of all commands that begin with the
fragment you specified.
For example, acrocmd help ba lists the following commands: backup disk, backup file, etc.
Type acrocmd help <complete command name> to view the information about this command.
Backing up the entire machine is highly recommended when you perform a single-pass disk and
application backup (i.e. specify the --application_aware parameter). Otherwise, application
data may be backed up incompletely.
Access to a specific service within a machine (Acronis Backup Advanced only)
--service={mms|ams} (p. 71)
2.3.1.3 recover disk
Recovers the specified disks or volumes.
A disk is always recovered along with its MBR. When you recover a volume, the MBR is not recovered
unless you use the --mbr_disk and --target_mbr_disk parameters.
Recovering disks
If the --target_disk parameter is specified, the software will recover each disk specified in
the --disk parameter to the respective disk specified in the --target_disk parameter. For
example, if you type --disk=1,2 --target_disk=3,4, the software will recover disk 1 to
disk 3 and disk 2 to disk 4. If the number of values of the --disk and --target_disk
parameters differ, the command will fail.
If the --target_disk parameter is not specified, the software will automatically map the disks
specified in the --disk parameter to the target machine's disks. If the automatic mapping is not
successful, the command will fail.
Recovering volumes
If the --target_volume parameter is specified, the software will recover each volume
specified in the --volume parameter to the respective volume specified in the
--target_volume parameter. For example, if you type --volume=3-1,3-2
--target_volume=1-1,1-2, the software will recover volume 3-1 to volume 1-1 and volume
3-2 to volume 1-2. If the number of values of the --volume and --target_volume parameters
differ, the command will fail.
If the --target_volume parameter is not specified, and the --target_disk parameter is
specified, the software will try to recover all of the volumes specified in the --volume
parameter to the first unallocated space of a suitable size on the specified disk. If no unallocated
space of a suitable size is found, the command will fail. You can specify only one target disk, even
when recovering several volumes.
If neither the --target_volume parameter nor the --target_disk parameter is specified,
the software will automatically map the volumes specified in the --volume parameter to the
target machine's disks. If the automatic mapping is not successful, the command will fail.
--start=<offset>{s|kb|mb|gb} (p. 84)
--size=<volume size>{s|kb|mb|gb} (p. 85)
--target_mbr_disk=<disk number> (p. 85)
How to recover
--fat16_32 (p. 101)
--ext2_3 (p. 101)
--preserve_mbr (p. 103)
--type={active|primary|logical} (p. 106)
--use_all_space (p. 106)
--active_restore
If the parameter is specified, the Acronis Active Restore technology is enabled.
Access to a specific service within a machine (Acronis Backup Advanced only)
--service={mms|ams} (p. 71)
2.3.1.4 recover mbr
Recovers the MBR from a disk or volume backup.
Use this command to repair an MBR on the same machine that was backed up. When migrating to
different hardware, use the recover disk (p. 20) command with either the --disk parameter (the
MBR will be recovered automatically) or the --volume, --mbr_disk, and --target_mbr_disk
parameters.
Access to a specific service within a machine (Acronis Backup Advanced only)
--service={mms|ams} (p. 71)
2.3.1.5 recover lvm_structure
Creates the same logical volume structure on the specified machine as in the backed-up system. Use
this command if you need to recover a Linux system, along with its software RAID or LVM structure,
to a machine with different logical volume structure or without logical volumes.
The specified machine must be booted with Linux-based bootable media. Before executing the
command, make sure that the machine has enough disks that are as big or bigger than the original
disks. Execute the command prior to the recover disk (p. 20) command. Then, recover each
volume to the corresponding volume of the target machine.
Caution: As a result of this command execution, the current volume structure on the machine will be replaced
with the one stored in the backup. This will destroy the data that is currently stored on some or all of the
machine's hard disks.
This parameter is effective only when recovering from a file-level backup of Windows files. If the
value is true or if the parameter is not specified, recover NTFS permissions for files along with
the files themselves. Otherwise, the files will inherit the NTFS permissions from the folder to
which they will be recovered.
--original_date (p. 101)
Recovery options
--force_yes (p. 115)
--reboot (p. 118)
--reboot_after (p. 118)
--retry_count=<number of attempts> (p. 114)
--retry_delay=<delay> (p. 114)
--silent_mode={on|off} (p. 118)
--use_registry_defaults (p. 119)
General parameters
--log=<full path> (p. 115)
--log_format={structured|unstructured} (p. 115)
--output={formatted|raw} (p. 117)
--progress (p. 118)
{-f|--file_params}=<full local path> (p. 115)
Access to a remote machine (Acronis Backup Advanced only)
Access to a specific service within a machine (Acronis Backup Advanced only)
--service={mms|ams} (p. 71)
2.3.3 Virtual machines
The commands listed in this section are available in Acronis Backup Advanced only if Agent for
VMware or Agent for Hyper-V is installed. (This does not apply to the recover vm (p. 29) command.)
2.3.3.1 list vmservers
Lists virtualization servers and server clusters that are present on the specified management server
or that are accessible to Agent for VMware.
Access to a specific service within a machine (Acronis Backup Advanced only)
--service={mms|ams} (p. 71)
2.3.3.2 list vms
Lists virtual machines that are present on the specified management server or that are managed by
Agent for VMware or Agent for Hyper-V, depending on the service that will execute the command.
Creates a backup of specified disks and volumes of the specified virtual machines. If neither --disk
nor --volume parameter is specified, the command backs up the entire machine.
You can specify one or more virtual machines to be backed up. The --vmname parameter is
case-sensitive.
--simultaneous_backup=<number>
Number of virtual machines to be backed up simultaneously by Agent for VMware or Agent for
Hyper-V. If not specified, each agent will back up virtual machines two at a time simultaneously.
To back up machines one at a time, set the parameter value to 1.
Access to a specific service within a machine (Acronis Backup Advanced only)
--service={mms|ams} (p. 71)
2.3.3.4 recover vm
Recovers a disk or volume backup onto a new or existing virtual machine. The recover vm command
replaces and enhances the convert command which was available in earlier versions of the Acronis
software.
The recover vm command can be executed by the following agents:
Agent for VMware recovers a disk (volume) backup to a new or existing ESX(i) virtual machine.
Agent for Hyper-V recovers a disk (volume) backup to a new or existing Hyper-V virtual machine.
Agent for Windows and Agent for Linux recover a disk (volume) backup to a new virtual machine
of any of the following types: VMware Workstation, Microsoft Virtual PC, Red Hat Enterprise
Virtualization, or Citrix XenServer Open Virtual Appliance (OVA).
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. The OVA virtual appliance can be imported to XenServer. Disks of a Virtual PC
can be attached to a Hyper-V virtual machine.
A virtual machine must be powered off during the recovery to this machine. The target machine located on an
ESX(i) or Hyper-V host will be powered off without a prompt. Please be sure to specify the correct machine.