Acronis TRUE IMAGE SERVER 9.1 User Manual
User’s Guide
®
Acronis
True Image Server 9.1
for Windows
Copyright © Acronis, Inc., 2000-2007. All rights reserved.
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2 Copyright © Acronis, Inc., 2000-2007
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Illegal use and/or distribution of this software will be prosecuted.
Copyright © Acronis, Inc., 2000-2007 3
Table of Contents
Chapter 1. Introduction...........................................................................................
1.1 Acronis® True Image Server – a complete solution for corporate users.................................7
1.2 New in Acronis True Image 9.1 Server for Windows.............................................................8
1.3 System requirements and supported media.........................................................................9
1.3.1 Minimum system requirements ....................................................................................9
1.3.2 Supported operating systems.......................................................................................9
1.3.3 Supported file systems..............................................................................................10
1.3.4 Supported storage media .......................................................................................... 10
1.4 Technical support............................................................................................................10
7
Chapter 2. Acronis True Image Server installation and starting ..........................12
2.1 Installing Acronis True Image Server ................................................................................ 12
2.1.1 Acronis Universal Restore installation..........................................................................13
2.2 Extracting Acronis True Image Server...............................................................................13
2.3 Running Acronis True Image Server..................................................................................13
2.4 Removing Acronis True Image Server...............................................................................13
Chapter 3. General information and proprietary Acronis technologies ................14
3.1 The difference between file archives and disk/partition images ........................................... 14
3.2 Full, incremental and differential backups.......................................................................... 14
3.3 Acronis Secure Zone........................................................................................................ 15
3.4 Acronis Startup Recovery Manager ................................................................................... 16
3.4.1 How it works............................................................................................................16
3.4.2 How to use ..............................................................................................................16
3.5 Acronis Snap Restore.......................................................................................................16
3.5.1 Limitations in using Acronis Snap Restore...................................................................16
3.5.2 How it works............................................................................................................17
3.5.3 How to use ..............................................................................................................17
3.6 Acronis Universal Restore.................................................................................................17
3.6.1 Acronis Universal Restore purpose..............................................................................17
3.6.2 Acronis Universal Restore general principles................................................................ 18
3.6.3 Acronis Universal Restore and Microsoft Sysprep......................................................... 18
3.6.4 Using Acronis Universal Restore in virtual environment ................................................19
3.6.5 Limitations in using Acronis Universal Restore.............................................................19
3.6.6 Getting Acronis Universal Restore...............................................................................19
3.7 Using dynamic disks and volumes..................................................................................... 19
3.8 Backing up to tape drive.................................................................................................. 20
3.9 Viewing disk and partition information .............................................................................. 20
Chapter 4. Using Acronis True Image Server ........................................................22
4.1 Main program window.....................................................................................................22
4.2 Available operations........................................................................................................24
Chapter 5. Creating backup archives ....................................................................26
5.1 Backing up files and folders (file backup) .......................................................................... 26
5.2 Backing up disks and partitions (image backup)................................................................. 30
5.3 Setting backup options....................................................................................................32
5.3.1 Archive protection.....................................................................................................33
5.3.2 Source files exclusion................................................................................................ 33
5.3.3 Pre/post commands..................................................................................................33
5.3.4 Database support ..................................................................................................... 34
5.3.5 Compression level..................................................................................................... 35
5.3.6 Backup performance.................................................................................................35
5.3.7 Fast incremental/differential backup...........................................................................36
5.3.8 Archive splitting........................................................................................................36
4 Copyright © Acronis, Inc., 2000-2007
5.3.9 File-level security settings..........................................................................................37
5.3.10 Media components..................................................................................................37
5.3.11 Additional settings...................................................................................................38
Chapter 6. Restoring the backup data ..................................................................39
6.1 Restore under Windows or boot from CD?......................................................................... 39
6.1.1 Network settings in rescue mode ............................................................................... 39
6.2 Restoring files and folders from file archives...................................................................... 40
6.3 Restoring disks/partitions or files from images................................................................... 42
6.3.1 Starting the Restore Data Wizard...............................................................................43
6.3.2 Archive selection.......................................................................................................43
6.3.3 Restoration type selection ......................................................................................... 44
6.3.4 Selecting a disk/partition to restore............................................................................ 45
6.3.5 Selecting a target disk/partition..................................................................................45
6.3.6 Changing the restored partition type .......................................................................... 46
6.3.7 Changing the restored partition file system.................................................................47
6.3.8 Changing the restored partition size and location.........................................................47
6.3.9 Assigning a letter to the restored partition .................................................................. 48
6.3.10 Restoring several disks or partitions at once..............................................................48
6.3.11 Using Acronis Universal Restore...............................................................................48
6.3.12 Setting restore options............................................................................................49
6.3.13 Restoration summary and executing restoration ........................................................ 49
6.4 Setting restore options .................................................................................................... 50
6.4.1 Files to exclude from restoration................................................................................50
6.4.2 Files overwriting mode..............................................................................................50
6.4.3 Pre/post commands..................................................................................................50
6.4.4 Restoration priority...................................................................................................51
6.4.5 File-level security settings..........................................................................................51
6.4.6 Specifying mass storage drivers.................................................................................51
6.4.7 Additional settings ....................................................................................................52
Chapter 7. Scheduling tasks..................................................................................53
7.1 Creating scheduled tasks.................................................................................................53
7.1.1 Setting up daily execution .........................................................................................54
7.1.2 Setting up weekly execution......................................................................................55
7.1.3 Setting up monthly execution.....................................................................................56
7.1.4 Setting up one-time execution...................................................................................56
7.2 Managing scheduled tasks ...............................................................................................57
Chapter 8. Managing Acronis Secure Zone ...........................................................58
8.1 Creating Acronis Secure Zone...........................................................................................58
8.2 Resizing Acronis Secure Zone...........................................................................................60
8.3 Changing the password for Acronis Secure Zone................................................................60
8.4 Deleting Acronis Secure Zone...........................................................................................61
Chapter 9. Creating bootable media .....................................................................62
9.1 Creating Acronis rescue media ......................................................................................... 62
9.2 Creating Win PE ISO with Acronis True Image Server......................................................... 63
Chapter 10. Other operations................................................................................65
10.1 Validating backup archives.............................................................................................65
10.2 Operation results notification..........................................................................................65
10.2.1 Email notification....................................................................................................66
10.2.2 WinPopup notification..............................................................................................66
10.3 Viewing logs ................................................................................................................. 67
10.4 Event tracing ................................................................................................................68
10.4.1 Windows event log..................................................................................................68
10.4.2 SNMP notifications..................................................................................................69
Copyright © Acronis, Inc., 2000-2007 5
10.5 Managing System Restore..............................................................................................69
Chapter 11. Mounting an image as a virtual drive ................................................70
11.1 Mounting an image........................................................................................................70
11.2 Unmounting an image ................................................................................................... 72
Chapter 12. Transferring the system to a new disk ..............................................73
12.1 General information....................................................................................................... 73
12.2 Security 73
12.3 Executing transfers........................................................................................................74
12.3.1 Selecting Clone mode..............................................................................................74
12.3.2 Selecting source disk...............................................................................................74
12.3.3 Selecting destination disk ........................................................................................75
12.3.4 Partitioned destination disk...................................................................................... 76
12.3.5 Old and new disk partition layout ............................................................................. 76
12.3.6 Old disk data..........................................................................................................76
12.3.7 Destroying the old disk data.....................................................................................77
12.3.8 Selecting partition transfer method........................................................................... 78
12.3.9 Partitioning the old disk........................................................................................... 79
12.3.10 Old and new disk partition layouts..........................................................................79
12.3.11 Cloning summary..................................................................................................80
12.4 Cloning with manual partitioning.....................................................................................80
12.4.1 Old and new disk partition layouts............................................................................80
Chapter 13. Adding a new hard disk .....................................................................82
13.1 Selecting a hard disk ..................................................................................................... 82
13.2 Creating new partitions..................................................................................................82
13.3 Disk add summary.........................................................................................................83
Chapter 14. Command-line mode and scripting....................................................84
14.1 Working in the command-line mode................................................................................ 84
14.1.1 Supported commands..............................................................................................84
14.1.2 Common options (options common for most trueimagecmd commands)...................... 86
14.1.3 Specific options (options specific for individual trueimagecmd commands)...................87
14.1.4 trueimagecmd.exe usage examples..........................................................................91
14.1.5 Command-line mode usage under DOS..................................................................... 93
14.2 Scripting 93
14.2.1 Script execution parameters.....................................................................................93
14.2.2 Script structure....................................................................................................... 93
14.2.3 Script usage examples.............................................................................................94
6 Copyright © Acronis, Inc., 2000-2007
Chapter 1. Introduction
1.1 Acronis® True Image Server – a complete solution for corporate users
You have come to rely on your servers to run your business and retain key enterprise data.
Acronis True Image Server provides comprehensive, reliable, and cost-effective system
backup and recovery for corporate servers. With Acronis True Image Server you have peace
of mind knowing you are protected and can recover from any situation.
Minimizes downtime
Acronis True Image Server enables you to restore systems in minutes, not hours or days. An
entire system can be restored from an image that includes everythin g the system needs to
run: the operating system, applications, databases, and configurations. No reinstallation or
reconfiguration is required. Moreover, complete system restoration can be performed to an
existing system or to a new system with different hardware or to virtual machines. With the
new Acronis Snap Restore feature, users can access a system during restore, further
decreasing downtime. File-based backups provide you with the flexibility to only backup
specific critical files.
Eases Administration
Wizards guide users through backup and recovery tasks, ensuring the product can be
implemented with minimal user training.
Automates Backup
With the scheduling capability in Acronis True Image Server, you simply create backup tasks,
tailored by group, at certain times or at certain events, automating backups.
To ensure that backups have occurred, or user intervention is required, you can request
notifications via email or pop-up. You can view Acronis events in Windows Application Events
Log or Acronis own log. Log messages can be automatically sent out to SNMP clients.
The product also supports the creation of custom commands before and after backups. For
example, users can automatically run anti-virus products before an image is created and
verify the validity of backups after they have been created.
Ensures 24 X 7 Uptime
With the Acronis Drive Snapshot, systems can be imaged while they are in use, supporting
24 by 7 availability. This technology enables the product to backup and image critical
operating system files, the master boot record and any partition-based boot records without
requiring a reboot. A CPU allocation feature allows you to limit the amount of CPU usage for
the application to maximize the CPU’s availability for mission critical applications. Moreover,
users can control hard disk drive writing speeds and control network bandwidth used during
backups, allowing minimal disruption of business operations.
A several-second database suspension is provided for correct backup of mission critical
applications such as Microsoft Exchange Server, Microsoft SQL Server and Oracle with
support VSS. If your database or operating system does not support VSS, Acronis True
Image Server will execute your custom commands to realize database suspension.
Supports Cutting Edge Technology
Copyright © Acronis, Inc., 2000-2007 7
Businesses today are moving to leverage the latest technologies, dual -core 64 bit processors
and 64 bit operating systems. With Acronis True Image Server, you can protect these new
machines, as well as legacy ones, running one solution.
Leverages Existing Technology Investments
The product can leverage your current storage infrastructur e by supporting a wide variety of
storage media, so you can avoid costly hardware purchases to implement the solution. The
product supports key storage technologies such as: Direct Attached St orage (DAS), Network
Attached Storage (NAS), Storage Area Networks (SAN), Redundant Arrays of Independent
Disks (RAID) devices, tapes, USB and IEEE-1394 (FireWire) compliant storage devices, CDs,
DVDs, removable drives (Floppy, Zip, etc.) and shared storage. Moreover, the product
ensures that you maximize the space on these resources with four levels of compression.
Disk cloning and new disk deployment
Acronis True Image Server can be used to clone an image onto multiple servers. For
example, a company purchased several servers and needs similar environments on each of
them. Traditionally, an IT manager should install the operating system and programs on
every server. With Acronis True Image Server, the IT manager can cr eate a disk image of
the first system deployed. That image can then be duplicated onto multiple servers.
If you need to upgrade the server hard disk drive, Acronis True Image Server simplifies the
task to few mouse clicks creating the exact copy of your old disk to a new one and adjusting
partitions size to fit a new hard disk.
1.2 New in Acronis True Image 9.1 Server for Windows
• Support for Windows XP Professional x64 Edition, Windows Server 2003 x64
Editions
• Direct backup to DVD and bootable DVD creation
• Support for GPT hard disks (disks with GUID partition table)
• Backup to/restore from FTP servers
• Acronis Snap Restore – A user can start working in seconds while the system is still
being restored
• Acronis Universal Restore (optional) – Hardware-independent live system restore
• File-level backup and recovery, including files opened in exclusive usage mode - In
addition to an entire partition/system backup
• Differential backup – Backup only the changes made since the full backup
• Fast incremental/differential backup – Users can choose to compare files with their
archived copies by date/size (fast process) or by file contents (precise, but timeconsuming process)
• Files and folders backup/restore filtering – Saves space when creating file b ackups
by only backing up files of the types the users want to keep. Similarly, a user can tell the
program not to restore certain files from the file archive
• Microsoft Volume Shadow Copy Service (VSS) support (for Windows 2003 Server
and higher) – Easily backup VSS compatible databases (Exchange, Oracle, SQL Server)
without taking databases offline and ensuring data consistency
• Pre/post backup/restore commands – User s can speci f y their own comma nds which
will be executed before and after the backup or restore process. For example, one might
8 Copyright © Acronis, Inc., 2000-2007
want to remove some temporary files from the disk before starting a backup or configure
a third party antivirus product to be started each time before the backup starts
• User-editable default backup options – Users can configure and save backup
parameters, such as backup performance (hard disk writing speed, network bandwidth
during backups), validate backup archive after backup completion, file-level security
settings (preserving files’ security settings in the archive, storing encrypted files in
encrypted or decrypted state)
• User-editable default restore options – Users can configure and save restore
parameters, such as files overwriting mode, the original or current date and time for
restored files etc.
• Read-write mode of mounting images
• Bootable backup media – When backi ng up to removable media, users can make this
media bootable in the same manner as a rescue CD, so s eparate recover media is not
required
• Bootable disks ISOs and RIS packages – In addition to burning a bootable rescue
disk, users can save its ISO image for burning later, or create a RIS package for remote
boot of Acronis True Image Server
• Windows Event Log and SNMP support – Store event log messages, issued by
Acronis True Image Server, to Windows Event Log or send them to SNMP clients
• Manage System Restore tool (for Windows 2003 Server and higher) – Turn on/off the
Windows native System Restore tool directly from Acronis True Image Server
• Context Help
1.3 System requirements and supported media
1.3.1 Minimum system requirements
Acronis True Image Server requires the following hardware:
• Pentium processor or higher
• 256MB RAM
• FDD or CD-RW drive for bootable media creation
• Mouse (recommended).
1.3.2 Supported operating systems
Acronis True Image Server
• Windows NT 4.0 Workstation SP6/2000 Professional SP4/XP Professional SP2
• Windows NT 4.0 Server SP6/2000 Server/2000 Advanced Server/2003 Server
• Windows XP Professional x64 Edition, Windows Server 2003 x64 Editions
• Windows Vista all Editions (except for the Acronis Snap Restore feature)
Acronis Universal Restore (optional)
• Windows 2000 Professional SP4/XP Professional SP2
• Windows 2000 Server/2000 Advanced Server/2003 Server
• Windows XP Professional x64 Edition, Windows Server 2003 x64 Editions
Copyright © Acronis, Inc., 2000-2007 9
• Windows Vista all Editions
Acronis True Image Server also enables creating a bootable diskette or CD-R/W that can
back-up and restore a disk/partition on a computer running any PC-based opera ting system
including Linux®.
1.3.3 Supported file systems
• FAT16/32
• NTFS
• Ext2/Ext3
• ReiserFS
• Reiser4
• Linux SWAP
• XFS
• JFS
If a file system is not supported or is corrupted, Acronis True Image Server can copy data
using a sector-by-sector approach.
For XFS and JFS file systems the partition resizing feature is not supported.
1.3.4 Supported storage media
• Hard disk drives
• Netw orked s torage devi ces such as S torage Ar ea Netw orks ( SANs) and Network Atta ched
Storage (NAS)
• SCSI tape drives
• IDE and SCSI RAID controllers of any level
• FTP-servers*
• CD-R/RW, DVD-R/RW, DVD+R (including double-layer DVD+R), DVD+RW, DVD-RAM**
• USB 1.0 / 2.0, FireWire (IEEE-1394) and PC card storage devices
• ZIP®, Jaz® and other removable media
* - an FTP-server must allow passive mode for file transfers. Data recovery directly from
FTP-server requires the archive to consist of files no more than 2GB in size. It is
recommended that you change the source computer firewall settings to open ports 20 and
21 for both TCP and UDP protocols and disable the Routing and Remote Access Windows
service.
** - Burned write-once discs cannot be read in Windows NT 4 without third-party software.
Burned rewritable discs cannot be read in Linux without kernel patch.
1.4 Technical support
Users of legally purchased copies of Acronis True Image Server are entitled t o free technical
support from Acronis. If you experience problems installing or using Acronis products that
you can’t solve yourself by using this guide, then please contact Acronis Technical Support.
10 Copyright © Acronis, Inc., 2000-2007
More information about contacting Acronis Technical Support is available at the following
http://www.acronis.com/enterprise/support/
link:
Copyright © Acronis, Inc., 2000-2007 11
Chapter 2. Acronis True Image Server installation and starting
2.1 Installing Acronis True Image Server
To install Acronis True Image Server:
• run the Acronis True Image Server setup file
• in the Install Menu, select the program to install: Acronis True Image Server
• follow the Install Wizard instructions on the screen.
Acronis True Image Server Install Window
Typical, Custom and Complete installation is available. Having pressed Custom, you can
choose to install, besides Acronis True Image Server, Rescue Media Builder and Bart PE
plug-in.
With Rescue Media Builder you can create bootable rescue disks or RIS packages (see
details in
purchased a boxed product that contains a bootable CD. Installing the Bootable Rescue
Media Builder will allow you to create bootable media, its ISO image or a bootable RIS
package at any time from the main program window or running Bootable Rescue Media
Builder on its own.
The well-known Bart PE utility is used to boot into a Windows-like environment from CD.
Applications are installed into Bart PE in the form of plug-ins. Choosing Bart PE plug-in
installation (disabled by default) provides the ability to include Acronis True Image Server
into a Bart PE plug-in tab. The plug-in files will be placed to the installation folder along with
other program files.
Chapter 9. Creating bootable media
When installed, Acronis True Image Server creates a new device in the Device Manager list
(Control Panel -> System -> Hardware -> Device Manager -> Acronis Devices ->
Acronis TrueImage Backup Archive Explorer). Do not disable or uninstall this device,
as it is necessary for connecting image archives as virtual disks (see
an image as a virtual drive
).
). You might not need this tool if you
Chapter 11. Mounting
12 Copyright © Acronis, Inc., 2000-2007
2.1.1 Acronis Universal Restore installation
Acronis Universal Restore is an option to Acronis True Image Server. It is purchased
separately and installed from a separate setup file. Acronis Universal Restore has its own
serial number which is required at installation.
Acronis Universal Restore can only be installed on a computer where at least one of the
following Acronis components is installed:
Acronis True Image Server
Bootable Media Builder.
Acronis Universal Restore can be installed on a networked computer either locally, by
running the setup program, or remotely using one of remote installation services, for
example, Systems Management Server (a component of Microsoft Windows NT BackOffice
program package).
After installation, Acronis Universal Restore automatically plugs in one or more of above
program components. Acronis True Image Server name, displayed in its main window,
changes to Acronis True Image Server with Universal Restore.
2.2 Extracting Acronis True Image Server
When installing Acronis True Image Server, you can save the setup (.msi) file on a local or
network drive. This will help when modifying or recovering the existing component
installation.
To save a setup file:
• run the Acronis True Image Server setup file;
• in the Install Menu, right-click on the program name and select Extract;
• select a location for the setup file and click Save.
2.3 Running Acronis True Image Server
You can run Acronis True Image Server in Windows by selecting Start -> Programs ->
Acronis -> Acronis True Image Server -> Acronis True Image Server or clicking on
the appropriate shortcut on the desktop.
If your operating system does not load for some reason, you can run Acronis Startup
Recovery Manager. However, this must be activated prior to use; see
Recovery Manager
server bootup, when you see a corresponding message that tells you to press that key.
Acronis True Image Server will be run in the standalone mode, allowing you to recover the
damaged partitions.
If your disk data is totally corrupted and you cannot boot (or if you have not activated
Acronis Startup Recovery Manager), load the standalone Acronis True Image Server version
from the bootable media (supplied with the retail box or created by you using Rescue Media
Builder) or RIS-server. Then you will be able to restore the disk from its previously created
image.
to learn more about this procedure. To run the program, press F11 during
3.4 Acronis Startup
2.4 Removing Acronis True Image Server
Select Control panel -> Add or remove programs -> <Acronis True Image Server>
-> Remove. Then follow instructions on the screen. You may have to reboot your computer
afterwards to complete the task.
Copyright © Acronis, Inc., 2000-2007 13
Chapter 3. General information and proprietary Acronis technologies
3.1 The difference between file archives and disk/partition images
A backup archive is a file or a group of files (also called in this Guide “backups”), that
contains a copy of selected files/folders data or a copy of all information stored on selected
disks/partitions.
When you back up files and folders, only the data, along with the folder tree, is compressed
and stored.
Backing up disks and partitions is performed in a different way: Acronis True Imag e Server
stores a sector-by-sector snapshot of the disk, which includes the op erating system , registry,
drivers, software applications and data files, as well as system areas hidden from the user.
This procedure is called “creating a disk image,” and the resulting backup archive is often
called a disk/partition image.
Acronis True Image Server stores only those hard disk parts that contain data (for supported
file systems). Further, it does not back up swap file information (pagefile.sys) and
hiberfil.sys (a file that keeps RAM contents when the computer goes into hibernation). This
reduces image size and speeds up image creation and restoration.
A partition image includes all files and folders independent of their attributes (including
hidden and system files), boot record, FAT (file allocation table), root and the zero track of
the hard disk with master boot record (MBR).
A disk image includes images of all disk partitions as well as the zero track with master boot
record (MBR).
By default, files in all Acronis True Image Server archives have a “.tib” extension.
It is important to note that you can restore files and folders not only from file archi ves, but
from disk/partition images, too. To do so, mount the image as a virtual disk (see
Mounting an image as a virtual drive
specified files or folders.
) or start the image restoration and select Restore
Chapter 11.
3.2 Full, incremental and differential backups
Acronis True Image Server can create full, incremental and differential backups.
A full backup contains all data at the moment of backup creation. It forms a base for
further incremental or differential backup or is used as a standalone archive. A full backup
has the shortest restore time as compared to incremental or differential ones.
An incremental backup file only contains data changed since the la st full or incremental
backup creation. Therefore, it is smaller and takes less time to create. But as it doesn’t
contain all data, all the previous incremental backups and the initial full backup are required
for restoration.
Unlike incremental backup, when every backup procedure creat es the next file in a “chain,” a
differential backup creates an independent file, containing all changes against the initial
full archive. Generally, a differential backup will be restored faster than an incremental one,
as it does not have to process through a long chain of previous backups.
14 Copyright © Acronis, Inc., 2000-2007
A standalone full backup may be an optimal solution if you often roll back the system to the
initial state (like in a gaming club or Internet café, to undo changes made by the guests). In
this case, you need not re-create the initial full image, so the backup time is not crucial, and
the restore time will be minimal.
Alternatively, if you are interested in saving only the last data state to be able to restore it in
case of system failure, consider the differential backup. It is particularly effective if your data
changes tend to be little as compared to the full data volume.
The same is true for incremental backup. In addition, it is most useful when you need
frequent backups and possibility to roll back to any of stored states. Having created a full
backup once, if you then create an incremental backup each day of a month, you will get the
same result as if you created full backups every day. However, the cost in time and disk
space (or removable media usage) will be as little as one tenth as much.
It is important to note that the above arguments are nothing but examples for your
information. Feel free to make up your own backup policy in accordance with your specific
tasks and conditions. Acronis True Image Server is flexible enough to meet any real-life
demands.
An incremental or differential backup created after a disk is defragmented might be
considerably larger than usual. This is because the defragmentation program changes file
locations on disk and the backups reflect these changes. Therefore, it is recommended that
you re-create a full backup after disk defragmentation.
3.3 Acronis Secure Zone
The Acronis Secure Zone is a special hidden partition for storing archives on the computer
system itself. For archive security purposes, ordinary applications cannot access it. In the
Acronis True Image Server Wizards’ windows the zone is listed along with all partitions
available for storing archives. Acronis Secure Zone is necessary for using Acronis Startup
Recovery Manager and Acronis Snap Restore features (see below).
Acronis Secure Zone is always available for archive creation as long as ther e is space for the
backup file. If there is not enough space, older archives will be deleted to create space.
Acronis True Image Server uses the following scheme to clean up Acronis Secure Zone:
• If th ere is n ot e nou gh free space in the zone to create a backup, the program delet e s th e
oldest full backup with all subsequent incremental/differential backups.
• If there is only one full backup (with subsequent incremental/differential backups) left
and a full backup is in progress, then the old full backup and incremental/differential
backups are deleted.
• Otherwise, (only one full backup left, and an incremental/differential backup is in
progress) you will get a message about space error. In that case you will have to either
re-create the full backup or increase Acronis Secure Zone.
Thus, you can back up data automatically on a schedule (see
Chapter 7. Scheduling tasks
and not worry about zone overflow issues. However, if you keep long chains of incremental
backups, it will be a good practice to periodically check the zone free space, indicated on the
second page of the Manage Acronis Secure Zone wizard.
),
For information on how to create, resize or delete Acronis Secure Zone using this wizard, see
Chapter 8. Managing Acronis Secure Zone
in
Copyright © Acronis, Inc., 2000-2007 15
.
3.4 Acronis Startup Recovery Manager
3.4.1 How it works
The Acronis Startup Recovery Manager enables starting Acronis True Image Server without
loading the operating system. With this feature, if the operating system won't load for some
reason, you can run Acronis True Image Server by itself to restore damaged partitions. As
opposed to booting from Acronis removable media or RIS server, you will not need a
separate media or network connection to start Acronis True Image Server.
3.4.2 How to use
To be able to use Acronis Startup Recovery Manager at boot time, prepare as follows:
1. Install Acronis True Image Server.
2. Create Acronis Secure Zone on the server hard disk (see
Secure Zone
3. Activate Acronis Startup Recovery Manager. To do so, click Activate Acronis Startup
Recovery Manager and follow the Wizard’s instructions.
If you try to activate Acronis Startup Recovery Manager while Acronis Secure Zon e is missing
from the system, you will be prompted to create the zone,
Manager will be activated. Otherwise, Acronis Startup Recovery Manager will be activated
immediately.
If failure occurs, turn on the computer and press F11 when you see the "Press F11 for
Acronis Startup Recovery Manager" message. This will run a standalone version of Acronis
True Image Server that only slightly differs from the complete version. For information on
restoring damaged partitions, see
).
When Acronis Startup Recovery Manager is activated, it overwrites the master boot record
(MBR) with its own boot code. If you have any third-party boot managers installed, you will
have to reactivate them after activating the Startup Recovery Manager. For Linux loaders
(e.g. LiLo and GRUB), you might consider installing them to a Linux root (or boot) partition
boot record instead of MBR before activating Acronis Startup Recovery Manager.
Chapter 6. Restoring the backup data
Be careful! Disk letters in standalone Acronis True Image Server might sometimes differ
from the way Windows identifies drives. For example, the D: drive identified in the
standalone Acronis True Image might correspond to the E: drive in Windows.
Chapter 8. Managing Acronis
then Acronis Startup Recovery
.
3.5 Acronis Snap Restore
With this feature you can boot the OS on a crashed computer before the system is
completely restored from an image, and start work seconds after the restoration is launched.
The restoration will be continued in the background.
3.5.1 Limitations in using Acronis Snap Restore
1. Acronis Snap Restore is currently available for images located in the Acronis Secure Zone
only.
2. Acronis Snap Restore does not support images of Windows Vista. If any Vista edition is
detected in an image, the Snap Restore option will not appear.
3. Naturally, Acronis Snap Restore cannot be used if the image contains no operating system
(a logical partition or disk image) or when restoring file archives.
16 Copyright © Acronis, Inc., 2000-2007
3.5.2 How it works
When the restoration procedure is started, Acronis True Image Server:
1. Finds the sectors in the image which contain system files, and restores these sectors first.
Thus, the OS is restored and can be started in a very short timeframe. Having started the
OS, the user sees the folder tree with files, though file contents still is not recovered.
Nevertheless, the user can start working.
2. Writes on the hard disk its own drivers, which intercept system queries to the files. When
the user opens files or launches applications, the drivers receive the system queries and
restore the sectors that are necessary for the current operation.
3. At the same time, Acronis True Image Server proceeds with the complete sector-by-sector
image restoration in the background. However, the system requested sectors have the
highest priority.
Finally, the image will be fully restored even if the user performs no actions at all. But if you
choose to start working as soon as possible after the system failure, you will gain at least
several minutes, considering that restoration of a 10-20GB image (most common image size)
takes about 10 minutes. The larger the image size, the more time you save.
3.5.3 How to use
To be able to use Acronis Snap Restore in case of system crash, prepare as follows:
1. Install Acronis True Image Server.
2. Create Acronis Secure Zone on the server hard disk (see
Secure Zone
3. Activate Acronis Startup Recovery manager (see
and create bootable media or RIS package with Acro nis True Image Server (see
Creating bootable
4. Back up (image) the computer’s system disk to Acronis Secure Zone (see
disks and partitions (image backup)
system image is mandatory.
If failure occurs, boot the server from the bootable media, or RIS server, or using F 11. Start
the recovery procedure (see
system disk image from Acronis Secure Zone, choose Use Snap Restore and in the next
window click Proceed. In a few seconds the computer will reboot to the restored system.
Log in and start work – no more reboots or other actions are required.
).
3.4 Acronis Startup Recovery Manager
media).
). You can back up other disks/partitions as well, but the
When performing Snap Restore, the current Acronis True Image Server version always
restores the entire system disk. Therefore, if your system disk consists of several partitions,
all of them must be included in the image. Any partitions which are missing from the image
will be lost.
6.3 Restoring disks/partitions or files from images
Chapter 8. Managing Acronis
)
Chapter 9.
5.2 Backing up
), select the
You can perform Snap Restore running Acronis True Image Server in supported Windows
Server operating systems as well. However, it is mandatory to have bootable media in case
Windows cannot boot.
3.6 Acronis Universal Restore
3.6.1 Acronis Universal Restore purpose
A system disk image can be deployed easily on the hardware where it was created or the
identical hardware. However, if you change, for example, a motherboard or use another
Copyright © Acronis, Inc., 2000-2007 17
processor version, which is likely in case of hardware failure, the restored system could be
unbootable. An attempt to transfer the system to a new, much more powerful computer will
usually produce the same unbootable result because the new hardware is incompatible with
the most critical drivers included in the image.
Using Microsoft System Preparation Tool (Sysprep) does not solve this problem, because
Sysprep permits replacing drivers only for Plug-and-Play devices (sound cards, network
adapters, video cards etc.). As for system Hardware Abstraction Layer (HAL) and mass
storage device drivers, they must be identical on the source and the target computers (see
Microsoft Knowledge Base, articles 302577 and 216915).
Acronis Universal Restore technology provides an ef fici ent solutio n for hardware -ind epende nt
system restoration by replacing the crucial Hardware Abstraction Layer (HAL) and mass
storage device drivers.
Acronis Universal Restore is applicable for:
1. Instant recovery of a failed system on different hardware
2. Hardware-independent cloning and deployment of operating systems
3. Real-to-virtual and virtual-to-real computer migration for system recovery, test and other
purposes.
3.6.2 Acronis Universal Restore general principles
1. Automatic HAL and mass storage drivers selection
Acronis Universal Restore searches the Windows default driver storage folders (in the image
being restored) for HAL and mass storage device drivers and installs drivers that better fit
the target hardware. You can specify a custom driver repository (a folder or folders on a
network drive or CD) which will also be used for drivers search.
The Windows default driver storage folders are determined in the registry key
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\Current version\DevicePath.
Generally, it is WINDOWS/inf folder.
2. Manual selection of mass storage device driver
If the target hardware has a specific mass storage controller (such as a SCSI, RAID, or Fibre
Channel adapter) for the hard disk, you can install the appropriate driver manually,
bypassing the automatic driver search-and-install procedure.
3. Installing drivers for plug-and-play devices
The primary goal of Acronis Universal Restore is to boot the restored system. The current
version of this product handles only HAL and mass storage device drivers and does not
install drivers for other devices (sound cards, network adapters, video cards etc.). Once the
restored system starts, Windows takes control and initiates the usual fi rst-start process. At
this point, you will be able to specify drivers for other devices if Windows cannot find them
automatically.
3.6.3 Acronis Universal Restore and Microsoft Sysprep
As appears from the above, Acronis Universal Restore is
can apply it to any system image created by Acronis products, including images prepared
with Microsoft System Preparation Tool (Sysprep). The following is an example of using both
tools on the same system.
18 Copyright © Acronis, Inc., 2000-2007
not
a system preparation tool. You
Acronis Universal Restore does not strip security identifier (SID) and user profile settings in
order to run the system immediately after recovery without re-joining the domain or remapping network user profiles. If you are going to change the above settings on a recovered
system, you can prepare the system with Sysprep , image it and restore, if need be, using
Acronis Universal Restore.
3.6.4 Using Acronis Universal Restore in virtual environment
Virtual machine technologies provide a powerful tool to help accelerate the development,
testing, deployment and support of PC applications. Using Acronis T rue Image Server with
Acronis Universal Restore you can perform real-to-virtual and virtual-to-real computer
migration in the same way as with real systems.
If the virtual hard drive uses SCSI controller, you should provide appropriate drivers while
performing system restore to the virtual machine. For example, the widespread VMware
environment requires Buslogic or LSI logic drivers. Use drivers bundled with your virtual
machine software or download the latest drivers versions from the software manufacturer
website.
3.6.5 Limitations in using Acronis Universal Restore
1. The system recovered by Acronis Universal Restore may not start if the partition structure
in the image or the target disk partitioning does not coincide with that of th e source disk. As
a result, the loader, restored from the image, will point to the wrong partition and the
system will not boot or will malfunction.
Such might be the case if you:
- image not the entire source disk, but only the selected partitions
Keep in mind, that the source disk may have a hidden maintenance partition created by the
computer vendor. Therefore, if you check each partition for backup instead of checking the
disk, this hidden partition will not be included into the image.
- restore not the entire source disk, but only the selected partitions. In some cases,
especially if your system resides on other than the first partition, this can confuse th e loader
and prevent the restored system from startup.
To avoid the problem, we recommend that you image and restore the entire system disk.
2. The Acronis Universal Restore option does not work if the imag e contains dynamic disks
and volumes.
3. The Acronis Universal Restore option does not work if a computer is booted with Acronis
Startup Recovery Manager (using F11) or the backup image is located in Acronis Secure
Zone. This is because Acronis Startup Recovery Manager and Acronis Secure Zone are
primarily meant for instant data recovery on the same computer.
3.6.6 Getting Acronis Universal Restore
Acronis Universal Restore is an add-on to Acronis True Image Server. It is purchased
separately and installed from a separate setup file.
3.7 Using dynamic disks and volumes
Acronis True Image Server supports dynamic disks, i.e. disks, managed by Windows Logical
Disk Manager (LDM). You can create an image of one or more dynamic volumes of any type
(simple, spanned, stripped etc.) and restore it to a dynamic volume of any type or MBR
volume (partition) and vice versa, restore an MBR volume image to a dynamic volume. In
Copyright © Acronis, Inc., 2000-2007 19
each case, the program stores and restores volume contents only. The type or other
properties of the target volume will not be changed.
However, the partition resize is possible when you restore a dynamic volume to a b asic disk
partition.
If Acronis True Image Server runs in rescue mode (for example, booted from Bootable
Rescue media), dynamic disks will not be accessible. Therefore, to be able to repair a system
partition, you must keep its image on a basic, network, or removable disk.
3.8 Backing up to tape drive
Acronis True Image Server supports SCSI tape drives. It can store backups on the t ape and
restore data from the tape, store large backups to multiple tapes, and append
incremental/differential changes to a tape with the existing archives.
If a SCSI tape drive is connected to the server, the list of devices available for backup
storage will be extended with a name corresponding to the drive type.
Backup and restore on the tape proceed in the same way as with other devices, with the
following exceptions.
1. A full backup can be stored on an empty tape only. If you use tape that already contains
data, its contents will be overwritten.
2. In case you want to keep more than one archive on the tape, for example, back up two
disks separately, choose
incremental
backup mode instead of a
full
backup when you create
an initial backup for the second disk. In other situations, incremental backup is used for
appending changes to the previously created archive.
3. You do not have to provide filenames for backups.
You might experience short pauses that are required to rewind the tape.
Low-quality or old tape, as well as dirt on the magnetic head, might lead to pauses that can
last up to several minutes.
3.9 Viewing disk and partition information
You can change the way of data representation in all schemes you see in various wizards.
To the right are three icons: Arrange Icons by, Choose Details and i (Display the
properties of the selected item), the last duplicated in the context menu invoked by
right-clicking objects.
To sort messages by a particular column, click the header (another click will switch the
messages to the opposite order) or Arrange Icons by button and select the column.
To select columns to view, right-click the headers line or left-click the Choose Details
button. Then flag the columns you want to display.
If you click the i (Display the properties of the selected item) button, you will see the
selected partition or disk properties window.
This window contains two panels. The left panel contains the properties tree and the rig ht
describes the selected property in detail. The disk information includes its physical
parameters (connection type, device type, size, etc.); partition information includes both
physical (sectors, location, etc.), and logical (file system, free space, assigned letter, etc.)
parameters.
20 Copyright © Acronis, Inc., 2000-2007
You can change the width of a column by dragging its borders with the mouse.
Copyright © Acronis, Inc., 2000-2007 21
Chapter 4. Using Acronis True Image Server
Acronis True Image Server supports the command-line mode for data backup and restore, as
well as the GUI mode, and can be used to execute XML scripts. Here we describe the
operations available in GUI mode, which provides more functionality. For console commands
and scripting see
Chapter 14. Command-line mode and scripting
4.1 Main program window
The main program window contains the menu, the toolbar, the sidebar, the Active Tasks
pane and the main area. The main area contains operation icons, while the side bar features
Tools and Help panels.
.
Most of the operations are represented tw o or even three times in different window areas,
providing several ways to select them for more convenience. For example, you can start the
necessary operation or tool by clicking its icon in the main area or by selecting the same
item from the Operations or Tools menu.
The main window contains operation icons divided into two groups.
The Task group contains the following operations:
• Backup – create a backup archive
• Recovery – restore data from a previously created archive
• Clone Disk – transfer the OS, applications and data from the old disk to the new one
• Add New Disk – add a new disk for data storage leaving the OS a nd ap plications on the
old one.
The Tools group contains the following items:
• Mount Image – connect a disk/partition image as a virtual drive
• Unmount Image – disconnect the connected virtual drive
• Validate Backup Archive – run the archive integrity checking procedure
• Show Log – open the Log Viewe r wi ndow
22 Copyright © Acronis, Inc., 2000-2007
• Manage Acronis Secure Zone – create, delete and resize a special hidden partition for
storing archives (Acronis Secure Zone)
• Activate Acronis Startup Recovery Manager – activate the boot restoration
manager (F11 key).
• Manage System Restore – turn on/off Mi crosoft Wind ows System Restore t ool and set
its options directly from Acronis True Image Server
Program menu
The program menu bar features the Operations, View, Tools and Help items.
The Operations menu contains a list of the available operations, including scheduling tasks.
The View menu contains items for managing the program window look:
• Toolbars – contains commands that control toolbar icons
• Common Task Bar – enables/disables the sidebar
• Status Bar – enables/disables the status bar
• Active tasks – enables/disables the Active Tasks pane at the bottom of the main area.
The Tools menu contains the following items:
• Manage Acronis Secure Zone – create, delete and resize a special hidden partition for
storing archives (Acronis Secure Zone)
• Activate Acronis Startup Recovery Manager – activate the boot restoration
manager (F11 key)
• Validate Backup Archive – run the archive integrity checking procedure
• Create Bootable Rescue Media – run the bootable media creation procedure
• Show Log – open the Log Viewe r wi ndow
• Options – open a window for editing default backup/restore options, setting text
appearance (fonts), configuring email/Winpopup notifications etc.
The Help menu is used to invoke help and obtain information about Acronis True Image
Server.
Active Tasks pane
The Active Tasks pane displays the scheduled and currently-being-executed tasks. It
features its own toolbar. You can customize this toolbar view by right-clicking on it and
selecting the desired options.
Status bar
At the bottom of the main window, there is a status bar divided into two parts. The left side
briefly describes the selected operation; the right side indicates operation progress and
results. If you double-click on the operation results, you will see the logs window.
Taskbar notification area icon
During most of the operations, a special indicator icon appears in the Windows taskbar
notification area (the right portion of the statu s bar with the clock). If you mouse over the
icon, you will see a tool tip indicating the operation’s progress. This icon doesn’t depend on
the main program window being open. It is present for background execution of scheduled
tasks as well.
Copyright © Acronis, Inc., 2000-2007 23
4.2 Available operations
You can perform the following operations.
• Backup and restore data, including system disks/partitions
Click Backup or Recovery, then follow the Wizard’s instructions. See details in
Creating backup archives
• Schedule backup operations
Click the very left button on a tasks pane toolbar, then follow the Wizard’s instructi ons. See
details in
• Set up backup/restore options, such as system/network resources usage,
Select Tools -> Options -> Default backup options or Default restoration options
and make settings. See details in
options.
• Validate backup archives wherever they reside, be it local, network or
Click Validate Backup Archive, then follow the Wizard’s instructions. See details in
Chapter 7. Scheduling tasks
before/after backup commands etc.
removable media
Validating backup archives
• Set up sending notifications about Acronis True Image Server operation and
tracing this operation in Windows Application Event Log
Select Tools -> Options -> Notifications or Event tracing and make settings. See
details in
10.2 Operation results notification
and
Chapter 6. Restoring the backup data.
.
5.3 Setting backup options
.
and
10.4 Event tracing
and
6.4 Setting restore
.
Chapter 5.
10.1
• Browse logs of Acronis True Image Server operation
Click the very right button on a tasks pane toolbar at the bottom of the window. See details
10.3 Viewing logs
in
• Manage Acronis Secure Zone
Click Manage Acronis Secure Zone, then follow the Wizard’s instructions. See details in
Chapter 8. Managing Acronis Secure Zone
• Activate Acronis Startup Recovery Manager
Click Activate Acronis Startup Recovery Manager, then follow the Wizard’s instructi ons.
See details in
• Mount partitions’ images to explore and modify their contents, or to restore
individual files
Click Mount image, then follow the Wizard’s instructions. See details in
3.4 Acronis Startup Recovery Manager
Mounting an image as a virtual drive
• Unmount previously mounted partition images
Click Unmount image, then follow the Wizard’s instructions. See details in
Unmounting an image
• Transfer the system to a new hard disk
.
.
.
Chapter 11.
.
11.2
.
Chapter 12. Transferring the system to a new disk
See
• Format partitions on a new hard disk
Chapter 13. Adding a new hard disk
See
24 Copyright © Acronis, Inc., 2000-2007
.
.
• Turn on/off Windows System Restore tool
See
10.5 Managing System Restore
.
• Create bootable rescue media, its ISO or RIS package
Chapter 9. Creating bootable media
See
.
Some of the above operations can be executed in command-line as well. For more
information on Acronis True Image Server command-line mode see
command-line mode
.
14.1 Working in the
Copyright © Acronis, Inc., 2000-2007 25
Chapter 5. Creating backup archives
To be able to restore the lost data or roll back your system to a pr edetermined state, you
should first create a data or entire-system backup file.
If you are not concerned about restoration of your operating system along with all settings
and applications, but plan to keep safe only certain data (the current project, for example),
choose file/folder backup. This will reduce the archive size, thus saving disk space and
possibly reducing removable media costs.
Backing up the entire system disk (creating a disk image) takes more disk space but enables
you to restore the system in minutes in case of severe data damage or hardware failure.
Moreover, the imaging procedure is much faster than copying files, and may significantly
speed the backup process when it comes to backing up large volumes of data (see details in
3.1 The difference between file archives and disk/partition images
5.1 Backing up files and folders (file backup)
1. Invoke the Create Backup Wizard by clicking on the backup operation icon in the main
program window.
).
2. Click Next.
3. Select Backup files and click Next.
4. From the tree pane, select files and folders to back u p. You can select a random set of
files, folders, partitions, disks and even computers.
If you select a partition, disk or computer, and archive all its files, including system and
hidden files, the bare-metal restore of that disk (partition, computer) still will not be
possible. You also may not be able to boot the restored operating system. Therefore, it is
recommended that you select only files and folders containing user data. To back up a disk
or partition, use image backup.
5. Click Next.
26 Copyright © Acronis, Inc., 2000-2007
6. Set filters for the specific types of files you do not wish to back up. For example, you may
want hidden and system files and folders, as well as files with .~, .tmp and .bak
extensions, not to be stored in the archive.
You can also apply custom filters, using the common Windows masking rules. For example,
to exclude all files with extension .exe, add *.exe mask. My???.exe mask will reject all .exe
files with names consisting of five symbols and starting with “my”.
All of these settings will take effect for the current task. For information on how to set the
default filters that will be called each time you create a file backup task, see
files exclusion
.
5.3.2 Source
7. Click Next.
8. Select the name and location of the archive file.
If you are going to create a full backup, type the file name in the File Name line, or use the
file name generator (a button to the right of the line). If you select an existing archive, it will
be overwritten.
If you are going to create an incremental backup (see
backup
), select the latest full or incremental backup you have.
In fact, if all incremental backup files are stored together, it doesn't matter which one you
select, as the program will recognize them as a single archive. If you stored the files on
several removable disks, you must provide the latest archive file; otherwise, restoration
problems might occur.
3.2 Full, incremental and differential
If you are going to create a differential backup, select the full backup which will be a base,
or any of the existing differential archives. Either way, the program will create a new
differential archive file.
Copyright © Acronis, Inc., 2000-2007 27
The “farther” you store the archive from the original folders, the safer it will be in case of
data damage. For example, saving the archive to another hard disk will protect your data if
the primary disk is damaged. Data saved to a network disk, ftp-server or removable media
will survive even if all your local hard disks are down. You can also use Acronis Secure Zone
(see details in
3.3 Acronis Secure Zone
) for storing backups. In that case, you need not
provide the file name.
See notes and recommendations for supporting FTP server in
.
media
1.3.4 Supported storage
9. Click Next.
10. Select whether you want to create a full, incremental or differential backup. If you have
not backed up the selected files/folders yet, or the full archive seems too old to append
incremental changes to it, choose full backup. Otherwise it is recommended that you create
an incremental or differential backup (see
3.2 Full, incremental and differential backup
).
28 Copyright © Acronis, Inc., 2000-2007
11. Click Next.
12. Select the backup options (that is, backup file splitting, compression level, password
protection, pre/post backup commands etc.). You may Use default options or Set the
options manually. If the latter is the case, the settings will be appli ed only to the current
backup task. Alternatively, you can edit the default options from the current screen. Then
your settings will be saved as the defaults. See
5.3 Setting backup options
for more
information.
13. Click Next.
14. Provide a comment for the archive. This can help prevent you from restoring the wrong
files. However, you can choose not to make any notes. The backup file size and creation
date are automatically appended to the description, so you do not need to enter this
information.
15. Click Next.
16. At the final step, the backup task summary is displayed. Up to this point, you can click
Back to make changes in the created task. Clicking Proceed will launch the task execution.
17. The task will appear on the Active tasks pane of the main window. The task progress
will be shown in a special window. You can stop the procedure by clicking Cancel.
You can also close the progress window by clicking Hide. The backup creation will continue,
but you will be able to start another operation or close the main program window. In the
latter case, the program will continue working in the background and will automatically close
once the backup archive is ready. If you prepare some more backup operations, they will be
queued after the current one.
Copyright © Acronis, Inc., 2000-2007 29
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