acronis.

com

Acronis Cyber Backup

12.5
Update 6

User Guide REVISION: 4/27/2023

Table of contents
Help for Acronis Cyber Backup 12.5 14
What's new in Acronis Cyber Backup 15
What's new in Update 6 15
VMware vSphere 7.0 support 15
What's new in Update 5 15
Acronis Cyber Backup 15
Installation 15
Support for new operating systems 15
What's new in Update 4 16
Backup 16
Recovery 16
Scalability 16
Security 16
Applications 16
Active Protection 16
Virtualization 17
Backup locations 17
Administering 17
Support for new operating systems 17
Support for new languages 17
What's new in Update 3.2 18
Backup 18
Support for new operating systems 18
Virtualization 18
What's new in Update 3.1 18
What's new in Update 3 18
New features available in all on-premise deployments 18
New features available with the Advanced licenses only 20
What's new in Update 2 20
New features available in all on-premise deployments 20
New features available with the Advanced licenses only 22
What's new in Update 1 22
What's new in Acronis Cyber Backup 12.5 22
New features available in all on-premise deployments 22
New features available with the Advanced licenses only 24

2 © Acronis International GmbH, 2003-2023

Installation 25
Installation overview 25
On-premises deployment 25
Cloud deployment 26
Components 28
Agents 28
Other components 30
Software requirements 31
Supported web browsers 31
Supported operating systems and environments 31
Supported Microsoft SQL Server versions 37
Supported Microsoft Exchange Server versions 37
Supported Microsoft SharePoint versions 38
Supported Oracle Database versions 38
Supported SAP HANA versions 38
Supported virtualization platforms 38
Linux packages 42
Compatibility with encryption software 45
System requirements 46
Supported file systems 48
On-premises deployment 50
Legend 50
Installing the management server 52
Privileges required for a logon account 54
How to assign the user rights 55
Adding machines via the web interface 59
Installing agents locally 65
Unattended installation or uninstallation 69
Common parameters 70
Management server installation parameters 74
Agent installation parameters 74
Storage node installation parameters 75
Checking for software updates 79
Managing licenses 79
Cloud deployment 81
Activating the account 81
Preparation 81

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 Proxy server settings 82
Installing agents 85
Deploying Agent for VMware (Virtual Appliance) from an OVF template 88
Before you start 88
Deploying the OVF template 89
Configuring the virtual appliance 89
Updating Agent for VMware (Virtual Appliance) 91
Deploying agents through Group Policy 91
Prerequisites 92
Step 1: Generating a registration token 92
Step 2: Creating the .mst transform and extracting the installation package 92
Step 3: Setting up the Group Policy objects 93
Updating agents 94
Uninstalling the product 94
In Windows 95
In Linux 95
In macOS 95
Removing Agent for VMware (Virtual Appliance) 96
Accessing the backup console 97
On-premises deployment 97
In Windows 97
In Linux 97
Cloud deployment 98
Changing the language 98
Configuring a web browser for Integrated Windows Authentication 98
Configuring Internet Explorer, Microsoft Edge, Opera, and Google Chrome 98
Configuring Mozilla Firefox 98
Adding the console to the list of local intranet sites 99
Adding the console to the list of trusted sites 100
Changing the SSL certificate settings 103
Backup console view 105
Backup 106
Backup plan cheat sheet 107
Limitations 109
Selecting data to back up 111
Selecting files/folders 111
Selecting system state 113

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 Selecting disks/volumes 113
Selecting ESXi configuration 116
Selecting a destination 117
Supported locations 117
Advanced storage options 118
About Secure Zone 119
About Acronis Cyber Infrastructure 122
Schedule 123
When backing up to cloud storage 124
When backing up to other locations 124
Additional scheduling options 125
Schedule by events 126
Start conditions 128
Retention rules 134
What else you need to know 135
Encryption 135
Encryption in a backup plan 135
Encryption as a machine property 136
How the encryption works 137
Notarization 137
How to use notarization 138
How it works 138
Conversion to a virtual machine 138
Conversion methods 138
What you need to know about conversion 139
Conversion to a virtual machine in a backup plan 140
How regular conversion to VM works 141
Replication 142
Usage examples 142
Supported locations 142
Considerations for users with the Advanced license 143
Starting a backup manually 144
Backup options 144
Availability of the backup options 145
Alerts 147
Backup consolidation 147
Backup file name 148

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 Backup format 152
Backup validation 154
Task start conditions 154
Changed block tracking (CBT) 155
Cluster backup mode 155
Compression level 156
Email notifications 157
Error handling 157
Fast incremental/differential backup 159
File filters 159
File-level backup snapshot 160
Log truncation 161
LVM snapshotting 161
Mount points 162
Multi-volume snapshot 163
Performance and backup window 163
Physical Data Shipping 167
Pre/Post commands 168
Pre/Post data capture commands 169
SAN hardware snapshots 171
Scheduling 172
Sector-by-sector backup 173
Splitting 173
Tape management 173
Task failure handling 176
Volume Shadow Copy Service (VSS) 177
Volume Shadow Copy Service (VSS) for virtual machines 178
Weekly backup 178
Windows event log 178
Recovery 179
Recovery cheat sheet 179
Creating bootable media 180
Recovering a machine 180
Physical machine 181
Physical machine to virtual 183
Virtual machine 184
Recovering disks by using bootable media 186

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 Using Universal Restore 187
Recovering files 190
Recovering files by using the web interface 190
Downloading files from the cloud storage 191
Verifying file authenticity with Notary Service 192
Signing a file with ASign 193
Recovering files by using bootable media 194
Extracting files from local backups 195
Recovering system state 195
Recovering ESXi configuration 195
Recovery options 196
Availability of the recovery options 196
Backup validation 198
Boot mode 198
Date and time for files 199
Error handling 199
File exclusions 200
File-level security 200
Flashback 201
Full path recovery 201
Mount points 201
Performance 202
Pre/Post commands 202
SID changing 203
VM power management 204
Windows event log 204
Disaster recovery 205
Operations with backups 206
The Backups tab 206
Mounting volumes from a backup 207
Requirements 207
Usage scenarios 207
Exporting backups 208
Deleting backups 209
Operations with backup plans 211
The Plans tab 212
Off-host data processing 212

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 Backup replication 213
Validation 214
Cleanup 216
Conversion to a virtual machine 217
Bootable media 219
Bootable media 219
Create a bootable media or download a ready-made one? 219
Linux-based or WinPE-based bootable media? 221
Linux-based 221
WinPE-based 221
Bootable Media Builder 221
Why use the media builder? 222
32- or 64-bit? 222
Linux-based bootable media 222
Top-level object 231
Variable object 232
Control type 233
WinPE-based bootable media 239
Connecting to a machine booted from media 244
Configuring network settings 244
Local connection 245
Remote connection 245
Registering media on the management server 245
Registering the media from the media UI 245
Operations with a bootable media 246
Setting up a display mode 247
Backup 247
Recovery 256
Disk management 263
Simple Volume 278
Spanned Volume 278
Striped Volume 278
Mirrored Volume 279
Mirrored-Striped Volume 279
RAID-5 279
Configuring iSCSI devices 286
Startup Recovery Manager 287

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 Activating Startup Recovery Manager 287
What happens when you activate Startup Recovery Manager 288
Deactivating Startup Recovery Manager 288
Acronis PXE Server 288
Installing Acronis PXE Server 289
Setting up a machine to boot from PXE 289
Work across subnets 290
Protecting mobile devices 291
Supported mobile devices 291
What you can back up 291
What you need to know 291
Where to get the backup app 292
How to start backing up your data 292
How to recover data to a mobile device 293
How to review data via the backup console 293
Protecting Microsoft applications 295
Protecting Microsoft SQL Server and Microsoft Exchange Server 295
Protecting Microsoft SharePoint 295
Protecting a domain controller 295
Recovering applications 296
Prerequisites 296
Common requirements 296
Additional requirements for application-aware backups 297
Database backup 298
Selecting SQL databases 298
Selecting Exchange Server data 299
Protecting Always On Availability Groups (AAG) 300
Protecting Database Availability Groups (DAG) 302
Application-aware backup 304
Why use application-aware backup? 304
What do I need to use application-aware backup? 304
Required user rights 305
Mailbox backup 305
Selecting Exchange Server mailboxes 306
Required user rights 306
Recovering SQL databases 307
Recovering system databases 309

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 Attaching SQL Server databases 309
Recovering Exchange databases 310
Mounting Exchange Server databases 312
Recovering Exchange mailboxes and mailbox items 312
Recovery to an Exchange Server 313
Recovery to Office 365 313
Recovering mailboxes 314
Recovering mailbox items 315
Copying Microsoft Exchange Server libraries 318
Changing the SQL Server or Exchange Server access credentials 318
Protecting Office 365 mailboxes 320
Why back up Office 365 mailboxes? 320
What do I need to back up the mailboxes? 320
Recovery 320
Limitations 321
Selecting mailboxes 321
Recovering mailboxes and mailbox items 322
Recovering mailboxes 322
Recovering mailbox items 322
Changing the Office 365 access credentials 323
Protecting G Suite data 324
Protecting Oracle Database 325
Active Protection 326
How it works 326
Active Protection settings 326
Active Protection plan 327
Applying the Active Protection plan 327
Protection options 327
Backups 327
Cryptomining protection 328
Mapped drives 328
Special operations with virtual machines 329
Running a virtual machine from a backup (Instant Restore) 329
Usage examples 329
Prerequisites 329
Running the machine 330
Deleting the machine 331

10 © Acronis International GmbH, 2003-2023

 Finalizing the machine 331
Working in VMware vSphere 332
Replication of virtual machines 332
LAN-free backup 338
Using SAN hardware snapshots 341
Using a locally attached storage 346
Virtual machine binding 346
Support for VM migration 349
Managing virtualization environments 349
Viewing backup status in vSphere Client 350
Agent for VMware – necessary privileges 351
Backing up clustered Hyper-V machines 356
High Availability of a recovered machine 356
Limiting the total number of simultaneously backed-up virtual machines 356
Machine migration 357
Windows Azure and Amazon EC2 virtual machines 358
Network requirements 359
Protecting SAP HANA 360
Device groups 361
Built-in groups 361
Custom groups 361
Creating a static group 362
Adding devices to static groups 362
Creating a dynamic group 362
Search criteria 363
Operators 369
Applying a backup plan to a group 370
Monitoring and reporting 371
Dashboard 371
Reports 372
Configuring the severity of alerts 373
Alerts configuration file 374
Advanced storage options 375
Tape devices 375
What is a tape device? 375
Overview of tape support 375
Getting started with a tape device 381

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 Tape management 386
Storage nodes 395
Installing a storage node and a catalog service 395
Adding a managed location 396
Deduplication 398
Location encryption 400
Cataloging 401
System settings 404
Email notifications 404
Email server 405
Security 405
Log out inactive users after 405
Show notification about the last login of the current user 406
Warn about local or domain password expiration 406
Updates 406
Default backup options 406
Configuring anonymous registration 407
Administering user accounts and organization units 408
On-premises deployment 408
Legend 408
Administrators and units 410
Adding administrators 412
Creating units 413
Cloud deployment 413
Quotas 413
Notifications 415
Reports 415
Command-line reference 417
Troubleshooting 418
Glossary 419
Index 421

12 © Acronis International GmbH, 2003-2023

Copyright statement
© Acronis International GmbH, 2003-2023. All rights reserved.

All trademarks and copyrights referred to are the property of their respective owners.

Distribution of substantively modified versions of this document is prohibited without the explicit
permission of the copyright holder.

Distribution of this work or derivative work in any standard (paper) book form for commercial
purposes is prohibited unless prior permission is obtained from the copyright holder.

DOCUMENTATION IS PROVIDED “AS IS” AND ALL EXPRESS OR IMPLIED CONDITIONS,

REPRESENTATIONS AND WARRANTIES, INCLUDING ANY IMPLIED WARRANTY OF MERCHANTABILITY,
FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE OR NON-INFRINGEMENT, ARE DISCLAIMED, EXCEPT TO THE
EXTENT THAT SUCH DISCLAIMERS ARE HELD TO BE LEGALLY INVALID.

Third party code may be provided with the Software and/or Service. The license terms for such
third-parties are detailed in the license.txt file located in the root installation directory. You can
always find the latest up-to-date list of the third party code and the associated license terms used
with the Software and/or Service at https://kb.acronis.com/content/7696

Acronis patented technologies

Technologies, used in this product, are covered and protected by one or more U.S. Patent Numbers:
7,047,380; 7,246,211; 7,275,139; 7,281,104; 7,318,135; 7,353,355; 7,366,859; 7,383,327; 7,475,282;
7,603,533; 7,636,824; 7,650,473; 7,721,138; 7,779,221; 7,831,789; 7,836,053; 7,886,120; 7,895,403;
7,934,064; 7,937,612; 7,941,510; 7,949,635; 7,953,948; 7,979,690; 8,005,797; 8,051,044; 8,069,320;
8,073,815; 8,074,035; 8,074,276; 8,145,607; 8,180,984; 8,225,133; 8,261,035; 8,296,264; 8,312,259;
8,347,137; 8,484,427; 8,645,748; 8,732,121; 8,850,060; 8,856,927; 8,996,830; 9,213,697; 9,400,886;
9,424,678; 9,436,558; 9,471,441; 9,501,234; and patent pending applications.

13 © Acronis International GmbH, 2003-2023

Help for Acronis Cyber Backup 12.5

What's new Software requirements

Find out what's new in the latest product Check what operating systems and
release. application versions are supported.

Installation Protecting Microsoft applications

Learn how to deploy the product on- Choose how to protect Microsoft SQL
premises or use a cloud deployment. Server, Microsoft Exchange Server, and
Microsoft SharePoint.

Backup Protecting mobile devices

Learn how to create backup plans for See how your mobile data can be
various kinds of data. protected in a few simple steps.

Recovery Special operations with virtual machines

Learn how to recover various kinds of Learn how to replicate virtual machines,
data. use Instant Restore, perform P2V and
V2P migration, and more.

Documentation Quick links

Review the full set of the Acronis Cyber Acronis Cyber Backup 12.5 Evaluation
Backup 12.5 documentation. guide
Acronis Cyber Backup 12.5 Best practices
guide
Acronis Cyber Backup 12.5 Security guide

14 © Acronis International GmbH, 2003-2023

What's new in Acronis Cyber Backup
Note
In cloud deployments, some of the features described in this section might not be available or
might be different.

What's new in Update 6

VMware vSphere 7.0 support

l Agentless backup and recovery of virtual machines running on VMware vSphere 7.0 is fully
supported.
l VMware vSAN 7.0 is fully supported.
l Limitations in Acronis Cyber Backup 12.5 Update 6 release:
o ESXi configuration backup is not supported.
o (Same as for vSphere 6.7) Virtualization Based Security (VBS) option is always disabled on
restored virtual machine.
o (Same as for vSphere 6.7) Trusted Platform Module (TPM) is absent on restored virtual
machine.
o (Same as for vSphere 6.7) VMware vSphere configurations with PMEM datastores are not
supported.

What's new in Update 5

Acronis Cyber Backup

Acronis Backup has been renamed to Acronis Cyber Backup.

Installation
l [Windows only] An installation package that includes both 32-bit and 64-bit installation files (more
than 3 GB in size) is now available.
l It is now possible to generate .mst file on the machine where an agent is already installed.

Support for new operating systems

l Support for macOS 10.15 Catalina
l Support for Ubuntu 19.04, 19.10, and 20.04
l Support for CentOS 8.1
l Support for Oracle Linux 8.1
l Support for CloudLinux 7.7
l Support for ClearOS 7.6

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What's new in Update 4

Backup
l The enhanced backup option Performance and backup window (former Performance)
enables you to set one of three levels of backup performance (high, low, prohibited) for every
hour within a week. The high and low levels are configurable in terms of the process priority and
output speed.
l The Physical Data Shipping backup option for cloud backups

Recovery
The capability to save system information on a local disk or a network share if a recovery with
reboot fails.

Scalability
The maximum number of physical machines that can be registered on a management server
increased from 4000 to 8000.

Security
l The capability to disable anonymous registration so that a user name and password of a
management server administrator are always required when registering a device.
l All communication during a device registration is done via HTTPS. It works out of the box and
cannot be disabled. It is possible to enforce certificate verification during unattended installation
in Windows and in Linux.
l Mass registration of devices by using a token instead of a user name and password
l The capability to install Agent for Linux in UEFI systems with enabled Secure Boot.

Applications
l Support for Microsoft Exchange Server 2019
l CBT (tracking file changes at a block level) can be disabled for backups of SQL and Exchange
databases.

Active Protection
New protection options:

l It is possible to allow certain processes to modify backup files while self-protection is on

l Protection of network folders mapped as local drives
l Detection of cryptomining malware

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Virtualization
l Conversion to the following virtual machine types:
o VMware Workstation
o VHDX virtual disks (for connection to a Hyper-V virtual machine)
This conversion is supported in a backup plan or in a separate conversion plan created on the
Plans tab.
l Support for Windows Server 2019 with Hyper-V and Microsoft Hyper-V Server 2019
l Support for Citrix XenServer 7.6
l The boot menu (in the text form) can be used when booting a Citrix XenServer virtual machine.

Backup locations
The Acronis Storage product name changed to Acronis Cyber Infrastructure .

Administering
l It is possible to add a comment to a device on the device Details pane. Devices can be searched
and organized in dynamic groups by comments.
l In a domain environment, local accounts on the management server are not added by default to
the Acronis Centralized Admins group and to the organization administrators list.
l The name of the Acronis Management Server service (ams) is changed to acrmngsrv, to avoid name
conflicts with other software services.

Support for new operating systems

l Support for RHEL 7.6, 8.0 (configurations with Stratis are not supported)
l Support for Ubuntu 18.10
l Support for Fedora 25, 26, 27, 28, 29
l Support for Debian 9.5, 9.6
l Support for Windows XP SP1 (x64) and SP2 (x64) is resumed
l Support for Windows XP SP2 (x86) is resumed with a special version of Agent for Windows

Support for new languages

Support for seven more languages:

l Bulgarian
l Norwegian
l Swedish
l Finnish
l Serbian

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l Malay
l Indonesian

What's new in Update 3.2

Backup
The capability to stop an execution of a backup plan from the Plans tab.

Support for new operating systems

l Support for Windows Server 2019
l Support for CentOS 7.5
l Support for ClearOS 7.4
l Support for macOS Mojave 10.14

Virtualization
l Support for Citrix XenServer 7.3, 7.4, 7.5
l Support for Nutanix AHV

What's new in Update 3.1

l The maximum number of physical machines that can be registered on a management server
increased from 2000 to 4000.
l The number of virtual machines that Agent for VMware or Agent for Hyper-V backs up
simultaneously can be limited via the registry or the agent configuration file. Unlike the similar
setting in backup plan options, this parameter limits the total number of virtual machines for all
backup plans that the agent runs simultaneously.

What's new in Update 3

New features available in all on-premise deployments

Backup
l The Multi-volume snapshot backup option is available when backing up Linux.
l The data output speed can be specified as a percentage, in addition to kilobytes per second.
l The "File-level security" backup option is discontinued. The NTFS permissions for files are always
saved in file-level backups.
l Automatic troubleshooting of VSS-related issues:

18 © Acronis International GmbH, 2003-2023

 o When backing up disks or volumes with Agent for Windows
After taking a VSS-based snapshot fails, before retrying, Acronis Cyber Backup analyzes the log
and performs troubleshooting steps, if appropriate. If three consecutive retries fail, the error
message recommends to download and use Acronis VSS Doctor.
o When backing up Microsoft SQL Server databases
Prior to taking a snapshot, Acronis Cyber Backup checks the SQL Server configuration for
issues that may cause a VSS snapshot failure. If issues are found, a warning with
recommendations is added to the log.

Recovery
The new recovery option Boot mode determines the boot mode (BIOS or UEFI) for the Windows
system being recovered.

Security
New system settings are available to organization administrators:

l Log out users after a configurable period of inactivity

l Show notification about the last login of the current user
l Warn about local or domain password expiration

Applications
Starting with Microsoft Exchange 2010, Exchange Server data can be backed up and recovered by
using a less-privileged account than a member of the Organization Management role group:

l For databases, membership in the Server Management role group is enough.

l For mailboxes, membership in the Recipient Management role group and the enabled
ApplicationImpersonation role are enough.

Virtualization
l Support for VMware vSphere 6.7 (ESXi configuration backup is not supported)
l Recovery to the original virtual machine from a backup that contains not all disks of this machine.
Previously, this operation was possible only under bootable media. The backup console allowed
the recovery only if the machine's disk layout exactly matched that in the backup.

Acronis Backup appliance

l The 15-second timeout is removed from the Acronis Backup appliance installation menu. The
installer waits for the user to review and confirm the settings.
l The CentOS kernel is updated in the Acronis Backup appliance, to address the Meltdown and
Spectre threats.

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Bootable media
It is possible to use any supported keyboard layout when working under bootable media. The set of
layouts is defined in the LAYOUT kernel parameter.

Support for new operating systems

l Linux kernel versions 4.12 - 4.15
l Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7.5
l Ubuntu 17.10, 18.04
l Debian 9.3, 9.4
l Oracle Linux 7.4, 7.5

New features available with the Advanced licenses only

Backup
The capability to configure a backup plan to use specific tape devices and tape drives.

Applications
Application-aware backup of Linux machines running Oracle Database.

Administering
The capability to create dynamic groups corresponding to Active Directory organizational units.

What's new in Update 2

New features available in all on-premise deployments

Administering
l Administering user accounts is available on a management server that is installed in Linux

Installation and infrastructure

l Acronis Backup appliance for automatic deployment of Linux, the management server, Agent for
Linux, and Agent for VMware (Linux) on a dedicated virtual machine
l When adding a Windows machine in the web interface, it is possible to select the name or IP
address that the agent will use to access the management server
l Automatic and manual checks for updates

20 © Acronis International GmbH, 2003-2023

Security
l The backup console supports the HTTPS protocol out of the box
l The management server can use a certificate issued by a trusted certificate authority, instead of
the self-signed certificate
l Non-root users can be added as administrators to a management server that is installed in Linux

Scheduling backups
l New scheduling options:
o Waking up a machine for backup from the sleep or hibernation mode
o Prevention of the sleep or hibernation mode during a backup
o The option to prohibit running missed backups on a machine startup
l New backup start conditions, handy for backing up Windows laptops and tablets:
o Save battery power
o Do not start when on metered connection
o Do not start when connected to the following Wi-Fi networks
o Check device IP address
l In the Monthly schedule, selection of individual months during which backups will run
l The capability to start a differential backup manually

Backup locations
l Storing each machine's backups in a folder defined by a script (for machines running Windows)
l A locally deployed Acronis Storage can be used as a backup location

Applications
l Recovering Microsoft Office 365 mailboxes and mailbox items to Microsoft Exchange Server and
vice versa

Support for new operating systems and virtualization platforms

l macOS High Sierra 10.13
l Debian 9.1 and 9.2
l Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7.4
l CentOS 7.4
l ALT Linux 7.0
l Red Hat Virtualization 4.1

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Usability improvements
l Renaming locations on the Backups tab
l The capability to change the vCenter Server or ESXi that is managed by Agent for VMware in
Settings > Agents > agent details

New features available with the Advanced licenses only

Administering
l Creating units is available on a management server that is installed in Linux

Installation and infrastructure

l When adding a managed location, it is possible to select whether the agents will access the
storage node by using the server name or IP address

Usability improvements
l Adding a managed location can be initiated from the storage node properties panel

Tape support
l Full support for the LTO-8 technology. See Hardware Compatibility List for the exact names of the
tested devices.

What's new in Update 1

l Support for Citrix XenServer 7.0, 7.1, 7.2, and Red Hat Virtualization 4.1
l Support for Debian 8.6, 8.7, 8.8, 9, and Ubuntu 17.04
l Support for Windows Storage Server 2016
l The capability to use a PostgreSQL database with the management server under Linux
l A utility for agent mass deployment and upgrade.
For information about how to use this utility, refer to http://kb.acronis.com/content/60137

What's new in Acronis Cyber Backup 12.5

New features available in all on-premise deployments

Backup
l A new backup format that increases the backup speed and reduces the size of backups
l Up to five locations for replication in a backup plan
l Conversion to a virtual machine in a backup plan

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l Schedule by events
l Setting conditions for backup plan execution
l Predefined Grandfather-Father-Son (GFS) backup scheme
l SFTP as a backup location
l Default backup options stored on the management server
l Selection of the backup method (full or incremental) when starting a backup manually
l Backup options:
o Email notifications:
n Specify the email notifications subject
n Notifications are now based on alerts instead of backup activity results. You can customize
the list of alerts that trigger a notification.
o Backup file name
o Backup start conditions

Recovery
l Manual disk mapping. The capability to recover individual disks or volumes.

Bootable media
l Startup Recovery Manager

Applications
l Backing up Microsoft Exchange Server mailboxes

Virtualization
l The capability to assign a virtual machine to a specific agent (VM binding)

Operations with backups

l Mounting volumes in the read/write mode
l ASign allows a backed-up file to be signed by several people

Notifications and alerts

l The capability to configure the severity of an alert (via the configuration file)
l Device status is now derived from alerts instead of backup activity results. This covers a wider
range of events, for example, missed backups or ransomware activities.

Acronis Active Protection

l Proactive protection from ransomware by detecting suspicious processes

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Usability improvements
l Dashboard - a customizable set of more than 20 widgets that are updated in real time
l A new section in the UI shows all backup plans and other plans
l The capability to set an encryption password in Backup Monitor

New features available with the Advanced licenses only

Administering
l Customizable reports that can be sent or saved on a schedule
l Roles on the management server: create units and assign administrators to them
l Group management: built-in and custom groups of devices
l Acronis Notary: prove that a file is authentic and unchanged since it was backed up

New backup locations

l Acronis Storage Node with deduplication
l Support for tape devices

Bootable media
l Working with bootable media via the backup console
l Automated backup and recovery by execution of a predefined or custom script
l PXE Server for network boot

Applications
l Support for Database Availability Groups (DAG) in Microsoft Exchange Server
l Support for AlwaysOn Availability Group (AAG) in Microsoft SQL Server
l Protecting Oracle Database

Virtualization
l Backing up ESXi virtual machines from NetApp hardware snapshots
l Backing up Citrix XenServer, Red Hat Virtualization (RHV/RHEV), Kernel-based Virtual Machines
(KVM), and Oracle virtual machines (by installing an agent into the guest system)

Operations with backups

l Conversion to a virtual machine, validation, replication, and retention of backups can be
performed on a schedule by a dedicated agent
l Cataloging - a separate catalog service enables search throughout all backups in managed
locations

24 © Acronis International GmbH, 2003-2023

Installation

Installation overview
Acronis Cyber Backup supports two methods of deployment: on-premises and cloud. The main
difference between them is the location of Acronis Cyber Backup Management Server.

Acronis Cyber Backup Management Server is the central point for managing all of your backups.
With the on-premises deployment, it is installed in your local network; with the cloud deployment, it
is located in one of the Acronis data centers. The web interface to this server is named a backup
console.

Acronis Cyber Backup Management Server is responsible for the communication with Cyber Backup
Agents and performs general plan management functions. Before every backup activity, agents
refer to the management server to verify the prerequisites. Sometimes, the connection to the
management server could be lost, which will prevent the deployment of new backup plans.
However, if a backup plan has already been deployed to a machine, the agent continues the backup
operations for 30 days after the communication with the management server is lost.

Both types of deployment require that a backup agent is installed on each machine that you want to
back up. The supported types of storage are also the same. The cloud storage space is sold
separately from the Acronis Cyber Backup licenses.

On-premises deployment
On-premises deployment means that all of the product components are installed in your local
network. This is the only deployment method available with a perpetual license. Also, you have to
use this method if your machines are not connected to the Internet.

25 © Acronis International GmbH, 2003-2023

Management server location
You can install the management server on a machine running either Windows or Linux.

Installation in Windows is recommended because you will be able to deploy agents to other
machines from the management server. With the Advanced license, it is possible to create
organizational units and add administrators to them. This way, you can delegate backup
management to other people whose access permissions will be strictly limited to the corresponding
units.

Installation in Linux is recommended in a Linux-only environment. You will need to install an agent
locally on the machines that you want to back up.

Cloud deployment
Cloud deployment means that the management server is located in one of the Acronis data centers.
The benefit of this approach is that you do not need to maintain the management server in your
local network. You can think of Acronis Cyber Backup as of a backup service provided to you by
Acronis.

Access to the account server enables you to create user accounts, set service usage quotas for
them, and create groups of users (units) to reflect the structure of your organization. Every user can

26 © Acronis International GmbH, 2003-2023

access the backup console, download the required agent, and install it on their machines in
minutes.

Administrator accounts can be created at the unit or organization level. Each account has a view
scoped to their area of control. Users have access only to their own backups.

The following table summarizes differences between the on-premises and cloud deployments. Each
column lists the features that are available only in the corresponding type of deployment.

On-premises deployment Cloud deployment

l Perpetual licenses can be used l Cloud-to-cloud backup of Microsoft Office 365 data,
l On-premises management server including protection of groups, public folders, OneDrive
l Backup and disk management in and SharePoint Online data
bootable media l Cloud-to-cloud backup of G Suite data
l SFTP server as a backup location l Agent for Virtuozzo (backup of Virtuozzo virtual machines
l Acronis Cyber Infrastructure as a at a hypervisor level)
backup location l Disaster recovery as a cloud service**
l Tape devices and Acronis Storage
Nodes as backup locations*
l Off-host data processing*
l Conversion of a backup to a virtual
machine
l Upgrade from previous versions of
Acronis Cyber Backup, including
Acronis Backup for VMware

27 © Acronis International GmbH, 2003-2023

 l Participation in the Acronis Customer
Experience Program

* The feature is not available in the Standard edition.

** The feature is available only in the Disaster Recovery edition.

Components

Agents
Agents are applications that perform data backup, recovery, and other operations on the machines
managed by Acronis Cyber Backup.

Choose an agent, depending on what you are going to back up. The following table summarizes the
information, to help you decide.

Note that Agent for Windows is installed along with Agent for Exchange, Agent for SQL, Agent for
Active Directory, and Agent for Oracle. If you install, for example, Agent for SQL, you also will be able
to back up the entire machine where the agent is installed.

Agent availability
What are you going to Which agent
Where to install it? On-
back up? to install? Cloud
prem

Physical machines

Disks, volumes, and

files on physical Agent for
+ +
machines running Windows
Windows

Disks, volumes, and

files on physical Agent for Linux On the machine that will be backed up + +
machines running Linux

Disks, volumes, and

files on physical
Agent for Mac + +
machines running
macOS

Applications

SQL databases Agent for SQL On the machine running Microsoft

+ +
SQL Server

Exchange databases Agent for On the machine running the Mailbox +

role of Microsoft Exchange Server* +
and mailboxes Exchange No

28 © Acronis International GmbH, 2003-2023

 If only mailbox backup is required, the
agent can be installed on any
Windows machine that has network mailbox
access to the machine running the backup
Client Access role of Microsoft
Exchange Server

Microsoft Office 365 Agent for On a Windows machine that is

+ +
mailboxes Office 365 connected to the Internet

Machines running Agent for On the domain controller

Active Directory Active + +
Domain Services Directory

Machines running Agent for On the machine running Oracle

+ -
Oracle Database Oracle Database

Virtual machines

VMware ESXi virtual Agent for On a Windows machine that has

machines VMware network access to vCenter Server and + +
(Windows) to the virtual machine storage**

Agent for On the ESXi host

VMware
+ +
(Virtual
Appliance)

Hyper-V virtual Agent for On the Hyper-V host

+ +
machines Hyper-V

Virtual machines
hosted on Windows + +
Azure

Virtual machines
+ +
hosted on Amazon EC2

Citrix XenServer virtual

machines
The same as
Red Hat Virtualization for physical On the machine that will be backed up
(RHV/RHEV) virtual machines***
machines
+**** +
Kernel-based Virtual
Machines (KVM)

Oracle virtual machines

Nutanix AHV virtual

machines

29 © Acronis International GmbH, 2003-2023

 Mobile devices

Mobile devices running Mobile app for

- +
Android Android On the mobile device that will be

Mobile devices running Mobile app for backed up

- +
iOS iOS

*During the installation, Agent for Exchange checks for enough free space on the machine where it
will run. Free space equal to 15 percent of the biggest Exchange database is temporarily needed
during a granular recovery.

**If your ESXi uses a SAN attached storage, install the agent on a machine connected to the same
SAN. The agent will back up the virtual machines directly from the storage rather than via the ESXi
host and LAN. For detailed instructions, refer to "LAN-free backup".

***A virtual machine is considered virtual if it is backed up by an external agent. If an agent is

installed in the guest system, the backup and recovery operations are the same as with a physical
machine. Nevertheless, the machine is counted as virtual when you set quotas for the number of
machines in a cloud deployment.

****With an Acronis Cyber Backup Advanced Virtual Host license, these virtual machines are
considered as virtual (per host licensing is used). With an Acronis Cyber Backup Virtual Host license,
these machines are considered as physical (per machine licensing is used).

Other components
Availability

Component Function Where to install it? On-

Cloud
prem

Management Manages the agents. Provides On a machine running

+ –
Server the web interface to users. Windows or Linux

Components for Saves agent installation On the Windows machine + –

Remote packages to a local folder running the management
Installation server

Monitoring Service Provides the dashboard and On the machine running the + –
reporting functionality management server

Bootable Media Creates bootable media On a machine running + –

Builder Windows or Linux

Command-Line Provides the command-line On a machine running + +

Tool interface Windows or Linux

Backup Monitor Enables users to monitor On a machine running + +

backups outside the web Windows or macOS

30 © Acronis International GmbH, 2003-2023

 interface

Storage Node Stores backups. Is required On a machine running + –

for cataloging and Windows
deduplication.

Catalog Service Performs cataloging of On a machine running + –

backups on storage nodes Windows

PXE Server Enables booting machines On a machine running + –

into bootable media through Windows
the network

Software requirements

Supported web browsers

The web interface supports the following web browsers:

l Google Chrome 29 or later

l Mozilla Firefox 23 or later
l Opera 16 or later
l Windows Internet Explorer 10 or later
In cloud deployments, the management portal supports Internet Explorer 11 or later.
l Microsoft Edge 25 or later
l Safari 8 or later running in the macOS and iOS operating systems

In other web browsers (including Safari browsers running in other operating systems), the user
interface might be displayed incorrectly or some functions may be unavailable.

Supported operating systems and environments

Agents

Agent for Windows

l Windows XP Professional SP1 (x64), SP2 (x64), SP3 (x86)
l Windows XP Professional SP2 (x86) – supported with a special version of Agent for Windows. For
details and limitations of this support, refer to "Agent for Windows XP SP2".
l Windows XP Embedded SP3
l Windows Server 2003 SP1/2003 R2 and later – Standard and Enterprise editions (x86, x64)
l Windows Small Business Server 2003/2003 R2
l Windows Vista – all editions
l Windows Server 2008 – Standard, Enterprise, Datacenter, Foundation, and Web editions (x86,
x64)

31 © Acronis International GmbH, 2003-2023

l Windows Small Business Server 2008
l Windows 7 – all editions
l Windows Server 2008 R2 – Standard, Enterprise, Datacenter, Foundation, and Web editions
l Windows Home Server 2011
l Windows MultiPoint Server 2010/2011/2012
l Windows Small Business Server 2011 – all editions
l Windows 8/8.1 – all editions (x86, x64), except for the Windows RT editions
l Windows Server 2012/2012 R2 – all editions
l Windows Storage Server 2003/2008/2008 R2/2012/2012 R2/2016
l Windows 10 – Home, Pro, Education, Enterprise, IoT Enterprise, and LTSC (formerly LTSB)
editions, up to version 20H2 (build 19042.x)
l Windows 11
l Windows Server 2016 – all installation options, except for Nano Server
l Windows Server 2019 – all installation options, except for Nano Server, up to version 20H2 (build
19042.x)
l Windows Server 2022

Agent for SQL, Agent for Exchange (for database backup and application-aware
backup), Agent for Active Directory
Each of these agents can be installed on a machine running any operating system listed above and a
supported version of the respective application, with the following exception:

l Agent for SQL is not supported for on-premises deployment on Windows 7 Starter and Home
editions (x86, x64)

Agent for Exchange (for mailbox backup)

This agent can be installed on a machine with or without Microsoft Exchange Server.

l Windows Server 2008 – Standard, Enterprise, Datacenter, Foundation, and Web editions (x86,
x64)
l Windows Small Business Server 2008
l Windows 7 – all editions
l Windows Server 2008 R2 – Standard, Enterprise, Datacenter, Foundation, and Web editions
l Windows MultiPoint Server 2010/2011/2012
l Windows Small Business Server 2011 – all editions
l Windows 8/8.1 – all editions (x86, x64), except for the Windows RT editions
l Windows Server 2012/2012 R2 – all editions
l Windows Storage Server 2008/2008 R2/2012/2012 R2
l Windows 10 – Home, Pro, Education, and Enterprise editions
l Windows Server 2016 – all installation options, except for Nano Server
l Windows Server 2019 – all installation options, except for Nano Server

32 © Acronis International GmbH, 2003-2023

Agent for Office 365
l Windows Server 2008 – Standard, Enterprise, Datacenter, Foundation, and Web editions (x64
only)
l Windows Small Business Server 2008
l Windows Server 2008 R2 – Standard, Enterprise, Datacenter, Foundation, and Web editions
l Windows Home Server 2011
l Windows Small Business Server 2011 – all editions
l Windows 8/8.1 – all editions (x64 only), except for the Windows RT editions
l Windows Server 2012/2012 R2 – all editions
l Windows Storage Server 2008/2008 R2/2012/2012 R2/2016 (x64 only)
l Windows 10 – Home, Pro, Education, and Enterprise editions (x64 only)
l Windows Server 2016 – all installation options (x64 only), except for Nano Server
l Windows Server 2019 – all installation options (x64 only), except for Nano Server

Agent for Oracle

l Windows Server 2008R2 – Standard, Enterprise, Datacenter, and Web editions (x86, x64)
l Windows Server 2012R2 – Standard, Enterprise, Datacenter, and Web editions (x86, x64)
l Linux – any kernel and distribution supported by Agent for Linux (listed below)

Agent for Linux

Linux with kernel from 2.6.9 to 5.1 and glibc 2.3.4 or later, including the following x86 and x86_64
distributions:

l Red Hat Enterprise Linux 4.x, 5.x, 6.x, 7.0, 7.1, 7.2, 7.3, 7.4, 7.5, 7.6, 7.7, 7.8, 7.9, 8.0*, 8.1*, 8.2*
l Ubuntu 9.10, 10.04, 10.10, 11.04, 11.10, 12.04, 12.10, 13.04, 13.10, 14.04, 14.10, 15.04, 15.10,
16.04, 16.10, 17.04, 17.10, 18.04, 18.10, 19.04, 19.10, 20.04
l Fedora 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31
l SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 10 and 11
l SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 12 – supported on file systems, except for Btrfs
l Debian 4, 5, 6, 7.0, 7.2, 7.4, 7.5, 7.6, 7.7, 8.0, 8.1, 8.2, 8.3, 8.4, 8.5, 8.6, 8.7, 8.8, 8.11, 9.0, 9.1, 9.2, 9.3,
9.4, 9.5, 9.6, 9.7, 9.8, 10
l CentOS 5.x, 6.x, 7, 7.1, 7.2, 7.3, 7.4, 7.5, 7.6, 7.8, 7.9, 8.0, 8.1, 8.2
l Oracle Linux 5.x, 6.x, 7.0, 7.1, 7.2, 7.3, 7.4, 7.5, 7.6, 7.8, 7.9, 8.0, 8.1, 8.2 – both Unbreakable
Enterprise Kernel and Red Hat Compatible Kernel
l CloudLinux 5.x, 6.x, 7, 7.1, 7.2, 7.3, 7.4, 7.5, 7.6, 7.7, 7.8, 8.2
l ClearOS 5.x, 6.x, 7, 7.1, 7.4, 7.5, 7.6
l ALT Linux 7.0

33 © Acronis International GmbH, 2003-2023

Before installing the product on a system that does not use RPM Package Manager, such as an
Ubuntu system, you need to install this manager manually; for example, by running the following
command (as the root user): apt-get install rpm

* Configurations with Stratis are not supported.

Agent for Mac

l OS X Mavericks 10.9
l OS X Yosemite 10.10
l OS X El Capitan 10.11
l macOS Sierra 10.12
l macOS High Sierra 10.13
l macOS Mojave 10.14
l macOS Catalina 10.15

Agent for VMware (Virtual Appliance)

This agent is delivered as a virtual appliance for running on an ESXi host.

VMware ESXi 4.1, 5.0, 5.1, 5.5, 6.0, 6.5, 6.7, 7.0

Agent for VMware (Windows)

This agent is delivered as a Windows application for running in any operating system listed above
for Agent for Windows with the following exceptions:

l 32-bit operating systems are not supported.

l Windows XP, Windows Server 2003/2003 R2, and Windows Small Business Server 2003/2003 R2
are not supported.

Agent for Hyper-V

l Windows Server 2008 (x64 only) with Hyper-V role, including Server Core installation mode
l Windows Server 2008 R2 with Hyper-V role, including Server Core installation mode
l Microsoft Hyper-V Server 2008/2008 R2
l Windows Server 2012/2012 R2 with Hyper-V role, including Server Core installation mode
l Microsoft Hyper-V Server 2012/2012 R2
l Windows 8, 8.1 (x64 only) with Hyper-V
l Windows 10 – Pro, Education, and Enterprise editions with Hyper-V
l Windows Server 2016 with Hyper-V role – all installation options, except for Nano Server
l Microsoft Hyper-V Server 2016
l Windows Server 2019 with Hyper-V role – all installation options, except for Nano Server
l Microsoft Hyper-V Server 2019

34 © Acronis International GmbH, 2003-2023

Management Server (for on-premises deployment only)

In Windows
l Windows Server 2008 – Standard, Enterprise, Datacenter, and Foundation editions (x86, x64)
l Windows Small Business Server 2008
l Windows 7 – all editions (x86, x64)
l Windows Server 2008 R2 – Standard, Enterprise, Datacenter, and Foundation editions
l Windows Home Server 2011
l Windows MultiPoint Server 2010/2011/2012
l Windows Small Business Server 2011 – all editions
l Windows 8/8.1 – all editions (x86, x64), except for the Windows RT editions
l Windows Server 2012/2012 R2 – all editions
l Windows Storage Server 2008/2008 R2/2012/2012 R2/2016
l Windows 10 – Home, Pro, Education, Enterprise, and IoT Enterprise editions, up to version 20H2
(build 19042.x)
l Windows Server 2016 – all installation options, except for Nano Server
l Windows Server 2019 – all installation options, except for Nano Server, up to version 20H2 (build
19042.x)

In Linux
Linux with kernel from 2.6.23 to 5.4 and glibc 2.3.4 or later, including the following x86_64
distributions:

l Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6.x, 7.0, 7.1, 7.2, 7.3, 7.4, 7.5, 7.6, 7.7, 7.8, 7.9, 8.0*, 8.1*, 8.2*
l Ubuntu 9.10, 10.04, 10.10, 11.04, 11.10, 12.04, 12.10, 13.04, 13.10, 14.04, 14.10, 15.04, 15.10,
16.04, 16.10, 17.04, 17.10, 18.04, 18.10, 19.04, 19.10, 20.04
l Fedora 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31
l SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 11, 12
l Debian 5.x, 6.x, 7.0, 7.2, 7.4, 7.5, 7.6, 7.7, 8.0, 8.1, 8.2, 8.3, 8.4, 8.5, 8.6, 8.7, 8.8, 8.11, 9.0, 9.1, 9.2,
9.3, 9.4, 9.5, 9.6, 9.7, 9.8, 10
l CentOS 6.x, 7, 7.1, 7.2, 7.3, 7.4, 7.5, 7.6, 7.8, 7.9, 8.0, 8.1, 8.2
l Oracle Linux 6.x, 7.0, 7.1, 7.2, 7.3, 7.4, 7.5, 7.6, 7.8, 7.9, 8.0, 8.1, 8.2 – both Unbreakable Enterprise
Kernel and Red Hat Compatible Kernel
l CloudLinux 6.x, 7, 7.1, 7.2, 7.3, 7.4, 7.5, 7.6, 7.7, 7.8, 8.2
l ALT Linux 7.0

* Configurations with Stratis are not supported.

35 © Acronis International GmbH, 2003-2023

Storage Node (for on-premises deployment only)
l Windows Server 2008 – Standard, Enterprise, Datacenter, and Foundation editions (x64 only)
l Windows Small Business Server 2008
l Windows 7 – all editions (x64 only)
l Windows Server 2008 R2 – Standard, Enterprise, Datacenter, and Foundation editions
l Windows Home Server 2011
l Windows MultiPoint Server 2010/2011/2012
l Windows Small Business Server 2011 – all editions
l Windows 8/8.1 – all editions (x64 only), except for the Windows RT editions
l Windows Server 2012/2012 R2 – all editions
l Windows Storage Server 2008/2008 R2/2012/2012 R2/2016
l Windows 10 – Home, Pro, Education, Enterprise, and IoT Enterprise editions
l Windows Server 2016 – all installation options, except for Nano Server
l Windows Server 2019 – all installation options, except for Nano Server

Agent for Windows XP SP2

Agent for Windows XP SP2 supports only the 32-bit version of Windows XP SP2.

To protect machines running Windows XP SP1 (x64), Windows XP SP2 (x64), or Windows XP SP3
(x86), use the regular Agent for Windows.

Installation
Agent for Windows XP SP2 requires at least 550 MB of disk space and 150 MB of RAM. While backing
up, the agent typically consumes about 350 MB of memory. The peak consumption may reach 2 GB,
depending on the amount of data being processed.

Agent for Windows XP SP2 can be installed only locally on the machine that you want to back up. To
download the agent setup program, click the account icon in the top-right corner, and then click
Downloads > Agent for Windows XP SP2.

Backup Monitor and Bootable Media Builder cannot be installed. To download the bootable media
ISO file, click the account icon in the top-right corner > Downloads > Bootable media.

Update
Agent for Windows XP SP2 does not support the remote update functionality. To update the agent,
download the new version of the setup program, and then repeat the installation.

If you updated Windows XP from SP2 to SP3, uninstall Agent for Windows XP SP2, and then install
the regular Agent for Windows.

36 © Acronis International GmbH, 2003-2023

Limitations
l Only disk-level backup is available. Individual files can be recovered from a disk or volume
backup.
l Schedule by events is not supported.
l Conditions for backup plan execution are not supported.
l Only the following backup destinations are supported:
o Cloud storage
o Local folder
o Network folder
o Secure Zone
l The Version 12 backup format and the features that require the Version 12 backup format are
not supported.
In particular, physical data shipping is not available.
The Performance and backup window option, if enabled, applies only the green-level settings.
l Selection of individual disks/volumes for recovery and manual disk mapping during a recovery
are not supported in the web interface. This functionality is available under bootable media.
l Off-host data processing is not supported.
l Agent for Windows XP SP2 cannot perform the following operations with backups:
o Converting backups to a virtual machine
o Mounting volumes from a backup
o Extracting files from a backup
o Export and manual validation of a backup.
You can perform these operations by using another agent.
l Backups created by Agent for Windows XP SP2 cannot be run as a virtual machine.

Supported Microsoft SQL Server versions

l Microsoft SQL Server 2019
l Microsoft SQL Server 2017
l Microsoft SQL Server 2016
l Microsoft SQL Server 2014
l Microsoft SQL Server 2012
l Microsoft SQL Server 2008 R2
l Microsoft SQL Server 2008
l Microsoft SQL Server 2005

Supported Microsoft Exchange Server versions

l Microsoft Exchange Server 2019 – all editions.
l Microsoft Exchange Server 2016 – all editions.

37 © Acronis International GmbH, 2003-2023

l Microsoft Exchange Server 2013 – all editions, Cumulative Update 1 (CU1) and later.
l Microsoft Exchange Server 2010 – all editions, all service packs. Mailbox backup and granular
recovery from database backups are supported starting with Service Pack 1 (SP1).
l Microsoft Exchange Server 2007 – all editions, all service packs. Mailbox backup and granular
recovery from database backups are not supported.

Supported Microsoft SharePoint versions

Acronis Cyber Backup 12.5 supports the following Microsoft SharePoint versions:

l Microsoft SharePoint 2013

l Microsoft SharePoint Server 2010 SP1
l Microsoft SharePoint Foundation 2010 SP1
l Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007 SP2*
l Microsoft Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 SP2*

*In order to use SharePoint Explorer with these versions, you need a SharePoint recovery farm to
attach the databases to.

The backups or databases from which you extract data must originate from the same SharePoint
version as the one where SharePoint Explorer is installed.

Supported Oracle Database versions

l Oracle Database version 11g, all editions
l Oracle Database version 12c, all editions.

Only single-instance configurations are supported.

Supported SAP HANA versions

HANA 2.0 SPS 03 installed in RHEL 7.6 running on a physical machine or VMware ESXi virtual
machine.

Because SAP HANA does not support recovery of multitenant database containers by using storage
snapshots, this solution supports SAP HANA containers with only one tenant database.

Supported virtualization platforms

The following table summarizes how various virtualization platforms are supported.

Platform Backup at a Backup from

hypervisor level inside a guest OS
(agentless
backup)

VMware

38 © Acronis International GmbH, 2003-2023

VMware vSphere versions: 4.1, 5.0, 5.1, 5.5, 6.0, 6.5, 6.7, 7.0
VMware vSphere editions:

VMware vSphere Essentials*

VMware vSphere Essentials Plus*

+ +
VMware vSphere Standard*

VMware vSphere Advanced

VMware vSphere Enterprise

VMware vSphere Enterprise Plus

VMware vSphere Hypervisor (Free ESXi)** +

VMware Server (VMware Virtual server)

VMware Workstation
+
VMware ACE

VMware Player

Microsoft

Windows Server 2008 (x64) with Hyper-V

Windows Server 2008 R2 with Hyper-V

Microsoft Hyper-V Server 2008/2008 R2

Windows Server 2012/2012 R2 with Hyper-V

Microsoft Hyper-V Server 2012/2012 R2

Windows 8, 8.1 (x64) with Hyper-V

+ +
Windows 10 with Hyper-V

Windows Server 2016 with Hyper-V – all installation options,

except for Nano Server

Microsoft Hyper-V Server 2016

Windows Server 2019 with Hyper-V – all installation options,

except for Nano Server

Microsoft Hyper-V Server 2019

Microsoft Virtual PC 2004 and 2007 +

Windows Virtual PC

Microsoft Virtual Server 2005 +

Citrix

Citrix XenServer 4.1.5, 5.5, 5.6, 6.0, 6.1, 6.2, 6.5, 7.0, 7.1, 7.2, Only fully

39 © Acronis International GmbH, 2003-2023

 7.3, 7.4, 7.5, 7.6 virtualized (aka
HVM) guests.
Paravirtualized
(aka PV) guests are
not supported.

Red Hat and Linux

Red Hat Enterprise Virtualization (RHEV) 2.2, 3.0, 3.1, 3.2, 3.3,
3.4, 3.5, 3.6 +
Red Hat Virtualization (RHV) 4.0, 4.1

Kernel-based Virtual Machines (KVM) +

Parallels

Parallels Workstation +

Parallels Server 4 Bare Metal +

Oracle

Oracle VM Server 3.0, 3.3, 3.4 Only fully

virtualized (aka
HVM) guests.
Paravirtualized
(aka PV) guests are
not supported.

Oracle VM VirtualBox 4.x +

Nutanix

Nutanix Acropolis Hypervisor (AHV) 20160925.x through

+
20180425.x

Amazon

Amazon EC2 instances +

Microsoft Azure

Azure virtual machines +

* In these editions, the HotAdd transport for virtual disks is supported on vSphere 5.0 and later. On
version 4.1, backups may run slower.

** Backup at a hypervisor level is not supported for vSphere Hypervisor because this product
restricts access to Remote Command Line Interface (RCLI) to read-only mode. The agent works
during the vSphere Hypervisor evaluation period while no serial key is entered. Once you enter a
serial key, the agent stops functioning.

40 © Acronis International GmbH, 2003-2023

Limitations
l Fault tolerant machines
Agent for VMware backs up a fault tolerant machine only if fault tolerance was enabled in
VMware vSphere 6.0 and later. If you upgraded from an earlier vSphere version, it is enough to
disable and enable fault tolerance for each machine. If you are using an earlier vSphere version,
install an agent in the guest operating system.
l Independent disks and RDM
Agent for VMware does not back up Raw Device Mapping (RDM) disks in physical compatibility
mode or independent disks. The agent skips these disks and adds warnings to the log. You can
avoid the warnings by excluding independent disks and RDMs in physical compatibility mode
from the backup plan. If you want to back up these disks or data on these disks, install an agent
in the guest operating system.
l Pass-through disks
Agent for Hyper-V does not back up pass-through disks. During backup, the agent skips these
disks and adds warnings to the log. You can avoid the warnings by excluding pass-through disks
from the backup plan. If you want to back up these disks or data on these disks, install an agent
in the guest operating system.
l Hyper-V guest clustering
Agent for Hyper-V does not support backup of Hyper-V virtual machines that are nodes of a
Windows Server Failover Cluster. A VSS snapshot at the host level can even temporarily
disconnect the external quorum disk from the cluster. If you want to back up these machines,
install agents in the guest operating systems.
l In-guest iSCSI connection
Agent for VMware and Agent for Hyper-V do not back up LUN volumes connected by an iSCSI
initiator that works within the guest operating system. Because the ESXi and Hyper-V hypervisors
are not aware of such volumes, the volumes are not included in hypervisor-level snapshots and
are omitted from a backup without a warning. If you want to back up these volumes or data on
these volumes, install an agent in the guest operating system.
l Linux machines containing logical volumes (LVM)
Agent for VMware and Agent for Hyper-V do not support the following operations for Linux
machines with LVM:
o P2V and V2P migration. Use Agent for Linux or bootable media to create the backup and
bootable media to recover.
o Running a virtual machine from a backup created by Agent for Linux or bootable media.
o Converting a backup created by Agent for Linux or bootable media to a virtual machine.
l Encrypted virtual machines (introduced in VMware vSphere 6.5)
o Encrypted virtual machines are backed up in an unencrypted state. If encryption is critical to
you, enable encryption of backups when creating a backup plan.
o Recovered virtual machines are always unencrypted. You can manually enable encryption after
the recovery is complete.

41 © Acronis International GmbH, 2003-2023

 o If you back up encrypted virtual machines, we recommend that you also encrypt the virtual
machine where Agent for VMware is running. Otherwise, operations with encrypted machines
may be slower than expected. Apply the VM Encryption Policy to the agent's machine by
using vSphere Web Client.
o Encrypted virtual machines will be backed up via LAN, even if you configure the SAN transport
mode for the agent. The agent will fall back on the NBD transport because VMware does not
support SAN transport for backing up encrypted virtual disks.
l Secure Boot (introduced in VMware vSphere 6.5)
Secure Boot is disabled after a virtual machine is recovered as a new virtual machine. You can
manually enable this option after the recovery is complete.
l ESXi configuration backup is not supported for VMware vSphere 6.7 and 7.0.

Linux packages
To add the necessary modules to the Linux kernel, the setup program needs the following Linux
packages:

l The package with kernel headers or sources. The package version must match the kernel version.
l The GNU Compiler Collection (GCC) compiler system. The GCC version must be the one with
which the kernel was compiled.
l The Make tool.
l The Perl interpreter.
l The libelf-dev, libelf-devel, or elfutils-libelf-devel libraries for building kernels starting with
4.15 and configured with CONFIG_UNWINDER_ORC=y. For some distributions, such as Fedora 28,
they need to be installed separately from kernel headers.

The names of these packages vary depending on your Linux distribution.

In Red Hat Enterprise Linux, CentOS, and Fedora, the packages normally will be installed by the
setup program. In other distributions, you need to install the packages if they are not installed or do
not have the required versions.

Are the required packages already installed?

To check whether the packages are already installed, perform these steps:

1. Run the following command to find out the kernel version and the required GCC version:

cat /proc/version

This command returns lines similar to the following: Linux version 2.6.35.6 and gcc version
4.5.1
2. Run the following command to check whether the Make tool and the GCC compiler are installed:

make -v
gcc -v

42 © Acronis International GmbH, 2003-2023

 For gcc, ensure that the version returned by the command is the same as in the gcc version in
step 1. For make, just ensure that the command runs.
3. Check whether the appropriate version of the packages for building kernel modules is installed:
l In Red Hat Enterprise Linux, CentOS, and Fedora, run the following command:

yum list installed | grep kernel-devel

l In Ubuntu, run the following commands:

dpkg --get-selections | grep linux-headers

dpkg --get-selections | grep linux-image

In either case, ensure that the package versions are the same as in Linux version in step 1.
4. Run the following command to check whether the Perl interpreter is installed:

perl --version

If you see the information about the Perl version, the interpreter is installed.
5. In Red Hat Enterprise Linux, CentOS, and Fedora, run the following command to check whether
elfutils-libelf-devel is installed:

yum list installed | grep elfutils-libelf-devel

If you see the information about the library version, the library is installed.

Installing the packages from the repository

The following table lists how to install the required packages in various Linux distributions.

Linux distribution Package names How to install

Red Hat Enterprise Linux kernel-devel The setup program will download and install the
gcc packages automatically by using your Red Hat
make subscription.
elfutils-libelf-devel

Run the following command:

perl
yum install perl

CentOS kernel-devel The setup program will download and install the
gcc packages automatically.
Fedora
make
elfutils-libelf-devel

Run the following command:

perl
yum install perl

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 Ubuntu linux-headers Run the following commands:
linux-image
Debian
gcc sudo apt-get update
make sudo apt-get install linux-headers-$(uname
-r)
perl sudo apt-get install linux-image-$(uname -
r)
sudo apt-get install gcc-<package version>
sudo apt-get install make
sudo apt-get install perl

SUSE Linux kernel-source

sudo zypper install kernel-source
gcc sudo zypper install gcc
OpenSUSE
make sudo zypper install make
perl sudo zypper install perl

The packages will be downloaded from the distribution's repository and installed.

For other Linux distributions, please refer to the distribution's documentation regarding the exact
names of the required packages and the ways to install them.

Installing the packages manually

You may need to install the packages manually if:

l The machine does not have an active Red Hat subscription or Internet connection.
l The setup program cannot find the kernel-devel or gcc version corresponding to the kernel
version. If the available kernel-devel is more recent than your kernel, you need to either update
the kernel or install the matching kernel-devel version manually.
l You have the required packages on the local network and do not want to spend time for
automatic search and downloading.

Obtain the packages from your local network or a trusted third-party website, and install them as
follows:

l In Red Hat Enterprise Linux, CentOS, or Fedora, run the following command as the root user:

rpm -ivh PACKAGE_FILE1 PACKAGE_FILE2 PACKAGE_FILE3

l In Ubuntu, run the following command:

sudo dpkg -i PACKAGE_FILE1 PACKAGE_FILE2 PACKAGE_FILE3

Example: Installing the packages manually in Fedora 14

Follow these steps to install the required packages in Fedora 14 on a 32-bit machine:

1. Run the following command to determine the kernel version and the required GCC version:

cat /proc/version

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 The output of this command includes the following:

Linux version 2.6.35.6-45.fc14.i686

gcc version 4.5.1

2. Obtain the kernel-devel and gcc packages that correspond to this kernel version:

kernel-devel-2.6.35.6-45.fc14.i686.rpm
gcc-4.5.1-4.fc14.i686.rpm

3. Obtain the make package for Fedora 14:

make-3.82-3.fc14.i686

4. Install the packages by running the following commands as the root user:

rpm -ivh kernel-devel-2.6.35.6-45.fc14.i686.rpm

rpm -ivh gcc-4.5.1.fc14.i686.rpm
rpm -ivh make-3.82-3.fc14.i686

You can specify all these packages in a single rpm command. Installing any of these packages may
require installing additional packages to resolve dependencies.

Compatibility with encryption software

There are no limitations on backing up and recovering data that is encrypted by file-level encryption
software.

Disk-level encryption software encrypts data on the fly. This is why data contained in the backup is
not encrypted. Disk-level encryption software often modifies system areas: boot records, or
partition tables, or file system tables. These factors affect disk-level backup and recovery, the ability
of the recovered system to boot and access to Secure Zone.

You can back up the data encrypted by the following disk-level encryption software:

l Microsoft BitLocker Drive Encryption

l McAfee Endpoint Encryption
l PGP Whole Disk Encryption.

To ensure reliable disk-level recovery, follow the common rules and software-specific
recommendations.

Common installation rule

The strong recommendation is to install the encryption software before installing the backup
agents.

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The way of using Secure Zone
Secure Zone must not be encrypted with disk-level encryption. This is the only way to use Secure
Zone:

1. Install the encryption software; then, install the agent.

2. Create Secure Zone.
3. Exclude Secure Zone when encrypting the disk or its volumes.

Common backup rule

You can do a disk-level backup in the operating system. Do not try to back up using bootable media.

Software-specific recovery procedures

Microsoft BitLocker Drive Encryption

To recover a system that was encrypted by BitLocker:

1. Boot from the bootable media.

2. Recover the system. The recovered data will be unencrypted.
3. Reboot the recovered system.
4. Turn on BitLocker.

If you only need to recover one partition of a multi-partitioned disk, do so under the operating
system. Recovery under bootable media may make the recovered partition undetectable for
Windows.

McAfee Endpoint Encryption and PGP Whole Disk Encryption

You can recover an encrypted system partition by using bootable media only.

If the recovered system fails to boot, rebuild Master Boot Record as described in the following
Microsoft knowledge base article: https://support.microsoft.com/kb/2622803

System requirements
The following table summarizes disk space and memory requirements for typical installation cases.
The installation is performed with the default settings.

Components to be installed Occupied Minimum

disk space memory
consumption

Agent for Windows 850 MB 150 MB

Agent for Windows and one of the following agents: 950 MB 170 MB

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 l Agent for SQL
l Agent for Exchange

Agent for Windows and one of the following agents: 1170 MB 180 MB

l Agent for VMware (Windows)

l Agent for Hyper-V

Agent for Office 365 500 MB 170 MB

Agent for Linux 720 MB 130 MB

Agent for Mac 500 MB 150 MB

For on-premises deployments only

Management Server in Windows 1.7 GB 200 MB

Management Server in Linux 0.6 GB 200 MB

Management Server and Agent for Windows 2.4 GB 360 MB

Management Server and agents on a machine running Windows, 3.35 GB 400 MB

Microsoft SQL Server, Microsoft Exchange Server, and Active Directory
Domain Services

Management Server and Agent for Linux 1.2 GB 340 MB

Storage Node and Agent for Windows 1.1 GB 330 MB

l 64-bit platform only

l To use deduplication, minimum 8 GB of RAM are required. For more
information, see "Deduplication best practices".

While backing up, an agent typically consumes about 350 MB of memory (measured during a 500-
GB volume backup). The peak consumption may reach 2 GB, depending on the amount and type of
data being processed.

Backing up to big archives (600 GB or more) requires about 1GB of RAM per 1TB of archive size.

Bootable media or a disk recovery with a reboot requires at least 1 GB of memory.

A management server with one registered machine consumes 200 MB of memory. Each of the
newly registered machines adds about 2 MB. Thus, a server with 100 registered machines consumes
approximately 400 MB above the operating system and running applications. The maximum
number of registered machines is 900-1000. This limitation originates from the management
server's embedded SQLite.

You can overcome this limitation by specifying an external Microsoft SQL Server instance during the
management server installation. With an external SQL database, up to 8000 machines can be
registered without significant performance degradation. The SQL Server will then consume about 8
GB of RAM. For better backup performance, we recommend managing the machines by groups,
with up to 500 machines in each.

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Supported file systems
A protection agent can back up any file system that is accessible from the operating system where
the agent is installed. For example, Agent for Windows can back up and recover an ext4 file system if
the corresponding driver is installed in Windows.

The following table summarizes the file systems that can be backed up and recovered. The
limitations apply to both the agents and bootable media.

Supported by

Linux-
File system WinPE Mac Limitations
based
Agents bootable bootable
bootable
media media
media

FAT16/32 + + +

NTFS All agents + + +

No limitations
ext2/ext3/ext4 + + -

HFS+ - - +

l Supported starting
with macOS High
Sierra 10.13
Agent for l Disk configuration
Mac should be re-
APFS - - +
created manually
when recovering to
a non-original
machine or bare
metal

l Files cannot be
JFS - + - excluded from a
Agent for disk backup
Linux l Fast incremental/
ReiserFS3 - + - differential backup
cannot be enabled

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 l Files cannot be
ReiserFS4 - + - excluded from a
disk backup
l Fast incremental/
differential backup
ReFS + + +
cannot be enabled
All agents l Volumes cannot be
resized during a
XFS + + +
recovery

Agent for
Linux swap - + - No limitations
Linux

+ l Only disk/volume
backup is supported
Bootable
media
l Files cannot be
cannot be excluded from a
exFAT All agents + used for + backup
recovery if l Individual files
the backup cannot be
is stored on recovered from a
exFAT backup

The software automatically switches to the sector-by-sector mode when backing up drives with
unrecognized or unsupported file systems. A sector-by-sector backup is possible for any file system
that:

l is block-based
l spans a single disk
l has a standard MBR/GPT partitioning scheme

If the file system does not meet these requirements, the backup fails.

Data Deduplication
In Windows Server 2012 and later, you can enable the Data Deduplication feature for an NTFS
volume. Data Deduplication reduces the used space on the volume by storing duplicate fragments
of the volume's files only once.

You can back up and recover a data deduplication–enabled volume at a disk level, without
limitations. File-level backup is supported, except when using Acronis VSS Provider. To recover files
from a disk backup, either run a virtual machine from your backup, or mount the backup on a
machine running Windows Server 2012 or later, and then copy the files from the mounted volume.

The Data Deduplication feature of Windows Server is unrelated to the Acronis Backup Deduplication
feature.

49 © Acronis International GmbH, 2003-2023

On-premises deployment
An on-premises deployment includes a number of software components that are described in the
"Components" section. The diagram below illustrates the component interaction and the ports
required for this interaction.

Legend
The arrow direction shows which component initiates the connection. Note that all ports are TCP
unless otherwise specified.

1. 11.

Download installation components: 80 to Receive catalog metadata: 9200

dl.acronis.com

2. 12.

Sync subscription licenses: 443 to

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 l
account.acronis.com Manage Acronis Storage Node: 7780 ZMQ
l Register Acronis Storage Node and manage
tasks: TCP 9877

3. 13.

Manage environment: 9877 Backup to managed location: 9876, 9852

4. 14.

Access via remote command line (acrocmd, l SMB: UDP 137, UDP 138 and TCP 139, TCP 445
acropsh): 9851 l SFTP: 22 (default, can vary)

5. 15.

l Register agent: 9877 Create virtual machine backups: 443, 902

l
Manage agent: 7780 ZMQ
l Sync licenses: 9877

6. 16.

Remote installation: NFS: TCP, UDP 111 and 2049

l Update 1 and earlier: 445, 25001, 9876

l Update 2 and later: 445, 25001, 43234

7. 17.

Access via remote command line (acrocmd, Send reports and emails: SMTP (25, 465, 587, etc)
acropsh): 9850

8. 18.

Create backups to Acronis cloud storage: 443, 8443, Deploy appliance: 443, 902
44445, 5060

9. 19.
l SMB: UDP 137, UDP 138 and TCP 139, TCP 445
Browse and search backups: 9877
l SFTP: 22 (default, may vary)
10.

Index backups: 9876

Backup data CurveZMQ 256-bit key

Management data HTTPS/TLS

Optional functionality

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Installing the management server

Installation in Windows
To install the management server

1. Log on as an administrator and start the Acronis Cyber Backup setup program.
2. [Optional] To change the language the setup program is displayed in, click Setup language.
3. Accept the terms of the license agreement and select whether the machine will participate in the
Acronis Customer Experience Program (ACEP).

4. Leave the default setting Install a backup agent and Acronis Cyber Backup Management
Server.

5. Do any of the following:

l Click Install Acronis Cyber Backup .
This is the easiest way to install the product. Most of the installation parameters will be set to
their default values.
The following components will be installed:
o Management Server
o Components for Remote Installation
o Monitoring Service
o Agent for Windows

52 © Acronis International GmbH, 2003-2023

 o Other agents (Agent for Hyper-V, Agent for Exchange, Agent for SQL, and Agent for Active
Directory), if the respective hypervisor or application is detected on the machine
o Bootable Media Builder
o Command-Line Tool
o Backup Monitor
l Click Customize installation settings to configure the setup.
You will be able to select the components to be installed and to specify additional parameters.
For details, refer to "Customizing installation settings".
l Click Create .mst and .msi files for unattended installation to extract the installation
packages. Review or modify the installation settings that will be added to the .mst file, and
then click Generate. Further steps of this procedure are not required.
If you want to deploy agents through Group Policy, refer to "Deploying agents through Group
Policy".
6. Proceed with the installation.
7. After the installation completes, click Close.

Customizing installation settings

This section describes settings that can be changed during installation.

Common settings
l The components to be installed.

Component Description

Management Management Server is the central point for managing all of your backups. With the on-
Server premise deployment, it is installed in your local network.

Agent for This agent backs up disks, volumes, files and will be installed on Windows machines. It
Windows will be always installed, not selectable.

Agent for This agent backs up Hyper-V virtual machines and will be installed on Hyper-V hosts. It
Hyper-V will be installed if selected and detected Hyper-V role on a machine.

Agent for SQL This agent backs up SQL Server databases and will be installed on machines running
Microsoft SQL Server. It will be installed if selected and application detected on a
machine.

Agent for This agent backs up Exchange databases and mailboxes and will be installed on
Exchange machines running the Mailbox role of Microsoft Exchange Server. I will be installed if
selected and application detected on a machine.

Agent for This agent backs up the data of Active Directory Domain Services and will be installed on
Active domain controllers. It will be installed if selected and application detected on a machine.
Directory

Agent for This agent backs up VMware virtual machines and will be installed on Windows

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 VMware machines that have network access to vCenter Server. It will be installed if selected.
(Windows)

Agent for This agent backs up Microsoft Office 365 mailboxes to a local destination and will be
Office 365 installed on Windows machines. It will be installed if selected.

Agent for This agent backs up Oracle databases and will be installed on machines running Oracle
Oracle Database. It will be installed if selected.

Cyber Backup This component enables a user to monitor execution of running tasks in the notification
Monitor area and will be installed on Windows machines. It will be installed if selected.

Command-line Cyber Backup supports the command-line interface with the acrocmd utility. acrocmd
tool does not contain any tools that physically execute the commands. It only provides the
command-line interface to Cyber Backup components - agents and the management
server. It will be installed if selected.

l The folder where the product will be installed.

l The accounts under which the services will run.
You can choose one of the following:
o Use Service User Accounts (default for the agent service)
Service User Accounts are Windows system accounts that are used to run services. The
advantage of this setting is that the domain security policies do not affect these accounts' user
rights. By default, the agent runs under the Local System account.
o Create a new account (default for the management server service and the storage node
service)
The account names will be Acronis Agent User, AMS User, and ASN User for the agent,
management server, and the storage node services, respectively.
o Use the following account
If you install the product on a domain controller, the setup program prompts you to specify
existing accounts (or the same account) for each service. For security reasons, the setup
program does not automatically create new accounts on a domain controller.
Also, choose this setting if you want the management server to use an existing Microsoft SQL
server installed on a different machine and use Windows Authentication for the SQL Server.
If you chose the Create a new account or Use the following account option, ensure that the
domain security policies do not affect the related accounts' rights. If an account is deprived of the
user rights assigned during the installation, the component may work incorrectly or not work.

Privileges required for a logon account

A protection agent is run as a Managed Machine Service (MMS) on a Windows machine. The account
under which the agent will run must have specific rights for the agent to work correctly. Thus, the
MMS user should be assigned the following privileges:

1. Included in the Backup Operators and Administrators groups. On a Domain Controller, the
user must be included in the group Domain Admins.

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2. Granted the Full Control permission on the folder %PROGRAMDATA%\Acronis (in Windows XP and
Server 2003, %ALLUSERSPROFILE%\Application Data\Acronis) and on its subfolders.
3. Granted the Full Control permission on certain registry keys in the following key: HKEY_LOCAL_
MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Acronis.
4. Assigned the following user rights:
l Log on as a service
l Adjust memory quotas for a process
l Replace a process level token
l Modify firmware environment values

The ASN user must have local administrator rights on the machine where Acronis Storage Node is
installed.

How to assign the user rights

Follow the instructions below to assign the user rights (this example uses the Log on as service
user right, the steps are the same for other user rights):

1. Logon to the computer by using an account with administrative privileges.

2. Open Administrative Tools from Control Panel (or click Win+R, type control admintools, and
press Enter) and open Local Security Policy.
3. Expand Local Policies and click on User Rights Assignment.
4. In the right pane, right-click Log on as a service and select Properties.
5. Click on the Add User or Group… button to add a new user.
6. In the Select Users, Computers, Service Accounts, or Groups window, find the user you wish
to enter and click OK.
7. Click OK in the Log on as a service Properties to save the changes.

Important
Ensure that the user which you have added to the Log on as service user right is not listed in the
Deny log on as a service policy in Local Security Policy.

Note that it is not recommended to change logon accounts manually after the installation is
completed.

Management server installation

l The database to be used by the management server. By default, the built-in SQLite database is
used.
You can select any edition of the following Microsoft SQL Server versions:
o Microsoft SQL Server 2012
o Microsoft SQL Server 2014
o Microsoft SQL Server 2016

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o Microsoft SQL Server 2017
o Microsoft SQL Server 2019
The instance you choose can also be used by other programs.
Before selecting an instance installed on another machine, ensure that SQL Server Browser
Service and the TCP/IP protocol are enabled on that machine. For instructions on how to start
SQL Server Browser Service, refer to: http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms189093.aspx.
You can enable the TCP/IP protocol by using a similar procedure.
l The port that will be used by a web browser to access the management server (by default, 9877)
and the port that will be used for communication between the product components (by default,
7780). Changing the latter port after the installation will require re-registering of all of the
components.
Windows Firewall is configured automatically during the installation. If you use a different
firewall, ensure that the ports are open for both incoming and outgoing requests through that
firewall.

Agent installation
l Whether the agent will connect to the Internet through an HTTP proxy server, when backing up to
and recovering from the cloud storage.
If a proxy server is required, specify its host name or IP address and the port number. If your
proxy server requires authentication, specify the proxy server credentials.

Installation in Linux

Preparation
1. Before installing the product on a system that does not use RPM Package Manager, such as an
Ubuntu system, you need to install this manager manually; for example, by running the following
command (as the root user): apt-get install rpm.
2. If you want to install Agent for Linux along with the management server, ensure that the
necessary Linux packages are installed on the machine.
3. Choose the database to be used by the management server.
By default, the built-in SQLite database is used. As an alternative, you can use PostgreSQL. For
information about how to configure the management server for using PostgreSQL, refer to
http://kb.acronis.com/content/60395.

Note
If you switch to PostgreSQL after the management server has been working for some time, you
will have to add devices, configure backup plans and other settings from scratch.

Installation
To install the management server

56 © Acronis International GmbH, 2003-2023

1. As the root user, run the installation file.
2. Accept the terms of the license agreement.
3. [Optional] Select the components that you want to install.
By default, the following components will be installed:
l Management Server
l Agent for Linux
l Bootable Media Builder
4. Specify the port that will be used by a web browser to access the management server. The
default value is 9877.
5. Specify the port that will be used for communication between the product components. The
default value is 7780.
6. Click Next to proceed with the installation.
7. After the installation completes, select Open web console, and then click Exit. The backup
console will open in your default web browser.

Acronis Cyber Backup appliance

With Acronis Cyber Backup appliance, you can easily obtain a virtual machine with the following
software:

l CentOS
l Acronis Cyber Backup components:
o Management Server
o Agent for Linux
o Agent for VMware (Linux)

The appliance is provided as a .zip archive. The archive contains the .ovf and .iso files. You can
deploy the .ovf file to an ESXi host or use the .iso file to boot an existing virtual machine. The archive
also contains the .vmdk file that should be placed in the same directory with .ovf.

Note
VMware Host Client (a web client used to manage standalone ESXi 6.0+) does not allow deploying
OVF templates with an ISO image inside. If this is your case, create a virtual machine that meets the
requirements below, and then use the .iso file to install the software.

Requirements for the virtual appliance are as follows:

l Minimum system requirements:

o 2 CPUs
o 6 GB RAM
o One 10 GB virtual disk (40 GB recommended)
l In VMware virtual machine settings, click Options tab > General > Configuration Parameters,
and then ensure that the disk.EnableUUID parameter value is true.

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Installing the software
1. Do one of the following:
l Deploy the appliance from .ovf. After the deployment has completed, power on the resulting
machine.
l Boot an existing virtual machine from the .iso.
2. Select Install or update Acronis Cyber Backup , and then press Enter. Wait for the initial setup
window to appear.
3. [Optional] To change the installation settings, select Change settings, and then press Enter. You
can specify the following settings:
l The host name of the appliance (by default, AcronisAppliance-<random part>).
l The password for the "root" account that will be used to log in to the backup console (by
default, not specified).
If you leave the default value, after Acronis Cyber Backup is installed, you will be prompted to
specify the password. Without this password, you will not be able to log in to the backup
console and the Cockpit web console.
l Network settings of a network interface card:
o Use DHCP (by default)
o Set static IP address
If the machine has several network interface cards, the software selects one of them
randomly and applies these settings to it.
4. Select Install with the current settings.

As a result, CentOS and Acronis Cyber Backup will be installed on the machine.

Further actions
After the installation is completed, the software displays the links to the backup console and the
Cockpit web console. Connect to the backup console to start using Acronis Cyber Backup: add more
devices, create backups plans, and so on.

To add ESXi virtual machines, click Add > VMware ESXi, and then specify the address and
credentials for the vCenter Server or stand-alone ESXi host.

There are no Acronis Cyber Backup settings that are configured in the Cockpit web console. The
console is provided for convenience and troubleshooting.

Updating the software

1. Download and unpack the .zip archive with the new appliance version.
2. Boot the machine from the .iso unpacked in the previous step.
a. Save the .iso to your vSphere datastore.
b. Connect the .iso to the machine's CD/DVD drive.
c. Restart the machine.

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 d. [Only during the first update] Press F2, and then change the boot order so that CD/DVD drive
comes first.
3. Select Install or update Acronis Cyber Backup , and then press Enter.
4. Select Update, and then press Enter.
5. Once the update is completed, disconnect the .iso from the machine's CD/DVD drive.

As a result, Acronis Cyber Backup will be updated. If the CentOS version in the .iso file is also newer
than the version on the disk, the operating system will be updated before updating Acronis Cyber
Backup.

Adding machines via the web interface

To start adding a machine to the management server, click All devices > Add.

If the management server is installed in Linux, you will be asked to select the setup program based
on the type of the machine that you want to add. Once the setup program is downloaded, run it
locally on that machine.

The operations described later in this section are possible if the management server is installed in
Windows. In most cases, the agent will be silently deployed to the selected machine.

Adding a machine running Windows

Preparation
1. For successful installation on a remote machine running Windows XP, the option Control panel
> Folder options > View > Use simple file sharing must be disabled on that machine.
For successful installation on a remote machine running Windows Vista or later, the option
Control panel > Folder options > View > Use Sharing Wizard must be disabled on that
machine.
2. For successful installation on a remote machine that is not a member of an Active Directory
domain, User Account Control (UAC) must be disabled.
3. File and Printer Sharing must be enabled on the remote machine. To access this option:
l On a machine running Windows XP or Windows 2003 Server: go to Control panel > Windows
Firewall > Exceptions > File and Printer Sharing.
l On a machine running Windows Vista, Windows Server 2008, Windows 7, or later: go to
Control panel > Windows Firewall > Network and Sharing Center > Change advanced
sharing settings.
4. Acronis Cyber Backup uses TCP ports 445, 25001, and 43234 for remote installation.
Port 445 is automatically opened when you enable File and Printer Sharing. Ports 43234 and
25001 are automatically opened through Windows Firewall. If you use a different firewall, make
sure that these three ports are open (added to exceptions) for both incoming and outgoing
requests.
After the remote installation is complete, port 25001 is automatically closed through Windows
Firewall. Ports 445 and 43234 need to remain open if you want to update the agent remotely in

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 the future. Port 25001 is automatically opened and closed through Windows Firewall during each
update. If you use a different firewall, keep all the three ports open.

Installation packages
Agents are installed from installation packages. The management server takes the packages from
the local folder specified in the following registry key: HKEY_LOCAL_
MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Acronis\RemoteInstallationFiles\<product build number>. The default
location is %ProgramFiles%\Acronis\RemoteInstallationFiles\<product build number>.

You may need to download the installation packages in the following situations:

l Components for remote installation were not installed during the management server
installation.
l Installation packages were manually removed from the location specified in the registry key.
l You need to add a 32-bit machine to the 64-bit management server or vice versa.
l You need to update agents on a 32-bit machine from the 64-bit management server or vice versa,
by using the Agents tab.

To get the installation packages

1. In the backup console, click the account icon in the top-right corner > Downloads.
2. Select Offline installer for Windows. Pay attention to the required bitness – 32-bit or 64-bit.
3. Save the installer to the packages location.

Adding the machine

1. Click All devices > Add.
2. Click Windows or the button that corresponds to the application that you want to protect.
Depending on the button you click, one of the following options is selected:
l Agent for Windows
l Agent for Hyper-V
l Agent for SQL + Agent for Windows
l Agent for Exchange + Agent for Windows
If you clicked Microsoft Exchange Server > Exchange mailboxes, and at least one Agent for
Exchange is already registered, you are taken directly to step 5.
l Agent for Active Directory + Agent for Windows
l Agent for Office 365
3. Specify the host name or IP address of the machine, and the credentials of an account with
administrative privileges on that machine.

4. Select the name or IP address that the agent will use to access the management server.
By default, the server name is chosen. You may need to change this setting if the DNS server is
unable to resolve the name to the IP address, which results in an agent registration failure.

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5. Click Add.
6. If you clicked Microsoft Exchange Server > Exchange mailboxes in step 2, specify the machine
where the Client Access server role (CAS) of Microsoft Exchange Server is enabled. For more
information, refer to "Mailbox backup".

Requirements on User Account Control (UAC)

On a machine that is running Windows Vista or later and is not a member of an Active Directory
domain, centralized management operations (including remote installation) require that UAC and
UAC remote restrictions be disabled.

To disable UAC

Do one of the following depending on the operating system:

l In a Windows operating system prior to Windows 8:

Go to Control panel > View by: Small icons > User Accounts > Change User Account
Control Settings, and then move the slider to Never notify. Then, restart the machine.
l In any Windows operating system:
1. Open Registry Editor.
2. Locate the following registry key: HKEY_LOCAL_
MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\System
3. For the EnableLUA value, change the setting to 0.
4. Restart the machine.

To disable UAC remote restrictions

1. Open Registry Editor.

2. Locate the following registry key: HKEY_LOCAL_
MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\System
3. For LocalAccountTokenFilterPolicy value, change the setting to 1.
If the LocalAccountTokenFilterPolicy value does not exist, create it as DWORD (32-bit). For
more information about this value, refer to the Microsoft documentation:
https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/951016/description-of-user-account-control-and-
remote-restrictions-in-windows.

Note
For security reasons, it is recommended that after finishing the management operation – for
example, remote installation, both of the settings be reverted to their original state: EnableLUA=1
and LocalAccountTokenFilterPolicy = 0

Adding a machine running Linux

1. Click All devices > Add.
2. Click Linux. This will download the installation file.
3. On the machine that you want to protect, run the setup program locally.

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Adding a machine running macOS
1. Click All devices > Add.
2. Click Mac. This will download the installation file.
3. On the machine that you want to protect, run the setup program locally.

Adding a vCenter or an ESXi host

There are four methods of adding a vCenter or a stand-alone ESXi host to the management server:

l Deploying Agent for VMware (Virtual Appliance)

This method is recommended in most cases. The virtual appliance will be automatically deployed
to every host managed by the vCenter you specify. You can select the hosts and customize the
virtual appliance settings.
l Installing Agent for VMware (Windows)
You may want to install Agent for VMware on a physical machine running Windows for the
purpose of an offloaded or LAN-free backup.
o Offloaded backup
Use if your production ESXi hosts are so heavily loaded that running the virtual appliances is
not desirable.
o LAN-free backup
If your ESXi uses a SAN attached storage, install the agent on a machine connected to the same
SAN. The agent will back up the virtual machines directly from the storage rather than via the
ESXi host and LAN. For detailed instructions, refer to "LAN-free backup".
If the management server is running in Windows, the agent will be automatically deployed to the
machine you specify. Otherwise, you need to install the agent manually.
l Registering an already installed Agent for VMware
This is a necessary step after you have re-installed the management server. Also, you can register
and configure Agent for VMware (Virtual Appliance) that is deployed from an OVF template.
l Configuring an already registered Agent for VMware
This is a necessary step after you have installed Agent for VMware (Windows) manually or
deployed Acronis Cyber Backup appliance. Also, you can associate an already configured Agent
for VMware with another vCenter Server or stand-alone ESXi host.

Deploying Agent for VMware (Virtual Appliance) via the web interface
1. Click All devices > Add.
2. Click VMware ESXi.
3. Select Deploy as a virtual appliance to each host of a vCenter.
4. Specify the address and access credentials for the vCenter Server or stand-alone ESXi host. We
recommend using an account that has the Administrator role assigned. Otherwise, provide an
account with the necessary privileges on the vCenter Server or ESXi.

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5. Select the name or IP address that the agent will use to access the management server.
By default, the server name is chosen. You may need to change this setting if the DNS server is
unable to resolve the name to the IP address, which results in an agent registration failure.

6. [Optional] Click Settings to customize the deployment settings:

l ESXi hosts that you want to deploy the agent to (only if a vCenter Server was specified in the
previous step).
l The virtual appliance name.
l The datastore where the appliance will be located.
l The resource pool or vApp that will contain the appliance.
l The network that the virtual appliance's network adapter will be connected to.
l Network settings of the virtual appliance. You can choose DHCP auto configuration or specify
the values manually, including a static IP address.
7. Click Deploy.

Installing Agent for VMware (Windows)

Preparation
Follow the preparatory steps described in the "Adding a machine running Windows" section.

Installation
1. Click All devices > Add.
2. Click VMware ESXi.
3. Select Remotely install on a machine running Windows.
4. Specify the host name or IP address of the machine, and the credentials of an account with
administrative privileges on that machine.

5. Select the name or IP address that the agent will use to access the management server.
By default, the server name is chosen. You may need to change this setting if the DNS server is
unable to resolve the name to the IP address, which results in an agent registration failure.

6. Click Connect.
7. Specify the address and credentials for the vCenter Server or stand-alone ESXi host, and then
click Connect. We recommend using an account that has the Administrator role assigned.
Otherwise, provide an account with the necessary privileges on the vCenter Server or ESXi.
8. Click Install to install the agent.

Registering an already installed Agent for VMware

This section describes registering Agent for VMware via the web interface.

Alternative registration methods:

l You can register Agent for VMware (Virtual Appliance) by specifying the management server in
the virtual appliance UI. See step 3 under "Configuring the virtual appliance" in the "Deploying

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 Agent for VMware (Virtual Appliance) from an OVF template" section.
l Agent for VMware (Windows) is registered during its local installation.

To register Agent for VMware

1. Click All devices > Add.

2. Click VMware ESXi.
3. Select Register an already installed agent.
4. If you register Agent for VMware (Windows), specify the host name or IP address of the machine
where the agent is installed, and credentials of an account with administrative privileges on that
machine.
If you register Agent for VMware (Virtual Appliance), specify the host name or IP address of the
virtual appliance, and credentials for the vCenter Server or the stand-alone ESXi host where the
appliance is running.

5. Select the name or IP address that the agent will use to access the management server.
By default, the server name is chosen. You may need to change this setting if the DNS server is
unable to resolve the name to the IP address, which results in an agent registration failure.

6. Click Connect.
7. Specify the host name or IP address of the vCenter Server or the ESXi host, and credentials to
access it, and then click Connect. We recommend using an account that has the Administrator
role assigned. Otherwise, provide an account with the necessary privileges on the vCenter Server
or ESXi.
8. Click Register to register the agent.

Configuring an already registered Agent for VMware

This section describes how to associate Agent for VMware with a vCenter Server or ESXi in the web
interface. As an alternative, you can do this in the Agent for VMware (Virtual Appliance) console.

By using this procedure, you can also change the existing association of the agent with a vCenter
Server or ESXi. Alternatively, you can do this in the Agent for VMware (Virtual Appliance) console or
by clicking Settings > Agents > the agent > Details > vCenter/ESXi.

To configure Agent for VMware

1. Click All devices > Add.

2. Click VMware ESXi.
3. The software shows the unconfigured Agent for VMware that appears first alphabetically.
If all of the agents registered on the management server are configured, click Configure an
already registered agent, and the software will show the agent that appears first
alphabetically.
4. If necessary, click Machine with agent and select the agent to be configured.
5. Specify or change the host name or IP address of the vCenter Server or the ESXi host, and
credentials to access it. We recommend using an account that has the Administrator role

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 assigned. Otherwise, provide an account with the necessary privileges on the vCenter Server or
ESXi.
6. Click Configure to save the changes.

Installing agents locally

Installation in Windows
To install Agent for Windows, Agent for Hyper-V, Agent for Exchange, Agent for SQL, or Agent for
Active Directory

1. Log on as an administrator and start the Acronis Cyber Backup setup program.
2. [Optional] To change the language the setup program is displayed in, click Setup language.
3. Accept the terms of the license agreement and select whether the machine will participate in the
Acronis Customer Experience Program (ACEP).

4. Select Install a backup agent.

5. Do any of the following:
l Click Install Acronis Cyber Backup .
This is the easiest way to install the product. Most of the installation parameters will be set to
their default values.
The following components will be installed:
o Agent for Windows
o Other agents (Agent for Hyper-V, Agent for Exchange, Agent for SQL, and Agent for Active
Directory), if the respective hypervisor or application is detected on the machine
o Bootable Media Builder
o Command-Line Tool
o Backup Monitor
l Click Customize installation settings to configure the setup.
You will be able to select the components to be installed and to specify additional parameters.
For details, refer to "Customizing installation settings".
l Click Create .mst and .msi files for unattended installation to extract the installation
packages. Review or modify the installation settings that will be added to the .mst file, and
then click Generate. Further steps of this procedure are not required.
If you want to deploy agents through Group Policy, proceed as described in "Deploying agents
through Group Policy".
6. Specify the management server where the machine with the agent will be registered:
a. Specify the host name or IP address of the machine where the management server is
installed.
b. Specify the credentials of a management server administrator or a registration token.
For more information on how to generate a registration token, refer to "Deploying agents
through Group Policy".

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 If you are not a management server administrator, you still can register the machine, by
selecting the Connect without authentication option. This works on the condition that the
management server allows anonymous registration, which may be disabled.
c. Click Done.

7. If prompted, select whether the machine with the agent will be added to the organization or to
one of the units.
This prompt appears if you administer more than one unit, or an organization with at least one
unit. Otherwise, the machine will be silently added to the unit you administer or to the
organization. For more information, refer to "Administrators and units".

8. Proceed with the installation.

9. After the installation completes, click Close.
10. If you installed Agent for Exchange, you will be able to back up Exchange databases. If you want
to back up Exchange mailboxes, open the backup console, click Add > Microsoft Exchange
Server > Exchange mailboxes, and then specify the machine where the Client Access server
role (CAS) of Microsoft Exchange Server is enabled. For more information, refer to "Mailbox
backup".

To install Agent for VMware (Windows), Agent for Office 365, Agent for Oracle, or Agent for
Exchange on a machine without Microsoft Exchange Server

1. Log on as an administrator and start the Acronis Cyber Backup setup program.
2. [Optional] To change the language the setup program is displayed in, click Setup language.
3. Accept the terms of the license agreement and select whether the machine will participate in the
Acronis Customer Experience Program (ACEP).

4. Select Install a backup agent, and then click Customize installation settings.
5. Next to What to install, click Change.
6. Select the check box corresponding to the agent that you want to install. Clear the check boxes
for the components that you do not want to install. Click Done to continue.
7. Specify the management server where the machine with the agent will be registered:
a. Next to Acronis Cyber Backup Management Server, click Specify.
b. Specify the host name or IP address of the machine where the management server is
installed.
c. Specify the credentials of a management server administrator or a registration token.
For more information on how to generate a registration token, refer to "Deploying agents
through Group Policy".
If you are not a management server administrator, you still can register the machine, by
selecting the Connect without authentication option. This works on the condition that the
management server allows anonymous registration, which may be disabled.
d. Click Done.

8. If prompted, select whether the machine with the agent will be added to the organization or to
one of the units.

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 This prompt appears if you administer more than one unit, or an organization with at least one
unit. Otherwise, the machine will be silently added to the unit you administer or to the
organization. For more information, refer to "Administrators and units".

9. [Optional] Change other installation settings as described in "Customizing installation settings".

10. Click Install to proceed with the installation.
11. After the installation completes, click Close.
12. [Only when installing Agent for VMware (Windows)] Perform the procedure described in
"Configuring an already registered Agent for VMware".
13. [Only when installing Agent for Exchange] Open the backup console, click Add > Microsoft
Exchange Server > Exchange mailboxes, and then specify the machine where the Client
Access server role (CAS) of Microsoft Exchange Server is enabled. For more information, refer to
"Mailbox backup".

Installation in Linux

Preparation
1. Before installing the product on a system that does not use RPM Package Manager, such as an
Ubuntu system, you need to install this manager manually; for example, by running the following
command (as the root user): apt-get install rpm.
2. Ensure that the necessary Linux packages are installed on the machine.

Installation
To install Agent for Linux, you need at least 2.0 GB of free disk space.

To install Agent for Linux

1. As the root user, run the appropriate installation file (an .i686 or an .x86_64 file).
2. Accept the terms of the license agreement.
3. Specify the components to install:
a. Clear the Acronis Cyber Backup Management Server check box.
b. Select the check boxes for the agents that you want to install. The following agents are
available:
l Agent for Linux
l Agent for Oracle
Agent for Oracle requires that Agent for Linux is also installed.
c. Click Next.
4. Specify the management server where the machine with the agent will be registered:
a. Specify the host name or IP address of the machine where the management server is
installed.
b. Specify the user name and password of a management server administrator or choose
anonymous registration.

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 Specifying the credentials makes sense if your organization has units, in order to add the
machine to the unit managed by the specified administrator. With anonymous registration,
the machine is always added to the organization. For more information, refer to
"Administrators and units".
Specifying the credentials is necessary if anonymous registration on the management server
is disabled.
c. Click Next.
5. If prompted, select whether the machine with the agent will be added to the organization or to
one of the units, and then press Enter.
This prompt appears if the account specified in the previous step administers more than one
unit or an organization with at least one unit.
6. If UEFI Secure Boot is enabled on the machine, you are informed that you need to restart the
system after the installation. Be sure to remember what password (the one of the root user or
"acronis") should be used.

Note
During the installation, the Acronis key is generated, used to sign the snapapi module, and
registered as a Machine Owner Key (MOK). The restart is mandatory in order to enroll this key.
Without enrolling the key, the agent will not be operational. If you enable UEFI Secure Boot after
the agent installation, repeat the installation including step 6.

7. After the installation completes, do one of the following:

l Click Restart, if you were prompted to restart the system in the previous step.
During the system restart, opt for MOK (Machine Owner Key) management, choose Enroll
MOK, and then enroll the key by using the password recommended in the previous step.
l Otherwise, click Exit.

Troubleshooting information is provided in the file:

/usr/lib/Acronis/BackupAndRecovery/HOWTO.INSTALL

Installation in macOS
To install Agent for Mac

1. Double-click the installation file (.dmg).

2. Wait while the operating system mounts the installation disk image.
3. Double-click Install, and then click Continue.
4. [Optional] Click Change install location to change the disk where the software will be installed.
By default, the system startup disk is selected.
5. Click Install. If prompted, enter thе administrator's user name and password.
6. Specify the management server where the machine with the agent will be registered:
a. Specify the host name or IP address of the machine where the management server is
installed.

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 b. Specify the user name and password of a management server administrator or choose
anonymous registration.
Specifying the credentials makes sense if your organization has units, in order to add the
machine to the unit managed by the specified administrator. With anonymous registration,
the machine is always added to the organization. For more information, refer to
"Administrators and units".
Specifying the credentials is necessary if anonymous registration on the management server
is disabled.
c. Click Register.
7. If prompted, select whether the machine with the agent will be added to the organization or to
one of the units, and then click Done.
This prompt appears if the account specified in the previous step administers more than one
unit or an organization with at least one unit.
8. After the installation completes, click Close.

Unattended installation or uninstallation

Unattended installation or uninstallation in Windows

This section describes how to install or uninstall Acronis Cyber Backup in the unattended mode on a
machine running Windows, by using Windows Installer (the msiexec program). In an Active Directory
domain, another way of performing unattended installation is through Group Policy—see
"Deploying agents through Group Policy".

During the installation, you can use a file known as a transform (an .mst file). A transform is a file
with installation parameters. As an alternative, you can specify installation parameters directly in the
command line.

Creating the .mst transform and extracting the installation packages

1. Log on as an administrator and start the setup program.
2. Click Create .mst and .msi files for unattended installation.
3. In What to install, select the components that you want to install. The installation packages for
these components will be extracted from the setup program.
4. Review or modify other installation settings that will be added to the .mst file.
5. Click Generate.

As a result, the .mst transform is generated and the .msi and .cab installation packages are
extracted to the folder you specified.

Installing the product by using the .mst transform

Run the following command:

msiexec /i <package name> TRANSFORMS=<transform name>

69 © Acronis International GmbH, 2003-2023

Here:

l <package name> is the name of the .msi file. This name is AB.msi or AB64.msi, depending on the
operating system bitness.
l <transform name> is the name of the transform. This name is AB.msi.mst or AB64.msi.mst,
depending on the operating system bitness.

For example, msiexec /i AB64.msi TRANSFORMS=AB64.msi.mst

Installing or uninstalling the product by specifying parameters manually

Run the following command:

msiexec /i <package name><PARAMETER 1>=<value 1> ... <PARAMETER N>=<value n>

Here, <package name> is the name of the .msi file. This name is AB.msi or AB64.msi, depending on
the operating system bitness.

Available parameters and their values are described in "Unattended installation or uninstallation
parameters".

Examples

l Installing Management Server and Components for Remote Installation.

msiexec.exe /i ab64.msi /l*v my_log.txt /qn

ADDLOCAL=AcronisCentralizedManagementServer,WebConsole,ComponentRegisterFeature
TARGETDIR="C:\Program Files\Acronis" REBOOT=ReallySuppress CURRENT_LANGUAGE=en ACEP_
AGREEMENT=1 AMS_USE_SYSTEM_ACCOUNT=1

l Installing Agent for Windows, Command-Line Tool, and Backup Monitor. Registering the machine
with the agent on a previously installed management server.

msiexec.exe /i ab64.msi /l*v my_log.txt /qn

ADDLOCAL=AgentsCoreComponents,BackupAndRecoveryAgent,CommandLineTool,TrayMonitor
TARGETDIR="C:\Program Files\Acronis" REBOOT=ReallySuppress CURRENT_LANGUAGE=en ACEP_
AGREEMENT=1 MMS_CREATE_NEW_ACCOUNT=1 REGISTRATION_ADDRESS=10.10.1.1

Unattended installation or uninstallation parameters

This section describes parameters that are used during unattended installation or uninstallation in
Windows.

In addition to these parameters, you can use other parameters of msiexec, as described at
https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/windows/desktop/aa367988(v=vs.85).aspx.

Installation parameters

Common parameters
ADDLOCAL=<list of components>

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 The components to be installed, separated by commas without space characters. All of the
specified components must be extracted from the setup program prior to installation.

The full list of the components is as follows.

Component Must be installed together with Bitness Component

name /
description

AcronisCentralizedManagementServer WebConsole 32- Management

bit/64- Server
bit

WebConsole AcronisCentralizedManagementSer 32- Web Console

ver bit/64-
bit

MonitoringServer AcronisCentralizedManagementSer 32- Monitoring

ver bit/64- Service
bit

ComponentRegisterFeature AcronisCentralizedManagementSer 32- Components

ver bit/64- for Remote
bit Installation

AgentsCoreComponents 32- Core

bit/64- components
bit for agents

BackupAndRecoveryAgent AgentsCoreComponents 32- Agent for

bit/64- Windows
bit

ArxAgentFeature BackupAndRecoveryAgent 32- Agent for

bit/64- Exchange
bit

ArsAgentFeature BackupAndRecoveryAgent 32- Agent for SQL

bit/64-
bit

ARADAgentFeature BackupAndRecoveryAgent 32- Agent for

bit/64- Active
bit Directory

OracleAgentFeature BackupAndRecoveryAgent 32- Agent for

bit/64- Oracle
bit

ArxOnlineAgentFeature AgentsCoreComponents 32- Agent for

bit/64- Office 365
bit

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 AcronisESXSupport AgentsCoreComponents 32- Agent for
bit/64- VMware
bit (Windows)

HyperVAgent AgentsCoreComponents 32- Agent for

bit/64- Hyper-V
bit

ESXVirtualAppliance 32- Agent for

bit/64- VMware
bit (Virtual
Appliance)

CommandLineTool 32- Command-

bit/64- Line Tool
bit

TrayMonitor BackupAndRecoveryAgent 32- Backup

bit/64- Monitor
bit

BackupAndRecoveryBootableCompone 32- Bootable

nts bit/64- Media
bit Builder

PXEServer 32- PXE Server

bit/64-
bit

StorageServer BackupAndRecoveryAgent 64-bit Storage Node

CatalogBrowser JRE 8 Update 111 or later 64-bit Catalog

Service

TARGETDIR=<path>

The folder where the product will be installed.

REBOOT=ReallySuppress

If the parameter is specified, the machine reboot is forbidden.

CURRENT_LANGUAGE=<language ID>

The product language. Available values are as follows: en, en_GB, cs, da, de, es_ES, fr, ko, it,
hu, nl, ja, pl, pt, pt_BR, ru, tr, zh, zh_TW.

ACEP_AGREEMENT={0,1}

If the value is 1, the machine will participate in the Acronis Customer Experience Program
(CEP).

REGISTRATION_ADDRESS=<host name or IP address>:<port>

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 The host name or IP address of the machine where the management server is installed.
Agents, Storage Node, and Catalog Service specified in the ADDLOCAL parameter will be registered on
this management server. The port number is mandatory if it is different from the default value
(9877).

If anonymous registration on the management server is disabled, you must specify either
the REGISTRATION_TOKEN parameter, or the REGISTRATION_LOGIN and REGISTRATION_PASSWORD
parameters.

REGISTRATION_TOKEN=<token>

The registration token that was generated in the backup console as described in
Deploying agents through Group Policy.

REGISTRATION_LOGIN=<user name>, REGISTRATION_PASSWORD=<password>

The user name and password of a management server administrator.

REGISTRATION_TENANT=<unit ID>

The unit within the organization. Agents, Storage Node, and Catalog Service
specified in the ADDLOCAL parameter will be added to this unit.

To learn a unit ID, in the backup console, click Settings > Administrators, select the
unit, and click Details.

This parameter does not work without REGISTRATION_TOKEN, or REGISTRATION_LOGIN

and REGISTRATION_PASSWORD. In this case, the components will be added to the organization.

Without this parameter, the components will be added to the organization.

REGISTRATION_REQUIRED={0,1}

The installation result in case the registration fails. If the value is 1, the installation
fails. If the value is 0, the installation completes successfully even though the component was not
registered.

REGISTRATION_CA_SYSTEM={0,1}|REGISTRATION_CA_BUNDLE={0,1}|REGISTRATION_PINNED_PUBLIC_
KEY=<public key value>

These mutually exclusive parameters define the method of the management server
certificate check during the registration. Check the certificate if you want to verify the authenticity of
the management server to prevent MITM attacks.

If the value is 1, the verification uses the system CA, or the CA bundle delivered with
the product, correspondingly. If a pinned public key is specified, the verification uses this key. If the
value is 0 or the parameters are not specified, the certificate verification is not performed, but the
registration traffic remains encrypted.

/l*v <log file>

If the parameter is specified, the installation log in the verbose mode will be saved to the
specified file. The log file can be used for analyzing the installation issues.

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Management server installation parameters
WEB_SERVER_PORT=<port number>

The port that will be used by a web browser to access the management server. By default,
9877.

AMS_ZMQ_PORT=<port number>

The port that will be used for communication between the product components. By default,
7780.

SQL_INSTANCE=<instance>

The database to be used by the management server. You can select any edition of Microsoft
SQL Server 2012, Microsoft SQL Server 2014, or Microsoft SQL Server 2016. The instance you choose
can also be used by other programs.

Without this parameter, the built-in SQLite database will be used.

SQL_USER_NAME=<user name> and SQL_PASSWORD=<password>

Credentials of a Microsoft SQL Server login account. The management server will
use these credentials to connect to the selected SQL Server instance. Without these parameters, the
management server will use the credentials of the management server service account (AMS User).

Account under which the management server service will run

Specify one of the following parameters:

l AMS_USE_SYSTEM_ACCOUNT={0,1}
If the value is 1, the system account will be used.
l AMS_CREATE_NEW_ACCOUNT={0,1}
If the value is 1, a new account will be created.
l AMS_SERVICE_USERNAME=<user name> and AMS_SERVICE_PASSWORD=<password>
The specified account will be used.

Agent installation parameters

HTTP_PROXY_ADDRESS=<IP address> and HTTP_PROXY_PORT=<port>

The HTTP proxy server to be used by the agent. Without these parameters, no proxy server
will be used.

HTTP_PROXY_LOGIN=<login> and HTTP_PROXY_PASSWORD=<password>

The credentials for the HTTP proxy server. Use these parameters if the server requires
authentication.

HTTP_PROXY_ONLINE_BACKUP={0,1}

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 If the value is 0, or the parameter is not specified, the agent will use the proxy server only for
backup and recovery from the cloud. If the value is 1, the agent also will connect to the management
server through the proxy server.

SET_ESX_SERVER={0,1}

If the value is 0, Agent for VMware being installed will not be connected to a vCenter Server
or an ESXi host. After the installation, proceed as described in "Configuring an already registered
Agent for VMware".

If the value is 1, specify the following parameters:

ESX_HOST=<host name or IP address>

The host name or IP address of the vCenter Server or the ESXi host.

ESX_USER=<user name> and ESX_PASSWORD=<password>

Credentials to access the vCenter Server or ESXi host.

Account under which the agent service will run

Specify one of the following parameters:

l MMS_USE_SYSTEM_ACCOUNT={0,1}
If the value is 1, the system account will be used.
l MMS_CREATE_NEW_ACCOUNT={0,1}
If the value is 1, a new account will be created.
l MMS_SERVICE_USERNAME=<user name> and MMS_SERVICE_PASSWORD=<password>
The specified account will be used.

Storage node installation parameters

Account under which the storage node service will run

Specify one of the following parameters:

l ASN_USE_SYSTEM_ACCOUNT={0,1}
If the value is 1, the system account will be used.
l ASN_CREATE_NEW_ACCOUNT={0,1}
If the value is 1, a new account will be created.
l ASN_SERVICE_USERNAME=<user name> and ASN_SERVICE_PASSWORD=<password>
The specified account will be used.

Uninstallation parameters
REMOVE={<list of components>|ALL}

The components to be removed, separated by commas without space characters.

Available components are described earlier in this section.

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 If the value is ALL, all of the product components will be uninstalled. Additionally, you can
specify the following parameter:

DELETE_ALL_SETTINGS={0, 1}

If the value is 1, the product's logs, tasks, and configuration settings will be removed.

Unattended installation or uninstallation in Linux

This section describes how to install or uninstall Acronis Cyber Backup in the unattended mode on a
machine running Linux, by using the command line.

To install or uninstall the product

1. Open Terminal.
2. Run the following command:

<package name> -a <parameter 1> ... <parameter N>

Here, <package name> is the name of the installation package (an .i686 or an .x86_64 file).
3. [Only when installing Agent for Linux] If UEFI Secure Boot is enabled on the machine, you are
informed that you need to restart the system after the installation. Be sure to remember what
password (the one of the root user or "acronis") should be used. During the system restart, opt
for MOK (Machine Owner Key) management, choose Enroll MOK, and then enroll the key by
using the recommended password.

If you enable UEFI Secure Boot after the agent installation, repeat the installation including step 3.
Otherwise, backups will fail.

Installation parameters

Common parameters
{-i |--id=}<list of components>

The components to be installed, separated by commas without space characters.

The following components are available for installation:

Component Component description

AcronisCentralizedManagementServer Management Server

BackupAndRecoveryAgent Agent for Linux

BackupAndRecoveryBootableComponents Bootable Media Builder

MonitoringServer Monitoring Service

Without this parameter, all of the above components will be installed.

--language=<language ID>

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 The product language. Available values are as follows: en, en_GB, cs, da, de, es_ES, fr, ko, it,
hu, nl, ja, pl, pt, pt_BR, ru, tr, zh, zh_TW.

{-d|--debug}

If the parameter is specified, the installation log is written in the verbose mode. The log is
located in the file /var/log/trueimage-setup.log.

{-t|--strict}

If the parameter is specified, any warning that occurs during the installation results in the
installation failure. Without this parameter, the installation completes successfully even in the case
of warnings.

{-n|--nodeps}

If the parameter is specified, absence of required Linux packages will be ignored during the
installation.

Management server installation parameters

{-W |--web-server-port=}<port number>

The port that will be used by a web browser to access the management server. By default,
9877.

--ams-tcp-port=<port number>

The port that will be used for communication between the product components. By default,
7780.

Agent installation parameters

Specify one of the following parameters:

l --skip-registration
o Do not register the agent on the management server.
l {-C |--ams=}<host name or IP address>
o The host name or IP address of the machine where the management server is installed. The
agent will be registered on this management server.

If you install the agent and the management server within one command, the agent
will be registered on this management server regardless of the -C parameter.

If anonymous registration on the management server is disabled, you must specify

either the token parameter, or the login and password parameters.

--token=<token>

The registration token that was generated in the backup console as

described in Deploying agents through Group Policy.

{-g |--login=}<user name> and {-w |--password=}<password>

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 Credentials of a management server administrator.

--unit=<unit ID>

The unit within the organization. The agent will be added to this unit.

To learn a unit ID, in the backup console, click Settings > Administrators,
select the unit, and click Details.

Without this parameter, the agent will be added to the organization.

--reg-transport={https|https-ca-system|https-ca-bundle|https-pinned-public-
key}

The method of the management server certificate check during the

registration. Check the certificate if you want to verify the authenticity of the management server to
prevent MITM attacks.

If the value is https or the parameter is not specified, the certificate check is
not performed, but the registration traffic remains encrypted. If the value is nothttps, the check uses
the system CA, or the CA bundle delivered with the product or the pinned public key,
correspondingly.

--reg-transport-pinned-public-key=<public key value>

The pinned public key value. This parameter should be specified together or
instead of the --reg-transport=https-pinned-public-key parameter.

l --http-proxy-host=<IP address> and --http-proxy-port=<port>

o The HTTP proxy server that the agent will use for backup and recovery from the cloud and for
connection to the management server. Without these parameters, no proxy server will be
used.
l --http-proxy-login=<login> and --http-proxy-password=<password>
o The credentials for the HTTP proxy server. Use these parameters if the server requires
authentication.

Uninstallation parameters
{-u|--uninstall}

Uninstalls the product.

--purge

Removes the product's logs, tasks, and configuration settings.

Information parameters
{-?|--help}

Shows the description of parameters.

--usage

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 Shows a brief description of the command usage.

{-v|--version}

Shows the installation package version.

--product-info

Shows the product name and the installation package version.

Examples
l Installing Management Server.

./AcronisCyberBackup_12.5_64-bit.x86_64 -a -i AcronisCentralizedManagementServer

l Installing Management Server and Monitoring Service. Specifying custom ports.

./AcronisCyberBackup_12.5_64-bit.x86_64 -a -i
AcronisCentralizedManagementServer,MonitoringServer --web-server-port 6543 --ams-tcp-
port 8123

l Installing Agent for Linux and registering it on the specified management server.

./AcronisCyberBackup_12.5_64-bit.x86_64 -a -i BackupAndRecoveryAgent --ams 10.10.1.1

--login root --password 123456

l Installing Agent for Linux and registering it on the specified management server, in the specified
unit.

./AcronisCyberBackup_12.5_64-bit.x86_64 -a -i BackupAndRecoveryAgent --ams 10.10.1.1

--login root --password 123456 –unit 01234567-89AB-CDEF-0123-456789ABCDEF

Checking for software updates

This functionality is available only to organization administrators.

Each time you sign in to the backup console, Acronis Cyber Backup checks whether a new version is
available on the Acronis website. If so, the backup console shows a download link for the new
version at the bottom of each page under the Devices, Plans, and Backups tabs. The link is also
available on the Settings > Agents page.

To enable or disable the automatic checks for updates, change the Updates system setting.

To check for updates manually, click the question mark icon in the top-right corner > About > Check
for updates or the question mark icon > Check for updates.

Managing licenses
Licensing of Acronis Cyber Backup is based on the number of the backed-up physical machines and
virtualization hosts. Both subscription and perpetual licenses can be used. A subscription expiration

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period starts when you register it on the Acronis site.

To start using Acronis Cyber Backup, you need to add at least one license key to the management
server. A license is automatically assigned to a machine when a backup plan is applied.

Licenses can also be assigned and revoked manually. Manual operations with licenses are available
only to organization administrators.

To access the Licenses page

1. Do one of the following:

l Click Settings.
l Click the account icon in the top-right corner.
2. Click Licenses.

To add a license key

1. Click Add keys.

2. Enter the license keys.
3. Click Add.
4. To activate a subscription, you must be signed in. If you entered at least one subscription key,
enter the email address and password of your Acronis account, and then click Sign in. If you
entered only perpetual keys, skip this step.
5. Click Done.

Note
If you have already registered the subscription keys, the management server can import them from
your Acronis account. To synchronize the subscription keys, click Sync and sign in.

Managing perpetual licenses

To assign a perpetual license to a machine

1. Select a perpetual license.

The software displays the license keys that correspond to the selected license.
2. Select the key to assign.
3. Click Assign.
The software displays the machines that the selected key can be assigned to.
4. Select the machine, and then click Done.

To revoke a perpetual license from a machine

1. Select a perpetual license.

The software displays the license keys that correspond to the selected license. The machine that
the key is assigned to is shown in the Assigned to column.
2. Select the license key to revoke.
3. Click Revoke.

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4. Confirm your decision.
The revoked key will remain in the license keys list. It can be assigned to another machine.

Managing subscription licenses

To assign a subscription license to a machine

1. Select a subscription license.

The software displays the machines that the selected license is already assigned to.
2. Click Assign.
The software displays the machines that the selected license can be assigned to.
3. Select the machine, and then click Done.

To revoke a subscription license from a machine

1. Select a subscription license.

The software displays machines that the selected license is already assigned to.
2. Select the machine to revoke the license from.
3. Click Revoke license.
4. Confirm your decision.

Cloud deployment

Activating the account

When an administrator creates an account for you, an email message is sent to your email address.
The message contains the following information:

l An account activation link. Click the link and set the password for the account. Remember your
login that is shown on the account activation page.
l A link to the backup console login page. Use this link to access the console in the future. The
login and password are the same as in the previous step.

Preparation

Step 1
Choose the agent, depending on what you are going to back up. For the information about the
agents, refer to the "Components" section.

Step 2
Download the setup program. To find the download links, click All devices > Add.

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The Add devices page provides web installers for each agent that is installed in Windows. A web
installer is a small executable file that downloads the main setup program from the Internet and
saves it as a temporary file. This file is deleted immediately after the installation.

If you want to store the setup programs locally, download a package containing all agents for
installation in Windows by using the link at the bottom of the Add devices page. Both 32-bit and 64-
bit packages are available. These packages enable you to customize the list of components to install.
These packages also enable unattended installation, for example, via Group Policy. This advanced
scenario is described in "Deploying agents through Group Policy".

To download Agent for Office 365 setup program, click the account icon in the top-right corner, and
then click Downloads > Agent for Office 365.

Installation in Linux and macOS is performed from ordinary setup programs.

All setup programs require an Internet connection to register the machine in the backup service. If
there is no Internet connection, the installation will fail.

Step 3
Before the installation, ensure that your firewalls and other components of your network security
system (such as a proxy sever) allow both inbound and outbound connections through the following
TCP ports:

l 443 and 8443 These ports are used for accessing the backup console, registering the agents,
downloading the certificates, user authorization, and downloading files from the cloud storage.
l 7770...7800 The agents use these ports to communicate with the backup management server.
l 44445 The agents use this port for data transfer during backup and recovery.

If a proxy server is enabled in your network, refer to the "Proxy server settings" section to
understand whether you need to configure these settings on each machine that runs a backup
agent.

The minimum Internet connection speed required for managing an agent from the cloud is 1 Mbit/s
(not to be confused with the data transfer rate acceptable for backing up to the cloud). Consider this
if you use a low-bandwidth connection technology such as ADSL.

Proxy server settings

The backup agents can transfer data through an HTTP/HTTPS proxy server. The server must work
through an HTTP tunnel without scanning or interfering with the HTTP traffic. Man-in-the-middle
proxies are not supported.

Because the agent registers itself in the cloud during the installation, the proxy server settings must
be provided during the installation or in advance.

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In Windows
If a proxy server is configured in Windows (Control panel > Internet Options > Connections), the
setup program reads the proxy server settings from the registry and uses them automatically. Also,
you can enter the proxy settings during the installation, or specify them in advance by using the
procedure described below. To change the proxy settings after the installation, use the same
procedure.

To specify the proxy settings in Windows

1. Create a new text document and open it in a text editor, such as Notepad.
2. Copy and paste the following lines into the file:

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Acronis\Global\HttpProxy]
"Enabled"=dword:00000001
"Host"="proxy.company.com"
"Port"=dword:000001bb
"Login"="proxy_login"
"Password"="proxy_password"

3. Replace proxy.company.com with your proxy server host name/IP address, and 000001bb with the
hexadecimal value of the port number. For example, 000001bb is port 443.
4. If your proxy server requires authentication, replace proxy_login and proxy_password with the
proxy server credentials. Otherwise, delete these lines from the file.
5. Save the document as proxy.reg.
6. Run the file as an administrator.
7. Confirm that you want to edit the Windows registry.
8. If the backup agent is not installed yet, you can now install it. Otherwise, do the following to
restart the agent:
a. In the Start menu, click Run, and then type: cmd
b. Click OK.
c. Run the following commands:

net stop mms

net start mms

In Linux
Run the installation file with the parameters --http-proxy-host=ADDRESS --http-proxy-port=PORT --
http-proxy-login=LOGIN--http-proxy-password=PASSWORD. To change the proxy settings after the
installation, use the procedure described below.

To change the proxy settings in Linux

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1. Open the file /etc/Acronis/Global.config in a text editor.
2. Do one of the following:
l If the proxy settings were specified during the agent installation, find the following section:

<key name="HttpProxy">
<value name="Enabled" type="Tdword">"1"</value>
<value name="Host" type="TString">"ADDRESS"</value>
<value name="Port" type="Tdword">"PORT"</value>
<value name="Login" type="TString">"LOGIN"</value>
<value name="Password" type="TString">"PASSWORD"</value>
</key>

l Otherwise, copy the above lines and paste them into the file between the <registry
name="Global">...</registry> tags.
3. Replace ADDRESS with the new proxy server host name/IP address, and PORT with the decimal
value of the port number.
4. If your proxy server requires authentication, replace LOGIN and PASSWORD with the proxy server
credentials. Otherwise, delete these lines from the file.
5. Save the file.
6. Restart the agent by executing the following command in any directory:

sudo service acronis_mms restart

In macOS
You can enter the proxy settings during the installation, or specify them in advance by using the
procedure described below. To change the proxy settings after the installation, use the same
procedure.

To specify the proxy settings in macOS

1. Create the file /Library/Application Support/Acronis/Registry/Global.config and open it in a

text editor, such as Text Edit.
2. Copy and paste the following lines into the file
<?xml version="1.0" ?>
<registry name="Global">
<key name="HttpProxy">
<value name="Enabled" type="Tdword">"1"</value>
<value name="Host" type="TString">"proxy.company.com"</value>
<value name="Port" type="Tdword">"443"</value>
<value name="Login" type="TString">"proxy_login"</value>
<value name="Password" type="TString">"proxy_password"</value>
</key>
</registry>
3. Replace proxy.company.com with your proxy server host name/IP address, and 443 with the
decimal value of the port number.

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4. If your proxy server requires authentication, replace proxy_login and proxy_password with the
proxy server credentials. Otherwise, delete these lines from the file.
5. Save the file.
6. If the backup agent is not installed yet, you can now install it. Otherwise, do the following to
restart the agent:
a. Go to Applications > Utilities > Terminal
b. Run the following commands:

sudo launchctl stop acronis_mms

sudo launchctl start acronis_mms

In bootable media
When working under bootable media, you may need to access the cloud storage via a proxy server.
To specify the proxy server settings, click Tools > Proxy server, and then specify the proxy server
host name/IP address, port, and credentials.

Installing agents

In Windows
1. Ensure that the machine is connected to the Internet.
2. Log on as an administrator and start the setup program.
3. [Optional] Click Customize installation settings and make the appropriate changes if you want:
l To change the components to install (in particular, to disable installation of Backup Monitor
and Command-Line Tool).
l To change the method of registering the machine in the backup service. You can switch from
Use backup console (default) to Use credentials or Use registration token.
l To change the installation path.
l To change the account for the agent service.
l To verify or change the proxy server host name/IP address, port, and credentials. If a proxy
server is enabled in Windows, it is detected and used automatically.
4. Click Install.
5. [Only when installing Agent for VMware] Specify the address and access credentials for the
vCenter Server or stand-alone ESXi host whose virtual machines the agent will back up, and then
click Done. We recommend using an account that has the Administrator role assigned.
Otherwise, provide an account with the necessary privileges on the vCenter Server or ESXi.
6. [Only when installing on a domain controller] Specify the user account under which the agent
service will run, and then click Done. For security reasons, the setup program does not
automatically create new accounts on a domain controller.
7. If you kept the default registration method Use backup console in step 3, wait until the
registration screen appears, and then proceed to the next step. Otherwise, no more actions are
required.

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8. Do one of the following:
l Click Register the machine. In the opened browser window, sign in to the Cyber Backup web
console, review the registration details, and then click Confirm registration.
l Click Show registration info. The setup program shows the registration link and the
registration code. You can copy them and perform the registration steps on a different
machine. In this case, you will need to enter the registration code in the registration form. The
registration code is valid for one hour.
Alternatively, you can access the registration form by clicking All devices > Add, scrolling
down to Registration via code, and then clicking Register.

9. Note
Do not quit the setup program until you confirm the registration. To initiate the registration
again, you will have to restart the setup program, and then click Register the machine.

As a result, the machine will be assigned to the account that was used to log in to the backup
console.

In Linux
1. Ensure that the machine is connected to the Internet.
2. As the root user, run the installation file.
If a proxy server is enabled in your network, when running the file, specify the server host
name/IP address and port in the following format: --http-proxy-host=ADDRESS --http-proxy-
port=PORT --http-proxy-login=LOGIN--http-proxy-password=PASSWORD.
If you want to change the default method of registering the machine in the backup service, run
the installation file with one of the following parameters:
l --register-with-credentials - to ask for a user name and password during the installation
l --token=STRING - to use a registration token
l --skip-registration - to skip the registration
3. Select the check boxes for the agents that you want to install. The following agents are available:
l Agent for Linux
l Agent for Virtuozzo
Agent for Virtuozzo cannot be installed without Agent for Linux.
4. If you kept the default registration method in step 2, proceed to the next step. Otherwise, enter
the user name and password for the backup service, or wait until the machine will be registered
by using the token.

5. Do one of the following:

l Click Register the machine. In the opened browser window, sign in to the Cyber Backup web
console, review the registration details, and then click Confirm registration.
l Click Show registration info. The setup program shows the registration link and the
registration code. You can copy them and perform the registration steps on a different
machine. In this case, you will need to enter the registration code in the registration form. The

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 registration code is valid for one hour.
Alternatively, you can access the registration form by clicking All devices > Add, scrolling
down to Registration via code, and then clicking Register.

6. Note
Do not quit the setup program until you confirm the registration. To initiate the registration
again, you will have to restart the setup program and repeat the installation procedure.

As a result, the machine will be assigned to the account that was used to log in to the backup
console.
7. If UEFI Secure Boot is enabled on the machine, you are informed that you need to restart the
system after the installation. Be sure to remember what password (the one of the root user or
"acronis") should be used.

Note
During the installation, a new key is generated, used to sign the snapapi module, and registered
as a Machine Owner Key (MOK). The restart is mandatory in order to enroll this key. Without
enrolling the key, the agent will not be operational. If you enable UEFI Secure Boot after the
agent installation, repeat the installation including step 6.

8. After the installation completes, do one of the following:

l Click Restart, if you were prompted to restart the system in the previous step.
During the system restart, opt for MOK (Machine Owner Key) management, choose Enroll
MOK, and then enroll the key by using the password recommended in the previous step.
l Otherwise, click Exit.

Troubleshooting information is provided in the file:

/usr/lib/Acronis/BackupAndRecovery/HOWTO.INSTALL

In macOS
1. Ensure that the machine is connected to the Internet.
2. Double-click the installation file (.dmg).
3. Wait while the operating system mounts the installation disk image.
4. Double-click Install.
5. If a proxy server is enabled in your network, click Backup Agent in the menu bar, click Proxy
server settings, and then specify the proxy server host name/IP address, port, and credentials.
6. If prompted, provide administrator credentials.
7. Click Continue.
8. Wait until the registration screen appears.

9. Do one of the following:

l Click Register the machine. In the opened browser window, sign in to the Cyber Backup web
console, review the registration details, and then click Confirm registration.

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 l Click Show registration info. The setup program shows the registration link and the
registration code. You can copy them and perform the registration steps on a different
machine. In this case, you will need to enter the registration code in the registration form. The
registration code is valid for one hour.
Alternatively, you can access the registration form by clicking All devices > Add, scrolling
down to Registration via code, and then clicking Register.

10. Tip Do not quit the setup program until you confirm the registration. To initiate the registration
again, you will have to restart the setup program and repeat the installation procedure.

As a result, the machine will be assigned to the account that was used to log in to the backup
console.

Deploying Agent for VMware (Virtual Appliance) from an

OVF template

Before you start

System requirements for the agent

By default, the virtual appliance is assigned 4 GB of RAM and 2 vCPUs, which is optimal and
sufficient for most operations. We recommend increasing these resources to 8 GB of RAM and 4
vCPUs if the backup traffic bandwidth is expected to exceed 100 MB per second (for example, in 10-
GBit networks), in order to improve backup performance.

The appliance's own virtual disks occupy no more than 6 GB. Thick or thin disk format does not
matter, it does not affect the appliance performance.

How many agents do I need?

Even though one virtual appliance is able to protect an entire vSphere environment, the best
practice is deploying one virtual appliance per vSphere cluster (or per host, if there are no clusters).
This makes for faster backups because the appliance can attach the backed-up disks by using the
HotAdd transport, and therefore the backup traffic is directed from one local disk to another.

It is normal to use both the virtual appliance and Agent for VMware (Windows) at the same time, as
long as they are connected to the same vCenter Server or they are connected to different ESXi hosts.
Avoid cases when one agent is connected to an ESXi directly and another agent is connected to the
vCenter Server which manages this ESXi.

We do not recommend using locally attached storage (i.e. storing backups on virtual disks added to
the virtual appliance) if you have more than one agent. For more considerations, see "Using a locally
attached storage".

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Disable automatic DRS for the agent
If the virtual appliance is deployed to a vSphere cluster, be sure to disable automatic vMotion for it.
In the cluster DRS settings, enable individual virtual machine automation levels, and then set
Automation level for the virtual appliance to Disabled.

Deploying the OVF template

Location of the OVF tempate

The OVF template consists of one .ovf file and two .vmdk files.

In on-premises deployments
After the management server is installed, the virtual appliance's OVF package is located in the folder
%ProgramFiles%\Acronis\ESXAppliance (in Windows) or /usr/lib/Acronis/ESXAppliance (in
Linux).

In cloud deployments
1. Click All devices > Add > VMware ESXi > Virtual Appliance (OVF).
The .zip archive is downloaded to your machine.
2. Unpack the .zip archive.

Deploying the OVF template

1. Ensure that the OVF template files files can be accessed from the machine running the vSphere
Client.
2. Start the vSphere Client and log on to the vCenter Server.
3. Deploy the OVF template.
l When configuring storage, select the shared datastore, if it exists. Thick or thin disk format
does not matter, as it does not affect the appliance performance.
l When configuring network connections in cloud deployments, be sure to select a network that
allows an Internet connection, so that the agent can properly register itself in the cloud. When
configuring network connections in on-premises deployments, select a network that includes
the management server.

Configuring the virtual appliance

1. Starting the virtual appliance
In the vSphere Client, display the Inventory, right-click the virtual appliance's name, and then
select Power > Power On. Select the Console tab.
2. Proxy server
If a proxy server is enabled in your network:

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 a. To start the command shell, press CTRL+SHIFT+F2 while in the virtual appliance UI.
b. Open the file /etc/Acronis/Global.config in a text editor.
c. Find the following section:

<key name="HttpProxy">
<value name="Enabled" type="Tdword">"0"</value>
<value name="Host" type="TString">"ADDRESS"</value>
<value name="Port" type="Tdword">"PORT"</value>
<value name="Login" type="TString">"LOGIN"</value>
<value name="Password" type="TString">"PASSWORD"</value>
</key>

d. Replace 0 with 1.
e. Replace ADDRESS with the new proxy server host name/IP address, and PORT with the decimal
value of the port number.
f. If your proxy server requires authentication, replace LOGIN and PASSWORD with the proxy server
credentials. Otherwise, delete these lines from the file.
g. Save the file.
h. Execute the reboot command.
Otherwise, skip this step.
3. Network settings
The agent's network connection is configured automatically by using Dynamic Host
Configuration Protocol (DHCP). To change the default configuration, under Agent options, in
eth0, click Change and specify the desired network settings.
4. vCenter/ESX(i)
Under Agent options, in vCenter/ESX(i), click Change and specify the vCenter Server name or
IP address. The agent will be able to back up and recover any virtual machine managed by the
vCenter Server.
If you do not use a vCenter Server, specify the name or IP address of the ESXi host whose virtual
machines you want to back up and recover. Normally, backups run faster when the agent backs
up virtual machines hosted on its own host.
Specify the credentials that the agent will use to connect to the vCenter Server or ESXi. We
recommend using an account that has the Administrator role assigned. Otherwise, provide an
account with the necessary privileges on the vCenter Server or ESXi.
You can click Check connection to ensure the access credentials are correct.
5. Management server
a. Under Agent options, in Management Server, click Change.
b. In Server name/IP, do one of the following:
l For an on-premises deployment, select Local. Specify the host name or IP address of the
machine where the management server is installed.
l For a cloud deployment, select Cloud. The software displays the Cyber Protection service
address. Do not change this address unless instructed otherwise.
c. In User name and Password, do one of the following:

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 l For an on-premises deployment, specify the user name and password of a management
server administrator.
l For a cloud deployment, specify the user name and password for the Cyber Protection
service. The agent and the virtual machines managed by the agent will be registered under
this account.
6. Time zone
Under Virtual machine, in Time zone, click Change. Select the time zone of your location to
ensure that the scheduled operations run at the appropriate time.
7. [Optional] Local storages
You can attach an additional disk to the virtual appliance so the Agent for VMware can back up to
this locally attached storage.
Add the disk by editing the settings of the virtual machine and click Refresh. The Create storage
link becomes available. Click this link, select the disk, and then specify a label for it.

Updating Agent for VMware (Virtual Appliance)

In on-premises deployments, use the same update procedure as for other agents.

In cloud deployments, use the following procedure.

To update Agent for VMware (Virtual Appliance) in cloud deployments

1. Remove Agent for VMware (Virtual Appliance), as described in "Uninstalling the product". In step
5, delete the agent from Settings > Agents, even though you are planning to install the agent
again.
2. Deploy Agent for VMware (Virtual Appliance), as described in "Deploying the OVF template".
3. Configure Agent for VMware (Virtual Appliance), as described in "Configuring the virtual
appliance".
If you want to reconstruct the locally attached storage, in step 7 do the following:
a. Add the disk containing the local storage to the virtual appliance.
b. Click Refresh > Create storage > Mount.
c. The software displays the original Letter and Label of the disk. Do not change them.
d. Click OK.
As a result, the backup plans that were applied to the old agent are re-applied automatically to
the new agent.
4. The plans with application-aware backup enabled require the guest OS credentials to be re-
entered. Edit these plans and re-enter the credentials.
5. The plans that back up ESXi configuration require the "root" password to be re-entered. Edit
these plans and re-enter the password.

Deploying agents through Group Policy

You can centrally install (or deploy) Agent for Windows onto machines that are members of an
Active Directory domain, by using Group Policy.

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In this section, you will find out how to set up a Group Policy object to deploy agents onto machines
in an entire domain or in its organizational unit.

Every time a machine logs on to the domain, the resulting Group Policy object will ensure that the
agent is installed and registered.

Prerequisites
Before proceeding with agent deployment, ensure that:

l You have an Active Directory domain with a domain controller running Microsoft Windows Server
2003 or later.
l You are a member of the Domain Admins group in the domain.
l You have downloaded the All agents for installation in Windows setup program. The
download link is available on the Add devices page in the backup console.

Step 1: Generating a registration token

A registration token passes your identity to the setup program without storing your login and
password for the backup console. This enables you to register any number of machines under your
account. For more security, a token has limited lifetime.

To generate a registration token

1. Sign in to the backup console by using the credentials of the account to which the machines
should be assigned.
2. Click All devices > Add.
3. Scroll down to Registration token, and then click Generate.
4. Specify the token lifetime, and then click Generate token.
5. Copy the token or write it down. Be sure to save the token if you need it for further use.
You can click Manage active tokens to view and manage the already generated tokens. Please
be aware that for security reasons, this table does not display full token values.

Step 2: Creating the .mst transform and extracting the installation

package
1. Log on as an administrator on any machine in the domain.
2. Create a shared folder that will contain the installation packages. Ensure that domain users can
access the shared folder—for example, by leaving the default sharing settings for Everyone.
3. Start the setup program.
4. Click Create .mst and .msi files for unattended installation.
5. Review or modify the installation settings that will be added to the .mst file. When specifying the
method of connection to the management server, select Use a registration token, and then
enter the token you generated.
6. Click Proceed.

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 7. In Save the files to, specify the path to the folder you created.
8. Click Generate.

As a result, the .mst transform is generated and the .msi and .cab installation packages are
extracted to the folder you created.

Step 3: Setting up the Group Policy objects

1. Log on to the domain controller as a domain administrator; if the domain has more than one
domain controller, log on to any of them as a domain administrator.
2. If you are planning to deploy the agent in an organizational unit, ensure that the organizational
unit exists in the domain. Otherwise, skip this step.
3. In the Start menu, point to Administrative Tools, and then click Active Directory Users and
Computers (in Windows Server 2003) or Group Policy Management (in Windows Server 2008
or later).
4. In Windows Server 2003:
l Right-click the name of the domain or organizational unit, and then click Properties. In the
dialog box, click the Group Policy tab, and then click New.
In Windows Server 2008 or later:
l Right-click the name of the domain or organizational unit, and then click Create a GPO in this
domain, and Link it here.
5. Name the new Group Policy object Agent for Windows.
6. Open the Agent for Windows Group Policy object for editing, as follows:
l In Windows Server 2003, click the Group Policy object, and then click Edit.
l In Windows Server 2008 or later, under Group Policy Objects, right-click the Group Policy
object, and then click Edit.
7. In the Group Policy object editor snap-in, expand Computer Configuration.
8. In Windows Server 2003 and Windows Server 2008:
l Expand Software Settings.
In Windows Server 2012 or later:
l Expand Policies > Software Settings.
9. Right-click Software installation, then point to New, and then click Package.
10. Select the agent's .msi installation package in the shared folder that you previously created, and
then click Open.
11. In the Deploy Software dialog box, click Advanced, and then click OK.
12. On the Modifications tab, click Add, and then select the .mst transform that you previously
created.
13. Click OK to close the Deploy Software dialog box.

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Updating agents
Prerequisites
On Windows machines, Cyber Protect features require Microsoft Visual C++ 2017 Redistributable.
Please ensure that it is already installed on your machine or install it before updating the agent.
After the installation, a restart may be required. The Microsoft Visual C++ Redistributable package
can be found here https://support.microsoft.com/help/2999226/update-for-universal-c-runtime-in-
windows.

To find the agent version, select the machine, and then click Details.

You can update agents by using the Cyber Backup web console or by repeating their installation in
any available way. To update multiple agents simultaneously, use the following procedure.

To update agents by using the Cyber Backup web console

1. [Only in on-premises deployments] Update the management server.

2. [Only in on-premises deployments] Ensure that the installation packages are present on the
machine with the management server. For the exact steps, refer to "Adding a machine running
Windows" > "Installation packages".
3. In theCyber Backup web console, Click Settings > Agents.
The software displays the list of machines. The machines with outdated agent versions are
marked with an orange exclamation mark.
4. Select the machines that you want to update the agents on. The machines must be online.
5. Click Update agent.
[Only in on-premises deployments] The update progress is shown on the Activities tab.

Note
During the update, any backups that are in progress will fail.

Uninstalling the product

If you want to remove individual product components from a machine, run the setup program,
choose to modify the product, and clear the selection of the components that you want to remove.
The links to the setup programs are present on the Downloads page (click the account icon in the
top-right corner > Downloads).

If you want to remove all of the product components from a machine, follow the steps described
below.

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Warning!
In on-premises deployments, be careful not to uninstall the management server by mistake. The
backup console will become unavailable. You will no longer be able to back up and recover the
machines that are registered on this management server.

In Windows
1. Log on as an administrator.
2. Go to Control panel, and then select Programs and Features (Add or Remove Programs in
Windows XP) > Acronis Cyber Backup > Uninstall.
3. [Optional] Select the Remove the logs and configuration settings check box.
Keep this check box cleared if you are uninstalling an agent and are planning to install it again. If
you select the check box, the machine may be duplicated in the backup console and the backups
of the old machine may not be associated with the new machine.
4. Confirm your decision.
5. If you are planning to install the agent again, skip this step. Otherwise, in the backup console,
click Settings > Agents, select the machine where the agent was installed, and then click Delete.

In Linux
1. As the root user, run /usr/lib/Acronis/BackupAndRecovery/uninstall/uninstall.
2. [Optional] Select the Clean up all product traces (Remove the product's logs, tasks, vaults,
and configuration settings) check box.
Keep this check box cleared if you are uninstalling an agent and are planning to install it again. If
you select the check box, the machine may be duplicated in the backup console and the backups
of the old machine may not be associated with the new machine.
3. Confirm your decision.
4. If you are planning to install the agent again, skip this step. Otherwise, in the backup console,
click Settings > Agents, select the machine where the agent was installed, and then click Delete.

In macOS
1. Double-click the installation file (.dmg).
2. Wait while the operating system mounts the installation disk image.
3. Inside the image, double-click Uninstall.
4. If prompted, provide administrator credentials.
5. Confirm your decision.
6. If you are planning to install the agent again, skip this step. Otherwise, in the backup console,
click Settings > Agents, select the machine where the agent was installed, and then click Delete.

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Removing Agent for VMware (Virtual Appliance)
1. Start the vSphere Client and log on to the vCenter Server.
2. If the virtual appliance (VA) is powered on, right-click it, and then click Power > Power Off.
Confirm your decision.
3. If the VA uses a locally attached storage on a virtual disk and you want to preserve data on that
disk, do the following:
a. Right-click the VA, and then click Edit Settings.
b. Select the disk with the storage, and then click Remove. Under Removal Options, click
Remove from virtual machine.
c. Click OK.
As a result, the disk remains in the datastore. You can attach the disk to another VA.
4. Right-click the VA, and then click Delete from Disk. Confirm your decision.
5. If you are planning to install the agent again, skip this step. Otherwise, in the backup console,
click Settings > Agents, select the virtual appliance, and then click Delete.

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Accessing the backup console
To access the backup console, enter the login page address into the web browser address bar, and
then sign in as described below.

On-premises deployment
The login page address is the IP address or name of the machine where the management server is
installed.

Both the HTTP and the HTTPS protocols are supported on the same TCP port, which can be
configured during the management server installation. The default port is 9877.

You can configure the management server to prohibit accessing the backup console via HTTP and to
use a third-party SSL certificate.

In Windows
If the management server is installed in Windows, there are two ways to sign in to the backup
console:

l Click Sign in to sign in as the current Windows user.

This is the easiest way to sign in from the same machine where the management server is
installed.
If the management server is installed on a different machine, this method works on the
conditions that:
o The machine you are signing in from is in the same Active Directory domain as the
management server.
o You are logged on as a domain user.
We recommend configuring your web browser for Integrated Windows Authentication.
Otherwise, the browser will ask for a user name and password.
l Click Enter user name and password, and then specify the user name and password.

In any case, your account must be in the list of the management server administrators. By default,
this list contains the Administrators group on the machine running the management server. For
more information, refer to "Administrators and units".

In Linux
If the management server is installed in Linux, specify the user name and password of an account
that is in the list of the management server administrators. By default, this list contains only the
root user on the machine running the management server. For more information, refer to
"Administrators and units".

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Cloud deployment
The login page address is https://backup.acronis.com/. The user name and password are those of
your Acronis account.

If your account was created by the backup administrator, you need to activate the account and set
the password by clicking the link in your activation email.

Changing the language

When logged in, you can change the language of the web interface by clicking the account icon in
the top-right corner.

Configuring a web browser for Integrated Windows

Authentication
Integrated Windows Authentication is possible if you access the backup console from a machine
running Windows and any supported browser.

We recommend configuring your web browser for Integrated Windows Authentication. Otherwise,
the browser will ask for a user name and password.

Configuring Internet Explorer, Microsoft Edge, Opera, and Google

Chrome
If the machine running the browser is in the same Active Directory domain as the machine running
the management server, add the console's login page to the list of Local intranet sites.

Otherwise, add the console's login page to the list of Trusted sites and enable the Automatic
logon with current user name and password setting.

The step-by-step instructions are provided later in this section. Because these browsers use
Windows settings, it is also possible to configure them by using Group Policy in an Active Directory
domain.

Configuring Mozilla Firefox

1. In Firefox, navigate to the URL about:config, and then click the I accept the risk button.
2. In the Search field, search for the network.negotiate-auth.trusted-uris preference.
3. Double-click the preference, and then enter the address of the backup console login page.
4. Repeat steps 2-3 for the network.automatic-ntlm-auth.trusted-uris preference.
5. Close the about:config window.

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Adding the console to the list of local intranet sites
1. Go to Control Panel > Internet Options.
2. On the Security tab, select Local intranet.

3. Click Sites.
4. In Add this website to the zone, enter the address of the backup console login page, and then
click Add.

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5. Click Close.
6. Click OK.

Adding the console to the list of trusted sites

1. Go to Control Panel > Internet Options.
2. On the Security tab, select Trusted sites, and then click Custom Level.

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3. Under Logon, select Automatic logon with current user name and password, and then click
OK.

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4. On the Security tab, with Trusted sites still selected, click Sites.
5. In Add this website to the zone, enter the address of the backup console login page, and then
click Add.

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6. Click Close.
7. Click OK.

Changing the SSL certificate settings

This section describes how to change the self-signed Secure Socket Layer (SSL) certificate generated
by the management server to a certificate issued by a trusted certificate authority, such as
GoDaddy, Comodo, or GlobalSign. If you do this, the certificate used by the management server will
be trusted on any machine. The browser security alert will not appear when logging in to the backup
console by using the HTTPS protocol.

Optionally, you can configure the management server to prohibit accessing the backup console via
HTTP, by redirecting all users to HTTPS.

To change the SSL certificate settings

1. Ensure that you have all of the following:

l The certificate file (.pem, .cert, or other format)
l The file with the private key for the certificate (usually .key)
l The private key passphrase, if the key is encrypted
2. Copy the files to the machine running the management server.
3. On this machine, open the following configuration file with a text editor:
l In Windows: %ProgramData%\Acronis\ApiGateway\api_gateway.json
l In Linux: /var/lib/Acronis/ApiGateway/api_gateway.json
4. Locate the following section:

"tls": {
"cert_file": "cert.pem",

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 "key_file": "key.pem",
"passphrase": "",
"auto_redirect": false
}

5. Between the quotation marks in the "cert_file" line, specify the full path to the certificate file.
For example:
l In Windows (note the forward slashes): "cert_file": "C:/certificate/local-
domain.ams.cert"
l In Linux: "cert_file": "/home/user/local-domain.ams.cert"
6. Between the quotation marks in the "key_file" line, specify the full path to the private key file.
For example:
l In Windows (note the forward slashes): "key_file": "C:/certificate/private.key"
l In Linux: "key_file": "/home/user/private.key"
7. If the private key is encrypted, between the quotation marks in the "passphrase" line, specify the
private key passphrase. For example: "passphrase": "my secret passphrase"
8. If you want to prohibit accessing the backup console via HTTP, by redirecting all users to HTTPS,
change the "auto_redirect" value from false to true. Otherwise, skip this step.
9. Save the api_gateway.json file.

Important
Please be careful and do not accidentally delete any commas, brackets, and quotation marks in
the configuration file.

10. Restart Acronis Service Manager Service as described below.

To restart Acronis Service Manager Service in Windows

1. In the Start menu, click Run, and then type: cmd

2. Click OK.
3. Run the following commands:

net stop asm

net start asm

To restart Acronis Service Manager Service in Linux

1. Open Terminal.
2. Run the following command in any directory:

sudo service acronis_asm restart

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Backup console view
The backup console has two views: a simple view and a table view. To switch between the views,
click the corresponding icon in the top right corner.

The simple view supports a small number of machines.

The table view is enabled automatically when the number of machines becomes large.

Both views provide access to the same features and operations. This document describes access to
operations from the table view.

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Backup
A backup plan is a set of rules that specify how the given data will be protected on a given machine.

A backup plan can be applied to multiple machines at the time of its creation, or later.

Note
In on-premises deployments, if only the Standard licenses are present on the management server, a
backup plan cannot be applied to multiple physical machines. Each physical machine must have its
own backup plan.

To create the first backup plan

1. Select the machines that you want to back up.

2. Click Backup.
The software displays a new backup plan template.

3. [Optional] To modify the backup plan name, click the default name.
4. [Optional] To modify the plan parameters, click the corresponding section of the backup plan
panel.

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5. [Optional] To modify the backup options, click the gear icon.
6. Click Create.

To apply an existing backup plan

1. Select the machines that you want to back up.

2. Click Backup. If a common backup plan is already applied to the selected machines, click Add
backup plan.
The software displays previously created backup plans.

3. Select a backup plan to apply.

4. Click Apply.

Backup plan cheat sheet

Note
In cloud deployments, some of the features described in this section might not be available or
might be different.

The following table summarizes the available backup plan parameters. Use the table to create a
backup plan that best fits your needs.

WHAT TO BACK ITEMS TO WHERE TO BACK SCHEDULE HOW LONG TO

UP BACK UP UP KEEP
Backup schemes
Selection
(not for Cloud)
methods

Cloud Always incremental (Single- By backup age

Direct
file)* (single rule/per
Disks/volumes selection Local folder
(physical Always full backup set)
Policy rules Network folder
machines) By number of
Weekly full, Daily
File filters SFTP server* backups
incremental

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 NFS*

Secure Zone*

Managed
location*

Tape device*

Monthly full, Weekly

Cloud
differential, Daily
Local folder incremental (GFS)

Network folder Custom (F-D-I)

Disks/volumes Policy rules SFTP server*
(virtual
machines) File filters NFS*

Managed
location*

Tape device*

Cloud

Local folder*

Network folder* By total size of

Direct Always full backups*
Files selection SFTP server*
Weekly full, Daily Keep indefinitely
(physical NFS*
Policy rules incremental
machines only)
File filters Secure Zone* Monthly full, Weekly
Managed differential, Daily
location* incremental (GFS)

Tape device* Always incremental (Single-

file)*
Local folder
Custom (F-D-I)
ESXi Direct Network folder
configuration selection SFTP server

NFS*

System state Cloud

(in cloud Direct
Local folder Always full
deployments selection
only) Network folder Weekly full, daily
incremental
Cloud
Direct Custom (F-I)
SQL databases Local folder
selection
Network folder

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 Managed
location*

Exchange Direct Tape device

databases selection

Exchange Direct
mailboxes selection

Cloud

Local folder
Always incremental (Single-
Network folder file)
Managed
By backup age
location*
(single rule/per
Office 365 Direct backup set)
mailboxes selection By number of
backups

Keep indefinitely

* See the limitations below.

Limitations

SFTP server and tape device

l These locations cannot be a destination for backups of machines running macOS.
l These locations cannot be a destination for application-aware backups.
l The Always incremental (single-file) backup scheme is not available when backing up to these
locations.
l The By total size of backups retention rule is not available for these locations.

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NFS
l Backup to NFS shares is not available in Windows.
l The Always incremental (single-file) backup scheme for Files (physical machines) is not
available when backing up to NFS shares.

Secure Zone
l Secure Zone cannot be created on a Mac.
l The Always incremental (single-file) backup scheme for Files (physical machines) is not
available when backing up to Secure Zone.

CD/DVD
l Catalog is not supported for backup on CD/DVD/BD.
l CD/DVD supported only during recovery using bootable media.
l CD/DVD is not supported by Windows 11.
l Blu-ray is not supported.
l No replication to and from CD/DVD.
l Recovery via media only.
l Archive version 11 support only.

Managed location
l A managed location with enabled deduplication or encryption cannot be selected as the
destination:
o If the backup scheme is set to Always incremental (single-file)
o If the backup format is set to Version 12
o For disk-level backups of machines running macOS
o For backups of Exchange mailboxes and Office 365 mailboxes.
l The By total size of backups retention rule is not available for a managed location with enabled
deduplication.

Always incremental (single-file)

l The Always incremental (single-file) backup scheme is not available when backing up to an
SFTP server or a tape device.
l The Always incremental (single-file) backup scheme for Files (physical machines) is available
only when the primary backup location is Acronis Cloud.

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By total size of backups
l The By total size of backups retention rule is not available:
o If the backup scheme is set to Always incremental (single-file)
o When backing up to an SFTP server, a tape device, or a managed location with enabled
deduplication.

Selecting data to back up

Selecting files/folders
File-level backup is available for physical machines and virtual machines backed up by an agent
installed in the guest system.

A file-level backup is not sufficient for recovery of the operating system. Choose file backup if you
plan to protect only certain data (the current project, for example). This will reduce the backup size,
thus saving storage space.

There are two ways of selecting files: directly on each machine or by using policy rules. Either
method allows you to further refine the selection by setting the file filters.

Direct selection
1. In What to back up, select Files/folders.
2. Click Items to back up.
3. In Select items for backup, select Directly.
4. For each of the machines included in the backup plan:
a. Click Select files and folders.
b. Click Local folder or Network folder.
The share must be accessible from the selected machine.
c. Browse to the required files/folders or enter the path and click the arrow button. If prompted,
specify the user name and password for the shared folder.
Backing up a folder with anonymous access is not supported.
d. Select the required files/folders.
e. Click Done.

Using policy rules

1. In What to back up, select Files/folders.
2. Click Items to back up.
3. In Select items for backup, select Using policy rules.
4. Select any of the predefined rules, type your own rules, or combine both.

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 The policy rules will be applied to all of the machines included in the backup plan. If no data
meeting at least one of the rules is found on a machine when the backup starts, the backup will
fail on that machine.
5. Click Done.

Selection rules for Windows

l Full path to a file or folder, for example D:\Work\Text.doc or C:\Windows.
l Templates:
o [All Files] selects all files on all volumes of the machine.
o [All Profiles Folder] selects the folder where all user profiles are located (typically, C:\Users
or C:\Documents and Settings).
l Environment variables:
o %ALLUSERSPROFILE% selects the folder where the common data of all user profiles is located
(typically, C:\ProgramData or C:\Documents and Settings\All Users).
o %PROGRAMFILES% selects the Program Files folder (for example, C:\Program Files).
o %WINDIR% selects the folder where Windows is located (for example, C:\Windows).
You can use other environment variables or a combination of environment variables and text. For
example, to select the Java folder in the Program Files folder, type: %PROGRAMFILES%\Java.

Selection rules for Linux

l Full path to a file or directory. For example, to back up file.txt on the volume /dev/hda3
mounted on /home/usr/docs, specify /dev/hda3/file.txt or /home/usr/docs/file.txt.
o /home selects the home directory of the common users.
o /root selects the root user's home directory.
o /usr selects the directory for all user-related programs.
o /etc selects the directory for system configuration files.
l Templates:
o [All Profiles Folder] selects /home. This is the folder where all user profiles are located by
default.

Selection rules for macOS

l Full path to a file or directory.
l Templates:
o [All Profiles Folder] selects /Users. This is the folder where all user profiles are located by
default.

Examples:

l To back up file.txt on your desktop, specify /Users/<username>/Desktop/file.txt, where

<username> is your user name.
l To back up all users' home directories, specify /Users.
l To back up the directory where the applications are installed, specify /Applications.

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Selecting system state
System state backup is available for machines running Windows Vista and later.

To back up system state, in What to back up, select System state.

A system state backup is comprised of the following files:

l Task scheduler configuration

l VSS Metadata Store
l Performance counter configuration information
l MSSearch Service
l Background Intelligent Transfer Service (BITS)
l The registry
l Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI)
l Component Services Class registration database

Selecting disks/volumes
A disk-level backup contains a copy of a disk or a volume in a packaged form. You can recover
individual disks, volumes, or files from a disk-level backup.

A backup of an entire machine is a backup of all its non-removable disks.

There are two ways of selecting disks/volumes: directly on each machine or by using policy rules.
You can exclude files from a disk backup by setting the file filters.

Direct selection
Direct selection is available only for physical machines. To enable direct selection of disks and
volumes in a virtual machine, you must install the Cyber Protection agent in its guest operating
system.

1. In What to back up, select Disks/volumes.

2. Click Items to back up.
3. In Select items for backup, select Directly.
4. For each of the machines included in the backup plan, select the check boxes next to the disks or
volumes to back up.
5. Click Done.

Using policy rules

1. In What to back up, select Disks/volumes.
2. Click Items to back up.
3. In Select items for backup, select Using policy rules.
4. Select any of the predefined rules, type your own rules, or combine both.

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 The policy rules will be applied to all of the machines included in the backup plan. If no data
meeting at least one of the rules is found on a machine when the backup starts, the backup will
fail on that machine.
5. Click Done.

Rules for Windows, Linux, and macOS

l [All Volumes] selects all volumes on machines running Windows and all mounted volumes on
machines running Linux or macOS.

Rules for Windows

l Drive letter (for example C:\) selects the volume with the specified drive letter.
l [Fixed Volumes (physical machines)] selects all volumes of physical machines, other than
removable media. Fixed volumes include volumes on SCSI, ATAPI, ATA, SSA, SAS, and SATA
devices, and on RAID arrays.
l [BOOT+SYSTEM] selects the system and boot volumes. This combination is the minimal set of data
that ensures recovery of the operating system from the backup.
l [Disk 1] selects the first disk of the machine, including all volumes on that disk. To select another
disk, type the corresponding number.

Rules for Linux

l /dev/hda1 selects the first volume on the first IDE hard disk.
l /dev/sda1 selects the first volume on the first SCSI hard disk.
l /dev/md1 selects the first software RAID hard disk.

To select other basic volumes, specify /dev/xdyN, where:

l "x" corresponds to the disk type

l "y" corresponds to the disk number (a for the first disk, b for the second disk, and so on)
l "N" is the volume number.

To select a logical volume, specify its path as it appears after running the ls /dev/mapper command
under the root account. For example:

[root@localhost ~]# ls /dev/mapper/

control vg_1-lv1 vg_1-lv2

This output shows two logical volumes, lv1 and lv2, that belong to the volume group vg_1. To back
up these volumes, enter:

/dev/mapper/vg_1-lv1
/dev/mapper/vg-l-lv2

Rules for macOS

l [Disk 1] Selects the first disk of the machine, including all volumes on that disk. To select another
disk, type the corresponding number.

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What does a disk or volume backup store?
A disk or volume backup stores a disk or a volume file system as a whole and includes all of the
information necessary for the operating system to boot. It is possible to recover disks or volumes as
a whole from such backups as well as individual folders or files.

With the sector-by-sector (raw mode) backup option enabled, a disk backup stores all the disk
sectors. The sector-by-sector backup can be used for backing up disks with unrecognized or
unsupported file systems and other proprietary data formats.

Windows
A volume backup stores all files and folders of the selected volume independent of their attributes
(including hidden and system files), the boot record, the file allocation table (FAT) if it exists, the root
and the zero track of the hard disk with the master boot record (MBR).

A disk backup stores all volumes of the selected disk (including hidden volumes such as the vendor's
maintenance partitions) and the zero track with the master boot record.

The following items are not included in a disk or volume backup (as well as in a file-level backup):

l The swap file (pagefile.sys) and the file that keeps the RAM content when the machine goes into
hibernation (hiberfil.sys). After recovery, the files will be re-created in the appropriate place with
the zero size.
l If the backup is performed under the operating system (as opposed to bootable media or backing
up virtual machines at a hypervisor level):
o Windows shadow storage. The path to it is determined in the registry value VSS Default
Provider which can be found in the registry key HKEY_LOCAL_
MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\BackupRestore\FilesNotToBackup. This
means that in operating systems starting with Windows Vista, Windows Restore Points are not
backed up.
o If the Volume Shadow Copy Service (VSS) backup option is enabled, files and folders that are
specified in the HKEY_LOCAL_
MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\BackupRestore\FilesNotToSnapshot
registry key.

Linux
A volume backup stores all files and directories of the selected volume independent of their
attributes, a boot record, and the file system super block.

A disk backup stores all disk volumes as well as the zero track with the master boot record.

Mac
A disk or volume backup stores all files and directories of the selected disk or volume, plus a
description of the volume layout.

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The following items are excluded:

l System metadata, such as the file system journal and Spotlight index
l The Trash
l Time machine backups

Physically, disks and volumes on a Mac are backed up at a file level. Bare metal recovery from disk
and volume backups is possible, but the sector-by-sector backup mode is not available.

Selecting ESXi configuration

A backup of an ESXi host configuration enables you to recover an ESXi host to bare metal. The
recovery is performed under bootable media.

The virtual machines running on the host are not included in the backup. They can be backed up
and recovered separately.

A backup of an ESXi host configuration includes:

l The bootloader and boot bank partitions of the host.

l The host state (configuration of virtual networking and storage, SSL keys, server network settings,
and local user information).
l Extensions and patches installed or staged on the host.
l Log files.

Prerequisites
l SSH must be enabled in the Security Profile of the ESXi host configuration.
l You must know the password for the 'root' account on the ESXi host.

Limitations
l ESXi configuration backup is not supported for VMware vSphere 6.7 and 7.0.
l An ESXi configuration cannot be backed up to the cloud storage.

To select an ESXi configuration

1. Click Devices > All devices, and then select the ESXi hosts that you want to back up.
2. Click Backup.
3. In What to back up, select ESXi configuration.
4. In ESXi 'root' password, specify a password for the 'root' account on each of the selected hosts
or apply the same password to all of the hosts.

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Selecting a destination
Note
In cloud deployments, some of the features described in this section might not be available or
might be different.

To select a backup location

1. Click Where to back up.

2. Do one of the following:
l Select a previously used or predefined backup location
l Click Add location, and then specify a new backup location.

Supported locations
l Cloud storage
Backups will be stored in the cloud data center.
l Local folder
If a single machine is selected, browse to a folder on the selected machine or type the folder
path.
If multiple machines are selected, type the folder path. Backups will be stored in this folder on
each of the selected physical machines or on the machine where the agent for virtual machines is
installed. If the folder does not exist, it will be created.
l Network folder
This is a folder shared via SMB/CIFS/DFS.
Browse to the required shared folder or enter the path in the following format:
o For SMB/CIFS shares: \\<host name>\<path>\ or smb://<host name>/<path>/
o For DFS shares: \\<full DNS domain name>\<DFS root>\<path>
For example, \\example.company.com\shared\files
Then, click the arrow button. If prompted, specify the user name and password for the shared
folder. You can change these credentials at any time by clicking the key icon next to the folder
name.
Backing up to a folder with anonymous access is not supported.
l Acronis Cyber Infrastructure
Acronis Cyber Infrastructure can be used as highly reliable software-defined storage with data
redundancy and automatic self-healing. The storage can be configured as a gateway for storing
backups in Microsoft Azure or in one of a variety of storage solutions compatible with S3 or Swift.
The storage can also employ the NFS back-end. For more information, refer to "About Acronis
Cyber Infrastructure".
l NFS folder (available for machines running Linux or macOS)

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 Verify that the nfs-utils package is installed on the Linux machine where Agent for Linux is
installed.
Browse to the required NFS folder or enter the path in the following format:
nfs://<host name>/<exported folder>:/<subfolder>
Then, click the arrow button.
It is not possible to back up to an NFS folder protected with a password.
l Secure Zone (available if it is present on each of the selected machines)
Secure Zone is a secure partition on a disk of the backed-up machine. This partition has to be
created manually prior to configuring a backup. For information about how to create Secure
Zone, its advantages and limitations, refer to "About Secure Zone".
l SFTP
Type the SFTP server name or address. The following notations are supported:
sftp://<server>
sftp://<server>/<folder>
After entering the user name and password, you can browse the server folders.
In either notation, you can also specify the port, user name, and password:
sftp://<server>:<port>/<folder>
sftp://<user name>@<server>:<port>/<folder>
sftp://<user name>:<password>@<server>:<port>/<folder>
If the port number is not specified, port 22 is used.
Users, for whom SFTP access with no password is configured, cannot back up to SFTP.
Backing up to FTP servers is not supported.

Advanced storage options

Note
This functionality is available only with the Acronis Cyber Backup Advanced license.

l Defined by a script (available for machines running Windows)

You can store each machine's backups in a folder defined by a script. The software supports
scripts written in JScript, VBScript, or Python 3.5. When deploying the backup plan, the software
runs the script on each machine. The script output for each machine should be a local or network
folder path. If a folder does not exist, it will be created (limitation: scripts written in Python cannot
create folders on network shares). On the Backups tab, each folder is shown as a separate
backup location.
In Script type, select the script type (JScript, VBScript, or Python), and then import, or copy and
paste the script. For network folders, specify the access credentials with the read/write
permissions.
Example. The following JScript script outputs the backup location for a machine in the format
\\bkpsrv\<machine name>:

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 WScript.echo("\\\\bkpsrv\\" + WScript.CreateObject("WScript.Network").ComputerName);

As a result, the backups of each machine will be saved in a folder of the same name on the server
bkpsrv.
l Storage node
A storage node is a server designed to optimize the usage of various resources (such as the
corporate storage capacity, the network bandwidth, and the production servers' CPU load) that
are required to protect enterprise data. This goal is achieved by organizing and managing the
locations that serve as dedicated storages of the enterprise backups (managed locations).
You can select a previously created location or create a new one by clicking Add location >
Storage node. For information about the settings, refer to "Adding a managed location".
You may be prompted to specify the user name and password for the storage node. Members of
the following Windows groups on the machine where a storage node is installed have access to
all managed locations on the storage node:
o Administrators
o Acronis ASN Remote Users
This group is created automatically when the storage node is installed. By default, this group is
empty. You can add users to this group manually.
l Tape
If a tape device is attached to the backed-up machine or to a storage node, the location list shows
the default tape pool. This pool is created automatically.
You can select the default pool or create a new one by clicking Add location > Tape. For
information about pool settings, refer to "Creating a pool".

About Secure Zone

Secure Zone is a secure partition on a disk of the backed-up machine. It can store backups of disks
or files of this machine.

Should the disk experience a physical failure, the backups located in the Secure Zone may be lost.
That's why Secure Zone should not be the only location where a backup is stored. In enterprise
environments, Secure Zone can be thought of as an intermediate location used for backup when an
ordinary location is temporarily unavailable or connected through a slow or busy channel.

Why use Secure Zone?

Secure Zone:

l Enables recovery of a disk to the same disk where the disk's backup resides.
l Offers a cost-effective and handy method for protecting data from software malfunction, virus
attack, human error.
l Eliminates the need for a separate media or network connection to back up or recover the data.
This is especially useful for roaming users.
l Can serve as a primary destination when using replication of backups.

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Limitations
l Secure Zone cannot be organized on a Mac.
l Secure Zone is a partition on a basic disk. It cannot be organized on a dynamic disk or created as
a logical volume (managed by LVM).
l Secure Zone is formatted with the FAT32 file system. Because FAT32 has a 4-GB file size limit,
larger backups are split when saved to Secure Zone. This does not affect the recovery procedure
and speed.
l Secure Zone does not support the single-file backup format1. When you change the destination
to Secure Zone in a backup plan that has the Always incremental (Single-file) backup scheme,
the scheme is changed to Weekly full, daily incremental.

How creating Secure Zone transforms the disk

l Secure Zone is always created at the end of the hard disk.
l If there is no or not enough unallocated space at the end of the disk, but there is unallocated
space between volumes, the volumes will be moved to add more unallocated space to the end of
the disk.
l When all unallocated space is collected but it is still not enough, the software will take free space
from the volumes you select, proportionally reducing the volumes' size.
l However, there should be free space on a volume, so that the operating system and applications
can operate; for example, create temporary files. The software will not decrease a volume where
free space is or becomes less than 25 percent of the total volume size. Only when all volumes on
the disk have 25 percent or less free space, will the software continue decreasing the volumes
proportionally.

As is apparent from the above, specifying the maximum possible Secure Zone size is not advisable.
You will end up with no free space on any volume, which might cause the operating system or
applications to work unstably and even fail to start.

Important
Moving or resizing the volume from which the system is booted requires a reboot.

How to create Secure Zone

1. Select the machine that you want to create Secure Zone on.
2. Click Details > Create Secure Zone .

1A new backup format, in which the initial full and subsequent incremental backups are saved to a single .tib file,

instead of a chain of files. This format leverages the speed of the incremental backup method, while avoiding its main
disadvantage–difficult deletion of outdated backups. The software marks the blocks used by outdated backups as
"free" and writes new backups to these blocks. This results in extremely fast cleanup, with minimal resource
consumption. The single-file backup format is not available when backing up to locations that do not support random-
access reads and writes, for example, SFTP servers.

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3. Under Secure Zone disk, click Select, and then select a hard disk (if several) on which to create
the zone.
The software calculates the maximum possible size of Secure Zone.
4. Enter the Secure Zone size or drag the slider to select any size between the minimum and the
maximum ones.
The minimum size is approximately 50 MB, depending on the geometry of the hard disk. The
maximum size is equal to the disk's unallocated space plus the total free space on all of the disk's
volumes.
5. If all unallocated space is not enough for the size you specified, the software will take free space
from the existing volumes. By default, all volumes are selected. If you want to exclude some
volumes, click Select volumes. Otherwise, skip this step.

6. [Optional] Enable the Password protection switch and specify a password.

The password will be required to access the backups located in Secure Zone. Backing up to
Secure Zone does not require a password, unless the backup if performed under bootable
media.
7. Click Create.
The software displays the expected partition layout. Click OK.
8. Wait while the software creates Secure Zone.

You can now choose Secure Zone in Where to back up when creating a backup plan.

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How to delete Secure Zone
1. Select a machine with Secure Zone.
2. Click Details.
3. Click the gear icon next to Secure Zone , and then click Delete.
4. [Optional] Specify the volumes to which the space freed from the zone will be added. By default,
all volumes are selected.
The space will be distributed equally among the selected volumes. If you do not select any
volumes, the freed space will become unallocated.
Resizing the volume from which the system is booted requires a reboot.
5. Click Delete.

As a result, Secure Zone will be deleted along with all backups stored in it.

About Acronis Cyber Infrastructure

Acronis Cyber Backup 12.5, starting with Update 2, supports integration with Acronis Storage 2.3 or
its later versions named Acronis Cyber Infrastructure.

Deployment
In order to use Acronis Cyber Infrastructure, deploy it on bare metal on your premises. At least five
physical servers are recommended to take full advantage of the product. If you only need the
gateway functionality, you can use one physical or virtual server, or configure a gateway cluster with
as many servers as you want.

Ensure that the time settings are synchronized between the management server and Acronis Cyber
Infrastructure. The time settings for Acronis Cyber Infrastructure can be configured during
deployment. Time synchronization via Network Time Protocol (NTP) is enabled by default.

You can deploy several instances of Acronis Cyber Infrastructure and register them on the same
management server.

Registration
The registration is performed in the Acronis Cyber Infrastructure web interface. Acronis Cyber
Infrastructure can be registered only by organization administrators and only in the organization.
Once registered, the storage becomes available to all of the organization units. It can be added as a
backup location to any unit or to the organization.

The reverse operation (deregistration) is performed in the Acronis Cyber Backup interface. Click
Settings > Storage nodes, click the required Acronis Cyber Infrastructure, and then click Delete.

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Adding a backup location
Only one backup location on each Acronis Cyber Infrastructure instance can be added to a unit or
organization. A location added at a unit level is available to this unit and to the organization
administrators. A location added at the organization level is available only to the organization
administrators.

When adding a location, you create and enter its name. Should you need to add an existing location
to a new or different management server, select the Use an existing location... check box, click
Browse, and then select the location from the list.

If several instances of Acronis Cyber Infrastructure are registered on the management server, it is
possible to select an Cyber Infrastructure instance when adding a location.

Backup schemes, operations, and limitations

Direct access to Acronis Cyber Infrastructure from bootable media is not available. To work with
Acronis Cyber Infrastructure, register the media on the management server and manage it via the
backup console.

Access to Acronis Cyber Infrastructure via the command-line interface is not available.

In terms of available backup schemes and operations with backups, Acronis Cyber Infrastructure is
similar to the cloud storage. The only difference is that backups can be replicated from Acronis
Cyber Infrastructure during execution of a backup plan.

Documentation
The full set of the Acronis Cyber Infrastructure documentation is available on the Acronis web site.

Schedule
Note
In cloud deployments, some of the features described in this section might not be available or
might be different.

The schedule employs the time settings (including the time zone) of the operating system where the
agent installed. The time zone of Agent for VMware (Virtual Appliance) can be configured in the
agent's interface.

For example, if a backup plan is scheduled to run at 21:00 and applied to several machines located
in different time zones, the backup will start on each machine at 21:00 local time.

The scheduling parameters depend on the backup destination.

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When backing up to cloud storage
By default, backups are performed on a daily basis, Monday to Friday. You can select the time to run
the backup.

If you want to change the backup frequency, move the slider, and then specify the backup schedule.

You can schedule the backup to run by events, instead of by time. To do this, select the event type in
the schedule selector. For more information, refer to "Schedule by events".

Important
The first backup is full, which means that it is the most time-consuming. All subsequent backups are
incremental and take significantly less time.

When backing up to other locations

You can choose one of the predefined backup schemes or create a custom scheme. A backup
scheme is a part of the backup plan that includes the backup schedule and the backup methods.

In Backup scheme, select one of the following:

l [Only for disk-level backups] Always incremental (single-file)

By default, backups are performed on a daily basis, Monday to Friday. You can select the time to
run the backup.
If you want to change the backup frequency, move the slider, and then specify the backup
schedule.
The backups use the new single-file backup format1.
This scheme is not available when backing up to a tape device, an SFTP server, or Secure Zone.
l Always full
By default, backups are performed on a daily basis, Monday to Friday. You can select the time to
run the backup.
If you want to change the backup frequency, move the slider, and then specify the backup
schedule.
All backups are full.
l Weekly full, Daily incremental
By default, backups are performed on a daily basis, Monday to Friday. You can modify the days of
the week and the time to run the backup.

1A new backup format, in which the initial full and subsequent incremental backups are saved to a single .tib file,

instead of a chain of files. This format leverages the speed of the incremental backup method, while avoiding its main
disadvantage–difficult deletion of outdated backups. The software marks the blocks used by outdated backups as
"free" and writes new backups to these blocks. This results in extremely fast cleanup, with minimal resource
consumption. The single-file backup format is not available when backing up to locations that do not support random-
access reads and writes, for example, SFTP servers.

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 A full backup is created once a week. All other backups are incremental. The day on which the full
backup is created depends on the Weekly backup option (click the gear icon, then Backup
options > Weekly backup).
l Monthly full, Weekly differential, Daily incremental (GFS)
By default, incremental backups are performed on a daily basis, Monday to Friday; differential
backups are performed every Saturday; full backups are performed on the first day of each
month. You can modify these schedules and the time to run the backup.
This backup scheme is displayed as a Custom scheme on the backup plan panel.
l Custom
Specify schedules for full, differential, and incremental backups.
Differential backup is not available when backing up SQL data, Exchange data, or system state.

With any backup scheme, you can schedule the backup to run by events, instead of by time. To do
this, select the event type in the schedule selector. For more information, refer to "Schedule by
events".

Additional scheduling options

With any destination, you can do the following:

l Specify the backup start conditions, so that a scheduled backup is performed only if the
conditions are met. For more information, refer to "Start conditions".
l Set a date range for when the schedule is effective. Select the Run the plan within a date range
check box, and then specify the date range.
l Disable the schedule. While the schedule is disabled, the retention rules are not applied unless a
backup is started manually.
l Introduce a delay from the scheduled time. The delay value for each machine is selected
randomly and ranges from zero to the maximum value you specify. You may want to use this
setting when backing up multiple machines to a network location, to avoid excessive network
load.
Click the gear icon, then Backup options > Scheduling. Select Distribute backup start times
within a time window, and then specify the maximum delay. The delay value for each machine
is determined when the backup plan is applied to the machine and remains the same until you
edit the backup plan and change the maximum delay value.

Note
In cloud deployments, this option is enabled by default, with the maximum delay set to 30
minutes. In on-premises deployments, by default all backups start exactly as scheduled.

l Click Show more to access the following options:

o If the machine is turned off, run missed tasks at the machine startup (disabled by
default)
o Prevent the sleep or hibernate mode during backup (enabled by default)
This option is effective only for machines running Windows.

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 o Wake up from the sleep or hibernate mode to start a scheduled backup (disabled by
default)
This option is effective only for machines running Windows. This option is not effective when
the machine is powered off, i.e. the option does not employ the Wake-on-LAN functionality.

Schedule by events
When setting up a schedule for a backup plan, you can select the event type in the schedule
selector. The backup will be launched as soon as the event occurs.

You can choose one of the following events:

l Upon time since last backup

This is the time since the completion of the last successful backup within the same backup plan.
You can specify the length of time.
l When a user logs on to the system
By default, logging on of any user will initiate a backup. You can change any user to a specific user
account.
l When a user logs off the system
By default, logging off of any user will initiate a backup. You can change any user to a specific user
account.

Note
The backup will not run at a system shutdown because shutting down is not the same as logging
off.

l On the system startup

l On the system shutdown
l On Windows Event Log event
You must specify the event properties.

The table below lists the events available for various data under Windows, Linux, and macOS.

WHAT TO BACK Upon time When a When a On the On the On

UP since last user logs on user logs system system Windows
backup to the off the startup shutdown Event Log
system system event

Disks/volumes Windows, Windows Windows Windows, Windows Windows

or files (physical Linux, Linux,
machines) macOS macOS

Disks/volumes Windows, – – – – –
(virtual Linux
machines)

ESXi Windows, – – – – –

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 configuration Linux

Office 365 Windows – – – – Windows

mailboxes

Exchange Windows – – – – Windows

databases and
mailboxes

SQL databases Windows – – – – Windows

On Windows Event Log event

You can schedule a backup to start when a certain Windows event has been recorded in one of the
event logs, such as the Application, Security, or System log.

For example, you may want to set up a backup plan that will automatically perform an emergency
full backup of your data as soon as Windows discovers that your hard disk drive is about to fail.

To browse the events and view the event properties, use the Event Viewer snap-in available in the
Computer Management console. To be able to open the Security log, you must be a member of
the Administrators group.

Event properties
Log name

Specifies the name of the log. Select the name of a standard log (Application, Security, or
System) from the list, or type a log name—for example: Microsoft Office Sessions

Event source

Specifies the event source, which typically indicates the program or the system component
that caused the event—for example: disk

Any event source that contains the specified string will trigger the scheduled backup. This
option is not case sensitive. Thus, if you specify the string service, both Service Control Manager
and Time-Service event sources will trigger a backup.

Event type

Specifies the event type: Error, Warning, Information, Audit success, or Audit failure.

Event ID

Specifies the event number, which typically identifies the particular kind of events among
events from the same source.

For example, an Error event with Event source disk and Event ID 7 occurs when Windows
discovers a bad block on a disk, whereas an Error event with Event source disk and Event ID 15
occurs when a disk is not ready for access yet.

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Example: "Bad block" emergency backup
One or more bad blocks that have suddenly appeared on a hard disk usually indicate that the hard
disk drive will soon fail. Suppose that you want to create a backup plan that will back up hard disk
data as soon as such a situation occurs.

When Windows detects a bad block on a hard disk, it records an event with the event source disk
and the event number 7 into the System log; the type of this event is Error.

When creating the plan, type or select the following in the Schedule section:

l Log name: System

l Event source: disk
l Event type: Error
l Event ID: 7

Important
To ensure that such a backup will complete despite the presence of bad blocks, you must make the
backup ignore bad blocks. To do this, in Backup options, go to Error handling, and then select the
Ignore bad sectors check box.

Start conditions
These settings add more flexibility to the scheduler, enabling it to execute a backup with respect to
certain conditions. With multiple conditions, all of them must be met simultaneously to enable a
backup to start. Start conditions are not effective when a backup is started manually.

To access these settings, click Show more when setting up a schedule for a backup plan.

The scheduler behavior, in case the condition (or any of multiple conditions) is not met, is defined by
the Backup start conditions backup option. To handle the situation when the conditions are not met
for too long and further delaying the backup is becoming risky, you can set the time interval after
which the backup will run irrespective of the condition.

The table below lists the start conditions available for various data under Windows, Linux, and
macOS.

WHAT TO Disks/volumes Disks/volumes ESXi Office 365 Exchange SQL

BACK UP or files (virtual configuration mailboxes databases databases
(physical machines) and
machines) mailboxes

User is idle Windows – – – – –

The backup Windows, Windows, Linux Windows, Windows Windows Windows

location's Linux, macOS Linux
host is
available

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 Users Windows – – – – –
logged off

Fits the Windows, Windows, Linux – – – –

time Linux, macOS
interval

Save Windows – – – – –
battery
power

Do not Windows – – – – –
start when
on
metered
connection

Do not Windows – – – – –
start when
connected
to the
following
Wi-Fi
networks

Check Windows – – – – –
device IP
address

User is idle
"User is idle" means that a screen saver is running on the machine or the machine is locked.

Example
Run the backup on the machine every day at 21:00, preferably when the user is idle. If the user is
still active by 23:00, run the backup anyway.

l Schedule: Daily, Run every day. Start at: 21:00.

l Condition: User is idle.
l Backup start conditions: Wait until the conditions are met, Start the backup anyway after 2
hour(s).

As a result,

(1) If the user becomes idle before 21:00, the backup will start at 21:00.

(2) If the user becomes idle between 21:00 and 23:00, the backup will start immediately after the
user becomes idle.

(3) If the user is still active at 23:00, the backup will start at 23:00.

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The backup location's host is available
"The backup location's host is available" means that the machine hosting the destination for storing
backups is available over the network.

This condition is effective for network folders, the cloud storage, and locations managed by a
storage node.

This condition does not cover the availability of the location itself — only the host availability. For
example, if the host is available, but the network folder on this host is not shared or the credentials
for the folder are no longer valid, the condition is still considered met.

Example
Data is backed up to a network folder every workday at 21:00. If the machine that hosts the folder is
not available at that moment (for instance, due to maintenance work), you want to skip the backup
and wait for the scheduled start on the next workday.

l Schedule: Daily, Run Monday to Friday. Start at: 21:00.

l Condition: The backup location's host is available.
l Backup start conditions: Skip the scheduled backup.

As a result:

(1) If 21:00 comes and the host is available, the backup will start immediately.

(2) If 21:00 comes but the host is unavailable, the backup will start on the next workday if the host is
available.

(3) If the host is never available on workdays at 21:00, the backup will never start.

Users logged off

Enables you to put a backup on hold until all users log off from Windows.

Example
Run the backup at 20:00 every Friday, preferably when all users are logged off. If one of the users is
still logged on at 23:00, run the backup anyway.

l Schedule: Weekly, on Fridays. Start at: 20:00.

l Condition: Users logged off.
l Backup start conditions: Wait until the conditions are met, Start the backup anyway after 3
hour(s).

As a result:

(1) If all users are logged off at 20:00, the backup will start at 20:00.

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(2) If the last user logs off between 20:00 and 23:00, the backup will start immediately after the user
logs off.

(3) If any user is still logged on at 23:00, the backup will start at 23:00.

Fits the time interval

Restricts a backup start time to a specified interval.

Example
A company uses different locations on the same network-attached storage for backing up users'
data and servers. The workday starts at 08:00 and ends at 17:00. Users' data should be backed up as
soon as the users log off, but not earlier than 16:30. Every day at 23:00 the company's servers are
backed up. So, all the users' data should preferably be backed up before this time, in order to free
network bandwidth. It is assumed that backing up user's data takes no more than one hour, so the
latest backup start time is 22:00. If a user is still logged on within the specified time interval, or logs
off at any other time – do not back up the users' data, i.e., skip backup execution.

l Event: When a user logs off the system. Specify the user account: Any user.
l Condition: Fits the time interval from 16:30 to 22:00.
l Backup start conditions: Skip the scheduled backup.

As a result:

(1) if the user logs off between 16:30 and 22:00, the backup will start immediately following the
logging off.

(2) if the user logs off at any other time, the backup will be skipped.

Save battery power

Prevents a backup if the device (a laptop or a tablet) is not connected to a power source. Depending
on the value of the Backup start conditions backup option, the skipped backup will or will not be
started after the device is connected to a power source. The following options are available:

l Do not start when on battery

A backup will start only if the device is connected to a power source.
l Start when on battery if the battery level is higher than
A backup will start if the device is connected to a power source or if the battery level is higher
than the specified value.

Example
Data is backed up every workday at 21:00. If the device is not connected to a power source (for
instance, the user is attending a late meeting), you want to skip the backup to save the battery
power and wait until the user connects the device to a power source.

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l Schedule: Daily, Run Monday to Friday. Start at: 21:00.
l Condition: Save battery power, Do not start when on battery.
l Backup start conditions: Wait until the conditions are met.

As a result:

(1) If 21:00 comes and the device is connected to a power source, the backup will start immediately.

(2) If 21:00 comes and the device is running on battery power, the backup will start as soon as the
device is connected to a power source.

Do not start when on metered connection

Prevents a backup (including a backup to a local disk) if the device is connected to the Internet by
using a connection that is set as metered in Windows. For more information about metered
connections in Windows, refer to https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/17452/windows-
metered-internet-connections-faq.

As an additional measure to prevent backups over mobile hotspots, when you enable the Do not
start when on metered connection condition, the condition Do not start when connected to
the following Wi-Fi networks is enabled automatically. The following network names are specified
by default: "android", "phone", "mobile", and "modem". You can delete these names from the list by
clicking on the X sign.

Example
Data is backed up every workday at 21:00. If the device is connected to the Internet by using a
metered connection (for instance, the user is on a business trip), you want to skip the backup to
save the network traffic and wait for the scheduled start on the next workday.

l Schedule: Daily, Run Monday to Friday. Start at: 21:00.

l Condition: Do not start when on metered connection.
l Backup start conditions: Skip the scheduled backup.

As a result:

(1) If 21:00 comes and the device is not connected to the Internet by using a metered connection,
the backup will start immediately.

(2) If 21:00 comes and the device is connected to the Internet by using a metered connection, the
backup will start on the next workday.

(3) If the device is always connected to the Internet by using a metered connection on workdays at
21:00, the backup will never start.

Do not start when connected to the following Wi-Fi networks

Prevents a backup (including a backup to a local disk) if the device is connected to any of the
specified wireless networks. You can specify the Wi-Fi network names, also known as service set
identifiers (SSID).

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The restriction applies to all networks that contain the specified name as a substring in their name,
case-insensitive. For example, if you specify "phone" as the network name, the backup will not start
when the device is connected to any of the following networks: "John's iPhone", "phone_wifi", or
"my_PHONE_wifi".

This condition is useful to prevent backups when the device is connected to the Internet by using a
mobile phone hotspot.

As an additional measure to prevent backups over mobile hotspots, the Do not start when
connected to the following Wi-Fi condition is enabled automatically when you enable the Do not
start when on metered connection condition. The following network names are specified by
default: "android", "phone", "mobile", and "modem". You can delete these names from the list by
clicking on the X sign.

Example
Data is backed up every workday at 21:00. If the device is connected to the Internet by using a
mobile hotspot (for example, a laptop is connected in the tethering mode), you want to skip the
backup and wait for the scheduled start on the next workday.

l Schedule: Daily, Run Monday to Friday. Start at: 21:00.

l Condition: Do not start when connected to the following networks, Network name: <SSID
of the hotspot network>.
l Backup start conditions: Skip the scheduled backup.

As a result:

(1) If 21:00 comes and the machine is not connected to the specified network, the backup will start
immediately.

(2) If 21:00 comes and the machine is connected to the specified network, the backup will start on
the next workday.

(3) If the machine is always connected to the specified network on workdays at 21:00, the backup
will never start.

Check device IP address

Prevents a backup (including a backup to a local disk) if any of the device IP addresses are within or
outside of the specified IP address range. The following options are available:

l Start if outside IP range

l Start if within IP range

With either option, you can specify several ranges. Only IPv4 addresses are supported.

This condition is useful in the event of a user being overseas, to avoid large data transit charges.
Also, it helps to prevent backups over a Virtual Private Network (VPN) connection.

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Example
Data is backed up every workday at 21:00. If the device is connected to the corporate network by
using a VPN tunnel (for instance, the user is working from home), you want to skip the backup and
wait until the user brings the device to the office.

l Schedule: Daily, Run Monday to Friday. Start at: 21:00.

l Condition: Check device IP address, Start if outside IP range, From: <beginning of the VPN IP
address range>, To: <end of the VPN IP address range>.
l Backup start conditions: Wait until the conditions are met.

As a result:

(1) If 21:00 comes and the machine IP address is not in the specified range, the backup will start
immediately.

(2) If 21:00 comes and the machine IP address is in the specified range, the backup will start as soon
as the device obtains a non-VPN IP address.

(3) If the machine IP address is always in the specified range on workdays at 21:00, the backup will
never start.

Retention rules
Note
In cloud deployments, some of the features described in this section might not be available or
might be different.

1. Click How long to keep.

2. In Cleanup, choose one of the following:
l By backup age (default)
Specify how long to keep backups created by the backup plan. By default, the retention rules
are specified for each backup set1 separately. If you want to use a single rule for all backups,
click Switch to single rule for all backup sets.
l By number of backups
Specify the maximum number of backups to keep.

1A group of backups to which an individual retention rule can be applied. For the Custom backup scheme, the backup

sets correspond to the backup methods (Full, Differential, and Incremental). In all other cases, the backup sets are
Monthly, Daily, Weekly, and Hourly. A monthly backup is the first backup created after a month starts. A weekly
backup is the first backup created on the day of the week selected in the Weekly backup option (click the gear icon,
then Backup options > Weekly backup). If a weekly backup is the first backup created after a month starts, this backup
is considered monthly. In this case, a weekly backup will be created on the selected day of the next week. A daily
backup is the first backup created after a day starts, unless this backup falls within the definition of a monthly or
weekly backup. An hourly backup is the first backup created after an hour starts, unless this backup falls within the
definition of a monthly, weekly, or daily backup.

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 l By total size of backups
Specify the maximum total size of backups to keep.
This setting is not available with the Always incremental (single-file) backup scheme, or
when backing up to the cloud storage, an SFTP server, or a tape device.
l Keep backups indefinitely
3. Select when to start the cleanup:
l After backup (default)
The retention rules will be applied after a new backup is created.
l Before backup
The retention rules will be applied before a new backup is created.
This setting is not available when backing up Microsoft SQL Server clusters or Microsoft
Exchange Server clusters.

What else you need to know

l The last backup created by the backup plan always will be kept, even if a retention rule violation is
detected. Please do not try to delete the only backup you have by applying the retention rules
before backup.
l Backups stored on tapes are not deleted until the tape is overwritten.
l If, according to the backup scheme and backup format, each backup is stored as a separate file,
this file cannot be deleted until the lifetime of all its dependent (incremental and differential)
backups expires. This requires extra space for storing backups whose deletion is postponed. Also,
the backup age, number, or size of backups may exceed the values you specify.
This behavior can be changed by using the "Backup consolidation" backup option.
l Retention rules are a part of a backup plan. They stop working for a machine's backups as soon
as the backup plan is revoked from the machine, or deleted, or the machine itself is deleted from
the management server. If you no longer need the backups created by the plan, delete them as
described in "Deleting backups".

Encryption
We recommend that you encrypt all backups that are stored in the cloud storage, especially if your
company is subject to regulatory compliance.

Important
There is no way to recover encrypted backups if you lose or forget the password.

Encryption in a backup plan

To enable encryption, specify the encryption settings when creating a backup plan. After a backup
plan is applied, the encryption settings cannot be modified. To use different encryption settings,
create a new backup plan.

To specify the encryption settings in a backup plan

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1. On the backup plan panel, enable the Encryption switch.
2. Specify and confirm the encryption password.
3. Select one of the following encryption algorithms:
l AES 128 – the backups will be encrypted by using the Advanced Encryption Standard (AES)
algorithm with a 128-bit key.
l AES 192 – the backups will be encrypted by using the AES algorithm with a 192-bit key.
l AES 256 – the backups will be encrypted by using the AES algorithm with a 256-bit key.
4. Click OK.

Encryption as a machine property

This option is intended for administrators who handle backups of multiple machines. If you need a
unique encryption password for each machine or if you need to enforce encryption of backups
regardless of the backup plan encryption settings, save the encryption settings on each machine
individually. The backups will be encrypted using the AES algorithm with a 256-bit key.

Saving the encryption settings on a machine affects the backup plans in the following way:

l Backup plans that are already applied to the machine. If the encryption settings in a backup
plan are different, the backups will fail.
l Backup plans that will be applied to the machine later. The encryption settings saved on a
machine will override the encryption settings in a backup plan. Any backup will be encrypted,
even if encryption is disabled in the backup plan settings.

This option can be used on a machine running Agent for VMware. However, be careful if you have
more than one Agent for VMware connected to the same vCenter Server. It is mandatory to use the
same encryption settings for all of the agents, because there is a type of load balancing among
them.

After the encryption settings are saved, they can be changed or reset as described below.

Important
If a backup plan that runs on this machine has already created backups, changing the encryption
settings will cause this plan to fail. To continue backing up, create a new plan.

To save the encryption settings on a machine

1. Log on as an administrator (in Windows) or the root user (in Linux).

2. Run the following script:
l In Windows: <installation_path>\PyShell\bin\acropsh.exe -m manage_creds --set-
password <encryption_password>
Here, <installation_path> is the backup agent installation path. By default, it is
%ProgramFiles%\BackupClient in cloud deployments and %ProgramFiles%\Acronis in
on-premises deployments.
l In Linux: /usr/sbin/acropsh -m manage_creds --set-password <encryption_password>

To reset the encryption settings on a machine

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1. Log on as an administrator (in Windows) or root user (in Linux).
2. Run the following script:
l In Windows: <installation_path>\PyShell\bin\acropsh.exe -m manage_creds --reset
Here, <installation_path> is the backup agent installation path. By default, it is
%ProgramFiles%\BackupClient in cloud deployments and %ProgramFiles%\Acronis in
on-premises deployments.
l In Linux: /usr/sbin/acropsh -m manage_creds --reset

To change the encryption settings by using Backup Monitor

1. Log on as an administrator in Windows or macOS.

2. Click the Backup Monitor icon in the notification area (in Windows) or the menu bar (in macOS).
3. Click the gear icon.
4. Click Encryption.
5. Do one of the following:
l Select Set a specific password for this machine. Specify and confirm the encryption
password.
l Select Use encryption settings specified in the backup plan.
6. Click OK.

How the encryption works

The AES cryptographic algorithm operates in the Cipher-block chaining (CBC) mode and uses a
randomly generated key with a user-defined size of 128, 192 or 256 bits. The larger the key size, the
longer it will take for the program to encrypt the backups and the more secure your data will be.

The encryption key is then encrypted with AES-256 using an SHA-256 hash of the password as a key.
The password itself is not stored anywhere on the disk or in the backups; the password hash is used
for verification purposes. With this two-level security, the backup data is protected from any
unauthorized access, but recovering a lost password is not possible.

Notarization
Note
This functionality is not available in the Standard edition of Acronis Cyber Backup.

Notarization enables you to prove that a file is authentic and unchanged since it was backed up. We
recommend that you enable notarization when backing up your legal document files or other files
that require proved authenticity.

Notarization is available only for file-level backups. Files that have a digital signature are skipped,
because they do not need to be notarized.

Notarization is not available:

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l If the backup format is set to Version 11
l If the backup destination is Secure Zone
l If the backup destination is a managed location with enabled deduplication or encryption

How to use notarization

To enable notarization of all files selected for backup (except for the files that have a digital
signature), enable the Notarization switch when creating a backup plan.

When configuring recovery, the notarized files will be marked with a special icon, and you can verify
the file authenticity.

How it works
During a backup, the agent calculates the hash codes of the backed-up files, builds a hash tree
(based on the folder structure), saves the tree in the backup, and then sends the hash tree root to
the notary service. The notary service saves the hash tree root in the Ethereum blockchain database
to ensure that this value does not change.

When verifying the file authenticity, the agent calculates the hash of the file, and then compares it
with the hash that is stored in the hash tree inside the backup. If these hashes do not match, the file
is considered not authentic. Otherwise, the file authenticity is guaranteed by the hash tree.

To verify that the hash tree itself was not compromised, the agent sends the hash tree root to the
notary service. The notary service compares it with the one stored in the blockchain database. If the
hashes match, the selected file is guaranteed to be authentic. Otherwise, the software displays a
message that the file is not authentic.

Conversion to a virtual machine

Note
In cloud deployments, some of the features described in this section might not be available or
might be different.

Conversion to a virtual machine is available only for disk-level backups. If a backup includes the
system volume and contains all of the information necessary for the operating system to start, the
resulting virtual machine can start on its own. Otherwise, you can add its virtual disks to another
virtual machine.

Conversion methods
l Regular conversion
There are two ways to configure a regular conversion:

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 o Make the conversion a part of a backup plan
The conversion will be performed after each backup (if configured for the primary location) or
after each replication (if configured for the second and further locations).
o Create a separate conversion plan
This method enables you to specify a separate conversion schedule.
l Recovery to a new virtual machine
This method enables you to choose disks for recovery and adjust the settings for each virtual
disk. Use this method to perform the conversion once or occasionally, for example, to perform a
physical-to-virtual migration.

What you need to know about conversion

Supported virtual machine types

Conversion of a backup to a virtual machine can be done by the same agent that created the backup
or by another agent.

To perform a conversion to VMware ESXi or Hyper-V, you need an ESXi or Hyper-V host and a
backup agent (Agent for VMware or Agent for Hyper-V) that manages this host.

Conversion to VHDX files assumes that the files will be connected as virtual disks to a Hyper-V virtual
machine.

The following table summarizes the virtual machine types that can be created by the agents:

VM type Agent for Agent for Agent for Agent for Agent for
VMware Hyper-V Windows Linux Mac

VMware ESXi + – – – –

Microsoft Hyper- – + – – –
V

VMware + + + + –
Workstation

VHDX files + + + + –

Limitations
l Agent for Windows, Agent for VMware (Windows), and Agent for Hyper-V cannot convert backups
stored on NFS.
l Backups stored on NFS or on an SFTP server cannot be converted in a separate conversion plan.
l Backups stored in Secure Zone can be converted only by the agent running on the same machine.
l Backups that contain Linux logical volumes (LVM) can be converted only if they were created by
Agent for VMware or Agent for Hyper-V, and are directed to the same hypervisor. Cross-
hypervisor conversion is not supported.

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l When backups of a Windows machine are converted to VMware Workstation or VHDX files, the
resulting virtual machine inherits the CPU type from the machine that performs the conversion.
As a result, the corresponding CPU drivers are installed in the guest operating system. If started
on a host with a different CPU type, the guest system displays a driver error. Update this driver
manually.

Regular conversion to ESXi and Hyper-V vs. running a virtual machine from a
backup
Both operations provide you with a virtual machine that can be started in seconds if the original
machine fails.

Regular conversion takes CPU and memory resources. Files of the virtual machine constantly occupy
space on the datastore (storage). This may be not practical if a production host is used for
conversion. However, the virtual machine performance is limited only by the host resources.

In the second case, the resources are consumed only while the virtual machine is running. The
datastore (storage) space is required only to keep changes to the virtual disks. However, the virtual
machine may run slower, because the host does not access the virtual disks directly, but
communicates with the agent that reads data from the backup. In addition, the virtual machine is
temporary. Making the machine permanent is possible only for ESXi.

Conversion to a virtual machine in a backup plan

You can configure the conversion to a virtual machine from any backup or replication location that
is present in a backup plan. The conversion will be performed after each backup or replication.

For information about prerequisites and limitations, please refer to "What you need to know about
conversion".

To set up a conversion to a virtual machine in a backup plan

1. Decide from which backup location you want to perform the conversion.
2. On the backup plan panel, click Convert to VM under this location.
3. Enable the Conversion switch.
4. In Convert to, select the type of the target virtual machine. You can select one of the following:
l VMware ESXi
l Microsoft Hyper-V
l VMware Workstation
l VHDX files
5. Do one of the following:
l For VMware ESXi and Hyper-V: click Host, select the target host, and then specify the new
machine name template.
l For other virtual machine types: in Path, specify where to save the virtual machine files and
the file name template.

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 The default name is [Machine Name]_converted.
6. [Optional] Click Agent that will perform conversion, and then select an agent.
This may be the agent that performs the backup (by default) or an agent installed on another
machine. If the latter is the case, the backups must be stored in a shared location such as a
network folder, so that the other machine can access them.
7. [Optional] For VMware ESXi and Hyper-V, you can also do the following:
l Click Datastore for ESXi or Path for Hyper-V, and then select the datastore (storage) for the
virtual machine.
l Change the disk provisioning mode. The default setting is Thin for VMware ESXi and
Dynamically expanding for Hyper-V.
l Click VM settings to change the memory size, the number of processors, and the network
connections of the virtual machine.
8. Click Done.

How regular conversion to VM works

The way the repeated conversions work depends on where you choose to create the virtual
machine.

l If you choose to save the virtual machine as a set of files: each conversion re-creates the
virtual machine from scratch.
l If you choose to create the virtual machine on a virtualization server: when converting an
incremental or differential backup, the software updates the existing virtual machine instead of
re-creating it. Such conversion is normally faster. It saves network traffic and CPU resource of the
host that performs the conversion. If updating the virtual machine is not possible, the software
re-creates it from scratch.

The following is a detailed description of both cases.

If you choose to save the virtual machine as a set of files

As a result of the first conversion, a new virtual machine will be created. Every subsequent
conversion will re-create this machine from scratch. First, the old machine is temporarily renamed.
Then, a new virtual machine is created that has the previous name of the old machine. If this
operation succeeds, the old machine is deleted. If this operation fails, the new machine is deleted
and the old machine is given its previous name. This way, the conversion always ends up with a
single machine. However, extra storage space is required during conversion to store the old
machine.

If you choose to create the virtual machine on a virtualization server

The first conversion creates a new virtual machine. Any subsequent conversion works as follows:

l If there has been a full backup since the last conversion, the virtual machine is re-created from
scratch, as described earlier in this section.

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l Otherwise, the existing virtual machine is updated to reflect changes since the last conversion. If
updating is not possible (for example, if you deleted the intermediate snapshots, see below), the
virtual machine is re-created from scratch.

Intermediate snapshots

To be able to update the virtual machine, the software stores a few intermediate snapshots of it.
They are named Backup… and Replica… and should be kept. Unneeded snapshots are deleted
automatically.

The latest Replica… snapshot corresponds to the result of the latest conversion. You can go to this
snapshot if you want to return the machine to that state; for example, if you worked with the
machine and now want to discard the changes made to it.

Other snapshots are for internal use by the software.

Replication
Note
In cloud deployments, some of the features described in this section might not be available or
might be different.

This section describes backup replication as a part of the backup plan. For information about
creating a separate replication plan, refer to "Off-host data processing".

If you enable backup replication, each backup will be copied to another location immediately after
creation. If earlier backups were not replicated (for example, the network connection was lost), the
software also replicates all of the backups that appeared after the last successful replication.

Replicated backups do not depend on the backups remaining in the original location and vice versa.
You can recover data from any backup, without access to other locations.

Usage examples
l Reliable disaster recovery
Store your backups both on-site (for immediate recovery) and off-site (to secure the backups
from local storage failure or a natural disaster).
l Using the cloud storage to protect data from a natural disaster
Replicate the backups to the cloud storage by transferring only the data changes.
l Keeping only the latest recovery points
Delete older backups from a fast storage according to retention rules, in order to not overuse
expensive storage space.

Supported locations
You can replicate a backup from any of these locations:

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l A local folder
l A network folder
l Secure Zone
l An SFTP server
l Locations managed by a storage node

You can replicate a backup to any of these locations:

l A local folder
l A network folder
l The cloud storage
l An SFTP server
l Locations managed by a storage node
l A tape device

To enable replication of backups

1. On the backup plan panel, click Add location.

The Add location control is shown only if replication is supported from the last selected location.
2. Specify the location where the backups will be replicated.
3. [Optional] In How long to keep, change the retention rules for the chosen location, as described
in "Retention rules".
4. [Optional] In Convert to VM, specify the settings for conversion to a virtual machine, as
described in "Conversion to a virtual machine".
5. [Optional] Click the gear icon > Performance and backup window, and then set the backup
window for the chosen location, as described in "Performance and backup window". These
settings will define the replication performance.
6. [Optional] Repeat steps 1-5 for all locations where you want to replicate the backups. Up to five
consecutive locations are supported, including the primary one.

Considerations for users with the Advanced license

Tip
You can set up replication of backups from the cloud storage by creating a separate replication plan.
For more information, refer to "Off-host data processing".

Restrictions
l Replicating backups from a location managed by a storage node to a local folder is not supported.
A local folder means a folder on the machine with the agent that created the backup.
l Replicating backups to a managed location with enabled deduplication is not supported for
backups that have the Version 12 backup format.

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Which machine performs the operation?
Replicating a backup from any location is initiated by the agent that created the backup and is
performed:

l By that agent, if the location is not managed by a storage node.

l By the corresponding storage node, if the location is managed. However, replication of a backup
from the managed location to the cloud storage is performed by the agent that created the
backup.

As follows from the above description, the operation will be performed only if the machine with the
agent is powered on.

Replicating backups between managed locations

Replicating a backup from one managed location to another managed location is performed by the
storage node.

If deduplication is enabled for the target location (possibly on a different storage node), the source
storage node sends only those blocks of data that are not present in the target location. In other
words, like an agent, the storage node performs deduplication at the source. This saves network
traffic when you replicate data between geographically separated storage nodes.

Starting a backup manually

1. Select a machine that has at least one applied backup plan.
2. Click Backup.
3. If more than one backup plans are applied, select the backup plan.
4. Do one of the following:
l Click Run now. An incremental backup will be created.
l If the backup scheme includes several backup methods, you can choose the method to use.
Click the arrow on the Run now button, and then select Full, Incremental, or Differential.

The first backup created by a backup plan is always full.

The backup progress is shown in the Status column for the machine.

Backup options
Note
In cloud deployments, some of the features described in this section might not be available or
might be different.

To modify the backup options, click the gear icon next to the backup plan name, and then click
Backup options.

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Availability of the backup options
The set of available backup options depends on:

l The environment the agent operates in (Windows, Linux, macOS).

l The type of the data being backed up (disks, files, virtual machines, application data).
l The backup destination (the cloud storage, local or network folder).

The following table summarizes the availability of the backup options.

SQL and
Disk-level File-level Virtual
Exchang
backup backup machines
e

Window macO Window macO Hype Window

Linux Linux ESXi
s S s S r-V s

Alerts + + + + + + + + +

Backup
+ + + + + + + + -
consolidation

Backup file name + + + + + + + + +

Backup format + + + + + + + + +

Backup validation + + + + + + + + +

Changed block
+ - - - - - + + +
tracking (CBT)

Cluster backup
- - - - - - - - +
mode

Compression level + + + + + + + + +

Email notifications + + + + + + + + +

Error handling

Re-attempt, if an
+ + + + + + + + +
error occurs

Do not show
messages and
dialogs while + + + + + + + + +
processing (silent
mode)

Ignore bad sectors + + + + + + + + -

Re-attempt, if an - - - - - - + + -

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error occurs during
VM snapshot
creation

Fast
incremental/differe + + + - - - - - -
ntial backup

File filters + + + + + + + + -

File-level backup
- - - + + + - - -
snapshot

Log truncation - - - - - - + + SQL only

LVM snapshotting - + - - - - - - -

Mount points - - - + - - - - -

Multi-volume
+ + - + + - - - -
snapshot

Performance and
+ + + + + + + + +
backup window

Physical Data
+ + + + + + + + -
Shipping

Pre/Post
+ + + + + + + + +
commands

Pre/Post data
+ + + + + + - - +
capture commands

SAN hardware
- - - - - - + - -
snapshots

Scheduling

Distribute start
times within a time + + + + + + + + +
window

Limit the number of

simultaneously - - - - - - + + -
running backups

Sector-by-sector
+ + - - - - + + -
backup

Splitting + + + + + + + + +

Tape management + + + + + + + + +

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 Task failure
+ + + + + + + + +
handling

Task start
+ + - + + - + + +
conditions

Volume Shadow
+ - - + - - - + +
Copy Service (VSS)

Volume Shadow
Copy Service (VSS) - - - - - - + + -
for virtual machines

Weekly backup + + + + + + + + +

Windows event log + - - + - - + + +

Alerts

No successful backups for a specified number of consecutive days

The preset is: Disabled.

This option determines whether to generate an alert if no successful backups were performed by
the backup plan for a specified period of time. In addition to failed backups, the software counts
backups that did not run on schedule (missed backups).

The alerts are generated on a per-machine basis and are displayed on the Alerts tab.

You can specify the number of consecutive days without backups after which the alert is generated.

Backup consolidation
This option defines whether to consolidate backups during cleanup or to delete entire backup
chains.

The preset is: Disabled.

Consolidation is the process of combining two or more subsequent backups into a single backup.

If this option is enabled, a backup that should be deleted during cleanup is consolidated with the
next dependent backup (incremental or differential).

Otherwise, the backup is retained until all dependent backups become subject to deletion. This
helps avoid the potentially time-consuming consolidation, but requires extra space for storing
backups whose deletion is postponed. The backups' age or number can exceed the values specified
in the retention rules.

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Important
Please be aware that consolidation is just a method of deletion, but not an alternative to deletion.
The resulting backup will not contain data that was present in the deleted backup and was absent
from the retained incremental or differential backup.

This option is not effective if any of the following is true:

l The backup destination is a tape device or the cloud storage.

l The backup scheme is set to Always incremental (single-file).
l The backup format is set to Version 12.

Backups stored on tapes cannot be consolidated. Backups stored in the cloud storage, as well as
single-file backups (both version 11 and 12 formats), are always consolidated because their inner
structure makes for fast and easy consolidation.

However, if version 12 format is used, and multiple backup chains are present (every chain being
stored in a separate .tibx file), consolidation works only within the last chain. Any other chain is
deleted as a whole, except for the first one, which is shrunk to the minimum size to keep the meta
information (~12 KB). This meta information is required to ensure the data consistency during
simultaneous read and write operations. The backups included in these chains disappear from the
GUI as soon as the retention rule is applied, although they physically exist until the entire chain is
deleted.

In all other cases, backups whose deletion is postponed are marked with the trash can icon ( ) in
the GUI. If you delete such a backup by clicking the X sign, consolidation will be performed. Backups
stored on a tape disappear from the GUI only when the tape is overwritten or erased.

Backup file name

This option defines the names of the backup files created by the backup plan.

These names can be seen in a file manager when browsing the backup location.

What is a backup file?

Each backup plan creates one or more files in the backup location, depending on which backup
scheme and which backup format are used. The following table lists the files that can be created per
machine or mailbox.

Always incremental (single-file) Other backup schemes

Version 11 One .tib file and one .xml metadata file Multiple .tib files and one .xml
backup metadata file (traditional format)
format

Version 12 One .tibx file per backup chain (a full or differential

backup backup, and all incremental backups that depend on it)

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 format

All files have the same name, with or without the addition of a timestamp or a sequence number.
You can define this name (referred to as the backup file name) when creating or editing a backup
plan.

Note
Timestamp is added to the backup file name only in the Version 11 backup format.

After you change a backup file name, the next backup will be a full backup, unless you specify a file
name of an existing backup of the same machine. If the latter is the case, a full, incremental, or
differential backup will be created according to the backup plan schedule.

Note that it is possible to set backup file names for locations that cannot be browsed by a file
manager (such as the cloud storage or a tape device). This makes sense if you want to see the
custom names on the Backups tab.

Where can I see backup file names?

Select the Backups tab, and then select the group of backups.

l The default backup file name is shown on the Details panel.

l If you set a non-default backup file name, it will be shown directly on the Backups tab, in the
Name column.

Limitations for backup file names

l A backup file name cannot end with a digit.
In the default backup file name, to prevent the name from ending with a digit, the letter "A" is
appended. When creating a custom name, always make sure that it does not end with a digit.
When using variables, the name must not end with a variable, because a variable might end with
a digit.
l A backup file name cannot contain the following symbols: ()&?*$<>":\|/#, line endings (\n), and
tabs (\t).

Default backup file name

The default backup file name is [Machine Name]-[Plan ID]-[Unique ID]A.

The default backup file name for mailbox backup is [Mailbox ID]_mailbox_[Plan ID]A.

The name consists of the following variables:

l [Machine Name] This variable is replaced with the name of the machine (the same name that is
shown in the backup console) for all types of backed up data, except for Office 365 mailboxes. For
Office 365 mailboxes, it is replaced with the mailbox user's principal name (UPN).

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l [Plan ID] This variable is replaced with a unique identifier of a backup plan. This value does not
change if the plan is renamed.
l [Unique ID] This variable is replaced with a unique identifier of the selected machine or mailbox.
This value does not change if the machine is renamed or the mailbox UPN is changed.
l [Mailbox ID] This variable is replaced with the mailbox UPN.
l "A" is a safeguard letter that is appended to prevent the name from ending with a digit.

The diagram below shows the default backup file name.

The diagram below shows the default backup file name for mailboxes.

Names without variables

If you change the backup file name to MyBackup, the backup files will look like the following
examples. Both examples assume daily incremental backups scheduled at 14:40, starting from
September 13, 2016.

For the Version 12 format with the Always incremental (single-file) backup scheme:

MyBackup.tibx

For the Version 12 format with other backup schemes:

MyBackup.tibx
MyBackup-0001.tibx
MyBackup-0002.tibx
...

For the Version 11 format with the Always incremental (single-file) backup scheme:

MyBackup.xml
MyBackup.tib

For the Version 11 format with other backup schemes:

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 MyBackup.xml
MyBackup_2016_9_13_14_49_20_403F.tib
MyBackup_2016_9_14_14_43_00_221F.tib
MyBackup_2016_9_15_14_45_56_300F.tib
...

Using variables
Besides the variables that are used by default, you can use the [Plan name] variable, which is
replaced with the name of the backup plan.

If multiple machines or mailboxes are selected for backup, the backup file name must contain the
[Machine Name], the [Mailbox ID], or the [Unique ID] variable.

Backup file name vs. simplified file naming

Using plain text and/or variables, you can construct the same file names as in earlier Acronis Cyber
Backup versions. However, simplified file names cannot be reconstructed—in version 12, a file name
will have a time stamp unless a single-file format is used.

Usage examples
l View user-friendly file names
You want to easily distinguish backups when browsing the backup location with a file manager.
l Continue an existing sequence of backups
Let's assume a backup plan is applied to a single machine, and you have to remove this machine
from the backup console or to uninstall the agent along with its configuration settings. After the
machine is re-added or the agent is reinstalled, you can force the backup plan to continue
backing up to the same backup or backup sequence. Just go this option, click Select, and select
the required backup.
The Browse button shows the backups in the location selected in the Where to back up section
of the backup plan panel. It cannot browse anything outside this location.

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l Upgrade from previous product versions
If during the upgrade a backup plan did not migrate automatically, recreate the plan and point it
to the old backup file. If only one machine is selected for backup, click Browse, and then select
the required backup. If multiple machines are selected for backup, re-create the old backup file
name by using variables.

Note
The Select button is only available for backup plans that are created for and applied to a single
device.

Backup format
This option defines the format of the backups created by the backup plan. You can choose between
the new format (Version 12) designed for faster backup and recovery, and the legacy format
(Version 11) preserved for backward compatibility and special cases. After the backup plan is
applied, this option cannot be modified.

This option is not effective for mailbox backups. Mailbox backups always have Version 12 format.

The preset is: Automatic selection.

You can select one of the following:

l Automatic selection
Version 12 will be used unless the backup plan appends backups to the ones created by earlier
product versions.
l Version 12
A new format recommended in most cases for fast backup and recovery. Each backup chain (a
full or differential backup, and all incremental backups that depend on it) is saved to a single .tibx
file.
With this format, the retention rule By total size of backups is not effective.
l Version 11
A legacy format to be used in a new backup plan that appends backups to the ones created by
earlier product versions.
Also, use this format (with any backup scheme except for Always incremental (single-file)) if
you want full, incremental, and differential backups to be separate files.
This format is automatically selected if the backup destination (or a replication destination) is a
managed location with enabled deduplication. If you change the format to Version 12, the
backups will fail.

Note
You cannot back up Database Availability Groups (DAG) by using archive format Version 11.
Backing up of DAG is supported only in archive format Version 12.

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Backup format and backup files
For backup locations that can be browsed with a file manager (such as local or network folders), the
backup format determines the number of files and their extension. You can define the file names by
using the backup file name option. The following table lists the files that can be created per machine
or mailbox.

Always incremental (single-file) Other backup schemes

Version 11 One .tib file and one .xml metadata file Multiple .tib files and one .xml
backup metadata file (traditional format)
format

Version 12 One .tibx file per backup chain (a full or differential

backup backup, and all incremental backups that depend on it)
format

Changing the backup format to version 12 (.tibx)

If you change the backup format from version 11 (.tib format) to version 12 (.tibx format):

l The next backup will be full.

l In backup locations that can be browsed with a file manager (such as local or network folders), a
new .tibx file will be created. The new file will have the name of the original file, appended with
the _v12A suffix.
l Retention rules and replication will be applied only to the new backups.
l The old backups will not be deleted and will remain available on the Backup storage tab. You
can delete them manually.
l The old cloud backups will not consume the Cloud storage quota.
l The old local backups will consume the Local backup quota until you delete them manually.

In-archive deduplication
The backup format of version 12 supports in-archive deduplication that brings the following
advantages:

l Reduced backup size in tens of times, with built-in block-level deduplication for any type of data
l Efficient handling of hard links ensures that there are no storage duplicates
l Hash-based chunking

Note
In-archive deduplication is enabled by default for all backups in .tibx format. You do not have to
enable it in the backup options, and you cannot disable it.

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Backup validation
Validation is an operation that checks the possibility of data recovery from a backup. When this
option is enabled, each backup created by the backup plan is validated immediately after creation.

The preset is: Disabled.

Validation calculates a checksum for every data block that can be recovered from the backup. The
only exception is validation of file-level backups that are located in the cloud storage. These backups
are validated by checking consistency of the metadata saved in the backup.

Validation is a time-consuming process, even for an incremental or differential backup, which are
small in size. This is because the operation validates not only the data physically contained in the
backup, but all of the data recoverable by selecting the backup. This requires access to previously
created backups.

While the successful validation means a high probability of successful recovery, it does not check all
factors that influence the recovery process. If you back up the operating system, we recommend
performing a test recovery under the bootable media to a spare hard drive or running a virtual
machine from the backup in the ESXi or Hyper-V environment.

Task start conditions

This option is effective in Windows and Linux operating systems.

This option determines the program behavior in case a task is about to start (the scheduled time
comes or the event specified in the schedule occurs), but the condition (or any of multiple
conditions) is not met. For more information about conditions refer to "Start conditions".

The preset is: Wait until the conditions from the schedule are met.

Wait until the conditions from the schedule are met

With this setting, the scheduler starts monitoring the conditions and launches the task as soon as
the conditions are met. If the conditions are never met, the task will never start.

To handle the situation when the conditions are not met for too long and further delaying the task is
becoming risky, you can set the time interval after which the task will run irrespective of the
condition. Select the Run the task anyway after check box and specify the time interval. The task
will start as soon as the conditions are met OR the maximum time delay lapses, depending on which
comes first.

Skip the task execution

Delaying a task might be unacceptable, for example, when you need to execute a task strictly at the
specified time. Then it makes sense to skip the task rather than wait for the conditions, especially if
the tasks occur relatively often.

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Changed block tracking (CBT)
This option is effective for disk-level backups of virtual machines and of physical machines running
Windows. It is also effective for backups of Microsoft SQL Server databases and Microsoft Exchange
Server databases.

The preset is: Enabled.

This option determines whether to use Changed Block Tracking (CBT) when performing an
incremental or differential backup.

The CBT technology accelerates the backup process. Changes to the disk or database content are
continuously tracked at the block level. When a backup starts, the changes can be immediately
saved to the backup.

Cluster backup mode

These options are effective for database-level backup of Microsoft SQL Server and Microsoft
Exchange Server.

These options are effective only if the cluster itself (Microsoft SQL Server Always On Availability
Groups (AAG) or Microsoft Exchange Server Database Availability Group (DAG)) is selected for
backup, rather than the individual nodes or databases inside of it. If you select individual items
inside the cluster, the backup will not be cluster-aware and only the selected copies of the items will
be backed up.

Microsoft SQL Server

This option determines the backup mode for SQL Server Always On Availability Groups (AAG). For
this option to be effective, Agent for SQL must be installed on all of the AAG nodes. For more
information about backing up Always On Availability Groups, refer to "Protecting Always On
Availability Groups (AAG)".

The preset is: Secondary replica if possible.

You can choose one of the following:

l Secondary replica if possible

If all secondary replicas are offline, the primary replica is backed up. Backing up the primary
replica may slow down the SQL Server operation, but the data will be backed up in the most
recent state.
l Secondary replica
If all secondary replicas are offline, the backup will fail. Backing up secondary replicas does not
affect the SQL server performance and allows you to extend the backup window. However,
passive replicas may contain information that is not up-to-date, because such replicas are often
set to be updated asynchronously (lagged).
l Primary replica

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 If the primary replica is offline, the backup will fail. Backing up the primary replica may slow down
the SQL Server operation, but the data will be backed up in the most recent state.

Regardless of the value of this option, to ensure the database consistency, the software skips
databases that are not in the SYNCHRONIZED or SYNCHRONIZING states when the backup starts.
If all databases are skipped, the backup fails.

Microsoft Exchange Server

This option determines the backup mode for Exchange Server Database Availability Groups (DAG).
For this option to be effective, Agent for Exchange must be installed on all of the DAG nodes. For
more information about backing up Database Availability Groups, refer to "Protecting Database
Availability Groups (DAG)".

The preset is: Passive copy if possible.

You can choose one of the following:

l Passive copy if possible

If all passive copies are offline, the active copy is backed up. Backing up the active copy may slow
down the Exchange Server operation, but the data will be backed up in the most recent state.
l Passive copy
If all passive copies are offline, the backup will fail. Backing up passive copies does not affect the
Exchange Server performance and allows you to extend the backup window. However, passive
copies may contain information that is not up-to-date, because such copies are often set to be
updated asynchronously (lagged).
l Active copy
If the active copy is offline, the backup will fail. Backing up the active copy may slow down the
Exchange Server operation, but the data will be backed up in the most recent state.

Regardless of the value of this option, to ensure the database consistency, the software skips
databases that are not in the HEALTHY or ACTIVE states when the backup starts. If all databases are
skipped, the backup fails.

Compression level
The option defines the level of compression applied to the data being backed up. The available
levels are: None, Normal, High, Maximum.

The preset is: Normal.

A higher compression level means that the backup process takes longer, but the resulting backup
occupies less space. Currently, the High and Maximum levels work similarly.

The optimal data compression level depends on the type of data being backed up. For example,
even maximum compression will not significantly reduce the backup size if the backup contains
essentially compressed files, such as .jpg, .pdf or .mp3. However, formats such as .doc or .xls will be
compressed well.

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Email notifications
The option enables you to set up email notifications about events that occur during backup.

This option is available only in on-premises deployments. In cloud deployments, the settings are
configured per account when an account is created.

The preset is: Use the system settings.

You can either use the system settings or override them with custom values that will be specific for
this plan only. The system settings are configured as described in "Email notifications".

Important
When the system settings are changed, all backup plans that use the system settings are affected.

Before enabling this option, ensure that the Email server settings are configured.

To customize email notifications for a backup plan

1. Select Customize the settings for this backup plan.

2. In the Recipients' email addresses field, type the destination email address. You can enter
several addresses separated by semicolons.
3. [Optional] In Subject, change the email notification subject.
You can use the following variables:
l [Alert] - alert summary.
l [Device] - device name.
l [Plan] - the name of the plan that generated the alert.
l [ManagementServer] - the host name of the machine where the management server is
installed.
l [Unit] - the name of the unit to which the machine belongs.
The default subject is [Alert] Device: [Device] Plan: [Plan]
4. Select the check boxes for the events that you want to receive notifications about. You can select
from the list of all alerts that occur during backup, grouped by severity.

Error handling
These options enable you to specify how to handle errors that might occur during backup.

Re-attempt, if an error occurs

The preset is: Enabled. Number of attempts: 30. Interval between attempts: 30 seconds.

When a recoverable error occurs, the program re-attempts to perform the unsuccessful operation.
You can set the time interval and the number of attempts. The attempts will be stopped as soon as
the operation succeeds OR the specified number of attempts are performed, depending on which
comes first.

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For example, if the backup destination on the network becomes unavailable or not reachable, the
program will attempt to reach the destination every 30 seconds, but no more than 30 times. The
attempts will be stopped as soon as the connection is resumed OR the specified number of
attempts is performed, depending on which comes first.

Cloud storage
If the cloud storage is selected as a backup destination, the option value is automatically set to
Enabled. Number of attempts: 300. Interval between attempts: 30 seconds.

In this case, the actual number of attempts is unlimited, but the timeout before the backup failure is
calculated as follows: (300 seconds + Interval between attempts) * (Number of attempts + 1).

Examples:

l With the default values, the backup will fail after (300 seconds + 30 seconds) * (300 + 1) = 99330
seconds, or ~27.6 hours.
l If you set Number of attempts to 1 and Interval between attempts to 1 second, the backup
will fail after (300 seconds + 1 second) * (1 + 1) = 602 seconds, or ~10 minutes.

If the calculated timeout exceeds 30 minutes, and the data transfer has not started yet, the actual
timeout is set to 30 minutes.

Do not show messages and dialogs while processing (silent mode)

The preset is: Enabled.

With the silent mode enabled, the program will automatically handle situations requiring user
interaction (except for handling bad sectors, which is defined as a separate option). If an operation
cannot continue without user interaction, it will fail. Details of the operation, including errors, if any,
can be found in the operation log.

Ignore bad sectors

The preset is: Disabled.

When this option is disabled, each time the program comes across a bad sector, the backup activity
will be assigned the Interaction required status. In order to back up the valid information on a
rapidly dying disk, enable ignoring bad sectors. The rest of the data will be backed up and you will
be able to mount the resulting disk backup and extract valid files to another disk.

Re-attempt, if an error occurs during VM snapshot creation

The preset is: Enabled. Number of attempts: 3. Interval between attempts: 5 minutes.

When taking a virtual machine snapshot fails, the program re-attempts to perform the unsuccessful
operation. You can set the time interval and the number of attempts. The attempts will be stopped
as soon as the operation succeeds OR the specified number of attempts are performed, depending
on which comes first.

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Fast incremental/differential backup
This option is effective for incremental and differential disk-level backup.

This option is not effective (always disabled) for volumes formatted with the JFS, ReiserFS3,
ReiserFS4, ReFS, or XFS file systems.

The preset is: Enabled.

Incremental or differential backup captures only data changes. To speed up the backup process, the
program determines whether a file has changed or not by the file size and the date/time when the
file was last modified. Disabling this feature will make the program compare the entire file contents
to those stored in the backup.

File filters
File filters define which files and folders to skip during the backup process.

File filters are available for both disk-level and file-level backup, unless stated otherwise.

To enable file filters

1. Select the data to back up.

2. Click the gear icon next to the backup plan name, and then click Backup options.
3. Select File filters.
4. Use any of the options described below.

Exclude files matching specific criteria

There are two options that function in an inverse manner.

l Back up only files matching the following criteria

Example: If you select to back up the entire machine and specify C:\File.exe in the filter criteria,
only this file will be backed up.

Note
This filter is not effective for file-level backup if Version 11 is selected in Backup format and the
backup destination is NOT cloud storage.

l Do not back up files matching the following criteria

Example: If you select to back up the entire machine and specify C:\File.exe in the filter criteria,
only this file will be skipped.

It is possible to use both options simultaneously. The latter option overrides the former, i.e. if you
specify C:\File.exe in both fields, this file will be skipped during a backup.

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Criteria
l Full path
Specify the full path to the file or folder, starting with the drive letter (when backing up Windows)
or the root directory (when backing up Linux or macOS).
Both in Windows and Linux/macOS, you can use a forward slash in the file or folder path (as in
C:/Temp/File.tmp). In Windows, you can also use the traditional backslash (as in
C:\Temp\File.tmp).
l Name
Specify the name of the file or folder, such as Document.txt. All files and folders with that name
will be selected.

The criteria are not case-sensitive. For example, by specifying C:\Temp, you will also select C:\TEMP,
C:\temp, and so on.

You can use one or more wildcard characters (*, **, and ?) in the criterion. These characters can be
used both within the full path and in the file or folder name.

The asterisk (*) substitutes for zero or more characters in a file name. For example, the criterion
Doc*.txt matches files such as Doc.txt and Document.txt

[Only for backups in the Version 12 format] The double asterisk (**) substitutes for zero or more
characters in a file name and path, including the slash character. For example, the criterion
**/Docs/**.txt matches all txt files in all subfolders of all folders Docs.

The question mark (?) substitutes for exactly one character in a file name. For example, the criterion
Doc?.txt matches files such as Doc1.txt and Docs.txt, but not the files Doc.txt or Doc11.txt

Exclude hidden files and folders

Select this check box to skip files and folders that have the Hidden attribute (for file systems that
are supported by Windows) or that start with a period (.) (for file systems in Linux, such as Ext2 and
Ext3). If a folder is hidden, all of its contents (including files that are not hidden) will be excluded.

Exclude system files and folders

This option is effective only for file systems that are supported by Windows. Select this check box to
skip files and folders with the System attribute. If a folder has the System attribute, all of its
contents (including files that do not have the System attribute) will be excluded.

Note
You can view file or folder attributes in the file/folder properties or by using the attrib command.
For more information, refer to the Help and Support Center in Windows.

File-level backup snapshot

This option is effective only for file-level backup.

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This option defines whether to back up files one by one or by taking an instant data snapshot.

Note
Files that are stored on network shares are always backed up one by one.

The preset is:

l If only machines running Linux are selected for backup: Do not create a snapshot.
l Otherwise: Create snapshot if it is possible.

You can select one of the following:

l Create a snapshot if it is possible

Back up files directly if taking a snapshot is not possible.
l Always create a snapshot
The snapshot enables backing up of all files including files opened for exclusive access. The files
will be backed up at the same point in time. Choose this setting only if these factors are critical,
that is, backing up files without a snapshot does not make sense. If a snapshot cannot be taken,
the backup will fail.
l Do not create a snapshot
Always back up files directly. Trying to back up files that are opened for exclusive access will
result in a read error. Files in the backup may be not time-consistent.

Log truncation
This option is effective for backup of Microsoft SQL Server databases and for disk-level backup with
enabled Microsoft SQL Server application backup.

This option defines whether the SQL Server transaction logs are truncated after a successful backup.

The preset is: Enabled.

When this option is enabled, a database can be recovered only to a point in time of a backup
created by this software. Disable this option if you back up transaction logs by using the native
backup engine of Microsoft SQL Server. You will be able to apply the transaction logs after a
recovery and thus recover a database to any point in time.

LVM snapshotting
This option is effective only for physical machines.

This option is effective for disk-level backup of volumes managed by Linux Logical Volume Manager
(LVM). Such volumes are also called logical volumes.

This option defines how a snapshot of a logical volume is taken. The backup software can do this on
its own or rely on Linux Logical Volume Manager (LVM).

The preset is: By the backup software.

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l By the backup software. The snapshot data is kept mostly in RAM. The backup is faster and
unallocated space on the volume group is not required. Therefore, we recommend changing the
preset only if you are experiencing problems with backing up logical volumes.
l By LVM. The snapshot is stored on unallocated space of the volume group. If the unallocated
space is missing, the snapshot will be taken by the backup software.

Mount points
This option is effective only in Windows for a file-level backup of a data source that includes
mounted volumes or cluster shared volumes.

This option is effective only when you select for backup a folder that is higher in the folder hierarchy
than the mount point. (A mount point is a folder on which an additional volume is logically
attached.)

l If such folder (a parent folder) is selected for backup, and the Mount points option is enabled, all
files located on the mounted volume will be included in the backup. If the Mount points option is
disabled, the mount point in the backup will be empty.
During recovery of a parent folder, the mount point content will or will not be recovered,
depending on whether the Mount points option for recovery is enabled or disabled.
l If you select the mount point directly, or select any folder within the mounted volume, the
selected folders will be considered as ordinary folders. They will be backed up regardless of the
state of the Mount points option and recovered regardless of the state of the Mount points
option for recovery.

The preset is: Disabled.

Note
You can back up Hyper-V virtual machines residing on a cluster shared volume by backing up the
required files or the entire volume with file-level backup. Just power off the virtual machines to be
sure that they are backed up in a consistent state.

Example

Let's assume that the C:\Data1\ folder is a mount point for the mounted volume. The volume
contains folders Folder1 and Folder2. You create a protection plan for file-level backup of your
data.

If you select the check box for volume C and enable the Mount points option, the C:\Data1\ folder
in your backup will contain Folder1 and Folder2. When recovering the backed-up data, be aware of
proper using the Mount points option for recovery.

If you select the check box for volume C, and disable the Mount points option, the C:\Data1\ folder
in your backup will be empty.

If you select the check box for the Data1, Folder1 or Folder2 folder, the checked folders will be
included in the backup as ordinary folders, regardless of the state of the Mount points option.

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Multi-volume snapshot
This option is effective for backups of physical machines running Windows or Linux.

This option applies to disk-level backup. This option also applies to file-level backup when the file-
level backup is performed by taking a snapshot. (The "File-level backup snapshot" option
determines whether a snapshot is taken during file-level backup).

This option determines whether to take snapshots of multiple volumes at the same time or one by
one.

The preset is:

l If at least one machine running Windows is selected for backup: Enabled.

l If no machines are selected (this is the case when you start creating a backup plan from the Plans
> Backup page): Enabled.
l Otherwise: Disabled.

When this option is enabled, snapshots of all volumes being backed up are created simultaneously.
Use this option to create a time-consistent backup of data spanning multiple volumes; for instance,
for an Oracle database.

When this option is disabled, the volumes' snapshots are taken one after the other. As a result, if the
data spans several volumes, the resulting backup may be not consistent.

Performance and backup window

This option enables you to set one of three levels of backup performance (high, low, prohibited) for
every hour within a week. This way, you can define a time window when backups are allowed to
start and run. The high and low performance levels are configurable in terms of the process priority
and output speed.

This option is not available for backups executed by the cloud agents, such as website backups or
backups of servers located on the cloud recovery site.

You can configure this option separately for each location specified in the backup plan. To configure
this option for a replication location, click the gear icon next to the location name, and then click
Performance and backup window.

This option is effective only for the backup and backup replication processes. Post-backup
commands and other operations included in a backup plan (validation, conversion to a virtual
machine) will run regardless of this option.

The preset is: Disabled.

When this option is disabled, backups are allowed to run at any time, with the following parameters
(no matter if the parameters were changed against the preset value):

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l CPU priority: Low (in Windows, corresponds to Below normal).
l Output speed: Unlimited.

When this option is enabled, scheduled backups are allowed or blocked according to the
performance parameters specified for the current hour. At the beginning of an hour when backups
are blocked, a backup process is automatically stopped and an alert is generated.

Even if scheduled backups are blocked, a backup can be started manually. It will use the
performance parameters of the most recent hour when backups were allowed.

Backup window
Each rectangle represents an hour within a week day. Click a rectangle to cycle through the
following states:

l Green: backup is allowed with the parameters specified in the green section below.
l Blue: backup is allowed with the parameters specified in the blue section below.
This state is not available if the backup format is set to Version 11.
l Gray: backup is blocked.

You can click and drag to change the state of multiple rectangles simultaneously.

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CPU priority
This parameter defines the priority of the backup process in the operating system.

The available settings are: Low, Normal, High.

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The priority of a process running in a system determines the amount of CPU and system resources
allocated to that process. Decreasing the backup priority will free more resources for other
applications. Increasing the backup priority might speed up the backup process by requesting the
operating system to allocate more resources like the CPU to the backup application. However, the
resulting effect will depend on the overall CPU usage and other factors like disk in/out speed or
network traffic.

This option sets the priority of the backup process (service_process.exe) in Windows and the
niceness of the backup process (service_process) in Linux and OS X.

Output speed during backup

This parameter enables you to limit the hard drive writing speed (when backing up to a local folder)
or the speed of transferring the backup data through the network (when backing up to a network
share or to cloud storage).

When this option is enabled, you can specify the maximum allowed output speed:

l As a percentage of the estimated writing speed of the destination hard disk (when backing up to a
local folder) or of the estimated maximum speed of the network connection (when backing up to
a network share or cloud storage).
This setting works only if the agent is running in Windows.
l In KB/second (for all destinations).

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Physical Data Shipping
This option is effective if the backup destination is the cloud storage and the backup format is set to
Version 12.

This option is effective for disk-level backups and file backups created by Agent for Windows, Agent
for Linux, Agent for Mac, Agent for VMware, and Agent for Hyper-V. Backups created under bootable
media are not supported.

This option determines whether the first full backup created by the protection plan will be sent to
the cloud storage on a hard disk drive by using the Physical Data Shipping service. The subsequent
incremental backups can be performed over the network.

The preset is: Disabled.

About the Physical Data Shipping service

The Physical Data Shipping service web interface is available only to organization administrators in
on-premises deployments and administrators in cloud deployments.

For detailed instructions about using the Physical Data Shipping service and the order creation tool,
refer to the Physical Data Shipping Administrator's Guide. To access this document in the Physical
Data Shipping service web interface, click the question mark icon.

Overview of the physical data shipping process

1. Create a new protection plan. In this plan, enable the Physical Data Shipping backup option.
You can back up directly to the drive or back up to a local or a network folder, and then
copy/move the backup(s) to the drive.

Important
Once the initial full backup is done, the subsequent backups must be performed by the same
protection plan. Another protection plan, even with the same parameters and for the same
machine, will require another Physical Data Shipping cycle.

2. After the first backup is complete, use the Physical Data Shipping service web interface to
download the order creation tool and create the order.
To access this web interface, do one of the following:
l In on-premises deployments: log in to your Acronis account, and then click Go to Tracking
Console under Physical Data Shipping.
l In cloud deployments: log in to the management portal, click Overview > Usage, and then
click Manage service under Physical Data Shipping.
3. Package the drives and ship them to the data center.

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 Important
Ensure that you follow the packaging instructions provided in the Physical Data Shipping
Administrator's Guide.

4. Track the order status by using the Physical Data Shipping service web interface. Note that the
subsequent backups will fail until the initial backup is uploaded to the cloud storage.

Pre/Post commands
The option enables you to define the commands to be automatically executed before and after the
backup procedure.

The following scheme illustrates when pre/post commands are executed.

Pre-backup Backup Post-backup

command command

Examples of how you can use the pre/post commands:

l Delete some temporary files from the disk before starting backup.
l Configure a third-party antivirus product to be started each time before the backup starts.
l Selectively copy backups to another location. This option may be useful because the replication
configured in a backup plan copies every backup to subsequent locations.

The agent performs the replication after executing the post-backup command.

The program does not support interactive commands, i.e. commands that require user input (for
example, "pause").

Pre-backup command
To specify a command/batch file to be executed before the backup process starts

1. Enable the Execute a command before the backup switch.

2. In the Command... field, type a command or browse to a batch file. The program does not
support interactive commands, i.e. commands that require user input (for example, "pause".)
3. In the Working directory field, specify a path to a directory where the command/batch file will
be executed.
4. In the Arguments field specify the command’s execution arguments, if required.
5. Depending on the result you want to obtain, select the appropriate options as described in the
table below.
6. Click Done.

Selection

Fail the backup if the Selected Cleared Selected Cleared

command execution

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 fails*

Do not back up until Selected Selected Cleared Cleared

the command
execution is complete

Result

Preset Perform the N/A Perform the

Perform the backup after the backup
backup only after command is concurrently with
the command is executed despite the command
successfully execution failure execution and
executed. Fail the or success. irrespective of the
backup if the command
command execution result.
execution fails.

* A command is considered failed if its exit code is not equal to zero.

Post-backup command
To specify a command/executable file to be executed after the backup is completed

1. Enable the Execute a command after the backup switch.

2. In the Command... field, type a command or browse to a batch file.
3. In the Working directory field, specify a path to a directory where the command/batch file will
be executed.
4. In the Arguments field, specify the command execution arguments, if required.
5. Select the Fail the backup if the command execution fails check box if successful execution
of the command is critical for you. The command is considered failed if its exit code is not equal
to zero. If the command execution fails, the backup status will be set to Error.
When the check box is not selected, the command execution result does not affect the backup
failure or success. You can track the command execution result by exploring the Activities tab.
6. Click Done.

Pre/Post data capture commands

The option enables you to define the commands to be automatically executed before and after data
capture (that is, taking the data snapshot). Data capture is performed at the beginning of the backup
procedure.

The following scheme illustrates when the pre/post data capture commands are executed.

<---------------------------- Backup ---------------------------->

Pre-backup Pre-data Data capture Post-data Post-backup

command capture capture command

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 command command

If the Volume Shadow Copy Service option is enabled, the commands' execution and the Microsoft
VSS actions will be sequenced as follows:

"Before data capture” commands -> VSS Suspend -> Data capture -> VSS Resume -> "After data
capture" commands.

By using the pre/post data capture commands, you can suspend and resume a database or
application that is not compatible with VSS. Because the data capture takes seconds, the database
or application idle time will be minimal.

Pre-data capture command

To specify a command/batch file to be executed before data capture

1. Enable the Execute a command before the data capture switch.

2. In the Command... field, type a command or browse to a batch file. The program does not
support interactive commands, i.e. commands that require user input (for example, "pause".)
3. In the Working directory field, specify a path to a directory where the command/batch file will
be executed.
4. In the Arguments field specify the command’s execution arguments, if required.
5. Depending on the result you want to obtain, select the appropriate options as described in the
table below.
6. Click Done.

Check box Selection

Fail the backup if the Selected Cleared Selected Cleared

command execution
fails*

Do not perform the Selected Selected Cleared Cleared

data capture until the
command execution is
complete

Result

Preset Perform the data Perform the data

Perform the data capture after the capture
capture only after command is concurrently with
the command is executed despite the command and
successfully execution failure irrespective of the
executed. Fail the or success. command
backup if the execution result.
command
execution fails.

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* A command is considered failed if its exit code is not equal to zero.

Post-data capture command

To specify a command/batch file to be executed after data capture

1. Enable the Execute a command after the data capture switch.

2. In the Command... field, type a command or browse to a batch file. The program does not
support interactive commands, i.e. commands that require user input (for example, "pause".)
3. In the Working directory field, specify a path to a directory where the command/batch file will
be executed.
4. In the Arguments field specify the command’s execution arguments, if required.
5. Depending on the result you want to obtain, select the appropriate options as described in the
table below.
6. Click Done.

Check box Selection

Fail the backup if Selected Cleared Selected Cleared

the command
execution fails*

Do not back up Selected Selected Cleared Cleared

until the
command
execution is
complete

Result

Preset Continue the backup N/A Continue the backup

Continue the after the command concurrently with
backup only after is executed despite the command
the command is command execution execution and
successfully failure or success. irrespective of the
executed. command execution
result.

* A command is considered failed if its exit code is not equal to zero.

SAN hardware snapshots

This option is effective for backups of VMware ESXi virtual machines.

The preset is: Disabled.

This option determines whether to use the SAN snapshots when performing a backup.

If this option is disabled, the virtual disk content will be read from a VMware snapshot. The snapshot
will be kept for the whole duration of the backup.

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If this option is enabled, the virtual disk content will be read from a SAN snapshot. A VMware
snapshot will be created and kept briefly, to bring the virtual disks into a consistent state. If reading
from a SAN snapshot is not possible, the backup will fail.

Prior to enabling this option, please check and carry out the requirements listed in "Using SAN
hardware snapshots".

Scheduling
This option defines whether backups start as scheduled or with a delay, and how many virtual
machines are backed up simultaneously.

The preset is:

l On-premises deployment: Start all backups exactly as scheduled.

l Cloud deployment: Distribute backup start times within a time window. Maximum delay:
30 minutes.

You can select one of the following:

l Start all backups exactly as scheduled

Backups of physical machines will start exactly as scheduled. Virtual machines will be backed up
one by one.
l Distribute start times within a time window
Backups of physical machines will start with a delay from the scheduled time. The delay value for
each machine is selected randomly and ranges from zero to the maximum value you specify. You
may want to use this setting when backing up multiple machines to a network location, to avoid
excessive network load. The delay value for each machine is determined when the backup plan is
applied to the machine and remains the same until you edit the backup plan and change the
maximum delay value.
Virtual machines will be backed up one by one.
l Limit the number of simultaneously running backups by
This option is available only when a backup plan is applied to multiple virtual machines. This
option defines how many virtual machines an agent can back up simultaneously when executing
the given backup plan.
If, according to the backup plan, an agent has to start backing up multiple machines at once, it
will choose two machines. (To optimize the backup performance, the agent tries to match
machines stored on different storages.) Once any of the two backups is completed, the agent
chooses the third machine and so on.
You can change the number of virtual machines for an agent to simultaneously back up. The
maximum value is 10. However, if the agent executes multiple backup plans that overlap in time,
the numbers specified in their options are added up. You can limit the total number of virtual
machines that an agent can back up simultaneously, no matter how many backup plans are
running.
Backups of physical machines will start exactly as scheduled.

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Sector-by-sector backup
The option is effective only for disk-level backup.

This option defines whether an exact copy of a disk or volume on a physical level is created.

The preset is: Disabled.

If this option is enabled, all disk or volume's sectors will be backed up, including unallocated space
and those sectors that are free of data. The resulting backup will be equal in size to the disk being
backed up (if the "Compression level" option is set to None). The software automatically switches to
the sector-by-sector mode when backing up drives with unrecognized or unsupported file systems.

Note
It will be impossible to perform a recovery of application data from the backups which were created
in the sector-by-sector mode.

Splitting
This option is effective for the Always full; Weekly full, Daily incremental; Monthly full, Weekly
differential, Daily incremental (GFS), and Custom backup schemes.

This option enables you to select the method of splitting of large backups into smaller files.

The preset is: Automatic.

The following settings are available:

l Automatic
A backup will be split if it exceeds the maximum file size supported by the file system.
l Fixed size
Enter the desired file size or select it from the drop-down list.

Tape management
These options are effective when the backup destination is a tape device.

Enable file recovery from disk backups stored on tapes

The preset is: Disabled.

If this check box is selected, at each backup, the software creates supplementary files on a hard disk
of the machine where the tape device is attached. File recovery from disk backups is possible as
long as these supplementary files are intact. The files are deleted automatically when the tape
storing the respective backups is erased, removed or overwritten.

The supplementary files' locations are as follows:

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l In Windows XP and Server 2003: %ALLUSERSPROFILE%\Application
Data\Acronis\BackupAndRecovery\TapeLocation.
l In Windows Vista and later versions of Windows:
%PROGRAMDATA%\Acronis\BackupAndRecovery\TapeLocation.
l In Linux: /var/lib/Acronis/BackupAndRecovery/TapeLocation.

The space occupied by these supplementary files depends on the number of files in the respective
backup. For a full backup of a disk containing approximately 20,000 files (the typical workstation
disk backup), the supplementary files occupy around 150 MB. A full backup of a server containing
250,000 files may produce around 700 MB of supplementary files. So if you are certain that you will
not need to recover individual files, you can leave the check box cleared to save the disk space.

If the supplementary files were not created during backup, or have been deleted, you still can create
them by rescanning the tapes where the backup is stored.

Move a tape back to the slot after each successful backup of each machine
The preset is: Enabled.

If you disable this option, a tape will remain in the drive after an operation using the tape is
completed. Otherwise, the software will move the tape back to the slot where it was before the
operation. If, according to the backup plan, other operations follow the backup (such as the backup
validation or replication to another location), the tape will be moved back to the slot after
completion of these operations.

If both this option and the Eject tapes after each successful backup of each machine option are
enabled, the tape will be ejected.

Eject tapes after each successful backup of each machine

The preset is: Disabled.

When this check box is selected, the software will eject tapes after any successful backup of each
machine. If, according to the backup plan, other operations follow the backup (such as the backup
validation or replication to another location), the tapes will be ejected after completion of these
operations.

Overwrite a tape in the stand-alone tape drive when creating a full backup
The preset is: Disabled.

The option applies only to stand-alone tape drives. When this option is enabled, a tape inserted into
a drive will be overwritten every time a full backup is created.

Use the following tape devices and drives

This option enables you to specify tape devices and tape drives to be used by the backup plan.

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A tape pool contains tapes from all tape devices attached to a machine, be it a storage node or a
machine where a backup agent is installed, or both. When you select a tape pool as a backup
location, you indirectly select the machine to which the tape device(s) are attached. By default,
backups can be written to tapes through any tape drive on any tape device attached to that
machine. If some of the devices or drives are missing or not operational, the backup plan will use
those that are available.

You can click Only selected devices and drives, and then choose tape devices and drives from the
list. By selecting an entire device, you select all of its drives. This means that any of these drives can
be used by the backup plan. If the selected device or drive is missing or is not operational, and no
other devices are selected, the backup will fail.

By using this option, you can control backups performed by multiple agents to a large tape library
with multiple drives. For example, a backup of a large file server or file share may not start if
multiple agents back up their machines during the same backup window, because the agents
occupy all of the drives. If you allow the agents to use, say, drives 2 and 3, drive 1 becomes reserved
for the agent that backs up the share.

Use tape sets within the tape pool selected for backup
The preset is: Disabled.

Tapes within one pool can be grouped into so-called tape sets.

If you leave this option disabled, data will be backed up on all tapes belonging to a pool. If the
option is enabled, you can separate backups according to the predefined or custom rules.

l Use a separate tape set for each (choose a rule: Backup type, Device type, Device name,
Day in month, Day of week, Month of year, Year, Date)
If this variant is selected, you can organize tape sets according to a predefined rule. For example,
you can have separate tape sets for each day of the week or store backups of each machine on a
separate tape set.
l Specify a custom rule for tape sets
If this variant is selected, specify your own rule to organize tape sets. The rule can contain the
following variables:

Variable Variable Available values

syntax description

[Resource Backups of each Names of the machines registered on the management server.
Name] machine will be
stored on a
separate tape set.

[Backup Full, incremental, full, inc, diff

Type] and differential
backups will be
stored on

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 separate tape
sets.

[Resource Backups of Server essentials, Server, Workstation, Physical machine, VMware

Type] machines of each Virtual Machine, Virtual-PC Virtual Machine, Virtual Server Virtual
type will be stored Machine, Hyper-V Virtual Machine, Parallels Virtual Machine, XEN
on a separate tape Virtual Machine, KVM Virtual Machine, RHEV Virtual Machine,
set. Parallels Cloud Virtual Machine

[Day] Backups created 01, 02, 03, ..., 31

on each day of the
month will be
stored on a
separate tape set.

[Weekday] Backups created Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday
on each day of the
week will be
stored on a
separate tape set.

[Month] Backups created January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September,
during each October, November, December
month of the year
will be stored on a
separate tape set.

[Year] Backups created 2017, 2018, ...

during each year
will be stored on a
separate tape set.

l For example, if you specify the rule as [Resource Name]-[Backup Type], you will have a separate
tape set for each full, incremental, and differential backup of each machine to which the backup
plan is applied.

You can also specify tape sets for individual tapes. In this case, the software will first write backups
on tapes whose tape set value coincides with the value of the expression specified in the backup
plan. Then, if necessary, other tapes from the same pool will be taken. After that, if the pool is
replenishable, tapes from the Free tapes pool will be used.

For example, if you specify tape set Monday for Tape 1, Tuesday for Tape 2, etc. and specify [Weekday]
in the backup options, the corresponding tape will be used on the respective day of the week.

Task failure handling

This option determines the program behavior when a scheduled execution of a backup plan fails.
This option is not effective when a backup plan is started manually.

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If this option is enabled, the program will try to execute the backup plan again. You can specify the
number of attempts and the time interval between the attempts. The program stops trying as soon
as an attempt completes successfully OR the specified number of attempts is performed, depending
on which comes first.

The preset is: Disabled.

Volume Shadow Copy Service (VSS)

This option is effective only for Windows operating systems.

The option defines whether a Volume Shadow Copy Service (VSS) provider has to notify VSS-aware
applications that the backup is about to start. This ensures the consistent state of all data used by
the applications; in particular, completion of all database transactions at the moment of taking the
data snapshot by the backup software. Data consistency, in turn, ensures that the application will be
recovered in the correct state and become operational immediately after recovery.

The preset is: Enabled. Automatically select snapshot provider.

You can select one of the following:

l Automatically select snapshot provider

Automatically select among the hardware snapshot provider, software snapshot providers, and
Microsoft Software Shadow Copy provider.
l Use Microsoft Software Shadow Copy provider
We recommend choosing this option when backing up application servers (Microsoft Exchange
Server, Microsoft SQL Server, Microsoft SharePoint, or Active Directory).

Disable this option if your database is incompatible with VSS. Snapshots are taken faster, but data
consistency of the applications whose transactions are not completed at the time of taking a
snapshot cannot be guaranteed. You may use Pre/Post data capture commands to ensure that the
data is backed up in a consistent state. For instance, specify pre-data capture commands that will
suspend the database and flush all caches to ensure that all transactions are completed; and specify
post-data capture commands that will resume the database operations after the snapshot is taken.

Note
If this option is enabled, files and folders that are specified in the HKEY_LOCAL_
MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\BackupRestore\FilesNotToSnapshot registry
key are not backed up. In particular, offline Outlook Data Files (.ost) are not backed up because they
are specified in the OutlookOST value of this key.

Enable VSS full backup

If this option is enabled, logs of Microsoft Exchange Server and of other VSS-aware applications
(except for Microsoft SQL Server) will be truncated after each successful full, incremental or
differential disk-level backup.

The preset is: Disabled.

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Leave this option disabled in the following cases:

l If you use Agent for Exchange or third-party software for backing up the Exchange Server data.
This is because the log truncation will interfere with the consecutive transaction log backups.
l If you use third-party software for backing up the SQL Server data. The reason for this is that the
third-party software will take the resulting disk-level backup for its "own" full backup. As a result,
the next differential backup of the SQL Server data will fail. The backups will continue failing until
the third-party software creates the next "own" full backup.
l If other VSS-aware applications are running on the machine and you need to keep their logs for
any reason.

Enabling this option does not result in the truncation of Microsoft SQL Server logs. To truncate the
SQL Server log after a backup, enable the Log truncation backup option.

Volume Shadow Copy Service (VSS) for virtual machines

This option defines whether quiesced snapshots of virtual machines are taken. To take a quiesced
snapshot, the backup software applies VSS inside a virtual machine by using VMware Tools, Hyper-V
Integration Services, or Virtuozzo Guest Tools.

The preset is: Enabled.

If this option is enabled, transactions of all VSS-aware applications running in a virtual machine are
completed before taking snapshot. If a quiesced snapshot fails after the number of re-attempts
specified in the "Error handling" option, and application backup is disabled, a non-quiesced
snapshot is taken. If application backup is enabled, the backup fails.

If this option is disabled, a non-quiesced snapshot is taken. The virtual machine will be backed up in
a crash-consistent state.

Weekly backup
This option determines which backups are considered "weekly" in retention rules and backup
schemes. A "weekly" backup is the first backup created after a week starts.

The preset is: Monday.

Windows event log

This option is effective only in Windows operating systems.

This option defines whether the agents have to log events of the backup operations in the
Application Event Log of Windows (to see this log, run eventvwr.exe or select Control Panel >
Administrative tools > Event Viewer). You can filter the events to be logged.

The preset is: Disabled.

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Recovery

Recovery cheat sheet

The following table summarizes the available recovery methods. Use the table to choose a recovery
method that best fits your need.

What to recover Recovery method

Physical machine (Windows or Linux) Using the web interface

Using bootable media

Physical machine (Mac) Using bootable media

Virtual machine (VMware or Hyper-V) Using the web interface

Using bootable media

ESXi configuration Using bootable media

Files/Folders Using the web interface

Downloading files from the cloud storage

Using bootable media

Extracting files from local backups

System state Using the web interface

SQL databases Using the web interface

Exchange databases Using the web interface

Exchange mailboxes Using the web interface

Office 365 mailboxes Using the web interface

Oracle databases Using Oracle Explorer tool

Note for Mac users

l Starting with 10.11 El Capitan, certain system files, folders, and processes are flagged for
protection with an extended file attribute com.apple.rootless. This feature is called System
Integrity Protection (SIP). The protected files include preinstalled applications and most of the
folders in /system, /bin, /sbin, /usr.
The protected files and folders cannot be overwritten during a recovery under the operating
system. If you need to overwrite the protected files, perform the recovery under bootable media.
l Starting with macOS Sierra 10.12, rarely used files can be moved to iCloud by the Store in Cloud
feature. Small footprints of these files are kept on the file system. These footprints are backed up
instead of the original files.

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 When you recover a footprint to the original location, it is synchronized with iCloud and the
original file becomes available. When you recover a footprint to a different location, it cannot be
synchronized and the original file will be unavailable.

Creating bootable media

Bootable media is a CD, DVD, USB flash drive, or other removable media that enables you to run the
agent without the help of an operating system. The main purpose of bootable media is to recover
an operating system that cannot start.

We highly recommend that you create and test a bootable media as soon as you start using disk-
level backup. Also, it is a good practice to re-create the media after each major update of the backup
agent.

You can recover either Windows or Linux by using the same media. To recover macOS, create a
separate media on a machine running macOS.

To create bootable media in Windows or Linux

1. Download the bootable media ISO file. To download the file, click the account icon in the top-
right corner > Downloads > Bootable media.
2. Do any of the following:
l Burn a CD/DVD using the ISO file.
l Create a bootable USB flash drive by using the ISO file and one of the free tools available
online.
Use ISO to USB or RUFUS if you need to boot an UEFI machine, Win32DiskImager for a BIOS
machine. In Linux, using the dd utility makes sense.
l Connect the ISO file as a CD/DVD drive to the virtual machine that you want to recover.

Alternatively, you can create bootable media by using Bootable Media Builder.

To create bootable media in macOS

1. On a machine where Agent for Mac is installed, click Applications > Rescue Media Builder.
2. The software displays the connected removable media. Select the one that you want to make
bootable.

Warning!
All data on the disk will be erased.

3. Click Create.
4. Wait while the software creates the bootable media.

Recovering a machine

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Physical machine
This section describes recovery of physical machines by using the web interface.

Use bootable media instead of the web interface if you need to recover:

l macOS
l Any operating system to bare metal or to an offline machine
l The structure of logical volumes (volumes created by Logical Volume Manager in Linux). The
media enables you to recreate the logical volume structure automatically.

Recovery of an operating system requires a reboot. You can choose whether to restart the machine
automatically or assign it the Interaction required status. The recovered operating system goes
online automatically.

To recover a physical machine

1. Select the backed-up machine.

2. Click Recovery.
3. Select a recovery point. Note that recovery points are filtered by location.
If the machine is offline, the recovery points are not displayed. Do any of the following:
l If the backup location is cloud or shared storage (i.e. other agents can access it), click Select
machine, select a target machine that is online, and then select a recovery point.
l Select a recovery point on the Backups tab.
l Recover the machine as described in "Recovering disks by using bootable media".
4. Click Recover > Entire machine.
The software automatically maps the disks from the backup to the disks of the target machine.
To recover to another physical machine, click Target machine, and then select a target machine
that is online.

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5. If you are unsatisfied with the mapping result or if the disk mapping fails, click Disk mapping to
re-map the disks manually.
The mapping section also enables you to choose individual disks or volumes for recovery. You
can switch between recovering disks and volumes by using the Switch to... link in the top-right
corner.

6. Click Start recovery.

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7. Confirm that you want to overwrite the disks with their backed-up versions. Choose whether to
restart the machine automatically.
The recovery progress is shown on the Activities tab.

Physical machine to virtual

This section describes recovery of a physical machine as a virtual machine by using the web
interface. This operation can be performed if at least one Agent for VMware or Agent for Hyper-V is
installed and registered.

For more information about P2V migration, refer to "Machine migration".

To recover a physical machine as a virtual machine

1. Select the backed-up machine.

2. Click Recovery.
3. Select a recovery point. Note that recovery points are filtered by location.
If the machine is offline, the recovery points are not displayed. Do any of the following:
l If the backup location is cloud or shared storage (i.e. other agents can access it), click Select
machine, select a machine that is online, and then select a recovery point.
l Select a recovery point on the Backups tab.
l Recover the machine as described in "Recovering disks by using bootable media".
4. Click Recover > Entire machine.
5. In Recover to, select Virtual machine.
6. Click Target machine.
a. Select the hypervisor (VMware ESXi or Hyper-V).
At least one Agent for VMware or Agent for Hyper-V must be installed.
b. Select whether to recover to a new or existing machine. The new machine option is
preferable as it does not require the disk configuration of the target machine to exactly
match the disk configuration in the backup.
c. Select the host and specify the new machine name, or select an existing target machine.
d. Click OK.
7. [Optional] When recovering to a new machine, you can also do the following:
l Click Datastore for ESXi or Path for Hyper-V, and then select the datastore (storage) for the
virtual machine.
l Click Disk mapping to select the datastore (storage), interface, and provisioning mode for
each virtual disk. The mapping section also enables you to choose individual disks for
recovery.
l Click VM settings to change the memory size, the number of processors, and the network
connections of the virtual machine.

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8. Click Start recovery.
9. When recovering to an existing virtual machine, confirm that you want to overwrite the disks.
The recovery progress is shown on the Activities tab.

Virtual machine
A virtual machine must be stopped during the recovery to this machine. The software stops the
machine without a prompt. When the recovery is completed, you have to start the machine
manually.

This behavior can be changed by using the VM power management recovery option (click Recovery
options > VM power management).

To recover a virtual machine

1. Do one of the following:

l Select a backed-up machine, click Recovery, and then select a recovery point.
l Select a recovery point on the Backups tab.
2. Click Recover > Entire machine.
3. If you want to recover to a physical machine, select Physical machine in Recover to. Otherwise,
skip this step.

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 Recovery to a physical machine is possible only if the disk configuration of the target machine
exactly matches the disk configuration in the backup.
If this is the case, continue to step 4 in "Physical machine". Otherwise, we recommend that you
perform the V2P migration by using bootable media.
4. The software automatically selects the original machine as the target machine.
To recover to another virtual machine, click Target machine, and then do the following:
a. Select the hypervisor (VMware ESXi or Hyper-V).
b. Select whether to recover to a new or existing machine.
c. Select the host and specify the new machine name, or select an existing target machine.
d. Click OK.
5. [Optional] When recovering to a new machine, you can also do the following:
l Click Datastore for ESXi or Path for Hyper-V, and then select the datastore (storage) for the
virtual machine.
l Click Disk mapping to select the datastore (storage), interface, and provisioning mode for
each virtual disk. The mapping section also enables you to choose individual disks for
recovery.
l Click VM settings to change the memory size, the number of processors, and the network
connections of the virtual machine.

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 6. Click Start recovery.
7. When recovering to an existing virtual machine, confirm that you want to overwrite the disks.
The recovery progress is shown on the Activities tab.

Recovering disks by using bootable media

For information about how to create bootable media, refer to "Creating bootable media".

To recover disks by using bootable media

1. Boot the target machine by using bootable media.

2. [For macOS only] If you are recovering APFS-formatted volumes to a non-original machine or to
bare metal, re-create the original disk configuration manually:
a. Click Disk Utility.
b. Re-create the original disk configuration. For instructions, refer to
https://support.apple.com/guide/disk-utility/welcome.
c. Click Disk Utility > Quit Disk Utility.

Note
Starting with macOS 11 Big Sur, the System volume cannot be backed up and recovered. To
recover a bootable macOS system, you need to recover the Data volume, and then to install
macOS on it.

3. Click Manage this machine locally or click Rescue Bootable Media twice, depending on the
media type you are using.
4. If a proxy server is enabled in your network, click Tools > Proxy server, and then specify the
proxy server host name/IP address and port. Otherwise, skip this step.
5. On the welcome screen, click Recover.
6. Click Select data, and then click Browse.

7. Specify the backup location:

l To recover from cloud storage, select Cloud storage. Enter the credentials of the account to
which the backed up machine is assigned.
l To recover from a local or a network folder, browse to the folder under Local folders or
Network folders.
Click OK to confirm your selection.

8. Select the backup from which you want to recover the data. If prompted, type the password for
the backup.
9. In Backup contents, select the disks that you want to recover. Click OK to confirm your
selection.
10. Under Where to recover, the software automatically maps the selected disks to the target disks.
If the mapping is not successful or if you are unsatisfied with the mapping result, you can re-map
disks manually.

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 Note
Changing disk layout may affect the operating system bootability. Please use the original
machine's disk layout unless you feel fully confident of success.

11. [For macOS only] To recover an APFS-formatted Data volume as a bootable macOS system, in
the macOS Installation section, keep the check box Install macOS on the recovered macOS
Data volume selected.
After the recovery, the system reboots and the macOS installation starts automatically. You need
an Internet connection for the installer to download the necessary files.
If you do not need to recover the APFS-formatted Data volume as a bootable system, clear the
Install macOS on the recovered macOS Data volume check box. You can still make this
volume bootable later, by installing macOS on it manually.
12. [For Linux only] If the backed-up machine had logical volumes (LVM) and you want to reproduce
the original LVM structure:
a. Ensure that the number of the target machine disks and each disk capacity are equal to or
exceed those of the original machine, and then click Apply RAID/LVM.
b. Review the volume structure, and then click Apply RAID/LVM to create it.
13. [Optional] Click Recovery options to specify additional settings.
14. Click OK to start the recovery.

Using Universal Restore

The most recent operating systems remain bootable when recovered to dissimilar hardware,
including the VMware or Hyper-V platforms. If a recovered operating system does not boot, use the
Universal Restore tool to update the drivers and modules that are critical for the operating system
startup.

Universal Restore is applicable to Windows and Linux.

To apply Universal Restore

1. Boot the machine from the bootable media.

2. Click Apply Universal Restore.
3. If there are multiple operating systems on the machine, choose the one to apply Universal
Restore to.
4. [For Windows only] Configure the additional settings.
5. Click OK.

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Universal Restore in Windows

Preparation

Prepare drivers
Before applying Universal Restore to a Windows operating system, make sure that you have the
drivers for the new HDD controller and the chipset. These drivers are critical to start the operating
system. Use the CD or DVD supplied by the hardware vendor or download the drivers from the
vendor’s website. The driver files should have the *.inf extension. If you download the drivers in the
*.exe, *.cab or *.zip format, extract them using a third-party application.

The best practice is to store drivers for all the hardware used in your organization in a single
repository sorted by device type or by the hardware configurations. You can keep a copy of the
repository on a DVD or a flash drive; pick some drivers and add them to the bootable media; create
the custom bootable media with the necessary drivers (and the necessary network configuration)
for each of your servers. Or, you can simply specify the path to the repository every time Universal
Restore is used.

Check access to the drivers in bootable environment

Make sure you have access to the device with drivers when working under bootable media. Use
WinPE-based media if the device is available in Windows but Linux-based media does not detect it.

Universal Restore settings

Automatic driver search

Specify where the program will search for the Hardware Abstraction Layer (HAL), HDD controller
driver and network adapter driver(s):

l If the drivers are on a vendor's disc or other removable media, turn on the Search removable
media.
l If the drivers are located in a networked folder or on the bootable media, specify the path to the
folder by clicking Add folder.

In addition, Universal Restore will search the Windows default driver storage folder. Its location is
determined in the registry value DevicePath, which can be found in the registry key HKEY_LOCAL_
MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion. This storage folder is usually
WINDOWS/inf.

Universal Restore will perform the recursive search in all the sub-folders of the specified folder, find
the most suitable HAL and HDD controller drivers of all those available, and install them into the
system. Universal Restore also searches for the network adapter driver; the path to the found driver
is then transmitted by Universal Restore to the operating system. If the hardware has multiple
network interface cards, Universal Restore will try to configure all the cards' drivers.

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Mass storage drivers to install anyway
You need this setting if:

l The hardware has a specific mass storage controller such as RAID (especially NVIDIA RAID) or a
fibre channel adapter.
l You migrated a system to a virtual machine that uses a SCSI hard drive controller. Use SCSI
drivers bundled with your virtualization software or download the latest drivers versions from the
software manufacturer website.
l If the automatic drivers search does not help to boot the system.

Specify the appropriate drivers by clicking Add driver. The drivers defined here will be installed,
with appropriate warnings, even if the program finds a better driver.

Universal Restore process

After you have specified the required settings, click OK.

If Universal Restore cannot find a compatible driver in the specified locations, it will display a
prompt about the problem device. Do one of the following:

l Add the driver to any of the previously specified locations and click Retry.
l If you do not remember the location, click Ignore to continue the process. If the result is not
satisfactory, reapply Universal Restore. When configuring the operation, specify the necessary
driver.

Once Windows boots, it will initialize the standard procedure for installing new hardware. The
network adapter driver will be installed silently if the driver has the Microsoft Windows signature.
Otherwise, Windows will ask for confirmation on whether to install the unsigned driver.

After that, you will be able to configure the network connection and specify drivers for the video
adapter, USB and other devices.

Universal Restore in Linux

Universal Restore can be applied to Linux operating systems with a kernel version of 2.6.8 or later.

When Universal Restore is applied to a Linux operating system, it updates a temporary file system
known as the initial RAM disk (initrd). This ensures that the operating system can boot on the new
hardware.

Universal Restore adds modules for the new hardware (including device drivers) to the initial RAM
disk. As a rule, it finds the necessary modules in the /lib/modules directory. If Universal Restore
cannot find a module it needs, it records the module’s file name into the log.

Universal Restore may modify the configuration of the GRUB boot loader. This may be required, for
example, to ensure the system bootability when the new machine has a different volume layout
than the original machine.

Universal Restore never modifies the Linux kernel.

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Reverting to the original initial RAM disk
You can revert to the original initial RAM disk if necessary.

The initial RAM disk is stored on the machine in a file. Before updating the initial RAM disk for the
first time, Universal Restore saves a copy of it to the same directory. The name of the copy is the
name of the file, followed by the _acronis_backup.img suffix. This copy will not be overwritten if
you run Universal Restore more than once (for example, after you have added missing drivers).

To revert to the original initial RAM disk, do any of the following:

l Rename the copy accordingly. For example, run a command similar to the following:

mv initrd-2.6.16.60-0.21-default_acronis_backup.img initrd-2.6.16.60-0.21-default

l Specify the copy in the initrd line of the GRUB boot loader configuration.

Recovering files

Recovering files by using the web interface

1. Select the machine that originally contained the data that you want to recover.
2. Click Recovery.
3. Select the recovery point. Note that recovery points are filtered by location.
If the selected machine is physical and it is offline, recovery points are not displayed. Do one of
the following:
l [Recommended] If the backup location is cloud or shared storage (i.e. other agents can access
it), click Select machine, select a target machine that is online, and then select a recovery
point.
l Select a recovery point on the Backups tab.
l Download the files from the cloud storage.
l Use bootable media.
4. Click Recover > Files/folders.
5. Browse to the required folder or use search to obtain the list of the required files and folders.
You can use one or more wildcard characters (* and ?). For more details about using wildcards,
refer to "File filters"

Note
Search is not available for disk-level backups that are stored in the cloud storage.

6. Select the files that you want to recover.

7. If you want to save the files as a .zip file, click Download, select the location to save the data to,
and click Save. Otherwise, skip this step.
8. Click Recover.

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 In Recover to, you see one of the following:
l The machine that originally contained the files that you want to recover (if an agent is installed
on this machine).
l The machine where Agent for VMware or Agent for Hyper-V is installed (if the files originate
from an ESXi or Hyper-V virtual machine).
This is the target machine for the recovery. You can select another machine, if necessary.
9. In Path, select the recovery destination. You can select one of the following:
l The original location (when recovering to the original machine)
l A local folder on the target machine

Note
Symbolic links are not supported.

l A network folder that is accessible from the target machine.

10. Click Start recovery.
11. Select one of the file overwriting options:
l Overwrite existing files
l Overwrite an existing file if it is older
l Do not overwrite existing files
The recovery progress is shown on the Activities tab.

Downloading files from the cloud storage

You can browse the cloud storage, view the contents of the backups, and download files that you
need.

Limitations
l Backups of system state, SQL databases, and Exchange databases cannot be browsed.
l For a better downloading experience, download no more than 100 MB at a time. To quickly
retrieve larger amounts of data from the cloud, use the file recovery procedure.

To download files from the cloud storage

1. Select a machine that was backed up.

2. Click Recover > More ways to recover... > Download files.
3. Enter the credentials of the account to which the backed up machine is assigned.
4. [When browsing disk-level backups] Under Versions, click the backup from which you want to
recover the files.

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 [When browsing file-level backups] You can select the backup date and time in the next step,
under the gear icon located to the right of the selected file. By default, files are recovered from
the latest backup.
5. Browse to the required folder or use search to obtain the list of the required files.

6. Select the check boxes for the items you need to recover, and then click Download.
If you select a single file, it will be downloaded as is. Otherwise, the selected data will be archived
into a .zip file.
7. Select the location to save the data to, and then click Save.

Verifying file authenticity with Notary Service

If notarization was enabled during backup, you can verify the authenticity of a backed-up file.

To verify the file authenticity

1. Select the file as described in steps 1-6 of the "Recovering files by using the web interface"
section, or steps 1-5 of the "Downloading files from the cloud storage" section.

2. Ensure that the selected file is marked with the following icon: . This means that the file is
notarized.
3. Do one of the following:
l Click Verify.
The software checks the file authenticity and displays the result.
l Click Get certificate.

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 A certificate that confirms the file notarization is opened in a web browser window. The
window also contains instructions that allow you to verify the file authenticity manually.

Signing a file with ASign

ASign is a service that allows multiple people to sign a backed-up file electronically. This feature is
available only for file-level backups stored in the cloud storage.

Only one file version can be signed at a time. If the file was backed up multiple times, you must
choose the version to sign, and only this version will be signed.

For example, ASign can be used for electronic signing of the following files:

l Rental or lease agreements

l Sales contracts
l Asset purchase agreements
l Loan agreements
l Permission slips
l Financial documents
l Insurance documents
l Liability waivers
l Healthcare documents
l Research papers
l Certificates of product authenticity
l Nondisclosure agreements
l Offer letters
l Confidentiality agreements
l Independent contractor agreements

To sign a file version

1. Select the file as described in steps 1-6 of the "Recovering files by using the web interface"
section.
2. Ensure that the correct date and time is selected on the left panel.
3. Click Sign this file version.
4. Specify the password for the cloud storage account under which the backup is stored. The login
of the account is displayed in the prompt window.
The ASign service interface is opened in a web browser window.
5. Add other signees by specifying their email addresses. It is not possible to add or remove signees
after sending invitations, so ensure that the list includes everyone whose signature is required.
6. Click Invite to sign to send invitations to the signees.
Each signee receives an email message with the signature request. When all the requested
signees sign the file, it is notarized and signed through the notary service.

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 You will receive notifications when each signee signs the file and when the entire process is
complete. You can access the ASign web page by clicking View details in any of the email
messages that you receive.
7. Once the process is complete, go to the ASign web page and click Get document to download a
.pdf document that contains:
l The Signature Certificate page with the collected signatures.
l The Audit Trail page with history of activities: when the invitation was sent to the signees,
when each signee signed the file, and so on.

Recovering files by using bootable media

For information about how to create bootable media, refer to "Creating bootable media".

To recover files by using bootable media

1. Boot the target machine by using the bootable media.

2. Click Manage this machine locally or click Rescue Bootable Media twice, depending on the
media type you are using.
3. If a proxy server is enabled in your network, click Tools > Proxy server, and then specify the
proxy server host name/IP address and port. Otherwise, skip this step.
4. On the welcome screen, click Recover.
5. Click Select data, and then click Browse.

6. Specify the backup location:

l To recover from cloud storage, select Cloud storage. Enter the credentials of the account to
which the backed up machine is assigned.
l To recover from a local or a network folder, browse to the folder under Local folders or
Network folders.
Click OK to confirm your selection.

7. Select the backup from which you want to recover the data. If prompted, type the password for
the backup.
8. In Backup contents, select Folders/files.
9. Select the data that you want to recover. Click OK to confirm your selection.
10. Under Where to recover, specify a folder. Optionally, you can prohibit overwriting of newer
versions of files or exclude some files from recovery.
11. Click Recovery options to specify additional settings.
12. Click OK to start the recovery.

Note
Tape Location takes a lot of space and might not fit in RAM when you rescan and recover under
Linux bootable media and WinPE bootable media. For Linux, you have to mount another location to
save the data on a disk or share. See Acronis Cyber Backup Advanced: Changing the TapeLocation
Folder (KB 27445). For Windows PE, there is no workaround at the moment.

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Extracting files from local backups
You can browse the contents of backups and extract files that you need.

Requirements
l This functionality is available only in Windows by using File Explorer.
l A backup agent must be installed on the machine from which you browse a backup.
l The backed-up file system must be one of the following: FAT16, FAT32, NTFS, ReFS, Ext2, Ext3,
Ext4, XFS, or HFS+.
l The backup must be stored in a local folder or on a network share (SMB/CIFS).

To extract files from a backup

1. Browse to the backup location by using File Explorer.

2. Double-click the backup file. The file names are based on the following template:
<machine name> - <backup plan GUID>
3. If the backup is encrypted, enter the encryption password. Otherwise, skip this step.
File Explorer displays the recovery points.
4. Double-click the recovery point.
File Explorer displays the backed-up data.
5. Browse to the required folder.
6. Copy the required files to any folder on the file system.

Recovering system state

1. Select the machine for which you want to recover the system state.
2. Click Recovery.
3. Select a system state recovery point. Note that recovery points are filtered by location.
4. Click Recover system state.
5. Confirm that you want to overwrite the system state with its backed-up version.
The recovery progress is shown on the Activities tab.

Recovering ESXi configuration

To recover an ESXi configuration, you need Linux-based bootable media. For information about how
to create bootable media, refer to "Creating bootable media".

If you are recovering an ESXi configuration to a non-original host and the original ESXi host is still
connected to the vCenter Server, disconnect and remove this host from the vCenter Server to avoid
unexpected issues during the recovery. If you want to keep the original host along with the
recovered one, you can add it again after the recovery is complete.

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 The virtual machines running on the host are not included in an ESXi configuration backup. They can
be backed up and recovered separately.

To recover an ESXi configuration

1. Boot the target machine by using the bootable media.

2. Click Manage this machine locally.
3. On the welcome screen, click Recover.
4. Click Select data, and then click Browse.
5. Specify the backup location:
l Browse to the folder under Local folders or Network folders.
Click OK to confirm your selection.
6. In Show, select ESXi configurations.
7. Select the backup from which you want to recover the data. If prompted, type the password for
the backup.
8. Click OK.
9. In Disks to be used for new datastores, do the following:
l Under Recover ESXi to, select the disk where the host configuration will be recovered. If you
are recovering the configuration to the original host, the original disk is selected by default.
l [Optional] Under Use for new datastore, select the disks where new datastores will be
created. Be careful because all data on the selected disks will be lost. If you want to preserve
the virtual machines in the existing datastores, do not select any disks.
10. If any disks for new datastores are selected, select the datastore creation method in How to
create new datastores: Create one datastore per disk or Create one datastore on all
selected HDDs.
11. [Optional] In Network mapping, change the result of automatic mapping of the virtual switches
present in the backup to the physical network adapters.
12. [Optional] Click Recovery options to specify additional settings.
13. Click OK to start the recovery.

Recovery options
To modify the recovery options, click Recovery options when configuring recovery.

Availability of the recovery options

The set of available recovery options depends on:

l The environment the agent that performs recovery operates in (Windows, Linux, macOS, or
bootable media).
l The type of data being recovered (disks, files, virtual machines, application data).

The following table summarizes the availability of the recovery options.

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 Disks Files Virtual SQL and
machine Exchang
s e

Window Linux Bootabl Window Linux macOS Bootabl ESXi and Windows
s e s e Hyper-V
media media

Backup + + + + + + + + +
validation

Boot mode + - - - - - - + -

Date and - - - + + + + - -
time for
files

Error + + + + + + + + +
handling

File - - - + + + + - -
exclusions

Flashback + + + - - - - + -

Full path - - - + + + + - -
recovery

Mount - - - + - - - - -
points

Performanc + + - + + + - + +
e

Pre/post + + - + + + - + +
commands

SID + - - - - - - - -
changing

VM power - - - - - - - + -
manageme
nt

Windows + - - + - - - Hyper-V +
event log only

Power on - - - - - - + - -
after
recovery

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Backup validation
This option defines whether to validate a backup to ensure that the backup is not corrupted, before
data is recovered from it.

The preset is: Disabled.

Validation calculates a checksum for every data block saved in the backup. The only exception is
validation of file-level backups that are located in the cloud storage. These backups are validated by
checking consistency of the meta information saved in the backup.

Validation is a time-consuming process, even for an incremental or differential backup, which are
small in size. This is because the operation validates not only the data physically contained in the
backup, but all of the data recoverable by selecting the backup. This requires access to previously
created backups.

Note
Validation is available for cloud storage located in an Acronis data center and provided by Acronis
partners.

Boot mode
This option is effective when recovering a physical or a virtual machine from a disk-level backup that
contains a Windows operating system.

This option enables you to select the boot mode (BIOS or UEFI) that Windows will use after the
recovery. If the boot mode of the original machine is different from the selected boot mode, the
software will:

l Initialize the disk to which you are recovering the system volume, according to the selected boot
mode (MBR for BIOS, GPT for UEFI).
l Adjust the Windows operating system so that it can start using the selected boot mode.

The preset is: As on the target machine.

You can choose one of the following:

l As on the target machine

The agent that is running on the target machine detects the boot mode currently used by
Windows and makes the adjustments according to the detected boot mode.
This is the safest value that automatically results in bootable system unless the limitations listed
below apply. Since the Boot mode option is absent under bootable media, the agent on media
always behaves as if this value is chosen.
l As on the backed-up machine
The agent that is running on the target machine reads the boot mode from the backup and
makes the adjustments according to this boot mode. This helps you recover a system on a

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 different machine, even if this machine uses another boot mode, and then replace the disk in the
backed-up machine.
l BIOS
The agent that is running on the target machine makes the adjustments to use BIOS.
l UEFI
The agent that is running on the target machine makes the adjustments to use UEFI.

Once a setting is changed, the disk mapping procedure will be repeated. This will take some time.

Recommendations
If you need to transfer Windows between UEFI and BIOS:

l Recover the entire disk where the system volume is located. If you recover only the system
volume on top of an existing volume, the agent will not be able to initialize the target disk
properly.
l Remember that BIOS does not allow using more than 2 TB of disk space.

Limitations
l Transferring between UEFI and BIOS is supported for:
o 64-bit Windows operating systems starting with Windows Vista SP1
o 64-bit Windows Server operating systems starting with Windows Server 2008 SP1
l Transferring between UEFI and BIOS is not supported if the backup is stored on a tape device.

When transferring a system between UEFI and BIOS is not supported, the agent behaves as if the As
on the backed-up machine setting is chosen. If the target machine supports both UEFI and BIOS,
you need to manually enable the boot mode corresponding to the original machine. Otherwise, the
system will not boot.

Date and time for files

This option is effective only when recovering files.

This option defines whether to recover the files' date and time from the backup or assign the files
the current date and time.

If this option is enabled, the files will be assigned the current date and time.

The preset is: Enabled.

Error handling
These options enable you to specify how to handle errors that might occur during recovery.

Re-attempt, if an error occurs

The preset is: Enabled. Number of attempts: 30. Interval between attempts: 30 seconds.

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When a recoverable error occurs, the program re-attempts to perform the unsuccessful operation.
You can set the time interval and the number of attempts. The attempts will be stopped as soon as
the operation succeeds OR the specified number of attempts are performed, depending on which
comes first.

Do not show messages and dialogs while processing (silent mode)

The preset is: Disabled.

With the silent mode enabled, the program will automatically handle situations requiring user
interaction where possible. If an operation cannot continue without user interaction, it will fail.
Details of the operation, including errors, if any, can be found in the operation log.

Save system information if a recovery with reboot fails

This option is effective for a disk or volume recovery to a physical machine running Windows or
Linux.

The preset is: Disabled.

When this option is enabled, you can specify a folder on the local disk (including flash or HDD drives
attached to the target machine) or on a network share where the log, system information, and crash
dump files will be saved. This file will help the technical support personnel to identify the problem.

File exclusions
This option is effective only when recovering files.

The option defines which files and folders to skip during the recovery process and thus exclude
from the list of recovered items.

Note
Exclusions override the selection of data items to recover. For example, if you select to recover file
MyFile.tmp and to exclude all .tmp files, file MyFile.tmp will not be recovered.

File-level security
This option is effective when recovering files from disk- and file-level backups of NTFS-formatted
volumes.

This option defines whether to recover NTFS permissions for files along with the files.

The preset is: Enabled.

You can choose whether to recover the permissions or let the files inherit their NTFS permissions
from the folder to which they are recovered.

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Flashback
This option is effective when recovering disks and volumes on physical and virtual machines, except
for Mac.

If the option is enabled, only the differences between the data in the backup and the target disk
data are recovered. This accelerates data recovery to the same disk as was backed up, especially if
the volume layout of the disk has not changed. The data is compared at the block level.

For physical machines, comparing the data at the block level is a time-consuming operation. If the
connection to the backup storage is fast, it will take less time to recover the entire disk than to
calculate the data differences. Therefore, we recommend that you enable this option only if the
connection to the backup storage is slow (for example, if the backup is stored in the cloud storage
or on a remote network folder).

When recovering a physical machine, the preset depends on the backup location:

l If the backup location is the cloud storage, the preset is: Enabled.
l For other backup locations, the preset is: Disabled.

When recovering a virtual machine, the preset is: Enabled.

Full path recovery

This option is effective only when recovering data from a file-level backup.

If this option is enabled, the full path to the file will be re-created in the target location.

The preset is: Disabled.

Mount points
This option is effective only in Windows for recovering data from a file-level backup.

Enable this option to recover files and folders that were stored on the mounted volumes and were
backed up with the enabled Mount points option.

The preset is: Disabled.

This option is effective only when you select for recovery a folder that is higher in the folder
hierarchy than the mount point. If you select for recovery folders within the mount point or the
mount point itself, the selected items will be recovered regardless of the Mount points option
value.

Note
Please be aware that if the volume is not mounted at the moment of recovery, the data will be
recovered directly to the folder that has been the mount point at the time of backing up.

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Performance
This option defines the priority of the recovery process in the operating system.

The available settings are: Low, Normal, High.

The preset is: Normal.

The priority of a process running in a system determines the amount of CPU and system resources
allocated to that process. Decreasing the recovery priority will free more resources for other
applications. Increasing the recovery priority might speed up the recovery process by requesting the
operating system to allocate more resources to the application that will perform the recovery.
However, the resulting effect will depend on the overall CPU usage and other factors like disk I/O
speed or network traffic.

Pre/Post commands
The option enables you to define the commands to be automatically executed before and after the
data recovery.

Example of how you can use the pre/post commands:

l Launch the Checkdisk command in order to find and fix logical file system errors, physical errors
or bad sectors to be started before the recovery starts or after the recovery ends.

The program does not support interactive commands, i.e. commands that require user input (for
example, "pause".)

A post-recovery command will not be executed if the recovery proceeds with reboot.

Pre-recovery command
To specify a command/batch file to be executed before the recovery process starts

1. Enable the Execute a command before the recovery switch.

2. In the Command... field, type a command or browse to a batch file. The program does not
support interactive commands, i.e. commands that require user input (for example, "pause".)
3. In the Working directory field, specify a path to a directory where the command/batch file will
be executed.
4. In the Arguments field specify the command’s execution arguments, if required.
5. Depending on the result you want to obtain, select the appropriate options as described in the
table below.
6. Click Done.

Check box Selection

Fail the recovery if the Selected Cleared Selected Cleared

command execution

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 fails*

Do not recover until Selected Selected Cleared Cleared

the command
execution is complete

Result

Preset Perform the N/A Perform the

Perform the recovery after the recovery
recovery only after command is concurrently with
the command is executed despite the command
successfully execution failure execution and
executed. Fail the or success. irrespective of the
recovery if the command
command execution result.
execution failed.

* A command is considered failed if its exit code is not equal to zero.

Post-recovery command
To specify a command/executable file to be executed after the recovery is completed

1. Enable the Execute a command after the recovery switch.

2. In the Command... field, type a command or browse to a batch file.
3. In the Working directory field, specify a path to a directory where the command/batch file will
be executed.
4. In the Arguments field, specify the command execution arguments, if required.
5. Select the Fail the recovery if the command execution fails check box if successful execution
of the command is critical for you. The command is considered failed if its exit code is not equal
to zero. If the command execution fails, the recovery status will be set to Error.
When the check box is not selected, the command execution result does not affect the recovery
failure or success. You can track the command execution result by exploring the Activities tab.
6. Click Done.

Note
A post-recovery command will not be executed if the recovery proceeds with reboot.

SID changing
This option is effective when recovering Windows 8.1/Windows Server 2012 R2 or earlier.

This option is not effective when recovery to a virtual machine is performed by Agent for VMware or
Agent for Hyper-V.

The preset is: Disabled.

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The software can generate a unique security identifier (Computer SID) for the recovered operating
system. You only need this option to ensure operability of third-party software that depends on
Computer SID.

Microsoft does not officially support changing SID on a deployed or recovered system. So use this
option at your own risk.

VM power management
These options are effective when recovery to a virtual machine is performed by Agent for VMware
or Agent for Hyper-V.

Power off target virtual machines when starting recovery

The preset is: Enabled.

Recovery to an existing virtual machine is not possible if the machine is online, and so the machine
is powered off automatically as soon as the recovery starts. Users will be disconnected from the
machine and any unsaved data will be lost.

Clear the check box for this option if you prefer to power off virtual machines manually before the
recovery.

Power on the target virtual machine when recovery is complete

The preset is: Disabled.

After a machine is recovered from a backup to another machine, there is a chance the existing
machine's replica will appear on the network. To be on the safe side, power on the recovered virtual
machine manually, after you take the necessary precautions.

Windows event log

This option is effective only in Windows operating systems.

This option defines whether the agents have to log events of the recovery operations in the
Application Event Log of Windows (to see this log, run eventvwr.exe or select Control Panel >
Administrative tools > Event Viewer). You can filter the events to be logged.

The preset is: Disabled.

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Disaster recovery
This feature is available only in cloud deployments of Acronis Cyber Backup. For a detailed
description of this functionality, please refer to
https://www.acronis.com/support/documentation/DisasterRecovery/index.html#43224.html.

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Operations with backups

The Backups tab

The Backups tab shows backups of all machines ever registered on the management server. This
includes offline machines and machines that are no longer registered.

Backups that are stored in a shared location (such as an SMB or NFS share) are visible to all users
that have the read permission for the location.

In Windows, backup files inherit the access permissions from their parent folder. Therefore, it is
recommended to restrict the read permissions for this folder.

In the cloud storage, users have access only to their own backups. In a cloud deployment, an
administrator can view backups on behalf of any account that belongs to the same group and its
child groups. This account is indirectly chosen in Machine to browse from. The Backups tab
shows backups of all machines ever registered under the same account as this machine is
registered.

Backup locations that are used in backup plans are automatically added to the Backups tab. To add
a custom folder (for example, a detachable USB device) to the list of backup locations, click Browse
and specify the folder path.

To select a recovery point by using the Backups tab

1. On the Backups tab, select the location where the backups are stored.
The software displays all backups that your account is allowed to view in the selected location.
The backups are combined in groups. The group names are based on the following template:
<machine name> - <backup plan name>
2. Select a group from which you want to recover the data.
3. [Optional] Click Change next to Machine to browse from, and then select another machine.
Some backups can only be browsed by specific agents. For example, you must select a machine
running Agent for SQL to browse the backups of Microsoft SQL Server databases.

Important
Be aware that the Machine to browse from is a default destination for recovery from a physical
machine backup. After you select a recovery point and click Recover, double check the Target
machine setting to ensure that you want to recover to this specific machine. To change the
recovery destination, specify another machine in Machine to browse from.

4. Click Show backups.

5. Select the recovery point.

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Mounting volumes from a backup
Mounting volumes from a disk-level backup lets you access the volumes as though they were
physical disks.

Mounting volumes in the read/write mode enables you to modify the backup content; that is, save,
move, create, delete files or folders, and run executables consisting of one file. In this mode, the
software creates an incremental backup that contains the changes you make to the backup content.
Please be aware that none of the subsequent backups will contain these changes.

Requirements
l This functionality is available only in Windows by using File Explorer.
l Agent for Windows must be installed on the machine that performs the mount operation.
l The backed-up file system must be supported by the Windows version that the machine is
running.
l The backup must be stored in a local folder, on a network share (SMB/CIFS), or in the Secure
Zone.

Usage scenarios
l Sharing data
Mounted volumes can be easily shared over the network.
l "Band aid" database recovery solution
Mount a volume that contains an SQL database from a recently failed machine. This will provide
access to the database until the failed machine is recovered. This approach can also be used for
granular recovery of Microsoft SharePoint data by using SharePoint Explorer.
l Offline virus clean
If a machine is infected, mount its backup, clean it with an antivirus program (or find the latest
backup that is not infected), and then recover the machine from this backup.
l Error check
If a recovery with volume resize has failed, the reason may be an error in the backed-up file
system. Mount the backup in the read/write mode. Then, check the mounted volume for errors
by using the chkdsk /r command. Once the errors are fixed and a new incremental backup is
created, recover the system from this backup.

To mount a volume from a backup

1. Browse to the backup location by using File Explorer.

2. Double-click the backup file. By default, the file names are based on the following template:
<machine name> - <backup plan GUID>
3. If the backup is encrypted, enter the encryption password. Otherwise, skip this step.
File Explorer displays the recovery points.

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4. Double-click the recovery point.
File Explorer displays the backed-up volumes.

Note
Double-click a volume to browse its content. You can copy files and folders from the backup to
any folder on the file system.

5. Right-click a volume to mount, and then click one of the following:

l Mount
l Mount in read-only mode
6. If the backup is stored on a network share, provide access credentials. Otherwise, skip this step.
The software mounts the selected volume. The first unused letter is assigned to the volume.

To unmount a volume

1. Browse to Computer (This PC in Windows 8.1 and later) by using File Explorer.
2. Right-click the mounted volume.
3. Click Unmount.
4. If the volume was mounted in the read/write mode, and its content was modified, select whether
to create an incremental backup containing the changes. Otherwise, skip this step.
The software unmounts the selected volume.

Exporting backups
The export operation creates a self-sufficient copy of a backup in the location you specify. The
original backup remains untouched. Export enables you to separate a specific backup from a chain
of incremental and differential backups for fast recovery, writing onto removable or detachable
media or other purposes.

The result of an export operation is always a full backup. If you want to replicate the entire backup
chain to a different location and preserve multiple recovery points, use a backup replication plan.

The backup file name of the exported backup depends on the value of the backup format option:

l For the Version 12 format with any backup scheme, the backup file name is the same as that of
the original backup, except for the sequence number. If multiple backups from the same backup
chain are exported to the same location, a four-digit sequence number is appended to the file
names of all backups except for the first one.
l For the Version 11 format with the Always incremental (single-file) backup scheme, the
backup file name exactly matches the backup file name of the original backup. If multiple
backups from the same backup chain are exported to the same location, every export operation
overwrites the previously exported backup.
l For the Version 11 format with other backup schemes, the backup file name is the same as that
of the original backup, except for the timestamp. The timestamps of the exported backups
correspond to the time when the export is performed.

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The exported backup inherits the encryption settings and password from the original backup. When
exporting an encrypted backup, you must specify the password.

To export a backup

1. Select the backed-up machine.

2. Click Recovery.
3. Select a recovery point. Note that recovery points are filtered by location.
If the machine is offline, the recovery points are not displayed. Do any of the following:
l If the backup location is cloud or shared storage (i.e. other agents can access it), click Select
machine, select a target machine that is online, and then select a recovery point.
l Select a recovery point on the Backups tab.
4. Click the gear icon, and then click Export.
5. Select the agent that will perform the export.
6. If the backup is encrypted, provide the encryption password. Otherwise, skip this step.
7. Specify the export destination.
8. Click Start.

Deleting backups
Warning!
When a backup is deleted, all of its data is permanently erased. Deleted data cannot be recovered.

To delete backups of a machine that is online and present in the backup console

1. On the All devices tab, select a machine whose backups you want to delete.
2. Click Recovery.
3. Select the location to delete the backups from.
4. Do one of the following:
l To delete a single backup, select the backup to delete, click the gear icon, and then click
Delete.
l To delete all backups in the selected location, click Delete all.
5. Confirm your decision.

To delete backups of any machine

1. On the Backups tab, select the location from which you want to delete the backups.
The software displays all backups that your account is allowed to view in the selected location.
The backups are combined in groups. The group names are based on the following template:
<machine name> - <backup plan name>
2. Select a group.
3. Do one of the following:
l To delete a single backup, click Show backups, select the backup to delete, click the gear icon,
and then click Delete.

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 l To delete the selected group, click Delete.
4. Confirm your decision.

To delete backups directly from the cloud storage

1. Log in to the cloud storage, as described in "Downloading files from the cloud storage".
2. Click the name of the machine whose backups you want to delete.
The software displays one or more backup groups.
3. Click the gear icon corresponding to the backup group that you want to delete.
4. Click Remove.
5. Confirm the operation.

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Operations with backup plans
For information about how to create a backup plan, refer to "Backup".

To edit a backup plan

1. If you want to edit the backup plan for all machines to which it is applied, select one of these
machines. Otherwise, select the machines for which you want to edit the backup plan.
2. Click Backup.
3. Select the backup plan that you want to edit.
4. Click the gear icon next to the backup plan name, and then click Edit.
5. To modify the plan parameters, click the corresponding section of the backup plan panel.
6. Click Save changes.
7. To change the backup plan for all machines to which it is applied, click Apply the changes to
this backup plan. Otherwise, click Create a new backup plan only for the selected devices.

To revoke a backup plan from machines

1. Select the machines that you want to revoke the backup plan from.
2. Click Backup.
3. If several backup plans are applied to the machines, select the backup plan that you want to
revoke.
4. Click the gear icon next to the backup plan name, and then click Revoke.

To delete a backup plan

1. Select any machine to which the backup plan that you want to delete is applied.
2. Click Backup.
3. If several backup plans are applied to the machine, select the backup plan that you want to
delete.
4. Click the gear icon next to the backup plan name, and then click Delete.
As a result, the backup plan is revoked from all of the machines and completely removed from
the web interface.

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The Plans tab
You can manage backup plans and other plans by using the Plans tab.

Note
This functionality is available only with the Acronis Cyber Backup Advanced license.

Each section of the Plans tab contains all plans of a specific type. The following sections are
available:

l Backup
l Backup replication
l Validation
l Cleanup
l Conversion to VM
l VM replication
l Bootable media. This section displays backup plans that were created for machines booted from
bootable media and can only be applied to such machines.

Plans for backup replication, validation, cleanup, and conversion to VM are available only with the
Advanced license. Without the Advanced license, these actions can be performed only as a part of a
backup plan.

In each section, you can create, edit, disable, enable, delete, start the execution, and inspect the
execution status of a plan.

Cloning and stopping are available only for backup plans. Unlike stopping a backup from the
Devices tab, the backup plan will be stopped on all devices where it is running. If the backup start is
distributed in time for multiple devices, stopping the backup plan will also prevent it from starting
on the devices where it is not running yet.

You can also export a plan to a file and import a previously exported plan.

Off-host data processing

Note
This functionality is not available in the Standard edition of Acronis Cyber Backup.

Most actions that are a part of a backup plan, such as replication, validation, and applying retention
rules, are performed by the agent that performs the backup. This puts additional workload on the
machine where the agent is running, even after the backup process is complete.

Separating the replication, validation, cleanup, and conversion plans from backup plans gives you
the flexibility:

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l To choose another agent(s) for performing these operations
l To schedule these operations for off-peak hours to minimize network bandwidth consumption
l To shift these operations outside of business hours, if setting up a dedicated agent is not in your
plans

If you are using a storage node, installing a dedicated agent on the same machine makes sense.

Unlike the backup and VM replication plans, which employ the time settings of machines running
the agents, the off-host data processing plans run according to the time settings of the management
server machine.

Backup replication

Supported locations
The following table summarizes backup locations supported by backup replication plans.

Backup location Supported as a source Supported as a target

Cloud storage + +

Local folder + +

Network folder + +

NFS folder – –

Secure Zone – –

SFTP server – –

Managed location + +

Tape device – +

To create a backup replication plan

1. Click Plans > Backup replication.

2. Click Create plan.
The software displays a new plan template.
3. [Optional] To modify the plan name, click the default name.
4. Click Agent, and then select the agent that will perform the replication.
You can select any agent that has access to the source and target backup locations.
5. Click Items to replicate, and then select the backups that this plan will replicate.
You can switch between selecting backups and selecting entire locations by using the Locations
/ Backups switch in the top-right corner.
If the selected backups are encrypted, all of them must use the same encryption password. For
backups that use different encryption passwords, create separate plans.
6. Click Destination, and then specify the target location.

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 7. [Optional] In How to replicate, select which backups to replicate. You can select one of the
following:
l All backups (default)
l Only full backups
l Only the last backup
8. [Optional] Click Schedule, and then change the schedule.
9. [Optional] Click Retention rules, and then specify the retention rules for the target location, as
described in "Retention rules".
10. If the backups selected in Items to replicate are encrypted, enable the Backup password
switch, and then provide the encryption password. Otherwise, skip this step.
11. [Optional] To modify the plan options, click the gear icon.
12. Click Create.

Validation
Validation is an operation that checks the possibility of data recovery from a backup.

Validation of a backup location validates all the backups stored in the location.

How it works
A validation plan offers two validation methods. If you select both methods, the operations will be
performed consecutively.

l Calculating a checksum for every data block saved in a backup

For more information about validation by calculating a checksum, refer to "Backup validation".
l Running a virtual machine from a backup
This method works only for disk-level backups that contain an operating system. To use this
method, you need an ESXi or Hyper-V host and a backup agent (Agent for VMware or Agent for
Hyper-V) that manages this host.
The agent runs a virtual machine from a backup, and then connects to VMware Tools or Hyper-V
Heartbeat Service to ensure that the operating system has started successfully. If the connection
fails, the agent attempts to connect every two minutes, a total of five times. If none of the
attempts are successful, the validation fails.
Regardless of the number of validation plans and validated backups, the agent that performs
validation runs one virtual machine at a time. As soon as the validation result becomes clear, the
agent deletes the virtual machine and runs the next one.

If the validation fails, you can drill down to the details on the Activities section of the Overview tab.

Supported locations
The following table summarizes backup locations supported by validation plans.

Backup location Calculating a checksum Running a VM

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 Cloud storage + +

Local folder + +

Network folder + +

NFS folder – –

Secure Zone – –

SFTP server – –

Managed location + +

Tape device + –

To create a new validation plan

1. Click Plans > Validation.

2. Click Create plan.
The software displays a new plan template.
3. [Optional] To modify the plan name, click the default name.
4. Click Agent, and then select the agent that will perform the validation.
If you want to perform validation by running a virtual machine from a backup, select Agent for
VMware or Agent for Hyper-V. Otherwise, select any agent that is registered on the management
server and has access to the backup location.
5. Click Items to validate, and then select the backups that this plan will validate.
You can switch between selecting backups and selecting entire locations by using the Locations
/ Backups switch in the top-right corner.
If the selected backups are encrypted, all of them must use the same encryption password. For
backups that use different encryption passwords, create separate plans.
6. [Optional] In What to validate, select which backups to validate. You can select one of the
following:
l All backups
l Only the last backup
7. [Optional] Click How to validate, and then choose any of the following methods:
l Checksum verification
The software will calculate a checksum for every data block saved in a backup.
l Run as a virtual machine
The software will run a virtual machine from each backup.
8. If you chose Run as a virtual machine:
a. Click Target machine, and then select the virtual machine type (ESXi or Hyper-V), the host
and the machine name template.
The default name is [Machine Name]_validate.

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 b. Click Datastore for ESXi or Path for Hyper-V, and then select the datastore for the virtual
machine.
c. [Optional] Change the disk provisioning mode.
The default setting is Thin for VMware ESXi and Dynamically expanding for Hyper-V.
d. Do not disable the VM heartbeat switch if you need a correct validation result. This switch is
designed for future releases.
e. [Optional] Click VM settings to change the memory size and network connections of the
virtual machine.
By default, the virtual machine is not connected to a network and the virtual machine
memory size equals that of the original machine.
9. [Optional] Click Schedule, and then change the schedule.
10. If the backups selected in Items to validate are encrypted, enable the Backup password
switch, and then provide the encryption password. Otherwise, skip this step.
11. [Optional] To modify the plan options, click the gear icon.
12. Click Create.

Cleanup
Cleanup is an operation that deletes outdated backups according to the retention rules.

Supported locations
Cleanup plans support all backup locations, except for NFS folders, SFTP servers, and Secure Zone.

To create a new cleanup plan

1. Click Plans > Cleanup.

2. Click Create plan.
The software displays a new plan template.
3. [Optional] To modify the plan name, click the default name.
4. Click Agent, and then select the agent that will perform the cleanup.
You can select any agent that has access to the backup location.
5. Click Items to clean up, and then select the backups which this plan will clean up.
You can switch between selecting backups and selecting entire locations by using the Locations
/ Backups switch in the top-right corner.
If the selected backups are encrypted, all of them must use the same encryption password. For
backups that use different encryption passwords, create separate plans.
6. [Optional] Click Schedule, and then change the schedule.
7. [Optional] Click Retention rules, and then specify the retention rules, as described in "Retention
rules".
8. If the backups selected in Items to clean up are encrypted, enable the Backup password
switch, and then provide the encryption password. Otherwise, skip this step.

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 9. [Optional] To modify the plan options, click the gear icon.
10. Click Create.

Conversion to a virtual machine

You can create a separate plan for the conversion to a virtual machine and run this plan manually or
on a schedule.

For information about prerequisites and limitations, please refer to "What you need to know about
conversion".

To create a plan for conversion to a virtual machine

1. Click Plans > Conversion to VM.

2. Click Create plan.
The software displays a new plan template.
3. [Optional] To modify the plan name, click the default name.
4. In Convert to, select the type of the target virtual machine. You can select one of the following:
l VMware ESXi
l Microsoft Hyper-V
l VMware Workstation
l VHDX files
5. Do one of the following:
l For VMware ESXi and Hyper-V: click Host, select the target host, and then specify the new
machine name template.
l For other virtual machine types: in Path, specify where to save the virtual machine files and
the file name template.
The default name is [Machine Name]_converted.
6. Click Agent, and then select the agent that will perform the conversion.
7. Click Items to convert, and then select the backups that this plan will convert to virtual
machines.
You can switch between selecting backups and selecting entire locations by using the Locations
/ Backups switch in the top-right corner.
If the selected backups are encrypted, all of them must use the same encryption password. For
backups that use different encryption passwords, create separate plans.
8. [Only for VMware ESXi and Hyper-V] Click Datastore for ESXi or Path for Hyper-V, and then
select the datastore (storage) for the virtual machine.
9. [Optional] For VMware ESXi and Hyper-V, you can also do the following:
l Change the disk provisioning mode. The default setting is Thin for VMware ESXi and
Dynamically expanding for Hyper-V.
l Click VM settings to change the memory size, the number of processors, and the network
connections of the virtual machine.
10. [Optional] Click Schedule, and then change the schedule.

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11. If the backups selected in Items to convert are encrypted, enable the Backup password switch,
and then provide the encryption password. Otherwise, skip this step.
12. [Optional] To modify the plan options, click the gear icon.
13. Click Create.

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Bootable media
Note
In cloud deployments, some of the features described in this section might not be available or
might be different. For example, backup is available only with a bootable media that is built with the
on-premises Bootable Media Builder.

Bootable media
Bootable media is a physical media (CD, DVD, USB flash drive or other removable media supported
by the machine's BIOS as a boot device) that allows you to run the Acronis Cyber Backup agent
either in a Linux-based environment or a Windows Preinstallation Environment (WinPE), without the
help of an operating system.

Bootable media is most often used to:

l Recover an operating system that cannot start

l Access and back up the data that has survived in a corrupted system
l Deploy an operating system on bare metal
l Create basic or dynamic volumes on bare metal
l Back up sector-by-sector a disk with an unsupported file system
l Back up offline any data that cannot be backed up online – for example, because the data is
locked by a running application or because the access to it is restricted.

A machine can also be booted by using the network boot from Acronis PXE Server, Windows
Deployment Services (WDS) or Remote Installation Services (RIS). These servers with uploaded
bootable components can be thought of as a kind of bootable media too. You can create bootable
media or configure the PXE server or WDS/RIS by using the same wizard.

Create a bootable media or download a ready-made

one?
By using the Bootable Media Builder, you can create your own bootable media (Linux-based or
WinPE-based) for Windows, Linux or macOS computers. For a fully-featured bootable media, you
need to specify your Acronis Cyber Backup license key. Without this key, your bootable media will be
capable of performing only recovery operations.

Note
The bootable media does not support hybrid drives.

Also, you can download a ready-made bootable media (Linux-based only). You can use the
downloaded bootable media only for recovery operations and access to Acronis Universal Restore.

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You cannot back up data, validate or export backups, manage disks, or use scripts with it.
Downloaded bootable media is not suitable for macOS computers.

To download a ready-made bootable media

1. In the backup console, click the account icon in the top-right corner, and then click Downloads.
2. Select Bootable media.

You can burn the downloaded ISO file to a CD/DVD or create a bootable USB flash drive by using
one of the free tools that are available online. Use ISO to USB or RUFUS if you need to boot an UEFI
machine, or Win32DiskImager for a BIOS machine. In Linux, using the dd utility makes sense.

If the backup console is not accessible, you can download the ready-made bootable media from
your account in Acronis Customer Portal:

1. Go to https://account.acronis.com.
2. Locate Acronis Cyber Backup, and then click Downloads.
3. On the page that opens, locate Additional downloads, and then click Bootable Media ISO (for
Windows and Linux).

220 © Acronis International GmbH, 2003-2023

Linux-based or WinPE-based bootable media?

Linux-based
Linux-based bootable media contains an Acronis Cyber Backup bootable agent based on Linux
kernel. The agent can boot and perform operations on any PC-compatible hardware, including bare
metal and machines with corrupted or non-supported file systems. The operations can be
configured and controlled either locally or remotely, in the backup console.

A list of the supported by Linux-based media hardware is available at:

http://kb.acronis.com/content/55310.

WinPE-based
WinPE-based bootable media contains a minimal Windows system called Windows Preinstallation
Environment (WinPE) and Acronis Plugin for WinPE, that is, a modification of Acronis Cyber Backup
agent that can run in the preinstallation environment.

WinPE proved to be the most convenient bootable solution in large environments with
heterogeneous hardware.

Advantages:

l Using Acronis Cyber Backup in Windows Preinstallation Environment provides more functionality
than using Linux-based bootable media. Having booted PC-compatible hardware into WinPE, you
can use not only Acronis Cyber Backup agent, but also PE commands and scripts, and other
plugins that you have added to the PE.
l PE-based bootable media helps overcome some Linux-related bootable media issues such as
support for certain RAID controllers or certain levels of RAID arrays only. Media based on WinPE
2.x and later allow dynamic loading of the necessary device drivers.

Limitations:

l Bootable media based on WinPE versions earlier than 4.0 cannot boot on machines that use
Unified Extensible Firmware Interface (UEFI).
l When a machine is booted with a PE-based bootable media, you cannot select optical media such
as CD, DVD, or Blu-ray Discs (BD) as a backup destination.

Bootable Media Builder

Bootable Media Builder is a dedicated tool for creating bootable media. It is available for on-
premises deployments only.

Bootable Media Builder is installed by default when you install the management server. You can
install the media builder separately on any machine running Windows or Linux. The supported
operating systems are the same as for the corresponding agents.

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Why use the media builder?
The ready-made bootable media that is available for download in the backup console can be used
only for recovery. This media is based on a Linux kernel. Unlike Windows PE, it does not allow
injecting custom drivers on the fly.

l The media builder enables you to create a customized, full-featured Linux-based and WinPE-
based bootable media with the backup functionality.
l Apart from creating physical bootable media, you can upload its components to Windows
Deployment Services (WDS) and use a network boot.

32- or 64-bit?
Bootable Media Builder creates media with both 32-bit and 64-bit components. In most cases, you
will need a 64-bit media to boot a machine that uses Unified Extensible Firmware Interface (UEFI).

Linux-based bootable media

To create a Linux-based bootable media

1. Start the Bootable Media Builder.

2. To create a full-featured bootable media, specify an Acronis Cyber Backup license key. This key is
used to determine which features will be included in the bootable media. No licenses will be

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 revoked from any machines.
If you don't specify a license key, the resulting bootable media can only be used for recovery
operations and access to Acronis Universal Restore.

3. Select Bootable media type: Default (Linux-based media).

Select how volumes and network resources will be represented:
l A media with Linux-like volume representation displays the volumes as, for example, hda1
and sdb2. It tries to reconstruct MD devices and logical (LVM) volumes before starting a
recovery.
l A media with Windows-like volume representation displays the volumes as, for example, C:
and D:. It provides access to dynamic (LDM) volumes.

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4. [Optional] Specify the parameters of the Linux kernel. Separate multiple parameters with spaces.
For example, to be able to select a display mode for the bootable agent each time the media
starts, type: vga=ask
For more information about the available parameters, refer to Kernel parameters.
5. Select a language that will be used in the bootable media.
6. Select the components to be placed on the media: the Acronis Cyber Backup bootable agent,
and/or Universal Restore if you plan to restore the system on dissimilar hardware.
The bootable agent allows you to perform backup, recovery, and disk management operations
on any PC-compatible hardware, including bare metal.
Universal Restore allows you to boot an operating system recovered to dissimilar hardware or to
a virtual machine. The tool finds and installs drivers for devices that are critical for starting the
operating system, such as storage controllers, motherboard, or chipset.
7. [Optional] Specify the timeout interval for the boot menu, along with the component that will
automatically start on timeout. To do so, click the desired component on the upper left pane,
and then set the interval for it. This enables unattended onsite operation when booting from
WDS/RIS.
If this setting is not configured, the loader will wait for you to select whether to boot the
operating system (if present) or the component.

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8. If you want to automate the bootable agent operations, select the Use the following script
check box. Then, select one of the scripts and specify the script parameters.
9. [Optional] Select how to register the media on the management server on booting up. For more
information about the registration settings, see Management server.

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10. Specify network settings: TCP/IP settings to be assigned to the machine network adapters.
11. Specify a network port: The TCP port on which the bootable agent listens for an incoming
connection.
12. If a proxy server is enabled in your network, specify its host name/IP address and port.
13. Select the type of media. You can:
l Create an ISO image. Then you can burn it to a CD/DVD; use it to create a bootable USB flash
drive; or connect it to a virtual machine.
l Create a ZIP file.
l Upload the selected components to Acronis PXE Server.
l Upload the selected components to a WDS/RIS.
14. Add Windows system drivers to be used by Universal Restore. This window appears if Universal
Restore is added to media and media other than WDS/RIS is selected.
15. If prompted, specify the host name/IP address and credentials for WDS/RIS, or a path to the
media ISO file.
16. Check your settings in the summary screen, and then click Proceed.

Kernel parameters
This window lets you specify one or more parameters of the Linux kernel. They will be automatically
applied when the bootable media starts.

These parameters are typically used when experiencing problems while working with the bootable
media. Normally, you can leave this field empty.

You can also specify any of these parameters by pressing F11 while in the boot menu.

Parameters
When specifying multiple parameters, separate them with spaces.

acpi=off

Disables Advanced Configuration and Power Interface (ACPI). You may want to use this
parameter when experiencing problems with a particular hardware configuration.

noapic

Disables Advanced Programmable Interrupt Controller (APIC). You may want to use this
parameter when experiencing problems with a particular hardware configuration.

vga=ask

Prompts for the video mode to be used by the bootable media's graphical user interface.
Without the vga parameter, the video mode is detected automatically.

vga=mode_number

Specifies the video mode to be used by the bootable media's graphical user interface. The
mode number is given by mode_number in the hexadecimal format—for example: vga=0x318

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 Screen resolution and the number of colors corresponding to a mode number may be
different on different machines. We recommend using the vga=ask parameter first to choose a
value for mode_number.

quiet

Disables displaying of startup messages when the Linux kernel is loading, and starts the
management console after the kernel is loaded.

This parameter is implicitly specified when creating the bootable media, but you can remove
this parameter while in the boot menu.

Without this parameter, all startup messages will be displayed, followed by a command
prompt. To start the management console from the command prompt, run the command:
/bin/product

nousb

Disables loading of the USB (Universal Serial Bus) subsystem.

nousb2

Disables USB 2.0 support. USB 1.1 devices still work with this parameter. This parameter
allows you to use some USB drives in the USB 1.1 mode if they do not work in the USB 2.0 mode.

nodma

Disables direct memory access (DMA) for all IDE hard disk drives. Prevents the kernel from
freezing on some hardware.

nofw

Disables the FireWire (IEEE1394) interface support.

nopcmcia

Disables detection of PCMCIA hardware.

nomouse

Disables mouse support.

module_name=off

Disables the module whose name is given by module_name. For example, to disable the use
of the SATA module, specify: sata_sis=off

pci=bios

Forces the use of PCI BIOS instead of accessing the hardware device directly. You may want
to use this parameter if the machine has a non-standard PCI host bridge.

pci=nobios

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 Disables the use of PCI BIOS; only direct hardware access methods will be allowed. You may
want to use this parameter when the bootable media fails to start, which may be caused by the
BIOS.

pci=biosirq

Uses PCI BIOS calls to get the interrupt routing table. You may want to use this parameter if
the kernel is unable to allocate interrupt requests (IRQs) or discover secondary PCI buses on the
motherboard.

These calls might not work properly on some machines. But this may be the only way to get
the interrupt routing table.

LAYOUTS=en-US, de-DE, fr-FR, ...

Specifies the keyboard layouts that can be used in the bootable media's graphical user
interface.

Without this parameter, only two layouts can be used: English (USA) and the layout that
corresponds to the language selected in the media's boot menu.

You can specify any of the following layouts:

Belgian: be-BE

Czech: cz-CZ

English: en-GB

English (USA): en-US

French: fr-FR

French (Swiss): fr-CH

German: de-DE

German (Swiss): de-CH

Italian: it-IT

Polish: pl-PL

Portuguese: pt-PT

Portuguese (Brazilian): pt-BR

Russian: ru-RU

Serbian (Cyrillic): sr-CR

Serbian (Latin): sr-LT

Spanish: es-ES

When working under bootable media, use CTRL + SHIFT to cycle through the available
layouts.

228 © Acronis International GmbH, 2003-2023

Scripts in bootable media

Note
This functionality is available only with the Acronis Cyber Backup Advanced license.

If you want the bootable media to perform a determined set of operations, you can specify a script
while creating the media in Bootable Media Builder. Every time the media boots, it will run this script
instead of displaying the user interface.

You can select one of the predefined scripts or create a custom script by following the scripting
conventions.

Predefined scripts
Bootable Media Builder provides the following predefined scripts:

l Backup to and recovery from the cloud storage (entire_pc_cloud)

l Backup to and recovery from the bootable media (entire_pc_local)
l Backup to and recovery from a network share (entire_pc_share)
l Recovery from the cloud storage (golden_image)

The scripts can be found on the machine where Bootable Media Builder is installed, in the following
directories:

l In Windows: %ProgramData%\Acronis\MediaBuilder\scripts\
l In Linux: /var/lib/Acronis/MediaBuilder/scripts/

Backup to and recovery from the cloud storage

This script will back up a machine to the cloud storage or recover the machine from its most recent
backup created in the cloud storage by this script. On its start, the script will prompt the user to
choose between backup, recovery, and starting the user interface.

In Bootable Media Builder, specify the following script parameters:

1. The user name and password for the cloud storage.

2. [Optional] A password that the script will use to encrypt or access the backups.

Backup to and recovery from the bootable media

This script will back up a machine to the bootable media or recover the machine from its most
recent backup created by this script on the same media. On its start, the script will prompt the user
to choose between backup, recovery, and starting the user interface.

In Bootable Media Builder, you can specify a password that the script will use to encrypt or access
the backups.

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Backup to and recovery from a network share
This script will back up a machine to a network share or recover the machine from its most recent
backup located on a network share. On its start, the script will prompt the user to choose between
backup, recovery, and starting the user interface.

In Bootable Media Builder, specify the following script parameters:

1. The network share path.

2. The user name and password for the network share.
3. [Optional] The backup file name. The default value is AutoBackup. If you want the script to
append backups to an already existing backup, or to recover from a backup with a non-default
name, change the default value to the file name of this backup.
To find out the backup file name
a. In the backup console, go to Backups > Locations.
b. Select the network share (click Add location if the share is not listed).
c. Select the backup.
d. Click Details. The file name is displayed under Backup file name.
4. [Optional] A password that the script will use to encrypt or access the backups.

Recovery from the cloud storage

This script will recover the machine from the most recent backup located in the cloud storage. On its
start, the script will prompt the user to specify:

1. The user name and password for the cloud storage.

2. The password if the backup is encrypted.

We recommend that you store backups of only one machine under this cloud storage account.
Otherwise, if a backup of another machine is newer than the backup of the current machine, the
script will choose that machine backup.

Custom scripts

Important
Creating custom scripts requires the knowledge of the Bash command language and JavaScript
Object Notation (JSON). If you are not familiar with Bash, a good place to learn it is
http://www.tldp.org/LDP/abs/html. The JSON specification is available at http://www.json.org.

Files of a script
Your script must be located in the following directories on the machine where Bootable Media
Builder is installed:

l In Windows: %ProgramData%\Acronis\MediaBuilder\scripts\
l In Linux: /var/lib/Acronis/MediaBuilder/scripts/

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The script must consist of at least three files:

l <script_file>.sh - a file with your Bash script. When creating the script, use only a limited set of
shell commands, which you can find at https://busybox.net/downloads/BusyBox.html. Also, the
following commands can be used:
o acrocmd - the command-line utility for backup and recovery
o product - the command that starts the bootable media user interface
This file and any additional files that the script includes (for example, by using the dot command)
must be located in the bin subfolder. In the script, specify the additional file paths as
/ConfigurationFiles/bin/<some_file>.
l autostart - a file for starting <script_file>.sh. The file contents must be as follows:

#!/bin/sh
. /ConfigurationFiles/bin/variables.sh
. /ConfigurationFiles/bin/<script_file>.sh
. /ConfigurationFiles/bin/post_actions.sh

l autostart.json - a JSON file that contains the following:

o The script name and description to be displayed in Bootable Media Builder.
o The names of the script variables to be configured via Bootable Media Builder.
o The parameters of controls that will be displayed in Bootable Media Builder for each variable.

Structure of autostart.json

Top-level object
Pair
Required Description
Name Value type

displayName string Yes The script name to be displayed in Bootable Media Builder.

description string No The script description to be displayed in Bootable Media

Builder.

timeout number No A timeout (in seconds) for the boot menu before starting
the script. If the pair is not specified, the timeout will be ten
seconds.

variables object No Any variables for <script_file>.sh that you want to

configure via Bootable Media Builder.

The value should be a set of the following pairs: the string

identifier of a variable and the object of the variable (see the
table below).

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Variable object
Pair
Required Description
Name Value type

displayName string Yes The variable name used in <script_file>.sh.

type string Yes The type of a control that is displayed in Bootable Media
Builder. This control is used to configure the variable value.

For all supported types, see the table below.

description string Yes The control label that is displayed above the control in
Bootable Media Builder.

default string if type No The default value for the control. If the pair is not specified,
is string, the default value will be an empty string or a zero, based
multiString, on the control type.
password, or
The default value for a check box can be 0 (the cleared
enum
state) or 1 (the selected state).
number if
type is number,
spinner, or
checkbox

order number Yes The control order in Bootable Media Builder. The higher
the value, the lower the control is placed relative to other
(non-
controls defined in autostart.json. The initial value must
negative)
be 0.

min number No The minimum value of the spin control in a spin box. If the
pair is not specified, the value will be 0.
(for spinner
only)

max number No The maximum value of the spin control in a spin box. If the
pair is not specified, the value will be 100.
(for spinner
only)

step number No The step value of the spin control in a spin box. If the pair
is not specified, the value will be 1.
(for spinner
only)

items array of Yes The values for a drop-down list.

strings
(for enum only)

required number No Specifies if the control value can be empty (0) or not (1). If
the pair is not specified, the control value can be empty.
(for string,

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 multiString,
password, and
enum)

Control type
Name Description

string A single-line, unconstrained text box used to enter or edit short strings.

multiString A multi-line, unconstrained text box used to enter or edit long strings.

password A single-line, unconstrained text box used to enter passwords securely.

number A single-line, numeric-only text box used to enter or edit numbers.

spinner A single-line, numeric-only text box used to enter or edit numbers, with a
spin control. Also, called a spin box.

enum A standard drop-down list, with a fixed set of predetermined values.

checkbox A check box with two states - the cleared state or the selected state.

The sample autostart.json below contains all possible types of controls that can be used to
configure variables for <script_file>.sh.

"displayName": "Autostart script name",

"description": "This is an autostart script description.",

"variables": {

"var_string": {

"displayName": "VAR_STRING",

"type": "string", "order": 1,

"description": "This is a 'string' control:", "default": "Hello,

world!"

},

"var_multistring": {

"displayName": "VAR_MULTISTRING",

"type": "multiString", "order": 2,

"description": "This is a 'multiString' control:",

"default": "Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet,\nconsectetur adipiscing elit."

},

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 "var_number": {

"displayName": "VAR_NUMBER",

"type": "number", "order": 3,

"description": "This is a 'number' control:", "default": 10

},

"var_spinner": {

"displayName": "VAR_SPINNER",

"type": "spinner", "order": 4,

"description": "This is a 'spinner' control:",

"min": 1, "max": 10, "step": 1, "default": 5

},

"var_enum": {

"displayName": "VAR_ENUM",

"type": "enum", "order": 5,

"description": "This is an 'enum' control:",

"items": ["first", "second", "third"], "default": "second"

},

"var_password": {

"displayName": "VAR_PASSWORD",

"type": "password", "order": 6,

"description": "This is a 'password' control:", "default": "qwe"

},

"var_checkbox": {

"displayName": "VAR_CHECKBOX",

"type": "checkbox", "order": 7,

"description": "This is a 'checkbox' control", "default": 1

This is how it looks in Bootable Media Builder.

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Management server
While creating bootable media, you have an option to pre-configure the media registration on the
management server.

Registering the media enables you to manage the media via the backup console as if it was a
registered machine. Besides the convenience of remote access, this grants an administrator the
capability to trace all operations performed under bootable media. The operations are logged in
Activities, so it is possible to see who and when started an operation.

If the registration was not pre-configured, it is still possible to register the media after booting the
machine from it.

To pre-configure registration on the management server

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1. Select the Register media on the management server check box.
2. In Server name or IP, specify the host name or IP address of the machine where the
management server is installed. You can use one of the following formats:
l http://<server>. For example, http://10.250.10.10 or http://server1
l <IP address>. For example, 10.250.10.10
l <host name>. For example, server1 or server1.example.com
3. In Port, specify the port that will be used to access the management server. The default value is
9877.
4. In Display name, specify the name that will be displayed for this machine in the backup console.
If you leave this field empty, the display name will be set to one of the following:
l If the machine was previously registered on the management server, it will have the same
name.
l Otherwise, either the fully qualified domain name (FQDN) or the IP address of the machine
will be used.
5. Select which account will be used to register the media on the management server. The
following options are available:
l Ask for user name and password at booting up
The credentials will have to be provided every time a machine is booted from the media.
For successful registration, the account must be in the list of the management server
administrators (Settings > Administrators). In the backup console, the media will be
available under the organization or under a specific unit, according to the permissions given
to the specified account.
In the bootable media interface, it will be possible to change the user name and password by
clicking Tools > Register media on the management server.
l Register under the following account
The machine will be registered automatically every time it is booted from the media.
The account you specify must be in the list of the management server administrators
(Settings > Administrators). In the backup console, the media will be available under the
organization or under a specific unit, according to the permissions given to the specified
account.
In the bootable media interface, it will not be possible to change the registration parameters.
l Do not ask for user name and password
The machine will be registered anonymously, unless anonymous registration on the
management server is disabled.
The Activities tab of the backup console will not show who used the media.
In the backup console, the media will be available under the organization.
In the bootable media interface, it will be possible to change the user name and password by
clicking Tools > Register media on the management server.

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Network settings
While creating bootable media, you have an option to pre-configure network connections that will
be used by the bootable agent. The following parameters can be pre-configured:

l IP address
l Subnet mask
l Gateway
l DNS server
l WINS server.

Once the bootable agent starts on a machine, the configuration is applied to the machine’s network
interface card (NIC). If the settings have not been pre-configured, the agent uses DHCP auto
configuration. You also have the ability to configure the network settings manually when the
bootable agent is running on the machine.

Pre-configuring multiple network connections

You can pre-configure TCP/IP settings for up to ten network interface cards. To ensure that each NIC
will be assigned the appropriate settings, create the media on the server for which the media is
customized. When you select an existing NIC in the wizard window, its settings are selected for
saving on the media. The MAC address of each existing NIC is also saved on the media.

You can change the settings, except for the MAC address; or configure the settings for a non-
existent NIC, if need be.

Once the bootable agent starts on the server, it retrieves the list of available NICs. This list is sorted
by the slots the NICs occupy: the closest to the processor on top.

The bootable agent assigns each known NIC the appropriate settings, identifying the NICs by their
MAC addresses. After the NICs with known MAC addresses are configured, the remaining NICs are
assigned the settings that you have made for non-existent NICs, starting from the upper non-
assigned NIC.

You can customize bootable media for any machine, and not only for the machine where the media
is created. To do so, configure the NICs according to their slot order on that machine: NIC1 occupies
the slot closest to the processor, NIC2 is in the next slot and so on. When the bootable agent starts
on that machine, it will find no NICs with known MAC addresses and will configure the NICs in the
same order as you did.

Example

The bootable agent could use one of the network adapters for communication with the
management console through the production network. Automatic configuration could be done for
this connection. Sizeable data for recovery could be transferred through the second NIC, included in
the dedicated backup network by means of static TCP/IP settings.

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Network port
While creating bootable media, you have an option to pre-configure the network port that the
bootable agent listens to for an incoming connection from the acrocmd utility. The choice is available
among:

l the default port

l the currently used port
l the new port (enter the port number)

If the port has not been pre-configured, the agent uses port 9876.

Drivers for Universal Restore

While creating bootable media, you have an option to add Windows drivers to the media. The
drivers will be used by Universal Restore to boot up Windows that was migrated to dissimilar
hardware.

You will be able to configure Universal Restore:

l to search the media for the drivers that best fit the target hardware
l to get the mass-storage drivers that you explicitly specify from the media. This is necessary when
the target hardware has a specific mass storage controller (such as a SCSI, RAID, or Fiber Channel
adapter) for the hard disk.

The drivers will be placed in the visible Drivers folder on the bootable media. The drivers are not
loaded into the target machine RAM, therefore, the media must stay inserted or connected
throughout the Universal Restore operation.

Adding drivers to bootable media is available when you are creating a removable media or its ISO or
detachable media, such as a flash drive. Drivers cannot be uploaded on WDS/RIS.

The drivers can be added to the list only in groups, by adding the INF files or folders containing such
files. Selecting individual drivers from the INF files is not possible, but the media builder shows the
file content for your information.

To add drivers:

1. Click Add and browse to the INF file or a folder that contains INF files.
2. Select the INF file or the folder.
3. Click OK.

The drivers can be removed from the list only in groups, by removing INF files.

To remove drivers:

1. Select the INF file.

2. Click Remove.

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WinPE-based bootable media
Bootable Media Builder provides two methods of integrating Acronis Cyber Backup with WinPE:

l Creating the PE ISO with the plug-in from scratch.

l Adding the Acronis Plug-in to a WIM file for any future purpose (manual ISO building, adding
other tools to the image and so on).

You can create WinRE-based PE images without any additional preparation, or create PE images
after installing Windows Automated Installation Kit (AIK) or Windows Assessment and Deployment
Kit (ADK).

WinRE-based PE images
Creating of WinRE-based images is supported for the following operation systems:

l Windows 7 (64-bit)
l Windows 8, 8.1, 10 (32-bit and 64-bit)
l Windows Server 2012, 2016, 2019 (64-bit)

PE images
After installing Windows Automated Installation Kit (AIK) or Windows Assessment and Deployment
Kit (ADK), Bootable Media Builder supports WinPE distributions that are based on any the following
kernels:

l Windows Vista (PE 2.0)

l Windows Vista SP1 and Windows Server 2008 (PE 2.1)
l Windows 7 (PE 3.0) with or without the supplement for Windows 7 SP1 (PE 3.1)
l Windows 8 (PE 4.0)
l Windows 8.1 (PE 5.0)
l Windows 10 (PE for Windows 10)

Bootable Media Builder supports both 32-bit and 64-bit WinPE distributions. The 32-bit WinPE
distributions can also work on 64-bit hardware. However, you need a 64-bit distribution to boot a
machine that uses Unified Extensible Firmware Interface (UEFI).

Note
PE images based on WinPE 4 and later require approximately 1 GB of RAM to work.

Preparation: WinPE 2.x and 3.x

To be able to create or modify PE 2.x or 3.x images, install Bootable Media Builder on a machine
where Windows Automated Installation Kit (AIK) is installed. If you do not have a machine with AIK,
prepare it as follows.

To prepare a machine with AIK

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1. Download and install Windows Automated Installation Kit.
Automated Installation Kit (AIK) for Windows Vista (PE 2.0):
http://www.microsoft.com/Downloads/details.aspx?familyid=C7D4BC6D-15F3-4284-9123-
679830D629F2&displaylang=en
Automated Installation Kit (AIK) for Windows Vista SP1 and Windows Server 2008 (PE 2.1):
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=94bb6e34-d890-4932-81a5-
5b50c657de08&DisplayLang=en
Automated Installation Kit (AIK) for Windows 7 (PE 3.0):
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?familyid=696DD665-9F76-4177-A811-
39C26D3B3B34&displaylang=en
Automated Installation Kit (AIK) Supplement for Windows 7 SP1 (PE 3.1):
http://www.microsoft.com/download/en/details.aspx?id=5188
You can find system requirements for installation by following the above links.
2. [Optional] Burn the WAIK to DVD or copy to a flash drive.
3. Install the Microsoft .NET Framework from this kit (NETFXx86 or NETFXx64, depending on your
hardware).
4. Install Microsoft Core XML (MSXML) 5.0 or 6.0 Parser from this kit.
5. Install Windows AIK from this kit.
6. Install Bootable Media Builder on the same machine.

It is recommended that you familiarize yourself with the help documentation supplied with
Windows AIK. To access the documentation, select Microsoft Windows AIK -> Documentation
from the start menu.

Preparation: WinPE 4.0 and later

To be able to create or modify PE 4 or later images, install Bootable Media Builder on a machine
where Windows Assessment and Deployment Kit (ADK) is installed. If you do not have a machine
with ADK, prepare it as follows.

To prepare a machine with ADK

1. Download the setup program of Assessment and Deployment Kit.

Assessment and Deployment Kit (ADK) for Windows 8 (PE 4.0): http://www.microsoft.com/en-
us/download/details.aspx?id=30652.
Assessment and Deployment Kit (ADK) for Windows 8.1 (PE 5.0): http://www.microsoft.com/en-
US/download/details.aspx?id=39982.
Assessment and Deployment Kit (ADK) for Windows 10 (PE for Windows 10):
https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/hardware/dn913721%28v=vs.8.5%29.aspx.
You can find system requirements for installation by following the above links.
2. Install Assessment and Deployment Kit on the machine.
3. Install Bootable Media Builder on the same machine.

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Adding Acronis Plug-in to WinPE
To add Acronis Plug-in to WinPE:

1. Start the Bootable Media Builder.

2. To create a full-featured bootable media, specify an Acronis Cyber Backup license key. This key is
used to determine which features will be included in the bootable media. No licenses will be
revoked from any machines.
If you don't specify a license key, the resulting bootable media can only be used for recovery
operations and access to Acronis Universal Restore.

3. Select Bootable media type: Windows PE or Bootable media type: Windows PE (64-bit). A
64-bit media is required to boot a machine that uses Unified Extensible Firmware Interface
(UEFI).
If you have selected Bootable media type: Windows PE, do the following first:
l Click Download the Plug-in for WinPE (32-bit).
l Save the plug-in to %PROGRAM_FILES%\Acronis\BootableComponents\WinPE32.
If you plan to recover an operating system to dissimilar hardware or to a virtual machine and
want to ensure the system bootability, select the Include the Universal Restore tool... check
box.
4. Select Create WinPE automatically.
The software runs the appropriate script and proceeds to the next window.

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5. Select a language that will be used in the bootable media.
6. Select whether to enable or disable the remote connection to a machine booted from the media.
If enabled, enter a user name and password to be specified in the command line if the acrocmd
utility is running on a different machine. You can also leave these fields empty, then a remote
connection via the command line interface will be possible without credentials.
These credentials are also required when you register the media on the management server
from the backup console.

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 [Optional] Sele
7. Specify network settings for the machine network adapters or choose DHCP auto configuration.
8. [Optional] Select how to register the media on the management server on booting up. For more
information about the registration settings, see Management server.
9. [Optional] Specify the Windows drivers to be added to Windows PE.
Once you boot a machine into Windows PE, the drivers can help you access the device where the
backup is located. Add 32-bit drivers if you use a 32-bit WinPE distribution or 64-bit drivers if you
use a 64-bit WinPE distribution.
Also, you will be able to point to the added drivers when configuring Universal Restore for
Windows. For Universal Restore, add 32-bit or 64-bit drivers depending on whether you are
planning to recover a 32-bit or a 64-bit Windows operating system.
To add the drivers:
l Click Add and specify the path to the necessary .inf file for a corresponding SCSI, RAID, SATA
controller, network adapter, tape drive or other device.
l Repeat this procedure for each driver that you want to include in the resulting WinPE media.
10. Choose whether you want to create ISO or WIM image or upload the media on a server (WDS or
RIS).
11. Specify the full path to the resulting image file including the file name, or specify the server and
provide the user name and password to access it.
12. Check your settings in the summary screen, and then click Proceed.
13. Burn the .ISO to CD or DVD by using a third-party tool or prepare a bootable flash drive.

Once a machine boots into WinPE, the agent starts automatically.

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To create a PE image (ISO file) from the resulting WIM file:

l Replace the default boot.wim file in your Windows PE folder with the newly created WIM file. For
the above example, type:

copy c:\AcronisMedia.wim c:\winpe_x86\ISO\sources\boot.wim

l Use the Oscdimg tool. For the above example, type:

oscdimg -n -bc:\winpe_x86\etfsboot.com c:\winpe_x86\ISO c:\winpe_x86\winpe_x86.iso

Warning!
Do not copy and paste this example. Type the command manually, otherwise it will fail.

For more information on customizing Windows PE 2.x and 3.x, see the Windows Preinstallation
Environment User's Guide (Winpe.chm). The information on customizing Windows PE 4.0 and later
is available in the Microsoft TechNet Library.

Connecting to a machine booted from media

Once a machine boots from bootable media, the machine terminal displays a startup window with
the IP address(es) obtained from DHCP or set according to the pre-configured values.

Configuring network settings

To change the network settings for a current session, click Configure network in the startup
window. The Network Settings window that appears will allow you to configure network settings
for each network interface card (NIC) of the machine.

Changes made during a session will be lost after the machine reboots.

Adding VLANs
In the Network Settings window, you can add virtual local area networks (VLANs). Use this
functionality if you need access to a backup location that is included in a specific VLAN.

VLANs are mainly used to divide a local area network into segments. A NIC that is connected to an
access port of the switch always has access to the VLAN specified in the port configuration. A NIC
connected to a trunk port of the switch can access the VLANs allowed in the port configuration only
if you specify the VLANs in the network settings.

To enable access to a VLAN via a trunk port

1. Click Add VLAN.

2. Select the NIC that provides access to the local area network that includes the required VLAN.
3. Specify the VLAN identifier.

After you click OK, a new entry appears in the list of network adapters.

If you need to remove a VLAN, click the required VLAN entry, and then click Remove VLAN.

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Local connection
To operate directly on the machine booted from bootable media, click Manage this machine
locally in the startup window.

Remote connection
To connect to the media remotely, register it on the management server, as described in
"Registering media on the management server".

Registering media on the management server

Registering bootable media enables you to manage the media via the backup console as if it was a
registered machine. This applies to all bootable media regardless of the boot method (physical
media, Startup Recovery Manager, Acronis PXE Server, WDS, or RIS). However, it is not possible to
register bootable media created in macOS.

Registering the media is possible only if at least one Acronis Cyber Backup Advanced license is
added to the management server.

You can register the media from the media UI.

The registration parameters can be pre-configured in the Management server option of Bootable
Media Builder. If all the registration parameters are pre-configured, the media will appear in the
backup console automatically. If some of the parameters are pre-configured, some steps in the
following procedures may be not available.

Registering the media from the media UI

The media can be downloaded or created by using Bootable Media Builder.

To register media from the media UI

1. Boot the machine from the media.

2. Do one of the following:
l In the startup window, under Management server, click Edit.
l In the bootable media interface, click Tools > Register media on the management server.
3. In Register at, specify the host name or IP address of the machine where the management
server is installed. You can use one of the following formats:
l http://<server>. For example, http://10.250.10.10 or http://server
l <IP address>. For example, 10.250.10.10
l <host name>. For example, server or server.example.com
4. In User name and Password, provide the credentials of an account that is in the list of the
management server administrators (Settings > Administrators). In the backup console, the

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 media will be available under the organization or under a specific unit, according to the
permissions given to the specified account.
5. In Display name, specify the name that will be displayed for this machine in the backup console.
If you leave this field empty, the display name will be set to one of the following:
l If the machine was previously registered on the management server, it will have the same
name.
l Otherwise, either the fully qualified domain name (FQDN) or the IP address of the machine
will be used.
6. Click OK.

Operations with a bootable media

Operations with the bootable media are similar to the backup and recovery operations that are
performed under a running operating system. The differences are as follows:

1. Under a bootable media with Windows-like volume representation, a volume has the same drive
letter as in Windows. Volumes that don't have drive letters in Windows (such as the System
Reserved volume) are assigned free letters in order of their sequence on the disk.
If the bootable media cannot detect Windows on the machine or detects more than one, all
volumes, including those without drive letters, are assigned letters in order of their sequence on
the disk. Thus, the volume letters may differ from those seen in Windows. For example, the D:
drive under the bootable media might correspond to the E: drive in Windows.

Note
It is advisable to assign unique names to the volumes.

2. The bootable media with Linux-like volume representation shows local disks and volumes as
unmounted (sda1, sda2...).
3. Backups created using bootable media have simplified file names. Standard names are assigned
to the backups only if these are added to an existing archive with standard file naming or if the
destination does not support simplified file names.
4. The bootable media with a Linux-like volume representation cannot write backups to an NTFS-
formatted volume. Switch to a media with Windows-like volume representation if you need to do
so. To toggle the bootable media volume representations, click Tools > Change volume
representation.
5. Tasks cannot be scheduled. If you need to repeat an operation, configure it from scratch.
6. The log lifetime is limited to the current session. You can save the entire log or the filtered log
entries to a file.
7. Centralized vaults are not displayed in the folder tree of the Archive window.
To access a managed vault, type the following string in the Path field:
bsp://node_address/vault_name/
To access an unmanaged centralized vault, type the full path to the vault's folder.
After entering access credentials, you will see a list of archives located in the vault.

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Setting up a display mode
When you boot a machine via Linux-based bootable media, a display video mode is detected
automatically based on the hardware configuration (monitor and graphics card specifications). If the
video mode is detected incorrectly, do the following:

1. In the boot menu, press F11.

2. On the command line, enter the following: vga=ask, and then proceed with booting.
3. From the list of supported video modes, choose the appropriate one by typing its number (for
example, 318), and then press Enter.

If you don't want to follow this procedure every time you boot a given hardware configuration, re-
create the bootable media with the appropriate mode number (in the example above, vga=0x318)
typed in the Kernel parameters window.

Backup
You can back up data only with a bootable media that you have created with Bootable Media
Builder, and by using your Acronis Cyber Backup license key. For more information about how to
create a bootable media, refer to Linux-based bootable media or Windows-PE based bootable
media, respectively.

To backup up data under bootable media

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1. Boot from Acronis bootable rescue media.

2. To back up the local machine, click Manage this machine locally. For remote connections, refer
to Registering media on the management server.

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3. Click Back up now.

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4. All non-removable disks of the machine are automatically selected for backup. To change the
data that will be backed up, click Items to backup, and then select the desired disks or volumes.
When selecting data to back up, you may see the following message: "This machine cannot be
selected directly. A previous agent version is installed on the machine. Use policy rules to select this
machine for backup." This is a GUI issue that can be safely ignored. Proceed with selecting the
individual disks or volumes that you want to back up.

Note
With the Linux-based bootable media you might see drive letters that are different from the
ones in Windows. Try identifying the drive or partition that you need by its size or label.

5. If you need to back up files or folders instead of disks, switch to Files in Data to back up.
Only disk/partition and file/folder backup are available under bootable media. Other types of
backups, such as database backup, are only available under the running operating system.

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6. Click Location to select where the backup will be saved.

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7. Specify the location and name for your backup.
8. Specify the backup type. If this is the first backup in this location, a full backup will be created. If
you continue a chain of backups, you can select Incremental or Differential, to save space. For
more information about the backup types, refer to https://kb.acronis.com/content/1536.

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9. [Optional] If you want to validate the backup file, select Validate a backup as soon as it is
created.

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10. [Optional] Specify the backup options that you might need – such as password for the backup
file, backup splitting, or error handling.

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11. Click OK to start the backup.
The bootable media reads data from disk, compresses it into a .tib file, and then writes this file to
the selected location. It does not create a disk snapshot as there are no running applications.
12. You can check the backup task status and additional information about the backup in the
window that appears.

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Recovery
The Recovery operation is available in both bootable media created with the Bootable Media Builder
and downloaded ready-made bootable media.

To recover data under bootable media

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1. Boot from Acronis bootable rescue media.

2. To recover data to the local machine, click Manage this machine locally. For remote
connections, refer to Registering media on the management server.

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3. Click Recover.

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4. In What to recover, click Select data.

5. Click Browse and select the backup location.

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6. Select the backup file that you want to recover from.

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7. In the lower left pane, select the drives/volumes (or files/folders) that you want to recover, and
then click OK.
8. [Optional] Configure the overwriting rules.

9. [Optional] Configure the recovery exclusions.

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10. [Optional] Configure the recovery options.

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11. Check that your settings are correct, and then click OK.

Note
To recover data to dissimilar hardware, you have to use Acronis Universal Restore.
Acronis Universal Restore is not available when the backup is located in Acronis Secure Zone.

Disk management
With Acronis bootable media you can prepare a disk/volume configuration for recovering the
volume images backed up with Acronis Cyber Backup.

Sometimes after the volume has been backed up and its image placed into a safe storage, the
machine disk configuration might change due to a HDD replacement or hardware loss. In such a
case, you can recreate the necessary disk configuration so that the volume image can be recovered
exactly “as it was” or with some alteration of the disk or volume structure you might consider
necessary.

To avoid possible data loss, take all necessary precautions.

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Note
All operations on disks and volumes involve a certain risk of data damage. Operations on system,
bootable or data volumes must be carried out very carefully to avoid potential problems with the
booting process or hard disk data storage.
Operations with hard disks and volumes take some time, and any power loss, unintentional turning
off of the machine or accidental pressing of the Reset button during the procedure could result in
volume damage and data loss.

You can perform disk management operations on a bare metal, on a machine that cannot boot or
on a non-Windows machine. You will need a bootable media that you have created with Bootable
Media Builder, and by using your Acronis Cyber Backup license key. For more information about
how to create a bootable media, refer to Linux-based bootable media or Windows-PE based
bootable media, respectively.

To perform disk management operations

1. Boot from Acronis bootable rescue media.

2. To work on the local machine, click Manage this machine locally. For remote connections,
refer to Registering media on the management server.

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3. Click Disk management.

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Note
Disk management operations under bootable media may work incorrectly if storage spaces are
configured on the machine.

Supported file systems

The bootable media supports disk management with the following file systems:

l FAT 16/32
l NTFS

If you need to perform operations on a volume with a different file system, use Acronis Disk
Director. It provides more tools and utilities to manage disks and volumes with the following file
systems:

l FAT 16/32
l NTFS
l Ext2
l Ext3
l HFS+
l HFSX
l ReiserFS
l JFS
l Linux SWAP

Basic precautions
To avoid possible disk and volume structure damage or data loss, take all necessary precautions
and follow these guidelines:

1. Back up the disk on which volumes will be created or managed. Having your most important
data backed up to another hard disk, network share or removable media will allow you to work
on disk volumes knowing that your data is safe.
2. Test your disk to make sure it is fully functional and does not contain bad sectors or file system
errors.
3. Do not perform any disk/volume operations while running other software that has low-level disk
access.

Choosing the operating system for disk management

On a machine with two or more operating systems, representation of disks and volumes depends
on which operating system is currently running. The same volume might have different letters
under different operating systems.

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When you perform a disk management operation, you have to specify disk layout for which
operating system will be displayed. To do so, click the operating system name next to the Disk
layout label and choose your desired operation system in the window that opens.

Disk operations
With the bootable media, you can perform the following disk management operations:

l Disk Initialization - Initializes a new hardware that was added to the system
l Basic disk cloning - Transfers complete data from a source basic MBR disk to a target disk
l Disk conversion: MBR to GPT - Converts an MBR partition table to GPT
l Disk conversion: GPT to MBR - Converts a GPT partition table to MBR
l Disk conversion: Basic to Dynamic - Converts a basic disk to dynamic
l Disk conversion: Dynamic to Basic - Converts a dynamic disk to basic

Disk initialization
The bootable media shows a non-initialized disk as a gray block with a grayed icon, thus indicating
that the disk is unusable by the system.

To initialize a disk

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1. Right-click the desired disk, and then click Initialize.
2. In the Disk Initialization window, set the disk partitioning scheme (MBR or GPT) and the disk
type (basic or dynamic).
3. By clicking OK, you will add a pending operation of disk initialization.
4. To complete the added operation, commit it. Exiting the program without committing the
operation will effectively cancel it.
5. After the initialization, the disk space remains unallocated. To be able to use it, you need to
create a volume on it.

Basic disk cloning

With a full-featured Linux-based bootable media, you can clone basic MBR disks. Disk cloning is not
available in the ready-made bootable media that you can download or in a bootable media that is
created without a license key.

Note
You can also clone disks by using the Acronis Cyber Backup Command-Line utility.

To clone basic disks under bootable media

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1. Boot from Acronis bootable rescue media.

2. To clone a disk of the local machine, click Manage this machine locally. For remote connection,
refer to Registering media on the management server.

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3. Click Disk management.

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4. The available disks are displayed. Right-click the disk that you want to clone, and then click Clone
basic disk.

Note
You can clone only entire disks. Partition cloning is not available.

5. A list of possible target disks is displayed.The program allows you to select a target disk if it is
large enough to hold all the data from the source disk without any loss. Select a target disk, and
then click Next.

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 If the target disk is larger, you can clone the disk as is or resize the source disk volumes
proportionally (default option), in order to avoid leaving unallocated space on the target disk.
If the target disk is smaller, only proportional resizing is available. If safe cloning is impossible
even with the proportional resizing, the you will not be able to continue the operation.

Important
If there is data on the target disk, you will see the warning: "The selected target disk is not empty.
The data on its volumes will be overwritten." If you proceed, all the data that is currently on the
target disk will be lost irrevocably.

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6. Select whether to copy the NT signature or not.

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 If you are cloning a disk comprising a system volume, you need to retain the operating system
bootability on the target disk volume. It means that the operating system must have the system
volume information (for example, volume letter) matched with the disk NT signature, which is
kept in the MBR disk record. However, two disks with the same NT signature cannot work
properly under one operating system.
If there are two disks with the same NT signature that comprise a system volume on a machine,
at the startup the operating system runs from the first disk, discovers the same signature on the
second one, and then automatically generates a new unique NT signature and assigns it to the
second disk. As a result, all the volumes on the second disk will lose their letters, all paths will not
be valid anymore, and programs won't find their files. The operating system on that disk will be
unbootable.
To retain system bootability on the target disk volume you can:
a. Copy the NT signature – provide the target disk with the source disk NT signature matched
with the registry keys that will also be copied on the target disk.
To do so, select the Copy NT signature check box.
You will receive the warning: “If there is an operating system on the hard disk, uninstall either the
source or the target hard disk drive from your machine prior to starting the machine again.
Otherwise, the OS will start from the first of the two, and the OS on the second disk will become
unbootable.”
The Shut down the machine after the operation check box is selected and disabled
automatically.

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 b. Leave the NT signature – keep the old target disk signature and update the operating
system according to the signature.
To do so, click to clear the Copy NT signature check box, if necessary.
The Shut down the machine after the operation check box will be cleared automatically.
7. Click Finish to add a pending operation of disk cloning.
8. Click Commit, and then click Proceed in the Pending Operations window. Exiting the program
without committing the operation will effectively cancel it.

9. If you chose to copy the NT signature, wait until the operation is completed and the computer is
turned off, and then disconnect either the source or the target hard disk drive from the machine.

Disk conversion: MBR to GPT

You might want to convert an MBR basic disk to a GPT basic disk if you need:

l More than 4 primary volumes on one disk.

l Additional disk reliability against any possible data damage.

Important
The basic MBR disk that contains the boot volume with the currently running operating system
cannot be converted to GPT.

To convert a basic MBR disk to basic GPT disk

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1. Right-click the disk that you want to clone, and then click Convert to GPT.
2. By clicking OK, you will add a pending operation of MBR to GPT disk conversion.
3. To complete the added operation, commit it. Exiting the program without committing the
operation will effectively cancel it.

Note
A GPT-partitioned disk reserves the space in the end of the partitioned area necessary for the
backup area, which stores copies of the GPT header and the partition table. If the disk is full and the
volume size cannot be automatically decreased, the conversion operation of the MBR disk to GPT
will faill.
The operation is irreversible. If you have a primary volume belonging to an MBR disk and convert
the disk first to GPT and then back to MBR, the volume will become logical and cannot be used as a
system volume.

Dynamic disk conversion: MBR to GPT

The bootable media does not support direct MBR to GPT conversion for dynamic disks. However,
you can perform the following conversions to reach this goal:

1. MBR disk conversion: dynamic to basic using the Convert to basic operation.
2. Basic disk conversion: MBR to GPT using the Convert to GPT operation.
3. GPT disk conversion: basic to dynamic using the Convert to dynamic operation.

Disk conversion: GPT to MBR

If you plan to install an OS that does not support GPT disks, conversion of the GPT disk to MBR is
possible.

Important
The basic GPT disk that contains the boot volume with the currently running operating system
cannot be converted to MBR.

To convert a GPT disk to MBR

1. Right-click the disk that you want to clone, and then click Convert to MBR.
2. By clicking OK, you will add a pending operation of GPT to MBR disk conversion.
3. To complete the added operation, commit it. Exiting the program without committing the
operation will effectively cancel it.

Note
After the operation, the volumes on this disk will become logical. This change is irreversible.

Disk conversion: basic to dynamic

You might want to convert a basic disk to dynamic if you:

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l Plan to use the disk as part of a dynamic disk group
l Want to achieve additional disk reliability for data storage

To convert a basic disk to dynamic

1. Right-click the disk that you want to convert, and then click Convert to dynamic.
2. Click OK.

The conversion will be performed immediately and your machine will be rebooted, if necessary.

Note
A dynamic disk occupies the last megabyte of the physical disk to store the database, including the
four-level description (Volume-Component-Partition-Disk) for each dynamic volume. If during the
conversion to dynamic it turns out that the basic disk is full and the size of its volumes cannot be
decreased automatically, the operation will fail.
Conversion of disks comprising system volumes takes some time and any power loss, unintentional
turning off of the machine or accidental pressing of the Reset button during the procedure could
result in bootability loss.

In contrast to Windows Disk Manager, the program ensures bootability of an offline operating
system on the disk after the operation.

Disk conversion: dynamic to basic

You might want to convert dynamic disks back to basic ones, for example, if you want to use an
operation system that does not support dynamic disks.

To convert a dynamic disk to basic:

1. Right-click the disk that you want to convert, and then click Convert to basic.
2. Click OK.

The conversion will be performed immediately and your machine will be rebooted, if necessary.

Note
This operation is not available for dynamic disks that contain Spanned, Striped, or RAID-5 volumes.

After the conversion, the last 8Mb of disk space is reserved for a future conversion of the disk from
basic to dynamic. In some cases the possible unallocated space and the proposed maximum
volume size might differ (for example, when the size of one mirror establishes the size of the other
mirror, or the last 8Mb of disk space are reserved for the future conversion of the disk from basic to
dynamic).

Note
Conversion of disks comprising system volumes takes some and any power loss, unintentional
turning off of the machine or accidental pressing of the Reset button during the procedure could
result in bootability loss.

In contrast to Windows Disk Manager, the program ensures:

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l Safe conversion of a dynamic disk to basic when it contains volumes with data for simple and
mirrored volumes
l In multiboot systems, bootability of a system that was offline during the operation

Volume operations
With the bootable media, you can perform the following operations on volumes:

l Create Volume - Creates a new volume

l Delete Volume - Deletes the selected volume
l Set Active - Sets the selected volume active so that the machine will be able to boot with the OS
installed there
l Change Letter - Changes the selected volume letter
l Change Label - Changes the selected volume label
l Format Volume - Formats a volume with the a file system

Types of dynamic volumes

Simple Volume
A volume created from free space on a single physical disk. It can consist of one region on
the disk or several regions, virtually united by the Logical Disk Manager (LDM). It provides neither
additional reliability or speed improvement, nor extra size.

Spanned Volume
A volume created from free disk space virtually linked together by the LDM from several
physical disks. Up to 32 disks can be included into one volume, thus overcoming the hardware size
limitations. However, even if just one disk fails, all data will be lost. Also, no part of a spanned
volume can be removed without destroying the entire volume. So, a spanned volume does not
provide additional reliability or a better I/O rate.

Striped Volume
A volume, also called RAID 0, consisting of equal sized stripes of data, written across each
disk in the volume. That is, to create a striped volume, you need two or more dynamic disks. The
disks in a striped volume don’t have to be identical, but there must be unused space available on
each disk that you want to include in the volume. The size of the volume will depend on the size of
the smallest space. Access to the data on a striped volume is usually faster than access to the same
data on a single physical disk, because the I/O is spread across more than one disk.

Striped volumes are created for improved performance, not for their better reliability – they
don't contain redundant information.

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Mirrored Volume
A fault-tolerant volume, also called RAID 1, whose data is duplicated on two identical
physical disks. All of the data on one disk is copied to another disk to provide data redundancy.
Almost any volume can be mirrored, including the system and boot volumes, and if one of the disks
fails, the data can still be accessed from the remaining disks. Unfortunately, the hardware
limitations on size and performance are even more severe with the use of mirrored volumes.

Mirrored-Striped Volume
A fault-tolerant volume, also sometimes called RAID 1+0, combining the advantage of the
high I/O speed of the striped layout and redundancy of the mirror type. The disadvantage remains
inherent with the mirror architecture – a low disk-to-volume size ratio.

RAID-5
A fault-tolerant volume whose data is striped across an array of three or more disks. The
disks don't need to be identical, but there must be equally sized blocks of unallocated space
available on each disk in the volume. Parity (a calculated value that can be used to reconstruct data
in case of failure) is also striped across the disk array and it is always stored on a different disk than
the data itself. If a physical disk fails, the portion of the RAID-5 volume that was on that failed disk
can be re-created from the remaining data and the parity. A RAID-5 volume provides reliability and
is able to overcome the physical disk size limitations with a higher than mirrored disk-to-volume size
ratio.

Create a volume
You might need a new volume to:

l Recover a previously saved backup copy in the “exactly as was” configuration

l Store collections of similar files separately — for example, an MP3 collection or video files on a
separate volume
l Store backups (images) of other volumes/disks on a special volume
l Install a new operating system (or swap file) on a new volume
l Add new hardware to a machine

To create a volume

1. Right-click any unallocated space in a disk, and then click Create volume. The Create volume
wizard opens.

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2. Select the type of volume. The following options are available:
l Basic
l Simple/Spanned
l Striped
l Mirrored
l RAID-5
If the current operating system does not support the selected type of volume , you will receive a
warning and the Next button will be disabled. You have to select another type of volume to
proceed.
3. Specify the unallocated space or select destination disks.
l For a basic volume, specify the unallocated space on the selected disk.
l For a simple/spanned volume, select one or more destination disks.
l For a mirrored volume, select two destination disks.
l For a striped volume, select two or more destination disks.
l For a RAID-5 volume, select three destination disks
If you are creating a dynamic volume and select one or several basic disks as its destination, you
will receive a warning that the selected disk will be converted to dynamic automatically.
4. Set the volume size.
The maximum value normally reflects the maximum unallocated space possible. In some cases,
the proposed maximum value might differ – for example, when the size of one mirror

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 establishes the size of the other mirror, or the last 8Mb of the disk space are reserved for the
future conversion of the disk from basic to dynamic.
You can choose the position of a new basic volume on a disk, if the unallocated space on that
disk is bigger than the volume.
5. Set the volume options.

You can assign the volume Letter (by default – the first free letter of the alphabet) and optionally
– a Label (by default – none). You must also specify the File system and the Cluster size.
The possible file systems options are:
l FAT16 (disabled if the volume size has been set at more than 2 GB)
l FAT32 (disabled if the volume size has been set at more than 2 TB)
l NTFS
l Leave the volume unformatted.
When setting the cluster size, you can choose any number in the preset amount for each file
system. The cluster size that is suggested by default is best suited to the volume with the chosen
file system. If you set a 64K cluster size for FAT16/FAT32 or on 8KB-64KB cluster size for NTFS,
Windows can mount the volume, but some programs (for example, Setup programs) might
calculate its disk space incorrectly.
If you are creating a basic volume, which can be made a system volume, you can also select the
volume type — Primary (Active Primary) or Logical. Typically, Primary is selected when you
want to install an operating system to a volume. Select the Active (default) value if you want to

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 install an operating system on this volume to boot at machine startup. If the Primary button is
not selected, the Active option will be inactive. If the volume is intended for data storage, select
Logical.

Note
A basic disk can contain up to four primary volumes. If they already exist, the disk will have to be
converted into dynamic, otherwise Active and Primary options will be disabled and you will
only be able to select the Logical volume type.

6. Click Commit, and then click Proceed in the Pending Operations window. Exiting the program
without committing the operation will effectively cancel it.

Delete a volume
To delete a volume

1. Right-click the volume that you want to delete.

2. Click Delete volume .

Note
All the information on this volume will be lost irrevocably.

3. By clicking OK, you will add a pending operation of volume deletion.

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4. To complete the added operation, commit it. Exiting the program without committing the
operation will effectively cancel it.

After a volume is deleted, its space is added to unallocated disk space. You can use it to create a
new volume or to change another volume's type.

Set active volume

If you have several primary volumes, you must specify one to be the boot volume. For this, you can
set a volume to become active. A disk can have only one active volume.

To set a volume active:

1. Right-click the desired primary volume on a basic MBR, and then click Mark as active.
If there is no other active volume in the system, the pending operation of setting active volume
will be added. If another active volume is present in the system, you will receive a warning that
the previous active volume must be set passive first.

Note
Due to setting the new active volume, the former active volume letter might be changed and
some of the installed programs might stop running.

2. By clicking OK, you will add a pending operation of setting active volume.

Note
Even if you have the operating system on the new active volume, in some cases the machine will
not be able to boot from it. You will have to confirm your decision to set the new volume as
active.

3. To complete the added operation, commit it. Exiting the program without committing the
operation will effectively cancel it.

Change volume letter

Windows operating systems assign letters (C:, D:, etc) to hard disk volumes at startup. These letters
are used by applications and operating systems to locate files and folders in the volumes.
Connecting an additional disk, as well as creating or deleting a volume on existing disks, might
change your system configuration. As a result, some applications might stop working normally or
user files might not be automatically found and opened. To prevent this, you can manually change
the letters that are automatically assigned to the volumes by the operating system.

То change a letter assigned to a volume by the operating system

1. Right-click the desired volume, and then click Change letter.

2. In the Change Letter window, select a new letter .
3. By clicking OK, you will add a pending operation of volume letter assignement.
4. To complete the added operation, commit it. Exiting the program without committing the
operation will effectively cancel it.

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Change volume label
The volume label is an optional attribute. It is a name assigned to a volume for easier recognition.

To change a volume label

1. Right-click the desired volume, and then click Change label.

2. Enter a new label in the Change label window text field.
3. By clicking OK, you will add a pending operation of changing the volume label.
4. To complete the added operation, commit it. Exiting the program without committing the
operation will effectively cancel it.

Format volume
You might want to format a volume if you want to change its file system:

l Тo save additional space which is being lost due to the cluster size on the FAT16 or FAT32 file
systems
l Аs a quick and more or less reliable way of destroying data, residing in this volume

Тo format a volume:

1. Right-click the desired volume, and then click Format.

2. Select the cluster size and file system. The possible file systems options are:
l FAT16 (disabled if the volume size has been set at more than 2 GB)
l FAT32 (disabled if the volume size has been set at more than 2 TB)
l NTFS
3. By clicking OK, you will add a pending operation of formatting a volume.
4. To complete the added operation, commit it. Exiting the program without committing the
operation will effectively cancel it.

Pending operations
All operations are considered pending until you issue and confirm the Commit command. Thus you
can control all planned operations, double-check the intended changes, and cancel any operation
before is is executed, if necessary.

The Disk management view contains the toolbar with icons for Undo, Redo and Commit actions
intended for pending operations. These actions might also be launched from the Disk
management menu.

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All planned operations are added to the pending operation list.

The Undo action lets you undo the latest operation in the list. While the list is not empty, this action
is available.

The Redo action lets you reinstate the last pending operation that was undone.

The Commit action forwards you to the Pending Operations window, where you will be able to
view the pending operation list.

To launch their execution, click Proceed.

Note
You will not be able to undo any actions or operations after you choose the Proceed operation!

If you don't want to proceed with the commitment, click Cancel. Then no changes will be made to
the pending operation list. Quitting the program without committing the pending operations also
effectively cancels them.

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Configuring iSCSI devices
This section describes how to configure Internet Small Computer System Interface (iSCSI) devices
when working under bootable media. After performing the steps below, you will be able to use
these devices as if they were locally attached to the machine booted with bootable media.

An iSCSI target server (or target portal) is a server that hosts an iSCSI device. An iSCSI target is a
component on the target server; this component shares the device and lists iSCSI initiators that are
allowed access to the device. An iSCSI initiator is a component on a machine; this component
provides interaction between the machine and an iSCSI target. When configuring access to an iSCSI
device on a machine booted with bootable media, you need to specify the iSCSI target portal of the
device and one of the iSCSI initiators listed in the target. If the target shares several devices, you will
get access to all of them.

To add an iSCSI device in a Linux-based bootable media

1. Click Tools > Configure iSCSI/NDAS devices.

2. Click Add host.
3. Specify the IP address and port of the iSCSI target portal, and the name of any iSCSI initiator that
is allowed access to the device.
4. If the host requires authentication, specify the user name and password for it.
5. Click OK.

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6. Select the iSCSI target from the list, and then click Connect.
7. If CHAP authentication is enabled in the iSCSI target settings, you will be prompted for
credentials to access the iSCSI target. Specify the same user name and target secret as in the
iSCSI target settings. Click OK.
8. Click Close to close the window.

To add an iSCSI device in a PE-based bootable media

1. Click Tools > Run the iSCSI Setup.

2. Click the Discovery tab.
3. Under Target Portals, click Add, and then specify the IP address and port of the iSCSI target
portal. Click OK.
4. Click the General tab, click Change, and then specify the name of any iSCSI initiator that is
allowed access to the device.
5. Click the Targets tab, click Refresh, select the iSCSI target from the list, and then click Connect.
Click OK to connect to the iSCSI target.
6. If CHAP authentication is enabled in the iSCSI target settings, you will see the Authentication
Failure error. In this case, click Connect, click Advanced, select the Enable CHAP log on check
box, and then specify the same user name and target secret as in the iSCSI target settings. Click
OK to close the window, and then click OK to connect to the iSCSI target.
7. Click OK to close the window.

Startup Recovery Manager

Startup Recovery Manager is a bootable component residing on the system disk in Windows, or on
the /boot partition in Linux and configured to start at boot time on pressing F11. It eliminates the
need for a separate media or network connection to start the bootable rescue utility.

Startup Recovery Manager is especially useful for traveling users. If a failure occurs, reboot the
machine, wait for the prompt "Press F11 for Acronis Startup Recovery Manager…" to appear, and
then press F11. The program will start and you can perform recovery.

You can also back up using Startup Recovery Manager, while on the move.

On machines with the GRUB boot loader installed, you select the Startup Recovery Manager from
the boot menu instead of pressing F11.

Activating Startup Recovery Manager

On a machine running Agent for Windows or Agent for Linux, Startup Recovery Manager can be
activated by using the backup console.

To activate Startup Recovery Manager in the backup console

1. Select the machine that you want to activate Startup Recovery Manager on.
2. Click Details.

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3. Enable the Startup Recovery Manager switch.
4. Wait while the software activates Startup Recovery Manager.

To activate Startup Recovery Manager on a machine without an agent

1. Boot the machine from bootable media.

2. Click Tools > Activate Startup Recovery Manager .
3. Wait while the software activates Startup Recovery Manager.

What happens when you activate Startup Recovery Manager

Activation enables the boot-time prompt "Press F11 for Acronis Startup Recovery Manager…" (if you
do not have the GRUB boot loader) or adds the " Startup Recovery Manager" item to GRUB's menu
(if you have GRUB).

Note
The system disk (or, the /boot partition in Linux) should have at least 100 MB of free space to
activate Startup Recovery Manager.

Unless you use the GRUB boot loader and it is installed in the Master Boot Record (MBR), Startup
Recovery Manager activation overwrites the MBR with its own boot code. Thus, you may need to
reactivate third-party boot loaders if they are installed.

Under Linux, when using a boot loader other than GRUB (such as LILO), consider installing it to a
Linux root (or boot) partition boot record instead of the MBR before activating Startup Recovery
Manager. Otherwise, reconfigure the boot loader manually after the activation.

Deactivating Startup Recovery Manager

Deactivation is performed similarly to activation.

Deactivation disables the boot time prompt "Press F11 for Acronis Startup Recovery Manager…" (or,
the menu item in GRUB). If Startup Recovery Manager is not activated, you will need one of the
following to recover the system when it fails to boot:

l boot the machine from a separate bootable media

l use network boot from a PXE server or Microsoft Remote Installation Services (RIS)

Acronis PXE Server

Acronis PXE Server allows for booting machines to Acronis bootable components through the
network.

Network booting:

l eliminates the need to have a technician onsite to install the bootable media into the system that
must be booted

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l during group operations, reduces the time required for booting multiple machines as compared
to using physical bootable media.

Bootable components are uploaded to Acronis PXE Server using Acronis Bootable Media Builder. To
upload bootable components, start the Bootable Media Builder, and then follow the step-by-step
instructions described in "Linux-based bootable media".

Booting multiple machines from the Acronis PXE Server makes sense if there is a Dynamic Host
Control Protocol (DHCP) server on your network. Then the network interfaces of the booted
machines will automatically obtain IP addresses.

Limitation:

Acronis PXE Server does not support UEFI boot loader.

Installing Acronis PXE Server

To install Acronis PXE Server

1. Log on as an administrator and start the Acronis Cyber Backup setup program.
2. [Optional] To change the language the setup program is displayed in, click Setup language.
3. Accept the terms of the license agreement and select whether the machine will participate in the
Acronis Customer Experience Program (ACEP).

4. Click Customize installation settings.

5. Next to What to install, click Change.
6. Select the PXE Server check box. If you do not want to install other components on this
machine, clear the corresponding check boxes. Click Done to continue.
7. [Optional] Change other installation settings.
8. Click Install to proceed with the installation.
9. After the installation completes, click Close.

Acronis PXE Server runs as a service immediately after installation. Later on it will automatically
launch at each system restart. You can stop and start Acronis PXE Server in the same way as other
Windows services.

Setting up a machine to boot from PXE

For bare metal, it is enough that the machine’s BIOS supports network booting.

On a machine that has an operating system on the hard disk, the BIOS must be configured so that
the network interface card is either the first boot device, or at least prior to the Hard Drive device.
The example below shows one of reasonable BIOS configurations. If you don’t insert bootable
media, the machine will boot from the network.

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In some BIOS versions, you have to save changes to BIOS after enabling the network interface card
so that the card appears in the list of boot devices.

If the hardware has multiple network interface cards, make sure that the card supported by the
BIOS has the network cable plugged in.

Work across subnets

To enable the Acronis PXE Server to work in another subnet (across the switch), configure the switch
to relay the PXE traffic. The PXE server IP addresses are configured on a per-interface basis using IP
helper functionality in the same way as DHCP server addresses. For more information please refer
to: https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/257579/pxe-clients-do-not-receive-an-ip-address-
from-a-dhcp-server.

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Protecting mobile devices
The backup app allows you to back up your mobile data to the Cloud storage and then recover it in
case of loss or corruption. Note that backup to the cloud storage requires an account and the Cloud
subscription.

Supported mobile devices

You can install the backup app on a mobile device that runs one of the following operating systems:

l iOS 10.3 and later (iPhone, iPod, and iPads)

l Android 5.0 and later

What you can back up

l Contacts
l Photos
l Videos
l Calendars
l Reminders (only on iOS devices)

What you need to know

l You can back up the data only to the cloud storage.
l Any time you open the app, you will see the summary of data changes and can start a backup
manually.
l The Continuous backup functionality is enabled by default. If this setting is turned on:
o For Android 7.0 or higher, the backup app automatically detects new data on-the-fly and
uploads it to the Cloud.
o For Android 5 and 6, it checks for changes every three hours. You can turn off continuous
backup in the app settings.
l The Use Wi-Fi only option is enabled by default in the app settings. If this setting is turned on,
the backup app will back up your data only when a Wi-Fi connection is available. If the Wi-Fi
connection is lost, a backup process does not start. For the app to use cellular connection as well,
turn this option off.
l You have two ways to save energy:
o The Back up while charging functionality which is disabled by default. If this setting is turned
on, the backup app will back up your data only when your device is connected to a power
source. When the device is disconnected from a power source during a continuous backup
process, the backup is paused.

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 o The Save power mode which is enabled by default. If this setting is turned on, the backup app
will back up your data only when your device battery is not low. When the device battery gets
low, the continuous backup is paused. This option is available for Android 8 or higher.
l You can access the backed-up data from any mobile device registered under your account. This
helps you transfer the data from an old mobile device to a new one. Contacts and photos from an
Android device can be recovered to an iOS device and vice versa. You can also download a photo,
video, or contact to any device by using the backup console.
l The data backed up from mobile devices registered under your account is available only under
this account. Nobody else can view or recover your data.
l In the backup app, you can recover only the latest data versions. If you need to recover from a
specific backup version, use the backup console on either a tablet or a computer.
l [Only for Android devices] If an SD card is present during a backup, the data stored on this card is
also backed up. The data will be recovered to an SD card, to the folder Recovered by Backup if it
is present during recovery, or the app will ask for a different location to recover the data to.

Where to get the backup app

1. On the mobile device, open a browser and go to https://backup.acronis.com/.
2. Sign in with your account.
3. Click All devices > Add.
4. Under Mobile devices, select the device type.
Depending on the device type, you will be redirected to the App Store or to the Google Play
Store.
5. [Only on iOS devices] Click Get.
6. Click Install to install the backup app.

How to start backing up your data

1. Open the app.
2. Sign in with your account.

Tap Set up to create your first backup.

1. Select the data categories that you want to back up. By default, all categories are selected.
2. [optional step] Enable Encrypt Backup to protect your backup by encryption. In this case, you
will need to also:
a. Enter an encryption password twice.

Note
Make sure you remember the password, because a forgotten password can never be
restored or changed.

b. Tap Encrypt.
3. Tap Back up.

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4. Allow the app access to your personal data. If you deny access to some data categories, they will
not be backed up.

The backup starts.

How to recover data to a mobile device

1. Open the backup app.
2. Tap Browse.
3. Tap the device name.
4. Do one of the following:
l To recover all of the backed-up data, tap Recover all. No more actions are required.
l To recover one or more data categories, tap Select, and then tap the check boxes for the
required data categories. Tap Recover. No more actions are required.
l To recover one or more data items belonging to the same data category, tap the data
category. Proceed to further steps.
5. Do one of the following:
l To recover a single data item, tap it.
l To recover several data items, tap Select, and then tap the check boxes for the required data
items.
6. Tap Recover.

How to review data via the backup console

1. On a computer, open a browser and type the backup console URL.
2. Sign in with your account.
3. In All devices, click Recover under your mobile device name.
4. Do any of the following:
l To download all photos, videos, contacts, calendars, or reminders, select the respective data
category. Click Download.

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 l To download individual photos, videos, contacts, calendars, or reminders, click the respective
data category name, and then select the check boxes for the required data items. Click
Download.

l To preview a photo or a contact, click the respective data category name, and then click the
required data item.

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Protecting Microsoft applications
Note
In cloud deployments, some of the features described in this section might not be available or
might be different.

Protecting Microsoft SQL Server and Microsoft Exchange

Server
There are two methods of protecting these applications:

l Database backup
This is a file-level backup of the databases and the metadata associated with them. The
databases can be recovered to a live application or as files.
l Application-aware backup
This is a disk-level backup that also collects the applications' metadata. This metadata enables
browsing and recovery of the application data without recovering the entire disk or volume. The
disk or volume can also be recovered as a whole. This means that a single solution and a single
backup plan can be used for both disaster recovery and data protection purposes.

For Microsoft Exchange Server, you can opt for Mailbox backup. This is a backup of individual
mailboxes via the Exchange Web Services protocol. The mailboxes or mailbox items can be
recovered to a live Exchange Server or to Microsoft Office 365. Mailbox backup is supported for
Microsoft Exchange Server 2010 Service Pack 1 (SP1) and later.

Protecting Microsoft SharePoint

A Microsoft SharePoint farm consists of front-end servers that run SharePoint services, database
servers that run Microsoft SQL Server, and (optionally) application servers that offload some
SharePoint services from the front-end servers. Some front-end and application servers may be
identical to each other.

To protect an entire SharePoint farm:

l Back up all of the database servers with application-aware backup.

l Back up all of the unique front-end servers and application servers with usual disk-level backup.

The backups of all servers should be done on the same schedule.

To protect only the content, you can back up the content databases separately.

Protecting a domain controller

A machine running Active Directory Domain Services can be protected by application-aware backup.
If a domain contains more than one domain controller, and you recover one of them, a

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nonauthoritative restore is performed and a USN rollback will not occur after the recovery.

Recovering applications
The following table summarizes the available application recovery methods.

From a database backup From an application-aware From a

backup disk
backup

Microsoft SQL Server Databases to a live SQL Server Entire machine Entire
instance machine
Databases to a live SQL Server
Databases as files instance

Databases as files

Microsoft Exchange Databases to a live Exchange Entire machine Entire

Server machine
Databases as files Databases to a live Exchange

Granular recovery to a live Databases as files

Exchange or to Office 365*
Granular recovery to a live
Exchange or to Office 365*

Microsoft SharePoint Databases to a live SQL Server Entire machine Entire

database servers instance machine
Databases to a live SQL Server
Databases as files instance

Granular recovery by using Databases as files

SharePoint Explorer
Granular recovery by using
SharePoint Explorer

Microsoft SharePoint - - Entire

front-end web servers machine

Active Directory Domain - Entire machine -

Services

* Granular recovery is also available from a mailbox backup.

Prerequisites
Before configuring the application backup, ensure that the requirements listed below are met.

To check the VSS writers state, use the vssadmin list writers command.

Common requirements
For Microsoft SQL Server, ensure that:

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l At least one Microsoft SQL Server instance is started.
l The SQL writer for VSS is turned on.

For Microsoft Exchange Server, ensure that:

l The Microsoft Exchange Information Store service is started.

l Windows PowerShell is installed. For Exchange 2010 or later, the Windows PowerShell version
must be at least 2.0.
l Microsoft .NET Framework is installed.
For Exchange 2007, the Microsoft .NET Framework version must be at least 2.0.
For Exchange 2010 or later, the Microsoft .NET Framework version must be at least 3.5.
l The Exchange writer for VSS is turned on.

Note
Agent for Exchange needs a temporary storage to operate. By default, the temporary files are
located in %ProgramData%\Acronis\Temp. Ensure that you have at least as much free space on the
volume where the %ProgramData% folder is located as 15 percent of an Exchange database size.
Alternatively, you can change the location of the temporary files before creating Exchange backups
as described in: https://kb.acronis.com/content/40040.

On a domain controller, ensure that:

l The Active Directory writer for VSS is turned on.

When creating a protection plan, ensure that:

l For physical machines, the Volume Shadow Copy Service (VSS) backup option is enabled.
l For virtual machines, the Volume Shadow Copy Service (VSS) for virtual machines backup option
is enabled.

Additional requirements for application-aware backups

When creating a protection plan, ensure that Entire machine is selected for backup. The Sector-by-
sector backup option must be disabled in a protection plan, otherwise it will be impossible to
perform a recovery of application data from such backups. If the plan is executed in the Sector-by-
sector mode due to an automatic switch to this mode, then recovery of application data will also be
impossible.

Requirements for ESXi virtual machines

If the application runs on a virtual machine that is backed up by Agent for VMware, ensure that:

l The virtual machine being backed up meets the requirements for application-consistent backup
and restore listed in the article "Windows Backup Implementations" in the VMware
documentation: https://code.vmware.com/docs/1674/virtual-disk-programming-
guide/doc/vddkBkupVadp.9.6.html
l VMware Tools is installed and up-to-date on the machine.

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l User Account Control (UAC) is disabled on the machine. If you do not want to disable UAC, you
must provide the credentials of a built-in domain administrator (DOMAIN\Administrator) when
enabling application backup.

Requirements for Hyper-V virtual machines

If the application runs on a virtual machine that is backed up by Agent for Hyper-V, ensure that:

l The guest operating system is Windows Server 2008 or later.

l For Hyper-V 2008 R2: the guest operating system is Windows Server 2008/2008 R2/2012.
l The virtual machine has no dynamic disks.
l The network connection exists between the Hyper-V host and the guest operating system. This is
required to execute remote WMI queries inside the virtual machine.
l User Account Control (UAC) is disabled on the machine. If you do not want to disable UAC, you
must provide the credentials of a built-in domain administrator (DOMAIN\Administrator) when
enabling application backup.
l The virtual machine configuration matches the following criteria:
o Hyper-V Integration Services is installed and up-to-date. The critical update is
https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/3063109/hyper-v-integration-components-update-
for-windows-virtual-machines
o In the virtual machine settings, the Management > Integration Services > Backup (volume
checkpoint) option is enabled.
o For Hyper-V 2012 and later: the virtual machine has no checkpoints.
o For Hyper-V 2012 R2 and later: the virtual machine has a SCSI controller (check Settings >
Hardware).

Database backup
Before backing up databases, ensure that the requirements listed in "Prerequisites" are met.

Select the databases as described below, and then specify other settings of the backup plan as
appropriate.

Selecting SQL databases

A backup of an SQL database contains the database files (.mdf, .ndf), log files (.ldf), and other
associated files. The files are backed with the help of the SQL Writer service. The service must be
running at the time that the Volume Shadow Copy Service (VSS) requests a backup or recovery.

The SQL transaction logs are truncated after each successful backup. SQL log truncation can be
disabled in the backup plan options.

To select SQL databases

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1. Click Devices > Microsoft SQL.
The software shows the tree of SQL Server Always On Availability Groups (AAG), machines
running Microsoft SQL Server, SQL Server instances, and databases.
2. Browse to the data that you want to back up.
Expand the tree nodes or double-click items in the list to the right of the tree.
3. Select the data that you want to back up. You can select AAGs, machines running SQL Server,
SQL Server instances, or individual databases.
l If you select an AAG, all databases that are included into the selected AAG will be backed up.
For more information about backing up AAGs, refer to "Protecting Always On Availability
Groups (AAG)".
l If you select a machine running SQL Server, all databases that are attached to all SQL Server
instances running on the selected machine will be backed up.
l If you select a SQL Server instance, all databases that are attached to the selected instance will
be backed up.
l If you select databases directly, only the selected databases will be backed up.
4. Click Backup. If prompted, provide credentials to access the SQL Server data. The account must
be a member of the Backup Operators or Administrators group on the machine and a
member of the sysadmin role on each of the instances that you are going to back up.

Selecting Exchange Server data

The following table summarizes the Microsoft Exchange Server data that you can select for backup
and the minimal user rights required to back up the data.

Exchange version Data items User rights

2007 Storage groups Membership in the Exchange Organization

Administrators role group

2010/2013/2016/2019 Databases, Database Membership in the Server Management role

Availability Groups (DAG) group.

A full backup contains all of the selected Exchange Server data.

An incremental backup contains the changed blocks of the database files, the checkpoint files, and a
small number of the log files that are more recent than the corresponding database checkpoint.
Because changes to the database files are included in the backup, there is no need to back up all the
transaction log records since the previous backup. Only the log that is more recent than the
checkpoint needs to be replayed after a recovery. This makes for faster recovery and ensures
successful database backup, even with circular logging enabled.

The transaction log files are truncated after each successful backup.

To select Exchange Server data

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1. Click Devices > Microsoft Exchange.
The software shows the tree of Exchange Server Database Availability Groups (DAG), machines
running Microsoft Exchange Server, and Exchange Server databases. If you configured Agent for
Exchange as described in "Mailbox backup", mailboxes are also shown in this tree.
2. Browse to the data that you want to back up.
Expand the tree nodes or double-click items in the list to the right of the tree.
3. Select the data that you want to back up.
l If you select a DAG, one copy of each clustered database will be backed up. For more
information about backing up DAGs, refer to "Protecting Database Availability Groups (DAG)".
l If you select a machine running Microsoft Exchange Server, all databases that are mounted to
the Exchange Server running on the selected machine will be backed up.
l If you select databases directly, only the selected databases will be backed up.
l If you configured Agent for Exchange as described in "Mailbox backup", you can select
mailboxes for backup.
4. If prompted, provide the credentials to access the data.
5. Click Protect.

Protecting Always On Availability Groups (AAG)

Note
This functionality is not available in the Standard edition of Acronis Cyber Backup.

SQL Server high-availability solutions overview

The Windows Server Failover Clustering (WSFC) functionality enables you to configure a highly
available SQL Server through redundancy at the instance level (Failover Cluster Instance, FCI) or at
the database level (AlwaysOn Availability Group, AAG). You can also combine both methods.

In a Failover Cluster Instance, SQL databases are located on a shared storage. This storage can only
be accessed from the active cluster node. If the active node fails, a failover occurs and a different
node becomes active.

In an availability group, each database replica resides on a different node. If the primary replica
becomes not available, a secondary replica residing on a different node is assigned the primary role.

Thus, the clusters are already serving as a disaster recovery solution themselves. However, there
might be cases when the clusters cannot provide data protection: for example, in case of a database
logical corruption, or when the entire cluster is down. Also cluster solutions do not protect from
harmful content changes, as they usually immediately replicate to all cluster nodes.

Supported cluster configurations

This backup software supports only the Always On Availability Group (AAG) for SQL Server 2012 or
later. Other cluster configurations, such as Failover Cluster Instances, database mirroring, and log
shipping are not supported.

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How many agents are required for cluster data backup and recovery?
For successful data backup and recovery of a cluster Agent for SQL has to be installed on each node
of the WSFC cluster.

Backing up databases included in an AAG

1. Install Agent for SQL on each node of the WSFC cluster.

Note
After you install the agent on one of the nodes, the software displays the AAG and its nodes
under Devices > Microsoft SQL > Databases. To install Agents for SQL on the rest of the nodes,
select the AAG, click Details, and then click Install agent next to each of the nodes.

2. Select the AAG to backup as described in "Selecting SQL databases".

Important
You must select the AAG itself, rather than the individual nodes or databases inside of it. If you
select individual items inside the AAG, the backup will not be cluster-aware and only the selected
copies of the items will be backed up.

3. Configure the "Cluster backup mode" backup option.

Recovery of databases included in an AAG

1. Select the databases that you want to recover, and then select the recovery point from which
you want to recover the databases.
When you select a clustered database under Devices > Microsoft SQL > Databases, and then
click Recover, the software shows only the recovery points that correspond to the times when
the selected copy of the database was backed up.
The easiest way to view all recovery points of a clustered database is to select the backup of the
entire AAG on the Backups tab. The names of AAG backups are based on the following template:
<AAG name> - <backup plan name> and have a special icon.
2. To configure recovery, follow the steps described in "Recovering SQL databases", starting from
step 5.
The software automatically defines a cluster node to which the data will be recovered. The
node's name is displayed in the Recover to field. You can manually change the target node.

Important
A database that is included in an Always On Availability Group cannot be overwritten during a
recovery because Microsoft SQL Server prohibits this. You need to exclude the target database
from the AAG before the recovery. Or, just recover the database as a new non-AAG one. When
the recovery is completed, you can reconstruct the original AAG configuration.

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Protecting Database Availability Groups (DAG)

Note
This functionality is not available in the Standard edition of Acronis Cyber Backup.

Exchange Server clusters overview

The main idea of Exchange clusters is to provide high database availability with fast failover and no
data loss. Usually, it is achieved by having one or more copies of databases or storage groups on the
members of the cluster (cluster nodes). If the cluster node hosting the active database copy or the
active database copy itself fails, the other node hosting the passive copy automatically takes over
the operations of the failed node and provides access to Exchange services with minimal downtime.
Thus, the clusters are already serving as a disaster recovery solution themselves.

However, there might be cases when failover cluster solutions cannot provide data protection: for
example, in case of a database logical corruption, or when a particular database in a cluster has no
copy (replica), or when the entire cluster is down. Also cluster solutions do not protect from harmful
content changes, as they usually immediately replicate to all cluster nodes.

Cluster-aware backup
With cluster-aware backup, you back up only one copy of the clustered data. If the data changes its
location within the cluster (due to a switchover or a failover), the software will track all relocations of
this data and safely back it up.

Supported cluster configurations

Cluster-aware backup is supported only for Database Availability Group (DAG) in Exchange Server
2010 or later. Other cluster configurations, such as Single Copy Cluster (SCC) and Cluster Continuous
Replication (CCR) for Exchange 2007, are not supported.

DAG is a group of up to 16 Exchange Mailbox servers. Any node can host a copy of mailbox
database from any other node. Each node can host passive and active database copies. Up to 16
copies of each database can be created.

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How many agents are required for cluster-aware backup and recovery?
For successful backup and recovery of clustered databases, Agent for Exchange has to be installed
on each node of the Exchange cluster.

Note
After you install the agent on one of the nodes, the backup console displays the DAG and its nodes
under Devices > Microsoft Exchange > Databases. To install Agents for Exchange on the rest of
the nodes, select the DAG, click Details, and then click Install agent next to each of the nodes.

Backing up the Exchange cluster data

1. When creating a backup plan, select the DAG as described in "Selecting Exchange Server data".
2. Configure the "Cluster backup mode" backup option.
3. Specify other settings of the backup plan as appropriate.

Important
For cluster-aware backup, ensure to select the DAG itself. If you select individual nodes or
databases inside the DAG, only the selected items will be backed up and the Cluster backup mode
option will be ignored.

Recovering the Exchange cluster data

1. Select the recovery point for the database that you want to recover. Selecting an entire cluster
for recovery is not possible.
When you select a copy of a clustered database under Devices > Microsoft Exchange >
Databases > <cluster name> > <node name> and click Recover, the software shows only the
recovery points that correspond to the times when this copy was backed up.
The easiest way to view all recovery points of a clustered database is to select its backup on the
Backups tab.

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2. Follow the steps described in "Recovering Exchange databases", starting from step 5.
The software automatically defines a cluster node to which the data will be recovered. The
node's name is displayed in the Recover to field. You can manually change the target node.

Application-aware backup
Application-aware disk-level backup is available for physical machines and for ESXi virtual machines.

When you back up a machine running Microsoft SQL Server, Microsoft Exchange Server, or Active
Directory Domain Services, enable Application backup for additional protection of these
applications' data.

Why use application-aware backup?

By using application-aware backup, you ensure that:

1. The applications are backed up in a consistent state and thus will be available immediately after
the machine is recovered.
2. You can recover the SQL and Exchange databases, mailboxes, and mailbox items without
recovering the entire machine.
3. The SQL transaction logs are truncated after each successful backup. SQL log truncation can be
disabled in the backup plan options. The Exchange transaction logs are truncated on virtual
machines only. You can enable the VSS full backup option if you want to truncate Exchange
transaction logs on a physical machine.
4. If a domain contains more than one domain controller, and you recover one of them, a
nonauthoritative restore is performed and a USN rollback will not occur after the recovery.

What do I need to use application-aware backup?

On a physical machine, Agent for SQL and/or Agent for Exchange must be installed, in addition to
Agent for Windows.

On a virtual machine, no agent installation is required; it is presumed that the machine is backed up
by Agent for VMware (Windows).

Agent for VMware (Virtual Appliance) and Agent for VMware (Linux) can create application-aware
backups, but cannot recover application data from them. To recover application data from backups
created by these agents, you need Agent for VMware (Windows), Agent for SQL, or Agent for
Exchange on a machine that has access to the location where the backups are stored. When
configuring recovery of application data, select the recovery point on the Backups tab, and then
select this machine in Machine to browse from.

Other requirements are listed in the "Prerequisites" and "Required user rights" sections.

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Required user rights
An application-aware backup contains metadata of VSS-aware applications that are present on the
disk. To access this metadata, the agent needs an account with the appropriate rights, which are
listed below. You are prompted to specify this account when enabling application backup.

l For SQL Server:

The account must be a member of the Backup Operators or Administrators group on the
machine, and a member of the sysadmin role on each of the instances that you are going to back
up.
l For Exchange Server:
Exchange 2007: The account must be a member of the Administrators group on the machine,
and a member of the Exchange Organization Administrators role group.
Exchange 2010 and later: The account must be a member of the Administrators group on the
machine, and a member of the Organization Management role group.
l For Active Directory:
The account must be a domain administrator.

Additional requirement for virtual machines

If the application runs on a virtual machine that is backed up by Agent for VMware or Agent for
Hyper-V, ensure that User Account Control (UAC) is disabled on the machine. If you do not want to
disable UAC, you must provide the credentials of a built-in domain administrator
(DOMAIN\Administrator) when enabling application backup.

Mailbox backup
Mailbox backup is supported for Microsoft Exchange Server 2010 Service Pack 1 (SP1) and later.

Mailbox backup is available if at least one Agent for Exchange is registered on the management
server. The agent must be installed on a machine that belongs to the same Active Directory forest as
Microsoft Exchange Server.

Before backing up mailboxes, you must connect Agent for Exchange to the machine running the
Client Access server role (CAS) of Microsoft Exchange Server. In Exchange 2016 and later, the CAS
role is not available as a separate installation option. It is automatically installed as part of the
Mailbox server role. Thus, you can connect the agent to any server running the Mailbox role.

To connect Agent for Exchange to CAS

1. Click Devices > Add.

2. Click Microsoft Exchange Server.
3. Click Exchange mailboxes.
If no Agent for Exchange is registered on the management server, the software suggests that you
install the agent. After the installation, repeat this procedure from step 1.

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 4. [Optional] If multiple Agents for Exchange are registered on the management server, click Agent,
and then change the agent that will perform the backup.
5. In Client Access server, specify the fully qualified domain name (FQDN) of the machine where
the Client Access role of Microsoft Exchange Server is enabled.
In Exchange 2016 and later, the Client Access services are automatically installed as part of the
Mailbox server role. Thus, you can specify any server running the Mailbox role. We refer to this
server as CAS later in this section.
6. In Authentication type, select the authentication type that is used by the CAS. You can select
Kerberos (default) or Basic.
7. [Only for basic authentication] Select which protocol will be used. You can select HTTPS (default)
or HTTP.
8. [Only for basic authentication with the HTTPS protocol] If the CAS uses an SSL certificate that was
obtained from a certification authority, and you want the software to check the certificate when
connecting to the CAS, select the Check SSL certificate check box. Otherwise, skip this step.
9. Provide the credentials of an account that will be used to access the CAS. The requirements for
this account are listed in "Required user rights".
10. Click Add.

As a result, the mailboxes appear under Devices > Microsoft Exchange > Mailboxes.

Selecting Exchange Server mailboxes

Select the mailboxes as described below, and then specify other settings of the backup plan as
appropriate.

To select Exchange mailboxes

1. Click Devices > Microsoft Exchange.

The software shows the tree of Exchange databases and mailboxes.
2. Click Mailboxes, and then select the mailboxes that you want to back up.
3. Click Backup.

Required user rights

To access mailboxes, Agent for Exchange needs an account with the appropriate rights. You are
prompted to specify this account when configuring various operations with mailboxes.

Membership of the account in the Organization Management role group enables access to any
mailbox, including mailboxes that will be created in the future.

The minimum required user rights are as follows:

l The account must be a member of the Server Management and Recipient Management role
groups.
l The account must have the ApplicationImpersonation management role enabled for all users
or groups of users whose mailboxes the agent will access.

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 For information about configuring the ApplicationImpersonation management role, refer to the
following Microsoft knowledge base article: https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-
us/library/office/dn722376.aspx.

Recovering SQL databases

This section describes recovery from both database backups and application-aware backups.

You can recover SQL databases to a SQL Server instance, if Agent for SQL is installed on the machine
running the instance. You will need to provide credentials for an account that is a member of the
Backup Operators or Administrators group on the machine and a member of the sysadmin role
on the target instance.

Alternatively, you can recover the databases as files. This can be useful if you need to extract data
for data mining, audit, or further processing by third-party tools. You can attach the SQL database
files to a SQL Server instance, as described in "Attaching SQL Server databases".

If you use only Agent for VMware (Windows), recovering databases as files is the only available
recovery method. Recovering databases by using Agent for VMware (Virtual Appliance) is not
possible.

System databases are basically recovered in the same way as user databases. The peculiarities of
system database recovery are described in "Recovering system databases".

To recover SQL databases to a SQL Server instance

1. Do one of the following:

l When recovering from an application-aware backup, under Devices, select the machine that
originally contained the data that you want to recover.
l When recovering from a database backup, click Devices > Microsoft SQL, and then select the
databases that you want to recover.
2. Click Recovery.
3. Select a recovery point. Note that recovery points are filtered by location.
If the machine is offline, the recovery points are not displayed. Do one of the following:
l [Only when recovering from an application-aware backup] If the backup location is cloud or
shared storage (i.e. other agents can access it), click Select machine, select an online machine
that has Agent for SQL, and then select a recovery point.
l Select a recovery point on the Backups tab.
The machine chosen for browsing in either of the above actions becomes a target machine for
the SQL databases recovery.
4. Do one of the following:
l When recovering from an application-aware backup, click Recover > SQL databases, select
the databases that you want to recover, and then click Recover.
l When recovering from a database backup, click Recover > Databases to an instance.

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5. By default, the databases are recovered to the original ones. If the original database does not
exist, it will be recreated. You can select another SQL Server instance (running on the same
machine) to recover the databases to.
To recover a database as a different one to the same instance:
a. Click the database name.
b. In Recover to, select New database.
c. Specify the new database name.
d. Specify the new database path and log path. The folder you specify must not contain the
original database and log files.
6. [Optional] [Not available for a database recovered to its original instance as a new database] To
change the database state after recovery, click the database name, and then choose one of the
following states:
l Ready to use (RESTORE WITH RECOVERY) (default)
After the recovery completes, the database will be ready for use. Users will have full access to
it. The software will roll back all uncommitted transactions of the recovered database that are
stored in the transaction logs. You will not be able to recover additional transaction logs from
the native Microsoft SQL backups.
l Non-operational (RESTORE WITH NORECOVERY)
After the recovery completes, the database will be non-operational. Users will have no access
to it. The software will keep all uncommitted transactions of the recovered database. You will
be able to recover additional transaction logs from the native Microsoft SQL backups and thus
reach the necessary recovery point.
l Read-only (RESTORE WITH STANDBY)
After the recovery completes, users will have read-only access to the database. The software
will undo any uncommitted transactions. However, it will save the undo actions in a temporary
standby file so that the recovery effects can be reverted.
This value is primarily used to detect the point in time when a SQL Server error occurred.
7. Click Start recovery.
The recovery progress is shown on the Activities tab.
To recover SQL databases as files

1. Do one of the following:

l When recovering from an application-aware backup, under Devices, select the machine that
originally contained the data that you want to recover.
l When recovering from a database backup, click Devices > Microsoft SQL, and then select the
databases that you want to recover.
2. Click Recovery.
3. Select a recovery point. Note that recovery points are filtered by location.
If the machine is offline, the recovery points are not displayed. Do one of the following:
l [Only when recovering from an application-aware backup] If the backup location is cloud or
shared storage (i.e. other agents can access it), click Select machine, select an online machine

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 that has Agent for SQL or Agent for VMware, and then select a recovery point.
l Select a recovery point on the Backups tab.
The machine chosen for browsing in either of the above actions becomes a target machine for
the SQL databases recovery.
4. Do one of the following:
l When recovering from an application-aware backup, click Recover > SQL databases, select
the databases that you want to recover, and then click Recover as files.
l When recovering from a database backup, click Recover > Databases as files.
5. Click Browse, and then select a local or a network folder to save the files to.
6. Click Start recovery.
The recovery progress is shown on the Activities tab.

Recovering system databases

All system databases of an instance are recovered at once. When recovering system databases, the
software automatically restarts the destination instance in the single-user mode. After the recovery
completes, the software restarts the instance and recovers other databases (if any).

Other things to consider when recovering system databases:

l System databases can only be recovered to an instance of the same version as the original
instance.
l System databases are always recovered in the "ready to use" state.

Recovering the master database

System databases include the master database. The master database records information about
all databases of the instance. Hence, the master database in a backup contains information about
databases which existed in the instance at the time of the backup. After recovering the master
database, you may need to do the following:

l Databases that have appeared in the instance after the backup was done are not visible by the
instance. To bring these databases back to production, attach them to the instance manually by
using SQL Server Management Studio.
l Databases that have been deleted after the backup was done are displayed as offline in the
instance. Delete these databases by using SQL Server Management Studio.

Attaching SQL Server databases

This section describes how to attach a database in SQL Server by using SQL Server Management
Studio. Only one database can be attached at a time.

Attaching a database requires any of the following permissions: CREATE DATABASE, CREATE ANY
DATABASE, or ALTER ANY DATABASE. Normally, these permissions are granted to the sysadmin
role of the instance.

To attach a database

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1. Run Microsoft SQL Server Management Studio.
2. Connect to the required SQL Server instance, and then expand the instance.
3. Right-click Databases and click Attach.
4. Click Add.
5. In the Locate Database Files dialog box, find and select the .mdf file of the database.
6. In the Database Details section, make sure that the rest of database files (.ndf and .ldf files) are
found.
Details. SQL Server database files may not be found automatically, if:
l They are not in the default location, or they are not in the same folder as the primary
database file (.mdf). Solution: Specify the path to the required files manually in the Current
File Path column.
l You have recovered an incomplete set of files that make up the database. Solution: Recover
the missing SQL Server database files from the backup.
7. When all of the files are found, click OK.

Recovering Exchange databases

This section describes recovery from both database backups and application-aware backups.

You can recover Exchange Server data to a live Exchange Server. This may be the original Exchange
Server or an Exchange Server of the same version running on the machine with the same fully
qualified domain name (FQDN). Agent for Exchange must be installed on the target machine.

The following table summarizes the Exchange Server data that you can select for recovery and the
minimal user rights required to recover the data.

Exchange version Data items User rights

2007 Storage Membership in the Exchange Organization Administrators

groups role group.

2010/2013/2016/2019 Databases Membership in the Server Management role group.

Alternatively, you can recover the databases (storage groups) as files. The database files, along with
transaction log files, will be extracted from the backup to a folder that you specify. This can be
useful if you need to extract data for an audit or further processing by third-party tools, or when the
recovery fails for some reason and you are looking for a workaround to mount the databases
manually.

If you use only Agent for VMware (Windows), recovering databases as files is the only available
recovery method. Recovering databases by using Agent for VMware (Virtual Appliance) is not
possible.

We will refer to both databases and storage groups as "databases" throughout the below
procedures.

To recover Exchange databases to a live Exchange Server

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1. Do one of the following:
l When recovering from an application-aware backup, under Devices, select the machine that
originally contained the data that you want to recover.
l When recovering from a database backup, click Devices > Microsoft Exchange > Databases,
and then select the databases that you want to recover.
2. Click Recovery.
3. Select a recovery point. Note that recovery points are filtered by location.
If the machine is offline, the recovery points are not displayed. Do one of the following:
l [Only when recovering from an application-aware backup] If the backup location is cloud or
shared storage (i.e. other agents can access it), click Select machine, select an online machine
that has Agent for Exchange, and then select a recovery point.
l Select a recovery point on the Backups tab.
The machine chosen for browsing in either of the above actions becomes a target machine for
the Exchange data recovery.
4. Do one of the following:
l When recovering from an application-aware backup, click Recover > Exchange databases,
select the databases that you want to recover, and then click Recover.
l When recovering from a database backup, click Recover > Databases to an Exchange
server.
5. By default, the databases are recovered to the original ones. If the original database does not
exist, it will be recreated.
To recover a database as a different one:
a. Click the database name.
b. In Recover to, select New database.
c. Specify the new database name.
d. Specify the new database path and log path. The folder you specify must not contain the
original database and log files.
6. Click Start recovery.
The recovery progress is shown on the Activities tab.
To recover Exchange databases as files

1. Do one of the following:

l When recovering from an application-aware backup, under Devices, select the machine that
originally contained the data that you want to recover.
l When recovering from a database backup, click Devices > Microsoft Exchange > Databases,
and then select the databases that you want to recover.
2. Click Recovery.
3. Select a recovery point. Note that recovery points are filtered by location.
If the machine is offline, the recovery points are not displayed. Do one of the following:
l [Only when recovering from an application-aware backup] If the backup location is cloud or
shared storage (i.e. other agents can access it), click Select machine, select an online machine

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 that has Agent for Exchange or Agent for VMware, and then select a recovery point.
l Select a recovery point on the Backups tab.
The machine chosen for browsing in either of the above actions becomes a target machine for
the Exchange data recovery.
4. Do one of the following:
l When recovering from an application-aware backup, click Recover > Exchange databases,
select the databases that you want to recover, and then click Recover as files.
l When recovering from a database backup, click Recover > Databases as files.
5. Click Browse, and then select a local or a network folder to save the files to.
6. Click Start recovery.
The recovery progress is shown on the Activities tab.

Mounting Exchange Server databases

After recovering the database files, you can bring the databases online by mounting them. Mounting
is performed by using Exchange Management Console, Exchange System Manager, or Exchange
Management Shell.

The recovered databases will be in a Dirty Shutdown state. A database that is in a Dirty Shutdown
state can be mounted by the system if it is recovered to its original location (that is, information
about the original database is present in Active Directory). When recovering a database to an
alternate location (such as a new database or as the recovery database), the database cannot be
mounted until you bring it to a Clean Shutdown state by using the Eseutil /r <Enn> command.
<Enn> specifies the log file prefix for the database (or storage group that contains the database) into
which you need to apply the transaction log files.

The account you use to attach a database must be delegated an Exchange Server Administrator role
and a local Administrators group for the target server.

For details about how to mount databases, see the following articles:

l Exchange 2010 or later: http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/aa998871.aspx

l Exchange 2007: http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/aa998871(v=EXCHG.80).aspx

Recovering Exchange mailboxes and mailbox items

This section describes how to recover Exchange mailboxes and mailbox items from database
backups, from application-aware backups, and from mailbox backups. The mailboxes or mailbox
items can be recovered to a live Exchange Server or to Microsoft Office 365.

The following items can be recovered:

l Mailboxes (except for archive mailboxes)

l Public folders
l Public folder items
l Email folders

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l Email messages
l Calendar events
l Tasks
l Contacts
l Journal entries
l Notes

You can use search to locate the items.

Recovery to an Exchange Server

Granular recovery can be performed to Microsoft Exchange Server 2010 Service Pack 1 (SP1) and
later. The source backup may contain databases or mailboxes of any supported Exchange version.

Granular recovery can be performed by Agent for Exchange or Agent for VMware (Windows). The
target Exchange Server and the machine running the agent must belong to the same Active
Directory forest.

When a mailbox is recovered to an existing mailbox, the existing items with matching IDs are
overwritten.

Recovery of mailbox items does not overwrite anything. Instead, the full path to a mailbox item is
recreated in the target folder.

Requirements on user accounts

A mailbox being recovered from a backup must have an associated user account in Active Directory.

User mailboxes and their contents can be recovered only if their associated user accounts are
enabled. Shared, room, and equipment mailboxes can be recovered only if their associated user
accounts are disabled.

A mailbox that does not meet the above conditions is skipped during recovery.

If some mailboxes are skipped, the recovery will succeed with warnings. If all mailboxes are skipped,
the recovery will fail.

Recovery to Office 365

Recovery can be performed from backups of Microsoft Exchange Server 2010 and later.

When a mailbox is recovered to an existing Office 365 mailbox, the existing items are kept intact,
and the recovered items are placed next to them.

When recovering a single mailbox, you need to select the target Office 365 mailbox. When
recovering several mailboxes within one recovery operation, the software will try to recover each
mailbox to the mailbox of the user with the same name. If the user is not found, the mailbox is
skipped. If some mailboxes are skipped, the recovery will succeed with warnings. If all mailboxes are
skipped, the recovery will fail.

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For more information about recovery to Office 365, refer to "Protecting Office 365 mailboxes".

Recovering mailboxes
To recover mailboxes from an application-aware backup or a database backup

1. [Only when recovering from a database backup to Office 365] If Agent for Office 365 is not
installed on the machine running Exchange Server that was backed up, do one of the following:
l If there is not Agent for Office 365 in your organization, install Agent for Office 365 on the
machine that was backed up (or on another machine with the same Microsoft Exchange
Server version).
l If you already have Agent for Office 365 in your organization, copy libraries from the machine
that was backed up (or from another machine with the same Microsoft Exchange Server
version) to the machine with Agent for Office 365, as described in "Copying Microsoft
Exchange libraries".
2. Do one of the following:
l When recovering from an application-aware backup: under Devices, select the machine that
originally contained the data that you want to recover.
l When recovering from a database backup, click Devices > Microsoft Exchange > Databases,
and then select the database that originally contained the data that you want to recover.
3. Click Recovery.
4. Select a recovery point. Note that recovery points are filtered by location.
If the machine is offline, the recovery points are not displayed. Use other ways to recover:
l [Only when recovering from an application-aware backup] If the backup location is cloud or
shared storage (i.e. other agents can access it), click Select machine, select an online machine
that has Agent for Exchange or Agent for VMware, and then select a recovery point.
l Select a recovery point on the Backups tab.
The machine chosen for browsing in either of the above actions will perform the recovery
instead of the original machine that is offline.
5. Click Recover > Exchange mailboxes.
6. Select the mailboxes that you want to recover.
You can search mailboxes by name. Wildcards are not supported.

7. Click Recover.

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 8. [Only when recovering to Office 365]:
a. In Recover to, select Microsoft Office 365.
b. [If you selected only one mailbox in step 6] In Target mailbox, specify the target mailbox.
c. Click Start recovery.
Further steps of this procedure are not required.
Click Target machine with Microsoft Exchange Server to select or change the target machine.
This step allows recovery to a machine that is not running Agent for Exchange.
Specify the fully qualified domain name (FQDN) of a machine where the Client Access role (in
Microsoft Exchange Server 2010/2013) or Mailbox role (in Microsoft Exchange Server 2016 or
later) is enabled. The machine must belong to the same Active Directory forest as the machine
that performs the recovery.
9. If prompted, provide the credentials of an account that will be used to access the machine. The
requirements for this account are listed in "Required user rights".
10. [Optional] Click Database to re-create any missing mailboxes to change the automatically
selected database.
11. Click Start recovery.
The recovery progress is shown on the Activities tab.
To recover a mailbox from a mailbox backup

1. Click Devices > Microsoft Exchange > Mailboxes.

2. Select the mailbox to recover, and then click Recovery.
You can search mailboxes by name. Wildcards are not supported.
If the mailbox was deleted, select it on the Backups tab, and then click Show backups.
3. Select a recovery point. Note that recovery points are filtered by location.
4. Click Recover > Mailbox.
5. Perform steps 8-11 of the above procedure.

Recovering mailbox items

To recover mailbox items from an application-aware backup or a database backup

1. [Only when recovering from a database backup to Office 365] If Agent for Office 365 is not
installed on the machine running Exchange Server that was backed up, do one of the following:
l If there is not Agent for Office 365 in your organization, install Agent for Office 365 on the
machine that was backed up (or on another machine with the same Microsoft Exchange
Server version).
l If you already have Agent for Office 365 in your organization, copy libraries from the machine
that was backed up (or from another machine with the same Microsoft Exchange Server
version) to the machine with Agent for Office 365, as described in "Copying Microsoft
Exchange libraries".
2. Do one of the following:
l When recovering from an application-aware backup: under Devices, select the machine that
originally contained the data that you want to recover.

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 l When recovering from a database backup, click Devices > Microsoft Exchange > Databases,
and then select the database that originally contained the data that you want to recover.
3. Click Recovery.
4. Select a recovery point. Note that recovery points are filtered by location.
If the machine is offline, the recovery points are not displayed. Use other ways to recover:
l [Only when recovering from an application-aware backup] If the backup location is cloud or
shared storage (i.e. other agents can access it), click Select machine, select an online machine
that has Agent for Exchange or Agent for VMware, and then select a recovery point.
l Select a recovery point on the Backups tab.
The machine chosen for browsing in either of the above actions will perform the recovery
instead of the original machine that is offline.
5. Click Recover > Exchange mailboxes.
6. Click the mailbox that originally contained the items that you want to recover.
7. Select the items that you want to recover.
The following search options are available. Wildcards are not supported.
l For email messages: search by subject, sender, recipient, and date.
l For events: search by title and date.
l For tasks: search by subject and date.
l For contacts: search by name, email address, and phone number.
When an email message is selected, you can click Show content to view its contents, including
attachments.

Note
Click the name of an attached file to download it.

To be able to select folders, click the recover folders icon.

8. Click Recover.
9. To recover to Office 365, select Microsoft Office 365 in Recover to.
To recover to an Exchange Server, keep the default Microsoft Exchange value in Recover to.
10. [Only when recovering to an Exchange Server] Click Target machine with Microsoft Exchange
Server to select or change the target machine. This step allows recovery to a machine that is not
running Agent for Exchange.

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 Specify the fully qualified domain name (FQDN) of a machine where the Client Access role (in
Microsoft Exchange Server 2010/2013) or Mailbox role (in Microsoft Exchange Server 2016 or
later) is enabled. The machine must belong to the same Active Directory forest as the machine
that performs the recovery.
If prompted, provide the credentials of an account that will be used to access the machine. The
requirements for this account are listed in "Required user rights".
11. In Target mailbox, view, change, or specify the target mailbox.
By default, the original mailbox is selected. If this mailbox does not exist or a non-original target
machine is selected, you must specify the target mailbox.
12. [Only when recovering email messages] In Target folder, view or change the target folder in the
target mailbox. By default, the Recovered items folder is selected. Due to Microsoft Exchange
limitations, events, tasks, notes, and contacts are restored to their original location regardless of
any different Target folder specified.
13. Click Start recovery.
The recovery progress is shown on the Activities tab.
To recover a mailbox item from a mailbox backup

1. Click Devices > Microsoft Exchange > Mailboxes.

2. Select the mailbox that originally contained the items that you want to recover, and then click
Recovery.
You can search mailboxes by name. Wildcards are not supported.
If the mailbox was deleted, select it on the Backups tab, and then click Show backups.
3. Select a recovery point. Note that recovery points are filtered by location.
4. Click Recover > Email messages.
5. Select the items that you want to recover.
The following search options are available. Wildcards are not supported.
l For email messages: search by subject, sender, recipient, and date.
l For events: search by title and date.
l For tasks: search by subject and date.
l For contacts: search by name, email address, and phone number.
When an email message is selected, you can click Show content to view its contents, including
attachments.

Note
Click the name of an attached file to download it.

When an email message is selected, you can click Send as email to send the message to an
email address. The message is sent from your administrator account's email address.

To be able to select folders, click the recover folders icon:

6. Click Recover.
7. Perform steps 9-13 of the above procedure.

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Copying Microsoft Exchange Server libraries
When recovering Exchange mailboxes or mailbox items to Office 365, you may need to copy the
following libraries from the machine that was backed up (or from another machine with the same
Microsoft Exchange Server version) to the machine with Agent for Office 365.

Copy the following files, according to the Microsoft Exchange Server version that was backed up.

Microsoft Exchange Server Libraries Default location

version

ese.dll
%ProgramFiles%\Microsoft\Exchange
Microsoft Exchange Server 2010 esebcli2.dll
Server\V14\bin
store.exe

ese.dll %ProgramFiles%\Microsoft\Exchange

Microsoft Exchange Server 2013 Server\V15\bin

msvcr110.dll %WINDIR%\system32

ese.dll %ProgramFiles%\Microsoft\Exchange
Server\V15\bin
Microsoft Exchange Server 2016,
Microsoft Exchange Server 2019 msvcr110.dll
%WINDIR%\system32
msvcp110.dll

The libraries should be placed in the folder %ProgramData%\Acronis\ese. If this folder does not
exist, create it manually.

Changing the SQL Server or Exchange Server access

credentials
You can change access credentials for SQL Server or Exchange Server without re-installing the agent.

To change the SQL Server or Exchange Server access credentials

1. Click Devices, and then click Microsoft SQL or Microsoft Exchange.

2. Select the Always On Availability Group, Database Availability Group, SQL Server instance, or
Exchange Server for which you want to change the access credentials.
3. Click Specify credentials.
4. Specify the new access credentials, and then click OK.

To change the Exchange Server access credentials for mailbox backup

1. Click Devices > Microsoft Exchange, and then expand Mailboxes.

2. Select the Exchange Server for which you want to change the access credentials.
3. Click Settings.

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4. Under Exchange administrator account, specify the new access credentials, and then click
Save.

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Protecting Office 365 mailboxes
Important
This section is valid for on-premises deployments of Acronis Cyber Backup. If you are using a cloud
deployment, please refer to
https://www.acronis.com/support/documentation/BackupService/index.html#37287.html.

Why back up Office 365 mailboxes?

Even though Microsoft Office 365 is a cloud service, regular backups provide an additional layer of
protection from user errors and intentional malicious actions. You can recover deleted items from a
backup even after the Office 365 retention period has expired. Also, you can keep a local copy of the
Office 365 mailboxes if it is required by a regulatory compliance.

What do I need to back up the mailboxes?

To back up and recover Office 365 mailboxes, you must be assigned the global administrator role in
Microsoft Office 365.

To add a Microsoft Office 365 organization

1. Install Agent for Office 365 on a Windows machine that is connected to the Internet. There must
be only one Agent for Office 365 in an organization.
2. Depending on the authentication method that you use:
a. If you use basic authentication: On the Microsoft Office 365 page of the web interface, enter
the Office 365 global administrator credentials, and then click OK.
The agent will log in to Office 365 by using this account. To enable the agent to access the
contents of all mailboxes, this account will be assigned the ApplicationImpersonation
management role.
b. If you use modern authentication: On the Microsoft Office 365 page of the web interface,
enter your application ID, application secret, and Microsoft 365 tenant ID, and then click Sign
in. For more information on how to find these, refer to Obtaining application ID and
application secret.

As a result, your organization data items appear in the backup console on the Microsoft Office 365
page.

Recovery
The following items can be recovered from a mailbox backup:

l Mailboxes
l Email folders
l Email messages

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l Calendar events
l Tasks
l Contacts
l Journal entries
l Notes

You can use search to locate the items.

Recovery can be performed to Microsoft Office 365 or to a live Exchange Server.

When a mailbox is recovered to an existing Office 365 mailbox, the existing items with matching IDs
are overwritten. When a mailbox is recovered to an existing Exchange Server mailbox, the existing
items are kept intact. The recovered items are placed next to them.

Recovery of mailbox items does not overwrite anything. Instead, the full path to a mailbox item is
recreated in the target folder.

Limitations
l Applying a protection plan to more than 500 mailboxes may cause backup performance
degradation. To protect a large number of mailboxes, create several protection plans and
schedule them to run at different times.
l Archive mailboxes (In-Place Archive) cannot be backed up.
l A mailbox backup includes only folders visible to users. The Recoverable items folder and its
subfolders (Deletions, Versions, Purges, Audits, DiscoveryHold, Calendar Logging) are not
included in a mailbox backup.
l Recovery to a new Office 365 mailbox is not possible. You must first create a new Office 365 user
manually, and then recover items to this user's mailbox.
l Recovery to a different Microsoft Office 365 organization is not supported.
l Some item types or properties supported by Office 365 may not be supported by Exchange
Server. They will be skipped during recovery to Exchange Server.

Selecting mailboxes
Select the mailboxes as described below, and then specify other settings of the backup plan as
appropriate.

To select mailboxes

1. Click Microsoft Office 365.

2. If prompted, sign in as a global administrator to Microsoft Office 365.
3. Select the mailboxes that you want to back up.
4. Click Backup.

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Recovering mailboxes and mailbox items

Recovering mailboxes
1. [Only when recovering to an Exchange Server] Ensure that there is an Exchange user with the
same logon name as the username of the user whose mailbox is being recovered. If not, create
the user. Other requirements for this user are described in "Recovering Exchange mailboxes and
mailbox items" under "Requirements on user accounts".
2. Click Devices > Microsoft Office 365.
3. Select the mailbox to recover, and then click Recovery.
You can search mailboxes by name. Wildcards are not supported.
If the mailbox was deleted, select it on the Backups tab, and then click Show backups.
4. Select a recovery point. Note that recovery points are filtered by location.
5. Click Recover > Mailbox.
6. To recover to an Exchange Server, select Microsoft Exchange in Recover to. Continue recovery
as described in "Recovering mailboxes", starting from step 9. Further steps of this procedure are
not required.
To recover to Office 365, keep the default Microsoft Office 365 value in Recover to.
7. In Target mailbox, view, change, or specify the target mailbox.
By default, the original mailbox is selected. If this mailbox does not exist, you must specify the
target mailbox.
8. Click Start recovery.

Recovering mailbox items

1. [Only when recovering to an Exchange Server] Ensure that there is an Exchange user with the
same logon name as the username of the user whose mailbox items are being recovered. If not,
create the user. Other requirements for this user are described in "Recovering Exchange
mailboxes and mailbox items" under "Requirements on user accounts".
2. Click Devices > Microsoft Office 365.
3. Select the mailbox that originally contained the items that you want to recover, and then click
Recovery.
You can search mailboxes by name. Wildcards are not supported.
If the mailbox was deleted, select it on the Backups tab, and then click Show backups.
4. Select a recovery point. Note that recovery points are filtered by location.
5. Click Recover > Email messages.
6. Select the items that you want to recover.
The following search options are available. Wildcards are not supported.
l For email messages: search by subject, sender, recipient, and date.
l For events: search by title and date.

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 l For tasks: search by subject and date.
l For contacts: search by name, email address, and phone number.
When an email message is selected, you can click Show content to view its contents, including
attachments.

Note
Click the name of an attached file to download it.

When an email message is selected, you can click Send as email to send the message to an
email address. The message is sent from your administrator account's email address.

To be able to select folders, click the "recover folders" icon:

7. Click Recover.
8. To recover to an Exchange Server, select Microsoft Exchange in Recover to.
To recover to Office 365, keep the default Microsoft Office 365 value in Recover to.
[Only when recovering to an Exchange Server] Click Target machine with Microsoft Exchange
Server to select or change the target machine. This step allows recovery to a machine that is not
running Agent for Exchange.
Specify the fully qualified domain name (FQDN) of the machine where the Client Access role of
Microsoft Exchange Server is enabled. The machine must belong to the same Active Directory
forest as the machine that performs the recovery.
9. If prompted, provide the credentials of an account that will be used to access the machine. The
requirements for this account are listed in "Required user rights".
10. In Target mailbox, view, change, or specify the target mailbox.
By default, the original mailbox is selected. If this mailbox does not exist, you must specify the
target mailbox.
11. [Only when recovering email messages] In Target folder, view or change the target folder in the
target mailbox. By default, the Recovered items folder is selected.
12. Click Start recovery.

Changing the Office 365 access credentials

You can change access credentials for Office 365 without re-installing the agent.

To change the Office 365 access credentials

1. Click Devices > Microsoft Office 365.

2. Select the Office 365 organization.
3. Click Specify credentials.
4. Enter your application ID, application secret, and Microsoft 365 tenant ID. For more information
on how to find these, refer to Obtaining application ID and application secret.
5. Click Sign in.

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Protecting G Suite data
This feature is available only in cloud deployments of Acronis Cyber Backup. For a detailed
description of this functionality, please refer to
https://www.acronis.com/support/documentation/BackupService/index.html#33827.html.

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Protecting Oracle Database
Protection of Oracle Database is described in a separate document available at https://dl.managed-
protection.com/u/pdf/AcronisCyberBackup_12.5_OracleBackup_whitepaper.pdf

Note
This functionality is not available in the Standard edition of Acronis Cyber Backup.

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Active Protection
Note
In cloud deployments, some of the features described in this section might not be available or
might be different.

Active Protection protects a system from ransomware and cryptocurrency mining malware.
Ransomware encrypts files and demands a ransom for the encryption key. Cryptomining malware
performs mathematical calculations in the background, thus stealing the processing power and
network traffic.

Active Protection is available for machines running Windows 7 and later, Windows Server 2008 R2
and later. Agent for Windows must be installed on the machine.

How it works
Active Protection monitors processes running on the protected machine. When a third-party
process tries to encrypt files or mine cryptocurrency, Active Protection generates an alert and
performs additional actions, if those are specified by the configuration.

In addition, Active Protection prevents unauthorized changes to the backup software's own
processes, registry records, executable and configuration files, and backups located in local folders.

To identify malicious processes, Active Protection uses behavioral heuristics. Active Protection
compares the chain of actions performed by a process with the chains of events recorded in the
database of malicious behavior patterns. This approach enables Active Protection to detect new
malware by its typical behavior.

Active Protection settings

To minimize resources consumed by the heuristic analysis, and to eliminate so-called false positives,
when a trusted program is considered as ransomware, you can define the following settings:

l Trusted processes that are never considered ransomware. Processes signed by Microsoft are
always trusted.
l Harmful processes that are always considered ransomware. These processes will not be able to
start as long as Active Protection is enabled on the machine.
l Folders where file changes will not be monitored.

Specify the full path to the process executable, starting with the drive letter. For example:
C:\Windows\Temp\er76s7sdkh.exe.

For specifying folders, you can use the wildcard characters * and ?. The asterisk (*) substitutes for
zero or more characters. The question mark (?) substitutes for exactly one character. Environment
variables, such as %AppData%, cannot be used.

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Active Protection plan
All settings of Active Protection are contained in the Active Protection plan. This plan can be applied
to multiple machines.

There can be only one Active Protection plan in an organization. If the organization has units, unit
administrators are not allowed to apply, edit, or revoke the plan.

Applying the Active Protection plan

1. Select the machines for which you want to enable Active Protection.
2. Click Active Protection.
3. [Optional] Click Edit to modify the following settings:
l In Action on detection, select the action that the software will perform when detecting a
ransomware activity, and then click Done. You can select one of the following:
o Notify only (default)
The software will generate an alert about the process.
o Stop the process
The software will generate an alert and stop the process.
o Revert using cache
The software will generate an alert, stop the process, and revert the file changes by using
the service cache.
l In Harmful processes, specify harmful processes that will always be considered ransomware,
and then click Done.
l In Trusted processes, specify trusted processes that will never be considered ransomware,
and then click Done. Processes signed by Microsoft are always trusted.
l In Folder exclusions, specify a list of folders where file changes will not be monitored, and
then click Done.
l Disable the Self-protection switch.
Self-protection prevents unauthorized changes to the software's own processes, registry
records, executable and configuration files, and backups located in local folders. We do not
recommend disabling this feature.
l Change Protection options.
4. If you modified the settings, click Save changes. The changes will be applied to all machines
where Active Protection is enabled.
5. Click Apply.

Protection options

Backups
This option is effective when Self-protection is enabled in the Active Protection plan.

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This option applies to files that have extensions .tibx, .tib, .tia, and are located in local folders.

This option lets you specify the processes that are allowed to modify the backup files, even though
these files are protected by self-protection. This comes in handy, for example, if you delete backup
files or move them to a different location by using a script.

The preset is: Enabled.

If this option is enabled, the backup files can be modified only by processes signed by the backup
software vendor. This allows the software to apply retention rules and to delete backups when a
user requests this from the web interface. Other processes, no matter suspicious or not, cannot
modify the backups.

If this option is disabled, you can allow other processes to modify the backups. Specify the full path
to the process executable, starting with the drive letter.

Cryptomining protection
This option defines whether Active Protection detects potential cryptomining malware.

The preset is: Disabled.

If a cryptomining activity is detected, the selected Action on detection is performed (except

reverting files from cache, as there is nothing to revert).

Cryptomining malware degrades performance of useful applications, increases electricity bills, may
cause system crashes and even hardware damage due to abuse. We recommend that you add
cryptomining malware to the Harmful processes list to prevent it from running.

Mapped drives
This option defines whether Active Protection protects network folders that are mapped as local
drives.

This option applies to folders shared via SMB or NFS.

The preset is: Enabled.

If a file was originally located on a mapped drive, it cannot be saved to the original location when
extracted from the cache by the Revert using cache action. Instead, it will be saved to the folder
specified in this option's settings. The default folder is C:\ProgramData\Acronis\Restored
Network Files. If this folder does not exist, it will be created. If you want to change this path, be
sure to specify a local folder. Network folders, including folders on mapped drives, are not
supported.

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Special operations with virtual machines

Running a virtual machine from a backup (Instant

Restore)
Note
This functionality is available only with the Acronis Cyber Backup Advanced license.

You can run a virtual machine from a disk-level backup that contains an operating system. This
operation, also known as instant recovery, enables you to spin up a virtual server in seconds. The
virtual disks are emulated directly from the backup and thus do not consume space on the
datastore (storage). The storage space is required only to keep changes to the virtual disks.

We recommend running this temporary virtual machine for up to three days. Then, you can
completely remove it or convert it to a regular virtual machine (finalize) without downtime.

As long as the temporary virtual machine exists, retention rules cannot be applied to the backup
being used by that machine. Backups of the original machine can continue to run.

Usage examples
l Disaster recovery
Instantly bring a copy of a failed machine online.
l Testing a backup
Run the machine from the backup and ensure that the guest OS and applications are functioning
properly.
l Accessing application data
While the machine is running, use application's native management tools to access and extract
the required data.

Prerequisites
l At least one Agent for VMware or Agent for Hyper-V must be registered in the backup service.
l The backup can be stored in a network folder, on a storage node, or in a local folder of the
machine where Agent for VMware or Agent for Hyper-V is installed. If you select a network folder,
it must be accessible from that machine. A virtual machine can also be run from a backup stored
in the cloud storage, but it works slower because this operation requires intense random-access
reading from the backup. A virtual machine cannot be run from a backup stored on an SFTP
server, a tape device, or in Secure Zone.
l The backup must contain an entire machine or all of the volumes that are required for the
operating system to start.

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l Backups of both physical and virtual machines can be used. Backups of Virtuozzo containers
cannot be used.
l Backups that contain Linux logical volumes (LVM) must be created by Agent for VMware or Agent
for Hyper-V. The virtual machine must be of the same type as the original machine (ESXi or Hyper-
V).

Running the machine

1. Do one of the following:
l Select a backed-up machine, click Recovery, and then select a recovery point.
l Select a recovery point on the Backups tab.
2. Click Run as VM.
The software automatically selects the host and other required parameters.

3. [Optional] Click Target machine, and then change the virtual machine type (ESXi or Hyper-V),
the host, or the virtual machine name.
4. [Optional] Click Datastore for ESXi or Path for Hyper-V, and then select the datastore for the
virtual machine.
Changes to the virtual disks accumulate while the machine is running. Ensure that the selected
datastore has enough free space. If you are planning to preserve these changes by making the

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 virtual machine permanent, select a datastore that is suitable for running the machine in
production.
5. [Optional] Click VM settings to change the memory size and network connections of the virtual
machine.
6. [Optional] Select the VM power state (On/Off).
7. Click Run now.

As a result, the machine appears in the web interface with one of the following icons: or

. Such virtual machines cannot be selected for backup.

Deleting the machine

We do not recommend to delete a temporary virtual machine directly in vSphere/Hyper-V. This may
lead to artifacts in the web interface. Also, the backup from which the machine was running may
remain locked for a while (it cannot be deleted by retention rules).

To delete a virtual machine that is running from a backup

1. On the All devices tab, select a machine that is running from a backup.
2. Click Delete.

The machine is removed from the web interface. It is also removed from the vSphere or Hyper-V
inventory and datastore (storage). All changes that occurred to the data while the machine was
running are lost.

Finalizing the machine

While a virtual machine is running from a backup, the virtual disks' content is taken directly from
that backup. Therefore, the machine will become inaccessible or even corrupted if the connection is
lost to the backup location or to the backup agent.

For an ESXi machine, you have the option to make this machine permanent, i.e. recover all of its
virtual disks, along with the changes that occurred while the machine was running, to the datastore
that stores these changes. This process is named finalization.

Finalization is performed without downtime. The virtual machine will not be powered off during
finalization.

To finalize a machine that is running from a backup

1. On the All devices tab, select a machine that is running from a backup.
2. Click Finalize.
3. [Optional] Specify a new name for the machine.
4. [Optional] Change the disk provisioning mode. The default setting is Thin.
5. Click Finalize.

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The machine name changes immediately. The recovery progress is shown on the Activities tab.
Once the recovery is completed, the machine icon changes to that of a regular virtual machine.

What you need to know about finalization

Finalization vs. regular recovery

The finalization process is slower than a regular recovery for the following reasons:

l During a finalization, the agent performs random access to different parts of the backup. When
an entire machine is being recovered, the agent reads data from the backup sequentially.
l If the virtual machine is running during the finalization, the agent reads data from the backup
more often, to maintain both processes simultaneously. During a regular recovery, the virtual
machine is stopped.

Finalization of machines running from cloud backups

Because of intensive access to the backed-up data, the finalization speed highly depends on the
connection bandwidth between the backup location and the agent. The finalization will be slower
for backups located in the cloud as compared to local backups. If the Internet connection is very
slow or unstable, the finalization of a machine running from a cloud backup may fail. We
recommend to run virtual machines from local backups if you are planning to perform finalization
and have the choice.

Working in VMware vSphere

This section describes operations that are specific for VMware vSphere environments.

Replication of virtual machines

Replication is available only for VMware ESXi virtual machines.

Replication is the process of creating an exact copy (replica) of a virtual machine, and then
maintaining the replica in sync with the original machine. By replicating a critical virtual machine,
you will always have a copy of this machine in a ready-to-start state.

The replication can be started manually or on the schedule you specify. The first replication is full
(copies the entire machine). All subsequent replications are incremental and are performed with
Changed Block Tracking, unless this option is disabled.

Replication vs. backing up

Unlike scheduled backups, a replica keeps only the latest state of the virtual machine. A replica
consumes datastore space, while backups can be kept on a cheaper storage.

However, powering on a replica is much faster than a recovery and faster than running a virtual
machine from a backup. When powered on, a replica works faster than a VM running from a backup
and does not load the Agent for VMware.

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Usage examples
l Replicate virtual machines to a remote site.
Replication enables you to withstand partial or complete datacenter failures, by cloning the
virtual machines from a primary site to a secondary site. The secondary site is usually located in a
remote facility that is unlikely to be affected by environmental, infrastructure, or other factors
that might cause the primary site failure.
l Replicate virtual machines within a single site (from one host/datastore to another).
Onsite replication can be used for high availability and disaster recovery scenarios.

What you can do with a replica

l Test a replica
The replica will be powered on for testing. Use vSphere Client or other tools to check if the replica
works correctly. Replication is suspended while testing is in progress.
l Failover to a replica
Failover is a transition of the workload from the original virtual machine to its replica. Replication
is suspended while a failover is in progress.
l Back up the replica
Both backup and replication require access to virtual disks, and thus impact the performance of
the host where the virtual machine is running. If you want to have both a replica and backups of a
virtual machine, but don't want to put additional load on the production host, replicate the
machine to a different host, and set up backups of the replica.

Restrictions
The following types of virtual machines cannot be replicated:

l Fault-tolerant machines running on ESXi 5.5 and lower.

l Machines running from backups.
l Replicas of virtual machines.

Creating a replication plan

A replication plan must be created for each machine individually. It is not possible to apply an
existing plan to other machines.

To create a replication plan

1. Select a virtual machine to replicate.

2. Click Replication.
The software displays a new replication plan template.
3. [Optional] To modify the replication plan name, click the default name.
4. Click Target machine, and then do the following:

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 a. Select whether to create a new replica or use an existing replica of the original machine.
b. Select the ESXi host and specify the new replica name, or select an existing replica.
The default name of a new replica is [Original Machine Name]_replica.
c. Click OK.
5. [Only when replicating to a new machine] Click Datastore, and then select the datastore for the
virtual machine.
6. [Optional] Click Schedule to change the replication schedule.
By default, replication is performed on a daily basis, Monday to Friday. You can select the time to
run the replication.
If you want to change the replication frequency, move the slider, and then specify the schedule.
You can also do the following:
l Set a date range for when the schedule is effective. Select the Run the plan within a date
range check box, and then specify the date range.
l Disable the schedule. In this case, replication can be started manually.
7. [Optional] Click the gear icon to modify the replication options.
8. Click Apply.
9. [Optional] To run the plan manually, click Run now on the plan panel.

As a result of running a replication plan, the virtual machine replica appears in the All devices list

with the following icon:

Testing a replica
To prepare a replica for testing

1. Select a replica to test.

2. Click Test replica.
3. Click Start testing.
4. Select whether to connect the powered-on replica to a network. By default, the replica will not be
connected to a network.
5. [Optional] If you chose to connect the replica to the network, select the Stop original virtual
machine check box to stop the original machine before powering on the replica.
6. Click Start.

To stop testing a replica

1. Select a replica for which testing is in progress.

2. Click Test replica.
3. Click Stop testing.
4. Confirm your decision.

Failing over to a replica

To failover a machine to a replica

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1. Select a replica to failover to.
2. Click Replica actions.
3. Click Failover.
4. Select whether to connect the powered-on replica to a network. By default, the replica will be
connected to the same network as the original machine.
5. [Optional] If you chose to connect the replica to the network, clear the Stop original virtual
machine check box to keep the original machine online.
6. Click Start.

While the replica is in a failover state, you can choose one of the following actions:

l Stop failover
Stop failover if the original machine was fixed. The replica will be powered off. Replication will be
resumed.
l Perform permanent failover to the replica
This instant operation removes the 'replica' flag from the virtual machine, so that replication to it
is no longer possible. If you want to resume replication, edit the replication plan to select this
machine as a source.
l Failback
Perform failback if you failed over to the site that is not intended for continuous operations. The
replica will be recovered to the original or a new virtual machine. Once the recovery to the
original machine is complete, it is powered on and replication is resumed. If you choose to
recover to a new machine, edit the replication plan to select this machine as a source.

Stopping failover
To stop a failover

1. Select a replica that is in the failover state.

2. Click Replica actions.
3. Click Stop failover.
4. Confirm your decision.

Performing a permanent failover

To perform a permanent failover

1. Select a replica that is in the failover state.

2. Click Replica actions.
3. Click Permanent failover.
4. [Optional] Change the name of the virtual machine.
5. [Optional] Select the Stop original virtual machine check box.
6. Click Start.

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Failing back
To failback from a replica

1. Select a replica that is in the failover state.

2. Click Replica actions.
3. Click Failback from replica.
The software automatically selects the original machine as the target machine.
4. [Optional] Click Target machine, and then do the following:
a. Select whether to failback to a new or existing machine.
b. Select the ESXi host and specify the new machine name, or select an existing machine.
c. Click OK.
5. [Optional] When failing back to a new machine, you can also do the following:
l Click Datastore to select the datastore for the virtual machine.
l Click VM settings to change the memory size, the number of processors, and the network
connections of the virtual machine.
6. [Optional] Click Recovery options to modify the failback options.
7. Click Start recovery.
8. Confirm your decision.

Replication options
To modify the replication options, click the gear icon next to the replication plan name, and then
click Replication options.

Changed Block Tracking (CBT)

This option is similar to the backup option "Changed Block Tracking (CBT)".

Disk provisioning
This option defines the disk provisioning settings for the replica.

The preset is: Thin provisioning.

The following values are available: Thin provisioning, Thick provisioning, Keep the original
setting.

Error handling
This option is similar to the backup option "Error handling".

Pre/Post commands
This option is similar to the backup option "Pre/Post commands".

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Volume Shadow Copy Service VSS for virtual machines
This option is similar to the backup option "Volume Shadow Copy Service VSS for virtual machines".

Failback options
To modify the failback options, click Recovery options when configuring failback.

Error handling
This option is similar to the recovery option "Error handling".

Performance
This option is similar to the recovery option "Performance".

Pre/Post commands
This option is similar to the recovery option "Pre/Post commands".

VM power management
This option is similar to the recovery option "VM power management".

Seeding an initial replica

To speed up replication to a remote location and save network bandwidth, you can perform replica
seeding.

Important
To perform replica seeding, Agent for VMware (Virtual Appliance) must be running on the target
ESXi.

To seed an initial replica

1. Do one of the following:

l If the original virtual machine can be powered off, power it off, and then skip to step 4.
l If the original virtual machine cannot be powered off, continue to the next step.
2. Create a replication plan.
When creating the plan, in Target machine, select New replica and the ESXi that hosts the
original machine.
3. Run the plan once.
A replica is created on the original ESXi.
4. Export the virtual machine (or the replica) files to an external hard drive.
a. Connect the external hard drive to the machine where vSphere Client is running.
b. Connect vSphere Client to the original vCenter\ESXi.
c. Select the newly created replica in the inventory.

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 d. Click File > Export > Export OVF template.
e. In Directory, specify the folder on the external hard drive.
f. Click OK.
5. Transfer the hard drive to the remote location.
6. Import the replica to the target ESXi.
a. Connect the external hard drive to the machine where vSphere Client is running.
b. Connect vSphere Client to the target vCenter\ESXi.
c. Click File > Deploy OVF template.
d. In Deploy from a file or URL, specify the template that you exported in step 4.
e. Complete the import procedure.
7. Edit the replication plan that you created in step 2. In Target machine, select Existing replica,
and then select the imported replica.

As a result, the software will continue updating the replica. All replications will be incremental.

LAN-free backup
If your production ESXi hosts are so heavily loaded that running the virtual appliances is not
desirable, consider installing Agent for VMware (Windows) on a physical machine outside the ESXi
infrastructure.

If your ESXi uses a SAN attached storage, install the agent on a machine connected to the same SAN.
The agent will back up the virtual machines directly from the storage rather than via the ESXi host
and LAN. This capability is called a LAN-free backup.

The diagram below illustrates a LAN-based and a LAN-free backup. LAN-free access to virtual
machines is available if you have a fibre channel (FC) or iSCSI Storage Area Network. To completely
eliminate transferring the backed-up data via LAN, store the backups on a local disk of the agent's
machine or on a SAN attached storage.

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To enable the agent to access a datastore directly

1. Install Agent for VMware on a Windows machine that has network access to the vCenter Server.
2. Connect the logical unit number (LUN) that hosts the datastore to the machine. Consider the
following:
l Use the same protocol (i.e. iSCSI or FC) that is used for the datastore connection to the ESXi.
l The LUN must not be initialized and must appear as an "offline" disk in Disk Management. If
Windows initializes the LUN, it may become corrupted and unreadable by VMware vSphere.
To avoid LUN initialization, the SAN Policy is automatically set to Offline All during the Agent
for VMware (Windows) installation.

As a result, the agent will use the SAN transport mode to access the virtual disks, i.e. it will read raw
LUN sectors over iSCSI/FC without recognizing the VMFS file system (which Windows is not aware
of).

Limitations
l In vSphere 6.0 and later, the agent cannot use the SAN transport mode if some of the VM disks
are located on a VMware Virtual Volume (VVol) and some are not. Backups of such virtual
machines will fail.

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l Encrypted virtual machines, introduced in VMware vSphere 6.5, will be backed up via LAN, even if
you configure the SAN transport mode for the agent. The agent will fall back on the NBD
transport because VMware does not support SAN transport for backing up encrypted virtual
disks.

Example
If you are using an iSCSI SAN, configure the iSCSI initiator on the machine running Windows where
Agent for VMware is installed.

To configure the SAN policy

1. Log on as an administrator, open the command prompt, type diskpart, and then press Enter.
2. Type san, and then press Enter. Ensure that SAN Policy : Offline All is displayed.
3. If another value for SAN Policy is set:
a. Type san policy=offlineall.
b. Press Enter.
c. To check that the setting has been applied correctly, perform step 2.
d. Restart the machine.

To configure an iSCSI initiator

1. Go to Control Panel > Administrative Tools > iSCSI Initiator.

Note
To find the Administrative Tools applet, you may need to change the Control Panel view to
something other than Home or Category, or use search.

2. If this is the first time that Microsoft iSCSI Initiator is launched, confirm that you want to start the
Microsoft iSCSI Initiator service.
3. On the Targets tab, type the fully qualified domain name (FQDN) name or the IP address of the
target SAN device, and then click Quick Connect.
4. Select the LUN that hosts the datastore, and then click Connect.
If the LUN is not displayed, ensure that the zoning on the iSCSI target enables the machine
running the agent to access the LUN. The machine must be added to the list of allowed iSCSI
initiators on this target.
5. Click OK.

The ready SAN LUN should appear in Disk Management as shown in the screenshot below.

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Using SAN hardware snapshots
If your VMware vSphere uses a storage area network (SAN) storage system as a datastore, you can
enable Agent for VMware (Windows) to use SAN hardware snapshots when performing a backup.

Important
Only NetApp SAN storage is supported.

Why use SAN hardware snapshots?

Agent for VMware needs a virtual machine snapshot in order to create a consistent backup. Because
the agent reads the virtual disk content from the snapshot, the snapshot must be kept for the whole
duration of the backup process.

By default, the agent uses native VMware snapshots created by the ESXi host. While the snapshot is
kept, the virtual disk files are in the read-only state, and the host writes all changes done to the disks
to separate delta files. Once the backup process is finished, the host deletes the snapshot, i.e.
merges the delta files with the virtual disk files.

Both maintaining and deleting the snapshot affect the virtual machine performance. With large
virtual disks and fast data changes, these operations take a long time during which the performance

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can degrade. In extreme cases, when several machines are backed up simultaneously, the growing
delta files may nearly fill the datastore and cause all of the virtual machines to power off.

You can reduce the hypervisor resource utilization by offloading the snapshots to the SAN. In this
case, the sequence of operations is as follows:

1. The ESXi takes a VMware snapshot in the beginning of the backup process, to bring the virtual
disks to a consistent state.
2. The SAN creates a hardware snapshot of the volume or LUN that contains the virtual machine
and its VMware snapshot. This operation typically takes a few seconds.
3. The ESXi deletes the VMware snapshot. Agent for VMware reads the virtual disk content from the
SAN hardware snapshot.

Because the VMware snapshot is maintained only for a few seconds, the virtual machine
performance degradation is minimized.

What do I need to use the SAN hardware snapshots?

If you want to use the SAN hardware snapshots when backing up virtual machines, ensure that all of
the following is true:

l The NetApp SAN storage meets the requirements described in "NetApp SAN storage
requirements".
l The machine running Agent for VMware (Windows) is configured as described in "Configuring the
machine running Agent for VMware".
l The SAN storage is registered on the management server.
l [If there are Agents for VMware that did not take part in the above registration] The virtual
machines that reside on the SAN storage are assigned to the SAN-enabled agents, as described in
"Virtual machine binding".
l The "SAN hardware snapshots" backup option is enabled in the backup plan options.

NetApp SAN storage requirements

l The SAN storage must be used as an NFS or iSCSI datastore.
l The SAN must run Data ONTAP 8.1 or later in the Clustered Data ONTAP (cDOT) mode. The 7-
mode mode is not supported.
l In the NetApp OnCommand System Manager, the Snapshot copies > Configure > Make
Snapshot directory (.snapshot) visible check box must be selected for the volume where the
datastore is located.

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l [For NFS datastores] Access to NFS shares from Windows NFSv3 clients must be enabled on the
Storage Virtual Machine (SVM) that was specified when creating the datastore. The access can be
enabled by the following command:

vserver nfs modify -vserver [SVM name] -v3-ms-dos-client enable

For more information, refer to the NetApp Best Practices document:

https://kb.netapp.com/support/s/article/ka21A0000000k89QAA/top-windows-nfsv3-0-issues-
workarounds-and-best-practices
l [For iSCSI datastores] In the NetApp OnCommand System Manager, the Disable Space
Reservation check box must be selected for the iSCSI LUN where the datastore is located.

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Configuring the machine running Agent for VMware
Depending on whether the SAN storage is used as an NFS or iSCSI datastore, refer to the
corresponding section below.

Configuring iSCSI Initiator

Ensure that all of the following is true:

l Microsoft iSCSI Initiator is installed.

l The Microsoft iSCSI Initiator Service startup type is set to Automatic or Manual. This can be done
in the Services snap-in.
l The iSCSI initiator is configured as described in the example section of "LAN-free backup".

Configuring NFS Client

Ensure that all of the following is true:

l Microsoft Services for NFS (in Windows Server 2008) or Client for NFS (in Windows Server 2012
and later) is installed.
l The NFS client is configured for anonymous access. This can be done as follows:

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 a. Open Registry Editor.
b. Locate the following registry key: HKEY_LOCAL_
MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\ClientForNFS\CurrentVersion\Default
c. In this key, create a new DWORD value named AnonymousUID and set its value data to 0.
d. In the same key, create a new DWORD value named AnonymousGID and set its value data to
0.
e. Restart the machine.

Registering SAN storage on the management server

1. Click Settings > SAN storage.
2. Click Add storage.
3. [Optional] In Name, change the storage name.
This name will be displayed on the SAN storage tab.
4. In Host name or IP address, specify the NetApp Storage Virtual Machine (SVM, also known as a
filer) that was specified when creating the datastore.
To find the required information in VMware vSphere Web Client, select the datastore, and then
click Configure > Device backing. The host name or IP address is displayed in the Server field.

5. In User name and Password, specify the SVM administrator credentials.

Important
The specified account must be a local administrator on the SVM, rather than entire NetApp
system management administrator.

You can specify an existing user or create a new one. To create a new user, in the NetApp
OnCommand System Manager, navigate to Configuration > Security > Users, and then create a
new user.
6. Select one or more Agent for VMware (Windows) which will be given the read permission for the
SAN device.
7. Click Add.

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Using a locally attached storage
You can attach an additional disk to Agent for VMware (Virtual Appliance) so the agent can back up
to this locally attached storage. This approach eliminates the network traffic between the agent and
the backup location.

A virtual appliance that is running on the same host or cluster with the backed-up virtual machines
has direct access to the datastore(s) where the machines reside. This means the appliance can
attach the backed-up disks by using the HotAdd transport, and therefore the backup traffic is
directed from one local disk to another. If the datastore is connected as Disk/LUN rather than NFS,
the backup will be completely LAN-free. In the case of NFS datastore, there will be network traffic
between the datastore and the host.

Using a locally attached storage presumes that the agent always backs up the same machines. If
multiple agents work within the vSphere, and one or more of them use locally attached storages,
you need to manually bind each agent to all machines it has to back up. Otherwise, if the machines
are redistributed among the agents by the management server, a machine's backups may be
dispersed over multiple storages.

You can add the storage to an already working agent or when deploying the agent from an OVF
template.

To attach a storage to an already working agent

1. In VMware vSphere inventory, right click the Agent for VMware (Virtual Appliance).
2. Add the disk by editing the settings of the virtual machine. The disk size must be at least 10 GB.

Warning!
Be careful when adding an already existing disk. Once the storage is created, all data previously
contained on this disk will be lost.

3. Go to the virtual appliance console. The Create storage link is available at the bottom of the
screen. If it is not, click Refresh.
4. Click the Create storage link, select the disk and specify a label for it. The label length is limited
to 16 characters, due to file system restrictions.

To select a locally attached storage as a backup destination

When creating a backup plan, in Where to back up, select Local folders, and then type the letter
corresponding to the locally attached storage, for example, D:\.

Virtual machine binding

This section gives you an overview of how the management server organizes the operation of
multiple agents within VMware vCenter.

The below distribution algorithm works for both virtual appliances and agents installed in Windows.

346 © Acronis International GmbH, 2003-2023

Distribution algorithm
The virtual machines are automatically evenly distributed between Agents for VMware. By evenly,
we mean that each agent manages an equal number of machines. The amount of storage space
occupied by a virtual machine is not counted.

However, when choosing an agent for a machine, the software tries to optimize the overall system
performance. In particular, the software considers the agent and the virtual machine location. An
agent hosted on the same host is preferred. If there is no agent on the same host, an agent from the
same cluster is preferred.

Once a virtual machine is assigned to an agent, all backups of this machine are delegated to this
agent.

Redistribution
Redistribution takes place each time the established balance breaks, or, more precisely, when a load
imbalance among the agents reaches 20 percent. This may happen when a machine or an agent is
added or removed, or a machine migrates to a different host or cluster, or if you manually bind a
machine to an agent. If this happens, the management server redistributes the machines using the
same algorithm.

For example, you realize that you need more agents to help with throughput and deploy an
additional virtual appliance to the cluster. The management server will assign the most appropriate
machines to the new agent. The old agents' load will reduce.

When you remove an agent from the management server, the machines assigned to the agent are
distributed among the remaining agents. However, this will not happen if an agent gets corrupted or
is deleted from manually from vSphere. Redistribution will start only after you remove such agent
from the web interface.

Viewing the distribution result

You can view the result of the automatic distribution:

l in the Agent column for each virtual machine on the All devices section
l in the Assigned virtual machines section of the Details panel when an agent is selected in the
Settings > Agents section

Manual binding
The Agent for VMware binding lets you exclude a virtual machine from this distribution process by
specifying the agent that must always back up this machine. The overall balance will be maintained,
but this particular machine can be passed to a different agent only if the original agent is removed.

To bind a machine with an agent

347 © Acronis International GmbH, 2003-2023

1. Select the machine.
2. Click Details.
In the Assigned agent section, the software shows the agent that currently manages the
selected machine.
3. Click Change.
4. Select Manual.
5. Select the agent to which you want to bind the machine.
6. Click Save.

To unbind a machine from an agent

1. Select the machine.

2. Click Details.
In the Assigned agent section, the software shows the agent that currently manages the
selected machine.
3. Click Change.
4. Select Automatic.
5. Click Save.

Disabling automatic assignment for an agent

You can disable the automatic assignment for Agent for VMware to exclude it from the distribution
process by specifying the list of machines that this agent must back up. The overall balance will be
maintained between other agents.

Automatic assignment cannot be disabled for an agent if there are no other registered agents, or if
automatic assignment is disabled for all other agents.

To disable automatic assignment for an agent

1. Click Settings > Agents.

2. Select Agent for VMware for which you want to disable the automatic assignment.
3. Click Details.
4. Disable the Automatic assignment switch.

Usage examples
l Manual binding comes in handy if you want a particular (very large) machine to be backed up by
Agent for VMware (Windows) via a fibre channel while other machines are backed up by virtual
appliances.
l Manual binding is necessary if you are using SAN hardware snapshots. Bind Agent for VMware
(Windows) for which SAN hardware snapshots are configured with the machines that reside on
the SAN datastore.
l It is necessary to bind VMs to an agent if the agent has a locally attached storage.

348 © Acronis International GmbH, 2003-2023

l Disabling the automatic assignment enables you to ensure that a particular machine is
predictably backed up on the schedule you specify. The agent that only backs up one VM cannot
be busy backing up other VMs when the scheduled time comes.
l Disabling the automatic assignment is useful if you have multiple ESXi hosts that are separated
geographically. If you disable the automatic assignment, and then bind the VMs on each host to
the agent running on the same host, you can ensure that the agent will never back up any
machines running on the remote ESXi hosts, thus saving network traffic.

Support for VM migration

This section informs you about what to expect when virtual machines migrate within a vSphere
environment, including migration between ESXi hosts that are part of a vSphere cluster.

vMotion
vMotion moves a virtual machine's state and configuration to another host while the machine's
disks remain in the same location on shared storage.

l vMotion of Agent for VMware (Virtual Appliance) is not supported and is disabled.
l vMotion of a virtual machine is disabled during a backup. Backups will continue to run after the
migration is completed.

Storage vMotion
Storage vMotion moves virtual machine disks from one datastore to another.

l Storage vMotion of Agent for VMware (Virtual Appliance) is not supported and is disabled.
l Storage vMotion of a virtual machine is disabled during a backup. Backups will continue to run
after the migration.

Managing virtualization environments

You can view the vSphere, Hyper-V, and Virtuozzo environments in their native presentation. Once
the corresponding agent is installed and registered, the VMware, Hyper-V, or Virtuozzo tab
appears under Devices.

In the VMware tab, you can back up the following vSphere infrastructure objects:

l Data center
l Folder
l Cluster
l ESXi host
l Resource pool

Each of these infrastructure objects works as a group object for virtual machines. When you apply a
backup plan to any of these group objects, all virtual machines included in it, will be backed up. You

349 © Acronis International GmbH, 2003-2023

can back up either the selected group machines by clicking Backup, or the parent group machines
in which the selected group is included by clicking Group backup.

For example, you have selected the cluster and then selected a resource pool inside it. If you click
Backup, all virtual machines included in the selected resource pool will be backed up. If you click
Group backup, all virtual machines included in the cluster will be backed up.

You can change access credentials for the vCenter Server or stand-alone ESXi host without re-
installing the agent.

To change the vCenter Server or ESXi host access credentials

1. Under Devices, click VMware.

2. Click Hosts and Clusters.
3. In the Hosts and Clusters list (to the right of the Hosts and Clusters tree), select the vCenter
Server or stand-alone ESXi host that was specified during the Agent for VMware installation.
4. Click Details.
5. Under Credentials, click the user name.
6. Specify the new access credentials, and then click OK.

Viewing backup status in vSphere Client

You can view backup status and the last backup time of a virtual machine in vSphere Client.

This information appears in the virtual machine summary (Summary > Custom
attributes/Annotations/Notes, depending on the client type and vSphere version). You can also
enable the Last backup and Backup status columns on the Virtual Machines tab for any host,
datacenter, folder, resource pool, or the entire vCenter Server.

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To provide these attributes, Agent for VMware must have the following privileges in addition to
those described in "Agent for VMware - necessary privileges":

l Global > Manage custom attributes

l Global > Set custom attribute

Agent for VMware – necessary privileges

This section describes the privileges required for operations with ESXi virtual machines and,
additionally, for virtual appliance deployment.

To perform any operations with vCenter objects, such as virtual machines, ESXi hosts, clusters,
vCenter, and more, Agent for VMware authenticates on vCenter or ESXi host by using the vSphere
credentials provided by a user. The vSphere account, used for connection to vSphere by Agent for
VMware, must have the required privileges on all levels of vSphere infrastructure starting from the
vCenter level.

Specify the vSphere account with the necessary privileges during Agent for VMware installation or
configuration. If you need to change the account at a later time, refer to the "Managing virtualization
environments" section.

To assign the permissions to a vSphere user on the vCenter level, do the following:

1. Log in to vSphere web client.

2. Right-click on vCenter and then click Add permission.
3. Select or add a new user with the required role (the role must include all the required
permissions from the table below).
4. Select the Propagate to children option.

351 © Acronis International GmbH, 2003-2023

 Operation

Recover
Object Privilege Back Recover Run VM
to an VA
up a to a new from
existing deployment
VM VM backup
VM

Cryptographi Add disk

c operations
+*
(starting with
vSphere 6.5)

Direct Access +*

Datastore Allocate
+ + + +
space

Browse
+ +
datastore

Configure
+ + + + +
datastore

Low level file

+ +
operations

Global Licenses + + + +

Disable
+ + +
methods

Enable
+ + +
methods

Manage
custom + + +
attributes

Set custom
+ + +
attribute

Host > VM autostart

+
Configuration configuration

Storage
partition +
configuration

Host > Modify

+
Inventory cluster

Host > Local Create VM + +

352 © Acronis International GmbH, 2003-2023

 Operation

Recover
Object Privilege Back Recover Run VM
to an VA
up a to a new from
existing deployment
VM VM backup
VM

operations

Delete VM + +

Reconfigure
+ +
VM

Network Assign
+ + + +
network

Resource Assign VM to
resource + + + +
pool

Virtual Add existing

machine > disk + + +
Configuration

Add new disk + + + +

Add or
remove + + +
device

Advanced + + + +

Change CPU
+
count

Disk change
+ +
tracking

Disk lease + +

Memory +

Remove disk + + + +

Rename +

Set
+
annotation

Settings + + +

353 © Acronis International GmbH, 2003-2023

 Operation

Recover
Object Privilege Back Recover Run VM
to an VA
up a to a new from
existing deployment
VM VM backup
VM

Virtual Guest
machine > Operation
+** +
Guest Program
Operations Execution

Guest
Operation +** +
Queries

Guest
Operation +**
Modifications

Virtual Acquire
machine > guest control
Interaction ticket (in + +
vSphere 4.1
and 5.0)

Configure CD
+ +
media

Console
+
interaction

Guest
operating
system
management + +
by VIX API (in
vSphere 5.1
and later)

Power off + + +

Power on + + + +

Virtual Create from

machine > existing + + +
Inventory

Create new + + + +

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 Operation

Recover
Object Privilege Back Recover Run VM
to an VA
up a to a new from
existing deployment
VM VM backup
VM

Move +

Register +

Remove + + + +

Unregister +

Virtual Allow disk

machine > access + + +
Provisioning

Allow read-
only disk + +
access

Allow virtual
machine + + + +
download

Virtual Create
machine > snapshot
State

Virtual
machine > + + + +
Snapshot
management
(vSphere 6.5
and later)

Remove
+ + + +
snapshot

vApp Add virtual

+
machine

Import +

* This privilege is required for backing up encrypted machines only.

** This privilege is required for application-aware backups only.

355 © Acronis International GmbH, 2003-2023

Backing up clustered Hyper-V machines
In a Hyper-V cluster, virtual machines may migrate between cluster nodes. Follow these
recommendations to set up a correct backup of clustered Hyper-V machines:

1. A machine must be available for backup no matter what node it migrates to. To ensure that
Agent for Hyper-V can access a machine on any node, the agent service must run under a
domain user account that has administrative privileges on each of the cluster nodes.
We recommend that you specify such an account for the agent service during the Agent for
Hyper-V installation.
2. Install Agent for Hyper-V on each node of the cluster.
3. Register all of the agents on the management server.

High Availability of a recovered machine

When you recover backed-up disks to an existing Hyper-V virtual machine, the machine's High
Availability property remains as is.

When you recover backed-up disks to a new Hyper-V virtual machine, or do a conversion to a Hyper-
V virtual machine within a backup plan, the resulting machine is not highly available. It is considered
as a spare machine and is normally powered off. If you need to use the machine in the production
environment, you can configure it for High Availability from the Failover Cluster Management
snap-in.

Limiting the total number of simultaneously backed-up

virtual machines
The Scheduling backup option defines how many virtual machines an agent can back up
simultaneously when executing the given backup plan.

When multiple backup plans overlap in time, the numbers specified in their backup options are
added up. Even though the resulting total number is programmatically limited to 10, overlapping
plans can affect the backup performance and overload both the host and the virtual machine
storage.

You can further reduce the total number of virtual machines that an Agent for VMware or Agent for
Hyper-V can back up simultaneously.

To limit the total number of virtual machines that Agent for VMware (Windows) or Agent for
Hyper-V can back up

1. On the machine running the agent, create a new text document and open it in a text editor, such
as Notepad.
2. Copy and paste the following lines into the file:

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 Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_LOCAL_
MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Acronis\MMS\Configuration\ManagedMachine\SimultaneousBackupsLimits]
"MaxNumberOfSimultaneousBackups"=dword:00000001

3. Replace 00000001 with the hexadecimal value of the limit that you want to set. For example,
00000001 is 1 and 0000000A is 10.
4. Save the document as limit.reg.
5. Run the file as an administrator.
6. Confirm that you want to edit the Windows registry.
7. Do the following to restart the agent:
a. In the Start menu, click Run, and then type: cmd
b. Click OK.
c. Run the following commands:

net stop mms

net start mms

To limit the total number of virtual machines that Agent for VMware (Virtual Appliance) or Agent
for VMware (Linux) can back up

1. On the machine running the agent, start the command shell:

l Agent for VMware (Virtual Appliance): press CTRL+SHIFT+F2 while in the virtual appliance
UI.
l Agent for VMware (Linux): log in as the root user to the machine running the Acronis Cyber
Backup appliance. The password is the same as for the backup console.
2. Open the file /etc/Acronis/MMS.config in a text editor, such as vi.
3. Locate the following section:

<key name="SimultaneousBackupsLimits">
<value name="MaxNumberOfSimultaneousBackups" type="Tdword">"10"</value>
</key>

4. Replace 10 with the decimal value of the limit that you want to set.
5. Save the file.
6. Restart the agent:
l Agent for VMware (Virtual Appliance): execute the reboot command.
l Agent for VMware (Linux): execute the following command:

sudo service acronis_mms restart

Machine migration
You can perform machine migration by recovering its backup to a non-original machine.

357 © Acronis International GmbH, 2003-2023

The following table summarizes the available migration options.

Available recovery destinations

Backed-up machine
type Hyper-V virtual
Physical machine ESXi virtual machine
machine

Physical machine + + +

VMware ESXi virtual

+ + +
machine

Hyper-V virtual machine + + +

For instructions on how to perform migration, refer to the following sections:

l Physical-to-virtual (P2V) - "Physical machine to virtual"

l Virtual-to-virtual (V2V) - "Virtual machine"
l Virtual-to-physical (V2P) - "Virtual machine" or "Recovering disks by using bootable media"

Although it is possible to perform V2P migration in the web interface, we recommend using
bootable media in specific cases. Sometimes, you may want to use the media for migration to ESXi
or Hyper-V.

The media enables you to do the following:

l Perform P2V and V2P migration of a Linux machine containing logical volumes (LVM). Use Agent
for Linux or bootable media to create the backup and bootable media to recover.
l Provide drivers for specific hardware that is critical for the system bootability.

Windows Azure and Amazon EC2 virtual machines

To back up a Windows Azure or Amazon EC2 virtual machine, install a backup agent on the machine.
The backup and recovery operations are the same as with a physical machine. Nevertheless, the
machine is counted as virtual when you set quotas for the number of machines in a cloud
deployment.

The difference from a physical machine is that Windows Azure and Amazon EC2 virtual machines
cannot be booted from bootable media. If you need to recover to a new Windows Azure or Amazon
EC2 virtual machine, follow the procedure below.

To recover a machine as a Windows Azure or Amazon EC2 virtual machine

1. Create a new virtual machine from an image/template in Windows Azure or Amazon EC2. The
new machine must have the same disk configuration as the machine that you want to recover.
2. Install Agent for Windows or Agent for Linux on the new machine.
3. Recover the backed-up machine as described in "Physical machine". When configuring the
recovery, select the new machine as the target machine.

358 © Acronis International GmbH, 2003-2023

Network requirements
The agents installed on the backed-up machines must be able to communicate with the
management server over the network.

On-premises deployment
l If both the agents and the management server are installed in the Azure/EC2 cloud, all machines
are already located in the same network. No additional actions are required.
l If the management server is located outside the Azure/EC2 cloud, the machines in the cloud will
not have network access to the local network where the management server is installed. To
enable the agents installed on such machines to communicate with the management server, a
virtual private network (VPN) connection between the local (on-premises) and the cloud
(Azure/EC2) network must be created. For instructions about how to create the VPN connection,
refer to the following articles:
Amazon EC2: http://docs.aws.amazon.com/AmazonVPC/latest/UserGuide/VPC_VPN.html#vpn-
create-cgw
Windows Azure: https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/vpn-gateway/vpn-gateway-howto-site-
to-site-resource-manager-portal

Cloud deployment
In a cloud deployment, the management server is located in one of the Acronis data centers and is
thus reachable by the agents. No additional actions are required.

359 © Acronis International GmbH, 2003-2023

Protecting SAP HANA
Protection of SAP HANA is described in a separate document available at https://dl.managed-
protection.com/u/pdf/AcronisCyberBackup_12.5_SAP_HANA_whitepaper.pdf

Note
This functionality is not available in the Standard edition of Acronis Cyber Backup.

360 © Acronis International GmbH, 2003-2023

Device groups
Note
This functionality is not available in the Standard edition of Acronis Cyber Backup.

Device groups are designed for convenient management of a large number of registered devices.

You can apply a backup plan to a group. Once a new device appears in the group, the device
becomes protected by the plan. If a device is removed from the group, the device will no longer be
protected by the plan. A plan that is applied to a group cannot be revoked from a member of the
group, only from the group itself.

Only devices of the same type can be added to a group. For example, under Hyper-V you can create
a group of Hyper-V virtual machines. Under Machines with agents, you can create a group of
machines with installed agents. Under All devices, you cannot create a group.

A single device can be a member of more than one group.

Built-in groups
Once a device is registered, it appears in one of the built-in root groups on the Devices tab.

Root groups cannot be edited or deleted. You cannot apply plans to root groups.

Some of the root groups contain built-in sub-root groups. These groups cannot be edited or deleted.
However, you can apply plans to sub-root built-in groups.

Custom groups
Protecting all devices in a built-in group with a single backup plan may not be satisfactory because
of the different roles of the machines. The backed-up data is specific for each department; some
data has to be backed up frequently, other data is backed up twice a year. Therefore, you may want
to create various backup plans applicable to different sets of machines. In this case, consider
creating custom groups.

A custom group can contain one or more nested groups. Any custom group can be edited or
deleted. There are the following types of custom groups:

l Static groups
Static groups contain the machines that were manually added to them. The static group content
never changes unless you explicitly add or delete a machine.
Example: You create a custom group for the accounting department and manually add the
accountants' machines to this group. Once you apply a backup plan to the group, the
accountants' machines become protected. If a new accountant is hired, you will have to add the
new machine to the group manually.
l Dynamic groups

361 © Acronis International GmbH, 2003-2023

 Dynamic groups contain the machines added automatically according to the search criteria
specified when creating a group. The dynamic group content changes automatically. A machine
remains in the group while it meets the specified criteria.
Example 1: The host names of the machines that belong to the accounting department contain
the word "accounting". You specify the partial machine name as the group membership criterion
and apply a backup plan to the group. If a new accountant is hired, the new machine will be
added to the group as soon as it is registered, and thus will be protected automatically.
Example 2: The accounting department forms a separate Active Directory organizational unit
(OU). You specify the accounting OU as the group membership criterion and apply a backup plan
to the group. If a new accountant is hired, the new machine will be added to the group as soon as
it is registered and added to the OU (regardless of which comes first), and thus will be protected
automatically.

Creating a static group

1. Click Devices, and then select the built-in group which contains the devices for which you want
to create a static group.
2. Click the gear icon next to the group in which you want to create a group.
3. Click New group.
4. Specify the group name, and then click OK.
The new group appears in the groups tree.

Adding devices to static groups

1. Click Devices, and then select one or more devices that you want to add to a group.
2. Click Add to group.
The software displays a tree of groups to which the selected device can be added.
3. If you want to create a new group, do the following. Otherwise, skip this step.
a. Select the group in which you want to create a group.
b. Click New group.
c. Specify the group name, and then click OK.
4. Select the group to which you want to add the device, and then click Done.

Another way to add devices to a static group is to select the group and click Add devices.

Creating a dynamic group

1. Click Devices, and then select the group which contains the devices for which you want to create
a dynamic group.

Note
You cannot create dynamic groups for the All devices group.

362 © Acronis International GmbH, 2003-2023

2. Search for devices by using the search field. You can use multiple search criteria and operators
described below.
3. Click Save as next to the search field.

Note
Some search criteria are not supported for group creation. See the table in section Search
criteria below.

4. Specify the group name, and then click OK.

Search criteria
The following table summarizes the available search criteria.

Criterion Meaning Search query examples Supported

for group
creation

name l Host name for physical name = 'en-00'

machines
l Name for virtual machines
Yes
l Database name
l Email address for
mailboxes

comment Comment for a device. comment = 'important machine'

Default value: comment = '' (all machines without

a comment)
l For physical machines
running Windows, the
computer description in
Windows is automatically
copied as a comment. This
value is synchronized
every 15 minutes.
l Empty for other devices.
Yes

Note
If you manually add text in
the comment field, the
automatic synchronization of
the Windows description is
disabled. To enable it again,
clear the comment that you
have added.

To refresh the automatically

363 © Acronis International GmbH, 2003-2023

 Criterion Meaning Search query examples Supported
for group
creation

synchronized comments for

your devices, restart the
Managed Machine Service in
Windows Services or run
the following commands at
the command prompt:

net stop mms

net start mms

To view the comment, under

Devices, select the device,
click Details, and then locate
the Comment section.

To add or change the

comment, click Add or Edit.

For devices on which a

protection agent is installed,
there are two separate
comment fields:

l Agent comment
o For physical machines
running Windows, the
computer description
in Windows is
automatically copied as
a comment. This value
is synchronized every
15 minutes.
o Empty for other
devices.

364 © Acronis International GmbH, 2003-2023

 Criterion Meaning Search query examples Supported
for group
creation

Note
If you manually add text
in the comment field, the
automatic
synchronization of the
Windows description is
disabled. To enable it
again, clear the comment
that you have added.

l Device comment
o If the agent comment is
specified automatically,
it is copied as a device
comment. Manually
added agent comments
are not copied as
device comments.
o Device comments are
not copied as agent
comments.

A device can have one or the

both comments specified, or
have them both blank. If the
both comments are
specified, the device
comment has priority.

To view an agent comment,

under Settings > Agents,
select the device with the
agent, click Details, and then
locate the Comment section.

To view a device comment,

under Devices, select the
device, click Details, and
then locate the Comment
section.

To add or change a comment

manually, click Add or Edit.

ip IP address (only for physical ip RANGE Yes

365 © Acronis International GmbH, 2003-2023

 Criterion Meaning Search query examples Supported
for group
creation

machines) ('10.250.176.1','10.250.176.50')

memorySize RAM size in megabytes (MiB) memorySize < 1024 Yes

insideVm Virtual machine with an insideVm = true

agent inside.

Possible values: Yes

l true
l false

osName Operating system name. osName LIKE '%Windows XP%' Yes

osType Operating system type. osType IN ('linux', 'macosx')

Possible values:
Yes
l 'windows'
l 'linux'
l 'macosx'

osProductType The operating system osProductType = 'server'

product type.

Possible values:

l 'dc'
Stands for Domain
Controller.
Note When the domain
controller role is assigned
Yes
on a Windows server, the
osProductType changes
from "server" to "dc". Such
machines will be not
included in search results
for filter
"osProductType='server'.
l 'server'
l 'workstation'

tenant The name of the unit to tenant = 'Unit 1'

Yes
which the device belongs.

tenantId The identifier of the unit to tenantId = '3bfe6ca9-9c6a-4953-

Yes
which device belongs. 9cb2-a1323f454fc9'

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 Criterion Meaning Search query examples Supported
for group
creation

To get the unit ID, under

Devices, select the device,
click Details > All
properties. The ID is shown
in the ownerId field.

state Device state. state = 'backup'

Possible values:

l 'idle'
l 'interactionRequired'
l 'canceling'
l 'backup'
l 'recover'
l 'install'
l 'reboot' No
l 'failback'
l 'testReplica'
l 'run_from_image'
l 'finalize'
l 'failover'
l 'replicate'
l 'createAsz'
l 'deleteAsz'
l 'resizeAsz'

protectedByPlan Devices that are protected by protectedByPlan = '4B2A7A93-A44F-

a backup plan with a given 4155-BDE3-A023C57C9431'
ID.

To get the plan ID, click Plans

> Backup, select the plan, No
click on the diagram in the
Status column, and then
click on a status. A new
search with the plan ID will
be created.

okByPlan Devices that are protected by okByPlan = '4B2A7A93-A44F-4155-

a backup plan with a given ID BDE3-A023C57C9431' No
and have an OK status.

errorByPlan Devices that are protected by errorByPlan = '4B2A7A93-A44F-

No
a backup plan with a given ID 4155-BDE3-A023C57C9431'

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 Criterion Meaning Search query examples Supported
for group
creation

and have an Error status.

warningByPlan Devices that are protected by warningByPlan = '4B2A7A93-A44F-

a backup plan with a given ID 4155-BDE3-A023C57C9431' No
and have a Warning status.

runningByPlan Devices that are protected by runningByPlan = '4B2A7A93-A44F-

a backup plan with a given ID 4155-BDE3-A023C57C9431' No
and have a Running status.

interactionByPlan Devices that are protected by interactionByPlan = '4B2A7A93-

a backup plan with a given ID A44F-4155-BDE3-A023C57C9431'
No
and have an Interaction
Required status.

ou Machines that belong to the ou IN ('RnD', 'Computers')

specified Active Directory Yes
organizational unit.

id Device ID. id != '4B2A7A93-A44F-4155-BDE3-

A023C57C9431'
To get the device ID, under
Devices, select the device, Yes
click Details > All
properties. The ID is shown
in the id field.

lastBackupTime The date and time of the last lastBackupTime > '2016-03-11'
successful backup.
lastBackupTime <= '2016-03-11
No
The format is 'YYYY-MM-DD 00:15'
HH:MM'.
lastBackupTime is null

lastBackupTryTime The time of the last backup lastBackupTryTime >= '2016-03-11'

attempt.
No
The format is 'YYYY-MM-DD
HH:MM'.

nextBackupTime The time of the next backup. nextBackupTime >= '2016-03-11'

The format is 'YYYY-MM-DD No

HH:MM'.

agentVersion Version of the installed agentVersion LIKE '12.0.*'

Yes
backup agent.

hostId Internal ID of the backup hostId = '4B2A7A93-A44F-4155-

Yes
agent. BDE3-A023C57C9431'

368 © Acronis International GmbH, 2003-2023

 Criterion Meaning Search query examples Supported
for group
creation

To get the backup agent ID,

under Devices, select the
machine, click Details > All
properties. Use the "id"
value of the agent property.

resourceType Resource type. resourceType = 'machine'

Possible values: resourceType in ('mssql_aag_

database', 'mssql_database')
l 'machine'
l 'virtual_machine.vmwesx'
Yes
l 'virtual_
machine.mshyperv'
l 'virtual_machine.rhev'
l 'virtual_machine.kvm'
l 'virtual_machine.xen'

Note
If you skip the hour and minutes value, the start time is considered to be YYYY-MM-DD 00:00, and
the end time is considered to be YYYY-MM-DD 23:59:59. For example, lastBackupTime = 2020-02-20,
means that the search results will include all backups from the interval
lastBackupTime >= 2020-02-20 00:00 and lastBackup time <= 2020-02-20 23:59:59

Operators
The following table summarizes the available operators.

Operator Meaning Examples

AND Logical conjunction operator. name like 'en-00' AND tenant =

'Unit 1'

OR Logical disjunction operator. state = 'backup' OR state =

'interactionRequired'

NOT Logical negation operator. NOT(osProductType = 'workstation')

LIKE 'wildcard This operator is used to test if an expression name LIKE 'en-00'
pattern' matches the wildcard pattern. This operator is
name LIKE '*en-00'
case-insensitive.
name LIKE '*en-00*'
The following wildcard operators can be used:
name LIKE 'en-00_'
l * or % The asterisk and the percent sign
represent zero, one, or multiple characters

369 © Acronis International GmbH, 2003-2023

 Operator Meaning Examples

l _ The underscore represents a single

character

IN (<value1>,... This operator is used to test if an expression osType IN ('windows', 'linux')

<valueN>) matches any value in a list of values. This
operator is case-sensitive.

RANGE(<starting_ This operator is used to test if an expression is ip RANGE

value>, <ending_ within a range of values (inclusive). ('10.250.176.1','10.250.176.50')
value>)

Applying a backup plan to a group

1. Click Devices, and then select the built-in group that contains the group to which you want to
apply a backup plan.
The software displays the list of child groups.
2. Select the group to which you want to apply a backup plan.
3. Click Group backup.
The software displays the list of backup plans that can be applied to the group.
4. Do one of the following:
l Expand an existing backup plan, and then click Apply.
l Click Create new, and then create a new backup plan as described in "Backup".

370 © Acronis International GmbH, 2003-2023

Monitoring and reporting
Note
In cloud deployments, some of the features described in this section might not be available or
might be different.

The Dashboard section enables you to monitor the current state of your backup infrastructure. The
Reports section enables you to generate on-demand and scheduled reports about the backup
infrastructure. The Reports section is available only with an Advanced license.

The Dashboard and Reports sections appear under the Overview tab only if the Monitoring
Service component was installed with the management server (it is installed by default).

Dashboard
The Dashboard provides a number of customizable widgets that give an overview of your backup
infrastructure. The widgets are updated in real time. You can choose from more than 20 widgets,
presented as pie charts, tables, graphs, bar charts, and lists.

The following widgets are displayed by default:

l Protection status. Shows protection statuses for the selected device group.
l Storage. Shows total, free, and occupied space for the selected backup location.
l Monthly storage usage. Shows the monthly space usage trend for the selected backup location.
l Activities. Shows results of activities for the last seven days.
l Not protected. Shows devices without backup plans.
l Active alerts. Shows the five most recent active alerts.

Widgets have clickable elements that enable you to investigate and troubleshoot issues.

You can download the current state of the dashboard in the .pdf or .xlsx format, or send it via email.
To send the dashboard via email, ensure that the Email server settings are configured.

371 © Acronis International GmbH, 2003-2023

Reports
Note
This functionality is available only with the Acronis Cyber Backup Advanced license.

A report can include any set of the dashboard widgets. You can use predefined reports or create a
custom report.

The reports can be sent via email or downloaded on a schedule. To send the reports via email,
ensure that the Email server settings are configured.

If you want to process a report by using third-party software, schedule saving the report in the .xlsx
format to a specific folder.

Basic operations with reports

Click Overview > Reports, select a report, and then do one of the following:

l To view a report, click Open.

l To send the report via email, click Send now, specify the email addresses, select the report
format, and then click Send.
l To download the report, click Download.

Scheduling a report
1. Select a report, and then click Schedule.
2. Enable the Send a scheduled report switch.
3. Select whether to send the report via email, save it to a folder, or both. Depending on your
choice, specify the email addresses, the folder path, or both.
4. Select the report format: .pdf, .xlsx, or both.
5. Select the reporting period: 1 day, 7 days, or 30 days.

372 © Acronis International GmbH, 2003-2023

6. Select the days and the time when the report will be sent or saved.
7. Click Save.

Exporting and importing the report structure

You can export and import the report structure (the set of widgets and the schedule settings) to a
.json file. This may be useful in case of the management server re-installation or for copying the
report structure to a different management server.

To export the report structure, select a report, and then click Export.

To import the report structure, click Create report, and then click Import.

Dumping the report data

You can save a dump of the report data to a .csv file. The dump includes all of the report data
(without filtering) for a custom time range.

The software generates the data dump on the fly. If you specify a long period of time, this action
may take a long time.

To dump the report data

1. Select a report, and then click Open.

2. Click the vertical ellipsis icon in the top-right corner, and then click Dump data.
3. In Location, specify the folder path for the .csv file.
4. In Time range, specify the time range.
5. Click Save.

Configuring the severity of alerts

An alert is a message that warns about actual or potential problems. You can use the alerts in
various ways:

l The Alerts section of the Overview tab lets you quickly identify and solve the problems by
monitoring the current alerts.
l Under Devices, the device status is derived from alerts. The Status column enables you to filter
devices with problems.
l When configuring email notifications, you can choose which alerts will trigger a notification.

An alert can have one of the following severities:

l Critical
l Error
l Warning

You can change the severity of an alert or disable an alert completely by using the alerts
configuration file as described below. This operation requires restarting the management server.

Changing the severity of an alert does not affect already generated alerts.

373 © Acronis International GmbH, 2003-2023

Alerts configuration file
The configuration file is located on the machine running the management server.

l In Windows: <installation_path>\AlertManager\alert_manager.yaml
Here, <installation_path> is the management server installation path. By default, it is
%ProgramFiles%\Acronis .
l In Linux: /usr/lib/Acronis/AlertManager/alert_manager.yaml

The file is structured as a YAML document. Each alert is an element in the alertTypes list.

The name key identifies the alert.

The severity key defines the alert severity. It must have one of the following values: critical, error,
or warning.

The optional enabled key defines whether the alert is enabled or disabled. Its value must be either
true or false. By default (without this key) all alerts are enabled.

To change the severity of an alert or disable an alert

1. On the machine where the management server is installed, open the alert_manager.yaml file in
a text editor.
2. Locate the alert that you want to change or disable.
3. Do one of the following:
l To change the alert severity, change the value of the severity key.
l To disable the alert, add the enabled key, and then set its value to false.
4. Save the file.
5. Restart the management server service as described below.

To restart the management server service in Windows

1. In the Start menu, click Run, and then type: cmd

2. Click OK.
3. Run the following commands:

net stop acrmngsrv

net start acrmngsrv

To restart the management server service in Linux

1. Open Terminal.
2. Run the following command in any directory:

sudo service acronis_ams restart

374 © Acronis International GmbH, 2003-2023

Advanced storage options
Note
This functionality is available only with the Acronis Cyber Backup Advanced license.

Tape devices
The following sections describe in detail how to use tape devices for storing backups.

What is a tape device?

A tape device is a generic term that means a tape library or a stand-alone tape drive.

A tape library (robotic library) is a high-capacity storage device that contains:

l one or more tape drives

l multiple (up to several thousand) slots to hold tapes
l one or more changers (robotic mechanisms) intended to move the tapes between the slots and
the tape drives.

It may also contain other components such as barcode readers or barcode printers.

An autoloader is a particular case of tape libraries. It contains one drive, several slots, a changer
and a barcode reader (optional).

A stand-alone tape drive (also called streamer) contains one slot and can hold only one tape at a
time.

Overview of tape support

Backup agents can back up data to a tape device directly or through a storage node. In either case,
fully automatic operation of the tape device is ensured. When a tape device with several drives is
attached to a storage node, multiple agents can simultaneously back up to tapes.

Compatibility with RSM and third-party software

Coexistence with third-party software

It is not possible to work with tapes on a machine where third-party software with proprietary tape
management tools is installed. To use tapes on such a machine, you need to uninstall or deactivate
the third-party tape management software.

Interaction with Windows Removable Storage Manager (RSM)

Backup agents and storage nodes do not use RSM. When detecting a tape device, they disable the
device from RSM (unless it is being used by other software). As long as you want to work with the

375 © Acronis International GmbH, 2003-2023

tape device, make sure that neither a user nor third-party software enables the device in RSM. If the
tape device was enabled in RSM, repeat the tape device detection.

Supported hardware
Acronis Cyber Backup supports external SCSI devices. These are devices connected to Fibre Channel
or using the SCSI, iSCSI, Serial Attached SCSI (SAS) interfaces. Also, Acronis Cyber Backup supports
USB-connected tape devices.

In Windows, Acronis Cyber Backup can back up to a tape device even if the drivers for the device's
changer are not installed. Such a tape device is shown in Device Manager as Unknown Medium
Changer. However, drivers for the device's drives must be installed. In Linux and under bootable
media, backing up to a tape device without drivers is not possible.

Recognition of IDE or SATA connected devices is not guaranteed. It depends on whether proper
drivers have been installed in the operating system.

To learn if your specific device is supported, use the Hardware Compatibility Tool as described at
http://kb.acronis.com/content/57237. You are welcome to send a report about the test results to
Acronis. Hardware with confirmed support is listed in the Hardware Compatibility List:
https://go.acronis.com/acronis-cyber-backup-advanced-tape-hcl.

Tape management database

The information about all tape devices attached to a machine is stored in the tape management
database. The default database path is as follows:

l In Windows XP/Server 2003: %ALLUSERSPROFILE%\Application

Data\Acronis\BackupAndRecovery\ARSM\Database.
l In Windows Vista and later versions of Windows:
%PROGRAMDATA%\Acronis\BackupAndRecovery\ARSM\Database.
l In Linux: /var/lib/Acronis/BackupAndRecovery/ARSM/Database.

The database size depends on the number of backups stored on tapes and equals approximately
10 MB per hundred backups. The database may be large if the tape library contains thousands of
backups. In this case, you may want to store the tape database on a different volume.

To relocate the database in Windows:

1. Stop the Removable Storage Management service.

2. Move all files from the default location to the new location.
3. Find the registry key HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Acronis\ARSM\Settings.
4. Specify the new location path in the registry value ArsmDmlDbProtocol. The string may contain
up to 32765 characters.
5. Start the Removable Storage Management service.

To relocate the database in Linux:

376 © Acronis International GmbH, 2003-2023

1. Stop the acronis_rsm service.
2. Move all files from the default location to the new location.
3. Open the configuration file /etc/Acronis/ARSM.config in a text editor.
4. Locate the line <value name="ArsmDmlDbProtocol" type="TString">.
5. Change the path under this line.
6. Save the file.
7. Start the acronis_rsm service.

Parameters for writing to tapes

The tape writing parameters (block size and cache size) allow you to fine-tune the software to
achieve the maximum performance. Both parameters are required for writing to tapes, but
normally you only need to adjust the block size. The optimal value depends on the tape device type
and on the data being backed up, such as the number of files and their size.

Note
When the software reads from a tape, it uses the same block size that was used when writing to the
tape. If the tape device does not support this block size, the reading will fail.

The parameters are set on each machine that has a tape device attached. It can be a machine where
an agent or a storage node is installed. On a machine running Windows, the configuration is
performed in the registry; on a Linux machine, it is done in the configuration file
/etc/Acronis/BackupAndRecovery.config.

In Windows, create the respective registry keys and their DWORD values. In Linux, add the following
text at the end of the configuration file, right before the </registry> tag:

<key name="TapeLocation">
<value name="WriteCacheSize" type="Dword">
"value"
</value>
<value name=DefaultBlockSize" type="Dword">
"value"
</value>
</key>

DefaultBlockSize
This is the block size (in bytes) used when writing to tapes.

Possible values: 0, 32, 64, 128, 256, 512, 1024, 2048, 4096, 8192, 16384, 32768, 65536, 131072,
262144, 524288, 1048576.

If the value is 0 or if the parameter is absent, the block size is determined as follows:

l In Windows, the value is taken from the tape device driver.

l In Linux, the value is 64 KB.

377 © Acronis International GmbH, 2003-2023

Registry key (on a machine running Windows):HKEY_LOCAL_
MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Acronis\BackupAndRecovery\TapeLocation\DefaultBlockSize

Line in /etc/Acronis/BackupAndRecovery.config (on a machine running Linux):

<value name=DefaultBlockSize" type="Dword">

"value"
</value>

If the specified value is not accepted by the tape drive, the software divides it by two until the
applicable value is reached or until the value reaches 32 bytes. If the applicable value is not found,
the software multiplies the specified value by two until the applicable value is reached or until the
value reaches 1 MB. If no value is accepted by the drive, the backup will fail.

WriteCacheSize
This is the buffer size (in bytes) used when writing to tapes.

Possible values: 0, 32, 64, 128, 256, 512, 1024, 2048, 4096, 8192, 16384, 32768, 65536, 131072,
262144, 524288, 1048576, but not less than the DefaultBlockSize parameter value.

If the value is 0 or if the parameter is absent, the buffer size is 1 MB. If the operating system does
not support this value, the software divides it by two until the applicable value is found or until the
DefaultBlockSize parameter value is reached. If the value supported by the operating system is not
found, the backup fails.

Registry key (on a machine running Windows):

HKEY_LOCAL_
MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Acronis\BackupAndRecovery\TapeLocation\WriteCacheSize

Line in /etc/Acronis/BackupAndRecovery.config (on a machine running Linux):

<value name="WriteCacheSize" type="Dword">

"value"
</value>

If you specify a non-zero value that is not supported by the operating system, the backup will fail.

Tape-related backup options

You can configure the Tape management backup options to determine:

l Whether to enable file recovery from disk-level backups stored on tapes.

l Whether to return tapes back to slots after backup plan completion.
l Whether to eject tapes after backup completion.
l Whether to use a free tape for each full backup.
l Whether to overwrite a tape when creating a full backup (for stand-alone tape drives only).
l Whether to use tape sets to differentiate tapes used, for example, for backups created on
different days of week or for backups of different machine types.

378 © Acronis International GmbH, 2003-2023

 Parallel operations
Acronis Cyber Backup can simultaneously perform operations with various components of a tape
device. During an operation that uses a drive (backing up, recovering, rescanning, or erasing), you
can launch an operation that uses a changer (moving a tape to another slot or ejecting a tape) and
vice versa. If your tape library has more than one drive, you can also launch an operation that uses
one of the drives during an operation with another drive. For example, several machines can back
up or recover simultaneously using different drives of the same tape library.

The operation of detecting the new tape devices can be performed simultaneously with any other
operation. During inventorying, no other operation is available except for detecting the new tape
devices.

Operations that cannot be performed in parallel are queued.

Limitations
The limitations of tape device usage are the following:

1. Tape devices are not supported when a machine is booted from 32-bit Linux-based bootable
media.
2. You cannot back up the following data types to tapes: Microsoft Office 365 mailboxes, Microsoft
Exchange mailboxes.
3. You cannot create application-aware backups of physical and virtual machines.
4. In macOS, only file-level backup to a managed tape-based location is supported.
5. The consolidation of backups located on tapes is not possible. As a result, the Always
incremental backup scheme is unavailable when you back up to tapes.
6. The deduplication of backups located on tapes is not possible.
7. The software cannot automatically overwrite a tape that contains at least one non-deleted
backup or if there are dependent backups on other tapes.
8. You cannot recover under an operating system from a backup stored on tapes if the recovery
requires the operating system reboot. Use bootable media to perform such recovery.
9. You can validate any backup stored on tapes, but you cannot select for validation an entire tape-
based location or tape device.
10. A managed tape-based location cannot be protected with encryption. Encrypt your backups
instead.
11. The software cannot simultaneously write one backup to multiple tapes or multiple backups
through the same drive to the same tape.
12. Devices that use the Network Data Management Protocol (NDMP) are not supported.
13. Barcode printers are not supported.
14. Linear Tape File System (LTFS) formatted tapes are not supported.

379 © Acronis International GmbH, 2003-2023

Readability of tapes written by older Acronis products
The following table summarizes the readability of tapes written by Acronis True Image Echo, Acronis
True Image 9.1, Acronis Backup & Recovery 10 and Acronis Backup & Recovery 11 product families
in Acronis Cyber Backup. The table also illustrates the compatibility of tapes written by various
components of Acronis Cyber Backup.

It is possible to append incremental and differential backups to rescanned backups that were
created by Acronis Backup 11.5 and Acronis Backup 11.7.

...is readable on a tape device attached to a

machine with...

Acronis Acronis Acronis Acronis

Cyber Cyber Cyber Cyber
Backup Backup Backup Backup
Bootable Agent for Agent for Storage
Media Windows Linux Node

Bootable 9.1 + + + +
Media
Echo + + + +

ABR10 + + + +

ABR11/ Acronis
Backup + + + -
11.5/11.7/12.5

Agent for 9.1 + + + +

Tape written on Windows
a locally Echo + + + +

attached tape ABR10 + + + +

device (tape
drive or tape ABR11/ Acronis
library) by... Backup + + + -
11.5/11.7/12.5

Agent for 9.1 + + + +

Linux
Echo + + + +

ABR10 + + + +

ABR11/ Acronis
Backup + + + -
11.5/11.7/12.5

380 © Acronis International GmbH, 2003-2023

 Backup 9.1 - - - -
Server
Echo - - - -
Tape written on
a tape device Storage ABR10 + + + +
through... Node
ABR11/ Acronis
Backup + + + +
11.5/11.7/12.5

Getting started with a tape device

Backing up a machine to a locally attached tape device

Prerequisites
l The tape device is attached to the machine in accordance with the manufacturer’s instructions.
l The backup agent is installed on the machine.

Before backing up
1. Load tapes to the tape device.
2. Log in to the backup console.
3. In Settings > Tape management, expand the machine node, and then click Tape devices.
4. Ensure that the attached tape device is displayed. If it is not, click Detect devices.
5. Perform the tape inventory:
a. Click the tape device name.
b. Click Inventory to detect the loaded tapes. Keep Full inventory turned on. Do not turn on
Move unrecognized or imported tapes to the 'Free tapes' pool. Click Start inventorying
now.
Result. The loaded tapes have been moved to proper pools as specified in the "Inventorying"
section.

Note
Full inventorying of an entire tape device may take a long time.

c. If the loaded tapes were sent to the Unrecognized tapes or Imported tapes pool and you
want to use them for backing up, move such tapes to the Free tapes pool manually.

Note
Tapes sent to the Imported tapes pool contain backups written by Acronis software . Before
moving such tapes to the Free tapes pool, ensure that you do not need these backups.

381 © Acronis International GmbH, 2003-2023

Backing up
Create a backup plan as described in the "Backup" section. When specifying the backup location,
select Tape pool 'Acronis'.

Results
l To access the location where backups will be created, click Backups > Tape pool 'Acronis'.
l Tapes with the backups will be moved to the Acronis pool.

Backing up to a tape device attached to a storage node

Prerequisites
l A storage node is registered on the management server.
l The tape device is attached to the storage node in accordance with the manufacturer’s
instructions.

Before backing up
1. Load tapes to the tape device.
2. Log in to the backup console.
3. Click Settings > Tape management, expand the node with the storage node name, and then
click Tape devices.
4. Ensure that the attached tape device is displayed. If it is not, click Detect devices.
5. Perform the tape inventory:
a. Click the tape device name.
b. Click Inventory to detect the loaded tapes. Keep Full inventory turned on. Do not turn on
Move unrecognized or imported tapes pools to the 'Free tapes' pool. Click Start
inventorying now.
Result. The loaded tapes have been moved to proper pools as specified in the "Inventorying"
section.

Note
Full inventorying of an entire tape device may take a long time.

c. If the loaded tapes were sent to the Unrecognized tapes or Imported tapes pool and you
want to use them for backing up, move such tapes to the Free tapes pool manually.

Note
Tapes sent to the Imported tapes pool contain backups written by Acronis software . Before
moving such tapes to the Free tapes pool, ensure that you do not need these backups.

d. Decide whether you want to back up to the Acronis pool or to create a new pool.

382 © Acronis International GmbH, 2003-2023

 Details. Having several pools enables you to use a separate tape set for each machine or
each department of your company. By using multiple pools, you can prevent backups created
via different backup plans from mixing up on one tape.
e. If the selected pool can take tapes from the Free tapes pool when required, skip this step.
Otherwise, move tapes from the Free tapes pool to the selected pool.
Tip. To learn whether a pool can take tapes from the Free tapes pool, click the pool and then
click Info.

Backing up
Create a backup plan as described in the "Backup" section. When specifying the backup location,
select the created tape pool.

Results
l To access the location where backups will be created, click Backups, and then click the name of
the created tape pool.
l Tapes with the backups will be moved to the selected pool.

Tips for further usage of the tape library

l You do not need to perform full inventorying each time you load a new tape. To save time, follow
the procedure described in the "Inventorying" section under "Combination of fast and full
inventorying".
l You can create other pools on the same tape library and select any of them as a destination for
backups.

Recovering under an operating system from a tape device

To recover under an operating system from a tape device:

1. Log in to the backup console.

2. Click Devices, and then select the backed-up machine.
3. Click Recovery.
4. Select a recovery point. Note that recovery points are filtered by location.
5. The software shows you the list of tapes required for the recovery. The missing tapes are grayed
out. If your tape device has empty slots, load these tapes into the device.
6. Configure other recovery settings.
7. Click Start recovery to start the recovery operation.
8. If any of the required tapes are not loaded for some reason, the software will show you a
message with the identifier of the needed tape. Do the following:
a. Load the tape.
b. Perform the fast inventorying.
c. Click Overview > Activities, and then click the recovery activity with the Interaction

383 © Acronis International GmbH, 2003-2023

 required status.
d. Click Show details, and then click Retry to continue the recovery.

What if I do not see backups stored on tapes?

It may mean that the database with the contents of tapes is lost or corrupted for some reason.

To restore the database, do the following:

1. Perform the fast inventorying.

Warning!
During the inventorying, do not turn on Move unrecognized and imported tapes to the 'Free
tapes' pool. If the switch is turned on, you may lose all your backups.

2. Rescan the Unrecognized tapes pool. As a result, you will get the contents of the loaded tape(s).
3. If any of the detected backups continue on other tapes that have not been rescanned yet, load
these tapes as prompted and rescan them.

Recovering under bootable media from a locally attached tape device

To recover under bootable media from a locally attached tape device:

1. Load the tape(s) required for the recovery into the tape device.
2. Boot the machine from the bootable media.
3. Click Manage this machine locally or click Rescue Bootable Media twice, depending on the
media type you are using.
4. If the tape device is connected by using the iSCSI interface, configure the device as described in
"Configuring iSCSI and NDAS devices".
5. Click Tape management.
6. Click Inventory.
7. In Objects to be inventoried, select the tape device.
8. Click Start to start the inventorying.
9. After the inventorying completes, click Close.
10. Click Actions > Recover.
11. Click Select data, and then click Browse.
12. Expand Tape devices, and then select the necessary device. The system prompts to confirm the
rescanning. Click Yes.
13. Select the Unrecognized tapes pool.
14. Select the tapes to be rescanned. To select all the tapes of the pool, select the check box next to
the Tape name column header.
15. If the tapes contain a password-protected backup, select the corresponding check box, and then
specify the password for the backup in the Password box. If you do not specify a password, or
the password is incorrect, the backup will not be detected. Please keep this in mind in case you
see no backups after the rescanning.

384 © Acronis International GmbH, 2003-2023

 Tip. If the tapes contain several backups protected by various passwords, you need to repeat the
rescanning several times specifying each password in turn.
16. Click Start to start the rescanning. As a result, you will get the contents of the loaded tape(s).
17. If any of the detected backups continue on other tapes that have not been rescanned yet, load
these tapes as prompted and rescan them.
18. After the rescanning completes, click OK.
19. In the Archive view, select the backup whose data is to be recovered, and then select the data
you want to recover. After you click OK, the Recover data page will show you the list of tapes
required for the recovery. The missing tapes are grayed out. If your tape device has empty slots,
load these tapes into the device.
20. Configure other recovery settings.
21. Click OK to start the recovery.
22. If any of the required tapes are not loaded for some reason, the software will show you a
message with the identifier of the needed tape. Do the following:
a. Load the tape.
b. Perform the fast inventorying.
c. Click Overview > Activities, and then click the recovery activity with the Interaction
required status.
d. Click Show details, and then click Retry to continue the recovery.

Recovering under bootable media from a tape device attached to a storage

node
To recover under bootable media from a tape device attached to a storage node:

1. Load the tape(s) required for the recovery into the tape device.
2. Boot the machine from the bootable media.
3. Click Manage this machine locally or click Rescue Bootable Media twice, depending on the
media type you are using.
4. Click Recover.
5. Click Select data, and then click Browse.
6. In the Path box, type bsp://<storage node address>/<pool name>/, where <storage node
address> is the IP address of the storage node that contains the required backup, and <pool
name> is the name of the tape pool. Click OK and specify credentials for the pool.
7. Select the backup, and then select the data you want to recover. After you click OK, the Recover
data page will show you the list of tapes required for the recovery. The missing tapes are grayed
out. If your tape device has empty slots, load these tapes into the device.
8. Configure other recovery settings.
9. Click OK to start the recovery.
10. If any of the required tapes are not loaded for some reason, the software will show you a
message with the identifier of the needed tape. Do the following:

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 a. Load the tape.
b. Perform the fast inventorying.
c. Click Overview > Activities, and then click the recovery activity with the Interaction
required status.
d. Click Show details, and then click Retry to continue the recovery.

Tape management

Detecting tape devices

When detecting tape devices, the backup software finds tape devices attached to the machine and
places information about them in the tape management database. Detected tape devices are
disabled from RSM.

Usually, a tape device is detected automatically as soon as it is attached to a machine with the
product installed. However you may need to detect tapes devices in the following cases:

l After you have attached or re-attached a tape device.

l After you have installed or reinstalled the backup software on the machine to which a tape device
is attached.

To detect the tape devices

1. Click Settings > Tape management.

2. Select the machine to which the tape device is attached.
3. Click Detect devices. You will see the connected tape devices, their drives and slots.

Tape pools
The backup software uses tape pools that are logical groups of tapes. The software contains the
following predefined tape pools: Unrecognized tapes, Imported tapes, Free tapes, and Acronis.
Also, you can create your own custom pools.

The Acronis pool and custom pools are also used as backup locations.

Predefined pools
Unrecognized tapes

The pool contains tapes that were written by third-party applications. To write to such tapes, you
need to move them to the Free tapes pool explicitly. You cannot move tapes from this pool to any
other pool, except for the Free tapes pool.

Imported tapes

The pool contains tapes that were written by Acronis Cyber Backup in a tape device attached to
another storage node or agent. To write to such tapes, you need to move them to the Free tapes
pool explicitly. You cannot move tapes from this pool to any other pool, except for the Free tapes
pool.

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Free tapes

The pool contains free (empty) tapes. You can manually move tapes to this pool from other pools.

When you move a tape to the Free tapes pool, the software marks it as empty. If the tape contains
backups, they are marked with the icon. When the software starts overwriting the tape, the data
related to the backups will be removed from the database.

Acronis

The pool is used for backing up by default, when you do not want to create your own pools. Usually
it applies to one tape drive with a small number of tapes.

Custom pools
You need to create several pools if you want to separate backups of different data. For example, you
may want to create custom pools in order to separate:

l backups from different departments of your company

l backups from different machines
l backups of system volumes and users' data.

Operations with pools

Creating a pool
To create a pool:

1. Click Settings > Tape management.

2. Select the machine or the storage node to which your tape device is attached, and then click
Tape pools under this machine.
3. Click Create pool.
4. Specify the pool name.
5. [Optional] Clear the Take tapes from the 'Free tapes' pool automatically... check box. If
cleared, only tapes that are included into the new pool at a certain moment will be used for
backing up.
6. Click Create.

Editing a pool
You can edit parameters of the Acronis pool or your own custom pool.

To edit a pool:

1. Click Settings > Tape management.

2. Select the machine or the storage node to which your tape device is attached, and then click
Tape pools under this machine.
3. Select the required pool, and then click Edit pool.

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4. You can change the pool name or settings. For more information about pool settings, see the
"Creating a pool" section.
5. Click Save to save the changes.

Deleting a pool
You can delete only custom pools. Predefined tape pools (Unrecognized tapes, Imported tapes,
Free tapes, and Acronis) cannot be deleted.

Note
After a pool is deleted, do not forget to edit backup plans that have the pool as the backup location.
Otherwise, these backup plans will fail.

To delete a pool:

1. Click Settings > Tape management.

2. Select the machine or the storage node to which your tape device is attached, and then click
Tape pools under this machine.
3. Select the required pool and click Delete.
4. Select the pool to which the tapes of the pool being deleted will be moved after the deletion.
5. Click OK to delete the pool.

Operations with tapes

Moving to another slot

Use this operation in the following situations:

l You need to take several tapes out of a tape device simultaneously.

l Your tape device does not have a mail slot and the tapes to be taken out are located in slots of
non-detachable magazine(s).

You need to move tapes to slots of one slot magazine and then take the magazine out manually.

To move a tape to another slot:

1. Click Settings > Tape management.

2. Select the machine or the storage node to which your tape device is attached, and then click
Tape pools under this machine.
3. Click the pool that contains the necessary tape, and then select the required tape.
4. Click Move to slot.
5. Select a new slot to move the selected tape to.
6. Click Move to start the operation.

Moving to another pool

The operation allows you to move one or several tapes from one pool to another.

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When you move a tape to the Free tapes pool, the software marks it as empty. If the tape contains

backups, they are marked with the icon. When the software starts overwriting the tape, the data
related to the backups will be removed from the database.

Notes about specific types of tape

l You cannot move write-protected and once-recorded WORM (Write-Once-Read-Many) tapes to

the Free tapes pool.
l Cleaning tapes are always displayed in the Unrecognized tapes pool; you cannot move them to
any other pool.

To move tapes to another pool:

1. Click Settings > Tape management.

2. Select the machine or the storage node to which your tape device is attached, and then click
Tape pools under this machine.
3. Click the pool that contains the necessary tapes, and then select the required tapes.
4. Click Move to pool.
5. [Optional] Click Create new pool if you want to create another pool for the selected tapes.
Perform actions described in the "Creating a pool" section.
6. Select the pool to move the tapes to.
7. Click Move to save the changes.

Inventorying
The inventorying operation detects tapes loaded into a tape device and assigns names to those that
have none.

Inventorying methods
There are two methods of inventorying.

Fast inventorying

The agent or storage node scans tapes for barcodes. Using barcodes, the software can quickly
return a tape to the pool where it was before.

Select this method to recognize tapes used by the same tape device attached to the same machine.
Other tapes will be sent to the Unrecognized tapes pool.

If your tape library contains no barcode reader, all tapes will be sent to the Unrecognized tapes
pool. To recognize your tapes, perform full inventorying or combine fast and full inventorying as
described later in this section.

Full inventorying

The agent or storage node reads earlier written tags and analyzes other information about the
contents of the loaded tapes. Select this method to recognize empty tapes and tapes written by the
same software on any tape device and any machine.

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The following table shows pools to which tapes are sent as a result of the full inventorying.

Tape was used by... Tape is read by... Tape is sent to pool...

Agent the same Agent where the tape was before

another Agent Imported tapes

Storage Node Imported tapes

Storage Node the same Storage Node where the tape was before

another Storage Node Imported tapes

Agent Imported tapes

third-party backup application Agent or Storage Node Unrecognized tapes

Tapes of certain types are sent to specific pools:

Tape type Tape is sent to pool...

Empty tape Free tapes

Empty write-protected tape Unrecognized tapes

Cleaning tape Unrecognized tapes

The fast inventorying can be applied to entire tape devices. The full inventorying can be applied to
entire tape devices, individual drives, or slots. For stand-alone tape drives, the full inventorying is
always performed, even if the fast inventorying is selected.

Combination of fast and full inventorying

Full inventorying of an entire tape device may take a long time. If you need to inventory only a few
tapes, proceed as follows:

1. Perform the fast inventorying of the tape device.

2. Click the Unrecognized tapes pool. Find the tapes you want to inventory and note which slots
they occupy.
3. Perform the full inventorying of these slots.

What to do after inventorying

If you want to back up to tapes that were placed in the Unrecognized tapes or Imported tapes
pool, move them to the Free tapes pool, and then to the Acronis pool or a custom pool. If the pool
to which you want to back up is replenishable, you may leave the tapes in the Free tapes pool.

If you want to recover from a tape that was placed in the Unrecognized tapes or Imported tapes
pool, you need to rescan it. The tape will be moved to the pool you have selected during the
rescanning, and the backups stored on the tape will appear in the location.

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Sequence of actions
1. Click Settings > Tape management.
2. Select the machine to which the tape device is attached, and then select the tape device that you
want to inventory.
3. Click Inventory.
4. [Optional] To select the fast inventorying, turn off Full inventory.
5. [Optional] Turn on Move unrecognized and imported tapes to the 'Free tapes' pool.

Warning!
Only enable this switch if you are absolutely sure that the data stored on your tapes can be
overwritten.

6. Click Start inventorying now to start inventory.

Rescanning
The information about the contents of tapes is stored in a dedicated database. The rescanning
operation reads the contents of tapes and updates the database if the information in it mismatches
the data stored on tapes. The backups detected as a result of the operation are placed in the
specified pool.

Within one operation, you can rescan tapes of one pool. Only online tapes can be selected for the
operation.

Run the rescanning:

l If the database of a storage node or managed machine is lost or damaged.

l If information about a tape in the database is out of date (for example, a tape contents were
modified by another storage node or agent).
l To obtain access to backups stored on tapes when working under bootable media.
l If you have mistakenly removed the information about a tape from the database. When you
rescan a removed tape, the backups stored on it reappear in the database and become available
for data recovery.
l If backups were deleted from a tape either manually or through retention rules but you want
them to become accessible for data recovery. Before rescanning such a tape, eject it, remove the
information about it from the database, and then insert the tape into the tape device again.

To rescan tapes:

1. Click Settings > Tape management.

2. Select the machine or the storage node to which your tape device is attached, and then click
Tape devices under this machine.
3. Select the tape device you loaded the tapes to.
4. Perform the fast inventorying.

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 Note
During the inventorying, do not enable the Move unrecognized and imported tapes to the
'Free tapes' pool switch.

5. Select the Unrecognized tapes pool. This is the pool to which most of the tapes are sent as a
result of the fast inventorying. Rescanning any other pool is also possible.
6. [Optional] To rescan only individual tapes, select them.
7. Click Rescan.
8. Select the pool where the newly detected backups will be placed.
9. If necessary, select the Enable file recovery from disk backups stored on tapes check box.
Details. If the check box is selected, the software will create special supplementary files on a
hard disk of the machine where the tape device is attached. File recovery from disk backups is
possible as long as these supplementary files are intact. Be sure to select the check box if the
tapes contain application-aware backups. Otherwise, you will not be able to recover the
application data from these backups.
10. If the tapes contain password-protected backups, select the corresponding check box, and then
specify the password for the backups. If you do not specify a password, or the password is
incorrect, the backups will not be detected. Please keep this in mind in case you see no backups
after the rescanning.
Tip. If the tapes contain backups protected by various passwords, you need to repeat the
rescanning several times specifying each password in turn.
11. Click Start rescan to start the rescanning.

Result. The selected tapes are moved to the selected pool. The backups stored on the tapes can be
found in this pool. A backup spread over several tapes will not appear in the pool until all of these
tapes are rescanned.

Renaming
When a new tape is detected by the software, it is automatically assigned a name in the following
format: Tape XXX, where XXX is a unique number. Tapes are numbered sequentially. The renaming
operation allows you to manually change the name of a tape.

To rename tapes:

1. Click Settings > Tape management.

2. Select the machine or the storage node to which your tape device is attached, and then click
Tape pools under this machine.
3. Click the pool that contains the necessary tape, and then select the required tape.
4. Click Rename.
5. Type the new name of the selected tape.
6. Click Rename to save the changes.

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Erasing
Erasing a tape physically deletes all backups stored on the tape and removes the information about
these backups from the database. However the information about the tape itself remains in the
database.

After erasing, a tape located in the Unrecognized tapes or Imported tapes pool is moved to the
Free tapes pool. A tape located in any other pool is not moved.

To erase tapes:

1. Click Settings > Tape management.

2. Select the machine or the storage node to which your tape device is attached, and then click
Tape pools under this machine.
3. Click the pool that contains the necessary tapes, and then select the required tapes.
4. Click Erase. The system prompts to confirm the operation.
5. Select the erasing method: fast or full.
6. Click Erase to start the operation.
Details. You cannot cancel the erasing operation.

Ejecting
For successful ejecting of a tape from a tape library, the tape library must have the mail slot and the
slot must not be locked by a user or by other software.

To eject tapes:

1. Click Settings > Tape management.

2. Select the machine or the storage node to which your tape device is attached, and then click
Tape pools under this machine.
3. Click the pool that contains the necessary tapes, and then select the required tapes.
4. Click Eject. The software will prompt you to provide the tape description. We recommend that
you describe the physical location where the tapes will be kept. During recovery, the software
will display this description so you could easily find the tapes.
5. Click Eject to start the operation.

After a tape is ejected either manually or automatically, it is recommended to write its name on the
tape.

Removing
The removal operation deletes the information about the backups stored on the selected tape and
about the tape itself from the database.

You can only remove an offline (ejected) tape.

To remove a tape:

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1. Click Settings > Tape management.
2. Select the machine or the storage node to which your tape device is attached, and then click
Tape pools under this machine.
3. Click the pool that contains the necessary tape, and then select the required tape.
4. Click Remove. The system prompts to confirm the operation.
5. Click Remove to remove the tape.

What to do if I removed a tape by mistake?

Unlike an erased tape, the data from a removed tape is not physically deleted. Hence, you can make
backups stored on such tape available again. To do so:

1. Load the tape into your tape device.

2. Perform the fast inventorying to detect the tape.

Note
During the inventorying, do not enable the Move unrecognized and imported tapes to the
'Free tapes' pool switch.

3. Perform the rescanning to match the data stored on tapes with the database.

Specifying a tape set

The operation allows you to specify a tape set for tapes.

A tape set is a group of tapes within one pool.

Unlike specifying tape sets in the backup options, where you can use variables, here you can specify
only a string value.

Perform this operation if you want the software to back up to specific tapes according to a certain
rule (for example, if you want to store Monday's backups on Tape 1, Tuesday's backups on Tape 2,
etc). Specify a certain tape set for each of the required tapes, and then specify the same tape set or
use proper variables in the backup options.

For the above example, specify tape set Monday for Tape 1, Tuesday for Tape 2, etc. In the backup
options, specify [Weekday]. In this case, a proper tape will be used on the respective day of the week.

To specify a tape set for one or several tapes:

1. Click Settings > Tape management.

2. Select the machine or the storage node to which your tape device is attached, and then click
Tape pools under this machine.
3. Click the pool that contains the necessary tapes, and then select the required tapes.
4. Click Tape set.
5. Type the tape set name. If another tape set is already specified for the selected tapes, it will be
replaced. If you want to exclude the tapes from the tape set without specifying another one,

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 delete the existing tape set name.
6. Click Save to save the changes.

Storage nodes
A storage node is a server designed to optimize the usage of various resources (such as the
corporate storage capacity, the network bandwidth, and the production servers' CPU load) that are
required to protect enterprise data. This goal is achieved by organizing and managing the locations
that serve as dedicated storages of the enterprise backups (managed locations).

Installing a storage node and a catalog service

Before installing a storage node, ensure that the machine meets the system requirements.

We recommend that you install a storage node and a catalog service on separate machines. The
system requirements to a machine running a catalog service are described in "Cataloging best
practices".

To install a storage node and/or a catalog service

1. Log on as an administrator and start the Acronis Cyber Backup setup program.
2. [Optional] To change the language the setup program is displayed in, click Setup language.
3. Accept the terms of the license agreement and select whether the machine will participate in the
Acronis Customer Experience Program (ACEP).

4. Click Install a backup agent.

5. Click Customize installation settings.
6. Next to What to install, click Change.
7. Select the components to install:
l To install a storage node, select the Storage Node check box. The Agent for Windows check
box is automatically selected.
l To install a catalog service, select the Catalog Service check box.
l If you do not want to install other components on this machine, clear the corresponding check
boxes.
Click Done to continue.
8. Specify the management server where the components will be registered:
a. Next to Acronis Cyber Backup Management Server, click Specify.
b. Specify the host name or IP address of the machine where the management server is
installed.
c. Specify the credentials of a management server administrator or a registration token.
For more information on how to generate a registration token, refer to "Deploying agents
through Group Policy".

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 If you are not a management server administrator, you still can register the machine, by
selecting the Connect without authentication option. This works on the condition that the
management server allows anonymous registration, which may be disabled.
d. Click Done.
9. If prompted, select whether the machine with the storage node and/or the catalog service will be
added to the organization or to one of the units.
This prompt appears if you administer more than one unit, or an organization with at least one
unit. Otherwise, the machine will be silently added to the unit you administer or to the
organization. For more information, refer to "Administrators and units".
10. [Optional] Change other installation settings as described in "Customizing installation settings".
11. Click Install to proceed with the installation.
12. After the installation completes, click Close.

Adding a managed location

A managed location can be organized:

l In a local folder:
o On a hard drive local to the storage node
o On a SAN storage that appears to the operating system as a locally attached device
l In a network folder:
o On an SMB/CIFS share
o On a SAN storage that appears to the operating system as a network folder
o On a NAS
l On a tape device that is locally attached to the storage node.
Tape-based locations are created in the form of tape pools. One tape pool is present by default. If
necessary, you can create other tape pools, as described later in this section.

To create a managed location in a local or network folder

1. Do one of the following:

l Click Backups > Add location, and then click Storage node.
l When creating a backup plan, click Where to back up > Add location, and then click Storage
node.
l Click Settings > Storage nodes, select the storage node that will manage the location, and
then click Add location.
2. In Name, specify a unique name for the location. "Unique" means that there must not be
another location with the same name, managed by the same storage node.
3. [Optional] Select the storage node that will manage the location. If you selected the last option in
step 1, you will not be able to change the storage node.
4. Select the storage node name or IP address that the agents will use to access the location.
By default, the storage node name is chosen. You may need to change this setting if the DNS
server is unable to resolve the name to the IP address, which results in an access failure. To

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 change this setting at a later time, click Backups > the location > Edit, and then change the
Address field value.
5. Enter the folder path or browse to the desired folder.
6. Click Done. The software checks the access to the specified folder.
7. [Optional] Enable backup deduplication in the location.
Deduplication minimizes backup traffic and reduces the size of backups stored in the location by
eliminating duplicate disk blocks.
For more information about deduplication restrictions, refer to "Deduplication restrictions".
8. [Only if deduplication is enabled] Specify or change the Deduplication database path field
value.
This must be a folder on a hard drive local to the storage node. To improve the system
performance, we recommend that you create the deduplication database and the managed
location on different disks.
For more information about deduplication database, refer to "Deduplication best practices".
9. [Optional] Select whether to protect the location with encryption. Anything written to the
location will be encrypted and anything read from it will be decrypted transparently by the
storage node, by using a location-specific encryption key stored on the storage node.
For more information about encryption, refer to "Location encryption".
10. [Optional] Select whether to catalog the backups stored in the location. The data catalog lets you
easily find the required version of data and select it for recovery.
If several cataloging services are registered on the management server, you can select the
service that will catalog the backups stored in the location.
Cataloging can be enabled or disabled at a later time, as described in "How to enable or disable
cataloging".
11. Click Done to create the location.

To create a managed location on a tape device

1. Click Backups > Add location or, when creating a backup plan, click Where to back up > Add
location.
2. Click Tapes.
3. [Optional] Select the storage node that will manage the location.
4. Follow the steps described in "Creating a pool", starting from step 4.

Note
By default, agents use the storage node name to access a managed tape-based location. To make
the agents use the storage node IP address, click Backups > the location > Edit, and then change
the Address field value.

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Deduplication

Deduplication restrictions

Common restrictions
Encrypted backups cannot be deduplicated. If you want to use deduplication and encryption at the
same time, leave the backups unencrypted and direct them to a location where both deduplication
and encryption are enabled.

Disk-level backup
Deduplication of disk blocks is not performed if the volume's allocation unit size—also known as
cluster size or block size—is not divisible by 4 KB.

Note
The allocation unit size on most NTFS and ext3 volumes is 4 KB. This allows for block-level
deduplication. Other examples of allocation unit sizes allowing for block-level deduplication include
8 KB, 16 KB, and 64 KB.

File-level backup
Deduplication of a file is not performed if the file is encrypted.

Deduplication and NTFS data streams

In the NTFS file system, a file may have one or more additional sets of data associated with it—often
called alternate data streams.

When such file is backed up, so are all its alternate data streams. However, these streams are never
deduplicated—even when the file itself is.

Deduplication best practices

Deduplication is a complex process that depends on many factors.

The most important factors that influence deduplication speed are:

l The speed of access to the deduplication database

l The RAM capacity of the storage node
l The number of deduplicating locations created on the storage node.

To increase deduplication performance, follow the recommendations below.

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Place the deduplication database and deduplicating location on separate physical
devices
The deduplication database stores the hash values of all items stored in the location—except for
those that cannot be deduplicated, such as encrypted files.

To increase the speed of access to a deduplication database, the database and the location must be
placed on separate physical devices.

It is best to allocate dedicated devices for the location and the database. If this is not possible, at
least do not place a location or database on the same disk with the operating system. The reason is
that the operating system performs a large number of hard disk read/write operations, which
significantly slows down the deduplication.

Selecting a disk for a deduplication database

l The database must reside on a fixed drive. Please do not try to place the deduplication database
on external detachable drives.
l To minimize access time to the database, store it on a directly attached drive rather than on a
mounted network volume. The network latency may significantly reduce deduplication
performance.
l The disk space required for a deduplication database can be estimated by using the following
formula:

S = U * 90 / 65536 + 10

Here,

S is disk size, in GB

U is the planned amount of unique data in the deduplication data store, in GB

For example, if the planned amount of unique data in the deduplication data store is
U=5 TB, the deduplication database will require a minimum of free space, as shown below:

S = 5000 * 90 / 65536 +10 = 17 GB

Selecting a disk for a deduplicating location

For the purpose of data loss prevention, we recommend using RAID 10, 5, or 6. RAID 0 is not
recommended since it not fault tolerant. RAID 1 is not recommended because of relatively low
speed. There is no preference to local disks or SAN, both are good.

40 to 160 MB of RAM per 1 TB of unique data

When the limit is reached, deduplication will stop but backup and recovery will continue to work. If
you add more RAM to the storage node, after the next backup, the deduplication will resume. In
general, the more RAM you have, the larger volumes of unique data you can store.

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Only one deduplicating location on each storage node
It is highly recommended that you create only one deduplicating location on a storage node.
Otherwise, the whole available RAM volume may be distributed in proportion to the number of the
locations.

Absence of applications competing for resources

The machine with the storage node should not run applications that require much system
resources; for example, Database Management Systems (DBMS) or Enterprise Resource Planning
(ERP) systems.

Multi-core processor with at least 2.5 GHz clock rate

We recommend that you use a processor with the number of cores not less than four and the clock
rate not less than 2.5 GHz.

Sufficient free space in the location

Deduplication at target requires as much free space as the backed-up data occupies immediately
after saving it to the location. Without a compression or deduplication at source, this value is equal
to the size of the original data backed up during the given backup operation.

High-speed LAN
1-Gbit LAN is recommended. It will allow the software to perform 5-6 backups with deduplication in
parallel, and the speed will not reduce considerably.

Back up a typical machine before backing up several machines with similar contents
When backing up several machines with similar contents, it is recommended that you back up one
machine first and wait until the end of the backed-up data indexing. After that, the other machines
will be backed up faster owing to the efficient deduplication. Because the first machine's backup has
been indexed, most of the data is already in the deduplication data store.

Back up different machines at different times

If you back up a large number of machines, spread out the backup operations over time. To do this,
create several backup plans with various schedules.

Location encryption
If you protect a location with encryption, anything written to the location will be encrypted and
anything read from it will be decrypted transparently by the storage node, by using a location-
specific encryption key stored on the node. If the storage medium is stolen or accessed by an
unauthorized person, the malefactor will not be able to decrypt the location contents without access
to the storage node.

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This encryption has nothing to do with the backup encryption specified by the backup plan and
performed by an agent. If the backup is already encrypted, the storage node-side encryption is
applied over the encryption performed by the agent.

To protect the location with encryption

1. Specify and confirm a word (password) to be used for generating the encryption key.
The word is case-sensitive. You will be asked for this word only when attaching the location to
another storage node.
2. Select one of the following encryption algorithms:
l AES 128 – the location contents will be encrypted by using the Advanced Encryption Standard
(AES) algorithm with a 128-bit key.
l AES 192 – the location contents will be encrypted by using the AES algorithm with a 192-bit
key.
l AES 256 – the location contents will be encrypted by using the AES algorithm with a 256-bit
key.
3. Click OK.

The AES cryptographic algorithm operates in the Cipher-block chaining (CBC) mode and uses a
randomly generated key with a user-defined size of 128, 192 or 256 bits. The larger the key size, the
longer it will take for the program to encrypt the backups stored in the location and the more secure
the backups will be.

The encryption key is then encrypted with AES-256 using a SHA-256 hash of the selected word as a
key. The word itself is not stored anywhere on the disk; the word hash is used for verification
purposes. With this two-level security, the backups are protected from any unauthorized access, but
recovering a lost word is not possible.

Cataloging

Data catalog
The data catalog lets you easily find the required version of data and select it for recovery. The data
catalog displays the data stored in the managed locations for which cataloging is or was enabled.

The Catalog section appears under the Backups tab only if at least one catalog service is registered
on the management server. For information about installing the catalog service, refer to "Installing a
storage node and a catalog service".

The Catalog section is visible only to organization administrators.

Limitations
Cataloging is supported only for disk- and file-level backups of physical machines, and backups of
virtual machines.

The following data cannot be displayed in the catalog:

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l Data from the encrypted backups
l Data backed up to tape devices
l Data backed up to the cloud storage
l Data backed up by product versions earlier than Acronis Cyber Backup 12.5

Selecting the backed-up data for recovery

1. Click Backups > Catalog.
2. If several cataloging services are registered on the management server, select the service that
catalogs the backups stored in the location.

Note
To see which service catalogs a location, select the location in Backups > Locations > Locations,
and then click Details.

3. The software shows the machines that were backed up to the managed locations cataloged by
the selected catalog service.
Select the data to recover by browsing or by using search.
l Browsing
Double-click a machine to view the backed-up disks, volumes, folders, and files.

To recover a disk, select the disk marked with the following icon:
To recover a volume, double click the disk that contains the volume, and then select the
volume.
To recover files and folders, browse the volume where they are located. You can browse

volumes that are marked with the folder icon:

l Search
In the search field, type the information that helps to identify the required data items (this can
be a machine name, a file or folder name, or a disk label) and then click Search.
You can use the asterisks (*) and question marks (?) as wildcards.
As a result of the search, you will see the list of backed-up data items whose names fully or
partially match the entered value.
4. By default, the data will be reverted to the latest possible point in time. If a single item is
selected, you can use the Versions button to select a recovery point.
5. Having selected the required data, do one of the following:
l Click Recover, and then configure the parameters of the recovery operation as described in
''Recovery".
l [Only for files/folders] If you want to save the files as a .zip file, click Download, select the
location to save the data to, and click Save.

Cataloging best practices

To increase cataloging performance, follow the recommendations below.

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Installation
We recommend that you install a catalog service and a storage node on separate machines.
Otherwise, these components will compete for CPU and RAM resources.

If several storage nodes are registered on the management server, one catalog service is sufficient
unless the indexing or search performance degrades. For example, if you notice that cataloging is
working 24/7 (meaning that there are no pauses between cataloging activities), install one more
catalog service on a separate machine. Then, remove some of the managed locations and recreate
them with the new catalog service. The backups stored in these locations will be kept intact.

System requirements

Parameter Minimum Recommended

value value

Number of CPU cores 2 4 and more

RAM 8 GB 16 GB and more

Hard disk 7200 rpm SSD

HDD

Network connection between the machine with the storage node and 100 Mbps 1 Gbps
the machine with the catalog service

How to enable or disable cataloging

If cataloging is enabled for a managed location, the content of each backup directed to the location
is added to the data catalog as soon as the backup is created.

You can enable cataloging when adding a managed location or at a later time. Once cataloging is
enabled, all backups that are stored in the location and were not previously cataloged will be
cataloged after the next backup to the location.

The cataloging process can be time-consuming, especially if a large number of machines is backed
up to the same location. You can disable cataloging at any time. Cataloging of backups that were
created prior to disabling will be completed. The newly created backups will not be cataloged.

To configure cataloging for an existing location

1. Click Backup storage > Locations.

2. Click Locations, and then select the managed location for which you want to configure
cataloging.
3. Click Edit.
4. Enable or disable the Catalog service switch.
5. Click Done.

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System settings
These settings are only available in on-premises deployments.

To access these settings, click Settings > System settings.

The System settings section is visible only to organization administrators.

Email notifications
You can configure the global settings that are common for all email notifications sent from the
management server.

In default backup options, you can override these settings exclusively for the events that occur
during backup. In this case, the global settings will be effective for operations other than backup.

When creating a backup plan, you can choose which settings will be used: the global settings or the
settings specified in the default backup options. You can also override them with custom values that
will be specific for the plan only.

Important
When the global email notification settings are changed, all backup plans that use the global
settings are affected.

Before configuring these settings, ensure that the Email server settings are configured.

To configure global email notification settings

1. Click Settings > System settings > Email notifications.

2. In the Recipients' email addresses field, type the destination email address. You can enter
several addresses separated by semicolons.
3. [Optional] In Subject, change the email notification subject.
You can use the following variables:
l [Alert] - alert summary.
l [Device] - device name.
l [Plan] - the name of the plan that generated the alert.
l [ManagementServer] - the host name of the machine where the management server is
installed.
l [Unit] - the name of the unit to which the machine belongs.
The default subject is [Alert] Device: [Device] Plan: [Plan]
4. [Optional] Select the Daily recap about active alerts check box, and then do the following:
a. Specify the time when the recap will be sent.
b. [Optional] Select the Do not send the 'No active alerts' messages check box.
5. [Optional] Select a language that will be used in the email notifications.

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6. Select the check boxes for the events that you want to receive notifications about. You can select
from the list of all possible alerts, grouped by severity.
7. Click Save.

Email server
You can specify an email server that will be used to send email notifications from the management
server.

To specify the email server

1. Click Settings > System settings > Email server.

2. In Email service, select one of the following:
l Custom
l Gmail
The Less secure apps setting must be turned on in your Gmail account. For more
information, refer to https://support.google.com/accounts/answer/6010255.
l Yahoo Mail
l Outlook.com
3. [Only for a custom email service] Specify the following settings:
l In SMTP server, enter the name of the outgoing mail server (SMTP).
l In SMTP port, set the port of the outgoing mail server. By default, the port is set to 25.
l Select whether to use SSL or TLS encryption. Select None to disable encryption.
l If the SMTP server requires authentication, select the SMTP server requires authentication
check box, and then specify the credentials of an account that will be used to send messages.
If you are not sure whether the SMTP server requires authentication, contact your network
administrator or your email service provider for assistance.
4. [Only for Gmail, Yahoo Mail, and Outlook.com] Specify the credentials of an account that will be
used to send messages.
5. [Only for a custom email service] In Sender, type the name of the sender. This name will be
shown in the From field of the email notifications. If you leave this field empty, the messages will
contain the account specified in step 3 or 4.
6. [Optional] Click Send test message to check whether the email notifications work correctly with
the specified settings. Enter an email address to send the test message to.

Security
Use these options to enhance security of your Acronis Cyber Backup on-premises deployment.

Log out inactive users after

This option lets you specify a timeout for automatic logout due to user inactivity. When one minute
is left in the set timeout, the software prompts the user to stay logged in. Otherwise, the user will be

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logged out and all unsaved changes will be lost.

The preset is: Enabled. Timeout: 10 minutes.

Show notification about the last login of the current user

This option enables displaying the date and time of the user's last successful login, the number of
authentication failures since the last successful login, and the IP address of the last successful login.
This information is shown at the bottom of the screen every time the user logs in.

The preset is: Disabled.

Warn about local or domain password expiration

This option enables displaying when the password for user's access to Acronis Cyber Backup
Management Server will expire. This is the local or domain password with which the user logs on to
the machine where the management server is installed. The time before password expiration is
shown at the bottom of the screen and in the account menu in the top-right corner.

The preset is: Disabled.

Updates
This option defines whether Acronis Cyber Backup checks for a new version each time an
organization administrator signs in to the backup console.

The preset is: Enabled.

If this option is disabled, the administrator can check for updates manually as described in
"Checking for software updates".

Default backup options

The default values of backup options are common for all backup plans on the management server.
An organization administrator can change a default option value against the pre-defined one. The
new value will be used by default in all backup plans created after the change takes place.

When creating a backup plan, a user can override a default value with a custom value that will be
specific for this plan only.

To change a default option value

1. Sign in to the backup console as an organization administrator.

2. Click Settings > System settings.
3. Expand the Default backup options section.
4. Select the option, and then make the necessary changes.
5. Click Save.

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Configuring anonymous registration
During a local installation of an agent, the setup program suggests the option to register the
machine on the management server anonymously; in other words, to connect without
authentication. Anonymous registration also happens if incorrect credentials for the management
server are specified in the Agent for VMware (Virtual Appliance) GUI. Anonymous registration lets a
management server administrator delegate the agent installation to users.

It is possible to disable anonymous registration on the management server so that the valid user
name and password of a management server administrator are always required for a device
registration. If a user opts for anonymous registration, the registration will fail. Registration of
bootable media pre-configured with the Do not ask for user name and password option also will
be rejected. During unattended installation, you will need to provide a registration token in the
transform file (.mst) or as the msiexec command parameter.

To disable anonymous registration on the management server

1. Log in to the machine where the management server is installed.

2. Open the following configuration file in a text editor:
l In Windows: %ProgramData%\Acronis\ApiGateway\api_gateway.json
l In Linux: /var/lib/Acronis/ApiGateway/api_gateway.json
3. Locate the following section:

"auth": {
"anonymous_role": {
"enabled": true
}
},

If you updated the management server from build 11010 or earlier, this section is absent. Copy
and paste it to the beginning of the file right after the opening brace {.
4. Change true to false.
5. Save the api_gateway.json file.

Important
Please be careful and do not accidentally delete any commas, brackets, and quotation marks in
the configuration file.

6. Restart Acronis Service Manager Service as described in "Changing the SSL certificate settings".

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Administering user accounts and organization
units

On-premises deployment
An on-premises deployment includes a number of software components that are described in the
"Components" section. The diagram below illustrates the component interaction and the ports
required for this interaction.

Legend
The arrow direction shows which component initiates the connection. Note that all ports are TCP
unless otherwise specified.

1. 11.

Download installation components: 80 to Receive catalog metadata: 9200

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dl.acronis.com

2. 12.

Sync subscription licenses: 443 to l

Manage Acronis Storage Node: 7780 ZMQ
account.acronis.com l Register Acronis Storage Node and manage
tasks: TCP 9877

3. 13.

Manage environment: 9877 Backup to managed location: 9876, 9852

4. 14.

Access via remote command line (acrocmd, l SMB: UDP 137, UDP 138 and TCP 139, TCP 445
acropsh): 9851 l SFTP: 22 (default, can vary)

5. 15.

l Register agent: 9877 Create virtual machine backups: 443, 902

l
Manage agent: 7780 ZMQ
l Sync licenses: 9877

6. 16.

Remote installation: NFS: TCP, UDP 111 and 2049

l Update 1 and earlier: 445, 25001, 9876

l Update 2 and later: 445, 25001, 43234

7. 17.

Access via remote command line (acrocmd, Send reports and emails: SMTP (25, 465, 587, etc)
acropsh): 9850

8. 18.

Create backups to Acronis cloud storage: 443, 8443, Deploy appliance: 443, 902
44445, 5060

9. 19.
l SMB: UDP 137, UDP 138 and TCP 139, TCP 445
Browse and search backups: 9877
l SFTP: 22 (default, may vary)
10.

Index backups: 9876

Backup data CurveZMQ 256-bit key

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 Management data HTTPS/TLS

Optional functionality

Administrators and units

The Administrators panel shows the Organization group with the tree of units (if any) and the list
of administrators of the unit that is selected in the tree.

Who are the management server administrators?

Any account that is able to sign in to the backup console is a management server administrator.

Organization administrators are the top-level administrators. Unit administrators are administrators
of the child groups (units).

In the backup console, each administrator has a view scoped to their area of control. An
administrator can view and manage anything on or below their level in the hierarchy.

Who are the default administrators?

In Windows
When the management server is being installed on a machine, the following happens:

l The Acronis Centralized Admins user group is created on the machine.

On a domain controller, the group is named DCNAME $ Acronis Centralized Admins; here,
DCNAME stands for the NetBIOS name of the domain controller.
l All members of the Administrators group are added to the Acronis Centralized Admins group.
If the machine is in a domain but is not a domain controller, local (non-domain) users are then
excluded. On a domain controller, there are no non-domain users.
l The Acronis Centralized Admins and the Administrators groups are added to the
management server as organization administrators. If the machine is in a domain but is not a

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 domain controller, the Administrators group is not added, so that local (non-domain) users do
not become organization administrators.

You can delete the Administrators group from the list of the organization administrators. However,
the Acronis Centralized Admins group cannot be deleted. In the unlikely case that all organization
administrators have been deleted, you can add an account to the Acronis Centralized Admins
group in Windows, and then log in to the backup console by using this account.

In Linux
When the management server is being installed on a machine, the root user is added to the
management server as an organization administrator.

You can add other Linux users to the list of management server administrators as described later,
and then delete the root user from this list. In the unlikely case that all organization administrators
have been deleted, you can restart the acronis_asm service. As a result, the root user will be
automatically re-added as an organization administrator.

Who can be an administrator?

If the management server is installed on a Windows machine that is included in an Active Directory
domain, any local or domain user or user group can be added to the management server
administrators. Otherwise, only local users and groups can be added.

For information about how to add an administrator to the management server, refer to "Adding
administrators".

Units and unit administrators

The Organization group is automatically created when you install the management server. With the
Acronis Cyber Backup Advanced license, you can create child groups called units, which typically
correspond to units or departments of the organization, and add administrators to the units.

This way, you can delegate backup management to other people whose access permissions will be
strictly limited to the corresponding units.

For information about how to create a unit, refer to "Creating units".

What if an account is added to multiple units?

An account can be added as a unit administrator to any number of units. For such an account, as
well as for organization administrators, the unit selector is shown in the backup console. By using
this selector, the administrator can view and manage each unit separately.

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An account that has permissions for all units does not have permissions for the organization.
Organization administrators must be added to the Organization group explicitly.

How to populate units with machines

When an administrator adds a machine via the web interface, the machine is added to the unit
managed by the administrator. If the administrator manages multiple units, the machine is added to
the unit chosen in the unit selector. Therefore, the administrator must choose the unit prior to
clicking Add.

When installing agents locally, an administrator provides their credentials. The machine is added to
the unit managed by the administrator. If the administrator manages multiple units, the installer
prompts to choose a unit to which the machine will be added.

Adding administrators
To add administrators

1. Click Settings > Administrators.

The software displays the list of the management server administrators and the tree of units (if
any).
2. Select Organization or select the unit where you want to add an administrator.
3. Click Add administrator.
4. In Domain, select the domain that contains the user accounts that you want to add. If the
management server is not included in an Active Directory domain or is installed in Linux, only
local users can be added.
5. Search for the user name or the user group name.
6. Click "+" next to the name of the user or group.
7. Repeat steps 4-6 for all users or groups that you want to add.
8. When finished, click Done.

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9. [Only in Linux] Add the user names to the Acronis Linux Pluggable Authentication Module (PAM)
as described below.

To add user names to the Acronis Linux PAM

1. On the machine running the management server, as the root user, open the file
/etc/security/acronisagent.conf with a text editor.
2. In this file, type the user names that you added as the management server administrators, one
per line.
3. Save and close the file.

Creating units
1. Click Settings > Administrators.
2. The software displays the list of the management server administrators and the tree of units (if
any).
3. Select Organization or select the parent unit for the new unit.
4. Click Create unit.
5. Specify a name for the new unit, and then click Create.

Cloud deployment
Administering user accounts and organization units is available in the management portal. To
access the management portal, click Management Portal when logging in to the backup service or

click the icon in the top-right corner, and then click Management portal. Only users that have
administrative privileges can access this portal.

For information about administering user accounts and organization units, refer to the
Management Portal Administrator's Guide. To access this document, click the question mark icon in
the management portal.

This section provides additional information related to managing the backup service.

Quotas
Quotas enable you to limit the users' ability to use the service. To set the quotas, select the user on
the Users tab, and then click the pencil icon in the Quotas section.

When a quota is exceeded, a notification is sent to the user's email address. If you do not set a
quota overage, the quota is considered "soft". This means that restrictions on using the backup
service are not applied.

You can also specify the quota overages. An overage allows the user to exceed the quota by the
specified value. When the overage is exceeded, restrictions on using the backup service are applied.

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Backup
You can specify the cloud storage quota, the quota for local backup, and the maximum number of
machines/devices/mailboxes a user is allowed to protect. The following quotas are available:

l Cloud storage
l Workstations
l Servers
l Windows Server Essentials
l Virtual hosts
l Universal
This quota can be used instead of any of the four quotas listed above: Workstations, Servers,
Windows Server Essentials, Virtual hosts.
l Mobile devices
l Office 365 mailboxes
l Local backup

A machine/device/mailbox is considered protected as long as at least one backup plan is applied to

it. A mobile device becomes protected after the first backup.

When the cloud storage quota overage is exceeded, backups fail. When the overage for a number of
devices is exceeded, the user cannot apply a backup plan to more devices.

The Local backup quota limits the total size of local backups that are created by using the cloud
infrastructure. An overage cannot be set for this quota.

Disaster recovery
These quotas are applied by the service provider to the entire company. Company administrators
can view the quotas and the usage in the management portal, but cannot set quotas for a user.

l Disaster recovery storage

This storage is used by primary and recovery servers. If the overage for this quota is reached, it is
not possible to create primary and recovery servers, or add/extend disks of the existing primary
servers. If the overage for this quota is exceeded, it is not possible to initiate a failover or just
start a stopped server. The running servers continue to run.
When the quota is disabled, all of the servers are deleted. The Cloud recovery site tab
disappears from the backup console.
l Compute points
This quota limits the CPU and RAM resources that are consumed by primary and recovery servers
during a billing period. If the overage for this quota is reached, all primary and recovery servers
are shut down. It is not possible to use these servers until the beginning of the next billing period.
The default billing period is a full calendar month.
When the quota is disabled, the servers cannot be used regardless of the billing period.

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l Public IP addresses
This quota limits the number of public IP addresses that can be assigned to primary and recovery
servers. If the overage for this quota is reached, it is not possible to enable public IP addresses for
more servers. You can disallow a server to use a public IP address, by clearing the Public IP
address check box in the server settings. After that, you can allow another server to use a public
IP address, which usually will not be the same one.
When the quota is disabled, all of the servers stop using public IP addresses, and thus become
not reachable from the Internet.
l Cloud servers
This quota limits the total number of primary and recovery servers. If the overage for this quota
reached, it is not possible to create primary or recovery servers.
When the quota is disabled, the servers are visible in the backup console, but the only available
operation is Delete.
l Internet access
This quota enables or disables the Internet access from primary and recovery servers.
When the quota is disabled, the primary and recovery servers are disconnected from the Internet
immediately. The Internet access switch in the servers' properties becomes cleared and
disabled.

Notifications
To change the notifications settings for a user, select the user on the Users tab, and then click the
pencil icon in the Settings section. The following notifications settings are available:

l Quota overuse notifications (enabled by default)

The notifications about exceeded quotas.
l Scheduled usage reports
The usage reports described below that are sent on the first day of each month.
l Failure notifications, Warning notifications, and Success notifications (disabled by default)
The notifications about the execution results of backup plans and the results of disaster recovery
operations for each device.
l Daily recap about active alerts (enabled by default)
The recap that informs about failed backups, missed backups, and other problems. The recap is
sent at 10:00 (data center time). If there are no problems by this moment, the recap is not sent.

All notifications are sent to the user's email address.

Reports
The report about using the backup service includes the following data about the organization or a
unit:

l Size of backups by unit, by user, by device type.

l Number of protected devices by unit, by user, by device type.

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l Price value by unit, by user, by device type.
l The total size of backups.
l The total amount of protected devices.
l Total price value.

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Command-line reference
Command-line reference is a separate document available at
https://www.acronis.com/support/documentation/AcronisCyberBackup_12.5_Command_Line_
Reference.

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Troubleshooting
This section describes how to save an agent log to a .zip file. If a backup fails for an unclear reason,
this file will help the technical support personnel to identify the problem.

To collect logs

1. Do one of the following:

l Under Devices, select the machine that you want to collect the logs from, and then click
Activities.
l Under Settings > Agents, select the machine that you want to collect the logs from, and then
click Details.
2. Click Collect system information.
3. If prompted by your web browser, specify where to save the file.

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Glossary
B any other backup to recover the data from a
full backup.
Backup set

A group of backups to which an individual I

retention rule can be applied. For the Custom
Incremental backup
backup scheme, the backup sets correspond to
the backup methods (Full, Differential, and A backup that stores changes to the data
Incremental). In all other cases, the backup sets against the latest backup. You need access to
are Monthly, Daily, Weekly, and Hourly. A other backups to recover data from an
monthly backup is the first backup created incremental backup.
after a month starts. A weekly backup is the
first backup created on the day of the week M
selected in the Weekly backup option (click the
gear icon, then Backup options > Weekly Managed location
backup). If a weekly backup is the first backup A backup location managed by a storage node.
created after a month starts, this backup is Physically, managed locations can reside on a
considered monthly. In this case, a weekly network share, SAN, NAS, on a hard drive local
backup will be created on the selected day of to the storage node, or on a tape library locally
the next week. A daily backup is the first attached to the storage node. The storage node
backup created after a day starts, unless this performs cleanup and validation (if those are
backup falls within the definition of a monthly included in a backup plan) for each backup
or weekly backup. An hourly backup is the first stored in the managed location. You can specify
backup created after an hour starts, unless this additional operations that the storage node will
backup falls within the definition of a monthly, perform (deduplication, encryption).
weekly, or daily backup.

S
D
Single-file backup format
Differential backup
A new backup format, in which the initial full
A differential backup stores changes to the data and subsequent incremental backups are
against the latest full backup. You need access saved to a single .tib file, instead of a chain of
to the corresponding full backup to recover the files. This format leverages the speed of the
data from a differential backup. incremental backup method, while avoiding its
main disadvantage– difficult deletion of
F outdated backups. The software marks the
blocks used by outdated backups as "free" and
Full backup
writes new backups to these blocks. This
A self- sufficient backup containing all data results in extremely fast cleanup, with minimal
chosen for backup. You do not need access to resource consumption. The single- file backup

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format is not available when backing up to
locations that do not support random- access
reads and writes, for example, SFTP servers.

Startup Recovery Manager (SRM)

A modification of the bootable agent, residing

on the system disk and configured to start at
boot time when F11 is pressed. Startup
Recovery Manager eliminates the need for
rescue media or network connection to start
the bootable rescue utility. Startup Recovery
Manager is especially useful for mobile users. If
a failure occurs, the user reboots the machine,
hits F11 on prompt "Press F11 for Startup
Recovery Manager…" and performs data
recovery in the same way as with ordinary
bootable media. Limitation: requires re-
activation of loaders other than Windows
loaders and GRUB.

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Index
Adding a managed location 396
3
Adding a vCenter or an ESXi host 62
32- or 64-bit? 222
Adding Acronis Plug-in to WinPE 241

4 Adding administrators 412

Adding devices to static groups 362

40 to 160 MB of RAM per 1 TB of unique
data 399 Adding machines via the web interface 59

Adding the console to the list of local intranet

A
sites 99
About Acronis Cyber Infrastructure 122 Adding the console to the list of trusted
About Secure Zone 119 sites 100

About the Physical Data Shipping service 167 Adding the machine 60

Absence of applications competing for Adding VLANs 244

resources 400 Additional requirement for virtual
Accessing the backup console 97 machines 305

Acronis Active Protection 23 Additional requirements for application-aware

backups 297
Acronis Backup appliance 19
Additional scheduling options 125
Acronis Cyber Backup 15
Administering 17, 20, 22, 24
Acronis Cyber Backup appliance 57
Administering user accounts and organization
Acronis patented technologies 13
units 408
Acronis PXE Server 288
Administrators and units 410
Activating Startup Recovery Manager 287
Advanced storage options 118, 375
Activating the account 81
Agent for Exchange (for mailbox backup) 32
Active Protection 16, 326
Agent for Hyper-V 34
Active Protection plan 327
Agent for Linux 33
Active Protection settings 326
Agent for Mac 34
Adding a backup location 123
Agent for Office 365 33
Adding a machine running Linux 61
Agent for Oracle 33
Adding a machine running macOS 62
Agent for SQL, Agent for Exchange (for
Adding a machine running Windows 59 database backup and application-aware
backup), Agent for Active Directory 32

421 © Acronis International GmbH, 2003-2023

Agent for VMware – necessary privileges 351 Backing up databases included in an AAG 301

Agent for VMware (Virtual Appliance) 34 Backing up the Exchange cluster data 303

Agent for VMware (Windows) 34 Backing up to a tape device attached to a

storage node 382
Agent for Windows 31
Backup 16, 18, 20, 22, 106, 247, 414
Agent for Windows XP SP2 36
Backup console view 105
Agent installation 56
Backup consolidation 147
Agent installation parameters 74, 77
Backup file name 148
Agents 28, 31
Backup file name vs. simplified file naming 151
Alerts 147
Backup format 152
Alerts configuration file 374
Backup format and backup files 153
Always incremental (single-file) 110
Backup locations 17, 21
Application-aware backup 304
Backup options 144
Applications 16, 19-21, 23-24
Backup plan cheat sheet 107
Applying a backup plan to a group 370
Backup replication 213
Applying the Active Protection plan 327
Backup schemes, operations, and
Are the required packages already
limitations 123
installed? 42
Backup to and recovery from a network
Attaching SQL Server databases 309
share 230
Automatic driver search 188
Backup to and recovery from the bootable
Availability of the backup options 145 media 229

Availability of the recovery options 196 Backup to and recovery from the cloud
storage 229
B
Backup validation 154, 198
Back up a typical machine before backing up Backup window 164
several machines with similar
Backups 327
contents 400
Basic disk cloning 268
Back up different machines at different
times 400 Basic operations with reports 372

Backing up 382-383 Basic precautions 266

Backing up a machine to a locally attached tape Before backing up 381-382

device 381
Before you start 88
Backing up clustered Hyper-V machines 356
Boot mode 198

422 © Acronis International GmbH, 2003-2023

Bootable media 20, 23-24, 219 Command-line reference 417

Bootable Media Builder 221 Common backup rule 46

Built-in groups 361 Common installation rule 45

By total size of backups 111 Common parameters 70, 76

Common requirements 296

C
Common restrictions 398
Cataloging 401
Common settings 53
Cataloging best practices 402
Compatibility with encryption software 45
CD/DVD 110
Compatibility with RSM and third-party
Change volume label 284 software 375

Change volume letter 283 Components 28

Changed block tracking (CBT) 155 Compression level 156

Changed Block Tracking (CBT) 336 Configuring a web browser for Integrated
Windows Authentication 98
Changing the backup format to version 12
(.tibx) 153 Configuring an already registered Agent for
VMware 64
Changing the language 98
Configuring anonymous registration 407
Changing the Office 365 access credentials 323
Configuring Internet Explorer, Microsoft Edge,
Changing the SQL Server or Exchange Server
Opera, and Google Chrome 98
access credentials 318
Configuring iSCSI devices 286
Changing the SSL certificate settings 103
Configuring iSCSI Initiator 344
Check access to the drivers in bootable
environment 188 Configuring Mozilla Firefox 98

Check device IP address 133 Configuring network settings 244

Checking for software updates 79 Configuring NFS Client 344

Choosing the operating system for disk Configuring the machine running Agent for
management 266 VMware 344

Cleanup 216 Configuring the severity of alerts 373

Cloud deployment 26, 81, 98, 359, 413 Configuring the virtual appliance 89

Cloud storage 158 Connecting to a machine booted from

media 244
Cluster-aware backup 302
Considerations for users with the Advanced
Cluster backup mode 155
license 143
Coexistence with third-party software 375
Control type 233

423 © Acronis International GmbH, 2003-2023

Conversion methods 138 Deactivating Startup Recovery Manager 288

Conversion to a virtual machine 138, 217 Deduplication 398

Conversion to a virtual machine in a backup Deduplication best practices 398

plan 140
Deduplication restrictions 398
Copying Microsoft Exchange Server
Default backup file name 149
libraries 318
Default backup options 406
Copyright statement 13
DefaultBlockSize 377
CPU priority 165
Delete a volume 282
Create a bootable media or download a ready-
made one? 219 Deleting a pool 388

Create a volume 279 Deleting backups 209

Creating a dynamic group 362 Deleting the machine 331

Creating a pool 387 Deploying Agent for VMware (Virtual Appliance)

from an OVF template 88
Creating a replication plan 333
Deploying Agent for VMware (Virtual Appliance)
Creating a static group 362
via the web interface 62
Creating bootable media 180
Deploying agents through Group Policy 91
Creating the .mst transform and extracting the
Deploying the OVF template 89
installation packages 69
Deployment 122
Creating units 413
Detecting tape devices 386
Criteria 160
Device groups 361
Cryptomining protection 328
Direct selection 111, 113
Custom groups 361
Disable automatic DRS for the agent 89
Custom pools 387
Disabling automatic assignment for an
Custom scripts 230
agent 348
Customizing installation settings 53
Disaster recovery 205, 414

Disk-level backup 398

D
Disk conversion
Dashboard 371
basic to dynamic 276
Data catalog 401
dynamic to basic 277
Data Deduplication 49
GPT to MBR 276
Database backup 298
MBR to GPT 275
Date and time for files 199
Disk initialization 267

424 © Acronis International GmbH, 2003-2023

Disk management 263 Example 129-134

Disk operations 267 "Bad block" emergency backup 128

Disk provisioning 336 Installing the packages manually in Fedora

14 44
Distribution algorithm 347
Examples 79
Do not show messages and dialogs while
processing (silent mode) 158, 200 Exchange Server clusters overview 302

Do not start when connected to the following Exclude files matching specific criteria 159
Wi-Fi networks 132
Exclude hidden files and folders 160
Do not start when on metered connection 132
Exclude system files and folders 160
Documentation 123
Exporting and importing the report
Downloading files from the cloud storage 191 structure 373

Drivers for Universal Restore 238 Exporting backups 208

Dumping the report data 373 Extracting files from local backups 195

Dynamic disk conversion

F
MBR to GPT 276
Failback options 337

E Failing back 336

Editing a pool 387 Failing over to a replica 334

Eject tapes after each successful backup of Fast incremental/differential backup 159
each machine 174
File-level backup 398
Ejecting 393
File-level backup snapshot 160
Email notifications 157, 404
File-level security 200
Email server 405
File exclusions 200
Enable file recovery from disk backups stored
File filters 159
on tapes 173
Files of a script 230
Enable VSS full backup 177
Finalization of machines running from cloud
Encryption 135
backups 332
Encryption as a machine property 136
Finalization vs. regular recovery 332
Encryption in a backup plan 135
Finalizing the machine 331
Erasing 393
Fits the time interval 131
Error handling 157, 199, 336-337
Flashback 201
Event properties 127
Format volume 284

425 © Acronis International GmbH, 2003-2023

Full path recovery 201 If you choose to save the virtual machine as a
set of files 141
Further actions 58
Ignore bad sectors 158
G In-archive deduplication 153

Getting started with a tape device 381 In bootable media 85

In cloud deployments 89
H
In Linux 35, 83, 86, 95, 97, 411
Help for Acronis Cyber Backup 12.5 14
In macOS 84, 87, 95
High-speed LAN 400
In on-premises deployments 89
High Availability of a recovered machine 356
In Windows 35, 83, 85, 95, 97, 410
How creating Secure Zone transforms the
Information parameters 78
disk 120
Installation 15, 25, 36, 56, 63, 67, 403
How it works 138, 214, 326
Installation and infrastructure 20, 22
How many agents are required for cluster-
aware backup and recovery? 303 Installation in Linux 56, 67

How many agents are required for cluster data Installation in macOS 68
backup and recovery? 301
Installation in Windows 52, 65
How many agents do I need? 88
Installation overview 25
How regular conversion to VM works 141
Installation packages 60
How the encryption works 137
Installation parameters 70, 76
How to assign the user rights 55
Installing a storage node and a catalog
How to create Secure Zone 120 service 395

How to delete Secure Zone 122 Installing Acronis PXE Server 289

How to enable or disable cataloging 403 Installing Agent for VMware (Windows) 63

How to populate units with machines 412 Installing agents 85

How to recover data to a mobile device 293 Installing agents locally 65

How to review data via the backup console 293 Installing or uninstalling the product by
specifying parameters manually 70
How to start backing up your data 292
Installing the management server 52
How to use notarization 138
Installing the packages from the repository 43
I Installing the packages manually 44

If you choose to create the virtual machine on a Installing the product by using the .mst
virtualization server 141 transform 69

426 © Acronis International GmbH, 2003-2023

Installing the software 58 Mailbox backup 305

Interaction with Windows Removable Storage Managed location 110

Manager (RSM) 375
Management server 235
Inventorying 389
Management Server (for on-premises
Inventorying methods 389 deployment only) 35

Management server installation 55

K
Management server installation
Kernel parameters 226 parameters 74, 77

Management server location 26

L
Managing licenses 79
LAN-free backup 338
Managing perpetual licenses 80
Legend 50, 408
Managing subscription licenses 81
Limitations 37, 41, 109, 116, 120, 139, 191, 199,
Managing virtualization environments 349
321, 339, 379, 401
Manual binding 347
Limitations for backup file names 149
Mapped drives 328
Limiting the total number of simultaneously
backed-up virtual machines 356 Mass storage drivers to install anyway 189

Linux 115 McAfee Endpoint Encryption and PGP Whole

Disk Encryption 46
Linux-based 221
Microsoft BitLocker Drive Encryption 46
Linux-based bootable media 222
Microsoft Exchange Server 156
Linux-based or WinPE-based bootable
media? 221 Microsoft SQL Server 155

Linux packages 42 Mirrored-Striped Volume 279

Local connection 245 Mirrored Volume 279

Location encryption 400 Monitoring and reporting 371

Location of the OVF tempate 89 Mount points 162, 201

Log out inactive users after 405 Mounting Exchange Server databases 312

Log truncation 161 Mounting volumes from a backup 207

LVM snapshotting 161 Move a tape back to the slot after each
successful backup of each machine 174
M Moving to another pool 388

Mac 115 Moving to another slot 388

Machine migration 357

427 © Acronis International GmbH, 2003-2023

Multi-core processor with at least 2.5 GHz clock Operations with tapes 388
rate 400
Operators 369
Multi-volume snapshot 163
Other components 30

Output speed during backup 166

N
Overview of tape support 375
Names without variables 150
Overview of the physical data shipping
NetApp SAN storage requirements 342
process 167
Network port 238
Overwrite a tape in the stand-alone tape drive
Network requirements 359 when creating a full backup 174

Network settings 237

P
New backup locations 24
Parallel operations 379
New features available in all on-premise
deployments 18, 20, 22 Parameters 226

New features available with the Advanced Parameters for writing to tapes 377
licenses only 20, 22, 24
PE images 239
NFS 110
Pending operations 284
No successful backups for a specified number
Performance 202, 337
of consecutive days 147
Performance and backup window 163
Notarization 137
Performing a permanent failover 335
Note for Mac users 179
Physical Data Shipping 167
Notifications 415
Physical machine 181
Notifications and alerts 23
Physical machine to virtual 183

O Place the deduplication database and

deduplicating location on separate
Off-host data processing 212
physical devices 399
On-premises deployment 25, 50, 97, 359, 408
Post-backup command 169
On Windows Event Log event 127
Post-data capture command 171
Only one deduplicating location on each
Post-recovery command 203
storage node 400
Power off target virtual machines when starting
Operations with a bootable media 246
recovery 204
Operations with backup plans 211
Power on the target virtual machine when
Operations with backups 23-24, 206 recovery is complete 204

Operations with pools 387 Pre-backup command 168

428 © Acronis International GmbH, 2003-2023

Pre-configuring multiple network
connections 237 Q
Pre-data capture command 170
Quotas 413
Pre-recovery command 202

Pre/Post commands 168, 202, 336-337 R

Pre/Post data capture commands 169 RAID-5 279

Predefined pools 386 Re-attempt, if an error occurs 157, 199

Predefined scripts 229 Re-attempt, if an error occurs during VM

snapshot creation 158
Preparation 56, 59, 63, 67, 81, 188
Readability of tapes written by older Acronis
WinPE 2.x and 3.x 239
products 380
WinPE 4.0 and later 240
Recommendations 199
Prepare drivers 188
Recovering a machine 180
Prerequisites 92, 94, 116, 296, 329, 381-382
Recovering applications 296
Privileges required for a logon account 54
Recovering disks by using bootable media 186
Protecting a domain controller 295
Recovering ESXi configuration 195
Protecting Always On Availability Groups
Recovering Exchange databases 310
(AAG) 300
Recovering Exchange mailboxes and mailbox
Protecting Database Availability Groups
items 312
(DAG) 302
Recovering files 190
Protecting G Suite data 324
Recovering files by using bootable media 194
Protecting Microsoft applications 295
Recovering files by using the web interface 190
Protecting Microsoft SharePoint 295
Recovering mailbox items 315, 322
Protecting Microsoft SQL Server and Microsoft
Exchange Server 295 Recovering mailboxes 314, 322

Protecting mobile devices 291 Recovering mailboxes and mailbox items 322

Protecting Office 365 mailboxes 320 Recovering SQL databases 307

Protecting Oracle Database 325 Recovering system databases 309

Protecting SAP HANA 360 Recovering system state 195

Protection options 327 Recovering the Exchange cluster data 303

Proxy server settings 82 Recovering the master database 309

Recovering under an operating system from a

tape device 383

429 © Acronis International GmbH, 2003-2023

Recovering under bootable media from a Replication vs. backing up 332
locally attached tape device 384
Reports 372, 415
Recovering under bootable media from a tape
Required user rights 305-306
device attached to a storage node 385
Requirements 195, 207
Recovery 16, 19, 23, 179, 256, 320
Requirements for ESXi virtual machines 297
Recovery cheat sheet 179
Requirements for Hyper-V virtual
Recovery from the cloud storage 230
machines 298
Recovery of databases included in an AAG 301
Requirements on User Account Control
Recovery options 196 (UAC) 61

Recovery to an Exchange Server 313 Requirements on user accounts 313

Recovery to Office 365 313 Rescanning 391

Redistribution 347 Restrictions 143, 333

Registering an already installed Agent for Results 382-383

VMware 63
Retention rules 134
Registering media on the management
Reverting to the original initial RAM disk 190
server 245
Rules for Linux 114
Registering SAN storage on the management
server 345 Rules for macOS 114

Registering the media from the media UI 245 Rules for Windows 114

Registration 122 Rules for Windows, Linux, and macOS 114

Regular conversion to ESXi and Hyper-V vs. Running a virtual machine from a backup
running a virtual machine from a (Instant Restore) 329
backup 140 Running the machine 330
Remote connection 245
S
Removing 393

Removing Agent for VMware (Virtual SAN hardware snapshots 171

Appliance) 96 Save battery power 131
Renaming 392 Save system information if a recovery with
Replicating backups between managed reboot fails 200
locations 144 Scalability 16
Replication 142 Schedule 123
Replication of virtual machines 332 Schedule by events 126
Replication options 336 Scheduling 172

430 © Acronis International GmbH, 2003-2023

Scheduling a report 372 Simple Volume 278

Scheduling backups 21 Skip the task execution 154

Scripts in bootable media 229 Software-specific recovery procedures 46

Search criteria 363 Software requirements 31

Sector-by-sector backup 173 Spanned Volume 278

Secure Zone 110 Special operations with virtual machines 329

Security 16, 19, 21, 405 Specifying a tape set 394

Seeding an initial replica 337 Splitting 173

Selecting a destination 117 SQL Server high-availability solutions

overview 300
Selecting data to back up 111
Start conditions 128
Selecting disks/volumes 113
Starting a backup manually 144
Selecting ESXi configuration 116
Startup Recovery Manager 287
Selecting Exchange Server data 299
Step 1 81
Selecting Exchange Server mailboxes 306
Generating a registration token 92
Selecting files/folders 111
Step 2 81
Selecting mailboxes 321
Creating the .mst transform and extracting
Selecting SQL databases 298
the installation package 92
Selecting system state 113
Step 3 82
Selecting the backed-up data for recovery 402
Setting up the Group Policy objects 93
Selection rules for Linux 112
Stopping failover 335
Selection rules for macOS 112
Storage Node (for on-premises deployment
Selection rules for Windows 112 only) 36

Sequence of actions 391 Storage node installation parameters 75

Set active volume 283 Storage nodes 395

Setting up a display mode 247 Storage vMotion 349

Setting up a machine to boot from PXE 289 Striped Volume 278

SFTP server and tape device 109 Structure of autostart.json 231

Show notification about the last login of the Sufficient free space in the location 400
current user 406
Support for new languages 17
SID changing 203
Support for new operating systems 15, 17-18,
Signing a file with ASign 193 20

431 © Acronis International GmbH, 2003-2023

Support for new operating systems and Testing a replica 334
virtualization platforms 21
The backup location's host is available 130
Support for VM migration 349
The Backups tab 206
Supported cluster configurations 300, 302
The Plans tab 212
Supported file systems 48, 266
The way of using Secure Zone 46
Supported hardware 376
Tip 143
Supported locations 117, 142, 213-214, 216
Tips for further usage of the tape library 383
Supported Microsoft Exchange Server
Top-level object 231
versions 37
Troubleshooting 418
Supported Microsoft SharePoint versions 38
Types of dynamic volumes 278
Supported Microsoft SQL Server versions 37

Supported mobile devices 291 U

Supported operating systems and
Unattended installation or uninstallation 69
environments 31
Unattended installation or uninstallation in
Supported Oracle Database versions 38
Linux 76
Supported SAP HANA versions 38
Unattended installation or uninstallation in
Supported virtual machine types 139 Windows 69

Supported virtualization platforms 38 Unattended installation or uninstallation

parameters 70
Supported web browsers 31
Uninstallation parameters 75, 78
System requirements 46, 403
Uninstalling the product 94
System requirements for the agent 88
Units and unit administrators 411
System settings 404
Universal Restore in Linux 189

T Universal Restore in Windows 188

Tape-related backup options 378 Universal Restore process 189

Tape devices 375 Universal Restore settings 188

Tape management 173, 386 Update 36

Tape management database 376 Updates 406

Tape pools 386 Updating Agent for VMware (Virtual

Appliance) 91
Tape support 22
Updating agents 94
Task failure handling 176
Updating the software 58
Task start conditions 154

432 © Acronis International GmbH, 2003-2023

Usability improvements 22, 24 Volume Shadow Copy Service VSS for virtual
machines 337
Usage examples 142, 151, 329, 333, 348

Usage scenarios 207

W
Use tape sets within the tape pool selected for
Wait until the conditions from the schedule are
backup 175
met 154
Use the following tape devices and drives 174
Warn about local or domain password
User is idle 129 expiration 406

Users logged off 130 Weekly backup 178

Using a locally attached storage 346 What's new in Acronis Cyber Backup 15

Using policy rules 111, 113 What's new in Acronis Cyber Backup 12.5 22

Using SAN hardware snapshots 341 What's new in Update 1 22

Using Universal Restore 187 What's new in Update 2 20

Using variables 151 What's new in Update 3 18

What's new in Update 3.1 18

V
What's new in Update 3.2 18
Validation 214
What's new in Update 4 16
Variable object 232
What's new in Update 5 15
Verifying file authenticity with Notary
What's new in Update 6 15
Service 192
What do I need to back up the mailboxes? 320
Viewing backup status in vSphere Client 350
What do I need to use application-aware
Viewing the distribution result 347
backup? 304
Virtual machine 184
What do I need to use the SAN hardware
Virtual machine binding 346 snapshots? 342

Virtualization 17-19, 23-24 What does a disk or volume backup store? 115

VM power management 204, 337 What else you need to know 135

vMotion 349 What happens when you activate Startup

VMware vSphere 7.0 support 15 Recovery Manager 288

Volume operations 278 What if an account is added to multiple

units? 411
Volume Shadow Copy Service (VSS) 177
What if I do not see backups stored on
Volume Shadow Copy Service (VSS) for virtual tapes? 384
machines 178
What is a backup file? 148

433 © Acronis International GmbH, 2003-2023

What is a tape device? 375

What to do after inventorying 390

What you can back up 291

What you can do with a replica 333

What you need to know 291

What you need to know about conversion 139

What you need to know about finalization 332

When backing up to cloud storage 124

When backing up to other locations 124

Where can I see backup file names? 149

Where to get the backup app 292

Which machine performs the operation? 144

Who are the default administrators? 410

Who are the management server

administrators? 410

Who can be an administrator? 411

Why back up Office 365 mailboxes? 320

Why use application-aware backup? 304

Why use SAN hardware snapshots? 341

Why use Secure Zone? 119

Why use the media builder? 222

Windows 115

Windows Azure and Amazon EC2 virtual

machines 358

Windows event log 178, 204

WinPE-based 221

WinPE-based bootable media 239

WinRE-based PE images 239

Work across subnets 290

Working in VMware vSphere 332

WriteCacheSize 378

434 © Acronis International GmbH, 2003-2023