Backup Plan (Plan); Backup Policy (Policy) - ACRONIS Backup & Recovery 10 Server for Windows User Manual

Backup options
Configuration parameters of a backup operation (p. 209), such as pre/post backup commands,
maximum network bandwidth allotted for the backup stream or data compression level. Backup
options are a part of a backup plan (p. 210).

Backup plan (Plan)

A set of rules that specify how the given data will be protected on a given machine. A backup plan
specifies:
•
what data to back up
•
where to store the backup archive (p. 209) (the backup archive name and location)
•
the backup scheme (p. 211), that includes the backup schedule and [optionally] the retention
rules
•
[optionally] the archive validation rules (p. 221)
•
the backup options (p. 209).
For example, a backup plan can contain the following information:
•
back up volume C: (this is the data the plan will protect)
•
name the archive MySystemVolume and place it to \\server\backups\ (this is the backup archive
name and location)
•
perform full backup monthly on the last day of the month at 10:00AM and incremental backup on
Sundays at 10:00PM. Delete backups that are older than 3 months (this is a backup scheme)
•
validate the last backup immediately after its creation (this is a validation rule)
•
protect the archive with a password (this is an option).
Physically, a backup plan is a bundle of tasks (p. 220) configured for execution on a managed machine
(p. 217).
A backup plan can be created directly on the machine (local plan) or appears on the machine as a
result of a backup policy (p. 210) deployment (centralized plan (p. 212)).

Backup policy (Policy)

A backup plan template created by the management server (p. 218) administrator and stored on the
management server. A backup policy contains the same rules as a backup plan, but might not
explicitly specify what data items to back up. Instead, selection rules (p. 219), such as environment
variables, can be used. Because of this flexible selection, a backup policy can be centrally applied to
multiple machines. If a data item is specified explicitly (e.g. /dev/sda or C:\Windows), the policy will
back up this item on each machine where this exact path is found.
By applying a policy to a group of machines, the administrator deploys multiple backup plans with a
single action.
The workflow when using policies is as follows.
1. The administrator creates a backup policy.
2. The administrator applies the policy to a group of machines or a single machine (p. 217).
210 Copyright © Acronis, Inc., 2000-2009