ACRONIS Backup & Recovery 11.5 Server for Windows User's Guide download pdf (Page 199)

If the application databases are located on a number of machines, back up all of the machines on the

same schedule. For example, include all of the SQL servers belonging to a SharePoint farm in a

centralized backup plan running on a fixed schedule.

Use Volume Shadow Copy (VSS)

Microsoft Volume Shadow Copy Service (VSS) should be used to ensure consistency of the database

files in the backup. Without VSS, the files would be in a crash-consistent state; that is, after the

recovery, the system would be in the same state as if the power were disconnected at the moment

when backup began. While such backups are good enough for most applications, applications that

use databases may not be able to start from a crash-consistent state.

A VSS provider notifies VSS-aware applications that the backup is about to start. This ensures that all

database transactions are completed by the time Acronis Backup & Recovery 11.5 takes the data

snapshot. This, in turn, ensures the consistent state of the databases in the resulting backup.

Acronis Backup & Recovery 11.5 can use various VSS providers. For Microsoft products, Microsoft

Software Shadow Copy Provider is the best choice.

Using VSS on a physical machine

On a physical machine, using VSS is configurable. This also applies to a virtual machine that is backed

up from inside the guest OS. You may need to enable using VSS manually if the factory preset was

changed from the default value.

You also need to make sure that VSS writers for the respective application are turned on. In Windows

Small Business Server 2003, the Exchange writer is turned off by default. For instructions on how to

turn it on, see the following Microsoft Knowledge Base article

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/838183/.

To enable using VSS by default in any backup plan created on a machine:

1. Connect the console to the machine.

2. On the top menu, select Options > Default backup and recovery options > Default backup

options > Volume Shadow Copy Service.

3. Click Use Volume Shadow Copy Service.

4. In the Snapshot provider list, click Software - System provider.

When the console is connected to the management server, you can set the same default setting for

all of the registered machines.

Using VSS on a virtual machine

When backing up a virtual machine at a hypervisor level, using VSS is not configurable. VSS is always

used if VMware Tools or Hyper-V Integration Services are installed in a respective guest system.

Installing these tools/services is a common requirement for backing up at a hypervisor level. If you

encounter errors mentioning "quiesced snapshot" when backing up ESX(i) virtual machines, then

reinstalling or updating VMware Tools and rebooting the virtual machine will usually help. For more

information, see http://kb.acronis.com/content/4559.

Truncating transaction logs

Acronis Backup & Recovery 11.5 does not truncate the transaction log after creating a disk backup.

This is not a problem for Active Directory, because it normally uses circular logging. Available

solutions for other applications include:

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ACRONIS Backup & Recovery 11.5 Server for Windows User's Guide Page 199