Acronis Nonstop Backup data storage can be created on local hard disk drives (both internal and external).
In many cases an external hard disk will be the best choice for Nonstop Backup data storage. You can use an external disk with any of the following interfaces: USB (including USB 3.0), eSATA, FireWire, and SCSI.
You can also use an NAS as the storage, but with one limitation - it must accessible with the SMB protocol. It does not matter whether an NAS share you want to use for the storage is mapped as a local disk or not. If the share requires login, you will need to provide the correct user name and password. For more information see Authentication settings. Acronis True Image 2013 remembers the credentials and the subsequent connections to the share do not require login.
When an external hard disk or NAS is unavailable, the Nonstop Backup destination can be an internal disk, including a dynamic one. Please note that you cannot use a partition to be protected as a Nonstop Backup storage. If your computer has a single hard disk drive with a single partition, but you want to use Acronis Nonstop Backup anyway, you can create Acronis Secure Zone and use it as the Nonstop Backup data storage.
Before creating Acronis Nonstop Backup data storage, Acronis True Image 2013 checks whether the selected destination has enough free space. It multiplies the volume of data to be protected by 1.2 and compares the calculated value with the available space. If the free space on the destination satisfies this minimum storage size criterion, the destination can be used for storing Nonstop Backup data.
Managing Acronis Nonstop Backup data storage
Inevitably the Acronis Nonstop Backup data storage becomes full after a period of time which depends on the selected Nonstop Backup destination and the volume and composition of the data protected by Acronis Nonstop Backup.
When the free space on the storage becomes less than 200 MB, the program will alert you. You can choose another destination without losing the previously backed up data. You will be able to recover the data backed up on the old storage. Note that after selecting a new destination, Acronis True Image 2013 creates a new full backup of the data selected for protection by Nonstop Backup.
One more way of managing the Acronis Nonstop Backup storage is by deleting the backup versions you no longer need. To clean up the storage, click the gear icon on the Nonstop Backup box to open the Operations menu and then select Clean up.... Acronis True Image 2013 displays a window allowing you to select a period of time for deleting the backup versions created during that period. Select the required period and click OK.
You can clean up only the active Acronis Nonstop Backup storage.
You can also completely clean up the Acronis Nonstop Backup storage by selecting Delete in the Operations menu of a Nonstop Backup box. If you select the active Nonstop Backup box, the deletion stops operation of Acronis Nonstop Backup.