Backup splitting

This option is effective for Windows and Linux operating systems and bootable media.

This option is not effective when the backup destination is a managed vault or Acronis Cloud Storage.

The option defines how a backup can be split.

The preset is: Automatic

The following settings are available.

Automatic

With this setting, Acronis Backup will act as follows.

• When backing up to a hard disk or a network share:

  A single backup file will be created if the destination disk's file system allows the estimated file size.

  The backup will automatically be split into several files if the destination disk's file system does not allow the estimated file size. This might be the case when the backup is placed on FAT16 and FAT32 file systems that have a 4-GB file size limit.

  If the destination disk runs out of free space while creating the backup, the task enters the Need interaction state. You have the ability to free additional space and retry the operation. If you do so, the resulting backup will be split into the parts created before and after the retry.

• When backing up to removable media (CD, DVD, Blu-Ray Discs, a stand-alone tape drive, an RDX or USB drive used in the removable device mode):

  The task will enter the Need interaction state and ask for a new media when the previous one is full.

• When backing up to an FTP server:

  The backup will automatically be split into files no more than 2 GB in size. Splitting is needed to allow data recovery directly from the FTP server.

• When backing up to an SFTP server:

  A single backup file will be created. If the destination storage runs out of free space while creating the backup, the task will fail.

When you replicate or move a backup to other locations, these rules apply to each location independently.

Example.
Suppose that the primary location for a 3-GB backup is a hard disk, the second location is an FTP server, and the third location is a network share. In this case, the backup will be stored as a single file in the primary location, as two files in the second location, and as a single file again in the third location.

Fixed size

Enter the desired file size or select it from the drop-down list. The backup will then be split into multiple files of the specified size. This comes in handy when creating a backup that you plan to burn to multiple CDs or DVDs later on. You might also want to split a backup into 2-GB files if you are backing up to a hard disk, but you plan to manually copy the backup to an FTP server later.