Backup module cheat sheet

Some of the features described in this section are only available for on-premises deployments.

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

WHAT TO BACK UP

ITEMS TO BACK UP

Selection methods

WHERE TO BACK UP

SCHEDULE

Backup schemes

(not for Cloud)

HOW LONG TO KEEP
Disks/volumes (physical machines)

Direct selection

Policy rules

File filters

Cloud

Local folder

Network folder

SFTP server*

NFS*

Secure Zone*

Managed location*

Tape device*

Always incremental (Single-file)*

Always full

Weekly full, Daily incremental

Monthly full, Weekly differential, Daily incremental (GFS)

Custom (F-D-I)

By backup age (single rule/per backup set)

By number of backups

By total size of backups*

Keep indefinitely

Disks/volumes (virtual machines)

Policy rules

File filters

Cloud

Local folder

Network folder

SFTP server*

NFS*

Managed location*

Tape device*

Files (physical machines only)

Direct selection

Policy rules

File filters

Cloud

Local folder

Network folder

SFTP server*

NFS*

Secure Zone*

Managed location*

Tape device

Always full

Weekly full, Daily incremental

Monthly full, Weekly differential, Daily incremental (GFS)

Always incremental (Single-file)*

Custom (F-D-I)

ESXi configuration

Direct selection

Local folder

Network folder

SFTP server

NFS*

SQL databases

Direct selection

Cloud

Local folder

Network folder

Managed location*

Tape device

Always full

Weekly full, daily incremental

Custom (F-I)

Exchange databases

Direct selection

Exchange mailboxes

Direct selection

Cloud

Local folder

Network folder

Managed location*

Always incremental (Single-file)

Microsoft 365 mailboxes

Direct selection

By backup age (single rule/per backup set)

By number of backups

Keep indefinitely

* See the limitations below.

Backups to cloud require a Backup to local storage quota.

Limitations

SFTP server and tape device

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

NFS

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

Secure Zone

  • Secure Zone cannot be created on a Mac.

Managed location

  • A managed location with enabled deduplication or encryption cannot be selected as the destination:

    • If the backup scheme is set to Always incremental (single-file)
    • If the backup format is set to Version 12
    • For disk-level backups of machines running macOS
    • For backups of Exchange mailboxes and Microsoft 365 mailboxes.
  • The By total size of backups retention rule is not available for a managed location with enabled deduplication.

Always incremental (single-file)

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

By total size of backups

  • The By total size of backups retention rule is not available:

    • If the backup scheme is set to Always incremental (single-file)
    • When backing up to an SFTP server, a tape device, or a managed location with enabled deduplication.