Selecting Options for a Backup
When you back up your data, you have the option to change the default settings for the backup set before the process begins. You can also configure advanced options.
Backup and advanced backup options
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Configure standard and advanced backup options in the Backup Job Information and the Advanced Backup Options dialog boxes. The Backup Job Information dialog box appears after you click Start Backup from the Backup tab. The following tables provide explanations of the available options. For more information about these options, see the online Help in your Windows Server 2003 operating system.
Important
Exchange databases should not be backed up in the same way you backup static data files. They should be backed up as online Exchange databases. You should specifically exclude Exchange data directories from being backed up normally if you are performing online backups. For more information about how to back up Exchange databases, see "Backing up Exchange Server 2003."
Backup options
| Backup options | Explanation |
|---|---|
Backup description |
You can type a unique name to describe each backup. |
Append this backup to the media. |
You can append the backup job to an existing backup file or tape. Selecting this option does not affect any previous backup data stored on that media. |
Replace the data on the media with this backup. |
You can erase the backup file or all previous backup jobs stored on the destination media before the new backup job is saved. Warning If you select this option, you will lose all previous backup data currently stored on the destination media. |
Allow only the owner and the Administrator access to the backup data. |
You can specify that only the owner or members of the Administrator's group may access the data that is saved on the destination media. This option secures the online tape or file. If you are backing up data to an existing tape or file that you want to overwrite, you can select this option. If you are backing up data to an existing tape or file and you are appending the data to the tape or file, you cannot select this option because ownership of the tape has already been established. |
Advanced backup options
| Advanced backup options | Explanation |
|---|---|
Back up data that is in Remote Storage. |
You can back up data that has been designated for Remote Storage. Selecting this option backs up Remote Storage reparse points (placeholder files). If you do not select this option, Remote Storage reparse points are not backed up. You can restore Remote Storage data only to an NTFS file system volume. |
Verify data after backup. (Do not use this option when you back up Exchange databases.) |
You can verify that the backed up data matches the original data after the backup completes. Backup creates a checksum for every file as it is backed up, and stores those checksums in the actual backup. At the end of a successful backup, every file in the backup is read and compared to the checksums that are also stored in the backup to make sure that the file in the backup matches the checksum created at the time the file was backed up. This means that you are verifying the media instead of verifying that the file in the backup still matches the original at the end of the backup, a subtle distinction to understand. Important Do not use this option when you back up Exchange databases. Note Although this option helps you verify data integrity in some types of data backups (for example, System State backups and full computer backups), do not use this option when you back up Exchange databases. Selecting this option will substantially increase the time that the backup takes to complete. The only added value that this option provides in this case is to verify that the media can still be read immediately after it was written to. Note Additionally, although the backed up Exchange database files were compared to the originals on disk after the backup, the verification would fail because the online databases are constantly changing during a backup. |
If possible, compress the backup data to save space. |
You can compress the data that you plan to back up so that you can save more data on a tape. If this option is disabled, you do not have a tape drive on your computer or your tape drive cannot manage compressed data. |
Automatically backup System Protected Files with the System State. (Do not disable this option.) |
You can back up all the system files that are in your systemroot directory in addition to the boot files that are included with the System State data. Although this option substantially increases the size of a normal backup job, it benefits Exchange backups because it backs up the Internet Information Services (IIS) metabase. The IIS metabase contains information such as your Exchange Virtual Server (EVS) information. Note This option is enabled by default for a System State backup. It is recommended that you do not disable this option. |
Disable volume shadow copy. (Do not disable this option.) |
You can disable the use of shadow copy to create the backup. If this option is disabled, some files that are open or in use during the backup might be skipped. Note It is recommended that you do not disable this option. Exchange 2003 does not use the Volume Shadow Copy service in Backup when it backs up the Exchange store. Note Selecting this option does not affect Exchange online backups of the Exchange store, but disabling this option might cause non-Exchange files that are open or in use during the backup to be skipped. |
Backup Type. |
You can specify how your data is backed up. For a description of the different types of backups, see "Selecting the Default Settings for Backup" earlier in this chapter. For example, you cannot perform an incremental backup of an Exchange store until you have performed a normal backup at least one time before the incremental backup. |