Click OK to add the disk.
This chapter describes how to perform various tasks to manage Backup Sets and scripts, including viewing reports, and maintaining scripts. It offers several strategies for doing backups. It also offers advice on using Retrospect and describes techniques for more effective backups, including tips on Open File Backup and using Retrospect with other software.
This section suggests several strategies for backing up your computer or your entire network. Review each strategy and decide which will work best for your situation. Perhaps you will need to slightly modify a strategy to better fit your needs. Perhaps you will devise your own strategy which bears no relation to these suggestions. Realize these are but a few suggested strategies, and Retrospect’s features allow an unlimited number of different strategies. Just remember the basic backup rules when you go about creating a backup strategy of your own.
The different backup actions available with Retrospect are integral to developing successful strategies. They are described in Backup Actions.
While Retrospect is a powerful tool for safeguarding your data, it is most effective when you follow some basic backup rules:
Back up often because you cannot restore what is not backed up. For example, if your hard disk malfunctions today but you most recently backed it up a week ago, you have lost the data you have accumulated over the week. Retrospect is most effective when you back up everything and back up often, which you can ensure by setting up scripts to automate backups.
Keep multiple backups of your data. Rotate among different Backup Sets. Using more Backup Sets makes you less likely to lose data if you misplace or damage media.
Retire old media on a regular schedule. Regularly introduce new media using New Backup Set backups, because having all of your backups on one media set leaves you too vulnerable. (If even one tape of a set is damaged, you no longer have a complete backup.) A benefit of new media in your backup strategy is that it is faster to restore from a few media members than to restore from a set that has many members and backup sessions.
Use meaningful names for your Backup Sets based on what they contain and how often they get rotated and then label your media appropriately.
Always store at least one Backup Set off-site to guard against fire, theft, and natural disaster.
Back up the backup computer. You probably have put more time and energy than you realize into your Retrospect configuration and catalogs.
Take care of your backup media, which can easily be damaged by the environment. Media can also wear out after as few as several hundred uses. See Media Longevity and Storage for more information.
Make sure to verify your backups, either during backup using the Thorough or Media verification options, or after a backup has finished using a verification script or the Verify Media command.
Back up your Catalog Files to their own Backup Set. See Catalog Backups.
The following strategies are useful for backing up a single computer. If you need to back up more than one computer, see Network Backup Strategies.
Create an unscheduled backup script and save it as a run document. See Manual Script Execution. Set the backup action to Normal. Make a second run document from the same script, but this time set the backup action to Recycle.
Execute the Normal backup run document daily or whenever you please, and every few weeks execute the Recycle backup run document to keep your Backup Sets from becoming large and cumbersome.
To introduce new media for rotation with other sets or off-site storage, periodically configure the Backup Set to use a new Backup Set, as described in The Options tab.
Create a backup script and schedule it to run automatically. Add a day of week scheduler doing a Recycle backup every Friday and another doing Normal backups Monday through Thursday.
The two schedulers look like this:
To introduce new media for rotation with other sets or off-site storage, periodically configure the Backup Set to use a new Backup Set, as described in The Options tab.
When you need to back up a network of client computers, you must decide which kind of backup scripts to use. The table below lists situations which are suited to ProactiveAI Backup scripts or regular backup scripts.
| Situations Suiting ProactiveAI Backup | Situations Suiting Backup Scripts |
|---|---|
You have a backup computer dedicated solely to that purpose. |
Your backup computer has other duties at other times. |
You have too many clients with too much data to be entirely backed up in a single night. |
Your scheduled backups are completed before the client computers are used in the mornings. |
You find yourself trying to catch up with your backups, making special scripts and immediate backups for certain clients that are not completely backed up by your regular backup script. |
Your scheduled backups are completed before the client computers are used in the mornings and unsuccessful backups are rare. |
You have mobile clients and portable drive volumes that appear on the network at random times. |
Your network includes only desktop computers, no removable disks or notebook computers. |
You want Retrospect to back up to whatever media is in the backup device. |
You always insert the correct media beforehand for unattended backups. |
If you choose to use a strategy that includes ProactiveAI Backup, skip ahead to Network Strategy 4- Basic ProactiveAI Backup.
Create a backup script. Set the destination to use three Backup Sets. Add a day of week scheduler to run the script daily to a particular Backup Set, every three weeks. Add a similar scheduler to run the script daily to the second Backup Set, every three weeks starting one week after the first scheduler. Add a similar scheduler to run the script daily to the third Backup Set, every three weeks starting one week after the second scheduler.
The three schedulers look like this:
This strategy does not include scheduled Recycle and New Backup Set backup actions, so you should manually configure the Backup Sets for Recycle and New Backup Set backups at appropriate times. See The Options tab.
Create a backup script. Change the script destination to use three Backup Sets. Add a day of week scheduler to run a Normal backup Monday through Thursday to the first Backup Set, every three weeks. Add a day of week scheduler to do a Recycle backup to the first Backup Set on Friday, every three weeks. Add similar schedulers for the second and third Backup Sets, but set their starting dates one and two weeks later, respectively. Finally, add a repeating interval scheduler to do a New Backup Set backup to one of the Backup Sets every six weeks. (After a New Backup Set backup take the old Backup Set media off site for safe keeping.)
The schedulers look like this:
Make a script with five Backup Set destinations, named Monday through Friday. Add five day of week schedulers to back up to each respective Backup Set. Add five repeating interval schedulers to stagger Recycle backups every four weeks to each respective Backup Set, starting with Monday the first week, Tuesday the second week, and so on. But for Friday, make the repeating interval the last Friday of the month, doing a New Backup Set backup to the Friday Backup Set. (Take the old Backup Set media off site for safe keeping.)
The schedulers look like this:
When you schedule the New Backup Set backup, make sure it occurs at the same time as the scheduled Friday Normal backups. When Retrospect encounters the New Backup Set backup scheduled for the same execution time as the Normal backup, it executes only the New Backup Set backup. If you were to schedule them at different times, both backups would execute.
Create a ProactiveAI Backup script backing up all client sources. Schedule it to work from 7:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m. during the work week (so as not to interfere with the users during their workdays) and all the time during weekends. Set the backup interval so Retrospect backs up every twelve hours.
Duplicate the basic ProactiveAI Backup script described above. Make mobile clients its only sources. Remove these volumes from the original script. Schedule the new script to run twenty-four hours per day, with a backup interval of eighteen hours.
If you implement a strategy that includes ProactiveAI Backup, read ProactiveAI Backup Tips and Techniques. It includes information to help you devise a more effective strategy.
Create a ProactiveAI Backup script backing up all client sources. Leave the schedule always active so it works twenty-four hours a day. Set the backup interval option so Retrospect backs up every ninety-nine days. Leave on the script option to allow early backup. Except for the initial backups when this strategy is first implemented, and every ninety-nine days thereafter, clients are not backed up unless they request it from their control panels. This strategy requires that you clearly communicate the responsibility to the users and, ideally, is supplemented with a regular backup script.
Retrospect is designed to support staged backup with either an individual computer or a network of computers. Staged backup involves backing up to disk, then transferring the backups to tape. This takes advantage of the benefits of both disk and tape.
Disks are great at absorbing data transfers that arrive in bursts from network computers, resulting in faster backups than if you backed up directly to tape. Once data is backed up to disk, it can be easily transferred to tapes. The transfer from disk to tape is efficient because data from the disk arrives at a constant rate (no network bottlenecks), keeping your tape drive streaming forward at maximum speed. Tapes can then be stored offsite for safety, while disk backups stored onsite can be used to perform restores quickly.
Retrospect has many features that are useful for creating a staged backup strategy. Some ways to combine these features are discussed here, but there are countless possibilities for creating your own staged backup strategy using the following features:
The Retrospect web site includes a white paper that provides much more detailed information about implementing a disk-to-disk-to-tape staged backup strategy.
Start by creating a ProactiveAI Backup script backing up all client sources. Schedule it to work from 7:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m. during the work week and all the time during weekends. Set the backup interval so Retrospect backs up every twelve hours.
Use a disk Backup Set with grooming enabled as the destination. Set the grooming option so that Retrospect keeps at least the last 10 backups for each source. This ensures that you will have a 10 day rolling window of client data for quick local restores.
The grooming policy you specify depends on how much data you are backing up and how big the destination disk is.
Create a Transfer Backup Sets script to transfer the disk Backup Set data to a tape Backup Set once a week. These tapes can be stored offsite for safety and can be used to restore older data that is eventually groomed from the disk Backup Set.
Transferring the Backup Set to tape provides a complete, redundant copy of the disk Backup Set. This includes all the Snapshots in the disk Backup Set and enables you to restore clients computers to any point in time for which a Snapshot exists.
Start by creating a ProactiveAI Backup script backing up all client sources. Schedule it to work from 7:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m. during the work week and all the time during weekends. Set the backup interval so Retrospect backs up every twelve hours.
Use a disk Backup Set with grooming enabled as the destination. Set the grooming option so that Retrospect keeps at least the last 10 backups for each source. This ensures that you will have a 10 day rolling window of client data for quick local restores.
The grooming policy you specify depends on how much data you are backing up and how big the destination disk is.
Create a Transfer Snapshots script to transfer the disk Backup Set data to a tape Backup Set once a week. In the source Snapshots window, choose to transfer “The most recent Snapshot for each source” The first transfer results in what is called a “synthetic full” backup. A synthetic full backup includes the same files that a full backup done at the same time would, but it takes a lot less time and no network bandwidth. Each successive transfer copies only the Snapshots and files that don’t already exist in the destination.
These tapes can be stored offsite for safety and can be used to restore older data that is eventually groomed from the disk Backup Set.
Transferring the most current Snapshots to tape provides a full backup of the client sources as they existed at the end of each week (when the transfer script runs). This does not include additional Snapshots in the disk Backup Set from other points in time during the week (although these continue to exist in the disk Backup Set until it is groomed).
Retrospect’s reporting abilities lets you monitor execution history and error messages by viewing logs and reports. You may need to examine these to find out why an operation was unsuccessful in order to diagnose problems. Click Reports from Retrospect’s navigation bar to access the logs and reports overview window.
You can set Retrospect to provide e-mail notifications when it encounters errors, requires media, etc. See E-mail Preferences for more information.
The Backup Report shows a detailed account of backup operations for each local and networked volume.
The Operations Log shows a record of each Retrospect operation, transaction, and event, and any errors that occurred.
Session Contents shows the files that were actually backed up in a specific backup session.
Database Backup History lists all database backups and includes information on the backup type and Backup Set. See SQL Server Agent and Exchange Server Agent for more information.
Click Reports>Backup Report to view the Backup Report. An example of a Backup Report is shown below.
Unlike the Operations Log, to which Retrospect repeatedly appends new information, the Backup Report is completely updated each time a backup is performed. It allows you, as the backup administrator, to see, on a volume-by-volume basis, any problems with recent backups.
The Backup Report can be viewed in two formats: Standard Format and Performance Data Format. See Customizing the Backup Report for information on how to switch between formats.
Both formats include the following information:
User/Volume is the source volume name. Client computer names, if logged in, are also listed. The date and time listed below a volume are the date and time of the most recent backup of the volume.
Script is the name of the script that did the most recent successful backup.
You can select a line in the report and open the script it refers to by using the Edit Script button. You can select a line in the report and click the Find in Log button to cross-reference the Operations Log. You can select any line listed in the report and clear it by choosing Clear from the Edit menu or by pressing the Delete key. If you clear a script or forget a Backup Set, that information is removed from the report. This may cause a volume to appear as if it was never backed up.
A Standard Format Backup Report contains the following information, in addition to User/Volume and Script:
Elapsed Days is the number of days since the backup.
Errors and Warnings indicates any errors or warnings that occurred for each backup. (Use the Find in Log command to isolate an error or warning in the Operations Log.)
Backup Set is the name of the Backup Set used for the most recent successful backup.
A Performance Data Format Backup Report contains the following information, in addition to User/Volume and Script:
Duration shows the time duration of the backup, in hours and minutes. Large numbers may indicate sources with heavy backup needs.
MB is the amount of data, in megabytes, backed up from the volume.
MB/Min is the speed, measured in megabytes per minute, of the source’s backup. Abnormally slow performance may indicate problems with the network, backup device, or other hardware.
Retrospect lets you specify an Execution performance threshold, which is useful for abandoning client backups that are too slow. See Client Execution Options
You can use Report Options to display the Backup Report in Standard Format or Performance Data Format, specify the event types or event dates to include in the report, and various other options. Click the Report Options icon from the Backup Report toolbar to bring up a dialog in which you can make changes.
Use the options to customize the Backup Report.
The Backup Report is a database of backup events. Each time Retrospect completes a backup it adds a new backup event to its database. For each combination of source, destination and script, it saves all unsuccessful backup attempts and the latest successful backup.
When you forget a script, source, or Backup Set, Retrospect removes that item’s backup events from the Backup Report database.
To remove events from the Backup Report, click the Forget Events icon from the toolbar. This brings up a dialog with which you can remove the following execution events from the report:
All but the most recent successful backup
All successful backups
All unsuccessful attempts
Events older than one week
All execution events
All ProactiveAI Backup events
The only one of these options that affects ProactiveAI Backup events is “All ProactiveAI Backup events.”
You can delete a specific execution event from the Backup Report by right-clicking it and selecting Delete.
ProactiveAI Backup relies upon the Backup Report to determine when a volume was most recently backed up. If you delete an event from the Backup Report and the associated volume is a source in an active ProactiveAI Backup script, ProactiveAI Backup assigns a higher priority to that volume and will attempt to back it up sooner.
Select a line from the Backup Report and click the Find in Log button to view more information about that event in the Operations Log.
Select a line from the Backup Report and click Edit Script to open the script summary window for the script which executed and created the event.
If you backed up a volume using an immediate operation, the Backup Report indicates that in the Script column (e.g. “Immediate Backup”).
To print the Backup Report, view it, then choose Print from the File menu. If you have only a portion of the report selected, only that portion will print. If you have nothing selected, the entire report will print. To export the Backup Report to a text file, view it then choose Export from the File menu.
You can set a preference option, described in Logging Preferences, to have Retrospect automatically export the Backup Report.
The Operations Log stores any messages that are generated during an operation such as a backup or restore. You may need to review the log to find out why an operation was unsuccessful in order to diagnose problems.
To view the Operations Log, click Reports>Operations Log, or choose Log from the Window menu.
The example below shows how information appears in the Operations Log.
The log shows the following information for each successful operation.
Completed indicates the number and size of the files that were copied. If you used Retrospect’s data compression feature, the log also shows compression achieved for this session.
Snapshot stored indicates the size of the volume Snapshot stored in the Backup Set.
Performance indicates the number of megabytes of information copied per minute. If verification is turned on, additional performance figures are listed for comparing.
Duration shows the total time required to complete the operation. If you clicked Pause during the operation or there were delays while you inserted media, the waiting time is shown separately. The waiting figure includes time spent during tape drive locate functions and other required functions.
Retrospect has commands for finding items in the Operations Log. The Operations Log’s window and the Edit menu both have these commands.
Find Backward: This toolbar command prompts you to enter the text you want to search for. When you click OK, Retrospect searches the log bottom-up (from the current selection) instead of top-down, because the most recent operations are at the bottom of the log.
Find Again Backward: After you have used the Find or Find Backward command, this toolbar command searches bottom-up for the text you previously specified.
Find: This command on the Edit menu prompts you to enter the text you want to search for. When you click OK, Retrospect searches the log top-down from the current selection.
Find Next: After you have used the Find or Find Backward command, this Edit menu command continues the search from the current selection forward, or down. Upon reaching the end of the log, it continues searching from the beginning.
Find Prev: After you have used the Find or Find Backwards command, this Edit menu command continues the search from the current selection backward, or up. Upon reaching the log’s beginning, it continues searching backward from the end.
To delete the contents of the Operations Log, view the log, then click the Clear Log icon from the toolbar.
You do not have to manually clear the log, since Retrospect automatically removes old log entries when the log fills to its capacity, as defined by the log size limit preference (see Logging Preferences).
To print the Operations Log, view it, then choose Print from the File menu. If you have only a portion of the log selected, only that portion will print. If nothing is selected, the entire log will print.
To export the Operations Log to a text file, view it then choose Export from the File menu.
You can set a preference option, described in Logging Preferences, to have Retrospect automatically export the Operations Log.
Retrospect can report which files were copied to a Backup Set during a specific backup or archive session.
To view the contents of a Backup Set, first click Reports from the navigation bar, then click Session Contents.
In the upper list box, select the Backup Set you want information about. (Click More to access more Backup Sets.) After you select a Backup Set, the lower list box displays the backup sessions contained within the selected Backup Set. Select the backup session or sessions you want to review.
At this point, you can choose Export from the File menu to export the list to a text file, or click Browse. When you do the latter, a browser window appears listing the files and folders that were backed up during the session or sessions you selected.
You can print the list, export it to a text file, search for specific files, get the properties of specific files, retrieve specific files, or change the view format from the browser window’s toolbar. You can view browser windows for multiple sessions at the same time by performing the same steps and selecting multiple sessions. When exporting, Retrospect exports the fields in the following order, regardless of the view format: file name, size, create date, create time, modify date, modify time, backup date, backup time, Mac OS type, Mac OS creator, Backup Set, and path.
For information about using the browser window and menus, see Browsing.
Retrospect has many options you can set to determine how your backup, duplicate, archive, transfer, and restore operations (immediate and scripted) are executed. For example, you could set a backup script to turn on software data compression and synchronize client computer clocks. You can set options while setting up an immediate operation or while editing a script. Execution options are local rather than global, so they apply only to the current operation or script, not to all operations and scripts.
Retrospect also has global program preferences that affect all executions. See Retrospect Preferences for more information.
To set options for an immediate operation or a script, click the Options button in the summary window, then click More Choices to view a complete list of available options grouped by category. You can display the options for each category by clicking the category name in the list.
To turn an option on or off, click its checkbox or radio button. Some options use time and date controls, and others let you enter numbers or text. If any options in a category have been changed from their default settings, the category name is shown in boldface. Clicking Use Default reverts all visible options to their default states. Clicking Fewer Choices returns you to the basic Options window.
These options are available only with ProactiveAI Backup scripts, which are described in ProactiveAI Backup Scripts.
Back up every: n days/hours: This time interval, which is one day by default, specifies the minimum time between backups. Each source is backed up when possible, according to the priority of need, but not more often than this interval unless the client user initiates a backup.
Allow early backup: When this option is on, which is the default, client users may initiate backups from their Retrospect Client control panels, overriding the backup interval. A request for an early backup does not necessarily immediately move the user’s volume to the top of the priority list. Other sources are taken care of before ProactiveAI Backup polls the client and learns of the early backup request, at which time ProactiveAI Backup backs up the client source volumes.
These options are available only with ProactiveAI Backup scripts.
Countdown time: Retrospect gives client users advance notice of when a backup is about to begin, counting down the time specified here. The default time is twenty seconds. (Enter zero to make Retrospect skip the countdown.) When it is going to back up a source from a client computer, Retrospect puts up a dialog on the client. This dialog displays the countdown message (see below) and offers buttons to defer the backup to a later time or bypass the countdown and immediately begin backing up. If the client user does not take any action Retrospect backs up when the countdown reaches zero.
Countdown message: The text in this box is shown to a client user when a backup is about to begin, according to the countdown time option. Retrospect will replace the text “%%script%%” with the name of the script it is executing.
These options are available only with ProactiveAI Backup scripts.
Check source every: n seconds/minutes: Retrospect uses this time interval, which is ninety seconds by default, to check whether a source is available for backup. Retrospect does not check sources while a backup is in progress.
Client connect every: n seconds/minutes: Retrospect uses this time interval, which is five minutes by default, to access a client to check whether the user has changed the backup schedule or requested an early backup. Retrospect does not connect to clients while a backup is in progress.
Retry failure after: n minutes/hours: After a backup has failed or was canceled, Retrospect waits at least this long, thirty minutes by default, before again trying to back up a source.
These options are available only with backup operations and ProactiveAI Backup scripts.
Normal backup: Only available with immediate backups, this option makes Retrospect perform a Normal (progressive) backup, as described in Normal Backups.
Recycle backup: Only available with immediate backups, this option makes Retrospect perform a Recycle backup, as described in Recycle Backups.
For scripted backups, you can select a Normal or Recycle backup when you schedule the script. See Common Scheduler Elements for more information.
Verification: Although verification increases the time it takes for a backup to complete, it ensures that information is correctly written to the Backup Set. Retrospect provides two verification methods:
Thorough verification ensures files are copied correctly by comparing files in the destination Backup Set with the original source files after the backup is performed. If the backup spans multiple tapes, CD/DVDs, or disks, you must reinsert all members to which data has been written.
Media verification compares the files in the destination Backup Set to MD5 digests generated during the backup. This methods does not involve re-reading the source files, and as a result, it does not identify potential problems that would be found using Thorough verification. Media verification does have some benefits however. It can be faster than Thorough verification and also imposes fewer demands on the source volumes since Retrospect does not need to rescan them after the backup. In addition, during backup operations, Retrospect performs ongoing Media verification, which means that you do not have to reinsert Backup Set media for backups that span media.
The Media verification option is not available if you disable Retrospect’s “Generate MD5 digests during backup operations” preference. See Verification Preferences for more information.
Verification scripts and the Verify Media command both use Media verification, whenever possible, to verify Backup Set media. See Scripted Verification and Verifying Backup Set Media for more information.
Verification scripts and Verify Media do require you to reinsert media when verifying backups that span media.
Data compression (in software): Data Compression saves space in the Backup Set by compressing files before copying them into the Backup Set. Files are automatically decompressed back to their original state when restored. Compression savings achieved during an operation are reported in the status window and the Operations Log. The amount of compression savings you can expect depends on the types of files you are compressing. Text files compress substantially; application and system files do not. Backups using data compression are slower than those without, as are restores.
When copying to a tape device that has built-in compression, Retrospect automatically turns off software compression in favor of the faster hardware compression. Retrospect uses its built-in compression filter to identify files that are already compressed (such as those compressed with a utility such as WinZip) so it will not attempt to re-compress them with software data compression. The Data Compression option is off by default.
These options are available only with archiving operations.
Archive operations include Verification and Data compression options, as described in Backup Execution Options, and Move files. An archive is just like a backup unless you move files.
Move files: This option deletes files from the source volume after they have been copied. If Thorough or Media verification is turned on and the files do not match exactly, the originals will not be deleted. Do not turn on the move files option without also turning on the Thorough verification option. You should perform at least one additional verified archive, backup, or duplicate before deleting files from the source. Retrospect cannot move files from a client computer if its Retrospect Client control panel has been set to allow read access only. By default, this option is off.
A related option is described in Files Execution Options.
Before you use the Move files option, first archive to a different Backup Set by copying without moving. This provides an extra measure of safety should one Backup Set become unusable.
See Archiving Tips for more information about archiving.
These options are available only with duplicate operations.
Thorough Verification: This is the same option described in Backup Execution Options, Since Duplicate operations do not involve Backup Set media, they do not have a Media Verification option.
Update backup report: When this option is checked, Retrospect treats the duplicate operation like a backup and adds or changes information in the Backup Report.
These options are only available with duplicate, archive, and restore operations.
Move files: This option, which is only available for duplicate operations, deletes files from the Source volume after they have been copied. If Thorough verification is turned on and the files do not match exactly, the originals will not be deleted. Do not turn on the move files option without also turning on the Thorough verification option. You should perform at least one additional verified archive, backup, or duplicate before deleting files from the source. Retrospect cannot move files from a client computer if its Retrospect Client control panel has been set to allow read access only. By default, this option is off. Also see the related files option below.
Archive operations also include a Move files option. See Archiving Execution Options.
On Move, don’t delete empty folders: This option is only available for archive and duplicate operations. It keeps folders that become empty as a result of the move instead of automatically deleting them. By default, this option is off.
Update modify dates: This option is only available for restore operations. It causes Retrospect to set the modification date and time of restored files to the current date and time. By default, this option is off.
These options are available only with Backup Set and Snapshot Transfer operations, whether scripted or initiated from the Tools menu on the navigation bar.
Copy Snapshots: This option is only available for Backup Set transfers. It copies all of a Backup Set’s Snapshots to the destination Catalog and media. This option is on by default. If you turn this option off, Retrospect copies all the files from a Backup Set’s Snapshots, but not the Snapshots themselves.
Retrospect generally recommends leaving this option set to the default. If you turn Copy Snapshots off, you can only restore by search (not by Snapshot) and cannot restore the System State or security information.
Media Verification: This option compares the files in the destination Backup Set to MD5 digests generated during the transfer. Since Transfer operations involve only Snapshots and Backup Sets, Thorough Verification is not an option.
This option is available even if you disable Retrospect’s “Generate MD5 digests during backup operations” preference, since it relies on MD5 digests generated during the transfer, not the original backup.
Data compression (in software): Data compression saves space in the destination Backup Set by compressing files before copying them. Files are automatically decompressed back to their original state when restored. Compression savings achieved during an operation are reported in the status window and the Operations Log. The amount of compression savings you can expect depends on the types of files you are compressing. Text files compress substantially; application and system files do not. Transfers using data compression are slower than those without, as are restores.
Retrospect uses its built-in compression filter to identify files that are already compressed (such as those compressed with a utility such as WinZip) so it will not attempt to re-compress them with software data compression.
When copying to a tape device that has built-in compression, Retrospect automatically turns off software compression in favor of the faster hardware compression. The Data Compression option is off by default.
Recycle source Backup Set after successful transfer: Select this option to recycle to source Backup Set(s) after a successful transfer. Recycling clears the Catalog File contents of a Backup Set so it appears that no files are backed up. The next time you use the recycled Backup Set as a destination, Retrospect looks for the first media member of the Backup Set, erases it, then copies files to it. Since no files exist in the Backup Set, all selected files are copied.
Make sure you can afford to lose all data on the source Backup Set before recycling it.
Transfer any needed intermediate database Snapshots: If your source includes a database Snapshot from a backup type other than a full backup (e.g., log, incremental, or differential), select this option transfer all backups required to bring the database completely up to date as of the selected database Snapshot date and time. This eliminates the need to manually transfer multiple Snapshots.
This option is only available when restoring SQL or Exchange databases.
Restore any needed intermediate Snapshots: If you select a database Snapshot from a backup type other than a full backup (e.g., log, incremental, or differential), Retrospect will restore the most recent full backup and any needed intermediate backups before it restores the selected Snapshot. This eliminates the need to manually restore multiple Snapshots.
You can change this behavior by turning off this option. In most cases you will want to leave this option set to the default.
These options are only available during an immediate restore by searching for current or older files.
Only most recent versions: Of files which match the search criteria, Retrospect uses only those most recently added to the Backup Set. It ignores files from older sessions. By default, this option is off, which makes Retrospect use matching files from older and most recent sessions.
Minimal folder structure: Restores files to their original folders, in the minimum required hierarchy. Empty folders are not restored. This option is off by default.
This option is available with all types of operations except duplicate, restore, and transfer.
Save source Snapshots for restore: This option directs Retrospect to save a volume Snapshot to the Catalog, replacing the old Snapshot, if any, and to save another copy of the Snapshot onto the backup media. By default, this option is on.
Snapshots are an important, fundamental feature of Retrospect, described in detail in Snapshots. Turning off this option has consequences described in What are the consequences of not saving Snapshots to save time and space?.
These options are available with all types of operations except restore and transfer, and these options apply only when backing up Retrospect client computers.
Byte-by-byte file comparison: This option overrides Retrospect’s fast client compare, verifying files the same way Retrospect does for local backups. When this option is turned off, Retrospect uses a faster, checksum-based technique to verify copied files. Both methods reliably compare backed-up data to the original files. By default, this option is off and you should keep it off.
This option has no effect if verification is turned off, or if Media verification is selected.
Speed threshold: This option, which is available only with scripts, is useful for preventing backups which would be too slow. The number you enter here determines the minimum acceptable rate at which the client computer is accessed. If, upon testing the network connection to the client prior to the operation, Retrospect finds the network or client is not working fast enough, it will terminate the operation and log an error.
This option is useful, for example, for preventing Proactive Client Backup from trying to back up a notebook computer volume when its user dials in to connect with the LAN.
Retrospect checks the client connection speed only once, as an operation starts. The performance threshold option described below is a more comprehensive control.
Execution performance threshold: This option, which is available only with scripts, is useful for halting backups which are too slow. This allows queued backups and other operations to execute rather than wasting time on a hopelessly slow client. The number you enter here determines the minimum acceptable data copying performance, in megabytes per minute, for the client. Retrospect continually measures and updates its performance with the client. An execution that initially performs acceptably may later be halted by Retrospect if its performance drops below the threshold. If the threshold number is set to zero, which is the default, Retrospect does not evaluate execution performance and will not halt an execution for lack of performance.
Synchronize clock: This option sets the date and time on each client computer to match the clock on the backup computer. This is useful to get times and dates to agree and is especially useful when changing to and from daylight savings time. Retrospect cannot synchronize a client computer’s clock if its Retrospect Client control panel has been set to allow read access only. By default, the synchronize option is off.
These options are available with all types of operations except duplicate and restore.
Match source volumes to Catalog File: This option directs Retrospect to identify previously backed up files during Normal backups. Retrospect compares the files on the source volume to file information in the Backup Set Catalog. The Windows file matching criteria are name, size, creation date, and modify date. The Mac OS file matching criteria are name, size, type, creator, creation date, and modify date. The Linux file matching criteria are name, size, and modify date. Retrospect considers a file already backed up if all of these criteria match. When you view the preview browser while setting up an immediate backup, files that have already been backed up are preceded by a diamond symbol.
Archive operations have the matching option off by default, which results in archiving all selected files, regardless of whether they are already in the Backup Set. Unless you turn on the Move files option, matching is the only difference between archive and backup scripts.
For transfer operations, this option is called “Match source Catalog File to destination Catalog File”. When selected, Retrospect only copies those files and Snapshots not already in the destination Catalog File.
Don’t add duplicates to Backup Set: This option works with the “Match source volumes to Catalog File” option to prevent previously backed up files from being added to the Backup Set again. Select both of these options when you want to perform a standard Progressive Backup; that is, you only want new or modified files copied to the Backup Set. If this option is deselected, Retrospect adds all files, including previously backed up files, to the Backup Set every time a Normal Backup is performed. By default, this option is on (except for Archive operations) and you should keep it that way unless you have a specific need to change it.
Match only files in same location: This option is only available if “Match source volumes to Catalog” is selected. It makes Retrospect more strictly match otherwise “identical” files from a source to a destination. (Normally, files are considered identical files when they have the same criteria described above in “Match source volumes to Catalog File”.) This option adds another criterion; files must also come from the same volume.
By default, this option is off and you should keep it that way unless you have a specific need to change it.
These options are only available with verification scripts.
Verify only backups not previously verified: Since Retrospect keeps track of which backups it has verified and which it has not, this default option is the one you should use most of the time. In general, verification scripts with this option selected should require less time than verification script using the “Verify entire Backup Set” option.
If none of the backups in Backup Set have been verified, this option has the same effect as “Verify entire Backup Set”.
Verify entire Backup Set: This option verifies the entire Backup Set. If that Backup Set spans multiple media members, you may have to insert media as Retrospect requests it. You can choose this option if you have reason to believe there might be problems with older Backup Set media, although using the Verify Media command can accomplish the same goal without a script. See Verifying Backup Set Media for more information.
This option is only available for scripts (not including Proactive Client Backup scripts).
Click Schedule to define a time period during which this script may execute. The default schedule reflects the global schedule preference, described in Schedule Preferences.
This option is available with all types of operations except restore and transfer. It is off by default.
Lock out volumes during backup: This option disconnects users connected to the backup computer through Microsoft Networking and prevents them from using a shared volume during backup. When you check this option, you can enter a warning message that is displayed to users before they are disconnected. (Windows users automatically receive warning messages.) You can also specify how many minutes advanced warning users will be given. This option will lock out users only if you are running Retrospect on the server itself; it does not apply to clients.
The lock out option behaves differently for Services For Macintosh network volumes on Windows Servers. All Services For Macintosh shared volumes are locked out at once, even if they are not all actively being backed up. All are locked while any one is backed up with the sharing lock out option enabled. By default, this option is off.
This option is available with backup, archive, and transfer operations, as well as with verification scripts. This option is not available with ProactiveAI Backup, restore, or duplicate operations.
Eject tapes and discs when script is complete Once a script has run, this option tells Retrospect to eject any tapes or discs that it accessed during the script.
These options are available with all types of operations except transfers. The specific options change according to the operation. No option in this category affects Linux or Macintosh clients.
Windows System options for a backup or archive operation.
Windows System options for a duplicate operation.
Windows System options for a restore operation.
System State: provides the option to copy the Windows registry, COM+, active directory, and certificate services when the Windows folder is included in the file selection criteria. Retrospect stores the information in the Snapshot and it must be restored with a restore method using the Snapshot.
This option is on by default for backup, duplicate, and archive operations. It is also on by default when you are restoring an entire volume.
If you are backing up or duplicating in Wizard Mode and choose not to copy “Operating System and Applications” files, Retrospect automatically disables the “Back Up/duplicate System State” option. In Advanced Mode, the option is always on by default, no matter what file types you select.
In order to restore the System State, the source Snapshot must contain a backed up System State and the destination must be a system volume.
In order to duplicate the System State, the source and destination must both be system volumes (i.e., they must both include System State information).
You must have Administrator or Backup Operator privileges to copy System State information under Windows.
Ignore encrypted file verification errors: in duplicate operations, which is off by default, causes Retrospect to ignore verification errors with encrypted files on NTFS volumes.
Restore security information: is only available for restore operations (excluding Find Files restores). When this option is enabled, Retrospect restores NTFS security information for all the restored folders and for the restored files that did not already exist on the destination.
If the same file exists in the source Snapshot and on the destination, and the only difference between the two files is their security information, the file on the destination will retain its security information.
Security information can only be restored if it was backed up. See Windows Security Options.
Restore security information for matched files is only available for restore operations (excluding Find Files restores). When this option is is used in combination with the previous option, Retrospect restores NTFS security information for all the restored files and folders.
If the same file exists in the source Snapshot and on the destination, and the only difference between the two files is their security information, the file on the destination is replaced with the file from the Snapshot.
Security information can only be restored if it was backed up. See Windows Security Options.
Set archive attribute: Retrospect can set the archive attribute during restore operations (including Find Files restores). When selected, this option causes Retrospect to set the archive attribute for restored files.
Setting the archive attribute ensures that Retrospect backs up file security information for the restored files the next time they are backed up (and you have selected the option to back up file security information). See Windows Security Options for more information.
These options, available with backup (including ProactiveAI Backup), duplicate, and archive operations, allow you to copy NTFS file and folder security information from servers and workstations. The specific options vary depending on the type of operation.
NTFS security permissions are a feature of Windows operating systems that allows you to restrict or permit access to files and folders based on user or group membership. These permissions are only available on disks that are formatted as NTFS.
It can take Retrospect a significant amount of time to copy security information for all the files and folders on a workstation or server. You can improve performance by deciding to copy only the security information you really need. But, you should be aware that when you restore files and folders for which you did not copy security information, those files and folders will be available to any user with access to the computer to which you restored. If you are unsure about whether to copy security information or not, use Retrospect’s default settings.
Retrospect stores NTFS security information in its Snapshots and therefore you must restore by Snapshot in order to restore security information. To restore NTFS file and folder security information, choose a Snapshot from which to restore, then use the restore security information options described in Windows System Options.
You must back up folder security information in order to do a complete restore.
Windows Security options for a backup and archive operations.
Windows Security options for a duplicate operation.
Back up file security information from servers: This option is on by default and causes Retrospect to back up NTFS file security information from source computers running server operating systems. When this option is enabled, Retrospect copies file security information for all the files it backs up.
In addition, if a file has new security information since the last backup, but has not changed in any other way, Retrospect copies the new security information for that file. Since Windows sets the archive attribute when a file’s security information changes, Retrospect uses the archive attribute to identify these files.
If the archive attribute has been set since the last time Retrospect backed up a file from the same location, Retrospect copies the file’s security information, even if nothing else about the file has changed.
Retrospect can even keep track of archive attribute changes across Backup Sets. For example, if Backup Set A includes a copy of a file with new security information and Backup Set B does not, the file (and its security information) will get copied during the next backup to Backup Set B.
Back up file security information from workstations: This option is off by default. When it is enabled, Retrospect copies NTFS file security information from source computers running non-server operating systems, as well as from Microsoft Networking Volumes. When this option is enabled, Retrospect copies file security information for all the files it backs up.
As with the “Back up file security information from servers” option, Retrospect uses the archive attribute to identify and back up files with new security information.
Back up folder security information from servers: This options is on by default and causes Retrospect to copy NTFS folder security information from source computers running sever operating systems. When this option is enabled, Retrospect copies folder security information for all the folders on the source.
Back up folder security information from workstations: This option is on by default and causes Retrospect to copy NTFS folder security information from source computers running non-server operating systems, as well as from Microsoft Networking Volumes. When this option is enabled, Retrospect copies folder security information for all the folders on the source.
If you are backing up in Wizard Mode and choose not to copy “Operating System and Applications” files, Retrospect automatically disables the “Back up folder security information from workstations” option. In Advanced Mode, the option is always on by default, no matter what file types you select.
Duplicate file security information from servers: This option is on by default and causes Retrospect to copy NTFS file security information from source computers running server operating systems. When this option is enabled, Retrospect copies file security information for all the files on the source.
Duplicate file security information from workstations: This option is off by default. When it is enabled, Retrospect copies NTFS file security information from source computers running non-server operating systems, as well as from Microsoft Networking Volumes. When this option is enabled, Retrospect copies file security information for all the files on the source.
Duplicate folder security information from servers: This options is on by default and causes Retrospect to copy NTFS folder security information from source computers running sever operating systems. When this option is enabled, Retrospect copies folder security information for all the folders on the source.
Duplicate folder security information from workstations: This option is on by default and causes Retrospect to copy NTFS folder security information from source computers running non-server operating systems, as well as from Microsoft Networking Volumes. When this option is enabled, Retrospect copies folder security information for all the folders on the source.
If you are duplicating in Wizard Mode and choose not to copy “Operating System and Applications” files, Retrospect automatically disables the “Duplicate folder security information from workstations” option. In Advanced Mode, the option is always on by default, no matter what file types you select.
Ignore file verification errors in security stream: This options is only available for duplicate operations and is off by default. When enabled, this option causes Retrospect to ignore verification errors with security streams on NTFS volumes.
These options are available with all types of operations except restore and transfer.
Open File backup is an add-on product to the main Retrospect application. If the backup computer is installed with Retrospect Single Server (Disk-to-Disk), Single Server, or Multi Server and you have a license code for Open File Backup, you can back up open files on Windows computers. To back up open files on a Windows computer, it must have an NTFS volume. Click Configure>Licenses to view your current licenses or purchase new ones.
Open Files can be backed up, archived, and duplicated. If you have the Open File Backup add-on, this option is on by default.
To restore files that were backed up with Open File Backup, make sure to close or stop the application that uses the open files on the destination volume.
Back Up/Duplicate Open Files allows Retrospect to copy busy files which could otherwise not be copied. It is on by default.
Protect Multi-Volume Datasets backs up or archives applications that store files on more than one volume.
Stop when open files cannot be backed up/duplicated causes Retrospect to halt the operation if the retry timeout occurs or if the system configuration does not support Open File backup. When this option is off, Retrospect backs up or duplicates all other files (i.e., files that are not open).
Disk inactivity threshold is the amount of time Retrospect waits for the source disk to be idle in order to proceed with Open File Backup. When the threshold is reached, Retrospect waits again until the retry timeout occurs. The default threshold is 5000 milliseconds.
Retry timeout is the total amount of time allotted for Retrospect to monitor disk inactivity, looking for its opportunity to copy open files. When it times out Retrospect either halts the operation immediately or continues without Open File Backup, depending on the above “Stop” option. The default time is 10 minutes.
These options are available with all types of operations except restore and transfer.
Force backup of Microsoft Outlook data causes Retrospect to close Microsoft Outlook in order to back up Outlook data files. After Retrospect copies the files, you must manually relaunch Outlook.
Retrospect has some SQL Server options that are available only for backup operations.
Backup type lets you specify the type of SQL database backup to perform. By default, Retrospect performs a full backup.
Other SQL Server options are only available when restoring SQL databases.
Use new database name for restore database lets you specify a new name for the restored database.
Use custom path for restore database data and log files lets you specify a destination path for the restored files.
Restore only records before point in time lets you specify a time and date for restoring transactional logs. Retrospect will only restore records from before the specified date and time.
Make SQL database operational tells the SQL server to make the database operational after the restore operation is complete. Turn this option off only if you need to restore additional differential or transactional Snapshots after the current operation has executed.
Retrospect has some Exchange Server options that are available only for backup operations.
Backup type lets you specify the type of Exchange database backup to perform. By default, Retrospect performs a full backup.
Other Exchange Server options are only available when restoring Exchange databases.
Use custom path for restore log files lets you specify a destination path for the restored files.
Leave Exchange database operational tells the Exchange server to make the database operational after the restore operation is complete. Turn this option off only if you need to restore additional differential or transactional Snapshots after the current operation has executed.
Mount database after restore allows users to log into the database after it is restored. Turn this option off only if you need to restore additional differential or transactional Snapshots after the current operation has executed.
These options are available with all types of operations except transfers. The specific options change according to the operation. No option in this category affects Windows or Linux clients.
Macintosh Client options for a backup or archive operation.
Macintosh Client options for a duplicate operation.
Macintosh Client options for a restore operation.
Use attribute modification date when matching: This option is available for backup, archive, duplicate, and restore operations. By default, it is enabled for all operations except Archive (which does not match files at all unless you choose to do so). When this option is enabled, Retrospect uses the attribute modification date to identify and copy files for which only the extended attributes or ACLs are different. For example, if you are backing up a file that was backed up previously and you modify the ACLs on that file (but make no other changes to it), the only way for Retrospect to know that the file is different (and therefore should be backed up again) is by looking at the attribute modification date.
Extended attributes and ACLs are only supported on Mac OS X 10.4 and later.
Set source (volume’s/folders’/files’) backup time: These options, not available with duplicate operations, record a backup time for each source volume, folder, or file. (The Mac OS keeps track of the creation date, modification date, and backup date for each file, folder, and volume.) Using these options allows you to create selectors based on the “backup time,” which is the moment execution begins. Retrospect cannot set the source backup time on a client computer if its Retrospect Client control panel has been set to allow read access only. By default, the volume option is on and files and folders options are off.
When matching files, Retrospect does not use the backup time stamp. It uses more sophisticated and flexible criteria, as described in How Retrospect Works.
Never shut down/Shut down when done: This option specifies how Retrospect handles the Finder’s Shut Down process on a client Macintosh after Retrospect is done with its operation.
The desired behavior only happens when the client Macintosh is waiting for backup as described in Execution Preferences.
Shut down when done completes shut down unless the client is scheduled for another operation within the look ahead time period (see Schedule Preferences).
Never shut down prevents the operation for which this option is selected from shutting down the client.
By default, the option is set to Shut down when done
Recompute Icon Positions: This option is only available for restore operations. It manipulates the positions of file and folder icons copied to a Mac OS destination to prevent overlapping of icons. By default, this option is off.
Restore Access Control Lists (ACLs)/Duplicate Access Control Lists (ACLs): This option is available for restore and duplicate operations. It is on by default when restoring an entire volume and off by default when restoring files and folders.
ACLs are only supported on Mac OS X 10.4 and later.
This option is available for backup, duplicate, and restore operations only. It does not affect Window or Mac OS clients.
Use status modified date when matching This option is enabled by default for backup, duplicate, and restore entire volume operation. It is off by default for find files restore and files and folders restores. When this option is enabled, Retrospect uses the status modified date to identify and copy files for which only the extended attributes are different. For example, if you are backing up a file that was backed up previously and you modify the extended attributes on that file (but make no other changes to it), the only way for Retrospect to know that the file is different (and therefore should be backed up again) is by looking at the status modified date.
This option is only supported on file systems and kernels that support extended attributes.
Retrospect provides a number of tools to help you effectively manage your Backup Sets. Click Configure>Backup Sets from the navigation bar to view a list of current Backup Sets, organize the Backup Set list, configure, create, and delete Backup Sets, and add new members to existing Backup Sets.
To view a list of the Backup Sets currently in use by Retrospect, click Configure>Backup Sets. The Backup Sets window displays.
You can modify the list by:
To create a new Backup Set, click Create New. The process of creating a new Backup Set is described in Creating Backup Sets.
If your Backup Set does not appear in the Backup Sets window, you can add it to the list using its Catalog File. To start, click More. The Access More Backup Sets window displays.
From this window you can:
Open an existing Catalog File: If you know the location of the Backup Set’s Catalog File, click the Open button. Browse to the location where the Catalog File is stored, select the file, then click Open.
Recreate the Catalog File from the storage media: Click the Recreate button. Recreate the Catalog File as described in Recreating a Catalog.
After you open or recreate the Catalog File, its associated Backup Set appears in the list.
You can remove a Backup Set from the Backup Set list by selecting it and clicking the Forget button. Click OK when prompted to remove the Backup Set. Forgetting a Backup Set does not affect the contents of the Backup Set, nor does it delete its Catalog File. However, it does remove the Backup Set from any scripts that use it.
As long as you don’t delete the Catalog File and erase the media on which the Backup Set is stored, you can always add the Backup Set back to the list later. This process is described in Recreating Old Backup Sets.
When you have to manage a large number of Backup Sets, you can use folders to help organize them. For example, you might want to create folders for inactive Backup Sets that you have moved to an off-site safe deposit box.
The folders you create in the Backup Sets window are for organizational purposes only and do not exist outside of Retrospect.
To create and populate a folder:
In the Backup Sets window, click the New Folder icon in the toolbar.
Enter a name for the folder and click Create.
Drag and drop the Backup Set(s) you want to move into the folder.
You can also right-click the Backup Sets you want to put in the folder and select Cut from the pop-up menu. The right-click the folder and select Paste.
You can create new Backup Sets from either the Backup Sets window (Configure>Backup Sets) or from the Backup Set Selection window that appears when setting up some immediate and scripted operations (e.g. specifying the destination for an Advanced Mode backup).
Click the Create New button to create a new Backup Set. The Create New Backup Set Wizard launches.
Read the information in the introductory screen, then click Next to begin creating a new Backup Set.
To skip this screen the next time you create a new Backup Set, select the check box before clicking Next.
Click an option button to select the type of backup media you want to use for this Backup Set and click Next.
Enter a unique and descriptive name in the Name field. Retrospect uses this name to identify both the Catalog File and the Backup Set media.
It is important to give the Backup Set a name before proceeding with any other steps.
Once you name a tape Backup Set, you cannot rename it later.
Set the data compression option. When the Allow Hardware Data Compression check box is selected, Retrospect uses the tape drive to compress data in this Backup Set, provided that:
The tape drive supports data compression
The Backup Set data is not encrypted
If you need to use both encryption and compression, specify an encryption option in the security dialog and use Retrospect’s software compression option. For more information, see Backup Execution Options.
Set the WORM option. Select “Make this a WORM Backup Set” to create a WORM tape Backup Set. See WORM Tape Support for more information.
To define multiple tape Backup Sets at once, select the “Go directly to defining additional tape Backup Sets” check box and click Next.
You can create up to five tape Backup Sets at one time.
Enter a name for each Backup Set you want to create and click Next.
All the Backup Sets defined here will have the same options (hardware compression, WORM, security, and Catalog File location).
Enter a unique and descriptive name in the Name field. Retrospect uses this name to identify both the Catalog File and the Backup Set media.
It is important to give the Backup Set a name before proceeding with any other steps.
Once you name a disk Backup Set, you cannot rename it later.
To specify a disk:
Click Select.
Select a hard disk or removable disk to add as storage.
+ You can browse local disks and network volumes or click Advanced to specify a UNC path to the volume you want to use.
Removable disks do not appear unless a disk is loaded in the drive.
Click OK.
Specify the maximum amount of disk space that Retrospect should use for the Backup Set data.
This only applies to hard disks. For removable disks, Retrospect uses the entire disk.
Click Next.
Enter a unique and descriptive name in the Name field. Retrospect uses this name to identify both the Catalog File and the Backup Set media.
Once you name a CD/DVD Backup Set, you cannot rename it later.
Enter a unique and descriptive name in the Name field. Retrospect uses this name to identify both the Catalog File and the Backup Set media.
It is important to give the Backup Set a name before proceeding with any other steps.
File Backup Sets can be renamed with the Windows Explorer.
If you want to save the file Backup Set data to a location other than the default, click Browse, specify the location, then click Save.
This screen allows you to specify a password to restrict access to the Backup Set, with the option to encrypt the Backup Set data.
Using encryption increases backup time.
Choose an option from the Backup Set Security list box:
None: provides no password protection for the Backup Set and does not encrypt the Backup Set data.
Password only: provides password protection for the Backup Set. Stored data is not encrypted.
SimpleCrypt: provides password protection and encrypts Backup Set data using Retrospect’s proprietary encryption format.
DES: provides password protection and encrypts Backup Set data using the Data Encryption Standard.
AES-128: provides password protection and encrypts Backup Set data using the Advanced Encryption Standard (128 bit).
AES-256: provides password protection and encrypts Backup Set data using the Advanced Encryption Standard (256 bit).
If you forget your password you cannot access your Backup Set. There is no “magic key” or “back door” to circumvent the encryption. Not even Retrospect Technical Support can help you.
If you set a password and want Retrospect to remember it under certain circumstances, select an option from the remember password list box.
Remember password for any access: saves the password for use with all immediate and automated operations.
Remember password for scripted access (default): saves the password for use with automated operations only. For example, if the Backup Set is the destination for an overnight backup script, Retrospect will not require the password to be entered manually.
Do not remember password for any access: requires you to enter the password to access the Backup Set in any way. For example, you cannot back up to it or view its properties without entering the password. After you enter the password once, you do not have to enter it again until you quit and restart Retrospect.
You can change this setting at a later time by modifying the Backup Set’s properties. See Configuring Backup Sets for more information.
These options are only available disk Backup Sets. The selection you make tells Retrospect what to do when the hard drives to which you are backing up becomes full (or uses all the disk space you allotted).
You can change or turn off a disk Backup Set’s grooming options at any time. See The Options tab for more information.
Ask for a new disk: When the backup drive fills up, Retrospect asks for another hard drive on which to store additional backups. All of your backups on the original hard drive are preserved.
Keep only the last n backups: Specify the number of backups you want to preserve for each source when the backup drive fills up. Retrospect then automatically “grooms” (i.e., deletes) all the other, older backups on the hard drive to make room for new data.
Keep according to Retrospect’s defined policy: When the backup drive fills up, Retrospect uses its own grooming policy to delete old backups. At a minimum, Retrospect’s policy retains two backups for each source. Retrospect keeps the last backup of the day for each source from the two most recent days on which each source was backed up. If the disk has enough space available, Retrospect keeps a backup of each source for every day in the last week, a backup for each week in the last month, and a backup for each previous month.
Grooming deletes files and folders. These files and folders cannot be recovered. Before enabling grooming, make sure you have a backup policy that protects your critical files and folders.
Enter a location (or use the default location) to save the Catalog File that keeps track of the contents of the Backup Set.
For file Backup Sets the Catalog File and Backup Set are stored together in the location chosen earlier.
Do not save the Catalog on a removable disk that will be used as a backup destination. Retrospect needs to access the Catalog on a readily accessible volume, preferably the local hard disk.
This screen includes information specific to the type of Backup Set you created. Read the information, then click Finish to exit the wizard.
For tape Backup Sets, you can select the check box and click finish to add one or more tapes in your tape drive as members of this Backup Set. See Adding Tapes to a Backup Set for more information.
This option is not available if you created multiple tape Backup Sets at one time.
You can view and modify the properties of existing Backup Sets at any time. Click Configure>Backup Sets to view a list of current Backup Sets. Select the Backup Set to configure, then click Properties.
The Backup Set Properties window displays.
The window is divided into six tabs:
The Members tab (not available for file Backup Sets)
The Binding tab (only available for tape Backup Sets)
The Summary tab displays general information about the Backup Set, including:
Used shows how much space is used on the current Backup Set member and how many files are stored on that member.
Available shows how much space remains on the current Backup Set member.
Storage summarizes the number of media members and sessions in the Backup Set and the number of Snapshots in its Catalog File.
Catalog File shows the path to the location where the Backup Set’s Catalog is stored.
The Options tab has controls for the Catalog File, media action, and remembering passwords.
The Catalog File compression option allows you to compress the Catalog File, saving space on your hard disk.
When the Fast Catalog rebuild option is selected (Tape only), Retrospect stores a copy of the Catalog File on each new media member. This greatly reduces the time required to recreate a lost or damaged Catalog File.
The Password options allow you to choose the level of password protection for secure Backup Sets. Password options are not available if you did not specify encryption or password protection when you created the Backup Set.
Ask for any access: This option requires you to enter the password to access the Backup Set in any way. You cannot back up to it, view its properties, etc. without entering the password. After you enter the password once, you do not have to enter it again until you quit and restart Retrospect.
Save for scripted access (default): This option saves the password for use with unattended scripts only. For example, if the secure Backup Set is the destination for a scripted overnight backup, Retrospect will not require the password to be entered manually.
Save for any access: This option saves the password for all types of operations, immediate, automated, attended, and unattended. It is the equivalent of not having a password at all.
Changes to the password access option do not take effect until you exit and restart Retrospect.
The Media Action button allows you to specify the backup action, i.e. how the storage media will be handled the next time you perform a backup to this Backup Set. For more information on backup actions, see Backup Actions.
Normal continues to append data to the current Backup Set and media.
Recycle erases and reuses the media, in addition to erasing the Catalog. This is known as resetting the Backup Set.
New Backup Set creates a new Backup Set that expects a new medium.
New Member requests a new member to add to the current Backup Set. New member is useful when the current member (CD/DVD, tape, or disk) is almost full and you wish to get a complete, unattended execution without changing media.
Groom initiates a grooming operation to remove the files and folders in a disk Backup Set that are no longer required by the Backup Set’s specified grooming policy. Use this option or a grooming script to delete older files and folders prior to the time when Retrospect requires more disk space, for example during a backup. See Scripted Grooming for more information.
The Capacity button, available only with tape Backup Sets, allows you to change Retrospect’s estimate of your tape capacity. The capacity estimates are used for display purposes only and do not affect how much data Retrospect will copy to a medium because it always uses all available space. Leave the default (automatic) to let Retrospect estimate the capacity, unless your media consistently get higher capacity than Retrospect estimates. To see the actual capacity, click the Members tab. Doing this for a few of your Backup Sets that have full tapes will give you a good idea of the useful capacity of your media.
Grooming options are available for disk Backup Sets only. Disk Backup Sets can be set up to automatically “groom” (i.e. delete) old data to make room for new data when Retrospect finds the disk is full or hits a specified disk limit. You can either specify the minimum number of Snapshots you want to retain for each source, or use the Retrospect grooming policy. At a minimum, Retrospect’s policy retains two Snapshots for each source. Retrospect keeps the last Snapshot of the day for each source from the two most recent days on which each source was backed up. If the disk has enough space available, Retrospect keeps a Snapshot of each source for every day in the last week, a Snapshot for each week in the last month, and a Snapshot for each previous month. See Disk Grooming for more information.
Grooming deletes files and folders. These files and folders cannot be recovered. Before enabling grooming, make sure you have a backup policy that protects your critical files and folders.
For more information on setting disk grooming options in the Backup Set Creation Wizard, see Grooming Options for Disk Backup Sets.
The Snapshots tab shows the active Snapshots in the Backup Set Catalog File and provides basic information about each Snapshot.
Select a Snapshot and click Properties to view the Snapshot’s Backup Set, type, user, creation date and time, OS, and file system.
Click Add to retrieve older Snapshots from the storage media. In the Snapshot Retrieval window, select a session, then click Retrieve.
Select a Snapshot and click Forget to remove the Snapshot from the Catalog File.(The Snapshot remains on the backup media and can be retrieved later). When you forget a Snapshot from a disk Backup Set with grooming enabled, Retrospect deletes the selected Snapshot and its associated files. (The Snapshot and files cannot be retrieved later).
Select a Snapshot and click Browse to view a list of the files and folders in the Backup Set.
For disk backup Sets that have a grooming option enabled, you can select individual Snapshots to manually groom, thereby reclaiming disk space.
When you manually groom a Snapshot, Retrospect also grooms all other Snapshots in the Backup Set that require grooming based on the grooming policy you set. See The Options tab for information on grooming policies.
Choose Configure>Backup Sets from the Retrospect navigation bar.
Select a disk Backup Set that has grooming enabled.
Click the Snapshots tab.
If the Snapshot you want to groom is not displayed in the Snapshots list, click Add to retrieve it from the disk.
Select a Snapshot to groom and click Forget.
Click Forget to remove the selected Snapshot from the Backup Set Catalog File.
Close the Backup Set properties window.
The grooming dialog displays.
Click Now to groom the Backup Set now.
If you want to groom the Backup Set later, click Later. Retrospect automatically grooms the Backup Set during the next grooming session (as determined by the Backup Set’s grooming policy).
It is possible to unlock Snapshots that Retrospect is protecting from grooming.
Choose Configure>Backup Sets from the Retrospect navigation bar.
Select a disk Backup Set that has grooming enabled.
Click the Snapshots tab.
Right-click a locked Snapshot 
and choose Unlock.
The selected Snapshot is now unprotected and may be groomed (i.e., deleted) from the Backup Set.
You can also protect critical backups by locking individual Snapshots, thereby preventing them from being groomed.
To lock a Snapshot:
Choose Configure>Backup Sets from the Retrospect navigation bar.
Select a disk Backup Set that has grooming enabled.
Click the Snapshots tab.
Right-click a Snapshot and choose Lock.
The selected Snapshot is now locked and it displays the lock icon 
next to its name. This Snapshot cannot be groomed.
The Session tab lists all archive and backup sessions in the Backup Set. You can see a list of the files backed up in any session by selecting the session and clicking the Browse button.
The Members tab summarizes the media members of a Backup Set and lets you control its media.
This tab is not available for file Backup Sets.
If a member of a Backup Set gets lost or damaged, you can designate it as missing. This lets Retrospect know that the files previously saved to that member are no longer available.
For tape and CD/DVD Backup Sets, select the missing or damaged member, then click Set Missing.
For disk Backup Sets, select the member, click Properties, then check “This member is lost or damaged”.
During the next backup or archive operation, Retrospect will copy the missing files to a new Backup Set member, ensuring that they are protected.
Tape and disk Backup Sets have an Add button on the Members tab that allows you to configure new Backup Set members in advance. See Adding Members to Backup Sets for more information.
For hard disk Backup Sets, you can select any member and choose to skip it. When a member is marked as skipped, Retrospect automatically looks for the next member (or a new member).
To skip a hard disk Backup Set member:
Select the member you want to skip, then click Properties.
Select the “Skip this member” checkbox.
If Retrospect uses up all the available space on the disk (or it experiences problems backing up to the disk) it automatically selects this checkbox. You can change the amount of usable memory (if any is available) and deselect the checkbox and Retrospect will try to use this member again.
The Binding tab is only available for tape Backup Sets and if you have a license for Advanced Tape Support.
When using multiple tape drives with Retrospect, you may want to “bind” a Backup Set to a specific drive. For example, if you have two tape drives, a faster drive and a slower drive, you may want to bind the Backup Set for your client computers to the slow drive, and the Backup Set for the local server to the fast drive. That way the networking speed and drive speed will be more in sync and the tape drives will have to spend less time repositioning the heads.
By default, Retrospect allows Backup Sets to use any available tape drive:
To bind a tape drive:
Click the “Selected tape drives” radio button.
Select one or more of the tape drives.
You can also remove a binding by selecting “Any tape drive”.
Close the Properties window.
For more information on binding, see Binding Tape Backup Sets to Tape Drives.
To save time and prevent unattended backups from stopping when media fills up, you can predefine Backup Set members for tape and disk Backup Sets.
The process for each type of Backup Set varies slightly:
You can prepare disks for use ahead of time by adding them as members of a Backup Set. When Retrospect is executing a script unattended and requires additional storage space, it will automatically use the disks you added as members.
To add disk members:
Click Configure>Backup Sets.
Select a disk Backup Set and click Properties.
Click the Members tab.
Click Add.
Browse to the disk you want to add, select it, and click OK.
For hard disks, a window that appears summarizes information about the disk you are adding and lets you specify how much of the storage space to dedicate to the Backup Set.
Click the Advanced button, to specify additional options.
A location for the backup data folder. If you don’t specify a location, the folder is automatically saved on the root level of the disk.
A password for a network volume so Retrospect can automatically log in during unattended backups.
With non-system local volumes, you can also have Retrospect erase and rename the disk.
Click OK to add the disk.
It is a good idea to prepare tapes for use ahead of time by adding them as members of a Backup Set. When Retrospect is executing a script unattended and requires additional storage space, it will automatically use the tapes you added as members.
To add tape members:
Click Configure>Backup Sets.
Select a tape Backup Set and click Properties.
Click the Members tab.
Click Add.
Select a tape to add to the Backup Set and click Add.
If you have a tape library, you can select multiple tapes to add at one time.
Click Done, then close the tape Backup Set Properties window when you’re done adding members.
You can also add members to a tape backup Set from the Storage Devices window. See Preparing Tapes for Use.
This section provides instructions for various tasks you may need to perform in maintaining the scripts you have created. Maintenance tasks include:
Before exiting Retrospect to run a script unattended, it is a good idea to confirm the script is valid. You can also make sure the required media is available in the backup device.
To check a script
From the navigation bar, click Automate> Validate Scripts.
Select the script to test and click OK.
Retrospect checks the script definition to make sure that a Source and Destination have been properly defined. A message informs you if the script is missing necessary information. Click Edit to modify the script.
If the script is complete, a message appears telling you the script is ready.
The information in this window depends on the type of Backup Set and the media currently loaded in the backup device.
Click OK to close the window, or click Check Media to have Retrospect check whether the required Backup Set member is available.
When you exit Retrospect, it automatically prompts you to check media for the next scheduled valid script.
At any time, you can modify the settings you specified when creating a script—you can choose different source volumes or destination Backup Sets, change the file selection criteria, the options, or the schedule. You modify scripts from the script summary window.
To modify script settings:
From the navigation menu, click Automate> Manage Scripts.
Select the script to modify and click Edit.
Modifying the script is the same as creating it. See Automated Operations.
Click the Save icon in the toolbar to save the modified script.
You can base a new script on an existing one by duplicating a script and then modifying the settings of the duplicate. Scripts can also be renamed or permanently deleted.
To duplicate, rename, or delete a script
Click Automate from the navigation bar, then click Manage Scripts to display the list of scripts.
Select the script to duplicate, rename or delete.
To duplicate the script, click Duplicate from the toolbar.
Enter a name for the new script and click New.
To rename the script, click Rename from the toolbar.
Enter a new name for the script and click OK.
To delete a script, click Delete from the toolbar.
Click OK to confirm deletion. The script is removed from the list and its scheduled executions are eliminated.
If you do not want to receive a confirmation message when you delete or duplicate scripts, press and hold the Shift key as you issue these commands.
Retrospect maintains a list of upcoming scripts. You can view this list to see which scripts are scheduled to run and when. You can also modify the execution schedule by deleting scheduled events or by editing a script and changing its schedule.
Click Activity Monitor >Scheduled , to view the execution schedule for all scheduled scripts.
To view scheduled Proactive Scripts, click the Proactive tab in the Activity Monitor.
The Scheduled pane displays the date, time, and day of the week that upcoming scripts are scheduled to run. It also lists the script name, backup action, and destination.
To delete a scheduled event and all prior events for the same script, click the event to select it then click Delete. Click OK to confirm deletion. The event and all prior events for the same script are removed.
To edit the script associated with an event listed in this window, click the event to select it then click Edit Script. The script summary window appears, and you can click the Schedule button to modify the schedule.
For details on modifying schedules, see Scheduling Scripts.
If you do not want a script to run for a period of time, you can turn the script schedule off and specify when to turn it on again. This is useful, for example, if your office closes a week for holidays and nobody will be there to change media in the backup device.
To skip script execution:
Click Automate>Manage Scripts to display the list of scripts.
Select a script then click Edit.
The script summary window appears.
Click Schedule.
Retrospect lists the currently scheduled dates and times for this script.
Click the Skip scheduled execution checkbox at the bottom of the window.
A date and time field appears at the bottom of the window.
Set the date and time at which the script is to again be allowed to execute, then click OK.
Retrospect ignores execution events prior to the date. . When multiple schedulers are shown in the script schedule window, the selected scheduler is not the only one skipped by this feature. It skips _all_ the scheduled executions for this script.
You can adjust Retrospect preferences to modify the application’s behavior to best meet your needs. Retrospect preferences are global, that is, they affect all operations performed by Retrospect.
To access Retrospect preferences, click Configure from the navigation bar, then click the Preferences button. The Preferences window displays.
The list box on the left contains the category options. The options for the selected category appear on the right. Set the options, then click OK to save your selections.
If you change the default setting for an option, the category name will appear in bold in the list box. To restore the default settings, select the category name and click Use Default.
The Execution preferences control Retrospect’s execution units, look ahead time, and password protection, among other things.
There are four categories of Execution preferences:
Depending on which edition of Retrospect you have and which add-ons are licensed, you can: change configuration settings during execution; execute independent operations in parallel; handle resource conflicts (including serializing conflicting executions); have the ProactiveAI Backup system kick off multiple executions; and use multiple drives in a tape library simultaneously. See Multiple Executions for more information.
Retrospect Desktop does not support multiple concurrent executions.
Execution units lets you specify the maximum number of concurrent operations Retrospect can run. If your edition of Retrospect supports multiple execution units, this option is automatically set to the optimal number based on the backup computer’s total amount of memory.
The software allows up to 8 concurrent executions, provided the computer has enough memory and backup devices to support such a configuration.
Execution history limit specifies the maximum number of operations to save in the Activity Monitor’s History tab. Once this maximum is reached, Retrospect replaces the oldest operations with newer ones to stay within the limit. See History Tab for more information.
Execution event limit specifies the maximum number of events to save in the Activity Monitor’s Events tab. Once this maximum is reached, Retrospect replaces the oldest events with newer ones to stay within the limit. See Events Tab for more information.
Look ahead time: n hours defines the number of hours Retrospect looks ahead for scheduled script executions. This affects what happens when you begin to shut down the backup computer or a Macintosh client, and what Retrospect does when it completes an unattended operation. The default preference is twelve hours.
For more information, see Alerts Preferences, Macintosh Client Options, and Startup Preferences.
Schedule lets you define a window during which scripts are allowed to execute. This preference affects all scripts, except Proactive Client Backup scripts, but it can be modified for individual scripts. The default window during which scripts are allowed to run is twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week.
To customize the schedule:
Click Schedule.
The Weekly Schedule window displays.
To select a day of the week, click it. Click and drag to select contiguous days of the week. Use the Shift or Control key and click or drag to select days without deselecting the previous selection.
To change a time, click on it and type or use the control.
Start is the earliest time at which scheduled executions may begin.
Wrap Up is the period of time (in hours and minutes) before the stop time, during which Retrospect should complete the current operation but not begin new operations.
Stop is the time at which Retrospect absolutely must halt scripted operations (until the next start time).
You can also set times by dragging the icons on the hourly schedule bar, but you should first experiment by typing the times to see how these controls work.
When a time is changed, the hourly schedule bar changes accordingly to graphically represent the start, wrap-up, and stop times.
+ Each selected day has a scaled-down hourly schedule bar, though it does not have controls.
+ The Always and Never buttons set the daily operating time to twenty-four hours and none, respectively.
Click OK when done.
Protect allows you to specify a password that must be entered to start Retrospect manually, though it does not interfere with automatic script execution. If a user enters three incorrect passwords an error is recorded in the Operations Log. By default, there is no password protection.
When protection is added Retrospect enables the Lock Application item in the File menu. Choose this item to force Retrospect into locked, unattended mode to prevent someone from interrupting executions. Click the mouse or press a key to enter the password and unlock the application.
Lock Retrospect after 15 minutes of user inactivity allows you to specify that Retrospect should automatically lock after 15 minutes. When Retrospect is locked, you will need to enter the password to unlock it again. You can only select this preference when Retrospect is password-protected.
Unprotect lets you enter the password and remove the protection from the Retrospect application. Unprotect appears only when Retrospect already has a password.
Run Retrospect as… lets you choose the user account under which Retrospect runs.
Run Retrospect as the logged-in user, provides access to only those resources available to that user. In addition, when you select this option and Retrospect is launched automatically to run a script, it will run under the local system account and only have access to resources available to that account.
What this means is that if you choose to run Retrospect as the logged-in user, you may not have access to SQL or Exchange servers or network volumes.
Always run Retrospect as the specified user, allows you to specify a user account that Retrospect will run under whether it is manually or automatically launched. See Auto Launching Retrospect for more information.
If you plan to back up SQL or Exchange servers, or need access to network volumes, you should create an account that has administrator access to all of those resources and enter that information here.
For SQL and Exchange, make sure the account has the necessary privileges to access all the database servers you want to back up. See SQL Server Agent and Exchange Server Agent for more information.
For network volumes make sure the account has the necessary privileges to access any volume you want to use as a source, destination, or location for saving Catalog Files.
Enter either your domain or local computer name into the “Log on to” field, depending on your situation.
Run Retrospect in the Terminal Services session lets you choose to run Retrospect in the Terminal Services session (if available) when the application is automatically launched. See Terminal Services and Remote Desktop.
Enable Retrospect Launcher service registers the launcher application as a service so it is always running. This allows the auto-launch preference described below, the alert preferences described in Alerts Preferences, and the reporting preference described in Reporting Preferences.
Automatically launch Retrospect automatically starts Retrospect when a scheduled script is waiting to execute. By default, this preference is turned on.
If the Stop all execution activity button on the Retrospect toolbar is selected, this preference is turned off and disabled. It is enabled and turned on again when the Stop button is deselected. See Stop Button for more information.
Stay in Retrospect, Exit, Log off, Restart, and Shut down determine what Retrospect does when a script is completed and no additional scripts are scheduled in the specified look ahead time. (See Schedule Preferences.) By default, this preference is set to Exit.
Show taskbar icon tells Retrospect whether or not to display the Retrospect icon in the Windows taskbar’s system tray. This preference is on by default. See The System Tray Icon for more information.
The Clients preferences control the creation of private and public keys and automatically adding clients.
These preferences are not available for Retrospect Desktop.
There are two categories of Clients preferences:
Create keys creates a private key certificate (privkey.dat) and a public key certificate (pubkey.dat) at C:\ProgramData\Retrospect\. These keys can be used to add multiple Retrospect Client for Windows users to Retrospect’s Backup Clients Database at once. See Adding Clients for more information.
Automatically add clients enables Retrospect to automatically discover Retrospect Client for Windows users that were installed with the public certificate key and add them to the Backup Clients Database. Select the check box, then specify how frequently (in days or hours) Retrospect should look for new clients. When you click OK to accept your selections, Retrospect immediately looks for new clients and then waits the specified period of time before checking again.
By default, Retrospect adds the clients it finds to the “Automatically Added Clients” folder in the Backup Clients container. If you enable this preference and choose the “Automatically Added Clients” folder as the source for a scripted backup, Retrospect will automatically add new clients to the folder and back them up without requiring any action from the backup administrator.
This preference only adds clients that Retrospect can discover using the multicast or subnet broadcast methods. See Access Methods for more information on these methods.
The Media preferences control how Retrospect works with storage media including media requests, erasing media, retensioning tapes and more.
There are four categories of Media preferences:
These options only affect media that already have data on them.
Automatically reuse named media When this preference is selected, Retrospect automatically erases destination media with the same name when the media already contains data. By default this option is selected.
For example, if this option is selected and you do a Recycle backup to a tape Backup Set member named “1-Backup Set A”, and a member with that name is loaded in your tape drive, Retrospect will automatically erase and reuse the tape. In this case, Retrospect does not display a warning dialog asking if you really want to erase the tape.
Minimal erase confirmation When this preference is selected Retrospect skips the confirmation message that normally appears when you proceed with a backup operation and Retrospect needs to erase the media. By default, this preference is turned off.
For example, let’s say you do a Normal backup to a tape member Backup Set named “1-Backup Set A”, but the only member loaded in your tape drive has a different name. Retrospect displays the media request window in which you can select the currently loaded tape. If the minimal erase option is checked and you select the tape and click Proceed, Retrospect will erase and use the tape. If the minimal erase option is unchecked, Retrospect displays a warning dialog asking if you really want to erase the tape.
Retension tapes winds a tape forward to the end and back to even out the tension and alignment. (This applies only to some drives.) By default, this preference is turned off.
Don’t eject removable disks prevents Retrospect from ejecting removable disks when it needs other media in operations. By default, this preference is turned off.
Eject tapes and discs when exiting does so with tape cartridges and CD/DVD discs when Retrospect exits. By default, this preference is turned off.
Stop Removable Storage Manager causes Retrospect to automatically stop Windows Removable Storage service when Retrospect scans the communications bus for devices. With the service stopped, which is the default for this preference, you cannot use the Removable Storage management console to manage tape libraries and other storage devices in conjunction with the operating system’s built-in backup utility.
If you need the Removable Storage service intact for managing devices other than those used by Retrospect, you can deselect this preference and configure Removable Storage in order use both simultaneously. See Using Retrospect and Removable Storage Simultaneously.
Deselecting this preference may cause problems if you don’t also configure Removable Storage.
Use new media automatically after write failure allows Retrospect to continue backup, archive, and transfer operations to a tape library or autoloader, even after a media failure. If this option is selected and Retrospect encounters a media failure, it looks for the next available tape and uses it instead.
The tape that caused the media failure will appear with a red tape icon in Retrospect’s Storage Devices window.
Media request timeout specifies a period of time for Retrospect to wait for media during execution. When the time elapses, the execution stops and Retrospect proceeds according to the next scheduled event. This preference is off by default, so it never times out.
Automatic skip to blank media allows Retrospect to use any available blank tape, disk, or CD/DVD when the current member of the Backup Set is not available; even when the current member is not full. Retrospect performs a Normal backup (i.e., only new and changed files since the last backup) to the blank media, which is added as a member of the destination Backup Set.
By default, this option is not selected and Retrospect always displays a media request when the current member of the Backup Set is not available. See New Member Backups for information on a related backup action.
This preference should not be turned on when you are using WORM tapes. Since WORM tapes cannot be erased or reused, you want to make sure each tape is filled with data before moving to a new tape.
Generate MD5 digests during backup operations enables the Media verification option for backup and archive operations, as well as for offline verification. See Scripted Verification, Backup Execution Options, and Verifying Backup Set Media for more information.
Disable this preference only if you experience significant performance issues during backups.
The Notification preferences control the types of alerts Retrospect displays, the size of the log, and e-mail notifications.
There are three categories of Notification preferences:
Check validity of next script does so when you quit Retrospect. It automatically verifies and displays information about the next script scheduled to execute. By default, this preference is turned on.
Notify for failures and media displays an alert message if errors occur during the automatic execution of a script. It also displays an alert message when media will be needed in the future. By default, this preference is turned on. This option is only available if the Enable Retrospect Launcher service unattended execution preference (see Startup Preferences) is on.
Report HP Compaq SMART hard drive errors opens Retrospect and starts a backup wizard when Retrospect learns of errors on HP Compaq SMART hard drive volumes. By default, this preference is turned on.
Log size limit (M Bytes) maintains the Operations Log size within the limit you set in the field provided. You can set the limit anywhere between 1MB and 100MB. When the log reaches the limit, the oldest portion of the log is deleted to keep its size within the limit. The default size is 10 MB.
Export the backup report and operations log produces or updates a backup report file (Backup Report.utx) and an operations log file (operations_log.utx) after each execution. The files are stored in a location you specify with the Select Location button.
See Printing or Exporting the Backup Report and Printing or Exporting the Log for more information on how to export these files manually.
Send e-mail for failure and media requests, when selected, enables Retrospect to send e-mail to one or more recipients after failed operations or media requests.
Send e-mail for successful events, when selected, enables Retrospect to send e-mail to one or more recipients after successful operations.
This option is only available if the Send e-mail for failure and media requests check box is selected.
If e-mail notifications are enabled, Retrospect automatically enters the host computer name in the Backup server name field. You can enter a different name. This information is included in the subject field of e-mail notifications.
Enter the sending account in the From address field and enter one or more recipient accounts (separated by semicolons) in the To address field. Enter the mail server DNS name (e.g., mail.retrospect.com) in the Outgoing mail server field.
If your mail server requires SMTP authentication, select that check box and enter the user name and password.
Proactive versus other scripts – As Proactive Backup intelligently adjusts priorities of backup sources, a report email is sent per backup source. For other scripts, when all sources of a script are completed, a single email is sent. However, if an event requires action, such as request for backup media, the email is sent immediately instead of at the end of script execution.
Improved Email Reporting – Improved email reporting provides a wealth of information about each backup. The Operations Log is now included in the report email to provide complete insight into each backup. With these detailed logs you can monitor backups from any device and filter emails based on errors or warnings to hone in on issues as soon as they happen. To simplify filtering using various email clients, the log is included as part of the email body, instead of as an attachment. The log format and contents are consistent with logs shown in the Retrospect user interface.
Enable notification for external applications allows applications, such as EMC Legato NetWorker Management Console (NMC) to connect to Retrospect and display Retrospect events. This allows a backup administrator to monitor both NetWorker and Retrospect backup servers from a single console.
Retrospect can only notify external applications about events if the Retrospect Launcher service is enabled. See Startup Preferences.
For more information on events, see Events Tab. For more information on monitoring and managing Retrospect backup servers from the NetWorker Management Console, see the NMC documentation.
This preference is not available for Retrospect Desktop.
Automatically check for available updates is selected by default. When selected, Retrospect checks for free updates to your current version of Retrospect on a regular basis. If Retrospect finds an update, it displays a list of all available updates, which you can download and install. Retrospect Updates are free downloads that provide additional device support or address issues with your current version of Retrospect. Regardless of whether or not this preference is not enabled, you can always manually search for updates by choosing Retrospect Updates from the Help menu. See Manually Checking for Retrospect Updates for more information.
Retrospect cannot check for updates if the backup computer does not have an Internet connection.
Use a proxy server to connect to the internet lets you specify proxy server information. A proxy server is an intermediary between an internal network and the Internet. If you are not sure if you use a proxy server or not, contact your network administrator. If you use a proxy server to connect to the Internet, select the check box and enter the proxy server information and port number here, for example, cache.satchmo.com, port 8080.
After installing Retrospect, the backup computer’s Windows Sounds control panel includes the Retrospect Attention Sound and Completion Sound. You can assign any available sound to these events.
If you ever decide to switch backup computers, you must do more than just install Retrospect and your backup device on the new machine. You must move some other files to the new backup computer in order to keep Retrospect’s preferences, clients, catalogs, scripts, and schedules intact.
To move Retrospect to a new backup computer:
Install Retrospect on the new computer.
Copy the Catalog Files (with name extensions .rbc and .rbf ) from the old backup computer to the new computer.
The default location that Catalog Files are saved is ..\My Documents\ Retrospect Catalog Files.
Copy the configuration file (Config77.dat) from the old backup computer to the new computer.
The configuration file is saved is either in the same folder as the Retrospect application, or in ..\ProgramData\Retrospect.
Next, you must force Retrospect (on the new backup computer) to recognize the Catalog Files you just moved.
The easiest way to do this is to select all of the catalogs in the Windows Explorer, and drag them onto the Retrospect application icon. Retrospect opens a Backup Set configuration window for each Catalog, causing it to recognize the catalogs.
If you want to back up the old computer and/or the new backup computer, you must perform a few extra steps:
If the new backup computer was previously backed up as a client, that is no longer necessary since its volumes are now local. Forget the client. Edit the sources in any Retrospect scripts which used client volumes from the new computer and add the volumes which are now local.
If you still want to back up the old backup computer you must install Retrospect client software on that machine to access its volumes with Retrospect from the new backup computer. After installing and configuring the client, add its volumes to your scripts. Click Configure>Volumes and use the Forget command to remove the previously local volumes. Forgetting volumes removes them from the volumes database and any scripts which use them.
Part of your backup strategy should be to back up the backup computer. The simplest way to do this is to include the computer in your backup scripts. The most important files to back up are Retrospect’s backup configuration file (configs.xml) and your Catalog Files (.rbc files).
You can use the Windows Explorer or Retrospect to back up these files. Periodically copy them to another volume, such as a removable disk or file server, to help you recover from a disaster more quickly. Or, set up a Retrospect duplicate script to automatically copy the files to a folder on another volume. Use the Retrospect Files selector to select appropriate files, and schedule the script to run daily, when your other backups are complete.
If you back up your backup computer to multiple Backup Sets, your catalogs and configuration are automatically covered in case of a disaster. Each Backup Set contains backups of the other Backup Sets’ catalogs. Alternatively, if you have several large catalogs, consider backing them up to their own dedicated Backup Set to help recover from a disaster or lost Catalog faster.
Catalog files are important adjuncts to Backup Sets, but face the same risks as your files since they often share the same hard disk. If you lose your Catalog Files, Retrospect cannot restore any files until the catalogs are recreated, which can be a lengthy process. For this reason, back up your Catalog Files as well as your regular files.
The default location that Catalog Files are saved is ..\My Documents\ Retrospect Catalog Files.
Create a separate Backup Set for just Catalog Files and back them up on a regular basis. This will save time when you need to restore files.
Retrospect’s configuration file contains your client database, scripts, schedules, preferences, custom selectors, and other important information. Retrospect uses the configuration file, named Config77.dat, located in the folder in which the Retrospect application resides or at the path:
_..\ProgramData\Retrospect\_
Each time you exit Retrospect, it automatically saves a backup copy of configs.xml in a file named configs.xml. You should back up this file regularly. If your active configuration file (Config77.dat) is ever lost or becomes corrupt, delete it then open Retrospect, which creates a new Config77.dat from the configs.xml.
Retrospect is compatible with Microsoft Windows Server and Apple’s Mac OS X servers. Retrospect can back up files from any server to which the backup computer has access via Windows Explorer.
Retrospect does not support clusters or SharePoints.
If you are going to back up a server to move its contents (for example, you have a more powerful computer to be the new server) you should make two separate verified backups. Through verification, which is on by default, ensures the integrity of the data; having two backups will not leave you stranded if one fails for some reason.
Retrospect does not back up certain active DHCP and WINS server files. However, the operating system can maintain its own backups, which you can back up from Retrospect.
The DHCP server copies its files to a folder named “backup” in the “dhcp” folder, once an hour. The WINS server, by default, does not make copies of its needed files, but you can make it do so.
If you need to back up a Windows server running WINS, take the steps described below to make these files available for Retrospect backups.
It is important to make sure that your backups include the DHCP/WINS backup database paths (the backup and configbk folders).
The All Files and OS Folder selectors ensure the files will be included in backups.
To restore the DHCP and WINS databases, follow the steps under Restoring from a Full Backup. After completing the steps, DHCP or WINS server information is restored.
The Retrospect Exchange Server Agent provides specialized support for optimally backing up Microsoft Exchange servers and mailboxes. It is an add-on product that must be purchased separately and requires a license code.
The Exchange Server Agent uses Microsoft APIs to effortlessly and automatically protect a Microsoft Exchange server that runs continuously and cannot be stopped for backups.
See Exchange Server Agent for more information.
The Retrospect SQL Agent provides specialized support for optimally backing up Microsoft SQL servers. It is an add-on product that must be purchased separately and requires a license code.
The Retrospect SQL Agent uses Microsoft APIs to effortlessly and automatically protect a Microsoft SQL server that runs continuously and cannot be stopped for backups.
See SQL Server Agent for more information.
This section describes how to use Retrospect to back up volumes shared by Mac OS file sharing. These operations require special procedures to ensure access privileges are intact after the volume is restored.
Restoring servers is described in Restoring Mac OS File Servers.
Shared volumes maintain access privileges that determine which users and groups of users can see and change files and folders. These privileges are active only when the server is running and the volume is shared.
To retain access privileges for a server, file sharing must be on during the backup. During a subsequent restore operation, Retrospect reassigns privileges to the same users and groups that were active during the backup. Otherwise, any privileges for the restored and retrieved folders revert to the volume owner or server administrator.
With Open File Backup, you can back up, duplicate, and archive files, even if they are in use. Open File Backup can protect multi-volume datasets, enabling you to copy related open files across multiple volumes.
Retrospect Single Server (Disk-to-Disk), Single-Server, or Multi-Server
License code for Open File Backup. Open File Backup must be purchased separately. Click Configure>Licenses to view your current licenses or purchase new ones.
To back up open files on a Windows computer, it must have an NTFS volume.
If the volume being backed up is a client, it must be running Retrospect Client 6.0 or greater.
If you have Retrospect Desktop, you can use Open File Backup, as long as the backup computer is running Windows XP and it has an NTFS volume. You do not need a license code to use Open File Backup in this case.
Retrospect has a number of options that are specific to Open File Backup. See Windows Open Files Options for more information.
You can back up SQL and Exchange servers using Open File Backup, however, the Retrospect SQL Agent and Retrospect Exchange Agent provide specialized support for optimally backing up these servers. Retrospect recommends using the agents instead of Open File Backup for SQL and Exchange servers.
See SQL Server Agent and Exchange Server Agent for more information.
If you plan to use Open File Backup, Retrospect strongly recommends that you follow the tips below.
Perform thorough testing of Open File Backup before using it on production systems. Every environment is unique and it is important to ensure your data is backed up accurately and completely. Do a complete backup and restore of volumes containing open files. Check for data integrity and application functionality on the restored volume.
Optimize your environment, scheduling, and Open Files options to maximize disk inactivity. Open File backup requires a period of inactivity on the source volume’s disk (disk inactivity threshold) in order to accurately copy open files.
To avoid error messages:
Schedule scripts that use Open File Backup during off-peak hours.
Experiment with the Disk inactivity threshold and Retry timeout options to determine optimal values. A lower disk inactivity threshold increases the chances that it will be met, but also increases the possibility of data inconsistency. A higher disk inactivity threshold decreases the chances that it will be met, but also decreases the possibility of data inconsistency.
During Open File Backup, disable or stop applications on the source volume’s disk that could increase disk activity, e.g. anti-virus software, disk defragmentation software, etc.
If the Open File Backup operation includes multiple volumes, but none of the open file data spans multiple volumes, make sure the Protect Multi-Volume Datasets option is off.
If you have other applications with open file backup capabilities, you may experience problems with Retrospect’s Open File Backup.
Retrospect recommends that you perform a full backup of your line-of-business servers while all applications are closed before using Open File Backup for the first time. Although Open File Backup is designed to back up line-of-business servers while they are up and running, closing the servers down prior to performing the first backup adds an extra degree of safety. For the best results, schedule subsequent backups of live line-of-business servers for off-peak times.
When using Open File Backup, you may notice a delay between when the backup is initiated and when copying begins. During this time, Retrospect is waiting for a “disk inactivity threshold” on the disk it is backing up. Retrospect tries to meet the disk inactivity threshold from the time Open File Backup is initiated, until the “Retry timeout” period elapses. Thus, the delay before copying could be as long as the Retry timeout (the default is ten minutes). See the Retrospect User's Guide for more information on specifying the Disk inactivity threshold and Retry timeout.
For best performance, if an Open File Backup operation includes multiple volumes, but none of the open file data spans multiple volumes, make sure Retrospect's Protect Multi-Volume Datasets execution option is off to ensure the best performance.
If you are logged on to the backup computer and manually launch Retrospect, or if you are using the Retrospect Launcher service to automatically launch Retrospect for unattended operation, you must be logged on with administrator privileges in order to use Open File Backup to back up the local computer.
Open File Backup requires a certain amount of free disk space on the disk that is being backed up. If you run Open File Backup in a low disk space environment, Windows may generate error messages, such as “The file system structure on the disk is corrupt and unusable” or “Delayed Write Errors.” If the error message includes the word “Snapshot,” this indicates that Open File Backup was unable to back up the requested volume.
In these cases, no data is lost and the disk is not corrupt; rather, the Open File Backup could not be completed. Freeing up disk space on the disk being backed up and rebooting the computer solves this problem. If you do not reboot, subsequent Open File Backups may also fail.
Retrospect recommends not running active virus scans during Open File Backup. Anti-virus software can be installed and enabled, as long as there are no active scans during the backup.
If you try to back up encrypted files that are open using Open File Backup on a Windows computer, you may get error -1102. To ensure the files get backed up, close them and back up again.
Microsoft Terminal Services allows a user to remotely control an application running on a remote server by transmitting only keyboard, mouse, and display information over the network. Each Terminal Services user connects to the server by establishing an individual session, which is managed by the server, independent of other user sessions. The following best practices describe how to use Terminal Services to administer Retrospect when it is running on a remote server.
The Windows server must be configured properly to ensure that Retrospect can run under the correct user account.
To connect to a Windows server via Remote Desktop (the Terminal Services client):
Click Start, point to All Programs, point to Accessories, point to Communications, and then click Remote Desktop Connection.
Type in the IP address of the server and click the Connect button.
To connect to a Windows Storage Server 2003–based server via a Web browser:
Launch Internet Explorer.
Type in the IP address of the server followed by :8098 to connect to the server.
For example: https://192.168.1.1:8098
Click the Maintenance tab.
Click the Remote Desktop icon.
To separate your backup tasks from your default Administrator account, create a Backup Administrator account on the server and assign Administrator rights to the account.
To create a Backup Administrator account with Administrator rights:
Right-click My Computer and choose Manage.
In Computer Management, expand Local Users and Groups and select Users.
In the Action menu, select New User…
For the User name and Full name, type Backup Administrator.
Choose a secure password.
Uncheck User must change password at next login.
Check Password never expires.
Click the Create button.
Double-click the newly created user to see its properties.
Click the Member Of tab.
Click the Add… button.
In the Enter the object names to select: field, type Administrators, then click Check Names.
Click the Sessions tab.
Ensure that the End a disconnected session: option is set to Never.
In the Properties window, click Apply and then click OK.
If you want to use your Administrator account for backup administration, ensure that you set up your Administrator account with the options defined in the preceding procedure.
After you create a Backup Administrator account, close the remote window to disconnect from the current session or log off from the current account. Then log in using the Backup Administrator account in order to configure the Terminal Services connection properties.
To configure the Terminal Services connection properties:
Open the Administrative Tools control panel folder.
Launch the Terminal Services Configuration control panel.
Highlight Connections in the navigation bar, right-click RDP-TCP and select Properties.
Click the Sessions tab.
Ensure the Override User Settings option is unchecked.
Click Apply and then OK.
Perform the following procedures to install and set up Retrospect so that you can use it remotely via Terminal Services. Retrospect must always be run under the same specific account (usually the Backup Administrator account discussed in the preceding section) for you to successfully access it remotely. To ensure that Retrospect always launches under that specific account, you must modify Retrospect’s security preferences.
To install Retrospect:
Connect to the server using Terminal Services or Remote Desktop.
Copy the Retrospect installer to the server.
Install Retrospect.
To set up Retrospect:
Connect to the server using Terminal Services or Remote Desktop.
Log on to the account you want Retrospect to run from.
Launch Retrospect.
The first time you start Retrospect, the Getting Started Wizard runs.
In the user account screen, select “Always run Retrospect as the specified user” and enter user, password and domain information. For Auto Launch support, see Auto Launching Retrospect for more information.
A user must have Administrator privileges to all network resources and SQL/Exchange servers that the user plans to access.
Click OK.
Click Yes to run Retrospect in the Terminal Services session.
Finish the Getting Started Wizard.
Click Relaunch Now to quit and restart Retrospect.
You can change Retrospect’s login and Terminal Services preferences later by choosing Configure>Preferences from the Retrospect navigation bar and clicking Security. See Security Preferences.
Logging off from the Terminal Services session causes all running applications to quit, including Retrospect. To ensure that Retrospect continues to run, do not use the log off option in the Start menu to log off from Terminal Services. Instead, simply close the Terminal Services window.
Closing the window disconnects you from the Terminal Services session, but leaves the session running. Retrospect remains unaffected, and the next time you connect to the remote server via Terminal Services, Retrospect will be running.