plain_archive

--plain_archive

Enables simplified naming of backup files.

With this parameter, full backups are named using the archive name (the --arc parameter value); for example: MyData.tib. Names of incremental or differential backups have an index; for example: MyData2.tib, MyData3.tib. Before creating a new full backup, the software will delete the entire archive and start a new one.

This parameter is useful in the following cases:

• If you want to create a portable image of a machine on a detachable media
• If you are planning to move the backups to a different location by using a script
• If you want to rotate USB hard drives so that each drive keeps a single full backup or all backups created during a week

Without this parameter, each backup will have a unique file name with the exact time stamp and the backup type; for example: MyData_2010_03_26_17_01_38_960D.tib. This standard file naming allows for a wider range of backup destinations and backup schemes.

When you back up to a removable device, the --plain_archive parameter is not needed. Instead, the --fixed_drive parameter determines whether the standard or simplified naming scheme will be used.

Restrictions

When using simplified file naming, the following functionality is not available:

• Backup of virtual machines from host
• Backup of Microsoft Exchange Server data
• Backup to Acronis Storage Node, Acronis Online Backup Storage, Acronis Secure Zone or tape
• Converting an incremental or differential backup into a full one

Restrictions on archive names

• The archive name cannot end with a number.
• The FAT16, FAT32, and NTFS file systems do not allow the following characters in the file name: backslash (\), slash (/), colon (:), asterisk (*), question mark (?), quotation mark ("), less than sign (<), greater than sign (>), and pipe (|).