plain_archive

--plain_archive

Enables simplified naming of backup files and disables adding metadata to the backup archive.

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.

Restrictions

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

• Backup of virtual machines from host
• Backup to Acronis Storage Node, Acronis Online Backup Storage, Acronis Secure Zone or tape

Tip. 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 (|).