User`s guide

62 Copyright © Acronis International GmbH, 2002-2012
So first of all select one of the backup methods in the appropriate box.
 Full (p. 39)
Select this method if you want to create only full backup versions.
 Differential (p. 39)
Select this method if you want to create backup chains containing only full and differential
backup versions.
You can configure the scheme by using one of the following options:
 Create only differential versions after the initial full version - select this item to create only
one backup version chain. Automatic cleanup is not available for this option.
 Create a full version after every [n] differential versions - select this item to create several
backup version chains. This is a more reliable but more space-consuming backup scheme.
 Incremental (p. 39)
Select this method if you want to create backup chains containing only full and incremental
backup versions.
You can configure the scheme by using one of the following options:
 Create only incremental versions after the initial full version - select this item to create only
one backup version chain. Automatic cleanup is not available for this option.
 Create a full version after every [n] incremental versions - select this item to create several
backup version chains. This is a more reliable but more space-consuming backup scheme.
Automatic cleanup rules
To delete obsolete backup versions automatically, you can set one of the following cleanup rules:
 Delete versions older than [defined period] (available for full method only) - Select this option to
limit the age of backup versions. All versions that are older than the specified period will be
automatically deleted.
 Delete version chains older than [defined period] (available for incremental and differential
methods only) - Select this option to limit the age of backup version chains. The oldest version
chain will be deleted only if, after deletion, the age of the oldest version exceeds the specified
period.
 Store no more than [n] recent versions (available for full method only) - Select this option to
limit the maximum number of backup versions. When the number of versions exceeds the
specified value, the oldest backup version will be automatically deleted.
 Store no more than [n] recent version chains (available for incremental and differential methods
only) - Select this option to limit the maximum number of backup version chains. When the
number of version chains exceeds the specified value, the oldest backup version chain will be
automatically deleted.
 Keep size of the backup no more than [defined size] - Select this option to limit maximum size of
the backup. After creating a new backup version, the program checks whether the total backup
size exceeds the specified value. If it's true, the oldest backup version will be deleted.
The first backup version option
Often the first version of any backup is one of the most valuable versions. This is true because it
stores the initial data state (for example, your system partition with recently installed Windows) or
some other stable data state (for example, data after a successful virus check).