Automatic Cleanup
I’d like to set True Image 2013 so that every 30 days it performs a full backup and also deletes previous backups (i.e. full backup on day 1 plus the incremental backups). Incremental backups are set to be done daily, every 6 hours. In order to enable automatic cleanup option I have to choose rule #1) “Create a full version after every [n] incremental versions”, and then choose 30 for rule #2) “Delete version chains older than [n] days” so it seems to me that this period-limit cleanup would not work until at least a second version chain starts to be created. According to the manual, under cleanup rule #2 “The oldest version chain will be deleted only if, after deletion, the age of the oldest version exceeds the specified period.” To avoid having more than one version chain in a 30-day period I’d set [n] to 120 (the maximum number of increments) for rule #1 but what if an incremental backup is missed, e.g. computer is off at the scheduled backup time, etc.? Then it’d be possible for the cleanup to take place long after 30 days as the first version chain is not yet completed. Is there any workaround for this? It seems to me that True Image 2013 is not designed for this type of cleanup. Please clarify this for me.
I think you're referring to "Store no more than [n] recent version chains" as there is no option for keeping backup versions (i.e. single files) alone. So if I use this option and set [n] as 1, does the first chain (i.e. full backup #1 plus its increments) get deleted once the second full backup is created, or is there always going to be a full version chain on the backup disc at any given time? If the latter is true then I'd choose the maximum number of days it'd take for certain number of incremental backups as [n] in the rule #2 mentioned above (my first post) so that once the second full backup is done all previous backups get deleted.
Is there any particular reason that Acronis has chosen to setup the backup & cleanup based on the number of increments, instead of a specific period? Maybe it'd be more efficient for management purposes, e.g. disk space, versioning, etc.?
No there is no workaround for the situation you highlight. The oldest chain has to be completed, be older than 30 days, and a new full backup has to be completed before the old chain is deleted.
I would recommend you use the "keep X most recent versions". This is the most straightforward way to handle the chains. It will not fit your requirements exactly, but close.
You could also consider using the Chain2Gen tool (see Grover's guides).
I think you're referring to "Store no more than [n] recent version chains" as there is no option for keeping backup versions (i.e. single files) alone. So if I use this option and set [n] as 1, does the first chain (i.e. full backup #1 plus its increments) get deleted once the second full backup is created, or is there always going to be a full version chain on the backup disc at any given time? If the latter is true then I'd choose the maximum number of days it'd take for certain number of incremental backups as [n] in the rule #2 mentioned above (my first post) so that once the second full backup is done all previous backups get deleted. Is there any particular reason that Acronis has chosen to setup the backup & cleanup based on the number of increments, instead of a specific period? Maybe it'd be more efficient for management purposes, e.g. disk space, versioning, etc.?