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Outlook PST - Cloud Backup

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I am trying to set up cloud backup with TI2016. I did an initial backup of all user files, including my Outlook PST which is, by design, is located under my user profile in it's own folder. The PST backup in this initial backup was successful.

Now when I run a subsequesnt cloud (file) backup I see new or modified files are being backed up. The problem is that this backup runs in just a few minutes and couldn't possibly include the whole PST. The timestamp for the PST in the cloud archive is updated as if it were backed up, but it is my understanding that whenever the PST is modified that the WHOLE PST will be backed up, not just the changes since the last backup.

Anyone have insight into this? My PST is rather large, so I would have to download it from the cloud and actually look at it to see if changes since last backup was captured.

Thanks.

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I'm not sure either, the blink below seems to suggest that email backups are not supported as of ATIH 2015 and newer versions.

47840: Acronis True Image 2015: E-Mail Backup Is Not Supported

 

As a file though, regardless of the file extension, I would think that the entire .PST file would be backed up as well with each subsequent run of an incremental, differential or full backup since the .PST file is constantly changing as new emails are hitting the inbox, being read, etc.  

Two thoughts though:

1) What happens if you first close Outlook and re-open and then run a cloud backup - does it push the whole thing then?  If so, the probem can be explained by the fact that file changes in Outlook are being stored in system memory and not to the hard disk until Outlook has been closed.  This is also common in other Microsoft products like Word and Excel when files are being modified and updated, but the user has not yet hit the "save" button.  

2) If block level deduplication is being implemented in the cloud, it would only push the incremental changes of the .PST, but I'm not sure if that technology is being used in the Acronis Cloud or not.  

Try #1 and see what happens - I have a feeling that once you close Outlook and run a cloud update, it will grab the whole thing, but the only way to be sure is to give it a try and verify. 

According to the ATI 2016 User Guide under the Backup section, it states:

When you back up your data to Acronis Cloud, the first backup may take a considerable amount of time to complete. Further backup processes will likely be much faster, because only changes to files will be transferred over the Internet.

This suggests that your full .PST file is only backed up in full on the first backup to the cloud, after which only a delta of the changes to the file will be uploaded and consoldiated into the copy held in the cloud.

Thanks for the replies Bobbo and Steve.

I did terminate Outlook and then run the (incremental) backup. When you exit Outlook the modified timestamp on the PST file is updated to that point in time, and then after the backup the timestamp on the file in the cloud matches exactly.

So, if this is working then your suggestion of only delta changes being backed up would have to be true for the backup to take only a few minutes. However, I haven't  been able to find any specific details of this in Acronis documentation yet.

I am downloading the PST from the cloud now and will check to see if the email recieved and folder created since the original full backup is now in the incremental backup or not. It will take several hours to download this large PST.

I'm doubting that the backup is working, but I will report back.

Thanks again.

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Hey guys, this is unbelievable.

I downloaded the PST from the (incremental) backup I did this morning at 7:30am. The initial (full) backup of my data was done overnight on Friday. I opened the PST in Outlook, as just an "additional data file". Guess what? All the emails recieved Saturday, Sunday and early this morning are there. Also a folder I created this morning.

Acronis MUST be doing some sort of block level file backup? What I don't get is why this is not well documented and in fact shouted from the mountain tops. I only know of one other product that claims they can do this.

This to me is incredible. My backup is running in minutes, and include a PST that is way over recommended maximum of 2gb - it's 8.6gb. I was prepared for the backup to run every night for 5-6 hours.

(actually it's not mine, it's a client who can't seem to clean their PST faster than it grows:-))

I'm rather shocked. I still have a hard time believing it.....

cc

 

 

 

That's wonderful news - glad to get confirmation on this.  I just found this information on the online Cloud information, not exact, but may point to the block level capability.  I will check with some of the other MVP's to see if they have any better references that provide more clarification. 

http://www.acronis.com/en-us/support/documentation/Acronis_Backup_Cloud…

http://www.acronis.com/en-us/support/documentation/Acronis_Backup_Cloud…

 

Yea, not definitive.

I ran a second test - backed up the PST (in just a few minutes), then downloaded it and looked at it with Outlook. All the emails recieved since the initial backup were there, as well as new folders I created, and gone were emails I had deleted.

Also, I checked for "Versions" of the PST - and there are now 6 of them available. It's very obvious that the backup is only updating blocks in the file that have changed, since although there are 6 versions of the almost 9Gb PST, the total storage size in the cloud has grown only a couple of Gb's.

Next, if I can get my client to do a massive cleanup of their email, then I can Scan/Repair/Compact the PST. After that I'm sure the PST backup will be significantly longer.

Pretty incredible if you ask me. Equally incredible is the lack of exposure, documentation on this point? Reviews on the net tout this capability for some of the competition.

Thanks!

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