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ATI 2020 - Acronis Cloud backup

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Hi Steve

Thank you for the detailed info you provided in this post - it is very helpful to understand the distinctions in license and support.

I wanted to ask two more technical follow-up questions about the "hybrid" backup to the Acronis Cloud, which I was using in ATI 2019.

I am asking because I have been trying to use the new replication feature in ATI 2020 for a weekly + incremental backup, but have found the upload speed -- despite a high-speed connection -- makes a full backup impractical.  It can run for 8 to 24+ hours for 70 GB of compressed data.

For Cloud backup, you mentioned the software uses a delta algorithm to determine what has changed from the original backup and to only upload those change in subsequent backups.  This enables Acronis to delete older versions without compromising the integrity of the set.  Given there is a size limit for the Cloud, could you advise how these two scenarios would be handled with a "weekly" backup scheme (maybe really "custom") where a full is taken on Sunday nights, and all others during the week would be treated as changes only:

1) File A is part of the original full backup to the Cloud and is changed several times during the week.  At the end of the week (e.g. Sunday), for retention reasons (i.e. date or number of versions), the original (full) backup is automatically deleted.  Since clean-up only happens after the new "full" is backed up, would the last, or each of the previous changes of File A be available for a restore?

2) File B is part of the original full backup to the Cloud and is NOT changed during the week.  At the end of the week, assuming the same automated cleanup is run, would File B be available because it would be part of the new "full" or because the algorithm has somehow kept it for integrity reasons?

As an aside, are you aware of any input / response on what appears to be an unusable upload speed to the Acronis Cloud?  I know there can be a lot of variables and can file a ticket with the specifics for my situation, but curious if this is a known issue.

Thank you for any advice you can provide.

- Robert

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Robert, I tried out the replication feature to the Acronis Cloud but gave up on it due to the impact it has when following a local backup scheme with regular full backup images being created, all of which then have to be uploaded to the Cloud but with none of the features of a dedicated backup direct to the Cloud.

For me, replication would only be useful if was able to be used to local destinations such as my NAS or an external backup drive.

With regular Cloud backup tasks, there is only ever a single Full upload when the task is run for the first time.  Cloud backups do not behave like local tasks, so there is never going to be a case where a new full backup is uploaded and an older full backup chain is deleted.

The detail of exactly how backups to the Cloud work has not been published by Acronis, so my comments are based on my understanding of this from working in these forums and using ATI for my own backup tasks etc.

The bottom line is that versioning in the Cloud involves consolidation so that the backup image allows for the stored data to be recovered back to one of multiple recovery points in time, this depending on the retention settings configured for the task, i.e. how many versions to keep and for how long. 

For your File A and File B scenarios, there would be X versions of File A held in your cloud backup as per the configured number of versions to keep.  File B would have a single version as remains unchanged from the initial backup.

I cannot answer the question about upload speeds to the cloud servers - this will be controlled by a number of factors on both sides.  Your upload speed may exceed the maxium rate allowed for an individual user at the server end, where the server has to manage the ability for many users to upload data simultaneously.  Upload speeds are unlikely to be at a sustained continuous rate due to the processing taking place at both sides of the connection, resulting in troughs and peaks in the flow.  Distance between sending PC and the server can be a factor, where it is recommended to always ensure the closest server / data centre is selected.