Maximum number of versions
Does anyone else think a limit of 20 versions of a backup is a fairly serious limitation for a backup application? If I want a daily backup the oldest backup i can have is 20 days.
Ideally I'd like an hourly backup for a day or two, a daily backup for a few weeks, a weekly backup for a few months, monthly for a few years. To achieve that I'd need 5 backup jobs set up. I want to backup around 3TB of data so I'd need 3TB x 5 = 15TB of space for the initial backups + room for expansion. Not to mention the additional wi-fi network traffic that would result from 5 backup jobs.
Why can you not design the application to do that with one backup file? It seems to me someone decided you needed to be able to say your software works on Macs but were not willing to make it truly ready for real world use.
There are other problems relating to permissions and mysterious backup job and data deletions which I've been told cannot be caused by the app.
I see a lot of other people who have tried the app have got refunds. I think I'd like the same. And perhaps you should withdraw the app until it is ready for actual use. Data backup is of critical importance. You should not be offering software that is not up to the job.
I tested Acronis against the other limited number of Mac backup options that work to a NAS drive and Acronis was much faster than the others. Unfortunately I assumed it would have the usual backup scheduling options. Which it doesn't.
"Does anyone else think a limit of 20 versions of a backup is a fairly serious limitation for a backup application?"
Yes! I am surprised by this, and I'm baffled that there's such a limit. It really reduces the value of an otherwise seemingly excellent product. (I've only been using it a month so far.)
The purchased storage limit is what one's backups actually use on the back end, having nothing to do with the size of the source. That seems completely fair and appropriate. So what should it matter if I want to store a million versions of one file, or one version of a million files? Ok, I can imagine some implementation challenges with a million versions, but really, couldn't the limit be 1000 or at least 100?
I paid for a year, and I will continue to see how it goes. I like everything else I've seen, but if this limit is still 20 when it's time to renew I will have to shop around again. This last time was a painful process that finally ended when I found Acronis. I tried out some really bad software and broken services. Please don't make me go through that again. :)
Thank you, J Orosz - passed your feedback to the product team!
I would like to add my own voice to this discussion. It probably will not come as a surprise that I do agree with the OP Graeme and the followup comment by J Orosz. Yes, Acronis 2019 for Macs seems to be delivering in many areas, but the available backup retention options are grossly inadequate.
Acronis really needs to implement a Grandfather/Father/Son (or similar) backup rotation, or we are looking at a failed effort.
The good news is, that (my understanding) Acronis for Windows offers these retention options. The bad news is that judging from the date of the OP (04/26/2018) nothing has been done for 10 months, and the current version is still lacking in this respect.
This is for me a make-it or break-it question. Please port the backup retention availability from the Windows product to the Mac product, of start charging less for the Mac one.
I am currently evaluating Acronis 2019 in a six Macs to one NAS scenario. I like everything I see, but the retention approach is not acceptable. If this does not change, it is back to Time Machine for me. Sorry...
Hello -mm-,
thank you for taking the time to share details on your use-case. I've added your comment as a vote for the change and hope that new version of Acronis True Image for Mac will better serve your needs!
Hello,
I just stumbled into this posting. As a matter of fact I made the same comments in another Acronis forum (Acronis True Image Discussions>Acronis True Image 2019 forum), and I fully agree with the previous writers. For me this is also a crucial attribute and I whish I have known this before I purchased this product. I was blinded by the comparison between ATI and Timemachine, but now I think that Timemachine -with all of its shortcomings and flaws- wasn't that bad after all. Now I need to think about the number of versions I want: do they all fit on the harddisk I have, or do I need more storage. What is the timespan I can recover ?
Timemachine does what I expect it to do as a really "run and forget" program, and I can recover files, folders or programs until 1 year back without a single thought about the size of the backup disk. And for what it's worth: it is free of charge! I am willing to pay for a product I can use, and I'm also prepared to dump it in the trash by the end of this year, when it doesn't fit my expectations.
Timemachine (and Timemachine Editor) are still up and running, by the way.
Hans
I'd also upvote more versions. I don't understand why there is a limit set based upon a random # (I kind of get the cloud limitation, but don't understand why that carries over to local backup media as well). If there are 20 daily backups, you won't even get a month's worth to recover from. You should be able to clean up based on a set # of your own choosing, or a time period of your own choosing, or the total backup size of your choosing (like in the Windows version). If you have the space available, the settings in the application shouldn't be the limiting factor for backup retention.
I am not a strong Mac user, but play with Hackintosh VM's (currently a 10.14.3 and 10.13.6 system) and have an ancient 2006 iMac that is still chugging along with El Cap. It's been probably 2 years since I played with the Mac version of Acronis but have been spending time with it more this week to see what's new and improved since I last took it for a spin.
Other than the cloud backup option (which is nice for those who need / want it) and Acronis Protection (also if you need /want it), I kind of still prefer Time Machine for my local environment at present. The potential is there, but some basic features that have been in the Windows version for years seem to be missing. Without those extra features (like being able to choose incremental or differential schemes, more retention options, bootable recovery media that can also take a backups in addition to restoring), it's really tough for me to want to use it over Time Machine.
I need to read more about it in the user manual and keep testing, but are none of these features currently available, or have I just not found them yet?
Bobbo_3C0X1 wrote:I need to read more about it in the user manual and keep testing, but are none of these features currently available, or have I just not found them yet?
Hi Bobbo,
I'm afraid both editions still have almost the same differences https://kb.acronis.com/content/61596 (cloning feature has been added to the Mac version)
Thanks Ekaterina! I'll save that one to my favorites.
Any update on this topic. I just registered for a year thinking the 20 versions was a demo limitation. Now I see this. So if I set a hourly backup and a file get deleted, I can not retrieve it back, ever.
This make the software unusable for serious backup.
For me this is also a disappointment, and by the end of this year -when my registration period ends- I will decide if I go on with Acronis or not.
hugo leveille wrote:Any update on this topic. I just registered for a year thinking the 20 versions was a demo limitation. Now I see this. So if I set a hourly backup and a file get deleted, I can not retrieve it back, ever.
This make the software unusable for serious backup
We expect this limitation to be removed in the next version of Acronis True Image.
Ekaterina wrote:We expect this limitation to be removed in the next version of Acronis True Image.
Thanks for the update. This is certainly a step in the right direction. Do you know if the change will involve just removing the limitation of 20, or would it include some more sophisticated measures of backup sets retention such as GrandFather/Father/Son rotation (or something similar)?
-mm-
I am very curious when this so called "next version" will be available.
hans
Hans Maas wrote:I am very curious when this so called "next version" will be available.
hans
Major versions of Acronis True Image are usually launched in August.
-mm- wrote:would it include some more sophisticated measures of backup sets retention such as GrandFather/Father/Son rotation (or something similar)?
As far as I know, GFS scheme is not planned, but there should be further improvements in the backup versioning.
Ekaterina wrote:-mm- wrote:would it include some more sophisticated measures of backup sets retention such as GrandFather/Father/Son rotation (or something similar)?As far as I know, GFS scheme is not planned, but there should be further improvements in the backup versioning.
As in addition to just the removal of the 20 limitation?
-mm-
Well, I have to wait until august, then for this limit to be removed. It is a step forward, I would say. After this we can talk about the other backup schemes like differential backups which is still not possible for the MAC version.
hans
Ekaterina wrote:We expect this limitation to be removed in the next version of Acronis True Image.
Thank you! This is great news. For me at least that should suffice. A Time Machine-like scheme as an option would also be nice, but not having that only means paying for more storage eventually.
Hello,
I would like to follow up on this matter. Has 2020 version remove the versioning limits?
I have not updated to 2020 just yet, and I would like to know the answer to this before hand.
Thank you,
Ekaterina wrote:hugo leveille wrote:Any update on this topic. I just registered for a year thinking the 20 versions was a demo limitation. Now I see this. So if I set a hourly backup and a file get deleted, I can not retrieve it back, ever.
This make the software unusable for serious backup
We expect this limitation to be removed in the next version of Acronis True Image.
Hello Ekaterina,
I would like to follow up on this matter. Has 2020 version remove the versioning limits?
I have not updated to 2020 just yet, and I would like to know the answer to this before hand.
Thank you
Hello YIYANG PAN,
in Acronis True Image 2020 we've removed the limitation of 20 versions - now the maximum is 999
Ekaterina wrote:Hello YIYANG PAN,
in Acronis True Image 2020 we've removed the limitation of 20 versions - now the maximum is 999
Awesome, thank you so much!
Ekaterina wrote:Hello YIYANG PAN,
in Acronis True Image 2020 we've removed the limitation of 20 versions - now the maximum is 999
To be honest: I skipped Acronis True Image as my backup program because of this limitation, and use Timemachine again. Maybe now is the right moment to reconsider, not sure yet. When will this new limit be effective, and do I have to make a new purchase? In my opinion this (old) limitation of 20 is a flaw in the software.
Hans Maas wrote:Ekaterina wrote:Hello YIYANG PAN,
in Acronis True Image 2020 we've removed the limitation of 20 versions - now the maximum is 999
To be honest: I skipped Acronis True Image as my backup program because of this limitation, and use Timemachine again. Maybe now is the right moment to reconsider, not sure yet. When will this new limit be effective, and do I have to make a new purchase? In my opinion this (old) limitation of 20 is a flaw in the software.
Hans, this is effective from Acronis True Image 2020.
If you have a valid subscription, you can go to account.acronis.com and download the new version for free.
If you have a perpetual license for Acronis True Image 2019, you will need to buy an upgrade from it.
You can check your status at account.acronis.com.
Thanks, Renata
I just checked. I purchased ATI on 31st of December 2018 which means no free upgrade, just the standard price of €30 for the standard 2020 version.
Bottom line is that I purchased the 2019 version, which for me appeared to be absolutely useless as a robust and serious backup solution. Not just because of the 20 versions limit alone; there were some other issues with the software as well which couldn't be solved by Support, so after some weeks -all this time no backup could be made!! - I had to switch back to Timemachine and uninstalled ATI 2019.
Eventually I have to find another solution, but certainly do not consider a new purchase of ATI.
Im trying the ATI 2020 but only have the limitation of 20 versions. But anyhow cant any of the clean up things to happen, no matter how few versions I set or how few days. It never deletes anything :( Can someone confirm that they have 999 versions in 2020 version?
Hi! I've responded to your topic here https://forum.acronis.com/forum/acronis-true-image-mac-forum/cleanup-doesnt-work#comment-536605