Are files verified during backup?
When i do a File Backup of let's say "file x", are True Image verifying during the backup so that one can be sure of that the recovered "file x" is the same as the "file x" one took a backup of?
If i understand it correctly Validation after a backup only validates the integrity of the actual .tib file, it does not actually verify that "file x"in the .tib file has the same data integrity as "file x" on the HDD.
/Roger
Verification only occurs if you have selected it to run, it will run after an image has been made.
I do File Backups and i have not found in the Settings if i can select Verification, what have i missed. :)
(I use a trial version.)
Roger,
Also to answer your question, validation does not verify that the data that was supposed to be backed up has effectively or successfully been backed up. There is no way to verify backup fidelity, aside from visually inspecting the image, or restoring on another disk and running comparison tools.
The validation process does only 2 things:
- verifies that the links between full backups and slices are valid. ie a chain of backups is actually equivalent to a single full backup from the point of view of accessing the expected backup data,
- verifies that the data inside the TIB files has not been changed or corrupted since it was generated in the first time.
As a result, validation significantly increases the level of confidence that the backup can be restored, if no other issue than backup data integrity is in the way.
Also to answer your question, validation does not verify that the data that was supposed to be backed up has effectively or successfully been backed up.
That's odd since this is imo a very important step. I use another backup software that provides that feature, thats why i miss it/want it in TI2013.
Validation is great, but if one of the files is corrupted inside the resulting tib file, validation does nothing, it just confirms that i can restore the backup, but it does not confirm that the file is good. The latter is more important. (Though it is hard to restore good files if one cannot restore it, so i know that it may sound silly/catch 22... ;) )
/Roger
Any backup software that does block or sector level backups can not verify the individual file(s) as it backs up. Only backup software that actually does a file by file backup can do that. I've been using Acronis products for many years and have never had a backup contain any corrupted files unless they already existed that way to start with on the source. Years ago I used software that created a file by file backup and then verified the backup against the source files. I have not used backup software that can do this for many years. As with any software that does block or sector based backups, you would have to assume the backup correctly copied the files, or your would have to mount the backup/or restore the files to be able to perform a file verification between the backup file and the source file. As Acronis backup software/technology has been around for many years, I can say the core backup and restore functionality has never failed me.
As Acronis backup software/technology has been around for many years, I can say the core backup and restore functionality has never failed me.
Great to hear that! :)
I actually feel quite safe with TI2013. I have done many backups and restores now during the trial period and have had no issues regarding corrupted files.
BTW, how often do you Validate your backups, everytime you have done a backup, once a month? (File based backup)
/Roger
Roger,
I would like to say that I validate every time a backup is made, but I'd be lying. I normally always validate any full backup I create manually after the backup. I tend to set auto validate on small backups not large ones. For example, I set up a task to perform a full disk based backup on my most critical system using the differential method without validation turned on. After the first full is completed, I manually run a validate on it. Then after some period of time has passed and many differential backups have been created I will perform another manual validation. This can take quite some time as Acronis will validate the original full and all the differentials that belong to the set (version chain). Any time that I move a backup file (or set of files) from one location to another, I always validate the backup again to be sure the move or copy operation did not damage the files. I know folks who have never validated an Acronis backup ever. I do not recommend this practice. I tend to believe that if I validate semi-regularly on my backups and don't have any issues, I feel good that the ones I didn't validate should be fine. I would highly recommend that you have at least two backups of some kind to fall back on (preferably with one stored off site). Never depend on just one. You never know what might happen.
I never set up Acronis to do any scheduled validations, monthly or otherwise, other than in the indiviual backup tasks after creation. I always have preferred to validate manually in most cases. It helps to keep me involved with the backup process in general. Set it and forget it does not always work well with backup software, only Showtime Rotisseries. :>)
I use the same approach as James. What I do in addition is booting the computer on the CD from time to time and recover a file or two from my latest backup (all my backups are images, not file backups).
Thanks for your answers! :)
Today i keep copies of my backup at four places:
- Internal HDD
- External HDD
- Dropbox
- In the bank valve
Since Validation takes some time to do i plan to never do it but on the backups i place on External HDD/Dropbox/bank valve once per week. I test backups and recover from them to "validate" them my self as well. I do a backup of private files on a daily basis.
/Roger