Acronis true image Manual

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28                                                                                 Copyright © Acronis, Inc., 2000-2009 
You can create a separate location for each user or computer while adding them to the 
backup server, distribute the users/computers between several locations, or assign the 
same location to all users/computers.  
Maintaining multiple small backup locations on a single disk does not allow for tracking 
changes in total disk space usage. At the same time, manual management of thousands 
of archives in a location may be a serious problem. Practice is the best criterion for your 
choice.  
You can move, clear or delete existing backup locations or edit their size limitations and 
storage period. 
3.5.2  Quotas and time limits for computers and users 
Individual quotas and time limits determine every computer’s or user’s quota on a backup 
server. This include  
1) maximum storage space, allocated to a user/computer, in MB, GB or TB 
2) maximum number of backups 
3) maximum number of incremental backups for each full backup 
4) maximum storage period for the user’s/computer’s backups. 
 
A storage period is the amount of time that is allotted for a user or the backup location to 
maintain a file. 
These values define how Acronis Backup Server itself will handle the backup archives. 
At first backup of the computer/user’s data to the backup server, a full backup will be 
created. The next backups will be incremental, until the maximum number of incremental 
backups is reached. After that a full backup and a set of subsequent incremental backups 
is created, then again a full backup and so on. 
 
When backing up to backup server, a user cannot select backup mode (full, incremental, 
differential). The backup mode will be set by Acronis Backup Server. 
An  attempt  to  direct  user/computer  backup  data  to  the  backup  server  while  space  or 
number quota is exceeded will not succeed. Backup to the full location will also be 
prohibited. 
An administrator can schedule a check of meeting the limitations. All archives on the 
backup server will be checked and, if the space quota is violated or the maximum number 
of backups is exceeded, the backups will be processed as follows: 
Acronis Backup Server will combine the first full backup with the next incremental one 
into one full backup which will be dated the later backup date. Then, if necessary, this 
backup will be combined with the next, until the occupied storage space (or number 
of backups) decreases to the preset limit. Thus, the archive integrity will not be 
affected, in spite of the fact that the oldest backups will be deleted. This procedure is 
called automatic consolidation
 
The actual number of backups can exceed the Maximum number of backups by one. 
This enables the program to detect the fact of quota violation and start consolidation.