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Copyright © Acronis, Inc., 2000-2010
Linux
A volume backup stores all files and folders of the selected volume independent of their
attributes, a boot record and the file system super block.
A disk backup stores all disk volumes as well as the zero track with the master boot record.
Volumes with unsupported file systems will be backed up sector-by-sector.
Note on Windows machines
Windows operating systems prior to Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 keep system files and
the loader on the same volume, unless a different volume has been specified during the system
installation. If Windows files and the loader are on the same volume, selecting either
[SYSTEM]
or
[BOOT]
is enough to back up the entire operating system. Otherwise select both
[SYSTEM]
and
[BOOT]
.
Operating systems starting from Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 create a dedicated system
volume called
System Reserved
. If you select
[SYSTEM]
, only this dedicated volume will be backed
up. Always select both
[SYSTEM]
and
[BOOT]
when backing up machines running these operating
systems.
Since backup policies are commonly applied to multiple machines with various operating systems,
Acronis recommends that you always select both the system and the boot volumes for backup, to
ensure the integrity of every operating system.
Note on Linux machines
You can include both Windows and Linux volumes (partitions) in one centralized backup policy.
For instance, it is possible to set up a policy to back up volume
C:
on Windows machines and partition
/dev/hda1
on Linux machines.
Unlike Windows, there is no clear distinction between a volume (partition) and a folder (directory) in
Linux. Linux has the root partition (denoted as /), to which elements of various types—including hard
disks, directories, and system devices—are attached (mounted), forming a tree similar to the file and
folder structure in Windows.
For example, let a Linux machine contain a hard disk which is split into three volumes, or partitions:
the first, second, and third partitions. These partitions are available in the tree as /dev/hda1,
/dev/hda2, and /dev/hda3, respectively. To perform a disk backup of the, say, third partition, one can
type /dev/hda3 in the row of the
Volumes to back up selection rules
dialog box.
Furthermore, a Linux partition can be mounted anywhere inside the tree. Say, /dev/hda3, can be
mounted as a “subdirectory” inside the tree, such as /home/usr/docs. In this case, one can type
either /dev/hda3 or /home/usr/docs in the Volume field to perform a disk backup of the third
partition.
In general, when setting up a centralized policy to perform volume backups of Linux machines, make
sure that the paths entered in the Volume field correspond to partitions (such as /dev/hda2 or
/home/usr/docs in the previous example), and not to directories.
Standard names for Linux partitions
Names such as /dev/hda1 reflect the standard way of naming IDE hard disk partitions in Linux. The
prefix hd signifies the disk type (IDE); a means that this is the first IDE hard disk on the system, and 1
denotes the first partition on the disk.
