exclude

[tvm]

is there any way to exclude folders from Windows WS backup?
like Temp, Downloads and so on ...

[wishr]

Hi Tony,

Is this what you are looking for?

Thanks

[tvm]

close, but not exactly
i want exclude the folders not include them, all the users have their own set of things installed and it may change over time, but they have all been instructed to keep their downloads and personal files in certain folders ("d:\Personal" for example)
i want to exclude those folders from backups as they are not relevant to production

i see a filter option, but will it take a file path as a parameter of only file extensions?

thank you,
tony

[wishr]

Hi Tony,

In this case, you should just untick the folders you do not want to be backed up. The file filter mask is only applicable to files and works with file-level backup mode.

Thanks

[tvm]

not great solution in a real environment, as people have been known to install software and create new folders and files over time
it's hard to keep up with the changes if i use "include" rather than "exclude" approach for backups
can we,may be, turn this into a feature request?

[wishr]

So in case of the exclusion, how would you like it to function? If a user creates a new folder you have to manually exclude it - don't you?

[tvm]

in case of a new folder - yes, but that's not what this is about

some folders like "temp", "downloads" or "personal" in my case, exist and are actively used from the first day a WS is created
since they are not critical for production, they don't need to be backed up

think of this as a bit more custom variation of not including the OS swap files

[wipash]

I'm interested in the solution to this as well.
I would like to back up the entire machine, excluding one or more specific folders, for example C:\TempData.
Bonus points if you allow us to exclude some well-known folders, such as %AppData% and %LocalAppData%.

Setting a file-level backup and choosing folders to include is not an acceptable solution, as folders differ from workstation to workstation, and sometimes new folders are created that we'd want to have backed up.

[wishr]

Hello gentlemen,

some folders like "temp", "downloads" or "personal" in my case, exist and are actively used from the first day a WS is created
since they are not critical for production, they don't need to be backed up

Once again, could you please explain in details why it is not convenient to simply untick these folders during backup job configuration?

One more question: you use standalone agents or managed by B&R server?

I would like to back up the entire machine, excluding one or more specific folders, for example, C:\TempData.

Simply tick the whole volume, then untick the C:\TempData folder.

Bonus points if you allow us to exclude some well-known folders, such as %AppData% and %LocalAppData%.

Similarly, tick the whole volume, then untick the folders you do not want to be backed up.

And just a guess: Am I right assuming that you want to be able to exclude similar folders across different workstations when performing a file-level backup? I.e. you set it up globally using a wildcard within a file-level backup job and if a folder matching the wildcard exists on a machine it will be excluded from the backup?

Thanks

[tvm]

1)it won't be practical to drill down into every WS to click on the folders, as user have been known to create new ones from time to time
this is as clear a case for "exclude" rather than "include" function

2) centrally managed B&R

and your assumption is 100% correct!

thank you
tony

[wishr]

Dear Tony,

Thank you for the clarification.

Such functionality already exists in Agent Jobs Managed by B&R server. Please take a look at the Configuring Filers section. Please mind the notes in blue. You may specify the whole paths to the folders you'd like to be excluded from the backup.

Please let me know if this is what you require.

Thanks

[ml35]

my backup in free agent for windows is "entire computer (recommended)"
it says "deleted, temporary and page files are automatically excluded"

what does "temporary" mean in this context?
it's the contents of the %TEMP% variable? something else?

also, can this mode be enhanced to be able to specify additional custom exclude folders?

[wishr]

Hi Ml35,

Please refer to the guide section mentioned in my post above for clarification.

Thank you