Backup copy backup doubts

[mephisto]

Hi guys,

I have some doubts on the backup copy jobs as follow:

Why there is not reverse incremental for it? Any change it will be available in the future?
Does the full backup gets fragmented like a normal backup job when it keep merging deltas into the full backup file?
What does the compression option does exactly? Just compression or does it defragment the backup file too?
How does the synthetic backup creation works for a full backup file? Can it be trusted to replace a proper full backup job?
Can I always create a full backup job using the backup copy function, getting the data from the existing backup?

Thanks!

[mephisto]

Also I would like to understand more about the options to keep monthly, quaterly and yearly backups using the copy jobs. Does it create a proper full backup each month for example or a full then subsequent incrementals?

[foggy]

Why there is not reverse incremental for it? Any change it will be available in the future?

Why do you want it to be reverse?

Does the full backup gets fragmented like a normal backup job when it keep merging deltas into the full backup file?

Yes, in the long run the full backup file gets fragmented.

What does the compression option does exactly? Just compression or does it defragment the backup file too?

Are you talking about full backup compact operation? If yes, then it does indeed perform backup file defragmentation.

How does the synthetic backup creation works for a full backup file? Can it be trusted to replace a proper full backup job?

Backup copy job has built-in integrity check that ensures that the copy is bit-identical to the source backup.

Can I always create a full backup job using the backup copy function, getting the data from the existing backup?

You can engage the rotated drives scenario by moving or renaming the copied full backup as a post-job task - in this case, the job will start the new backup chain and create the new full backup during next run.

Also I would like to understand more about the options to keep monthly, quaterly and yearly backups using the copy jobs. Does it create a proper full backup each month for example or a full then subsequent incrementals?

Please review this thread, most likely will answer all your questions around backup copy and GFS.

[mephisto]

Normally it it always the most recent data that needs to be recovered, so a reverse incremental makes more sense than a year worth of normal incrementals to recover something.

You said on that topic, GFS restore points are created aside the main backup copy job chain and have separate retention, so they do not affect existing regular restore points in any way.

Sorry but it is difficult to understand, will it keep a full backup and then create 2 different chains of snapshots? Is every month/quarter/year be a full standalone backup job or just a snapshot? I feel one single part of it can get corrupted, like one incremental and then all other subsequent snapshots will be useless.

Also, regarding backup fragmentation, is there a way to defragment a reserve incremental backup job? If not, is there a way to do this with a normal forward incremental?

[foggy]

Normally it it always the most recent data that needs to be recovered, so a reverse incremental makes more sense than a year worth of normal incrementals to recover something.

Noone forces you to keep such a long incremental chain. You can have 7 restore points in the backup copy chain (one full and six subsequent increments) and use GFS retention to store older (archive) restore points.

You said on that topic, GFS restore points are created aside the main backup copy job chain and have separate retention, so they do not affect existing regular restore points in any way.

Sorry but it is difficult to understand, will it keep a full backup and then create 2 different chains of snapshots? Is every month/quarter/year be a full standalone backup job or just a snapshot? I feel one single part of it can get corrupted, like one incremental and then all other subsequent snapshots will be useless.

Each GFS restore point is a separate standalone full backup (VBK file), there's no any dependence on it neither it depends on any other backup files. I'm not sure you've read the corresponding description in the user guide, so sorry for referring to it again.

Also, regarding backup fragmentation, is there a way to defragment a reserve incremental backup job? If not, is there a way to do this with a normal forward incremental?

Periodic active fulls are recommended to avoid fragmentation.

[mephisto]

I read the links provided and several other links on these topics, very good read indeed! I has sorted all my doubts, now I understand fully the normal backup job and the copy backup job functions. I was afraid the copy jobs would use a retention that is chained with other jobs like yearly would perhaps depend on the monthly incrementals and so on, but I'm glad I can make it completely independent. Again, I'm happy with all the support and will keep pushing other backup software out of the way across my clients to put Veeam in place. You guys deserve it