Backup Principles

There is a basic principle of what to do with all configurations of jobs.

• First, it is defined WHAT is to be backed up (source data to be backed up).

• After that it is defined WHEN something is backed up (according to which pre-configured schedule).

• Finally, it is defined HOW it is saved (settings with which the job is carried out).

The jobs can all be created with the basic principle "WHAT, WHEN, HOW".

Basically, a backup in NovaBACKUP consists of these components:

• Backup job

• Backup destination (either the target path location or a device that is definable as a device type in the "Device" tab first)

• Retention Period

• Schedule

It is required to associate a backup job with a backup destination (the either local or cloud backup device needs to be created first). To do that you will utilize the "Backup to:" button in the "Backup" tab in the client. You will then choose either a local backup device or a cloud backup device in that list and click OK. If you would like to look at the backup job settings, such as the retention settings for that one backup job, you would then click the "Settings" button.

The retention time is defined in the backup job settings. Starting in NovaBACKUP 21 there is no longer a need to create and maintain retention jobs (and schedule them separately), as the retention options are now in each individual backup job in the settings dialog.

A schedule is always required if a backup is to take place automatically at regular intervals.

The individual components are brought together in the backup job (for non-image backups) "Backup" tab dialog.

The "Backup" tab, showing the "Backup to..." button at the bottom left, to set the destination location for the backup to store to, and showing the settings dialog to define the retention values. Note: If your own backup job settings do not resemble the above example, make sure to use the "Backup to..." button in the main dialog at the bottom left to first select a local backup device that you created already (the 1 of 2 new device types that was added in 21.1). To see the "Hybrid Backup" related settings the selected backup device must be a local backup device, not a cloud device or a legacy device type.

For backup jobs (for non-image backups) that utilize the new local backup and cloud backup device targets that the new backup engine introduced in NovaBACKUP 21 client, the retention settings are definable inside the backup job, in the backup job settings dialog:

The Backup job "Settings" dialog, showing the "Retention" option to enable and define the maximum backup age, and also showing the new "Hybrid Backup" related settings in 21.1.

• The backup job selection, where you perform the selection of files and plugins to include in the backup job (in the tree view in the left and middle side), is defined in the "Backup" tab dialog.

• The "Backup to..." field (at the bottom left of the "Backup" tab dialog) defines where the backups are saved, as the primary storage target location.

• A backup job that is already assigned to the new local backup device type can also be enabled to secondarily, after the local backup portion is completed, also backup to the cloud backup device type after that as well, which all takes place in the same single backup job, with the new Hybrid Backup feature added in NovaBACKUP 21.1. To do that you can enable the "Enable Hybrid Backup" option in the backup job settings dialog, which is an option that is located in the Backup tab in the backup job settings in the "Hybrid Backup Config" section, and that is also where you can define the retention maximum age value for the cloud portion of the backup job. The cloud portion of the retention value is separate from the local backup retention value in that case. For a how-to read the Hybrid Backup section.

• The retention time in the job settings dialog is displayed for the individual backup job that utilizes the primary storage target location (the primary storage target location is the path or the already configured NovaBACKUP Device device name that is listed in the "Backup to..." field at the bottom left of the "Backup" tab dialog, in the first screenshot. In that first example, the backup is kept for "30 days" (which is the default Local Backup retention value). In the second example screenshot that also shows the "Hybrid Backup" setting section of the job settings dialog, the backup is kept for "60 days" (which is the default Hybrid Cloud device retention value). Just know that the initial full seed backup will never be deleted even if it is older than those maximum backup age retention values, for those two device types.

• A schedule is defined during the creation of the backup job and is then linked to the backup job. The schedule settings can be changed in the backup job that is being viewed in the "Backup" tab dialog, and a schedule can also be defined for a particular backup job utilizing the "Schedule" tab as well (to add a new schedule or edit an existing schedule in that dialog).

This way you can see at a glance how the jobs are set up.

Different Types of Backup Jobs

For File Backups (and select Server Agent plugins)

• Forever-incremental Backup: Forever incremental backup is a process in which all backups after the initial full backup are incremental only. Unlike traditional incremental, which suggests periodic full backups, using forever-incremental means that all backups are always incremental. This file backup method is available for local and cloud backups starting in NovaBACKUP 21.x. The backup types that are compatible with this scheme are File backup and the SQL/Hyper-V/System State plugin backups. With this scheme, the backup will first store as an initial full seed backup, and then after that has completed, subsequent runs of that same backup job will use the incremental scheme, and the retention that is defined at the device level will function to roll up the changes into that full seed backup as needed. This backup scheme did not exist prior to that time, so it may be something new to get used to if you are a legacy version user. Retention is defined at the backup job level, and so in that case there is no need to create and maintain a separate "retention" job in that case, for these new backup device types that utilize this scheme (as the only available scheme in that case). For a further explanation of How Incremental Forever Backup Handles the Retention Settings; this is a high-level overview of how retention works in NovaBACKUP 21, for the two 'Local Backup' and 'Cloud Storage' S3 device types (as the only backup scheme that can be utilized with those two newer device types).

For Image Backups

• Full Backup: a data or image backup of all (selected) data or drives or partitions.

• Differential Backup: a backup with all changes since the last full backup.

• Incremental Backup: A backup that only contains the files that have changed since the most recent backup (either full or incremental).

Note: The "Hybrid Backup" setting and functionality was first introduced in NovaBACKUP 21.1.