Hard Disk Manager 17 – Basics About Backup Logic

What is a "Backup task"?

From version 17 on, the "Backup & Recovery" module of the Paragon Hard Disk Manager product line works with the Backup task as basic unit.

The operating procedure is all the same, no matter whether a certain backup should be run once or repeatedly, manually lauched or scheduled for automatic execution.

A backup task consists of 

• a backup source with the options "Entire Computer", "Disks/Volumes" oder "Files/Folders"
• a destination with the options "Local folders" (internal drives), "External drives", "Network locations" and (from version 18 on) "Cloud storages"
• a backup strategy defining a schedule, the backup set type (full backups only or chains with incremental or differential backups), backup retention and excludes.
• Options: backup container format, password protection, backup compression, backup file splitting and other settings. 
   

 

Restore points and backup chains

Whenever a backup task is run, a new restore point is created. 

If the backup strategies  chain of full and incremental backups or chain of full and differential backups are chosen, several restore points are merged to a backup chain (with an own subfolder). Backup chains can only deleted as a whole.

 

Difference compared to older versions

Earlier program versions until 16 had separate wizards for single backups and backup tasks scheduled for automatic execution, for sector-based partition or disk backups and for file-based backups or for full and incremental backups respectively. All these elements are now integrated in an unified user interface.

Thus operating the software has been remarkably simplified particularly for private users who mostly run their backups manually and in longer time intervals. Backup taks only need to be configured once, then backups can be launched by a single mouse click.

 

Archive database and timeline

All backup tasks are organized via the archive database. Every completed backup is listed as a  restore point in the timeline. Here it is shown as a turquoise line. The last three restore points are shown with a checkmark on mouse over, to attract attention to the success of the operation. Restore operations can be selected via the timeline or the table layout of the backup task.

All data resulting from a backup task are saved in one single folder with a custom number of subfolders on the selected destination storage device.  To restore archives that aren't found in the archive database for any reason, there are the features Import backup or Advanced restore options. In these wizards the archive folder or a custom subfolder is selected for importation:
 

 

Restore

Simple restore

There are several options to lauch a restore operation. The simplest method ist to click on the Restore button in the timeline. This opens a restore dialogue:
 

In this dialogue all available restore points are shown in a selection list, with the last restore point on top.

If the backup source is available the default option is restore asis (to the original location). On clicking on the destination area any other location can be selected as target of the restore operation..

Beneath the source-destination selection the selected options are shown. At the bottom there is a switch (Before changes/After changes) to compare the views of the concerned disks in their current state and with the expected changes made by the restore operation.

Not until you have verifed that the restore options have been configured correctly click on the Restore now button at the bottom. 

Extended restore options

A click on a restore point in the timeline opens a context menu:

 

In this menu you'll find the point Restore which also leads to the restore dialogue described above, the clicked restore point being preselected. 

The context menu of the timeline allows also to configure additional operations on the selected restore point.

Explore opens an archive to browse the partitions backed up e.g. to extract single files or folders from a backup without restoring it as a whole.

Mount/Unmount allows to assign drive letters (“mount”) to partitions included in the archive. By this means you can also extract files and folders from a partition or disk backup in the Windows Explorer.

The Pin option excludes the selected restore point from automatic deletion defined by the general Retention options of the backup task. A pinned restore point cannot be deleted manually unless it is unpinned. If the pinned restore point depends on others (e.g. base full backup and previous links of an incremental chain), these restore points are also protected from deletion.

Check integrity verifieds whether the archive is still in a consistent state. This integrity check is very strict and registers even minor changes! 

By a click on Delete the selected restore point will be deleted. When deleting a base archive, the complete backup chain based on it will be deleted too. If an increment is selected, deletion will include this and all following increments until the next full backup. Besides the archive database entries, the backup archives on the backup destination themselves belonging to the deleted entries are also deleted.

The same operations are also available in the table layout. Instead of a context menu these actions are shown as incons in a toolbar when a restore point is selected:

  on top left of the switch between the timeline and table layouts. On mouse over explanations on the icons will be shown.

 

Used terms

Backup task

In a backup task, source and destination of a backup are defined. Moreover, a "backup strategy" belongs to a backup task.

Backup job

Synonym for backup task (in version 16 of Hard Disk Manager) 

Backup strategy

The backup strategy consists of a schedule, the backup type, retention settings and various options like password protection, backup container format and more.

Schedule

Scheduled tasks are run by the Windows Task Scheduler module. Therefore the options available for the schedule depend on the options of the on-board Windows Task Scheduler. Usually tasks can be scheduled for hourly, daily, weekly or monthly execution or be triggered "On event" by certain system events.

No schedule

One option under “Schedule” is “No schedule (run manually)”. This allows to configure a custom complex task once - by a single click on "Back up now" the next due backup is launched.

Backup type

Backup types may be full backups only, incremental backup chains or differential backup chains. On configuring incremental or differential backup chains, the number of elements contained in one chain can be defined.

Cleanup, retention settings

Once configured, a backup chain would theoretically run infinitely following the defined options and schedule. However, this is neither desirable nor possible given the limited capacity even of large hard disks. Therefore you can define how many full backups or backup chains should be kept. Older backup chains will then be automatically deleted. The cleanup is run immediately after a backup operation.

Example: A backup chain consists of a full backup and 4 increments, two backup chains should be kept. This means that the oldest chain will not be deleted until the full backup of the fourth (!) backup chain has been created - resulting in two compete chains and one in use. This fact should be taken into account when calculating the disk space.

Timeline 

The timeline is a series of grey lines between the source and the destination. Available restore points are shown in turquoise colour (with check marks on mouse over). Yellow lines mean restore points that are currently not available (e.g. because the destination disk is not connected), red lines mean failed backups. On clicking on an available restore point a context menu is shown.

Table layout

The switch in the upper right corner of the workspace allows to switch from the timeline layout to the table layout. This view shows the restore points in a table, similar to the  Windows Explorer interface.

Restore point

A restore point is a particular archive created to on a certain time. Every restore point in the timeline shows a context menu with the possible actions (restore, open, mount etc.).  Therefore a restore point mostly equals a classical "backup" in the old backup logic. A restore point can reset a disk, a partition or files/folders to the state of the time when it was created. 

Archive database (Job database)

Backup tasks with all related information are managed in the archive database. Technically it is a small SQLite database. (More details are found in the German language article Archivdatenbank (ab Version 16).)

Archive directory

For every backup taks an archive directory is defined on configuring the task and created as base folder. Archives belonging together are saved in separate subdirectories. For a backup chain, an own subdirectory is created containing subdirectories for each archive. In one archive directory only data of a single backup task should be saved. If a second backup task tries to write into the archive directory of another task an error message will appear. This means: On creating a new backup task you must not select an existing archive directory as destination (even if the wizard seems to allow this).

Archive

An archive consists of one or several compressed archive files ("backup container") containing the data and the indes files. This set of files belonging together are save in an own subdirectory of the archive directory.

Index files

The index files contain metadata on the backup type and the backup history. The last index file respectively contains information on the whole history of the backup task. When importing an archive, only the archive directory must be specified, since the software finds the last index file to scan information on the whole content of the archive directory. These data contain a list all files belonging to the backup task and information on the backup type and password protection. The name of the backup task, the schedule, the configured length of backup chains and retention settings do not belong to the data in the index files. This makes sure that an imported archive directory contains all information necessary for restore, but does not provide the complete configuration of the backup task needed to continue the backup task in the context of a new program installation.

Backup container

The backup container consists of the compressed files containing the backup image itself (see the article Archive Formats“). The container can be split into smaller files - usually of a size of 4 GB – or be saved as one file. The files have the format of a virtual hard disk. You can chose among several formats of virtual disks, by default it is “Paragon Virtual Hard Disk” (.pVHD).

Import backup

The Import backup feature allows to specify an archive directory which is scanned into the archive database. This function is provided for archives not already registered in the archive database. This is the reason why it is somewhat hidden in the interface. It makes sense to use this function after a Windows reset or after deleting the archive database of a previous installation.

Please note that an imported backup task contains all information necessary for restore, but does not provide the complete configuration of the backup task needed to continue the backup task in the context of a new program installation. For the latter, the backup strategy and schedule must be configured again.
When importing a backup task already existing partially or completely in the archive database, the following error message will appear:
“Something went wrong
Failed to import the backup: Backup set path ‘[archive directory]’ is already exists in the database or intersects with existing backup job ‘[name of backup task]’."
The circumstances described in the article Hard Disk Manager 17 – Archive Importation to WinPE Environment Fails also apply for the running Windows environment.

Advanced restore options

The Advanced restore options tab allows to restore single backups not already registered in the archive database. From version 17.39.0 on, you can as well open restore points of backup tasks registered in the archive database there. (In program versions before 17.39.0 an error message appears if the restore point is already registered in the archive database.) 

Images

Image 1: Backup task - timeline view

Backup tasks always consist of the elements source and destination, the schedule, the backup type, retention settings and various other options. 

Image 2: Backup task - table view

Backup tasks always consist of the elements source and destination, the schedule, the backup type, retention settings and various other options. 

Image 3: Timeline

The timeline is a series of grey lines between the source and the destination. Available restore points are shown in turquoise colour (with check marks on mouse over). Yellow lines mean restore points that are currently not available (e.g. because the destination disk is not connected), red lines mean failed backups. On clicking on an available restore point a context menu is shown.

Image 4: Switch between timeline view and table view

The switch in the upper right corner of the workspace allows to switch from the timeline layout to the table layout. This view shows the restore points in a table, similar to the  Windows Explorer interface.

Image 5: Icon bar

The icons in the icon bar from left to right correspond to the context menu: Restore, Browse, Mount/Unmount, Pin, Verify integrity, Delete.

Image 6: Restore dialogue

In this dialogue all available restore points are shown in a selection list, with the last restore point on top.

If the backup source is available the default option is restore asis (to the original location). On clicking on the destination area any other location can be selected as target of the restore operation..

Beneath the source-destination selection the selected options are shown. At the bottom there is a switch (Before changes/After changes) to compare the views of the concerned disks in their current state and with the expected changes made by the restore operation.

Not until you have verifed that the restore options have been configured correctly click on the Restore now button at the bottom. 

Image 7: Importation dialogue

The Import backup feature allows to specify an archive directory which is scanned into the archive database. Then all backup tasks in the specified directory and all its subdirectories will be imported.

This function is provided for archives not already registered in the archive database. This is the reason why it is somewhat hidden in the interface. It makes sense to use this function after a Windows reset or after deleting the archive database of a previous installation.