ACRONIS keeps failing no reason given

[Original Poster]

I didnt know where to post.

 

I am trying to use acronis to back up a demo server (*cough* a laptop, SSD drive btw)....I have used acronis alot and have never had a problem with it just used it for an actual server before this laptop (literally just finished the server backup). 

 

And now the setting up of the backup process gets right to the end and as a click PROCEED the machine just restarts... and I am at a loss as to why.

 

any help?

[sc302 Veteran]

download the latest standalone iso if that is what you are using.

The latest version of Acronis Backup 11.5 is build #39029 Released 8/21/2014

[Original Poster]

download the latest standalone iso if that is what you are using.

The latest version of Acronis Backup 11.5 is build #39029 Released 8/21/2014

I cannot find the latest standalone to DL

[sc302 Veteran]

it is on the acronis site if you have a active subscription.

[+Frank B. Subscriber²]

it is on the acronis site if you have a active subscription.

It wouldn't surprise me if that were the OP's problem in finding the download.

[Original Poster]

It wouldn't surprise me if that were the OP's problem in finding the download.

  :blush:

[+BudMan MVC]

Software would of been a better place than network, internet and security ;)  What do any of those 3 things have to do with your "software" to take a backup image of a hard disk?

 

Why don't you contact Acronis to support their product?  You don't tell us what OS your trying to backup, you don't tell us how your running the software, installed, boot of iso, usb?  Are you backup across the network to a local disk, etc. 

 

I am curious on what sort of answers where you expecting to get with the lack of info to work off - Didn't even tell use what version of acronis you were running. :rolleyes:

 

And now it seems this is not even a legal copy??

[Original Poster]

Software would of been a better place than network, internet and security ;)  What do any of those 3 things have to do with your "software" to take a backup image of a hard disk?

 

Why don't you contact Acronis to support their product?  You don't tell us what OS your trying to backup, you don't tell us how your running the software, installed, boot of iso, usb?  Are you backup across the network to a local disk, etc. 

 

I am curious on what sort of answers where you expecting to get with the lack of info to work off - Didn't even tell use what version of acronis you were running. :rolleyes:

 

And now it seems this is not even a legal copy??

nah it is a legal copy! (I just dont know the details to the account, not even the email...its either the guy on holiday or who left whom of which set it up) lol ...I got it working in the end...for some reason had to create the FTP connection first (before clicking on backup option rather than doing it half way through) for some reason (never had to do it before) and didnt when i re-ran on a different device...and btw Linux always linux....and yup you are right my question was a bit generic I was just more hoping for a bounce... (a bounce meaning i point to start searching I couldnt find a single thing via googling) and the reason I put it on here is because it was a live boot, backing up a server, which is the central of my network xD ...it made sense in my brain :3

[sc302 Veteran]

Moved to software.

contacting Acronis would be a wise idea, but they won't talk to you without a support agreement.

I would suggest purchasing a imaging software instead of looking for one. Acronis Backup 11.5 Server is expensive but to a corporation it is worth it. You may want to consider a cheaper alternative like easeus to-do backup server, it is about 80% cheaper.

You didn't mention anything about ftp, I have seen crashes when there is no support for the hardware in the system which would require a new disk image in most cases. Why not backup to a samba share or to a local usb drive.

[+Frank B. Subscriber²]

For extra fun, look at Symantec Backup Exec 2012 and up. Being the BE admin in our organisation I can assure you it's a great experience.

 

(insert sarcmark where required)

[patseguin Global Moderator]

+1 on Backup Exec. It is an awesome product. It backs up using shadow copy so you can back up all through the day and not worry about any database or other problems.

[sc302 Veteran]

Being the BE admin in our org, I can assure you I want to burn BE down with napalm. There are much better options but only if you are going to completely revamp your entire backup strategy/system.

There are many disk to disk backup vendors. EMC, unitrends, equalogic, just to name a few. But the solution would replace any backup exec solution. I have been a unitrends admin for over 2 years and can tell you that if fails far less than any backup exec install I have.. I have had 1 failure on unitrends in the past 3 months where backup exec has had multiple failures, many due to the backup exec not finding the device to back up to or finding the device to backup. Why can't backup exec find it but the unitrends appliance can? Goofy issues like that make me want to burn backup exec down.

[+Frank B. Subscriber²]

I've had numerous backups fail, BE servers not finding the CASO during the setup.. the whole shebang. This despite the Symantec UK guys assuring us during a BE training course that BE 2012 will work flawlessly once setup. Yeah, right.

My supervisor asked me to evaluate whether it's worth upgrading to BE 2014. Colour me skeptical - it'll likely introduce new bugs I get to deal with.

[sc302 Veteran]

I would strongly suggest looking into a disk to disk backup appliance vs dealing with backup exec or any other backup on windows. BE works best on a standalone server, but has some strange issues with network devices.

I also used the barracuda backup appliance, that worked great also with little failure. Most appliance offer a unlimited amount of devices (backup exec is licensed per device that is being backed up), the limitation is that on storage. You can backup up as many devices you want up until the storage is used up. Most storage supports deduplcation, so you are saved in that aspect (not backing up the full 1Mb of a file each time a backup is performed, it only backs up any bits that have changed within the file...similar to how shadow copies work).

[Aergan]

I've had numerous backups fail, BE servers not finding the CASO during the setup.. the whole shebang. This despite the Symantec UK guys assuring us during a BE training course that BE 2012 will work flawlessly once setup. Yeah, right.

My supervisor asked me to evaluate whether it's worth upgrading to BE 2014. Colour me skeptical - it'll likely introduce new bugs I get to deal with.

 

I remember when Symantec bought BE from Veritias, inserted their logo throughout the software and completely broke compatability with Dell's tape backup drives in their Poweredge SBS servers. Fun times!

[daorbed9]

Unfortunately disk to disk can be pretty expensive for a small to medium business for what they need.  As much as I don't really like BE it is the easiest and most stable of a windows based image backup software.  When it does have problems (most common i see is when it can't connect to its own server component or takes forever) it can be a pain to track down and fix.  However it has done more good than bad overall.  I can't count the number of times a file disappeared or got overwritten with the wrong one and in 30 seconds can pull an older version.  For the cost of the software and using storage most business already have its a simple insurance policy for a tight budget.

[sc302 Veteran]

I remember when Veritas bought it from Seagate, :P don't remember any compatibility issues then. Arcserve was a big pos at the time, and still continue not to think of them other than a butt of a joke.

[sc302 Veteran]

Unfortunately disk to disk can be pretty expensive for a small to medium business for what they need. As much as I don't really like BE it is the easiest and most stable of a windows based image backup software. When it does have problems (most common i see is when it can't connect to its own server component or takes forever) it can be a pain to track down and fix. However it has done more good than bad overall. I can't count the number of times a file disappeared or got overwritten with the wrong one and in 30 seconds can pull an older version. For the cost of the software and using storage most business already have its a simple insurance policy for a tight budget.

Disk to disk really isn't that expensive, in all honesty. It depends on how you look at it. What is your backup medium currently? What is your backup software? What are you licensed for/what should you be licensed for?

Lets take 2 servers, 1 with exchange and backup exec.

Backup exec to get it in the door is 800. The exchange option is 700. Deduplication is around 1000 if you want it. Just in software you are at 2500 (or 1500 if you choose not to have deduplication). What are you backing up to? NAS? Tape? External HD? Tape is probably the most inefficient and most costly (each cartridge is 50, a 2 week rotation is 10 tapes...500 in tapes and about 2500 in a drive, roughly 3000 in hardware). NAS? A good NAS will be a min of 500. External HD's...not exactly the best idea but it has been done and can be had for about 200 or less, but are you rotating them...if you are you are at more than a few hundred. So the way I see it a backup exec server with standard licensing will cost around 3-3500 for a full working solution on the cheap side...and that is if you don't have a dedicated backup server (another 1000 for a windows server license, plus the hard ware to run it). An entry level disk to disk unit starts at around 2000 with unlimited licensing (which would cover sql, exchange, and whatever else you choose to backup to it) and it includes deduplication. You just need to make sure you space it right for your current needs and your future needs.

[+Frank B. Subscriber²]

sc302: I've suggested using an appliance for each of our sites before. But: The powers that be insist on having 1. disk-based daily backups, 2. weekly deduplication backup to a data centre in Ireland, 3. monthly backup to tape. 

 

Step 2 is the one which fails the most often.

[sc302 Veteran]

step 2...what does it consist of? A share, mirroring an entire dataset, doubletake?

With backup exec, deduplication happens on a local drive or iscsi drive where the server has direct access to the drive. I don't know excactly what you are using for deduplication off to a site in ireland, but if it isn't a locally attached drive it will not succeed. Step 2 sounds like it has no choice other than to fail. And what exactly are the failures?

Replication of a backup isn't the easiest thing to do, esp when spanning sites. It may simply time out due to bandwidth/time constraints.

[daorbed9]

Disk to disk really isn't that expensive, in all honesty. It depends on how you look at it. What is your backup medium currently? What is your backup software? What are you licensed for/what should you be licensed for?

Lets take 2 servers, 1 with exchange and backup exec.

Backup exec to get it in the door is 800. The exchange option is 700. Deduplication is around 1000 if you want it. Just in software you are at 2500 (or 1500 if you choose not to have deduplication). What are you backing up to? NAS? Tape? External HD? Tape is probably the most inefficient and most costly (each cartridge is 50, a 2 week rotation is 10 tapes...500 in tapes and about 2500 in a drive, roughly 3000 in hardware). NAS? A good NAS will be a min of 500. External HD's...not exactly the best idea but it has been done and can be had for about 200 or less, but are you rotating them...if you are you are at more than a few hundred. So the way I see it a backup exec server with standard licensing will cost around 3-3500 for a full working solution on the cheap side...and that is if you don't have a dedicated backup server (another 1000 for a windows server license, plus the hard ware to run it). An entry level disk to disk unit starts at around 2000 with unlimited licensing (which would cover sql, exchange, and whatever else you choose to backup to it) and it includes deduplication. You just need to make sure you space it right for your current needs and your future needs.

 

 

That's not generally a typical small to medium business anymore though.  Most of my customers use hosted exchange since they don't have enough people to justify a decent pipe coming to host exchange themselves.  That will be changing this year with an influx of fiber coming but it hasn't been realistic for the cost reasons.  5M up just isn't enough anymore for a 10+ person office.  Almost all of my customers have gone from local exchange server to hosted for that reason.  With that said at that point they are generally using a domain controller and file server, which is why just running the software and using existing storage (ranges from internal raid dedicated to backups, external hd's, entry level nas to high end nas etc) is generally used.

[+Frank B. Subscriber²]

step 2...what does it consist of? A share, mirroring an entire dataset, doubletake?

With backup exec, deduplication happens on a local drive or iscsi drive where the server has direct access to the drive. I don't know excactly what you are using for deduplication off to a site in ireland, but if it isn't a locally attached drive it will not succeed. Step 2 sounds like it has no choice other than to fail. And what exactly are the failures?

Replication of a backup isn't the easiest thing to do, esp when spanning sites. It may simply time out due to bandwidth/time constraints.

Local deduplication, then replicating the data to the data centre from our sites in Germany, the US and Ireland. It fails to replicate the data ever so often.

[sc302 Veteran]

site replication offsite has always been an issue. usually due to time out, network congestion, or transmission failure. Adding backup execs ability to forget the storage location is also a factor. You need a full time body monitoring that solution.

[sc302 Veteran]

That's not generally a typical small to medium business anymore though. Most of my customers use hosted exchange since they don't have enough people to justify a decent pipe coming to host exchange themselves. That will be changing this year with an influx of fiber coming but it hasn't been realistic for the cost reasons. 5M up just isn't enough anymore for a 10+ person office. Almost all of my customers have gone from local exchange server to hosted for that reason. With that said at that point they are generally using a domain controller and file server, which is why just running the software and using existing storage (ranges from internal raid dedicated to backups, external hd's, entry level nas to high end nas etc) is generally used.

I am currently working at a small to medium business. About 300 users, it no longer made sense after 50 users to have a hosted exchange solution. Believe me, I would much rather have it hosted as the headaches of backup and support are gone off my plate. The very small mom and pop businesses and your budding firms would be foolish not to, but they probably aren't going to have an internal IT staff either. You have to look at all costs associated with it, you can see just the cost of the software plus a little hardware would put you in the same area as a disk to disk backup appliance esp if you are revamping or building from ground up.

[daorbed9]

I am currently working at a small to medium business. About 300 users, it no longer made sense after 50 users to have a hosted exchange solution. Believe me, I would much rather have it hosted as the headaches of backup and support are gone off my plate. The very small mom and pop businesses and your budding firms would be foolish not to, but they probably aren't going to have an internal IT staff either. You have to look at all costs associated with it, you can see just the cost of the software plus a little hardware would put you in the same area as a disk to disk backup appliance esp if you are revamping or building from ground up.

 

That's also one of the primary reason I help push out local exchange servers.  I got sick of corrupted mailboxes, public folders missing etc.  Without the exchange data its pretty simplified.  The most complicated I deal with is a separate SQL, file and web server.  And they are in a hosted data center who does the backups.  So these days I find that there just isn't a great solution for backups besides BE.  Acronis is junk.  BE generally works.