• AWS security protocols require very accurate time. You MUST either enable the NTP time daemon or use some other method of ensuring accurate time before attempting to use this service.
• Quota (maximum capacity) must be entered in the AWS Resource definition. The default for this Resource is 50GB. This may be changed as needed. There is no limit. At minimum it should be changed to 100GB to match the storage amount included in the base monthly AWS fee
• Multiple archives per medium utilize archive expiration times and lazy reclamation to maximize the number of archives stored for maximum safety.
• Compression and optional encryption are supported.
• Full file checksumming, for maximum data integrity, is supported.
• Instant File Restore is available from any archive. It is not necessary to read through an entire archive to restore individual files and directories.
12.6 - Theory of Operation
BackupEDGE AWS Resources are very similar to the URL Resources used for FTP Backups.
However, there are a few points you should be aware of before using them.
Segments
In a tape, DVD, or similar backup, BackupEDGE streams the data directly on to the media as a single complete archive. In AWS backups, as in FTP backups, BackupEDGE streams the data into archive files in the Amazon DevPay cloud. One of the restrictions in Amazon DevPay storage is that, before sending an archive file you must tell Amazon DevPay the length of the file you are sending.
To work with this restriction, BackupEDGE automatically segments archives; that is, it divides one logically long archive into many short archive files (called segments) that are small enough to keep from filling the hard drive while keeping the backup streaming at maximum network bandwidth. By default, these segments are 50 megabytes in length. This is configurable but usually not necessary.
BackupEDGE can write multiple archives to Amazon DevPay servers, and each archive may
contain multiple segments. BackupEDGE handles segments automatically, and provides tools for managing the segments. To maintain consistent archives, the individual segments should never be manipulated by operating system commands. This is why segments do not have names that make sense to humans.
Quotas
Each AWS Resource is assigned a storage quota. BackupEDGE will not attempt to use more storage in the Amazon storage cloud than that assigned by the quota. Hint. Set it for 100GB and you’ll never exceed the amount that comes with the base monthly fee, although you may still have additional download charges.
Retention Times
By default, all archives created to an AWS Resource by the Scheduler have a retention time (or expiration time) of one week. They will not be erased automatically until the retention time is up, but will not necessarily be erased just because its retention time is up. An archive past its
retention time is called an Expired Archive.
Space Reclamation
Archives are retained on Amazon DevPay servers at least until their expiration time has passed. After that, they are deleted in one of two ways...
Lazy Reclamation Enabled (Default)
If Lazy Reclamation is enabled, archives will remain on the Amazon DevPay server as long as possible, just in case they may be needed even after their retention time is up. This allows
maximum space utilization on the server. For an archive to be deleted... • The retention time must be up, i.e. it must be an Expired Archive.
• Adding a segment to a new archive would cause the defined quota to be exceeded.
If both conditions are true, the oldest Expired Archive will be deleted in its entirety. This process ensures that a maximum number of older archives are available on the AWS Resource.
If the quota is reached and none of the archives has expired, the backup will prompt for additional media.
By default, each backup in a Scheduled Job has a Retention Time of 1 week. This is may be changed on a per-schedule basis in the default simple Scheduler, and on a per-backup basis in the advanced Scheduler.
Lazy Reclamation Disabled
Disabling Lazy Reclamation (un-checking the Lazy Reclamation field in the Resource
Definition) configures BackupEDGE to check for and immediately erase all expired archives any
time a new backup is started to the AWS Resource. Only unexpired archives will be retained. This allows only the minimum required amount of space to be used, while still retaining as many archives as are needed.
Note that usually, if you are backing up multiple machines and/ or schedules to the same
Amazon DevPay account, you will create multiple Resources, one per machine/schedule
combination. Each Resource would use a different directory on the cloud server and have a different quota. A typical schedule would look like this:
Sample Amazon DevPay Backup Schedule
This Schedule will perform Monday through Friday backups. In the example, a five backup rotation will be created. Because of the one week default retention, Expired Archives (those older than one week old) will be retained on Amazon DevPay until it approaches the assigned storage quote. If the quota is reached and none of the archives has expired, the backup will fail. Changing the retention time in the Schedule to 2 weeks, three weeks, etc. allows easy creation of multiple minimal storage rotations.
+ Edit Backup Schedule ---+ | Schedule Name: simple_job | | Time: [23:00 ] (15:20:21) Enabled: [X] | | Sequence: web2v.microlite.com:esequence/onsite | | Backup Domain: system | | Primary Resource: [Change] web2v.microlite.com:aws!aws0 | | | | +---+ January 2015 | | | Every Sunday of the week (None) | Su Mo Tu We Th Fr Sa | | | Every Monday of the week Master | M M 3 | | | Every Tuesday of the week Master | 4 M M M M M 10 | | | Every Wednesday of the week Master | 11 M M M M M 17 | | | Every Thursday of the week Master | 18 M M M M M 24 | | | Every Friday of the week Master | 25 M M M M M 31 | | | Every Saturday of the week (None) | | | +---+ | | | | Notify / Advanced: [Change] [Reset Dates] | | Mail Summary To: root Print Summary To: NONE | | Mail Failures To: NONE Print Failures To: NONE | |[Save] [Cancel]| +---+