Validation is an operation that checks the possibility of data recovery from a backup.
Validation of a file backup imitates recovery of all files from the backup to a dummy destination. Validation of a disk or volume backup calculates a checksum for every data block saved in the backup. Both procedures are resource-intensive.
Validation of an archive will validate all the archive's backups. A vault (or a location) validation will validate all the archives stored in this vault (location).
While successful validation means high probability of successful recovery, it does not check all factors that influence the recovery process. If you back up the operating system, only a test recovery in a bootable environment to a spare hard drive can guarantee success of the recovery. At least ensure that the backup can be successfully validated using the bootable media.
Limitation
You cannot validate archives and backups in Acronis Cloud Storage (p. 236). However, an initial seeding backup (p. 240) is automatically validated immediately after its creation.
Different ways to create a validation task
Using the Validation page is the most general way to create a validation task. Here you can validate immediately or set up a validation schedule for any backup, archive, or vault you have permission to access.
Validation of an archive or of the latest backup in the archive can be scheduled as part of the backup plan. For more information, see Creating a backup plan (p. 33).
To access the Validation page, first select a validation object: a vault, an archive, or a backup.
To select a vault, click the Vaults icon in the Navigation pane and select the vault by expandingthe vaults tree in the Vaults view or directly in the Navigation pane.
To select an archive, select a vault, and then in the Vault view select the Archive view tab and click the archive name.
To select a backup, select an archive in the Archive view, expand the archive by clicking the expand button to the left of the archive name, and then click the backup.After selecting the validation object, select Validate from the context menu. The Validation page will be opened with the pre-selected object as a source. All you need to do is to select when to validate and (optionally) provide a name for the task.
To create a validation task, perform the following steps.
What to validate
Validate
Choose an object to validate:
Archive (p. 155) - in this case, you need to specify the archive.
Backup (p. 151) - specify the archive first. Then, select the desired backup in this archive.
Credentials (p. 152)
[Optional] Provide credentials for accessing the source if the task account does not have enough privileges to access it.
When to validate
Start validation (p. 152)
Specify when and how often to perform validation.
Task parameters
Task name
[Optional] Enter a unique name for the validation task. A conscious name lets you quickly identify the task among the others.
Task's credentials (p. 153)
[Optional] The validation task will run on behalf of the user who is creating the task. You can change the task credentials if necessary.
Comments
[Optional] Enter comments on the task.
After you configure all the required settings, click OK to create the validation task.
8.1.1
Archive selection
To specify an archive to validate
1. Enter the full path to the archive location in the Path field, or select the required location in the tree (p. 102).
2. In the table to the right of the tree, select the archive. The table displays the names of the archives contained in each location you select.
While you are reviewing the location content, archives can be added, deleted or modified by another user or by the program itself according to scheduled operations. Use the Refresh button to refresh the list of archives.
3. Click OK.
8.1.2
Backup selection
To specify a backup to validate
1. In the upper pane, select a backup by its creation date/time.
The bottom part of the window displays the selected backup content, assisting you to find the right backup.
2. Click OK.
8.1.3
Vault selection
To select a vault or a location
1. Enter the full path to the vault (location) in the Path field or select the desired location in the tree.
To select a personal vault, expand the Personal group and click the appropriate vault.
To select a local folder, expand the Local folders group and click the required folder.
To select a network share, expand the Network folders group, select the required networked machine and then click the shared folder. If the network share requires access credentials, the program will ask for them.
To select a folder stored on NFS share, expand the NFS folders group and click the folder.
To select FTP or SFTP server, expand the corresponding group and click the appropriatefolder on the server.
According to the original FTP specification, credentials required for access to FTP servers are transferred through a network as plaintext. This means that the user name and password can be intercepted by an eavesdropper using a packet sniffer.
To assist you with choosing the right vault, the table displays the names of the archives
contained in each vault you select. While you are reviewing the location content, archives can be added, deleted or modified by another user or by the program itself according to scheduled operations. Use the Refresh button to refresh the list of archives.
2. Click OK.
8.1.4
Access credentials for source
Specify the credentials required for access to the location where the backup archive is stored.
To specify credentials
1. Select one of the following:
Use the task credentialsThe software will access the location using the credentials of the task account specified in the
Task parameters section.
Use the following credentialsThe software will access the location using the credentials you specify. Use this option if the task account does not have access permissions to the location. You might need to provide special credentials for a network share or a storage node vault.
Specify:
User name. When entering the name of an Active Directory user account, be sure to also specify the domain name (DOMAIN\Username or Username@domain).
Password. The password for the account. 2. Click OK.According to the original FTP specification, credentials required for access to FTP servers are transferred through a network as plaintext. This means that the user name and password can be intercepted by an eavesdropper using a packet sniffer.
8.1.5
When to validate
As validation is a resource-intensive operation, it makes sense to schedule validation to the managed machine's off-peak period. On the other hand, if you prefer to be immediately informed whether the data is not corrupted and can be successfully recovered, consider starting validation right after the task creation.
Choose one of the following:
Now - to start the validation task right after its creation, that is, after clicking OK on the Validation page.Specify the appropriate parameters as follows:
Date and time - the date and time when to start the task.
The task will be started manually (do not schedule the task) - select this check box, if you wish to start the task manually later.
On schedule - to schedule the task. To learn more about how to configure the scheduling parameters, please see the Scheduling (p. 58) section.8.1.6
Task credentials
Provide credentials for the account under which the task will run.
To specify credentials
1. Select one of the following:
Use current user credentialsThe task will run under the credentials with which the user who starts the tasks is logged on. If the task has to run on schedule, you will be asked for the current user's password on completing the task creation.
Use the following credentialsThe task will always run under the credentials you specify, whether started manually or executed on schedule.
Specify:
User name. When entering the name of an Active Directory user account, be sure to also specify the domain name (DOMAIN\Username or Username@domain).
Password. The password for the account. 2. Click OK.To learn more about using credentials in Acronis Backup, see the Owners and credentials (p. 20) section.
To learn more about operations available depending on the user privileges, see the User privileges on a managed machine (p. 22) section.