Best practices for ImageCenter consolidation

Consolidation merges created backups, keeping backup chains short for faster recovery and saving storage space.

Example

Backups occur hourly on weekdays (Monday to Friday) from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., resulting in 10 incremental backups daily, 50 per week, and 200 per month.

A recommended consolidation time is Saturday at 10 p.m. when server activity is low. Avoid consolidating during high activity, like 4 p.m. on a weekday, to prevent delays and potential file blocks. This example limits the backup chain to a maximum of 150 files after consolidation, ensuring efficient memory use and faster recovery times.

Settings for the above example

Leave latest XX incremental file(s)

• The optimal value is 100, keeping a maximum of 100 original incremental backups plus 1 consolidated backup (differential backup), totaling 101 files.
  
  
  

Re-consolidate already consolidated incremental image files

• Activating only the first option creates a type of differential backup by combining consolidated backups, effectively keeping the backup chain very small.
• Combining this with the "Keep last XX incremental file(s)" option is the best combination for memory savings.
• If you want to retain consolidated files for specific reasons, activate the option "Keep last XX consolidated image file(s)" (e.g., 50).
• Important: To use this option, make sure the consolidation by schedule is set in advance.
  
  

General recommendation

• Limit the incremental backups in a chain to a maximum of 250 for faster recovery and efficient storage space use. 
• Schedule during periods of low server activity, such as evening or night hours, to avoid continuous server busyness, especially if consolidation occurs after each backup.

When replicating to other sites

If backups are replicated to other locations, consider using another ImageCenter that consolidates the received data, such as in a data center. 

Schedule: Daily
Keep last: 30 incremental File(s)
Re-consolidate already consolidated incremental image files + keep: 31 consolidated incremental image file(s)

With these settings, having 30 incremental files allows accessing hourly backups for the past 3 days. With 31 reconsolidated files, a one-month retrospective period is achieved as they are already combined. This minimally utilizes memory in the data center and ensures redundant storage. The previously consolidated data on the customer's side enables detailed hourly access. 

 Recommendations for settings

Keep original image files

When consolidating backup files, the original incremental files are automatically deleted. If there's a need to retain the originals for hourly access, as mentioned above, activate this option. It copies the originals to a subfolder, storing them until the next consolidation or for a specified number of days.

• In the example above, enabling this option requires 50% more storage space because it keeps both the originals and the consolidated backups. 
• If extended access to the originals is needed, it's recommended to keep them for 31 days. This ensures valid access to the hourly backups for a month, after which they are automatically deleted.
• If extended access to the originals is needed, it's recommended to keep them for 31 days. This ensures valid access to the hourly backups for a month, after which they are automatically deleted.

Use Smart Consolidation

• This option does not affect other settings.
• When consolidation for the backup is activated in ActiveImage Protector, deduplication occurs, reducing the backup size. However, this process demands more computing power and takes a longer time.

Use an alternate consolidation agent

• Keep this option deactivated to prevent multiple ImageCenter instances from accessing the same source, avoiding potential problems.