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Active Full Method for Archive Backups

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    You can instruct Veeam Backup & Replication to create archive full backups (backups retained by the GFS scheme) with the active full backup method. The active full backup method is recommended if you use a deduplicating storage appliance as the target backup repository. Active full backup helps improve the backup copy job performance and reduce the load on the target backup repository.

    By default, Veeam Backup & Replication uses the synthetic backup method to create archive full backups. However, synthesizing archive full backups can cause problems with storage performance on deduplicating storage appliances. Deduplicating storage appliances are optimized for sequential data access. The synthetic backup creation, however, takes random I/O operations — Veeam Backup & Replication reads data from existing backup files and writes data to the synthesized archive full backup file. As a result, the storage performance can degrade.

    In addition, VM backups reside on the target backup repository in the deduplicated and compressed state. Before creating synthetic full backups, Veeam Backup & Replication needs to rehydrate and uncompress data blocks of backups, which requires additional time and resources.

    To optimize the backup copy job performance on deduplicating storage appliances, you can enable the Read the entire restore point from source instead of synthesizing it from increments option in the backup copy job settings. Veeam Backup & Replication will copy data for the archive full backup from restore points on the source backup repository, transport it to the target backup repository over the network and write it to the archive full backup file. The load on the network will be higher but the performance of the deduplicating storage appliance will increase.

    Active Full Method for Archive Backups Note:

    The active full backup method does not always copy the most recent restore point from the source backup repository. If the necessary recent restore point has not been created by the time the GFS task must start, Veeam Backup & Replication will copy the latest available restore point from the source backup repository. If data transfer does not fit the synchronization interval, the synchronization interval will be extended.

    Active Full Method for Archive Backups 

    Retention Policy for Active Full Archive Backups

    If you enable the Read the entire restore point from source instead of synthesizing it from increments option, Veeam Backup & Replication stops transforming the backup chain with every new synchronization interval and no longer uses the forever incremental backup method for the backup copy job. Instead, it applies retention rules of the forward incremental backup method to the backup chain.

    Veeam Backup & Replication waits until the number of restore points in the new backup chain is greater than the retention policy setting, and then removes restore points from the previous backup chain. Archive full backups remain on disk because Veeam Backup & Replication applies a separate retention policy scheme to archive full backups.

    For more information, see Retention for Forward Incremental Backup.

    For example, you have configured a backup copy job in the following way:

    • The backup copy job starts on Sunday; the synchronization interval is equal to 1 day.
    • Simple retention policy is set to 4.
    • Weekly full backups are enabled and scheduled on Thursday.
    • The Read the entire restore point from source instead of synthesizing it from increments option is enabled.

    Veeam Backup & Replication will run the backup copy job in the following way:

    1. During the first 4 synchronization cycles, Sunday through Wednesday, Veeam Backup & Replication will create a full backup and 3 incremental backups.
    2. On Thursday, Veeam Backup & Replication will add a weekly full backup to the backup chain.
    3. Friday through Sunday, Veeam Backup & Replication will add incremental backups to the new backup chain. On Sunday, Veeam Backup & Replication will remove the whole previous backup chain.

    Active Full Method for Archive Backups 

    1. Veeam Backup & Replication will keep on adding incremental backups to the backup chain until the next Thursday. On Thursday, Veeam Backup & Replication will create a new weekly full backup.
    2. Friday through Sunday, Veeam Backup & Replication will add incremental backups to the new backup chain.
    3. On Monday, Veeam Backup & Replication will add a new incremental backup to the new backup chain, and remove incremental backups from the previous backup chain. The weekly full backup will remain on disk.

    Active Full Method for Archive Backups