CPTec Backup

The software is used for automated archiving of data files on hard disks. Except for the initial setup and configuration, the programs do not require any user interaction. Log files and e-mail messages are used for communication with the user.

The process is controlled via configuration data in the XML format. There is no user interface.

For archiving of the data, the files are copied 1:1 including the access rights, if desired. This means that the access rights can be restored directly from the target disk. Ease of use and a high level of transparency for non IT experts were significant reasons why we developed our own backup software. Read Motivation for more information on our project.

However, the software is not intended for archiving the operating system partition of a PC in order to restore it if the need arises. The operating system partion in general should be archived separately using a tool for creating harddrive images.

• FullBackup is used for archiving of complete drives/paths/shared folders with user data, e.g. for a complete backup created every week.
• IncrementalBackup only archives data that have changed since the last backup, e.g. for a daily backup created in the evening. IncrementalBackup may also be started several times a day. In this case all changes that occur during the day will be collected.

Both Backup versions store the respective backup run automatically and organized with respect to the date. In addition, they also take care of deleting the most obsolete backup files if space gets short on the target drive. The user only has to make sure that the space available on the target drives is in a reasonable proportion to the archived data. It is also possible to specify several alternative target disks. In this case the tools will always select the disk that has not been accessed for the longest period of time. This strategy ensures that the maximum number of complete backups (FullBackup) and old versions of each file (IncrementalBackup) is available at any time.

In order to limit the risk of data loss by faulty disks, the backup can be written to several disks one after the other. It is e.g. possible to archive to an external disk and to an internal disk simulataneously. The risk of data loss is minimized this way.

The names of the copied files are logged in a a log file and optionally also in a database. This way, it is easy to find out which version of a file has been archived at which time and on which disk.

Messages about errors and problems during archiving (e.g. if files were open while the backup was created) are stored in a log file and can optionally be reported via e-mail.

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