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Can HP Data Protector get backup source files from a text file?

If not, how can I get a backup of only changed or created files during the day, like ntbackup's daily backup type (without full backup) with HP Data Protector.

Thanks.

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3 Answers 3

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Dataprotector uses a concept called enhanced incremental, and uses it to do a backup schema called incremental forever.

With conventional incremental backup, the criterion for determining whether a file has changed since a previous backup is the file’s modification time, however, there are cases where this criterion is not effective. For example, if a file has been renamed, moved to a new location, or if some of its attributes have changed, its modification time does not change. Consequently, the file is not backed up in an incremental backup. Such files are backed up in the next full backup. With enhanced incremental backup, Data Protector introduced its own mechanism to reliably detect whether a file has been changed and theref ore should be put into the incremental backup.

This mechanism includes any changes that any file has sustained during any given day.

So, no extreme scripting is needed :)

Best Regards,

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  • Do you happen to work for HP in their OmniBack division, perhaps? I ask because a) your answer reads like a press release and b) because nothing in the original question even hints that he's using a Data Protector version with their "enhanced" incremental technology, which is pretty unimpressive anyway.
    – HopelessN00b
    Aug 29, 2012 at 0:08
  • Nope, just a power user :). And regarding to b, well, anything installed from 6.0 (released like a long time ago) already have enhanced incremental, so i assumed it was. You really sound frustrated, what tech do you like the most? Btw, i've already used veritas, n i'd keep DP anytime :)
    – rm3na
    Aug 29, 2012 at 4:32
  • Well, you got the frustrated part right. I hate DataProtector with a fiery passion. It's clunky, difficult to setup, keeps countermanding our instructions and just generally not working. I've used a lot of different backup software, and I'd have to say that I don't particularly like or dislike most of them, but the other backup suites I can set and forget about, whereas DataProtector requires constant manual attention to get it to behave as configured.
    – HopelessN00b
    Aug 29, 2012 at 10:44
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It's not possible to perform an incremental backup without a full backup.

A full backup works as a reference to compare what has changed and what hasn't.

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  • This is incorrect. An incremental or differential backup can certainly be performed without a full backup to reference, by using either time stamps or the archive bit. Since you've bumped it now anyway, I may as well provide an accurate answer. :/
    – HopelessN00b
    Aug 28, 2012 at 0:54
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No, Data Protector cannot get a list of files to backup from a .txt file, or a .csv, tab delimited, or similar. Data Protector stores all its information, including backup and restore data in a database, which I believe is in a proprietary format.

To get a backup of only files altered during the day, you'd need to create a custom backup job linked to a query that selects files based on date modified, and that's a very big headache. It can be done, it's generally more effort than it's worth, and it's probably a much better idea just to a[nother] full back up of the server.

So that you know for next time, the type of backup you're talking about is generally referred to as an incremental or differential backup (depending on vendor and/or country).

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