Continuous restore

Backup Manager users can recover data on request or enable automatic recovery (the Continuous Restore).

The Continuous Restore requires an additional computer (or a virtual machine) on which the same Backup Manager device is installed in the restore-only mode. The computer or virtual machine shouldn't be used for other purposes. The Backup Manager automatically synchronizes with the source computer. If any changes are detected, a restore takes place. This way the additional computer always has the most current version that mirrors the data on the source computer.

Feature availability

The Continuous Restore feature can be used on all Backup Manager devices.

Note that due to the nature of the System State data source, it needs to be restored to a different computer (not the one on which Continuous Restore is set up). Otherwise all files and settings would get overwritten and it wouldn't be possible to continue the auto recovery.

Enabling the Continuous Restore

Here is how to enable the Continuous Restore:

Install a Backup Manager device in the restore-only mode or set a device to the restore-only mode after the installation (view restore-only mode instruction).

Open the Continuous restore tab in the Backup Manager and configure your recovery preferences.

Continuous restore settings in Backup Manager

To disable the continuous recovery process, go back to the Continuous restore tab and unselect the Enable continuous restore checkbox.

Customization options

When the Continuous Restore feature is on, the Backup Manager connects to the Cloud every 30 minutes and checks for updates. This time interval can be customized through the config.ini file (in seconds).

[General]
SessionsUpdatePeriodicityForReadOnlyModeInSeconds=900

Limitations

There is a particular case of Continuous Restore that has some usage limitations. This is system state restore to a virtual machine (Virtual Disaster Recovery). The target virtual machine isn't supposed to be in use while the Continuous Restore mode is active. If the Backup Manager (or the Recovery Console) detects that the virtual machine was started in-between restore sessions, further restores will be blocked and you will get an error message. This is done to prevent possible data loss.

Here is how to unblock the Continuous Restore process.

Make a copy of the virtual machine that is currently available at the target location. Skip the step if the VM was accessed for test purposes and no important changes were made.

Run an additional restore manually to the same location. This will be a quick delta restore that will overwrite the changes at the target location (if any).

After this is done, the continuous restore process will be fully functional again.