Copyright © Acronis, Inc., 2000-2009 252.5. GFS backup schemeThis section covers implementation of the Grandfather-Father-Son (GFS) backup scheme in AcronisBackup & Recovery 10.With this backup scheme you are not allowed to back up more often than once a day. The schemeenables you to mark out the daily, weekly and monthly cycles in your daily backup schedule and setthe retention periods for the daily, monthly and weekly backups. The daily backups are referred to as“sons”; weekly backups are referred to as “fathers”; the longest lived monthly backups are called“grandfathers”.GFS as a tape rotation schemeGFS was initially created and is often referred to as a tape rotation scheme. Tape rotation schemes,as such, do not provide automation. They just determine:• how many tapes you need to enable recovery with the desired resolution (time interval betweenrecovery points) and roll-back period• which tapes you should overwrite with the forthcoming backup.Tape rotation schemes enable you to get by with the minimal number of cartridges and not to beburied in used tapes. A lot of Internet sources describe varieties of the GFS tape rotation scheme. Youare free to use any of the varieties when backing up to a locally attached tape device.GFS by AcronisWith Acronis Backup & Recovery 10, you can easily set up a backup plan that will regularly back updata and clean up the resulting archive according to the GFS scheme.Create the backup plan as usual. For the backup destination, choose any storage device whereautomatic cleanup can be performed, such as an HDD-based storage device or robotic tape library.(Since the space freed on the tape after cleanup cannot be reused until all the tape becomes free,take into account additional considerations when using GFS on a tape library.)The following is an explanation of the settings that are specific for the GFS backup scheme.GFS-related settings of the backup planStart backup at:Back up on:This step creates the total backup schedule, that is, defines all the days you need to back up on.Assume you select backing up at 8:00 PM on workdays. Here is the total schedule you havedefined.“B” stands for “backup”.The total schedule.Schedule: Workdays at 8:00 PM
