Validating vaults, archives and backups

Validation is an operation that checks the possibility of data recovery from a backup.

Validation of a file backup imitates recovery of all files from the backup to a dummy destination. Validation of a disk or volume backup calculates a checksum for every data block saved in the backup. Both procedures are resource-intensive.

Validation of an archive will validate all the archive’s backups. A vault (or a location) validation will validate all archives stored in this vault (location).

While successful validation means high probability of successful recovery, it does not check all factors that influence the recovery process. If you back up the operating system, only a test recovery in bootable environment to a spare hard drive can guarantee success of the recovery. At least ensure that the backup can be successfully validated using the bootable media. 

  Different ways to create a validation task

Using the Validation page is the most general way to create a validation task. Here you can validate immediately or set up a validation schedule for any backup, archive or location you have permission to access.

Validation of an archive or of the latest backup in the archive can be scheduled as part of the backup plan. For more information see the Creating a backup plan section.

You can access the Validation page from the Vaults view. Right-click the object to validate (archive, backup or vault) and select Validate from the context menu. The Validation page will be opened with the pre-selected object as a source. All you need to do is to select when to validate and (optionally) provide a name for the task.

To create a validation task, perform the following steps. 

  General

Task name

[Optional] Enter a unique name for the validation task. A conscious name lets you quickly identify the task among the others.

Credentials

[Optional] The validation task will run on behalf of the user who is creating the task. You can change the task credentials if necessary. To access this option, select the Advanced view check box. 

  What to validate

Validate

Choose an object to validate:

Archive – in that case, you need to specify the archive.

Backup – specify the archive first, and then select the desired backup in this archive.

Vault – select a vault (or other location), which archives to validate.

Access Credentials

[Optional] Provide credentials for accessing the source if the task account does not have enough privileges to access it. To access this option, select the check box for Advanced view. 

  When to validate

Validate

Specify when and how often to perform validation.

After you configure all the required settings, click OK to create the validation task.

Validating vaults, archives and backups