OS/2 Professional/OS2PRO194.ISO/os2/wps/file/backagan/ba2inst/ba2.inf

OS/2 Help File | 1994-03-31 | 215.0 KB | 1,276 lines

ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ <hidden> File patterns ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

A file pattern in Back Again/2 is really nothing more than a file
specificiation.  Just like in OS/2, this file specification can include
wildcards, are not case sensitive, and may or may not include a drive letter or
directory. Additionally, the file pattern also indiciates whether or not
subdirectories should be checked for a match with the pattern. This flexibility
provides a way to specify which files should be and should not be backed up or
restored.

There are really two separate file pattern lists for each backup set.  The
include pattern list specifies whichs files should be backed up or restored.
For example, a common include file pattern may be "C:\*", which specifies that
all files in the root directory of drive C be marked for backup or restore.

The exclude pattern list specifies whichs files should not be backed up or
restored.  This is useful, and situations such as "backing up all files on
drive C: except .TMP files and .BAK files.". Using the example above, the file
exclude patterns would be "*.TMP" and "*.BAK", with the checkbox for including
subdirectories filled in.

Two wildcards may be used in file patterns.  The * will match any number of
characters.  "A*D" will, for example, match "ABD", "ABCED", "A long day is not
bad", etc.

The ? wildcard will match only one character.  "A?E" will match "ABE", "ACE",
and "A2E" but not "ABCE" or "AXDE".

Finally, it is important to note that if a file is explicitly marked as an
include pattern, it will not be affected by an exclude pattern.  If
"TEMPRPT.BAK" was marked as an include pattern (as opposed to matching another
include pattern) and an exclude pattern of "*.BAK" was entered, "TEMPRPT.BAK"
will still be backed up or restored.  This can be handy for excluding all files
except one of a given type.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ <hidden> Backup sets ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

Many times, a set of files will need to be repeatedly backed up. Marking the
affected files, specifying the device, and setting other options can quickly
become tedious, especially if a large number of file patterns are involved.
Back Again/2 prevents this from happening through the use of a backup set.

A backup set describes the include and exclude patterns, the device to be used
for the operation, and any other options associated with a backup operation.
This information can then be saved in a file.  Then, when this particular group
of files needs to be backed up again, the backup set is loaded instead of the
specifying everything all over again.  A description may even be added to the
backup set, describing what the backup set is for!

By default, backup sets are stored in the same directory as Back Again/2 The
file name is of the form xxx.SET, where xxx is the name of the backup set.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ <hidden> Archive catalogs ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

For each backup operation performed, Back Again/2 produces an archive catalog
that contains a list of the backed up files along with other information, such
as their location in the backup, attributes, and size data.

Catalogs are usually stored in the Back Again/2 directory, and have the same
name as the backup set except with an extension of .CAT. If a backup was done
without saving it first as a backup set, the default catalog name of BACKUP.CAT
will be used.

Catalog files are binary in nature, and are not normally printable or viewable.
However, the log/archive catalog viewer tool can be used to display a catalog
file as well as save it to a text file or print it on any attached printer.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ <hidden> Marking directories ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

Through the use of point-and-click object oriented interface, Back Again/2
provides an easy method for marking a directory, a group of directories, or
even an entire drive for backup or restore.

The directory tree window, pictured below, contains the directory tree
structure for each drive selected on the drive scan map page of the preferences
notebook (in the case of backup operations) or each drive present in the
archive catalog (in the case of restore operations).

                           The directory tree window.

Each drive is represented by a drive icon, and each directory is represented by
a folder icon.  To help organize the view and save clutter, each drive
directory tree is initially collapsed and resembles the icon representing drive
C in the figure above. By expanding a drive or folder, the folders within that
drive or folder are made visible.  In the figure above, drive D has been
expanded one level.  If a drive or folder has an arrow next to it, it contains
folders within, and may be expanded or collapsed by clicking on the arrow with
the mouse button.

Each drive and folder has a context menu associated with it that is activated
by clicking on the object with the right mouse button in standard OS/2 fashion.
This menu has seven items on it :

o Include will mark files in the folder to be backed up or restored.
  Subfolders (subdirectories) are not affected.
o Exclude will prevent files in that folder from being backed up or restored.
  Subfolders are not affected.
o Include all will mark the files in folder and in all subfolders to be backed
  up or restored.  Choosing this selection on a drive object will mark the
  entire drive.
o Exclude all will exclude all files in the folder and in all subfolders from
  being backed up or restored.  Choosing this selection on a drive object will
  prevent any files from that drive being backed up, unless they have been
  explicitly marked as included.
o Expand will expand the object to show all folders within itself, and all
  folders within those folders.  Choosing this selection on a drive object will
  show the entire directory tree.
o Collapse will collapse the object so that none of its subfolders are shown.
  Choosing this selection on a drive object will collapse the entire directory
  tree.
o Unmark will unmark a drive or folder that has been marked as included or
  excluded.

If a folder is marked for backup or restore by another file pattern, it will be
displayed with hash marks (diagonal lines) shown behind it.

Related Information

Marking files
File patterns


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ <hidden> Marking files ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

Back Again/2 makes marking individual files for backup or restoration quick and
easy through the use of a point-and-click, object-oriented interface.

The file list window, pictured below, is the primary interface for marking
individual files.  All files in the directory selected in the directory tree
window are displayed.

                              The file list window.

The window is split into two sections by the split bar.  The left section of
the window displays the file's icon, the include or exclude icon if present,
and the name of the file.    The right section of the window displays the file
size, creation date/time, last write date/time, last access date/time, and the
file attributes.  Note that on systems using the FAT file system, the creation
date/time and last access date/time values are not valid, since the FAT file
system does not record that information.

Each file has a context menu associated with it; this menu is accessed by
clicking on the desired file with the right mouse button. This menu has three
items :

o Include explicitly marks the file for inclusion in the backup or restore
  operation.
o Exclude explicitly marks the file for exclusion from the backup or restore
  operation.
o Unmark unmarks a file, removing it from the include/exclude pattern list.

If a file is marked for backup or restore by another file pattern, it will be
displayed with hash marks (diagonal lines) shown behind it.

Related Information

Marking directories
File patterns


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ <hidden> Device window ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

Back Again/2 supports many different devices under OS/2.  The device selection
window, shown below, is used to tell Back Again/2 which device should be used
for a backup, restore, verify, or other operation.

                          The device selection window.

The device valueset is used to specify the type of device.  There are four
icons, each representing a different device or type of device. From the left,
the first two icons represent diskette drives A: and B:, respectively.  The
third icon identifies a hard disk or network attached device.  The fourth icon
identifies a device that does not fit into one of the other categories, such as
a magneto optical drive attached as drive J: or a Bernoulli (tm) box attached
as drive E:.

The Removable Media checkbox is used to specify whether or not a device
supports removable media. This checkbox is enabled only for the user defined
device, since floppy diskettes are always removable and hard drives are
(usually) not removable.  If a device is not declared as removable then if that
volume fills up during a backup operation, an error will be generated. If the
device is declared to be removable, however, Back Again/2 will simply prompt
the user to insert the next volume.

The Standard Format checkbox can be used with floppy diskettes or the user
defined backup device.  When this box is checked, data will be written to the
media in using standard file name conventions.  When this box is not checked,
data is written to the device in a 'raw' fashion; diskettes produced in this
fashion will be readable only by Back Again/2  The benefit is that this will
produce approximately 20% greater backup speed.  If the diskette was formatted
by Back Again/2, then gains of up to 40% can be realized due to advanced
sector-skewing techniques. This high speed format will always erase any data on
the diskettes, so use this option with caution.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ <hidden> Pattern list window ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

Back Again/2 supports point-and-click selection of files and directories for
backup and restore operations, but there are situations when this method of
file selection is cumbersome and time consuming.  For example, selecting all
Am╨▒ Pro (tm) documents (.SAM extension) on the system can become tedious if the
files are located in many separate directories.

Fortunately, Back Again/2 provides a solution to this problem.  With the
pattern list window, shown below, the user can simply include all files
matching the pattern '*.SAM' and Back Again/2 will scan all defined drives for
files matching that description.

                            The pattern list window.

The pattern list window will list all include or exclude patterns currently
defined for the current backup set in the Defined Patterns list.  This has has
two columns; the attributes column will be either 'All' if the pattern should
include subdirectories, or 'Only' if subdirectories should not be checked by
this pattern.  The file specification column lists the actual file patterns
specification.

The Add button is used to add a pattern manually.  When this button is pressed,
a small window will be shown for the user to enter the pattern information
into.

The Remove button will remove all highlighted patterns.

When the Close button is pressed, the new file patterns are saved and Back
Again/2 will then add those patterns to the current backup set.

Related Information

File patterns


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ <hidden> Unattended operation window ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

The unattended operation mode window is used to specify how Back Again/2 should
start a backup operation for the current backup set. As shown below, there are
three ways to schedule a backup set in addition to starting the backup
manually.

                         The unattend operation window.

Normal Operation means that the backup set will always be started manually i.e.
the user will need to load the backup set in order to start a backup.  This is
the default.

Scheduled mode allows the user to specify a date and time for the backup to
occur.

Timed mode will start a backup at the interval specified. The interval, in
minutes, can range from 5 minutes to 1440 minutes (24 hours).

Daily backup mode allows the user to specify a day of the week along with a
time at which the backup should occur.  This is especially useful for starting
a backup at 6:30pm on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays for example.

Note that even if a backup set is set to use one of the three scheduled modes,
a backup can always be started manually by selecting the Backup now... menu
item from the File pull down menu.

Related Information

Backup sets
Unattended backup scheduler


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ <hidden> Compression window ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

Back Again/2 can compress data while it is being backed up, reducing the space
needed by the backed up data and in some cases, increasing the speed of the
backup.  Using a data compression algorithm similar to that used by PKZip(tm)
and other similar packages, Back Again/2 can reliably fit more data into the
same space. Data compression is enabled using the window shown below.

                        The compression selection window.

No Compression will disable data compression for all files. Data compression
can be disabled to increase backup speeds when backing up to a fast device,
such as a hard drive or LAN attached drive.  Also, disabling data compression
will increase system responsiveness during a backup, since the system is free
to do things other than compress data.

Compress Data will compress most types of files, typically achieving a 1.9:1 to
2:1 compression ration.  This will also increase the backup speed, especially
when backing up to slower devices, such as floppy diskettes.  Note that some
types of files are never compressed, since they are already compressed.  Back
Again/2 will not compress .ZIP,  .LZH, .ARC, .ARJ, or .ZOO files, since they
are already compressed.

There is a minor drawback to using data compression.  Since more data is put
into a smaller area on the backup media, more data could be lost if the media
becomes defective.  However, since Back Again/2 detects such errors during the
format and write operations, this risk is greatly reduced.  Generally, we
recommend that data compression be used for the best combination of performance
and space efficiency.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ <hidden> Overwriting files ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

When Back Again/2 restores files from a backup to the system, a file that is
being restored may already exist on the system.  Sometimes, the file that is
being restored should not replace the file already on the system for one reason
or another (same filename but different data, for example).  Other times, the
file on the system should be replaced only when the user gives approval to do
so.

Because of this, Back Again/2 provides the ability to control what action
should be taken if a file that is being restored already exists on the system.
The action to take is specified by the window shown below.

                          The overwrite options window.

When the Overwrite Existing Files option is selected, a file on the system will
always be overwritten by the file being restored if there is a name conflict.
This is the default.

The Keep Existing Files option will cause Back Again/2 to always preserve
existing files.  If there is a name conflict, that particular file will not be
restored from the backup.

The Keep Newest File option will cause Back Again/2 to overwrite an existing
file only if the existing file is older than the file about to be restored.

The Prompt option will prompt the user for the action to take in the event of a
name conflict.  The user can then respond either yes or no to overwrite the
file.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ <hidden> Redirection setup ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

Many times a backup utility is handy when rearranging the system hard drive
partitions.  For example, your system has one hard drive paritioned into drives
C, D, and E.  A new hard drive is added and you wish to have all the files on
drive E moved to drive D.  However, before doing that you must repartition the
drive so that the drive E files will fit onto drive D.  This is one situation
where the drive redirection feature of Back Again/2 is useful.  Simply back up
drives D and E, repartition your drive (format, load OS/2, etc), and then use
Back Again/2 to restore the files, using the redirection feature to restore all
files backed up from drive E to drive D.  The redirection setup window is shown
below.

                          The redirection setup window.

As shown above, redirection setup window consists of two lists of drives.

The Backed Up From listbox is where the original location (drive letter) of the
files to redirect is specified.  To select a drive from this list, simply point
and click with the mouse, or use the arrow keys on the keyboard to move to your
selection and press the spacebar to toggle the selection status.  When a drive
in this list is selected, the corresponding drive in the other listbox is also
selected.  In this way, it is easy to see what drive has been redirected by
simply clicking on the source drive and looking to see which drive in the other
listbox is highlighted.

The Restore To listbox lists the drives where the files from the drive
highlighted in the other listbox should be restored to. Notice that files from
multiple drives can be restored to one drive, but files from one drive cannot
be restored to multiple drives.

The Default restores the redirection settings to their default values.  The
default setup is that files from drive C are restored to drive C, files from
drive D are restore to drive D, and so on.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 1. Introduction ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

Topics


Welcome!
System requirements
The main window


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 1.1. Welcome! ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

                                  BackAgain / 2
                    32-bit Personal File Backup for OS/2 2.1

           Licensed Material.  Program Property of Box Turtle Software
                    Copyright (C) 1994 by Box Turtle Software
        Marketed and Distributed exclusively by Computer Data Strategies

This document is intended to be user as an aid in learning how to use Back
Again/2. In addition to this document, Back Again/2 has context sensitive
online help which is generally accessible by pressing F1 or by selecting a help
menu item or button.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 1.2. System requirements ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

Back Again/2 is written mostly in C, using IBM's excellent C Set++ development
system.  As a result, Back Again/2 is small, fast, and very efficient as
reflected by the system requirements :

o A personal computer capable of running IBM OS/2 v2.1 or later
o A mouse or other pointing device
o 1MB of disk space
o One floppy diskette drive

In addition, Back Again/2 supports many backup devices, including but not
limited to :

o 360KB, 1.2MB 5.25" floppy diskette drives
o 720KB, 1.44MB, and 2.88MB floppy diskette drives
o Local hard drives
o IBM LAN Server(tm) network attached drives
o Novell Netware(tm) network attached drives
o NFS network attached drives (TCP/IP and NFS software not included)
o Bernoulli(tm) boxes
o Magneto optical devices
o Floptical devices
o ...and more!
If you have a device you would like to see support for, please feel free to let
us know.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 1.3. The main window ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

The main Back Again/2 window, shown below is the primary interface to Back
Again/2 and is shown as soon as the program has been loaded.

                          The main Back Again/2 window.

The main window has several elements :

The menu bar, located along the top of the window underneath the window title
bar, provides easy access to all of Back Again/2's powerful features.

The tool bar, located underneath the menu bar, provides quick access to backup,
restore, verify, and other functions without having to go through several
levels of menus.

The schedule status window, in the middle of the window, shows all backup sets
currently active in the scheduler for unattended backups. Back Again/2 can
concurrently schedule several backup sets at once.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 2. Installation ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

Topics


Overview
From diskette
From hard/LAN drive
Space requirements
CONFIG.SYS changes
Desktop objects


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 2.1. Installation Overview ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

This chapter discusses installation of Back Again/2 onto a system.

Back Again/2 features an easy-to-use installation program that will not only
install Back Again/2 onto the system but can also make the required changes to
the system CONFIG.SYS file as well as create a folder on the OS/2 Workplace
Shell desktop to hold the Back Again/2 program and documentation objects.

For more information, select one of the topics from the installation topics
list.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 2.2. Installation from diskette ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

Back Again/2 is easily installed from diskettes, using the OS/2 Workplace
Shell.  To install Back Again/2 from diskette, follow these steps :

 1. Insert the Back Again/2 diskette into drive A:.
 2. Open the Drive A object located on the OS/2 desktop.
 3. Double-click on the INSTALL.EXE icon
 4. Follow the installation program prompts.

To install Back Again/2 by starting the installation program from the command
line, follow these steps :

 1. Insert the Back Again/2 diskette into drive A:.
 2. Open an OS/2 command window.
 3. Type A:INSTALL and press enter.
 4. Follow the installation program prompts.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 2.3. Installation from hard/LAN drives ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

Back Again/2 may be easily installed from a hard drive or a drive attached to
the computer by a local area network, or LAN.  To install from a hard drive or
a LAN-attached drive, follow these steps :

 1. Open an OS/2 command window.
 2. If installing from a LAN drive, ensure that your workstation is logged onto
    the LAN and that the LAN drive containing the Back Again/2 installation
    files is mounted on the system.
 3. Change to the directory containing the Back Again/2 installation files.
 4. Type INSTALL and press enter.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 2.4. Space requirements ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

Back Again/2 requires approximately 700KB of disk space to install.  This does
not include the space needed to store any archive catalog or error log files.

We recommend that at least 1MB of disk space be available for installation.
This will allow ample room for catalog and error log files.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 2.5. CONFIG.SYS changes ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

When the installation program modifies the CONFIG.SYS file, the following
happens :

o The old CONFIG.SYS file is renamed to CONFIG.BA2.
o The installation path is added to the LIBPATH= statement.
o The installation path is added to the SET PATH= statement.
o The installation path is added to the SET HELP= statement.

If the installation program was not used to make these changes, they should be
made manually with a text editor.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 2.6. Desktop objects ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

The installation program, by default, creates a folder on the desktop
containing the Back Again/2 program object, the user's manual object, and the
READ.ME file.

The installation program can also create a shadow of the program object on the
OS/2 desktop.  To have the installation program create a shadow of the program
object on the desktop, check the box marked Create Shadow on Desktop


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 3. Configuration ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

Topics


Overview
Unattended backup scheduler
Drive scan map
Diskette media
Priorities
Error options


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 3.1. Configuration Overview ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

This chapter describes advanced configuration of Back Again/2.

Back Again/2 generally does not need any configuration past what the
installation program sets up.  However, there are times when the default
configuration does not provide optimal performance or ease of use.

To alleviate this situation, Back Again/2 provides a way to change many basic
operating parameters such as the backup sets to backup in unattended mode,
drives to scan for backing up files, the type of media used for the diskette
drives, and so on.

The primary interface for configuring Back Again/2 is the preferences notebook,
accessed from the Configuration->Preferences menu item on the main window menu.
This window is arranged much like a paper notebook, complete with a spiral
binding and tabs to locate the different sections quickly and easily.  Each
page in the notebook deals with a different aspect of Back Again/2.
Additionally, most pages provides a Default and Undo button.

The Default button will reset that page to its default settings.  For example,
pressing the Default button on the Drives page will check only those drives
which are present on the system and are not removable devices.  If a particular
setting is in question, it can be reset to a 'known good' state in this way.
Keep in mind, however, that this is a 'least common denominator' solution and
may or may not be optimal for your system.

The Undo button does just that - it undoes any changes made since the last time
the preferences notebook was closed.

At the bottom of the preferences notebook window, there is a Close button.
When this button is pressed, all the settings in the notebook will be saved if
they have been changed.  The settings will also be changed if the window is
otherwise closed.  If a change has been made and it should not be saved, use
the Undo button to revert to the previous settings for that page.

Finally, each page provides detailed on-line help which is accessible by
pressing F1 or by clicking on the Help button for that page. More generalized
help is available by clicking on the Help button located next to the Close
button on the main preferences notebook window.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 3.2. Unattended backup scheduler ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

The unattended backup scheduler page of the preferences notebook is used to
schedule backup sets for unattended operation.  Back Again/2 can schedule up to
eight backup sets concurrently, using one of three different scheduling
methods.  What this means is that Back Again/2 can keep your system safe and
secure, even when no one is around.  This powerful capability is controlled
from the Unattended page of the notebook, pictured below.

                       The unattend backup notebook page.

As shown on the figure above, this notebook page has several elements :

o The scheduled sets list shows the filenames of all the backup sets in the
  scheduler. The scheduler will stay on until switched off, or will remain
  switched off until switched back on, even if Back Again/2 is ended and later
  restarted.
o The Enable Unattended Backups checkbox enables the backup scheduler when
  checked.
o The Add button is used to add a backup set to the backup scheduler. Note that
  a backup set must be defined before it can be added.
o The Remove button removes the selected backup set from the backup scheduler.
  Select the backup set to be removed from the scheduled sets list and then
  click on the Remove.  Note that this does not erase the backup set but merely
  removes it from the scheduler.
o The Edit button edits the select backup set's scheduling method and time.
  Select the backup set to change from the scheduled sets list and then click
  on the Edit button.

It is important to note that when the scheduler is active, it checks each
backup set once a minute to see if that backup set should be backed up.  If the
user is doing something else with Back Again/2 at that time, formatting a
diskette for example, the backup set will be backed up the next time the backup
times are checked.  This ensures that scheduled backups will take place as
planned with a minimum of impact on the user's interaction with Back Again/2

It is also important to note that if a backup set is scheduled such that it
will not be backed up again, the scheduler will remove it from the list of
backup sets to monitor.  This will happen, for example, when a backup set is
set to scheduled mode with a specific time and date.  Once that time and date
have passed, there is no reason in keeping the backup set active since it will
not be backed up again.  Similarily, if a backup set is added to the scheduler
but is set for manual (non-scheduled) mode, it will not be included in the list
of active backup sets.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 3.3. Drive scan map ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

The drive scan map page of the preferences notebook is used to specify which
drives should be loaded into the backup and group configuration windows, as
well as which drives should be scanned for file patterns that do not explicitly
specify a drive letter.  This allows Back Again/2 to save time by scanning only
those drives which have valid system data.  This useful feature is configured
on the Drives page of the preferences notebook, shown below.

                        The drive scan map notebook page.

To specify the drives to be scanned, simply check the box associated with that
drive letter.  Note that only drives connected to the system are able to be
checked; if a network drive is not connected to the system while the drive scan
map is being set up, that drive will not be selectable.

The Default button will reset the drive scan map to its default state of all
non-removable drives checked.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 3.4. Diskette media ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

Although Back Again/2 can use standard diskettes formatted by OS/2 or DOS,
diskettes used in the special, high-speed mode can increase backup speed by up
to 40% over the standard OS/2 format.  However, in order to do this, Back
Again/2 needs to know the kind of diskette media that will be used in each
diskette drive.  The diskette media are specified using the Diskettes page of
the preferences notebook, shown below.

                        The diskette media notebook page.

Currently, only diskette drives A: and B: are supported when using the high
speed backup mode, and therefore this notebook page contains settings for
drives A and B only.

To specify the media which will be used, select the appropriate media for the
appropriate drive from the choices presented.  Note that if the media specified
is different than that actually used, data loss may occur.  We therefore
strongly recommend that only the media specified here be used for backups done
with the high speed format option.

The Default button on this page will reset the media to be the default media
for the diskette devices detected on the system, with the exception of 2.88MB
diskette drives.  Since 2.88MB diskettes are, at the time of this writing,
somewhat rare and expensive, 2.88MB diskette drives will default to using
1.44MB media.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 3.5. Priorities ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

Since Back Again/2 is a multi-threaded OS/2 application, it makes the most use
of system resources while placing as little of a load on the system as
possible.  Generally, this will result in little if any noticeable performance
changes.  However, there may be times when the backup or restore operation
should take precedence over any other system activities or should give up as
much system resource to other applications as is possible.  The Priorities page
of the preferences notebook allows the priorities of backup and restore
operations to be set manually.

                          The priorities notebook page.

There is a slider for setting the priority for both backup and restore
operations, as shown above.  At their highest setting, they will cause the
backup or restore operation to literally dominate the system and run as fast as
possible.  Other applications will continue to run in the background, but there
will be a noticeable slowdown in those applications.  In their lowest setting,
Back Again/2 will run at near idle priority, working only when the system is
not doing anything else.

We recommend that these settings be changed in small increments.  Due to the
large variations in system configurations, the optimal setting for any given
system may well be only slightly more than the default setting.

The Default button will reset the priorities to their default settings. In this
position, Back Again/2 will receive as much CPU as any other normal
application; no more and no less.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 3.6. Error options ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

Back Again/2 always keeps track of errors and messages which may occur during a
backup or restore operation.  This powerful feature can help to track down a
problem which occured during a backup operation, or can used to facilite record
keeping.  The error and message options are controlled from the Errors page of
the preferences notebook.

                      The error and messages notebook page.

There are several elements on this page, as shown above :

o The Pause on Errors checkbox controls whether or not the current operation is
  paused when an error occurs.  If this box is not checked, the default reply
  to the message is returned and the message will be written to the log file
  (if message logging is active, see below.).
o The Log Error Messages checkbox controls whether or not errors and messages
  are written to a log file.  The logfile is simply a text file consisting of
  the date, time, and message I.D. along with a textual description of that
  message.  Message logs will continue to grow unless deleted, at which point
  they will be started over again.
o The Use Default Log File and Use Backup Set Log buttons control where the
  messages are logged.  The default log file, MESSAGES.LOG, is used for all
  backup sets when the Use Default Log File option is selected.  When the Use
  Backup Set Log option is selected, a log file is created for each backup set
  and only those messages pertaining to the current backup set will be placed
  in that file.  The name of the log file in this case will be the name of the
  backup set with an extension of .LOG.

The Default button will restore the default settings.  The default settings are
to pause on errors, and log error messages to the default log file.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 4. Backing up data ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

Topics


Overview
Why should I back up my files and data?
Backup strategies
The backup window
Loading a backup set
Marking directories
Marking files
Selecting a backup device
Editing file patterns
Setting the scheduling mode
Data compression
Saving a backup set
Starting the backup


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 4.1. Backup Overview ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

This chapter describes how to use Back Again/2 to backup files and data.

A backup operation can be invoked in several ways.  The most straightforward
method for starting a backup operation is to simply click on the backup icon
located on the main window tool bar, or select the Backup... menu item from the
File pull down menu on the main window.  This will present the backup set
definition window.  From that window, files for the backup are marked and the
Backup now... menu item on the File pull down menu item is selected to start
the actual backup.

Alternatively, if a backup set has already been defined, it can be run by
simply double clicking on the backup set icon from the drives object. If the
backup set is frequently used, it is very convenient to make a shadow of the
backup set on the desktop.  That way, to start a backup, all that needs to be
done is double click on the backup set icon.

For batch file users, Back Again/2 can be started from the command line by
simply putting the name of the backup set to backup as a parameter on the
command line.  The backup will be done and Back Again/2 will terminate once the
backup has completed.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 4.2. Why should I backup my files and data? ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

The traditional reason for backing up important files and data has been
protection in case of a power or hardware failure that could render the data on
the hard drive unusable and inaccessible.  In reality, a much greater threat is
human error. How many times has a file been deleted or changed, only to have
the user regret the action later?  If the file had been backed up, there would
not have been a problem.  This even happened during the development of Back
Again/2.  Fortunately, the information was backed up and was easily recovered.
What could have been a major disaster was averted.

Another reason for backing up critical files is that of transportation between
a machine at home and a machine at the office.  If a file will fit on one
diskette, transportation is not a problem.  But what what if there is, say, 5MB
of data that needs to be transported back and forth? Back Again/2 again solves
this problem, quickly writing data to multiple diskettes for transfer.

System failures do still occur; man has not yet created the perfect computer.
And Back Again/2 can restore critical files and data from a variety of sources,
including a LAN, much quicker and easier than could be done manually, making
Back Again/2 very useful in this role as well.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 4.3. Backup strategies ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

There are several strategies for backing up a complete system: Full,
incremental, and differential.  Each has its merits and drawbacks.

A full backup strategy simply backs up all data on the system each time a
backup is done.  This has the advantage of reducing the time needed for a full
restore should it need to be done, but the drawback generally outweighs this
advantage : each backup will take a long time, since all data on the system
will be backed up whether or not it has been changed.

A incremental backup strategy backs up all data on the system periodically and
resets the file changed flag.  This is done once per week, for example, on
Monday.  Tuesday through Friday backup only the files which have been added or
altered without reseting the changed flag.  This method takes far less time for
backups than the full strategy, since only data which has been changed is
backed up four days of the week.  However, in the event a full restoration is
needed, the most recent Monday backup must be restored, and then the most
recent backup must be restored (Thursday, for example) to bring the system up
to date.

A differential backup strategy works similarily to the incremental strategy
with the difference that the file change flags are reset after each backup.
This reduces the time needed for a backup, but increases the time needed for a
restore operation again.  In the event of a system crash on Friday, the Monday,
Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday backups would need to be restored in that
order.

We generally recommend an incremental strategy as a good comprimise between the
full and diferrential strategies, unless the data being backed up is small
enough that a full backup does not take a considerable amount of time.

Related Information

Example backup strategy


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 4.3.1. An example backup strategy ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

The following is an example of an incremental strategy.  With this strategy,
the system will be completely backed up with the additional feature of being
able to retrieve any file up to three months old.

Two backup sets need to be created for this strategy, WEEKLY and DAILY. In
addition to specifying the files to be backed up and the device, the WEEKLY
backup set needs to have the Reset changed flag option selected on the Options
pull down menu and the Changed files only option the Patterns->Eligibility menu
turned off.

The DAILY backup set is exactly like the WEEKLY backup set with two
differences.  The Reset changed flag option on the Options pull down menu must
be turned off, and the Changed files only option the Patterns->Eligibility menu
must be turned on.

Once those backup sets are defined, prepare ten volumes (sets of diskettes,
etc.) and label them Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday_1, Friday_2,
Friday_3, Month_1, Month_2, Month_3.  Note it is possible to do this using a
hard drive or LAN drive, however, different directories must be specified for
the backups rather than using different physical volumes.

Start the backup routine on a Friday evening, and run the WEEKLY backup set
with the Friday_1 volume.  Then, each day run the DAILY backup set with the
appropriate volume.

The next Friday, run the WEEKLY backup set but use the Friday_2 volume instead
of Friday_1.  Repeat next weeks daily backups, but on the third Friday, use the
Friday_3 volume.

At the end of the four week cycle, use the WEEKLY backup set and the Month_1
volume to backup the entire system. Repeat using Friday_1, Friday_2, and
Friday_3 as before, and then use Month_2.  Repeat the cycle again, but use
Month_3 at the end of the four week cycle.  Then repeat the cycle.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 4.4. The backup window ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

The backup window, shown below, is the main interface for starting a backup
operation.

                               The backup window.

The backup window consists of several elements.

The menu bar, located underneath the window title, provides access to all of
the backup functions through the use of a pull down menuing system.

The tool bar, located underneath the menu bar, provides quick access to several
common backup functions as well as an entry field for a short description of
the backup set.  By simply clicking on one of the icons on the tool bar,
different functions can be performed without having to go through several
levels of menus.

The directory tree and file list windows are the primary interface for
selecting files and directories for backup.

The status bar, located along the bottom of the window, shows the name of the
backup set currently loaded as well as the busy indicator, time, and the total
number of files selected along with the number of bytes selected.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 4.5. Loading a backup set ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

Previously created backup sets can be loaded by using the Open... menu item
located on the File pull down menu.  The backup set open window, shown below,
will then be presented.

                           The open backup set window.

Once loaded, the file include/exclude patterns will be be shown.

Related Information

Backup sets


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 4.6. Saving a backup set ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

Once all files have marked, the device has been specified, and other options
have been set, they can be saved as a backup set for later use.

To save a backup set, select the Save... option from the File pull down menu.
If the backup set does not have a name, the save backup set window shown below
will be presented.

                       The save/save as backup set window.

Enter the name of the backup set, and click on Ok button to save the backup
set.

Alternatively, the Save as... menu item may be selected. This works similarily
to the save option, except it always asks for the name of the backup set.  This
is handy for copying backup sets by loading a backup set and then saving it
under a different name.

Related Information

Backup sets


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 4.7. Starting the backup ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

Once all files have marked, the device has been specified, and other options
have been set, the backup is ready to begin.

The backup is started by selecting the Backup now menu item from the File pull
down menu item.  Once that is done, the system will scan for the files to be
backed up and will present a time estimate along with the number of volumes
required when backing up to removable media.

Note that a backup may also be started using the OS/2 Workplace Shell. If a
backup set has already been defined and saved, a shadow of it can be created on
the OS/2 desktop or in a folder of your choice, including the OS/2 system
startup folder.  Then, to initiate the backup, simply double click on the
backup set icon and the backup will begin.  If a shadow of the backup set is
placed into the system startup folder, the backup will be run each time the
system is booted.

During the backup, the progress window will show the current status of the
backup as well as list any error messages that may have been generated.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 5. Restoring data ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

Topics


Overview
The restore window
Opening a catlog file
Marking directories
Marking files
Selecting a restore device
Editing file patterns
Overwriting files
Restore redirection
Starting the restore


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 5.1. Restore Overview ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

This chapter describes how to use Back Again/2 to restore files that have been
previously backed up.

The restore window can be opened by either selecting the Restore... menu item
from the File pull down menu on the main window, or by clicking on the restore
icon ( ) located on the main window tool bar.  The restore window will then be
presented.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 5.2. The restore window ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

The restore window, shown below, is the main interface for starting a restore
operation. The restore window is very similar to the backup window, with a few
differences.  Upon first opening, the user is presented with a window for
opening an archive catalog, and the contents of the directory tree and file
list windows contain only the directories and files listed in the archive
catalog.

                               The restore window.

The restore window consists of several elements.

The menu bar, located underneath the window title, provides access to all of
the restore functions through the use of a pull down menuing system.

The tool bar, located underneath the menu bar, provides quick access to several
common restore functions as well as an entry field for a short description of
the backup set.  By simply clicking on one of the icons on the tool bar,
different functions can be performed without having to go through several
levels of menus.

The directory tree and file list windows are the primary interface for
selecting files and directories for restoration.

The status bar, located along the bottom of the window, shows the name of the
backup set currently loaded as well as the busy indicator, time, and the total
number of files selected along with the number of bytes selected.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 5.3. Loading a catalog ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

Archive catalogs for previous backups are loaded by using the Open... menu item
located on the File pull down menu.  The archive catalog open window, shown
below, will then be presented.

                        The open archive catalog window.

Once the archive catalog has been loaded, the directory tree and file list
windows will be populated with the files and directories listed in the archive
catalog.

Related Information

Archive catalogs


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 5.4. Starting a restore ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

Once the files and directories have been selected, select the Restore menu item
from the File pull down menu to start the restore operation.

The progress indication window will be shown, and the selected files and
directories will be restored.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 6. Verifying data ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

Topics


Overview
The verify window
Starting a verify


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 6.1. Overview ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

This chapter describes how to use Back Again/2 to verify previously backed up
files and data.

To ensure data integrity, Back Again/2 can verify data that has been previously
backed up using the verification tool, and can perform two different levels of
verifcation.

A verify operation can be invoked by either using the Verify item on the File
pull down menu or by clicking on the verify icon ( ) located on the tool bar.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 6.2. The verify window ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

The verify window, shown below, requires only the name of the backup set to
verify and the device where the backup set is located.

                               The verify window.

The verify window consists of several elements.

The Set entry field is used to specify the name of the backup set to verify.

The Device field shows the device and path of the device to be used for
verifying the backup.

The Setup... button is used to setup the device to be used to verify the backup
set.

The Quick verification checkbox, when checked, will select a quick verify
operation.  A quick verify differs from a full verify in that the contents of
the data is not checked against the original file.  This is useful as it is
faster, and does not require that the original file be unchanged and on the
system.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 6.3. Starting a verify operation ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

Once the backup set name and device have been specified, click on the Go button
to being the verify operation.

The progress window will be shown, and any messages generated will be displayed
along with the verify progress status.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 7. Tools and utilities ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

Topics


Overview
The diskette formatter
The log/archive catalog viewer
The archive catalog recovery tool


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 7.1. Overview ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

This chapter describes tools and utilities provided by Back Again/2

In addition to backup, restore, and verify functions, Back Again/2 provides
several other useful utilities which are discussed in this chapter.

The diskette formatter, accessed with the Format diskette item on the Tools
pull down menu, formats diskettes to be compatible with OS/2, but uses an
advanced sector-skewing technique to improve performance by up to 40% when
backing up to diskettes.

The log/archive catalog viewer, accessed with the View log/archive catalog item
on the Tools pull down menu, provides a graphical interface for viewing log and
archive catalogs from within Back Again/2  The log/archive catalog viewer may
also be accessed by clicking on the log/archive catalog viewer icon ( ) located
on the main window tool bar.

Finally, the archive catalog recovery tool, accessed by selecting the Recover
archive catalog item on the Tools pull down menu, is used to retrieve an
archive catalog from a backup set.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 7.2. The diskette formatter ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

Although Back Again/2 can use diskettes formatted by the standard OS/2 format
utilities, a performance gain can be realized by formatting the diskettes with
the Back Again/2 diskette formatter.

The format window, shown below, is used to format diskettes with Back Again/2

                           The format diskette window.

The Drive list box is used to select the diskette drive to format. At this
time, Back Again/2 only supports floppy diskette drives identified as drive A
or B.

The Media list box is used to select the type of media to be formatted.  This
defaults to the media specified on the diskette media preferences notebook
page.

Clicking on the Go button will start the format, or clicking on the Cancel
button will cancel the diskette format operation.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 7.3. The log/archive catalog viewer ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

Back Again/2 provides a useful tool for viewing log files and archive catalog
files.  Shown below, the viewer is useful for loading archive catalog files for
display, and for saving them to text files or printing them on an attached
printer.

                     The log/archive catalog viewer window.

The File pull down menu provides items for loading log and archive catalog
files, saving data to a text file, and printing the current file on an attached
printer.

The Options pull down menu provides items for customizing the font as well as
the forground and background colors.

Related Information

Archive catalogs


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 7.4. The archive catalog recovery tool ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

Back Again/2 keeps a catalog of files for each backup in the Back Again/2
directory to facilitate easy selection and quick restoration of files. However,
if the archive catalog is missing or damaged, it will be neccesary to obtain
another copy of the archive catalog.  The archive catalog recovery tool, shown
below,  will retrieve this file from the backup set.

                       The archive catalog recovery window

The Set is used to enter the name of the backup set for which to recover the
archive catalog.

The Device field shows the current device and path to the backup set archive.

The Setup... button is used to setup the device to be used to verify the backup
set.

Once the backup set name and device have been specified, click on the Go button
to start recovery of the archive catalog. Generally, the archive catalog
resides on the last volume of the backup and as a result only the last diskette
or data cartridge for the backup set will need to be read.

For backups to hard drives or LAN attached drives, the catalog recovery may
take longer since the entire must be read in order to retrieve the catalog.
However, this should still take only a few minutes.  Once the catalog has been
recovered, it is ready for use.

Related Information

Archive catalogs


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 8. Technical Support ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

We will provide technical support for Back Again/2 by telephone at
[phone] Monday through Friday, from 8:00am to 5:00pm.

Before calling, please have the version numbers of both the OS/2 operating
system and Back Again/2. If the technical support request involves an error
message, please have the error message number along with the result codes
handy.

We can also accept technical support requests via Compuserve. Address the
message to 73662,3011.  Please note that since we check Compuserve once or
twice a day, it may take a day or two for our reply to reach you.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 9. Legal disclaimer ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

In no event, unless agreed to in writing, will Computer Data Strategies (CDS)
or Box Turtle Software (BTS) be held liable for damages, including any general,
special, incidental, or consequential damages arising from the use of or the
inability to use the software generally known as Back Again/2, even if advised
of such potential loss.  This includes but is not limited to loss or corruption
of data, the inability of this software to operate with other software
programs.

Back Again/2 is provided "as is", with a thirty day money back guarentee.  In
the event of dissatisfaction on the part of the purchaser, the sole
responsibility of CDS and BTS will be to refund payment to the original
purchaser so long as the original Back Again/2 software and packaging is
received by CDS within thirty days of the order shipment date.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 10. Copyrights & Trademarks ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

The following are copyrighted by and/or trademarks of their respective
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ΓöéAm╨▒ Pro, 123                  ΓöéLotus Development   Γöé
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