questions about "skipping reparse point" -

[D-K-S]

I'm a new user - Running v8.X - latest version on server 8r2 - trying to backup workstation (win7 SP1) and getting "skipping reparse point" for a variety of files - pictures, video, documents etc.

1. One of the skipped reparse points is \\C:\......\my documents but there are two My Documents listed in the disk directory. I'm assuming one is a parse point and the other the data file that it points to. Is BA skipping only the reparse point \\C:\.....\my documents or skipping both the reparse point and the folder?

2. How can I take a look at the files that were backed-up to make sure what I need is there?

[michael.jones]

Hello,

It's Michael Jones form support:

A reparse point is a special type of file which causes some sort of redirection in the file system. A junction point is a specific type of reparse point. The other types are mount points and symbolic links. A junction point can be created on an empty directory and points to another directory somewhere on the file system (known as the target of the junction point) so that when a user accesses the junction point, they are redirected to target. For example, on Windows Vista and later, "C:\Documents and Settings\" is a reparse point with target "C:\Users\". This means that older programs that have a hard coded path to "C:\Documents and Settings\" will be redirected to use its modern equivalent "C:\Users\". A mount point is like a junction point, but points to a whole volume instead of a directory. A symbolic link is also similar to a junction point, but can point to files as well as directories. Symbolic links are a new feature in Vista and later versions of Windows.
When developing the file replication engine, we considered the following:

1. ignore the reparse point
2. skip the reparse point but give a warning
3. back up the target
4. copy the reparse point verbatim (i.e. the backup would point to the original location)
5. duplicate the reparse point and make it point to the backup copy of the original data

At the moment, the file rep engine does option 2. Option 1 is dangerous because the user might think their data is being backed up when it isn't, without any warning from BA. Option 3 is problematic because it could lead to multiple copies of the data in the backup (if both the reparse point and the target are selected for backup). Option 4 is dangerous because if the backup copy of the reparse point is deleted by a program that is not aware of reparse points (this includes Windows Explorer and the command line programs del and rmdir) then the original target will be deleted. Option 5 is problematic because the target data might not get backed up if it is not also selected. There is no issue with allowing reparse points to be skipped, they are just not supported by the destination. You can turn off the reporting by unticking the box that refers to reparse points , while editing the job, under Replication options.

The best way to see what you have backed, is start the restore process so you can see the files available for restore.

http://www.backupassist.com/education/v ... paper.html

[D-K-S]

Michael -
Thanks for the explanation and I now understand reparse points - much appreciated.

But my question - and I'm sure I'm not the first to ask this - is given that My Documents exists twice once as a reparse point and once as a document folder, when the "skipping reparse point" error appears am I still backing up the My Documents folder and it's contents?

And if there is a suggestion box - can you suggest a feature that allows the user to look at directory tree and files to see what was actually included in the backup -

Thanks!

[gsohal]

Hi There,

It's Gagan from the BackupAssist team. Thank you for posting on our forum.

With regards to your query, if My Documents folder is selected as files scheduled for backup then the folder and its content will be copied while the reparse point for the same folder is skipped.
The best way to confirm is to perform a test restore from the backup and see if the files are accessible or not.

In case you face any further issues then I'd suggest you submit the latest diagnostic report for further analysis.

I hope I have answered your query.

Regards
Gagan