Automatic and Recommended Backup Exclusions

Backing up extraneous, redundant, or non-essential files, such as temporary files, causes unnecessarily high data change rates and excessive use of network bandwidth, which can negatively affect backup operations.

The LiveVault agent automatically excludes many directories that contain these types of files. Automatic backup exclusions are marked in LiveVault Web Portal with the "Excluded" icon . These exclusions cannot be changed in LiveVault Web Portal. However, exclusions that you create manually are not marked with the Excluded icon in LiveVault Web Portal.

In addition, some files and directories are not automatically excluded, but you might want to manually exclude them. Consider excluding files that are not business-critical and will not need to be restored in the event of data loss.

Windows Exclusions

The following list specifies files and directories that are excluded from backup under Windows. This list is not all-inclusive. For specific applications or platforms you may need to excluded additional files or directories from backup.

Exclusion Notes
General System Exclusions
DHCP jet database (backup copy) see DHCP Jet Database
Files and objects that Microsoft and other application development companies have specified should be excluded from backup see Objects Specified in the FilesNotToBackup Registry Key
Hardware abstraction layer (hal.dll) for Windows  
FAT32 volumes Windows VSS snapshots do not support FAT32 volumes
LiveVault catalog files  
Microsoft File Replication Service (FRS) Import directory see Microsoft File Replication Service (FRS)
Microsoft Indexing Service catalogs see Microsoft Indexing Service
Microsoft Web-Based Enterprise Management (WBEM) repository temporary files see Microsoft Web-Based Enterprise Management (WBEM)

NTFS tracking log from each NTFS volume

see NTFS Tracking Log

Paging files (pagefile.sys)

 
Print spool see Print Spools
Recycle bin see Recycle Bin
SMTP Mailroot folder see SMTP Mailroot Folder
Temporary folders see Temporary Folders
Temporary files in the root directory see Temporary Files in the Root Directory
Temporary Internet file directories  see Temporary Internet Files
Windows Installer temporary directory and subdirectories see Windows Installer
Files backed up by other Backup products see Third-party file backups
Application-Specific Exclusions
CIFS shares ~snapshot directory and subdirectories

see CIFS Backup: An Overview

CA BrightStor ARCserve job queue and temporary files see CA BrightStor ARCserve
Executive Software Undelete RecoveryBin directory and its subdirectories see Executive Software Undelete
Microsoft Exchange 4 and 5 Internet Mail Service directory and its subdirectories (contains for example, temporary storage directories for incoming and outgoing mail, and queues) see Microsoft Exchange: Exclusions
Microsoft Exchange 2000/2003/2007 full-text indexes (Up to six automatic exclusions; others must be manually excluded); see Microsoft Exchange: Exclusions
Microsoft Exchange 2000/2003/2007 virtual server instance directories see Microsoft Exchange: Exclusions
Microsoft Systems Management Server 2.0 certain files see Microsoft Systems Management Server (SMS)
*:\PROT_INS.SYS file used by the PointSec for PCs encryption software see Pointsec for PCs
VERITAS Backup Exec catalogs and internal data directory see Veritas Backup Exec
Antivirus Application-Specific Exclusions
CA InoculateIT/eTrust Antivirus 6.0 scan engine logs, incoming directory, temporary files, outgoing directory, move "quarantine" directory see InoculateIT and eTrust Antivirus
NetShield 2000 Activity log see NetShield
NetShield temporary directory see NetShield
Network Associates ePolicy Orchestrator certain files some files/directories, one not automatically excluded; see ePolicy Orchestrator
Norton Antivirus for Microsoft Exchange and Symantec Antivirus/Filtering for Microsoft Exchange 2000 temporary directories see Norton AntiVirus for Microsoft Exchange and Symantec AntiVirus/Filtering for Microsoft Exchange 2000
Praetor for Microsoft Exchange in, out and quarantine directories see Praetor for Microsoft Exchange
Sophos Antivirus temporary directories, auto update cache, and customer emails see Sophos Anti-Virus
Sophos MailMonitor for Exchange temporary and quarantine directories not automatically excluded; see Sophos MailMonitor for Exchange
Symantec Shared application virus definition files directory see Symantec Shared Application Files
Trend Micro ServerProtect temporary and virus directories see Trend Micro ServerProtect
Trend Micro Virus Control System agent temporary directory see Trend Micro Virus Control System Agent

Linux Exclusions

The following list specifies the directories that are automatically excluded from backup under Linux.

Directory Operating System
/boot Linux
/dev Linux
/media Linux
/proc Linux
/tmp Linux
other temporary folders see Temporary Folders

If you have questions regarding any backup exclusions, contact Customer Service for assistance.