Acronis: backups (Cloud + NAS), alerts, and remediation

Goal

Operate reliable backups with Acronis Cyber Protect Cloud:

• Backup plans by type (VM / servers / workstations)
• Destinations: Cloud and/or local NAS (SMB)
• Retention policy
• Alerts & daily monitoring
• Remediation for common errors

Step 1 — Prepare destinations

1.1 Cloud destination

1. Open the Acronis console.
2. Select the correct tenant/customer.
3. Check Cloud quota and current usage.

1.2 NAS (SMB) destination

1. Validate SMB access from a test server:
   • dedicated service account
   • read/write permissions
2. Record:
   • SMB path: smb://IP/share/folder
   • credentials stored in a secret manager

Step 2 — Create a backup plan

1. Plans → Create plan.
2. Name it (e.g.) BKP-SRV-VM-DAILY.
3. What to back up:
   • VMs: full machine (image) or selected disks
   • Servers: system + data volumes
   • SQL/Exchange: enable application-aware options if available
4. Where to back up:
   • Acronis Cloud, or
   • NAS (SMB) path + credentials
5. Schedule (example): Mon–Sat at 23:00
6. Retention (example):
   • Daily: 6 days
   • Weekly: 4 weeks
   • Monthly: 2 months
7. Save.

Step 3 — Assign the plan to devices

1. Go to Devices.
2. Filter by site/group.
3. Select target machines.
4. Assign the plan (or via policy).
5. Confirm agents are online and up to date.

Step 4 — Daily monitoring

Every day:

1. Open Dashboard / Alerts.
2. Work in this order:
   1. Critical
   2. Error
   3. Warning
3. For each alert:
   • identify plan + device
   • open run details

Step 5 — Remediation: common failures

5.1 “Not enough space / quota exceeded”

1. Check destination capacity:
   • Cloud quota + usage
   • NAS free space + snapshots
2. Review retention (too long?).
3. Options:
   • reduce retention
   • enable compression/dedup
   • move some jobs to another storage target
4. Re-run on one test device.

5.2 VMware CBT / snapshots warning

1. In vCenter, check for existing/orphan snapshots.
2. Remove/consolidate during a maintenance window.
3. Re-run the job.
4. If it persists, verify VMware/Acronis settings and agent versions.

5.3 SMB authentication failure

1. Test SMB access from a machine: \IP\share\path
2. Check:
   • expired password
   • share/NTFS permissions
   • firewall (SMB 445)
3. Update credentials in Acronis, re-test.

Step 6 — Restore validation

A backup marked “OK” is not enough: prove restore.

1. Pick one critical machine.
2. Run a restore test:
   • file restore (quick)
   • volume/VM restore (as needed)
3. Validate:
   • file integrity
   • restore time (RTO)
4. Document results (date, duration, operator, improvements).

Day-1 checklist

• [ ] Agents online and up to date
• [ ] Realistic retention
• [ ] Cloud/NAS destinations reachable
• [ ] Alerts routed to the right team (email/PSA)
• [ ] A restore test is done and documented