Creating a Backup Plan
All backups are managed through Backup Plans in the Acronis Management Console. A plan defines what data is backed up, where it is stored, and how often the backup runs.
Log in to the Acronis Management Console, select your server from the device list, and click the Backup button to create a new plan.
1. What Should Be Backed Up?
This setting defines the scope of your backup. Choose the option that matches your recovery requirements:
| Option | Description | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| Entire Machine | Backs up everything — OS, applications, and all files. | Bare-metal recovery — complete system restore |
| Disks / Volumes | Back up specific drives or partitions. | Targeted partition or drive recovery |
| Files / Folders | Select specific files and folders to back up. | Targeted protection of user data or project files |
2. Where Should It Be Stored?
This determines the destination for your backup data. In most cases, select Cloud Storage — the secure, remote storage included with your backup plan. This ensures your data remains safe even in the event of a server failure or hardware defect.
3. Configure a Schedule
Define when and how often your backups should run. You can choose between hourly, daily, weekly, and monthly intervals.
The default schedule may be limited to weekdays only. We recommend switching to a daily schedule to ensure you always have a recent backup available.
4. Set a Retention Policy
The retention policy defines how long your backups are kept. Acronis uses incremental backups — only changes since the last backup are saved, which conserves storage space.
You can set different rules for daily, weekly, and monthly backups to balance storage usage and recovery depth. Older backups are automatically deleted according to the rules you define.
5. Enable Encryption
This option protects your backup data with a strong password — ensuring that nobody can access your backed-up data without it, including Acronis itself.
Strongly recommended: Encryption is disabled by default — we strongly advise enabling it. Store your encryption password somewhere safe. Without this password, access to an encrypted backup is permanently impossible — there is no recovery option without it.
6. Save the Plan & Run the First Backup
Once all settings are configured:
Further Documentation
For detailed information on backup plan options and advanced settings, refer to the official Acronis documentation.