Backups

fmp18

December 20, 20196 yr

Hi,

just upgraded to Filemaker Server 18 on Windows 2019 Server.

In the Logs, during the backup, he often says something like

"The file hasnt changed since the last backup so I am saving a hardlink to the original file only". (This isnt the exact text - its translated from German).

When I look at the backups though it looks like the Server really actually did backup the exact file, which is the behaviour I want.

What gives?

Is this a false message of some sort?

I absolutely do not want him "not" to back up dormant files. I transfer the files elsewhere later and for that I dont want any hard links or similar. I want the full file.

Incrementals are switched off.

Thanks

Spongebob

Edited December 20, 20196 yr by spongebob

December 20, 20196 yr

Server 2019 is not a supported OS and there are known issues. So roll back to Server 2016 to stay within support parameters.

The hard linking has been part of FMS backups since version 12. Do a google for the white papers that Steven Blackwell and myself wrote about it at the time, they are still valid.

Short version:

- when you use Windows Explorer or macOS Finder: the backup set looks complete (and it really is too) and includes all the files and when you ask for the combined file size it will be correct to.

- but that does not mean that FMS had to actually consume that disk space (or spend the time making a copy)

- such is the magic of hard-linking. If a file has not changed, the OS just adds a hard-link (a pointer if you will) to the existing iNode on the hard disk that represents the file. It does not create a new iNode that takes more disk space. This hard-linking and iNode stuff is deep in the OS and is not exposed in Windows Explorer. All that you can see is your complete backup set that you can copy and restore from.

Even shorter version: don't worry, all files are being backed up.

FMSBackUpsFAQ.pdf