====== Groom Backup Jobs to Save on Backup Costs ======

See also **[[computing:backup:multi_level_backup|Multi-Level Backup System]]**

:!: The basic **goal** of this page is to **keep the cost of backup as low as possible while mitigating risk and minimizing administrative effort** (//your// effort).

**The cost of your backup is closely related to the amount of data being backed up.**  With online backup, the cost is usually directly related to the amount storage space used.  With our online backup system, the account sizes and pricing on based on **compressed** storage.

While some of the recommendations made on this page may be specific to our own online backup system, the concepts are generally applicable to most backup systems.

===== Backup Storage Space Used =====

There are **two basic components to your backup storage**:

  - **Data Area** - Current files being backed up
  - **Retention Area** - Deleted files and older versions of files

:!: In most common small business scenarios, **the retention area is a very small percentage of the total storage space used**.  This means that **retention adjustments to backup jobs rarely result in the desired outcome** of cheaper backups.

{{ :computing:backup:ahsay_account_storage.png?750 |Backup Account Storage Utilization}}

===== Data Area Options =====

:!: This is where adjustments to backup job definitions can result in significant changes to the amount of backup space used (to keep costs lower).

Here are a few things one can do to **minimize the amount of data being backed up** and, therefore, **reduce backup costs**:

**Exclude certain folders (directories) on the source from being backed up**:

  * Folders/directories often contain data/files that **may not need to be backed up**:
    * **Backup files** - don't always need to be backed up again
    * **Downloaded files** - are usually easy to re-download
    * **Temporary files** - don't usually need to be backed up
  * **Calculate the importance** of files currently being backed up then **minimize the files selected for backup**
    * Perhaps you have a **multi-level backup plan** in place where:
      * The 'level 1' (local copy) backup system may back up **everything** to be useful for disaster preparedness
      * 'Level 1' backup systems may allow you to prioritize only core files/folders for online/offsite backups in order to save on costs

===== Retention Area Options =====

Files deleted from your file server are not immediately deleted from the stored backups.  They are retained for a period of time based on the retention settings.

:!: We generally recommend at least a **90 day retention period**, but many prefer longer.

**Changing the retention settings, even drastically, will probably not save much space.**  However, there are sometimes **good reasons to adjust retention settings**:

  - You need to **lower the amount of used space immediately**
    * You can change the retention to a shorter period
      * Wait a day for the system to clean out the retention area
      * Then (re)set the retention period to the desired setting
  - You **recently moved or renamed large folders/directories on the source**
    * You can change the retention to a shorter period
      * Wait a day for the system to back up all the 'new' files/folders and clean out the retention area
      * Then (re)set the retention period to the desired permanent setting