Backup storage options: managing storage space on a local backup directory

Accessing backup storage options
To access the Backup storage options shown above:

1. Click Jobs in the navigation bar
2. Double-click the job you want to edit.
3. Click Destination on the left menu.
4. Click Backup storage options to expand the section.

Specifying how to manage disk space on a local backup directory

There are a number of ways in which disk space can be managed through BackupAssist on a local backup directory

1. Use all available space (recommended)
   BackupAssist will check the local directory for free disk space while a backup is in progress. If the drive is running low in disk space and cannot accommodate the new backup file, the oldest backup file on the drive will be removed. BackupAssist will continue to remove backup files in age order as required to ensure that enough space is free to store the new backup file. If your entire backup drive is dedicated to backup storage this option is recommended.
2. Use available space but always leave X Gb of free space
   Here you can define an amount of disk space to always leave free on the local drive. BackupAssist will check the local drive for free disk space while a backup is in progress and if the drive's free space goes below this value, the oldest backup file will be removed from the disk. BackupAssist will continue to remove backup files in age order as required to ensure that this amount of free space is always maintained on the disk.
3. Use a maximum size of X Gb for backups
   Here you can define a maximum amount of disk space that should be used for backup storage on the local drive. BackupAssist will scan the local drive for backup files while a backup is in progress and if the amount of disk space used for backup files goes above this value, the oldest backup file will be removed from the drive. BackupAssist will continue to remove backup files in age order as required to ensure that backup storage does not exceed this value of disk space.
4. Keep the last X backups
   Here you can determine the number of backup files that should be constantly maintained on the local drive. BackupAssist will delete the oldest backup on the drive if this number of backup files is ever exceeded.
5. Keep backups from the last X days
   Here you can choose to have BackupAssist remove any backup files on the local directory that are older than a specified number of days. For example: you may like to set this value to "14" to always have the last two week's worth of backups on the local drive.
6. Unmanaged
   Here BackupAssist will continue to fill the local directory with backup files. You will need to manually manage the disk space yourself. If the drive ever runs out of space and a backup cannot complete you will receive an error in your backup report alerting you to this fact.