- \n
- Server with SQL dump volume<\/a> - you probably don\u2019t want to store this data in the cloud,<\/li>\n
- A file server with non-critical data that may be handy for users but is not convenient for business (audio files, photos, etc.)<\/li>\n
- You have a server with a few roles (SQL, data storage, Hypervisor) and, for instance, you don\u2019t want to make a backup of virtual machine drives.<\/li>\n
- The server drive that you restore the system has less capacity than the initial drive, and you want to recover only the crucial part of the system image.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
How to Exclude Files and Folders While Backing Up<\/h2>\n
Open an existing backup plan or create a new one using the Image-Based button on the Home tab. When the Create Backup wizard appears, proceed to the Select Backup Type< step and follow this guide:<\/p>\n
Select Image-Based Backup option. MSP360 Backup doesn\u2019t support file exclusion for System State backups.
\n![\"Select](\"https:\/\/www.msp360.com\/resources\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/exclusion-1.png\")
<\/p>\nOn the next step choose the drives to back up. Let\u2019s, for instance, select Backup All Drives option.
\n![\"Select](\"https:\/\/www.msp360.com\/resources\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/exclusion-2.png\")
<\/p>\nOn the next screen,\u00a0check the box Exclude files\/folders and enter the desired path in the field. You may also paste a list of files and folders, one per row.
\n![\"Edit](\"https:\/\/www.msp360.com\/resources\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/exclusion-3.png\")
\nIf you don't remember the exact path, you can edit it with advanced dialog and a folder tree.
\n![\"Exclude](\"https:\/\/www.msp360.com\/resources\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/exclusion-4.png\")
Note: If you enter the path that doesn\u2019t actually exist, MSP360 Backup will simply skip it while backing up. This path will not be removed afterward since you may want to create this file or folder later.<\/p>\nPlease keep in mind that you don\u2019t need to exclude temporary data such as VSS snapshots<\/a> and system caches since it is excluded from any backup plan by default.<\/p>\n
Set the rest of the options such as compression, encryption, etc. and save the backup plan.<\/p>\n
How to Exclude Files and Folders While Restoring<\/h2>\n
MSP360 Backup also allows excluding files and folders from an image during a restore process. Please open generic Restore Wizard using the Restore button on the Home tab and follow these steps:<\/p>\n
Proceed to Type of Data wizard screen and select the Image-Based Backup option.
\n![\"Type](\"https:\/\/www.msp360.com\/resources\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/exclusion-5.png\")
<\/p>\nSelect Restore as physical\\virtual disk and click the data size in the Used section on the next step. Now you are able to select unnecessary items using the tree view.
\n![\"Files](\"https:\/\/www.msp360.com\/resources\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/exclusion-6.png\")
\nIf you need to paste files and folders you want to exclude line by line \u2013\u00a0use Plain View tab.<\/p>\nSet the rest of options such as decryption, notification etc. and run the restore plan.
\nNote: please keep in mind, that image-based restore takes more time if you use exclude files and folders since there are additional requests to the cloud repository.<\/p>\nConclusion<\/h2>\n
Now you know how to exclude a few files during a backup or perform a flexible restore of a server image. If you want to learn more about image-based backup technology, check out our system image backup guide.<\/a><\/p>\n