File and Folder Structure in STND Backup Destination

Situation

MSP360 Backup creates folder structure in the backup destination which is different from the source folder structure.

Cause

In order to keep data organized and easily accessible MSP360 Backup software creates a specific structure of folders on the destination. This unique set of folders differs by backup type, licensing model and some additional settings selected during the plan's creation.

Solution

This is an intended behavior of the software. Here is a example of a source file path:

D:\Folder\File.txt

Here is a example of the folder structures created by the software in the Backup Destination if Advanced mode is used (you can learn about different backup modes here):

Backup_Destination\CBB_PCNAME\D$\Folder\File.txt$\19800101010101\File.txt

CBB_PCNAME - Prefix folder. Servers the purpose of separating backups by the machine.

D$\Folder - Path to the selected file on the source. (In case the backups were performed prior to 6.0 version update - the backup destination might contain D: as well as D$ folders, you can read more about this here in the Colon and Dollar Signs in Backup Paths article)

19800101010101 - Timestamp or modification date of the file. The Backup Software uses it for versioning. Each time the file is changed, so does its modification date. When software finds a file with a newer modification date, it uploads it as a new version under the new timestamp.

File.txt - Actual version of the file. This could be a Full verison of the file or a Block part of the file depending on the plan settings (you can learn about Block-Level Backup here).

This is File.txt originally located in D:\Folder and modified on the 1st of January 1980 01:01:01 for the last time.

There are some additional folders that might appear in the structure of a File-Level Backup:

ECBB_PCNAME - Is created if “Use Filename Encryption '' is enabled for one of the plans. Located at the root of the specified destination.

CBB_Archive - Created when you select an Archive Mode.

CBB_Configuration - Created when you specify to store your application settings on the cloud. Located under the Prefix folder.

Other backup types create corresponding folders under the Prefix folder.

CBB_DiskImage - Image Based Backup

CBB_HV - Hyper-V Backup

CBB_VM - VMware Backup

CBB_Database - MS SQL Server Backup

CBB_Exchange - MS Exchange Backup

We strongly recommend avoiding manually interacting with files and folder structure in the backup destination in any way outside of the Backup Software since this can render the data unrecoverable.

Please perform backup/restore/browse/purge operations via Backup Storage tab in the Backup software.