The Macrium Reflect X backend has been comprehensively overhauled, and we've added some great new functionality as well...
Scheduled for initial Beta release...
| Resumable Images Experience uninterrupted backups with Reflect X, designed to conquer network issues and other transient errors effortlessly. It even resumes seamlessly after a system reboot ensuring your data is always secure, no matter what. For more information see here |
| Reflect X is faster! We've dramatically enhanced backup, restore and clone speeds, all while maintaining our unmatched reliability. For more information see here |
| Our File Format is Now Open Source! We've now opened up our .mrimg & .mrbak file format on GitHub, and provided the full source code for restoring all data For more information see here |
Coming very soon..
| New UI Design We've updated the Reflect user interface to follow a newer Sidebar Navigation design pattern. This makes it easier to navigate the full functionality of Macrium Reflect for both new and existing users. For more information see here |
| Filter files and folders from Images Reflect X enhances your backup efficiency by allowing you to exclude files and folders from Volume Shadow copies using customizable wildcard filters. Now, you can easily omit temporary files and other non-essential data from your disk images. For more information see here |
Resumable Images
In the first Beta release, you can switch off your PC, kill the reflectBin.exe process in Task Manager or Reboot your PC to invoke an Image backup resume.
Reflect X now creates persistent VSS snapshots that can be used to resume Images in the event of transient or even catastrophic errors. Images will automatically resume in the background.
To configure the settings, take 'Other Tasks' > 'Edit Defaults and Settings' > 'Advanced' > 'Advanced Error Handling'
Flush Delay Settings
The flush delay settings control the frequency of saving metadata and index information. This process is detailed below.
Additional Files Created
When resumable images are enabled, several additional files are created in the destination folder for each image and volume:
- .metadata file: Contains information related to the entire backup, such as the status of the backup, the number of volumes, and snapshot information.
- .bitmap file: Stores volume bitmap information.
- .block.table file: Stores index information.
- .tmp file: Stores the actual backup data, similar to non-resumable backups.
Metadata and Index Information
- Metadata and index information are periodically saved, a process controlled by the flush delay setting.
- The .metadata file contains overall backup information.
- The .block.table file contains index information for the volumes.
- The .bitmap file contains bitmap information for the volumes.
Temporary Files and Backup Completion
Upon successful completion of the backup:
- All temporary files are deleted.
- The .tmp file is renamed to .mrimg.
- Index information is written into the .mrimg file.
Handling Read/Write Errors
- In case of read/write errors, the backup will be retried for the specified time as per the Failure (Read/Write error) retry setting.
- Temporary files will be deleted at the end of the retry period, regardless of whether the backup completed successfully or failed.
- Customers may want to increase the retry count to avoid premature deletion.
- Retry delay: The period to wait before retrying.
Note: In the current version, the Failure (Read/Write error) retry and Retry delay settings are not used, meaning read/write errors are not retried.
Automatic Resumption of Failed Backups
- Reflect service periodically checks (every 1 minute) and automatically resumes failed backups caused by Reflect crashes, system restarts, etc.
- During the resumption, metadata, .block.table, and .bitmap files are validated against the data stored within the .tmp file to establish a restart point.
- The validation process (hunting process) starts from the end of the .tmp file and moves backward to find verifiable data.
- The .tmp file position is reset to a valid data point, and the backup resumes from that point.
- If no verifiable data is found (e.g., if a failure occurred early in the backup), the backup will restart from the beginning.
- Snapshot IDs are validated during resumption, and any missing snapshots will be recreated for that volume, restarting the backup from the beginning for that volume.
Scenarios Based on Volume Backup and Snapshot Availability
The following table describes various scenarios based on the state of the volume backup and snapshot availability:
| Scenario | Description |
|---|---|
| Backup Success | All temporary files are deleted, .tmp file is renamed to .mrimg. |
| Backup Failure (Early Stage) | Backup restarts from the beginning if no verifiable data is found. |
| Backup Failure (Later Stage) | Resumes from the last valid data point after validating .tmp, .block.table, and .bitmap files. |
| Snapshot Missing | Missing snapshots are recreated, and the backup restarts for that volume. |
These procedures ensure data integrity and minimize the risk of data loss during backup operations.
The following table describes various scenarios based on the state of the volume backup and snapshot availability.
File System | Reflect Crash | System Restart | Read/Write Error |
|---|---|---|---|
Unformatted or no volume drive letter | No snapshot Resume backup for incomplete volume | No snapshot Resume backup for incomplete volume | Currently unsupported |
FAT32 | If snapshot id still valid, resume from where it left. Otherwise resume from the beginning. | Recreate snapshot and resume from the beginning | Currently unsupported |
exFAT | If snapshot id still valid, resume from where it left. Otherwise resume from the beginning. | Recreate snapshot and resume from the beginning | Currently unsupported |
ReFS | If snapshot id still valid, resume from where it left. Otherwise resume from the beginning. | Recreate snapshot and resume from the beginning | Currently unsupported |
NTFS | If snapshot id still valid, resume from where it left. Otherwise resume from the beginning. | If snapshot id still valid, resume from where it left. Otherwise resume from the beginning. | Currently unsupported |
Other recognised by Reflect | If snapshot id still valid, resume from where it left. Otherwise resume from the beginning. | Recreate snapshot and resume from the beginning | Currently unsupported |
Faster Images and Restores
Overview
This table compares the performance of Reflect X and Macrium Reflect v8 based on the time taken to create full image backups. The source drive was a SATA SSD, and the destination was an internally connected NVMe SSD. Tests were conducted across three data sizes (100GB, 500GB, 900GB) and three compression levels (None, Medium, and High).
Summary
The results show significant improvements in backup creation times for Reflect X compared to the release version (v8), for scenarios involving compression. Reflect X consistently outperforms the release version, making it a more efficient option for users who utilize compression in their backup workflows.
Performance Comparison Table
| Compression Type | Data Size | Reflect X Time | v8 Time | Reflect X Improvement |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| None | 100GB | 00:03:59 | 00:03:58 | 0% |
| 500GB | 00:24:28 | 00:23:21 | 0% | |
| 900GB | 01:03:47 | 01:04:07 | 0% | |
| Medium | 100GB | 00:02:11 | 00:04:27 | 50.94% |
| 500GB | 00:11:59 | 00:25:24 | 52.82% | |
| 900GB | 00:19:55 | 00:40:19 | 50.60% | |
| High | 100GB | 00:03:50 | 00:08:09 | 52.97% |
| 500GB | 00:21:16 | 00:34:33 | 38.45% | |
| 900GB | 00:27:46 | 00:57:31 | 51.72% |
Open Source
We're excited to announce that we've created an Open Source GitHub repository that provides a comprehensive guide to the format and layout of Macrium Reflect Image, as well as File and Folder backup files. Our aim is to enable our customers to access their data independently, without the need for proprietary software tools.
We've also provided a pre-built demo, img_to_vhdx.exe, bundled with a Reflect X image file and a batch file named demo.bat.
See: https://github.com/MacriumBeta/mrimg_file_layout