Excluding files from data deduplication

You can exclude a file from data deduplication during backup or archive processing.

If you do not want certain files to be processed by client-side data deduplication, you can exclude files from data deduplication processing using the GUI:

1. Click Edit > Client Preferences.
2. Click the Include-Exclude tab.
3. Click Add to open the Define Include-Exclude Options window.
4. Select a category for processing.
   • To exclude a file from data deduplication during archive processing, select Archive in the Category list.
   • To exclude a file from data deduplication during backup processing, select Backup in the Category list.
5. Select Exclude.Dedup in the Type list.
6. Select an item from the Object Type list.
   • For archive processing, only the File object type is available.
   • For backup processing, select one of the following object types:
     • File
     • Image
     • System state
     • ASR
7. Specify a file or pattern in the File or Pattern field. You can use wildcard characters. If you do not want to type a file or pattern, click Browse to open a selection window and select a file. For mounted file spaces, you can choose the directory mount point from the selection window.
   For ASR and system state, this field is filled out automatically. When you specify the image object type, the drive letter must be followed by :\*\* . For example, to exclude drive E:, enter the following pattern:

   E:\*\*

8. Click OK to close the Define Include-Exclude Options window. The exclude options that you defined are in an exclude statement at the bottom of the Statements list box in the Include-Exclude Preferences tab.
9. Click OK to save your selections and close the Preferences Editor.

What to do next

You can also exclude files from data deduplication processing by editing the dsm.sys file:

1. Add the deduplication yes option.
2. Exclude the files in a directory from data deduplication. For example, to exclude the files in the /Users/Administrator/Documents/Taxes/ directory, add the following statement: EXCLUDE.dedup /Users/Administrator/Documents/Taxes/.../*
3. Exclude client-side data deduplication for image backup of a file system. For example, to exclude the /home file system, add the following statement: EXCLUDE.DEDUP /home/*/* IEOBJTYPE=Image.

You can also exclude files from data deduplication processing by editing the dsm.opt file:

1. Add the deduplication yes option
2. Exclude client-side data deduplication for image backup of drive. For example, to exclude drive E:, add the following statement: EXCLUDE.DEDUP E:\*\* IEOBJTYPE=Image to dsm.opt.

Important: If an object is sent to a data deduplication pool, data deduplication occurs on the server, even if the object is excluded from client-side data deduplication.