Why does HBS 3 apply QuDedup deduplication automatically in some backup jobs?
Last modified date:
2025-07-18
Applicable Products
- HBS 3
- QuTS hero
- QTS
Scenario
When configuring HBS 3 backup jobs—especially to B2 Cloud or remote destinations—you may notice that deduplication is enabled automatically, even if it was not manually selected. This results in the creation of .qdff folders without visible file names in the destination storage.
- This behavior is related to how HBS 3 handles versioned backups and deduplication.
- If Enable version management is selected in the backup job settings, and the destination is a remote server or B2 Cloud:
- HBS 3 may automatically enable QuDedup deduplication, especially when versioned backups are combined with deduplication.
- The destination path will contain
.qdfffolders instead of original filenames.
- This design is intended to optimize storage space and support advanced backup features, but it may cause some confusion on the UI.
Solution
- To prevent automatic QuDedup deduplication:
- When creating or editing a backup job in HBS 3, go to Backup Versioning Settings.
- Disable Enable version management if you do not want deduplication applied.
- Review Advanced Settings to confirm that QuDedup is not enabled.
- For remote and cloud destinations:
- If you enable version management with destinations such as B2 Cloud, QuDedup deduplication will be applied automatically, resulting in
.qdfffolders, even if not explicitly selected.
- If you enable version management with destinations such as B2 Cloud, QuDedup deduplication will be applied automatically, resulting in
- To retain an easily readable file structure at the destination:
- Avoid enabling version management and QuDedup deduplication for a backup job at the same time.
- Use standard file copy jobs (without versioning) to keep original filenames.
- If
.qdffdeduplicated data already exists:- Restore your files using the QuDedup Extract Tool, available for Windows, macOS, and Linux.
