Solutions provider takeaway: This chapter excerpt provides information on Windows server backup in Windows Server 2008 R2. You will learn how to configure backup settings, back up specific files and perform system state and bare-metal backups.
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Manage Backup and Recovery
Now that you have seen some of the tools for backups and recovery, it is time to put them to use. When you perform backups traditionally, you want to have the backups on a schedule so you are sure they are happening at regular intervals. This will make finding the right media for recovery easy. Even though Backup and Recovery are performed separately, they are joined together in form and function. The type of backup you perform will always dictate the recovery options available to you. In reality, the backup strategy is determined by your recovery requirements and what your service-level agreement is with your users and business. Is it OK if a user has to wait 24 hours to recover a file? What if the user is the CEO? Is it OK to turn off a server during work hours? What if the server is mission critical to your organization? These are all key questions, among many others, that you need to address when defining your policies and procedures and determining the best way to handle the needs of your organization.
Whether you choose to perform backup and recovery tasks with the GUI, command-line tool, or the PowerShell cmdlets, you are essentially performing the same task. In this section, you will learn how to use the backup and recovery tools to perform your daily tasks. Not that to perform either backup or recovery, you do need to be a member of the Backup Operators or Administrators groups.
Back Up Your Server
After you have determined your backup strategy, it is time to back up the server. When you back up your server, you want to make sure you schedule your backup times to not impact your network or your users. Try to schedule the backups after-hours, when the system is being used the least. You also want to make sure your backups complete in a timely manner; this is where knowing the difference between full and incremental backups can offer value to you and your organization.
Configure Backup Settings
Before you perform your backup, you may need to define your backup settings. You have only a few selections to make to configure your backup. Specifically, you need to determine whether you want to perform a full/normal backup, an incremental backup, or a custom combination of both of these methods. To configure your server, perform the following steps:
Figure 8.7: Backup performance settings
The three options listed determine how the backup will be performed. It is important for you to know the choices you make here will not be applied if you are backing up only system state.
Back Up Your Server
After you have installed the backup tools, it is now just a matter of setting up the tasks to begin protecting your system. When you are ready to perform the backup and you know what files and folders you want to protect, you are ready to set up the backup test and schedule.
The first time you load the tool, you will see a message telling you no backup has been configured and you need to either set up a backup schedule or set up a backup once to begin protecting your system. Whether you choose to create a backup schedule or perform a backup once, the choices in the wizard are the same, with the exception of configuring the schedule:
Figure 8.8: Configuring the backup
Note: The first time you run the backup wizard, you may be asked to format the destination drive. When you select the default choice of Backup To Hard Disk That Is Dedicated For Backups, it will reformat the selected disk before the backup process begins. Make sure you have saved any necessary data off the drive. The format of the drive has to be NTFS; also, make sure you have at least 1½ times the free drive space compared to what you are backing up.
Figure 8.9 : Backup destinations
Note: After you have run the backup wizard the first time, the next time you run it you will see a screen similar to Figure 8.10. This allows you to modify the existing backup or stop the backup process. You can still configure the backup once if you need to create new backups for different files or needs, like bare-metal recovery.
Figure 8.10: Modifying the existing backup schedule
Back Up Specific Files
In Windows Server Backup in Windows Server 2008, you had to back up the entire volume. In Windows Server 2008 R2, you now can include or exclude folders or individual files. You can also exclude files based on the file types with filters. For this purpose, you will see how to modify an existing backup schedule.
Figure 8.11: Backup item selection
Figure 8.12: Backup exclusions
If you want to add more exclusions, click Add Exclusion, and repeat the process. Likewise, if you want to remove the exclusion, you can select it and click Remove Exclusion.
Perform a System State Backup
When you back up the system state, you are backing up a majority of the system configuration information. In Windows Server 2008 R2, you can perform the system state backup inside the Windows Server Backup Tool, and you do not have to solely use wbadmin.exe. Also, if you have installed additional roles on the Windows Server 2008 R2 server, your system state will contain more data. By default, on a server with no additional roles, the system state backup always contains the following components:
If the system is a domain controller in addition to the default system state data, system state will contain the following:
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If you have installed clustering on the server, the system state data will contain the clustering services information.
If you have installed a certificate services server, the system state data will contain the certificate services database.
If you have installed IIS, the system state data will contain the IIS metadirectory.
Perform a Bare-Metal Backup
Another backup option that will provide you with a great option in case of a catastrophic failure is a bare-metal backup. The bare-metal backup will back up your system state, your system volume, and the system reserved data. This backup set is also unique in that you will need the Windows Server 2008 R2 installation media available during recovery.
This is a good time to use a USB drive or another portable media to store this backup. The main reason is because to perform the restore, you need to boot the system into the Windows Recovery Environment using a Windows Server 2008 R2 installation DVD.
Look at the Scheduled Tasks
Whenever you create a backup schedule, you may be wondering where the task is stored. The task is stored in the Task Scheduler tool, and you can view your backup tasks there. You can also run the task directly from the Task Scheduler. The tasks in the Task Scheduler have several properties you can modify, as shown in Table 8.2.
Table 8.2: Task Property Tabs
General | Contains the description, author, and what account will be used to run the command. |
Triggers | Determines when the task will be performed. In the case of a backup, the trigger is date and time. |
Actions | Determines what programs or commands will be run. |
Conditions | Specifies additional options, combined with the triggers, that determine whether the task should run. |
Settings | Controls additional behaviors of the task. An important setting here is Allow Task To Be Run On Demand. If you want to be able to run your tasks directly from the Task Scheduler, you have to select this setting to turn it on. |
History | Shows the past history of the task when it was run. |
Property Tab Definition
Figure 8.13: Backup task
You can also view the status of your backups and get more details on the main console page of the Windows Server Backup window, as shown in Figure 8.14.
Figure 8.14: Windows Server Backup
From the main console window, you can view the details, status, and next schedule for your backups and recovery processes. The Windows Server Backup Tool will show all the events with your backups and restores in this main console window.
Backing Up and Recovering Your Server
Windows server backup in Windows Server 2008 R2
Bare-metal, system state recovery in Windows Server 2008 R2
Printed with permission from Wiley Publishing Inc. Copyright 2010. Microsoft Windows Server 2008 R2 Administration Instant Reference by Matthew Hester and Chris Henley. For more information about this title and other similar books, please visit Wiley Publishing Inc.
23 Jun 2010