Windows Server 2008 R2 Unleashed (246 page)

specific folder on a local volume is selected, this offers no automated offsite backup. Using

a shared network folder can enable offsite backup if the destination system is located in a

ptg

remote data center, and the backup window and bandwidth between the sites can tolerate

the over the wire network backup. To select a shared network folder as a backup destina-

tion for a manual backup as an example, perform the following steps:

1. Log on to the Windows Server 2008 R2 system with an account with administrator

privileges.

2. Click Start, click All Programs, click Administrative Tools, and select Windows

Server Backup.

3. In the Actions pane, click on the Backup Once link to start the Backup Once Wizard.

4. On the Select Backup Configuration page, select either the Full Server

(Recommended) option button to back up all of the drives on the Windows Server

2008 R2 system, including the System State, or select the Custom option button to

select specific volumes and include or exclude certain files, folders, or backup items.

For this example, select Full Server (Recommended), and click Next.

5. On the Specify Destination Type page, select Remote Shared Folder, and click Next,

as shown in Figure 30.5.

6. On the Specify Remote Folder page, type in the UNC path of the remote server

share, and select the Do Not Inherit option button to set the permissions on the

destination folder that will be created and will store the backup.

7. Click Next on the Specify Remote Folder page. A window might open, asking for

credentials to use when connecting to the share. Enter the appropriate username

and password that can create subfolders and write to the share, and click OK.

Using Windows Server Backup

1245

FIGURE 30.5

Selecting to store the backup on a remote shared folder.

NOTE

ptg

If a remote folder is specified as the backup destination, ensure that the folder does

not already contain a WindowsImageBackup folder as the permissions might be over-

written by the new backup. If the permissions are not a worry and will remain as is,

selecting the Inherit option button on the Specify Remote Folder page is preferred.

8. On the Confirmation page, review the settings and click Backup to start the

manual backup.

9. On the Backup Progress page, the progress can be viewed in real time, or the Close

button can be clicked and the progress can be tracked in the tasks pane back in the

Windows Server Backup console. Click Close when the backup completes.

Storing a Backup on DVD

On a Windows Server 2008 R2 system with a local DVD writer drive, backups can be

directed to a DVD for storage. Backups stored on DVD media can be used to restore the

30

entire system or entire volumes; files and folders or any other granular restores cannot be

performed using a DVD backup media.

When an administrator has a DVD backup of a system, it can be used to restore the entire

system, but the Windows Server 2008 R2 bootable installation media must also be avail-

able. With a DVD backup, additional steps and documentation will be required to restore

1246

CHAPTER 30

Backing Up the Windows Server 2008 R2 Environment

a system from a failed state back into operation. As a best practice, whenever a system

contains a DVD writer drive, create a full system backup to DVD upon initial server

deployment and when disks are changed, and create DVD backups regularly.

To create a backup on DVD media, perform the following steps:

1. Log on to the Windows Server 2008 R2 system with an account with administrator

privileges.

2. Click Start, click All Programs, click Administrative Tools, and select Windows

Server Backup.

3. In the Actions pane, click on the Backup Once link to start the Backup Once Wizard.

4. When the Backup Once Wizard opens, select the Different Options option button,

and click Next. Running a manual backup and selecting the Different Options

option is the only way to store a backup on DVD.

5. On the Select Backup Configuration page, select either the Full Server

(Recommended) option button to back up all of the drives on the Windows Server

2008 R2 system or select the Custom option button to select specific volumes, files,

folders, or other backup items. For this example, select Full Server (Recommended),

and click Next.

6. On the Specify Destination Type page, select the Local Drives option button, and

ptg

click Next.

7. On the Backup Destination page, select the DVD drive from the pull-down menu,

check the Verify After Writing (Recommended) check box, and click Next.

8. On the Confirmation page, review the settings and click Backup to start the manual

backup to DVD.

9. On the Backup Progress page, a shadow copy of the volumes is created first. After the

shadow copy is created, a window opens prompting the administrator to insert a

labeled DVD in the drive. Label the DVD with the name presented in the window;

then insert the blank DVD and click OK to continue.

10. If additional DVDs are required, label them and place them in the drive as prompted.

11. Overall backup progress should be viewed in real time, and the window can be

closed after the backup completes.

Managing Backups Using the Command-Line Utility

wbadmin.exe
and PowerShell Cmdlets

Windows Server 2008 R2 systems can use either the Windows Server Backup command-

line tool, wbadmin.exe, or the PowerShell Windows Server Backup cmdlets. The command-

line backup tool used for this example is named wbadmin.exe and can be accessed using a

Command Prompt window. Wbadmin.exe is very functional and can be used to perform

most of the functions available in the GUI.

Managing Backups Using the Command-Line Utility wbadmin.exe and

1247

PowerShell Cmdlets

NOTE

If a full GUI edition of Windows Server 2008 R2 is deployed on the network, the

Windows Server Backup console can be used to remotely manage a Server Core back-

up to keep management simple.

Understanding and becoming familiar and fluent with the command-line options of

wbadmin.exe is very useful for administrators who need to manage Windows Server 2008

R2 Server Core systems or who need advanced automation capabilities. The following

sections detail a few common tasks that can be performed using wbadmin.exe.

Viewing Backup History

To view the backup history of a system, perform the following steps:

1. Log on to the Windows Server 2008 R2 system with an account with administrator

privileges.

2. Open a command prompt.

3.

ptg

Type in wbadmin.exe Get Versions and press Enter to list the backup history.

To perform the same task using Windows PowerShell, perform the following steps:

1. Log on to the Windows Server 2008 R2 system with an account with administrator

privileges.

2. Click Start, click All Programs, click Accessories, click the Windows PowerShell

folder, right-click on Windows PowerShell, and select Run As Administrator.

3. Type cd \ and press Enter.

4. Type Add-PsSnapin Windows.ServerBackup and press Enter.

5. To get the list of all of the available Windows Server Backup PowerShell cmdlets,

type the command Get-Command *wb* -Commandtype cmdlet and press Enter.

6. To get the history list, type Get-WbBackupSet and press Enter.

Running a Manual Backup to Remote Storage Using
wbadmin.exe

Using wbadmin.exe to run backups can be tedious. To understand each of the options

30

available for a manual backup in a Command Prompt window, type wbadmin.exe Start

Backup /? and press Enter. To run a manual backup and store it on a remote server share,

a few options are required. The data will be stored on the remote server share

\\Server30\NetworkBackup, the Bare Metal Recovery item, referred to as the AllCritical

option used in our example, will be selected for backup. This item includes all volumes in

1248

CHAPTER 30

Backing Up the Windows Server 2008 R2 Environment

use by the system, including volumes that contain applications and shared data folders, as

well as the System State. For this example, the companyabc\administrator account will be

used to connect to the remote share. To run the manual backup using the preceding crite-

ria, perform the following steps:

1. Log on to the Windows Server 2008 R2 system with an account with administrator

privileges.

2. Open a command prompt.

3. Type wbadmin.exe Start Backup –backuptarget:\\Server2\NetworkBackup

–AllCritical -user:companyabc\administrator –password:My$3cretPW! and press

Enter to start the backup.

4. The backup window will state that the network share cannot be securely protected,

press Y, and then press Enter to allow the backup to run to this network share.

5. The backup progress will be detailed in the Command Prompt window. After the

backup completes, type exit to close the Command Prompt window.

To perform the previous backup task using Windows PowerShell is a much more detailed

task and requires several steps to make this work. To perform a manual backup to a

network share capable of Bare Metal Recovery, perform the following steps:

1. Log on to the Windows Server 2008 R2 system with an account with administrator

ptg

privileges.

2. Click Start, click All Programs, click Accessories, click the Windows PowerShell

folder, right-click on Windows PowerShell, and select Run As Administrator.

3. Type cd \ and press Enter.

4. Type Add-PsSnapin Windows.ServerBackup and press Enter.

5. Type $BMRPolicy=New-WbPolicy and press Enter.

6. Type $BMRCred=Get-Credential and press Enter.

7. A Windows dialog box opens; enter the username and password combination that

will be used to connect to the network share, and click OK to save the credentials

and return to the PowerShell window.

8. Back in the PowerShell window, type $NetShareBackup=New-WbBackupTarget

–NetworkPath \\Server30\NetworkBackup -Credential $BMRCred and press Enter.

9. Type Add-WbBackupTarget –policy $BMRPolicy –Target $NetShareBackup and

press Enter.

10. Type Add-WbBareMetalRecovery –policy $BMRPolicy and press Enter.

11. Type Start-WbBackup –policy $BMRPolicy and press Enter. The backup should start,

as shown in Figure 30.6.

Backing Up Windows Server 2008 R2 Role Services

Many Windows Server 2008 R2 role services store configuration and status data in separate

files or databases located in various locations on the boot volume. If a scheduled backup is

configured to run a full backup or a Bare Metal Recovery backup, this includes all boot,

Backing Up Windows Server 2008 R2 Role Services

1249

FIGURE 30.6

Running a manual backup to a network share using PowerShell.

ptg

system, and data volumes used by the system as well as any application data and the

System State necessary for a complete PC restore. A few services also provide alternative

backup and restore options, and should be leveraged to provide additional recovery

options in the event of a service failure, as opposed to a full system failure.

Backing Up the System State

The System State of a Windows Server 2008 R2 system contains, at a minimum, the

system Registry, boot configuration files, system files that are protected by Windows File