Windows Backup

Use at MachMotion

• svr1.machmotion.local
  • Data drive(s) are periodically backed up.
  • OS drive is periodically backed up.

Goals

• We want to save, as often as is feasible, recent working states of our data files. Everything in \\svr1.machmotion.local\MachMotion is backed up and made available through the "Previous Versions" mechanism.
• We want to be able to restore svr1 (domain controller, file server, SVN server, etc.) should it fail or become unusable.
• We want to have an off-site backup in case of damage/destruction of the shop.

General Resources

• Server
  • Description of the Windows NT Backup Restore Utility for Windows 7 and for Windows Server 2008 R2 (support.microsoft.com)
• Desktop
  • Back up and restore your PC (support.microsoft.com; Win7, Win8.1)
  • Backup and Restore in Windows 10 (support.microsoft.com)
• wbadmin (docs.microsoft.com)
  • Windows Backup tool
• Topics of Interest
  • How to restore a Windows installation or move it to different hardware (support.microsoft.com)

Configuration

• Windows Backup
  • Items
    • Bare Metal Recovery
    • System State
    • D:
    • C:
    • RECOVERY
  • Schedule
    • 9 AM
    • 12 PM
    • 5 PM
    • 11 PM

Reporting

Backups should provide security (of mind). The second most basic need of the system is answering questions.

Are the backups running/working?

You can get a list of all (recent?) stored backup operations.

> wbadmin GET VERSIONS

will produce a series of records like:

Backup time: 2/19/2019 11:00 PM
Backup target: 1394/USB Disk labeled F:
Version identifier: 02/20/2019-05:00
Can recover: Volume(s), File(s), Application(s)
Snapshot ID: {78479a64-8840-4e40-a682-73646ddac1d4}