Windows 2008 R2 Active Directory Backup
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Wednesday, August 01, 2012 1:43 PM
Windows 2008 R2 Domain Controllers which host DNS & DHCP.
Disk config as follows:
1 x 18GB Partition C:\ (RAID1) - OS, SYSVOL
1 x 18GB Parition D:\ (RAID1) - Logs, DB
Previously under Windows 2003 I did a system state backup to a local disk and then our corporate backup tool backed this up to tape.
I'm trying to figure out the best way to perform a system state backup using the Windows Server Backup utility in Windows 2008 R2 and I'm struggling.
This is the command I've run which results in a backup failure: "wbadmin enable backup -addtarget:d: -schedule 18:00 -systemstate"
It fails with 'The backup storage location is invalid. You cannot use a volume that is included as a storage location"
Does this mean I need to add a dedicated disk paritition to store backups?
Any best practice methods out there?
- Moved by pbbergsMVP Wednesday, August 01, 2012 2:01 PM General o/s question (From:Directory Services)
All Replies
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Wednesday, August 01, 2012 1:59 PM
Although this is a domain controller it really has nothing to do with AD itself. I have a Blog on using WBAdmin for bare metal restores
http://blogs.dirteam.com/blogs/paulbergson/archive/2009/02/02/backup-and-recovery-of-a-windows-2008-server-with-wbadmin.aspxI also am going to move this thread to the General forum, since it really would be best answered there.
--
Paul Bergson
MVP - Directory Services
MCITP: Enterprise Administrator
MCTS, MCT, MCSE, MCSA, Security+, BS CSci
2008, Vista, 2003, 2000 (Early Achiever), NT4
http://www.pbbergs.com Twitter @pbbergs
http://blogs.dirteam.com/blogs/paulbergsonPlease no e-mails, any questions should be posted in the NewsGroup. This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties, and confers no rights.
- Proposed As Answer by Meinolf WeberMVP Wednesday, August 01, 2012 2:01 PM
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Wednesday, August 01, 2012 2:00 PM
Hi,
This need to be followed to resolve the error: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/944530
Best Regards,
Abhijit Waikar.
MCSA 2003 | MCSA:Messaging | MCTS | MCITP:Server Administrator | Microsoft Community Contributor | My Blog
Disclaimer: This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties or guarantees , and confers no rights. -
Wednesday, August 01, 2012 2:32 PMThanks Paul, I'll take a look
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Wednesday, August 01, 2012 2:33 PM
This looks like it will fix my problem.
What risks are there by implementing this registry change? surely this feature was enabled originally for a reason....
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Wednesday, August 01, 2012 2:38 PMModerator
This is the command I've run which results in a backup failure: "wbadmin enable backup -addtarget:d: -schedule 18:00 -systemstate"
It fails with 'The backup storage location is invalid. You cannot use a volume that is included as a storage location"
Does this mean I need to add a dedicated disk paritition to store backups?
Any best practice methods out there?
Following article might help
The backup storage location is invalid. You cannot use a volume that is included in the backup as a storage location.
http://robertanddpm.blogspot.in/2010/12/backup-storage-location-is-invalid-you.html
I do not represent the organisation I work for, all the opinions expressed here are my own.
This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties or guarantees and confers no rights.
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Thursday, August 02, 2012 12:44 AM
This looks like it will fix my problem.
What risks are there by implementing this registry change? surely this feature was enabled originally for a reason....
Hi,
Problems might occur if you modify the registry incorrectly. There is no any risk. I have done this brfore, just ensure the you are following the article properly.
If you are not sure, I would suggset to perform system state backup before changing anything.
Best Regards,
Abhijit Waikar.
MCSA 2003 | MCSA:Messaging | MCTS | MCITP:Server Administrator | Microsoft Community Contributor | My Blog
Disclaimer: This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties or guarantees , and confers no rights. -
Thursday, August 02, 2012 12:33 PM
Hi
I've made the registry change on my test domain controller.
This has fixed the original problem however I have a question around backup sizes.
The command I ran was the following "wbadmin enable backup -addtarget:d: -scheduled:18:00 -systemstate -quiet which only targets the systemstate for AD recovery.
When I look at the size of my AD DB & Logs, they are less than 200mb in size however the backup folder size in d:\WindowsImageBackup is a whopping 8.3GB.
Does the -systemstate parameter backup more than just the systemstate?
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Thursday, August 02, 2012 12:39 PMModerator
When I look at the size of my AD DB & Logs, they are less than 200mb in size however the backup folder size in d:\WindowsImageBackup is a whopping 8.3GB.
Does the -systemstate parameter backup more than just the systemstate?
Following discussion should answer your question
server 2008 system state unusally large
I do not represent the organisation I work for, all the opinions expressed here are my own.
This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties or guarantees and confers no rights.
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Friday, August 03, 2012 9:45 PM
When I look at the size of my AD DB & Logs, they are less than 200mb in size however the backup folder size in d:\WindowsImageBackup is a whopping 8.3GB.
Does the -systemstate parameter backup more than just the systemstate?
See the below comments by VembuTech1:
System state backup data consists of the following:WINSXS - upto 5 GB
System32 - 2.5 TO 3GB
syswow64(only for x64) - 1 GB
Boot information - in MB sSystem State in Windows Server 2008 backup is typically huge and its backup components are different than 2003. The number of files backed up could be as many as 50,000 or even higher. The backup could take an hour or more to complete. The size of each backup (full or incremental) could easily be several GBs in size.
According to Microsoft Windows the size of System State backup data may vary from 8GB - 12GB.
Reference link:
http://social.technet.microsoft.com/Forums/en-US/dataprotectionmanager/thread/dd37f298-0695-4db5-b9c5-1a56a7e9b067/Best Regards,
Abhijit Waikar.
MCSA 2003 | MCSA:Messaging | MCTS | MCITP:Server Administrator | Microsoft Community Contributor | My Blog
Disclaimer: This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties or guarantees , and confers no rights.- Marked As Answer by John P Christie Wednesday, August 08, 2012 1:23 PM
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Wednesday, August 08, 2012 1:30 PM
This is what I've configured.
I've created a batch file with the following commands and created a Task schedule which runs this daily.
****
wbadmin delete systemstatebackup -keepversions:0
wbadmin start systemstatebackup -backuptarget:e: -quiet
****
This will delete previous versions of the systemstate that's backed up to a local volume (freeing up space) and then will backup the current nights systemstate.
The systemstate on E:\ is then backed up to tape library via our corporate 3rd party backup solution.
My questions are:
1) is this ok to do?
2) The task scheduled is currently running under my Admin account. Should I be using SYSTEM or a user account that's member of the Backup Operators group?
thanks
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