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hazymat
Asked: 2017-09-13 14:40:56 +0800 CST

Windows Server Backup - managing multiple targets

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I have Windows Server Backup connected to 2x NAS devices (via iSCSI), each one is situated in a different building for resilience.

I'd like to backup from WSB to both targets. WSB supports multiple targets, however the MS recommendation is to rotate the backup targets by taking one physical disk offsite, then subsequently switching them around periodically. Presumably suitable for USB disks rather than fixed network attached targets.

Instead, I'd obviously like to back up to both at the same time, but the above article suggests this isn't supported. An acceptable compromise might be to back up to each target alternately.

The above article states;

  • To force a backup to be saved to a particular disk, you can detach or disable all other disks in the backup series.

Perhaps to achieve my goal, I could create a scheduled task that runs a script which takes one target offline (in disk management) and brings the other one back online.

Although possibly an acceptable solution, the above is somewhat clunky.

Is there a better way?

Please do not suggest alternative products. My question is specific to Windows Server Backup and I would like to find the most robust possible solution within this limitation.

windows-server-backup

1 Answers

  1. Best Answer

    I found a solution using the wbadmin command line tool. You can schedule multiple instances of execution at different times or create a batch file to execute them in sequence.

    e.g.:

    wbadmin start backup -backupTarget:<driveLetter>: -include:<filea and folders to include> -allCritical -systemState -vssFull < C:\Users\Administrator\Documents\Setup\Backup\do_backup2.ans > C:\Users\Administrator\Documents\Setup\Backup\do_backup2.log 2>nul

    See also wbadmin start backup -?

    Erman

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