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OS Windows server 2008 Standard [note: this is not R2]

Plot we are trying to switch from usb attached backups to over the network backup

Issues: When i use the standard Windows backup GUI and select one time backup it actually lets me do what i want to do. which is backup over network using a unc path. but when i try the same thing with schedule backup the network option is not there.

  • So is scheduled backup via standard windows backup gui not supported over network?

  • Any easy workarounds with out buying third party tools? that will support weekly full and daily incremental?

zman
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  • [Not with the GUI, on Server 2008, it looks like.](http://social.technet.microsoft.com/Forums/windowsserver/en-US/91040c1b-a30c-46d2-aab1-058e27ea7360/schedule-backup-do-not-allow-to-use-network-disk?forum=winserverfiles) Can't find an authoritative source quickly (on account of getting too many results for 2008 R2), but it looks like you should be able to try scheduling a backup to a network share it via the commandline... and see what happens. – HopelessN00b Apr 16 '14 at 19:43
  • Agreed: http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc742083%28WS.10%29.aspx Will try this and update results – zman Apr 16 '14 at 19:48

1 Answers1

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You'll have to schedule backups to UNC paths using the command-line wbadmin tool, as you've noted in your comment.

Be warned that backing-up to a UNC path results in only a single generation of backup being stored. Each backup erases the previous backup. This is not the behavior that you'd have been seeing with a locally-attached USB disk. An SMB mounted volume doesn't support the Volume Shadow Copy Services (VSS) functionality necessary for Windows Server Backup to store multiple generations. Only block-level access will provide that functionality.

The only "over the network" backup capability with stock tools that supports storing multiple generations would be to export the storage volume as iSCSI and connect to it with the built-in iSCSI initiator. Once the disk is mounted as an iSCSI volume it will function like a locally-attached USB disk with respect to being able to store multiple generations of backup. This is going to make a more complex backup script but it's certainly feasible.

Evan Anderson
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