Server 2008 R2 Windows Server Backup

bigdogchris

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I've been reading that the Windows Server Backup that is included with Server 08 R2 is pretty good. Is spending $400 on a third party utility worth it?

I'm asking because we're purchasing a new server soon and I want to know if the included backup is going to be good enough. Will be backing up server state as well as data to tape and possibly an off site server (server 2003) if I get my way.

Thanks
 
That's a solid "meh". For a built in utility, it's not bad. I use it on my domain controllers to get a system state backup, and in this situation I wouldn't go with a third party vendor. For low backup set sizes, certainly it'll work for you.

That said, dedicated backup utilities usually have expanded functionality that most people like ( and this is certainly true if you have a tape drive ). I think the safest thing for you to do is budget for the software package, but try out the built in stuff first. If it'll work out for you, then you can save 400 bucks. If not, well at least you budgeted for it.
 
We're using it currently as our sole backup mechanism, but we are using it on faith as we've only had the server for a month and haven't had a chance to test a recovery.
 
We're using it currently as our sole backup mechanism, but we are using it on faith as we've only had the server for a month and haven't had a chance to test a recovery.
Negative bueno. It ain't a back up solution if it hasn't been tested.
 
I have used it, image based backup is nice restoring files is easy. You can look into Backup Assist as an addon
 
from what i recall though you can not set up automatic backups that dump over the network, only manual backups will, or at least that is the case in server 2008 versions.
 
from what i recall though you can not set up automatic backups that dump over the network, only manual backups will, or at least that is the case in server 2008 versions.

Backups to remote shares works fine in Server 2008 R2. Just have to set up scheduling, etc. I do it at a site as another level of redundancy. Works great. And as someone above said, easy restores too.
 
from what i recall though you can not set up automatic backups that dump over the network, only manual backups will, or at least that is the case in server 2008 versions.

This got changed in R2. You are now able to backup over the network with the GUI. You can also back up to network drives not just UNC paths.

We have a lot of cheap clients who have requested that they use WSB as their BUDR strategy, and at first we didn't like it, however after trying it out in a few places I have to say it really isn't bad. We can get full system states, and bare metal recovery just like Acronis, Symantec, or any others. The only advantage of acronis and others are the reporting features, and universal restore. Also if you have multiple server OSes (windows, *nix, etc) Acronis has agents for all those OSes and thus you can manage your entire environment from one control panel instead of having multiple tools for each OS.

We also sell Acronis to our customers who use our offsite backup service as Acronis has the ability to backup over the WAN which we can't find a good way to do with WSB or many other clients.
 
I use it in my home lab and some small business clients.(When I say small I mean 3 people 3 desktops and a quick books/file server/print server) I have works great for a simple backup solution. Restores work and its all very easy.
 
Just to clarify...

Backups from a workstation to a 2008r2 server share has the capability to do a bare-metal restore?

This got changed in R2. You are now able to backup over the network with the GUI. You can also back up to network drives not just UNC paths.

We have a lot of cheap clients who have requested that they use WSB as their BUDR strategy, and at first we didn't like it, however after trying it out in a few places I have to say it really isn't bad. We can get full system states, and bare metal recovery just like Acronis, Symantec, or any others. The only advantage of acronis and others are the reporting features, and universal restore. Also if you have multiple server OSes (windows, *nix, etc) Acronis has agents for all those OSes and thus you can manage your entire environment from one control panel instead of having multiple tools for each OS.

We also sell Acronis to our customers who use our offsite backup service as Acronis has the ability to backup over the WAN which we can't find a good way to do with WSB or many other clients.
 
Just to clarify...

Backups from a workstation to a 2008r2 server share has the capability to do a bare-metal restore?

Well technically if the backup software you used on the workstation support bare metal restore then it doesn't matter what server they are stored on. Windows Server Backup for Windows Server 2008R2 allows you to backup a Windows Server 2008 R2 server including bare metal restore.

Windows 7 uses the same core as 2008R2's backup and therefore has mostly the same abilities.
 
Thanks for all of the great info.

I'm not experienced with recovering AD system state at all. This is the first AD server from scratch we'll be setting up. What do I need to know about restoring it that may not be as simple as pulling up the backup? Do you still need to restore in directory services restore mode?
 
Thanks for all of the great info.

I'm not experienced with recovering AD system state at all. This is the first AD server from scratch we'll be setting up. What do I need to know about restoring it that may not be as simple as pulling up the backup? Do you still need to restore in directory services restore mode?
I advise you to set up a test domain in something like VirtualBox. Take a backup and then restore it. Do this at least once a month.

Yes, it's that important to know how to do it.
 
Ok, thanks for the clarification :)

Well technically if the backup software you used on the workstation support bare metal restore then it doesn't matter what server they are stored on. Windows Server Backup for Windows Server 2008R2 allows you to backup a Windows Server 2008 R2 server including bare metal restore.

Windows 7 uses the same core as 2008R2's backup and therefore has mostly the same abilities.
 
We use it at a couple client locations. We use it in tandem with Acronis.

Windows backup has never failed us. It shoots out an email with just the backup status to whoever wants it. A lot of clients request this, just to make sure that it's working. A big green checkmark works wonders for a non-tech person.

I have no complaints with it.
 
I use it in my home lab and some small business clients.(When I say small I mean 3 people 3 desktops and a quick books/file server/print server) I have works great for a simple backup solution. Restores work and its all very easy.

I used it on my system at home and it works great, the windows built in backup on 2008r2 is good :)

Dash.
 
Looks like this would not work for my situation which is a daily overnight full backup to tape which is then stored offsite everyday. 2 week rotation and a monthly archive kept indefinitely offsite. I'm looking at migrating to a 2008r2 domain next year.
 
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I've used the built in Win2k8 utility now for about a year. I only use it on my home fileserver tho. It works well for what I need it to do. I have it do incremental backups of each drive nightly. Restores backups with no problem. I overall like it.
 
The built-in one works pretty well. It's a lot better than NTBackup IMO. I only wish it had email notifications like Backup Assist has...
 
The only problem with network share backups are you can only store one backup to them, it doesn't support multiple backup copies like if using a local drive. On the other hand however the iscsi target software for server 2008 is free now so if you have 2 servers you can just make an iscsi target on each one for the other to backup on so you have both network copies and multiple saved states.
 
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