Examining the Windows Server 2003 Backup Programs

Several utilities included with Windows Server 2003 can be used to back up the operating system and server data. Many environments may choose to provide backups using a combination of these utilities, if not at least one. The Windows Server 2003 Backup utility should be used to back up the entire system. For backing up volume data to disk for added data recovery functionality, the Volume Shadow Copy service can be used. Finally, Remote Storage can be used to manage the data on a volume, which really isn't a backup. The Remote Storage data is stored in a format that can be read by the Windows Server 2003 Backup program, so only the Remote Storage database and the links on the server volume need to be backed up, which can reduce the overall backup time.

Windows Server 2003 Backup Utility (ntbackup.exe)

The Windows Backup utility, ntbackup.exe, has been included with the server and sometimes workstation versions of the operating system for years. This utility can be used to perform a complete backup of the local server, including local drives, shared drives on cluster nodes, servers connecting to an external storage array, and the system state containing all the operating system configurations. The Windows Backup utility is covered in more detail in the "Using the Windows Server 2003 Backup Utility (ntbackup.exe)" section later in this chapter.

ntbackup.exe utilizes the Volume Shadow Copy service to back up opened files and truly create a complete point-in-time system backup. A new feature to the Backup utility is the Automated System Recovery option, which can be used to restore a server from scratch, including re-creating disk volumes. One major limitation of the utility is that it can back up only open files and the system state, and create an ASR backup of the local server.

Remote Storage

The Windows Server 2003 Remote Storage service provides hierarchical storage management for the data stored on volumes. This service can be configured to migrate data from a volume to remote storage media based on when a file was last accessed or when a predetermined free disk space threshold is reached. When a particular file or folder is migrated to remote storage media, the file is replaced with a link called a junction point. When this link is accessed by the system or an end user, the data is migrated from the remote media back to the volume and the file access date is updated.

Remote Storage is not really intended to be a backup solution because the remote storage media can still be the single location of the migrated data; however, if a complete server failure occurs, the data on the remote storage media is recoverable. Windows Server 2003 Backup can be used to read and restore the data on the remote storage media; however, the original location of the data will not be preserved unless the Remote Storage service and database are restored first. For more details on Remote Storage, refer to the "Using Remote Storage" section later in this chapter.

Volume Shadow Copy

The Volume Shadow Copy Service (VSS) is a new service for the Windows Server 2003 operating system, and it can be used to provide two separate backup strategies. The Volume Shadow Copy Service takes a snapshot of a volume, which can be used to restore data from the shadow copy to a volume without having to use a backup program or restore the data from media. This process is relatively fast and is able to back up open files to ensure a complete volume copy. Shadow copies can be enabled on a per-volume basis, and when the Windows Server 2003 Backup utility is used, it can be leveraged to create a volume copy of the drive and then create the backup using the shadow copy instead of accessing the volume directly. This provides faster backups and can improve server performance. The reads on data volumes can be reduced if shadow copies are stored on alternate disks. Volume Shadow Copy can be used only by Windows Server 2003 Backup for local volumes only. More information on the Volume Shadow Copy is provided later in this chapter in the "Using the Volume Shadow Copy Service" section.