Free backup Windows Server 2008 with built-in command: Wbadmin

Backup Windows Server 2008 with free built-in tool: Wbadmin command

Why not use wbadmin command not NTBackup for Windows Server 2008 backup?

Versions of Windows Server operating system before Windows Server 2008 used NTBackup built-in as their data security guard. Using NTBackup.exe command can control some of the backup functions. However, in Windows Server 2008, Microsoft replaced the aging NTBackup with Windows Server Backup. As a result, the NTBackup.EXE command no longer works. Instead, Microsoft now supports command line backups using Wbadmin command.

This command is not only available in Windows Server 2008, but also works in Windows Server 2008 R2, Windows Vista and Windows 7. But the functionality of different OS that you can achieve varies.

Therefore, the Windows Server 2008 R2 version of the command supports the use of a number of commands that were not available in the previous version. But subsequent versions available in Windows Vista and Windows 7 support fewer functions than either Windows Server 2008 and Windows Server 2008 R2. In fact, under Windows 7, a regularly Windows scheduled backup cannot be performed.

How to utilize wbadmin commands?

You must run it from a command prompt window instead of a PoweShell window. An elevated Command Prompt window will be displayed while using Wbadmin. You can activate this windows by right-clicking on the Command Prompt option or choosing the Run AS Administrator command from the resulting shortcut menu. And also you will need certain permissions during the process of acting with Wbadmin. For example, to run a regularly scheduled backup, you must be a member of the Administrator group. For all other tasks, you must be a member of either the Administrator group or the Backup Operators group.

Before you can use Wbadmin, you need to find out what commands are supported by your operating system. The simplest way to do this is to enter the WBADMIN /? Command. Then all available commands under certain Windows OS will be displayed. Some wbadmin commands are:

Wbadmin enable backup: Configures and enables a regularly scheduled backup. This subcommand applies only to versions of Windows Server 2008 and Windows Server 2008 R2.

Wbadmin disable backup: Disables your daily backups. This subcommand applies only to Windows Server 2008 and Windows Server 2008 R2.

Wbadmin start backup: Runs a one-time backup. If used with no parameters, uses the settings from the daily backup schedule.

Wbadmin stop job: Stops the currently running backup or recovery operation.

If you want to know more, you can go to Microsoft TechNet for details.

To do a successful backup, you need to be able to specify which files are includes in the backup as well as the backup destination. There are actually more than a dozen different command line switches that you can use to create a backup. The most important switches involve specifying backup source and the backup target. For example, a simple backup might use a command like this one:

WBADMIN Start Backup –BackupTarget: F: -Include: D:

In the command, "Backup Target" (in this case F) is the location where will store backup files. The "Include" switch tells Windows what to back up. So the command above means back up d: drive to f: drive.

But not everyone is so clear about command language and it is also not so intuitive. So here, I would like to suggest a sort of Windows Server backup software with people-friendly GUI to guide you through the whole backup process. It is EaseUS Todo Backup, which can fully protect the data in Windows Server and ensure working continuity.

Windows 2008 Server backup software