838 - ESE backup script example: system state

As a system-state-only backup alternative to ESE's Windows Image Backup, Windows Server Backup (WSB) commands can be used.

A. Backing up

1. Prerequisites

1. Ensure that the Windows Server Backup feature is installed on your Windows Server.
2. Create the "WindowsImageBackup" folder on a local target drive.
   Note: Windows forces this folder naming convention, so the name cannot be changed or located in a different directory locally.
3. Include this folder in the your backup selection in the Agent.

2. Create the batch file

Create a batch file called WSBScript.bat, containing the following:

rem @echo off
REM Specify the target drive here:
set target=E:

REM First delete the original dump:
rmdir %target%\WindowsImagebackup\%Computername%\ /S /Q

REM Now dump the systemstate
wbadmin start systemstatebackup -backupTarget:%target% -quiet >> c:\wbadmin.log

REM Save the unique folder name
for /D %%G in ("%target%\WindowsImageBackup\%ComputerName%\Backup*") do echo %%G >> "%target%\WindowsImageBackup\%ComputerName%\OriginalFoldername.txt"
for /D %%G in ("%target%\WindowsImageBackup\%ComputerName%\SystemstateBackup\Backup*") do echo %%G >> "%target%\WindowsImageBackup\%ComputerName%\SystemstateBackup\OriginalFoldername.txt"

%target%
REM Rename the unique folder to a generic name to enable patching
CD %target%\WindowsImageBackup\%ComputerName%\SystemstateBackup
for /D %%G in (Backup*) do rename "%%G" RenamedFolder

CD %target%\WindowsImageBackup\%ComputerName%\
for /D %%G in (Backup*) do rename "%%G" RenamedFolder

Note: Change the target volume at the head of the script to the drive you are using, e.g. target=C:

3. Configure the script in the ESE Agent

Add the script to the Backup Script "Before Backup" configuration and set to Abort backup if exit code is not 0.

4. Run a backup

The script will wait for Windows Server Backup to complete before sending data to the Storage Platform. It will also change the folder name to a standardised "RenamedFolder" to ensure that data patches instead of being resent in full.

Note: It is strongly advised that you test the patching efficiency against ESE's Windows Image Backup feature to ensure this meets your requirements. Please contact support@redstor.com if you have any questions.

B. Restoring

To restore you will need to:

1. Reconnect to the account on a machine of the same operating system with Windows Server Backup feature also installed.Restore the "WindowsImageBackup" folder back to local disk. Ideally this should be the same drive letter, but needs to be located in the volume root before the system state restore can run, e.g. Z:\WindowsImageBackup.
2. Open the "OriginalFoldername.txt" file found in "WindowsImageBackup\ComputerName\" and rename the "RenamedFolder" back to its original name, as found in the file.
3. You can now run WSB system state restores using the wbadmin commands.