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Hello, We deployed new domain controllers on Windows Server 2022 core edition on virtual servers. For the backup, in the past we were using Veeam Backup with the “application-aware” option. With this new implementation we can no longer use Veeam Backup and I was thinking to use Windows Server Backup. I’d like to know if it’s possible to run a backup using Windows Server Backup on a Server core edition with the “application-aware”/”application-level” option similar of what I was doing with Veeam Backup to ensure transactional consistency of OS and applications running on the VM, including the Active Directory database and SYSVOL catalog? Thank you for your answer
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As per https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/exchange/high-availability/disaster-recovery/windows-server-backup?view=exchserver-2019 "Backups that are taken with WSB occur at the volume level, and the only way to perform an application-level backup or restore is to select an entire volume. To back up a database and its log stream, you must back up the entire volume containing the database and logs, not just the individual folders. You can't back up any data without backing up the entire volume containing the data."
AD and SYSVOL backup are part of the System State backup https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-server/identity/ad-ds/manage/forest-recovery-guide/ad-forest-recovery-backing-up-system-state
hth
Marcin
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Hi Julien, Thanks for your reply. I’m afraid not, because there is no granular application support for Windows Backup Server. This means that you cannot back up individual application files/databases. This is a decisive limitation if you rely on apps like Exchange, SQL Server, Active Directory, etc. You can only backup volumes through WBS, that too only those formatted as NTFS. Reference: Windows Server Backup vs. Third-Party Backup Solutions: Which One Is Right for You? (linkedin.com) Best Regards, Ian Xue
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