Backup of Backups

[majones]

I have a number of desktops and laptops individually backing-up to a server running Windows Home Server 2011, and I'm backing up the server to an external USB. In a disaster scenario where I had to restore everything from the USB, I would first reinstate the server, and then the clients from the backups on the server. I'm assuming that this would all work, but have a niggling concern that there might be something that I've overlooked. One thing that occurs to me is that if the server creates a backup when a client is also creating a backup, then the client backup will be restored to the server as an incomplete backup - might this cause a problem?

[Dima P.]

Hi Martin,

You need to schedule client and server VEBs to avoid overlap, otherwise latest restore point from the ‘client’ won’t be consistent in the server side backup. By the way, there is a better way to save a backup to another location. Check the Veeam Backup and Replication's backup copy job functionality.

[majones]

Hi Dmitry - thanks for clarifying that. Do you know whether "client" backups in progress to the server are viable when recovered from the server backup, if the server backup is done with in-built Windows Home Server 2011 capability? Thanks.

[Dima P.]

Martin,

I assume the behavior remains the same due the nature of the backup since both solutions leverage the native VSS components.

[majones]

One more question on overlapping backups (sorry!). If all client backups on the server are complete and VEB then starts a backup of the server, if a further client backup starts before the server backup is complete, in what state is the client backup backed-up in the server backup? (I know the question reads as a riddle, but hopefully it makes sense.)

[Dima P.]

It won’t fit the server side backup. Any changes after VSS snapshot is taken (this can be called an actual start of backup process) won’t take effect on the produced backup file.