Backing up Exchange Server 2016 Using Windows Server Backup

In this article in the series on Exchange Server 2016 backup and recovery we’ll look at backing up Exchange Server 2016 using Windows Server Backup.

For this scenario I’m using a single Exchange 2016 Mailbox server that is not a member of a database availability group. The server hosts a single mailbox database, with the database file on D:\ drive and the transaction logs on E:\ drive. An additional volume has been created for the server to host the backup files.

[PS] C:\>Get-ExchangeServer
Name                Site                 ServerRole  Edition     AdminDisplayVersion
----                ----                 ----------  -------     -------------------
EXSERVER            exchange2016demo.... Mailbox,... Standard... Version 15.1 (Bu...
[PS] C:\>Get-MailboxDatabase | Select Name,EdbFilePath,LogFolderPath
Name          : DB01
EdbFilePath   : D:\DB01\DB01.edb
LogFolderPath : E:\DB01

The Windows Server Backup feature is not installed by default so the first step we need to perform is to install it on the server.

PS C:\> Install-WindowsFeature Windows-Server-Backup
Success Restart Needed Exit Code      Feature Result
------- -------------- ---------      --------------
True    No             Success        {Windows Server Backup}

Now we can launch Windows Server Backup and configure the scheduled backup job.

After launching Windows Server Backup select Local Backup from the left side and then click Backup Schedule in the Actions pane on the right side.

When the Backup Schedule Wizard launches you have the choice to create a full server backup, or a custom backup.

Creating a Full Server Backup of Exchange Server 2016

Select Full server from the backup configuration choice and then click Next. Choose the backup time and frequency you need for your environment.

Choose your backup destination. I’m backing up to a hard disk that is dedicated for Windows Server Backup to use.

Click Show All Available Disks and add the volume you’re using for backups, then select it before you continue to the next step.

At the confirmation screen verify that all your selections are correct. Note that VSS Full Backup is automatically chosen as the backup type, which is correct for this scenario.

Click Finish to create the backup job. It will run at the next scheduled time.

Creating a Custom Backup of Exchange Server 2016

In some situations you may want to create a custom backup selection for Windows Server Backup to use when backing up Exchange Server 2016. I recommend that you only do this if you understand what you’re excluding from the backup.

At the beginning of the Backup Schedule Wizard choose Custom instead of Full server. Add the items you want to back up. If you’re backing up Exchange databases you must select the entire volume, not just the folders containing the database and transaction log files.

After adding your selections click the Advanced Settings button.

On the VSS Settings tab select VSS full backup. If you do not make this change the backup will not truncate the transaction logs for the databases.

Set the scheduled time and frequency for your backup job to run.

Set the destination to store the backups. I’m using a dedicated hard disk for this demonstration.

Click Show Available Disks and add the volume that you will be backing up to, and then select it for this backup job.

Confirm your selections and that you have chosen VSS Full Backup, then click Finish to create the scheduled backup job.

Monitoring Backup Results for Exchange Server 2016

When you’re backing up Exchange Server 2016 there’s two places to look when checking the results of your backup jobs:

• The backup software’s logs or reports
• The Exchange server’s database backup timestamps

Since I’ve used Windows Server Backup in this example I can check the status of the last backup job in the console and confirm that it ran successfully.

However I don’t recommend that you rely solely on the backup software to confirm that your backups are running successfully. You should also check it on the Exchange databases themselves.

To check the Exchange server’s database backup timestamps use the Get-MailboxDatabase cmdlet.

[PS] C:\>Get-MailboxDatabase -Status | Select Name,*backup*
Name                           : DB01
BackupInProgress               : False
SnapshotLastFullBackup         : True
SnapshotLastIncrementalBackup  :
SnapshotLastDifferentialBackup :
SnapshotLastCopyBackup         :
LastFullBackup                 : 28/10/2015 4:24:34 PM
LastIncrementalBackup          :
LastDifferentialBackup         :
LastCopyBackup                 :
RetainDeletedItemsUntilBackup  : False

For an automated, daily check of your Exchange Server 2016 backups I recommend using my Get-DailyBackupAlerts.ps1 script.

This article Backing up Exchange Server 2016 Using Windows Server Backup is © 2015 ExchangeServerPro.com

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