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Backup of OS & Server Folders - use Backup? RRS feed

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    i have a RAID5 array, it consisted of (4) 1.5TB drives

    over the past 2 years they have all failed & were replaced with 2TB drives

    i finally bought a 6TB backup drive and moved all the Server Folders over to it temporarily & then rebuilt the RAID array to use the full space (6TB)

    i then moved all the folders back and then found out i can't backup the RAID array because it is larger than 2TB!!

    i can move all the folders over again & repartition my RAID array into (3) 2TB partitions and then move the folders back

    but, i am not sure that Backup is going to do what i want, since it is going to take quite a while to backup my OS drive and the folder data (~4TB) w/SATA II controller

    i want to keep my OS drive backed up & my RAID array

    should i use Backup, or copy stuff over manually or something else?

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    • Edited by mkaye Wednesday, December 31, 2014 5:19 PM
    Wednesday, December 31, 2014 5:17 PM

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    WHS2011 Server Backup will, as you say, not back up more than 2TB (a limitation of the .vhd files it uses) so partitioning your RAID will not help. I use SyncToy (also SyncBack) to back up my Server data to a second server but there is no reason why you couldn't use it to backup to your external drive.

    Phil P.S. If you find my comment helpful or if it answers your question, please mark it as such.


    • Edited by Phil Harrison Wednesday, December 31, 2014 8:49 PM
    • Proposed as answer by Justin Gu Thursday, January 8, 2015 4:12 PM
    • Marked as answer by Justin Gu Friday, January 9, 2015 7:01 AM
    Wednesday, December 31, 2014 8:48 PM
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    Actually, this is not true. WHS2011 Server Backup _will_ backup more than 2TB of data. It will not backup _volumes_ that are in excess of 2TB however, This is because, although it uses .vhd files, each _volume_ is backed up to its own .vhd file on the Backup HDD.

    So, partitioning the RAID into 2TB partitions/volumes/drive letters should allow you to back them all up. One caveat, I have not tried this with RAID solutions. I use DrivePool and backup the underlying HDDs and that works like a charm. In fact, I just ordered 2 8TB HDDs for Server Backup & Off-Site Rotation. Have it working on the 4TB Backup HDD already.

    • Proposed as answer by Justin Gu Thursday, January 8, 2015 4:13 PM
    • Marked as answer by Justin Gu Friday, January 9, 2015 7:01 AM
    Friday, January 2, 2015 1:00 PM

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    I would recommend using the Server Backup mode and to be safe before making the RAID backup. Make another backup with the system and data on a separate drive should something not work you will be able to restore you system with data. 

    Good Luck,

    Night Owl



    Wednesday, December 31, 2014 6:10 PM
  • Question
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    WHS2011 Server Backup will, as you say, not back up more than 2TB (a limitation of the .vhd files it uses) so partitioning your RAID will not help. I use SyncToy (also SyncBack) to back up my Server data to a second server but there is no reason why you couldn't use it to backup to your external drive.

    Phil P.S. If you find my comment helpful or if it answers your question, please mark it as such.


    • Edited by Phil Harrison Wednesday, December 31, 2014 8:49 PM
    • Proposed as answer by Justin Gu Thursday, January 8, 2015 4:12 PM
    • Marked as answer by Justin Gu Friday, January 9, 2015 7:01 AM
    Wednesday, December 31, 2014 8:48 PM
  • Question
    Sign in to vote
    0
    Sign in to vote

    Actually, this is not true. WHS2011 Server Backup _will_ backup more than 2TB of data. It will not backup _volumes_ that are in excess of 2TB however, This is because, although it uses .vhd files, each _volume_ is backed up to its own .vhd file on the Backup HDD.

    So, partitioning the RAID into 2TB partitions/volumes/drive letters should allow you to back them all up. One caveat, I have not tried this with RAID solutions. I use DrivePool and backup the underlying HDDs and that works like a charm. In fact, I just ordered 2 8TB HDDs for Server Backup & Off-Site Rotation. Have it working on the 4TB Backup HDD already.

    • Proposed as answer by Justin Gu Thursday, January 8, 2015 4:13 PM
    • Marked as answer by Justin Gu Friday, January 9, 2015 7:01 AM
    Friday, January 2, 2015 1:00 PM