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    I am confused regarding backing up WHS and what exactly is on the backup drive.  I have a 1GB SATA II drive that Windows sees as having 931GB of total space.  On the backup drive I have three backup folders corresping to three different days I backed up that are named with the date they were backed up and a four digit number that follows and I don't know what that number means. 

    The main confusion is what Windows says is the size of these folders.  I am getting this info while the drive is connected to a Win XP computer.

    Folder 1 = 523GB
    Folder 2 = 544GB
    Folder 3 = 531GB

    These happen to total 1,598 GB that are supposidly stored on my 1GB drive that has a total of 931GB of storage space.  I thought that the second backup took much less time than the first.  I thought that only files that had been changed since the previous backup would be backed up in the following backup but I am also confused because each file seems to be in each folder in each seperate day of backup.

    Where can I find informtion on exactly how the WHS backup operates and how can I tell when I will need to delete data from my 1GB backup drive to allow for current backups.

    Friday, April 24, 2009 5:06 PM

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    The server backup feature uses NTFS hard links (think of them as pointers) so that only one copy of a version of a file exists on your backup drive. Since very few files will change from backup to backup, this means that most backups are mostly hard links. A hard link looks like a file of the size that it's pointing to, so it's very easy to (apparently) exceed the capacity of any drive available today.

    Or: Your server is functioning as designed. Don't worry about it. :)
    I'm not on the WHS team, I just post a lot. :)
    Friday, April 24, 2009 7:02 PM
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    Pretty much the sum total of documentation on Windows Home Server is available from the Windows Home Server Support Page. But you won't find this documented; it's a technical detail, which for the most part Microsoft isn't putting down on paper (even virtual paper). Remember that Windows Home Server (in the form of an OEM hardware/software product) is supposed to be easy for a non-technical person to use; it's intended to "do the right thing" for most people. In this case, the right thing is to allow a lot of server backups to a disk.

    It's possible that a Windows Home Server team member mentioned it in the forums at some point, but for anyone with a good technical knowledge of NTFS tools and techniques it's pretty easy to figure out.
    I'm not on the WHS team, I just post a lot. :)
    Friday, April 24, 2009 8:02 PM
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    Here's what you need to know about WHS backup.
    http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?displaylang=en&FamilyID=196fe38c-df20-4e19-92ca-6bda7bec3ecb

    Friday, April 24, 2009 6:38 PM
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    The server backup feature uses NTFS hard links (think of them as pointers) so that only one copy of a version of a file exists on your backup drive. Since very few files will change from backup to backup, this means that most backups are mostly hard links. A hard link looks like a file of the size that it's pointing to, so it's very easy to (apparently) exceed the capacity of any drive available today.

    Or: Your server is functioning as designed. Don't worry about it. :)
    I'm not on the WHS team, I just post a lot. :)
    Friday, April 24, 2009 7:02 PM
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    Do you know where I can find documentation on this.  The link above regards backups of clients by the server.
    Friday, April 24, 2009 7:44 PM
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    Pretty much the sum total of documentation on Windows Home Server is available from the Windows Home Server Support Page. But you won't find this documented; it's a technical detail, which for the most part Microsoft isn't putting down on paper (even virtual paper). Remember that Windows Home Server (in the form of an OEM hardware/software product) is supposed to be easy for a non-technical person to use; it's intended to "do the right thing" for most people. In this case, the right thing is to allow a lot of server backups to a disk.

    It's possible that a Windows Home Server team member mentioned it in the forums at some point, but for anyone with a good technical knowledge of NTFS tools and techniques it's pretty easy to figure out.
    I'm not on the WHS team, I just post a lot. :)
    Friday, April 24, 2009 8:02 PM
    Moderator