Windows Backup
We use a command step to run Windows Backup (wbadmin.exe). 95% of our computers have a D:\ drive. The other 5% have either have an E:\ or no partition at all. Using your suggest PowerShell-Step-Deployments-and-Error-Handling, I have been able to identify them with an exit code. How can I put some logic into my deployment so that it doesn't just exit? Maybe a PowerShell step that can identify the drives and backup either C:,D: or C:,E: or C only, if the first two don't exists.
Step 1 - 'D:' was not found.
Try {
Get-ChildItem D:\ -ErrorAction Stop
}
Catch {
$_.Exception
exit 777
}
Step 2 - Run Windows Backup C:,D:
# covers 95%
wbadmin.exe start backup -backuptarget:\\backuptarget\share -include:C:,D: -vssCopy -quiet
# covers the other 5%
wbadmin.exe start backup -backuptarget:\\backuptarget\share -include:C:,E: -vssCopy -quiet
- or -
wbadmin.exe start backup -backuptarget:\\backuptarget\share -include:C: -vssCopy -quiet
Any suggestions or help in a wbadmin deployment is appreciated.
Thanks,
Brad
0
Comments
Couple questions:
1) What OS are your hosts running? All windows 7? All 8.1? Mix?
2) How are you avoiding using an Optical Drive?
I'd suggest wrapping logic around this:
$hash = @{
2 = "Removable Disk"
3 = "Fixed local disk"
4 = "Network Disk"
5 = "Compact Disk"
}
$disks = Get-CimInstance Win32_LogicalDisk | Select DeviceID, VolumeName,
@{LABEL='TypeDrive';
Expression = {$hash.item([int]$_.DriveType)}}
That will list all your disks (Network, Fixed local, and optical).
Design logic that pulls out the Fixed Disks to a Variable, identify the C: drive and the second drive for backup (whatever that letter may be per host) and throw those two items to their own variable (I suggest something like $firstsource and $secondsource for readability, and then start your backup job. with:
wbadmin.exe start backup -backuptarget:\\backuptarget\share -include:$source,$secondsource -vssCopy -quiet
That should at least get your gears turning. If you need more help let me know, but I want you to figure out how to write it so you gain the understanding of how it all works together. If you get stuck, I'm here.
This is a good start. We have a mixed environment of Windows 7 and Windows 10. I am only concerned with Fixed local disk. However, some have additional drives plugged in as slaves that I do not want to backup. This is the reason I am specifying the C:,D: and not -allcritical.
Makes perfect sense. That building block I gave you will get you the data you need to perform your tests before executing the backup job. Like I said, I'd like you to take the lead of fleshing the powershell script out, but if you get stuck, I'm here to help!