How to Automate Server Backups in Windows Server 2022

Hardware fails, ransomware attacks happen, and data gets corrupted. If you aren't backing up your servers, you are courting disaster. Here is how to automate backups natively in Windows Server 2022.

Using Windows Server Backup (WSB)

WSB is a free feature included with Windows Server, but it must be installed via Server Manager (Add Roles and Features).

Once installed, open the WSB console, click Backup Schedule, and follow the wizard. You can choose to back up the entire server (Bare Metal Recovery) or specific volumes. Crucially, schedule the backup to run to a dedicated, physically separate backup NAS or external drive.

The 3-2-1 Rule

Always follow the 3-2-1 backup rule: Keep 3 copies of your data, on 2 different media types, with 1 copy kept completely offsite (in the cloud).

Enterprise Storage Note: For clustered, multi-node backup targets using Storage Spaces Direct (S2D), you will need Datacenter edition. Check out our Windows Server 2022 Standard vs Datacenter Guide.

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