[There's a reason that Yoda is the unofficial mascot of SBS. Size indeed matters not.] Backup folder viewing - THE OFFICIAL BLOG OF THE SBS "DIVA"
Mon, Oct 6 2008 11:14 bradley

Backup folder viewing

For those that are logging into my SBS 2008 box via RDP (I gave out the username and password at the session), if you are wondering how to see the drive letter of the backup drive, what you need to do is to right mouse click on the command line icon and click "Run As Administrator" .  Then you can see the drive folder underneath.

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# re: Backup folder viewing

Tuesday, October 07, 2008 1:14 PM by Mark Hicks

Looks like, once you open the command prompt in admin mode and change to the backup drive (z:) in your example you can then type the command 'explorer .' (don't forget the space and dot)... At that point you'll have an explorer window capable of navigating the backup drive contents...

Of course most of what is there is a VHD file that actualyl contains the data from your hard drive... That should be mountable into a Virtual PC to inspect the contents... From what I've hear they are using shadow copy to keep "previous versions" inside the VHD so you can restore "at a point in time"...

It should also be noted that what we're doing here is not recommended or probably supported by Microsoft. This is experimentation I am doing on a LAB server with for the purpose of better understanding the backup system in Server 2008...

One of the things I do not like about the SBS 2008 backup "shell" that they have constructed over top of Server 2008 backup that is that is goes out of its way to hide and "own" the drive... I understand some of the reasons they did this (easier for them to control and support and harder for somone to mess up), but I have too many other thigns I'd like to drop on the drive before it is rotated offsite (like an image of one or two key workstations).

Take a look at Backup Assist version 5... After talking with Linus Change at SMB Nation I'm convinced his approach is a better option... It allows you to use both the image based engine built into the server as well as file replication and even offsite backup of the "changed bits" on a consistent basis AND, best of all, Backup Assist bypassed the SBS backup "shell" allow us to see the drive and drop that "extra SQL backup file" or that "manual copy of Quickbooks" on the USB drive... You can also use things like High-Rely to store "all your backups" (not just an image) on an external e-sata box and mirrior them with a robust removable drive that is much more reliable than USB and is also much faster.

Thanks for the tip Susan! I'll be showing this "insight" at our Technology Wizards SBS group in Portland Oregon this week.

-/\/\ark