Should backup drive be bigger than server storage limit?

WD Legacy Products Sentinel Products
1

I’m onto the next step in setting up my system. I have gotten the Server to be able to backup the local machines. I am moving most data files to the server as well.

My server is the 4TB version, which means 2TB of storage. I went with this size as I read/was told that the backup service only works for 2TB.

So now I’m planning on adding an external USB3.0 drive to the server. This would be where I would backup everything that is stored on the server. I believe the type of backup do should be incremental-which I understand to mean that it will back everything up once, then on a daily basis it will just backup what changed that day.

Should this drive be set up the same size as my storage limit (i.e. 2TB) or should I get something bigger? Cost is not really a factor-as the larger drive only costs a little bit more, and my data is worth it to me. To get a 2TB is about $150, and a 4TB is about $200. I just don’t want to get something that is not going to work with Windows Backup. In other words I don’t really understand the 2TB limit, and how to apply it.

Also when setting up the backup, is this something I do by Remote Desktop into the server, and setting up the backup there? or is it something on the DX4000 dashboard-because if it is on the dashboard, I can’t find it.

Thanks.

2

I am going to say a 3tb drive would be on no benifit.  The reason being that the limit of the vhd backup file is 2tb.  That is why we can’t backup volumes larger than 2tb to start with.

WD removes the links to backup from the dashboard so you use the native WSB (Windows Server Backup interface.

The first icon on your taskbar (remote to the WD desktop) should be server manager, then bottom left is disk, WSB is under there.  Just run the wizzard in the right hand pane.

WSB is “self triming”, Like you say it does a full, then incrementals.  As space runs out it replace old with new.  So the more “extra space” you have, the farther back in history you can go to do restores.  If you are backing up close to 2tb, then you will not have a long history, but you will have a backup

3

Thanks for the response. I now see how to do the backup of the server.

I guess the only advantage of a backup drive larger than the server storage is longer history.

Thanks.

4

But I don’t think WSB will use over 2tb for the history.  So if you had 1tb of data, a 2tb drive would give more history.  I do not think if you have 2tb of data a 3tb drive will give you more history.  But I could be wrong again.

5

Ok.

I’ve gotten a new external USB 3.0, 3 TB hard drive. Again-the price difference between 2 TB & 3TB was so small. It doesn’t sound like it could cause problems.

The reaseon I went to 3TB,  I found this other article on sizing the hard drive.-

  http://social.technet.microsoft.com/wiki/contents/articles/1846.v-backup-restore-and-disaster-recovery-en-us.aspx

After plugging drive into server, I get the following message - “One or more external hard drives are connected to the server”

Then it says you can use the new hard drive to store server backups. To add a new hard drive to Server Backup

  1. Open the Dashboard (check)

  2. Click Computers and Backup. (check)

  3. Select the server, and then click Set up Server Backup or Customize Backup for the server. (I am unable to do this, as it does not show up as an option.)

That confuses me. I saw the other way that Gramps suggesting doing backup. When I try that (via remote desktop and Server Manager, I am able to set up backup). Is that the only/recommended way to do backup?

It seems like there is a bug in the Dashboard if the Alert Viewer does not match how the system acutally works.