Backing up Archives Using Volume Shadow Copy Service

Historian can use the Microsoft® Volume Shadow Copy Service to back up and restore large archive files reliably and in a short period of time without affecting the data collection. The Historian Data Archiver uses ihArchiverBackup.exe as the default backup system. If you want to back up your archiver files regularly, you can set the scheduler to back up your files automatically.

VSS provides fast volume capture of the state of a disk which is called a snapshot or shadow copy. When the snapshot is taken, disk writes are suspended for a brief period of time, typically on the order of milliseconds. After the snapshot, disk writes can resume, but the original state of the files are maintained by a difference file. The different file allows the state of the original file at the time of the snapshot to be reconstructed. This behavior allows files to be backed up while new data is being written to files.

If you are using ihArchiveBackup.exe before the upgrade, your backup will continue to work in the same or similar manner as it did before the upgrade. There is no change in the backup procedure and the Auto Recovery Backup Files option remains unchanged.

Note: You can use both ihArchiveBackup.exe or VSS for backup, however, VSS is a better choice for larger archives to reduce the load on the Data Archiver service.

The Volume Shadow Copy feature is provided by Windows Operating System, and the instructions to use backup and restore vary depending on the backup application that is used in the Windows operating system.

Historian supports using the Volume Shadow Copy Service in the following operating systems.

Windows 7
Windows 8.1
Windows 10
Windows Server 2008 R2
Windows Server 2012 R2 64-bit

In Windows XP and Windows 2003 operating systems, Microsoft uses a proprietary backup format (BKF) (also known as "Microsoft Tape Format" or MTF) to back up files. In Windows Vista and later operating systems, Microsoft uses a backup format called Virtual Hard Disk (VHD) to back up files. If you create an archive backup using Microsoft® Volume Shadow Copy Service, you must first restore the archives files (that is, convert .bkf or .vhd into .iha) using the Windows Restore wizard, and then restore the archives (.iha) into Historian. For more information on restoring an archive (.iha) into Historian, refer to the Restoring an Archive topic.

The Backup and Restore Center in Windows Server 2008 32-bit and 64-bit do not allow you to backup selected files or folders. However, you can do volume backups. The features available in the Backup and Restore Center depend on the Windows editions. If you need additional assistance with using Windows Server Backup Wizard, refer to Microsoft's website at: http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc753528.aspx

In addition to using the Backup and Restore wizard, you can also use the command line utilities:

Refer to How to use command line parameters with the Ntbackup command: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/814583
Refer to How to use command line parameters with the Wbadmin command: http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc754015(WS.10).aspx
If you need additional assistance about using Windows Server Backup Wizard, refer to Microsoft's website at: http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc753528.aspx