NAS is an ideal backup storage for Windows Server 2019, 2016, 2012, etc., but many people fail to select it as destination in Windows Server Backup. This post will show you how Windows Server backup to NAS successfully.
Windows Server enables a computer to manage network roles (print server, domain controller, web server, file server) and provide services for other networked computers. It’s used in business settings under most conditions and involves a lot of important data & information.
NAS (Network Attached Storage), also popular with companies, enables multiple clients to store and share files with fast data access and easy administration. If you are considering backing up Windows Server like 2019, NAS could be an ideal destination for the following advantages:
• It offers you a considerable storage space to back up Windows Server, and costs lower in the long term. • Data stored in NAS could be accessed and shared with multiple clients on the network. • With NAS, it’s able to stream media like movies, TV shows, music, and photos on multiple computers. • Compared with PC, NAS storage is less likely to be damaged by accidents. • Some NAS drives have RAID options to duplicate data on multiple drives as NAS disaster recovery strategy.
Since there are so many benefits to backing up Windows Server to NAS, how to achieve it? Here I compiled 4 methods and hopefully one of them could suit your case.
Windows Server Backup is the built-in backup solution for Windows Server, including the latest system Windows Server 2019 and 2022. It did not have the ability to back up to the network in the early days, and only since 2012 has it added “Remote shared folder” option.
But there are still some functional limitations of Windows Server Backup, like the latter backup will overwrite the former one, so it can only keep one full backup. And even with the remote backup feature, there are many users reported errors when specifying NAS drives as destination.
To perform Windows Server backup to NAS successfully, it's recommended to create a VHD or iSCSI Target on your NAS drive beforehand, then select the created volume as the backup destination in Windows Server Backup.
The steps are honestly quite complicated. You could refer to following tutorials with detailed screenshots.
>> Create a virtual hard disk and attach it to NAS
>> Create an iSCSI Target on NAS device
Then you can create the backup task in Windows Server Backup, and select the NAS as select an additional drive.
If you are not sure how to access and use the utility for image backup, please read Windows Server Backup guide.
If you are trying to perform Windows Server backup to Synology NAS, then Active Backup for Business could be backup solution for Windows physical server, PC, rsync/SMB file server, and VMware vSphere/Microsoft Hyper-V virtual machine. Here are 2 official tutorials about it:
>> Backup full Windows PC/Server
>> Backup individual folders on Windows Server
As you can see from above, there are some must-do configurations before Windows Server 2019 backup to NAS, and different NAS may also have different scenarios. If you don't want to spend time on these steps, and prefer a direct solution with higher success rate, you can try a professional backup program.
AOMEI Backupper Server is a specialized backup & restore program for Windows Server. It comes with complete features including backup/sync/clone, and supports a wide range of OS and storage devices.
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Supported OS |
Windows Server 2022, 2019, 2016, 2012, 2011, 2008, 2003 (including R2) Windows SBS 2003, 2008, 2011 Windows 11, 10, 8.1, 8, 7, Vista, XP |
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Supported Devices |
All devices recognized by Windows, such as IDE, SATA, iSCSI, SCSI disk, IEEE1394 (Firewire). Hard disk drive (HDD), solid-state drives (SSD) and SSHD. Network-Attached Storage (NAS), Shared Network and cloud drive. External hard drives (USB 1.0/2.0/3.0), PC card, all removable flash drives and thumb drives. Hyper-V, Virtual box, VMware virtual disk and other virtual systems, etc. |
Feel free to download the trial version:
AOMEI Cyber Backup provides a convenient and reliable solution for centralized backup management of all Windows operating systems.
Download this powerful enterprise backup software now.
Here I’ll show you how to backup Windows Server 2019 files and OS to NAS or network share in detail.
1. Make sure you can connect to your NAS, launch the software and select Backup > File Backup. You can also choose System Backup to protect the OS of Windows Server 2019.
2. Click Add Folder or Add File to select the data you want to backup. If you choose System Backup in the last step, the operating system will be automatically selected.
Click the funnel icon beside folder path, you can use Filter settings to customize the file inclusion or exclusion.
3. To make Windows Server backup to network share/NAS, click on the inverted triangle icon beside the destination box and choose Add Share or NAS Devices, enter the IP address to add it as target, then select a folder to receive the backup.
4. Before Start Backup, you can click Schedule Backup to set up automatic backup daily/weekly/monthly/event triggers/USB plug in. To save storage space in NAS, it’s also a good idea to create a retention policy for obsolete backups auto deletion.
In Options, you can manage compression level, image splitting, encryption, email notification, etc.
๐ Related tips:
If you are worried that Windows Server 2019/2016/2012/etc. will suddenly crash and not start properly, it’s best to create a system backup task on a regular basis and create a bootable media for system restore in WinPE.
If you want to replicate folders from Windows Server to NAS and keep the original format & structure, please use Sync features. AOMEI Backupper supports multiple synchronization modes including one-way sync, two-way sync, real-time sync, mirror sync. You can even sync files between 2 Windows Servers.
If you create an AOMEI account, you are able to backup files to AOMEI Cloud. It offers you 1TB free storage for 15 days after you sign up for an AOMEI account.
1. Install and run AOMEI Cyber Backup. The default username and password for AOMEI Cyber Backup are both "admin". Enter them and click Log in.
2. Click Source Device > Windows > Add Windows Device to add the Windows Server 2019 device that you want to backup. You need to enter the IP address, username and password of it.
3. Create Windows Server 2019 system backup.
If you don’t know how to choose between AOMEI Backupper and AOMEI Cyber Backup, check the comparison table on page Windows Server Backup.
Want to backup Windows Server 2019 to NAS like Synology or QNAP? AOMEI Backupper Server and AOMEI Cyber Backup work better than Windows Server Backup with their high compatibility and complete features. No matter you want to perform Windows Server 2019 or Windows Server 2016 backup to NAS/network share, the operation can be completed in several clicks. Simple and quick.
The restore function of AOMEI Backupper is also powerful, you can even perform Windows Server system restore to different hardware. And with the Clone feature, you can migrate Windows Server to SSD without reinstalling.