Active Backup for Business: Backing Up Windows PCs

2018-08-28 · synology, backup, windows

For years my Windows backups were Cloud Station Backup for files, or some imaging tool dumping onto a share and hoping for the best. Active Backup for Business, new with DSM 6.2, has replaced both. It images whole Windows PCs and servers on a schedule, deduplicates on the NAS, and restores either a full machine from a boot USB or single files through a browser. No license needed for PCs and servers.

I'm running it on DSM 6.2 with a couple of Windows 10 workstations and a Windows Server 2016 box. The NAS needs a Btrfs volume (it refuses ext4, since deduplication depends on Btrfs) and should be a plus-series or better with at least 2 GB of RAM; 4 GB is much nicer. Clients need Windows 7 SP1 or later, fully patched.

Activate and pick a destination

Open Active Backup for Business; the first launch asks you to sign in with a Synology Account to activate the package (free). Then Settings → Storage: it creates a shared folder ActiveBackupforBusiness on the Btrfs volume. I keep it on its own volume when possible so a full backup set can't starve the file shares.

Make a template first

Templates decide what gets backed up and when, and apply to every PC assigned to them. PC → Task list is empty until an agent connects, so go first to Settings → Template → Create:

Template name:        Workstations
Backup type:          Entire device
Schedule:             daily 13:00 and 19:00
Backup window:        allowed all hours except 08:00–09:00
Retention policy:     keep latest 14 versions,
                      1 daily for 30 days, 1 weekly for 12 weeks
Data transfer compression:  enabled
Data transfer encryption:   enabled
Allow users to restore files via portal: yes

"Entire device" includes the EFI/system partitions so a bare-metal restore boots. Choose "System volume" only if the data drives are backed up some other way.

Install the agent

Download the agent from the package (Active Backup for Business → PC → Add device → Download agent) or from the Synology Download Center; it is Synology Active Backup for Business Agent-<version>-x64.msi. Run it on the PC and enter the NAS address and an account with administrator rights on DSM:

# Unattended install for many PCs
msiexec /i "Synology Active Backup for Business Agent-2.0.2-0431-x64.msi" /qn ADDRESS=nas.example.local USERNAME=abb-admin PASSWORD='secret'

The agent installs a volume snapshot driver and reboots on Windows 7; Windows 10 does not need a reboot. After installation the PC appears under Active Backup for Business → PC with the template you assign on connection.

First backup, and the recovery USB

Select the PC → Backup. The first pass reads the whole disk, which over gigabit takes about 10 minutes per 50 GB. Later runs use the change-block tracking driver and take a minute or two.

While that runs, build the bare-metal recovery USB. Download Active Backup for Business Recovery Media Creator (Windows tool) from the Download Center, run it on a machine with the Windows ADK installed or let it download WinPE components, and write it to a 2 GB USB stick. Do this now, on a working PC, not after a disk has died. I've seen people (me included, once) go looking for a USB stick at the worst moment.

Restoring files through the portal

Users do not need you for single files. They open https://nas.example.local:5001/webman/3rdparty/ActiveBackup/portal/ (there is also a link from the DSM login page's application list) with their domain or DSM credentials, pick their device and a version, browse the file tree and download. Administrators can also restore into the original location by ticking Restore to original location on a version.

Prove the restore works

Active Backup for Business → PC → the device → Status should show Completed with the last backup time. Then test a real restore: boot a spare PC or a VM from the recovery USB, connect to the NAS, choose the device and version, and restore to the blank disk. Confirm it boots. Also check deduplication on the Overview page, where "Storage saved" typically reaches 60 to 80 percent with several similar Windows images.

Errors so far

The agent fails to connect with "Failed to connect to the server. Please make sure the port 5510 is open": the NAS firewall blocks TCP 5510. Add an allow rule for the Active Backup for Business service.
Backup stops with "Snapshot failed. VSS error": another backup tool's VSS writer is in a bad state on the PC. Run vssadmin list writers and reboot the client; if a writer is stuck in "Failed" state, restart its service.
"Unable to create the backup task. The disk is using a file system that is not supported": the storage is ext4 or the client has a dynamic disk. Move the package to a Btrfs volume; convert dynamic disks to basic where possible.
The recovery media boots but no network adapter is found: the WinPE image lacks the NIC driver. Rebuild the media and add the vendor's driver folder in the Recovery Media Creator.

For a small fleet it's the most practical Windows backup I've run on a NAS.