FreeNAS Snapshots vs Windows System Image BackUp

[Jammo]

I think that I know the answer to this question from reading the documentation, reading other posts here and elsewhere on the internet, but being new to FreeNAS, I don't want to assume. I'm used to using Windows Servers - Home Server and 2012 R2 Essentials - both of which can be set to automatically back all your computers on the network (pro and home versions alike). But this is not only a backup (multiple file versions) of data files, but entire "system images" of each computer. This has saved me more than a couple of times when the main hard-drive in one of my network computers has gone down; I just replace the drive, boot from a "Windows Server Boot CD," which guides me through restoring my entire drive from the server to the new drive, just as if I had cloned the old drive right before it died (assuming last night's backup was successful).

I may be getting lost in FreeNAS terminology, but the BIG QUESTION for me is, can FreeNAS do the same thing? Is that what Snapshots can do? Can FreeNAS do it, but with only a specific plugin or expert knowledge of some scripting? If it does work, will it only work from the client computers themselves running Windows Backup, in which case only Windows Pro or Ultimate machines will work across a network?

Will somebody please take a minute and explain this to me? Thank you in advance.

 

[pirateghost]

Snapshots have literally nothing to do with Windows backups.

Have a read through the documentation.

 

[Robert Smith]

So, you want to boot Windows from a block level extent hosted on FreeNAS and use ZFS snapshots in place of system images?

FreeNAS does not care. But, how are you going to make sure the Windows system storage is not in some intermediate half-broken state at the exact time snapshot happens?

Without some special quiescentce logic, it would be like pulling a plug on a running system without proper shutdown.

If you are ok with shutting Windows down, and making snapshots while Windows is not running, that should work ok.

You can continue using host-based, agent, or driver assisted backups regardless of FreeNAS involvement. Backup built into Windows, though, has been sucking lately, search these forums, and Internet in general, for issues folks run into. May need to look into third-party solutions, if going this road.

The modern way to go about backups (which may or may not work depending on the software you use) is to forego system images all together. Keep your documents and blobs in file-based storage (SAMBA) with its own backup (including snapshots and off-site replication). Your application settings and system preferences are in the cloud (documents could be in the cloud too). And programs are installed from some sort of application store or package manager.

 

[SirMaster]

OpenZFS snapshots can be used to backup live Windows machines which are running their OS partitions from ZFS storage, but you will need some middleware.

Examples that do it.

https://tripleback.net/
http://jentu-networks.com/

Personally I run my Windows VMs on a ZFS storage backend and use snapshots of them while running to roll them back and have never seen any problem with data consistency.

 

[Jammo]

Thanks for the replies everyone. And thanks for the links SirMaster; I think how you are running your VMs on a ZFS storage backend is along the lines of what I was hoping to accomplish. I'll have to think this through a little more. I was hoping a FreeNAS server could take the place of my Windows Home Server AS FAR AS routine backups of each of the computers in the home and office are concerned.

 

[pirateghost]

Thanks for the replies everyone. And thanks for the links SirMaster; I think how you are running your VMs on a ZFS storage backend is along the lines of what I was hoping to accomplish. I'll have to think this through a little more. I was hoping a FreeNAS server could take the place of my Windows Home Server AS FAR AS routine backups of each of the computers in the home and office are concerned.

Running VMs using FreeNAS as the storage is COMPLETELY different than backing up your client machines.

FreeNAS can handle being the LOCATION of backups, but it has ZERO functionality built in to manage your windows backups for you. You need to initiate the backup from the Client (windows) side. You would in turn, use FreeNAS as storage only, because that is what it is. Just storage on the network.

 

[Jammo]

Thanks pirateghost; that helps to clarify. As far as backup goes, maybe I'll just use the FreeNAS server as a resilient place to store my server backups, instead of each machine on the network.