Menu
CCMEXEC.COM – Enterprise Mobility
  • Home
  • General
  • Configuration Manager
  • Windows 10
  • Intune
  • GitHub
  • Windows 11
  • About the author
CCMEXEC.COM – Enterprise Mobility

SCCM Backup and file backup

Posted on May 2, 2011 by Jörgen Nilsson

I have run into the fact a couple of times at customers that there is no valid backup of SCCM that can be used, so I thought it was time to share it.

When doing backup of a SCCM primary site there is only one supported way to do it and that is using the Site Maintenance Task called: “Backup ConfigMgr Site Server”. When configuring the task you choose where to save the backup and when it should run. In many times this can be a local disk or a remote share on a file server.
SCCMBackup3

Note: there is no idea of doing a backup of a secondary site as you cannot restore it, for more information see http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb632587.aspx

To archive the backup a file backup of the share/folder is normally used as this is the only way to back up the SCCM site and it is here it starts getting interesting.

Configuration Manager Uses snapshot technology for backing up the Database and Database log file, this means that these two files are NOT modified during the backup, not even the time stamp.

The only time the dates of the Database and Database log files changes date is when:

  1. The SQL server or SQL service is restarted
  2. The database or database log files are growing automatically

 

If we have a look at the files in Windows Explorer, this is taken from my lab environment where the backup of SCCM ran successfully on the 2/5 – 2011  

 SCCMBackup1

 

If we the open the SiteDBServer directory which holds the database and the log file, we can see that the time stamps of these two files are from the last time I restarted my server even if the backup ran on the 2/5:

 SCCMBackup2
When using a backup system like TSM (Tivoli Storage Manager) or some other product make sure that the backup tool is using the archive attribute to recognise if  a file is changed.
TSM does NOT use it, it checks the file dates and I have ran into this a couple of times now that there is now valid backup to restore.
Maybe this is the case for more than TSM but I haven’t had the opportunity to verify it.

So talk to your backup team and ask them how the backup tool you use work. If it doesn’t use the archive file attribute ask them to perform a full backup each night of the SCCM backup directory so you have a valid backup.
I always recommend doing a full backup of the SCCM backup directory each night.

3 thoughts on “SCCM Backup and file backup”

  1. Huub says:
    February 13, 2012 at 5:12 pm

    Hello Jorgen,

    This is very clear. I have the problem that my SQL is running on another server. I define the backup for SQL on this server and this runs OK. I now have a problem with making a site backup. This won’t work like the way you described. Is there another way for making a sitebackup?

    Reply
    1. Jörgen Nilsson says:
      February 19, 2012 at 11:46 am

      Hi,
      There are no other supported way of running a backup, so even if the SQL DB is on another server you must run the builtin Maintenance Task for backup! Otherwise you will never be able to restore your site in case of a data corruption of server failure. What is the error you are seeing? There a some hotfixes that could perhaps solve you problems related to Site Backup, you can find a list of available hotfixes here:
      https://ccmexec.com/configuration-manager-2007-sp2-hotfix-list/

      Regards,
      Jörgen

      Reply
  2. Vegard says:
    October 7, 2021 at 1:05 pm

    Hi,
    I have a database using recovery model SIMPLE. When I do a database backup the ldf file is not shrinking. The mdf file is about 1,5 Gb and the ldf about 8 Gb.
    Both mdf and ldf is set to Autogrowth/Maxsize (by 10 percent, Unlimited). Do I need to change the Maxsize from being Unlimited for the backup to start shrinking the ldf file? Or is it the Autoshrink=false property that controls this?
    What are the recommended settings for recovery model SIMPLE when doing a daily backup? Using Sql server 2012 R2.

    Thanks Vegard

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

My name is Jörgen Nilsson and I work as a Senior Consultant at Onevinn in Malmö, Sweden. This is my blog where I will share tips and stuff for my own and everyone elses use on Enterprise Mobility and Windows related topics.
All code is provided "AS-IS" with no warranties.

Tweets by ccmexec

Recent Posts

  • Windows Servicing, Personal Teams and Success.cmd
  • Windows MDM Security Baseline – Settings Catalog
  • Configuring MS Edge Security Baseline v107 using Settings Catalog
  • Configuring Desktop App Installer using CSP and script?!
  • Customizing Taskbar and Start in Windows 11 22h2 with PowerShell

©2023 CCMEXEC.COM – Enterprise Mobility | WordPress Theme by Superb Themes
This website uses cookies to improve your experience. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish.Accept Reject Read More
Privacy & Cookies Policy

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Non-necessary
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
SAVE & ACCEPT