Windows Server Backup

Windows Server Backup
	Component of Microsoft Windows
	Server Backup in Windows Server 2025
File name/executable	wbadmin.msc
Type	Backup tool
Introduced in	Windows Server 2008
Replaces
	NTBackup

Windows Server Backup is a component of Microsoft Windows. It is a file recovery tool for Windows Server operating systems and the server counterpart of Backup and Restore.

History[edit | edit source]

Windows Server Backup was introduced in Windows Server 2008 as the server replacement for NTBackup, which had previously been included in both client and server Windows versions. Unlike the client tool, which is bundled with Control Panel, Server Backup is a Microsoft Management Console (MMC) snap-in, and most of the options are contained in the "Windows Server Backup Features" feature that can be installed through Server Manager. This feature also includes a command-line tool that can be launched from Windows PowerShell to perform tasks via scripts on it.

Windows Server 2012 introduced Online Backup, which allows to create backups to the Windows Azure Online Backup (later renamed to Microsoft Azure Backup) online service and added a Start screen shortcut under the Windows Accessories → System Tools folder. While the one already present in the Administrative Tools folder has been kept, the newly added will always be shown by default.

Since its introduction, Server Backup has been the only recovery tool available for the Windows Server family, and no attempts of replacing it have been made in any occasion, contrary to the client tool which has been deprecated, turned into a compatibility solution for older backups to still be usable, and replaced by different solutions such as File History.

Functionality[edit | edit source]

Windows Server Backup contains, in terms of functionality, most of the improvements the client tool has compared to NTBackup, such as the ability to create backups in more drive types other than floppies or tape drives, while also migrating existing features on it like scheduled and system-state backup support. Server Backup, however, also contains the integrated PowerShell utility, not present in the client tool. Similarly to Backup and Restore, Server Backup relies mostly in a separate component where most tasks are found in the form of wizards, which could be located in the actions pane as with any other MMC snap-in.