A weapon in Win Server 8: Microsoft Online Backup Service

Did Microsoft add the online backup service in Windows Server 8? You must have thought I was kidding, right? But Microsoft did.

Did Microsoft add the online backup service in Windows Server 8? You must have thought I was kidding, right? But Microsoft did.

The Microsoft Online Backup service is an installable service dedicated to Windows Server 8 Beta, which allows for file and folder backups to cloud services.

This is fundamentally an off-line backup solution to backup in the cloud using the Microsoft Online backup service. It provides file and folder backup functionality for Windows Server 8 machines.

It cannot back up the system state. Successful applicants are limited to access to Microsoft Online Services for the first time. The installation is a two-part process that requires creating an online Microsoft Online Services Account (Beta version is not required because the ID is preinstalled) and installs a dedicated client component for the Microsoft Online Backup service feature.

The backup can be configured through Computer Management or through PowerShell cmdlets:

The data is encrypted with the passcode (minimum 16 characters) you choose or generate automatically. MSFT has no record of this passcode, so if you forget the passcode it can't recover your data.

The following table lists the supported file and folder properties/types and the expected behavior of Microsoft online Services when they encounter these types:

You choose a file or folder just like a regular backup. You can have x backups every day (3 times a day in beta), and you can set a retention period for your data (the longer the time = more space = more expensive).

You can use the original server to recover data in a familiar interface or a backup of the retention window. This will require credentials to access and decrypt the passcode.

Microsoft also released a beta version of Windows Server 8 for public testing, along with the release of the WIN8 consumer Preview on February 29. In the latest Windows Server official blog, Microsoft has detailed the Windows Server 8 online backup service, which will be available to users with the release of Windows Server 8.

This service is based on the Windows Azure Cloud computing platform and can be used to deliver backup files to administrators by downloading the Microsoft Online backup agent. Users of Windows Server 8 beta can register for an account (registered address), and now the online backup service provides 10GB of cloud storage free of charge.

Blog post also describes more features that Windows Server 8 users expect to be added to the backup service. Includes access to any files that are backed up online through a simple user interface.

This service can also automatically check the integrity of the data, which means that if a file is found to be corrupted, it is processed and remedied in the next automated backup. Users can set the time to start the online backup service, and how to start backing up files and recovering files in the service.

A weapon in Win Server 8: Microsoft Online Backup Service