Windows Home Server can back up Windows Server 2008

Thursday, September 11 2008

As I mentioned in my last post, I've been getting my new development machine configured.  It's running the 64-bit version of Windows Server 2008 Standard.  I also have a Windows Home Server (I love it!).  I was pretty sure that the two wouldn't play nicely together.  That is, I was pretty sure that I'd try to install the Windows Home Server connector on my development machine and it would yell at me and say I couldn't do that.

To my surprise, though, the connector installed just fine.  Better yet, the backup feature in Windows Home Server works just fine.  WOW!  So my Windows Home Server is doing an image-level backup of Windows Server 2008.  I guess from WHS's standpoint it must just seem a lot like Vista (same kernel after all), though the Windows Home Server console definitely recognizes it as a server operating system:

image

On a side note, it was really funny that when Windows Home Server was in beta, the Operating System column for Vista machines said "Windows Longhorn".

So you heard it here...  you can use Windows Home Server to back up Windows Server 2008.  Now a bit of a reality check...  obviously the only time you would do this is if your Windows Server 2008 machine is actually used more like a workstation.  In my case, my 2008 machine is actually my high performance development machine.  If you're wondering why I didn't install Vista, it's because I wanted to be able to use Hyper-V to spin up some guest OS's running 64-bit (for example, Windows Small Business Server 2008).

#1 Troels Bjerre on 9.12.2008 at 11:22 AM

Yes, but restoring WS2008 might give you a problem. The newest restore CD doesn't work, but an older one (the first one from the original RTM package) worked for me.

#2 Scott on 3.14.2009 at 12:11 AM

Everytime I try to run the setup, it pops a dialog box with a URL to an HP site. Which is the general home site for support. Did you do anything special to get the client to install on W2K8?

#3 John R. Pattison on 3.17.2009 at 10:23 AM

Hi Scott,

I didn't run into this, but I am not using the HP version of Windows Home Server. I'm using just the straight OEM installation of WHS. Sorry I couldn't be of more help.

Best wishes,

John R. Pattison

#4 Scott Smith on 3.21.2009 at 10:44 AM

Thanks John. I called HP directly and they explicitly restrict W2K8, no reason given or if it is planned for the future. I have a home built one and it works with 2008, so not sure why HP limits it when MS allows it. Guess a discussion for another day. Sure wished I had known the support boundaries first before dropping several hundred dollars in an attempt to free up the original system.

#5 Aviv Danziger on 4.06.2009 at 3:55 AM

So does anybody know if it's actually possible or not to restore WS2008 using the restore CD, as Troels mentions above?

#6 John R. Pattison on 4.06.2009 at 8:19 AM

I've never actually tried it.

#7 Ahood Kappon on 4.13.2009 at 3:29 AM

I have tested the following:

Backup a Windows 2008 running on Virtual PC

Restore to a new Virtual PC : worked fine.

Restore to a Bare Metal Phisical PC fail with missing storage driver.

That was fixed with some registry tweak and manualy adding the driver , or using Shadowprotect HIR feature.

Udi

#8 John R. Pattison on 4.13.2009 at 7:16 AM

Great work Udi!

#9 fschwiet on 2.17.2010 at 6:38 PM

"If you're wondering why I didn't install Vista"

Nope, the question never crossed my mind.

Leave a Comment