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XADM: Using the AT Backup Command with Microsoft Exchange

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Summary

You can use the AT command to automate your Online backup procedures. The AT command requires that the Schedule service is running on the NT Server.

The AT command to run an online backup of the Microsoft Exchange Directory Store and Information Store is:
AT NTBACKUP BACKUP DS \\servername IS \\servername /B /T NORMAL
-or-
AT <time> Batchfile

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More information

The AT command ships with Windows NT and is located by default in the Winnt\system32 directory. The account that the schedule process is started by should have the proper access rights to the resources that you are trying to backup up (see NT System guide, Chapter 15, page 479 for more information). The AT scheduler requires the administrator logon. The default startup is System account which will restrict permissions to access network resources such as printers and shares.

To fully utilize the AT command, modify the Schedule Startup in Control panel, Services to use "This Account" and use an Administrator equivalent account and password.

Sample Batch File For On-line Backup: 
rem ** 3/7/96  Backup Written by Joseph Pagano
rem ** This will backup the IS and DS on both WNTEXS1 and WNTEXD1.
ntbackup backup DS \\WNTEXS1 IS \\WNTEXS1 /v /d "WNTEXS1 IS-DS" /b /t
Normal /l c:\winnt35\backup.log /e
ntbackup backup DS \\WNTEXD1 IS \\WNTEXD1 /a /v /d "WNTEXS1 IS-DS" /b /t
Normal /l c:\winnt35\backup.log /e
exit

Information on command line parameters is in the Microsoft Exchange Administration Guide, Chapter 15, page 462 and in the Books Online.

Ntbackup.exe Switch Notes

Note: In a batch file, limit the command line to 256 characters. Exceeding this limit might result in files not being backed up and might stop the process without any warning.

The syntax for this command is as follows:
ntbackup operation path [/a][/v][/r][/d"text"][/b][/hc:{on | off}] [/t{option}][/l"filename"][/e][/tape:{n}]
Parameters:

operation     - Specifies the operation, backup.
Path          - If you are backing up a drive, specifies one or more paths
                of the directories to be backed up. If you are backing up
                Microsoft Exchange Server components, specifies the
                component and the server using the following format:

                    {DS server /IS server}

                where Server is the name of the server you are backing up
                preceded by two backslashes (for example, \\berkeley). DS
                indicates that you are backing up the directory, and IS
                indicates that you are backing up the information store.
/a            - Causes backup sets to be added after the last backup set on
                the tape. When /a is not specified, the program reuses the
                tape and replaces previous data. When more than one drive
                is specified but /a is not, the  program overwrites the
                contents of the tape with the information from the first
                drive selected and then appends the backup sets for the
                remaining drives.
/v            - Verifies the operation.
/r            - Restricts access.
/d "text"     - Specifies a description of the backup contents.
/b            - Specifies that the local registry be backed up.
/hc:on or     - Specifies that hardware compression is on or off.
/hc:off
/t {option}   - Specifies the backup type. Option can be one of the
                following:

                   Normal       - All selected files or Microsoft Exchange
                                  Server components are backed up and
                                  marked as such on the disk.
                   Copy         - All selected files or Microsoft Exchange
                                  Server components are backed up, but they
                                  are not marked as such on the disk.
                   Incremental  - Among the selected files or Microsoft
                                  Exchange Server components, only those
                                  that have been modified are backed up and
                                  marked as such on the disk.
                   Differential - The selected files or Microsoft Exchange
                                  Server components that have been modified
                                  are backed up, but they are not marked as
                                  such on the disk.
                   Daily        - Among the selected files, only those that
                                  have been modified that same day are
                                  backed up, but they are not marked as
                                  such on the disk. This can be useful if
                                  you want to take work home and need a
                                  quick way to select the files that you
                                  worked on that day. This option is not
                                  available when backing up Microsoft
                                  Exchange Server components.
/l "filename" - Specifies the filename for the backup log.
/e            - Specifies that the backup log include exceptions only.
/tape:{n}     - Specifies the tape drive to which the files should be
                backed up. N is a number from 0 to 9 that corresponds to
                the tape drive number listed in the registry.

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Properties

Retired KB Content Disclaimer
This article was written about products for which Microsoft no longer offers support. Therefore, this article is offered "as is" and will no longer be updated.

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Keywords: KB152313, kbusage

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Article Info
Article ID : 152313
Revision : 6
Created on : 10/28/2006
Published on : 10/28/2006
Exists online : False
Views : 856