You are here: Windows Protection > About Windows protection > Windows selection lists

Windows selection lists

When protecting Windows clients, the selection list options are different than the generic behaviors described in the File-level Backups chapter. Like all client types, inclusion lists for selective backups and exclusion lists for full, differential, and incremental backups are supported. However, for Windows clients with agent 7.2 or higher, inclusion lists are also supported for full, incremental, and differential backups. Any selection lists applied to a Windows full backup must be applied to all subsequent incremental and differential backups in the backup group. For more information, see Using selection lists with full, differential, and incremental backups.

Note that the Windows agent has default exclusions separate from the exclusion and inclusion lists you create in the Administrator’s Interface.

Notes:  

• Selection lists are not supported for bare metal backups.
• To perform integrated bare metal recovery or Windows instant recovery, boot and critical system volumes must be included in the backup. Do not use selection lists unless you are sure these volumes will be included.
ClosedExclusion lists for Windows clients

Similar to all client types, exclusion lists can be created for full, differential, and incremental backups of Windows clients. For more information, see Using selection lists.

ClosedDefault exclusions for file-level backups of Windows servers

By default, certain directories and files are excluded from file-level backups of Windows severs. These exclusions are in addition to any exclusions you have applied to the Windows server’s backups.

ClosedDirectories and files excluded from file-level backups of Windows servers

By default, the following are excluded from file-level backups of Windows servers:

• Any mapped network drives
• /RECYCLER
• /$Recycle.Bin
• %TMP%
• %TEMP%
• *.tmp
• *.temp
• %AllUsersProfile%\Microsoft\Network\Downloader\Cache
• %WINDIR%\System32\Config
• %WINDIR%\System32\Catroot2
• %WINDIR%\win386.swp
• Contents of the server’s DataDirectory as specified by the registry key HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Windows
• Contents of the server’s DefaultDataDirectory as specified by the registry key HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Windows
• Files specified by the registry key HKLM\System\CurrentControlSet\Control\BackupRestore\FilesNotToBackup
• Additionally, the following profile directories specified by the registry key HKLM\Software\Microsoft\WindowsNT\CurrentVersion\ProfileList\*\ProfileImagePath\ are also excluded:
– \AppData\Local\Temp
– \Local Settings\Temp
– \Local Settings\Temporary Internet Files
ClosedApplication files excluded from file-level backups of Windows servers

If your Windows server is hosting applications, the following default exclusions also apply to file-level backups of the server:

• Files in Exchange and SQL database/log directories are excluded.
• Any files owned by Exchange, Hyper-V, or SQL applications are excluded.
• SQL files with extensions .mdf, .ldf, and *.ndf are excluded only if the SQL VSS component is running on the Windows server.

To protect applications hosted by a Windows server, run application backups, as described in the chapters Microsoft Exchange Protection, Hyper-V Protection, and Microsoft SQL Protection.

ClosedInclusion lists for Windows clients

Beginning with version 7.2, inclusion lists are supported for full, incremental, and differential backups of Windows clients. Wildcards are not supported. The selection lists applied to a Windows full backup must be applied to all subsequent incremental and differential backups.

Important!  To use inclusion lists for Windows, both the Unitrends appliance and the Windows agent must be version 7.2 or higher.

Backups with an inclusion list will contain only files that meet the inclusion criteria. Run a new full upon creating or modifying an inclusion list for the client.

Example uses for inclusion lists for Windows full, differential, or incremental backups include:

• To prevent accidental inclusion of unwanted external volumes. For example, if someone adds a USB drive or maps an external file system, this is included in subsequent file-level backups.
• To include only certain volumes or paths that have important data without losing the ability to capture only changes in subsequent incremental or differential backups. (Using the selective backup type would not allow for incrementals and differentials of included data.)
• Configuring the list of what to include is simpler than specifying what to exclude from a backup.
ClosedTo specify includes for full, differential, and incremental backups of Windows clients
1 Do one of the following:
• Complete step 1 - step 3 in To run a one-time backup.
• Complete step 1 - step 6 in To create a backup schedule.
2 Click Open Client-Specific File System Selection.
3 Browse through the folders and select the appropriate volumes or folders.
4 Click Add to add your selection to the list. Repeat this process until you complete your include list.

If you want to remove a selection or remove all of your selections from the Selection List, click on an item in the Selection List and click Remove or Remove All prior to clicking Confirm.

Note:  To perform integrated bare metal recovery or Windows instant recovery, boot and critical system volumes must be included in the backup. Do not use selection lists unless you are sure these volumes will be included. See Using selection lists with WIR and integrated BMR for details.

5 When finished, click Confirm to save.
6 Do one of the following:
• Continue with step 5 in To run a one-time backup.
• Continue with step 8 in To create a backup schedule
ClosedInclusion and exclusion list combinations for Windows clients

Beginning with version 7.2, combinations of inclusion and exclusion lists are supported for full, incremental, and differential backups of Windows clients. Wildcards are not supported for full, differential, and incremental inclusion lists.

As with inclusion lists for Windows clients, both the Unitrends appliance and the Windows agent must be version 7.2 or higher, and the selection lists applied to the full backup must also be applied to all subsequent incremental and differential backups. For full, differential, and incremental backups, you can select includes and then specify excludes at either the Enterprise or client level. For selective backups, you can select includes and then specify excludes at the Enterprise level only.

The following topics describe Windows inclusion and exclusion lists used together:

ClosedWindows full backup with an inclusion and exclusion list combination

The following graphic demonstrates how data is protected when an inclusion list and an exclusion list are used together. The inclusion list determines the files to include, in this case the C: drive, and then the exclusion list is used to exclude a subset of the included files, in this case all .tmp files.

ClosedWhen to use inclusion and exclusion list combinations

Example uses for inclusion and exclusion list combinations for Windows full, differential, and incremental backups include:

• Include a training folder that contains training videos, then exclude all Word and PowerPoint files within the folder. (For example, the training department is updating all of their training videos due to new requirements, and they want to back up all of their video-related files except for companion Word and PowerPoint documents.)
• Include a particular volume, then exclude a folder within that volume. (For example, you want to backup your C: drive, but you want to exclude the C:\Status Reports folder.)
ClosedTo specify includes and excludes for Windows clients

Note:  To perform integrated bare metal recovery or Windows instant recovery, boot and critical system volumes must be included in the backup. Do not use selection lists unless you are sure these volumes will be included. See Using selection lists with WIR and integrated BMR for details.

1 Create an inclusion list for the Windows client.
• To create the list at the client level, see Computer selection list procedures.
• To create the list at the Enterprise level, see To create a selection list.
2 Create an exclusion list for the same Windows client.
• To create the list at the client level, see Computer selection list procedures.
• To create the list at the Enterprise level, see Enterprise selection list procedures.
ClosedUsing selection lists with WIR and integrated BMR

To use Windows backups for Windows instant recovery (WIR) and Integrated bare metal recovery (BMR), the boot disk and any critical system volumes must be present in the backup. For example, you should not exclude Windows, boot, program, or system volume folders. If you are not sure which volumes you can exclude, either run the backups without applying selection lists or apply selection lists and check to see if the resulting backup contains all critical system volumes.

To verify that a Windows backup contains required critical system volumes

1 View backup details, as described in Backup Information page.
2 Verify that for the Category DiskMetadata, the Entry is Yes.

If the Entry is Yes, then the backup contains critical system volumes and you can use it for WIR and integrated BMR. If the Entry is No, then the backup does not contain critical system volumes.

3 If your backups do not contain required critical system volumes, then you must run new file-level backups that capture these volumes if you want to protect the Windows client using WIR and integrated BMR.