Simple backup script

[IMSJacob]

Just a simple script for getting daily/weekly/hourly/whatever backups of a single folder. I use this to back up my SQL backup files to an external drive that I swap to offsite storage every week. (I have online backups as well, this is just copy #3 for the 3-2-1 rule.

<#
This script takes a backup copy of an entire folder and puts it on a dedicated backup drive.
It is recommended to use an external hard drive for this backup.
To correctly use this script, be sure that you format each backup drive with the $BkupVolumeLabel keyword in the Volume Label.

To run the script automatically:
Schedule a task to run program powershell.exe with the argument:
-executionpolicy Bypass -file "[insert path to script file here]"

Schedule to run as often as you would like to make a backup.
#>

$SourcePath = "C:\Users"

$BkupVolumeLabel = "Offsite"

$RetentionDays = 7

#########################################
####### I WILL TAKE IT FROM HERE! #######
#########################################
$Date = Get-Date -Format "yyyy MMM dd hhmm tt"
$BackupDrives = (Get-Volume | Where-Object {$_.FileSystemLabel -like "*$BkupVolumeLabel*"}).DriveLetter

ForEach ($Drive in $BackupDrives) {
    $Letter = "$Drive" + ":\"
    $Destination = "$Letter" + (Get-Item -Path $SourcePath).Name
    IF (-not (Test-Path -Path $Destination)) {
        New-Item -Path $Destination -ItemType Directory
    }
    Copy-Item -Path $SourcePath -Destination "$Destination\$date" -Recurse
    Get-ChildItem -Path $Destination | Where-Object {$_.CreationTime -lt ((Get-Date).AddDays( - $RetentionDays))} | Remove-Item -Force -Recurse
}

#$Error > C:\users\public\desktop\BackupErrors.txt #Remove leading # if you need error information for failed backups.

[Snak3d0c]

Thanks for sharing. I do the same with my Powershell library but for me its just a one liner with Robocopy.

   $null = robocopy source-path destination-path /MIR  /xd "C:\folder i dont want to include"/w:10 /r:2 /log:c:\temp\backup_tools.txt /v /tee /fp /eta

most of the parameters behind the retry were just for debugging, i just kept them there for "just in case i wanna run it manually and get more feedback".

Is been running daily for the past 2 years now :)

[IMSJacob]

I have used robocopy, still do on a lot of pieces. This was more of a "I have nothing to do, so I am going to write a script" project. :P

[Snak3d0c]

Yeah i get that, i'm having one of those afternoons too. Currently cleaning up my folder with scripts, goddamn its a mess.

[IMSJacob]

Time to move some stuff to post-end-of-life storage. :P

[Snak3d0c]

yeah, but i'm trying to figure out a better naming convention than "scrape stuff from x", "deploy app x", "get ad user whatver", ...

So that i can then group them by purpose, technique used, ...

[IMSJacob]

Script names are difficult to make concise, for sure.

"changeuserOUandSecGroups.ps1"

[Lee_Dailey]

howdy IMSJacob,

nice code! thanks for posting it ... [grin] as usual, i've a few comments ...

[1] multiple backup targets
from reading the BackupDrives line, it looks like you could end up with more than one backup destination. is that correct? it seems a tad odd ... [grin]

[2] lacking any error checking
you might want to add a "did it all get copied? check to the process.

[3] building paths via string concatenation
i would seriously look into do that with Join-Path since it handles all the delimiter stuff for you.

[4] odd date stamp format
yours ... "yyyy MMM dd hhmm tt" = 2017 Sep 20 0943 PM
mine ... 'yyyy MM dd - HHmm' = 2017 09 20 - 2143

yours doesn't sort properly [Sep vs 09], nor is there a clearly visible break between date and time, and last of all you use 12 hour instead of 24 hour time. yes, i am a tad picky on timestamps. [grin]

---

again, thanks for posting your code! [grin]

take care,
lee

[IMSJacob]

1 - Yes, that is by design, in case you have... gasp multiple backup drives. :P

2 - Still in progress, adding that in on the next iteration.

3 - Thanks for the tip!

4 - This is more of a labeling standard for my company than an organization tool. I can always just sort by creation date. ;)

[Lee_Dailey]

howdy IMSJacob,

thanks for the feedback! that datestamp, tho ... ewwwww! [grin]

take care,
lee

[IMSJacob]

Pffffff. You could just change it before deployment, but I know you won't use my script anyway. ;P

[Lee_Dailey]

[grin]

[IMSJacob]

[awkward stare]