Skype for Business Backup Tool

First off I will admit that this is not ground breaking in terms of no one has done it before. I’ve ummmed and arrrrghhed about releasing this for some time as the backup script by Lasse Wedo is amazing and will do a great job. However, I believe that my script tool brings some added value to the table and offers something a little different. For this reason I have decided it is worth a release to the community.

Overview

The backup tool is a PowerShell script that has several modes of backup, ranging from a full Skype for Business backup to modular backups for backing up policies, or configurations, or topology etc. This script can be run as a scheduled task or ad-hoc using PowerShell. It can be run from a management workstation with the Skype for Business management tools installed or from a front end server. Each backup process has been written as a separate function that allows you to be selective in what you want to backup. When run, the script will create the required root and log directory on the machine using the default path C:\sfb_backup. This can be changed by editing the first few lines of the script.

Features

  • Back up Topology
  • Back up CMS Database
  • Back up Persistent Chat Database
  • Back up User Data
  • Back up File Share
  • Back up All Policies
  • Back up All Configuration
  • Back up Response Groups
  • Send Email to admin on completion (Full Backup Only)
  • Compress Backup file to ZIP (Full Backup Only)
  • Full Logging capabilities
  • Progress indicator

Requirements

The server or workstation you are running this script on, must have the Skype for Business Management Tools installed. The PowerShell Execution Security should be set to RemoteSigned, or Unrestricted mode

Set-ExecutionPolicy Unrestricted

Operation

First, open the script and set your backup directory by changing the $backupfolder variable value. Once set scroll down to the Routines section marked in the script as ## ROUTINES ##. Uncomment the commandlet(s) you want to execute and save the script. Now you can execute the script using scheduled tasks or by executing the script directly.

Estimated times for a backup to complete will vary on the amount of data held in your databases and file share. If you use Lync Phone Edition, the script will back-up all firmware installed so this can add many Gigabytes to the backup. Average backup times for a 2GB file share is about 12 minutes

Updates

20/01/2016 – Added support for backing up Shared Line Appearance and introduced compatibility for Normalization rules added by Ken Lasko’s normalization tool

Current Version

The current supported version is 3.2

Download

The script is available to download from Microsoft TechNet here

Screenshots

Backup Folder Structure


Log Files


Log File Detail


Inside the Backup Folder


Inside the Configuration Folder


Configuration Backup Detail Example


Policy Backup Folder


Policy Backup Detail


Email Example


Commandlets

Backup All – Backup-All

The Backup-All commandlet will take a full backup of the Skype for Business system by executing all the below commandlets in turn. After the backup completes the backup folder is compressed to a Zip file and you have the option to be sent an email with the backup log attached to confirm the completion of the backup.

Commandlet: Backup-All

Parameters:

Parameter

Default Value

Required

Description

FilePath

$backupfolder

Yes

 The $backupfolder variable will use the default backup path that is set on script load. You can enter your own path if you wish but it must be literal and the folder must already exist e.g. d:\backup\

LogFile

$LogPath

Yes

 The $logfile variable will use the default backup path that is set on script load. You can enter your own path if you wish but it must be literal and the file must already exist e.g. d:\backup\log\backup.log

MailTo

User to Set e.g. mark@hostedhouse.co.uk

Optional

 Specify user or distribution group email address the backup notification is to be sent to

MailFrom

User to Set e.g. SfbBackup@hostedhouse.co.uk

Optional

 Specify the from address the email will be sent from. Your SMTP server should accept unauthenticated emails from the server which you are running the script from. Or the email address you use here must exist on your SMTP server.

SMTPServer

User to Set e.g. ex01.hostedhouse.local

Optional

 Although listed as optional it is required if you want the email to be sent
Example:

Backup-All –FilePath $backupfolder –LogFile $logfile –MailTo mark@hostedhouse.co.uk –MailFrom backup@hostedhouse.co.uk –SMTPServer ex01.hostedhouse.local

Backup CMS Data – Backup-CMS

The Backup-CMS commandlet will take a backup of the Central Management Database data and save it to a zip file within the backup folder

Commandlet: Backup-CMS

Parameters:

Parameter

Default Value

Required

Description

FilePath

$backupfolder

Yes

 The $backupfolder variable will use the default backup path that is set on script load. You can enter your own path if you wish but it must be literal and the folder must already exist e.g. d:\backup\

LogFile

$LogPath

Yes

 The $logfile variable will use the default backup path that is set on script load. You can enter your own path if you wish but it must be literal and the file must already exist e.g. d:\backup\log\backup.log

All

$false

System Use Only

 This is used for internal script use and should not be declared in any function. Do not use as it will cause backup directory confusion.
Example:

Backup-CMS –FilePath $backupfolder –LogFile $logfile

Backup Policies – Backup-Policies

The Backup-Policies commandlet will take a backup of all the Skype for Business policies within the deployment and is backed up to the following directory <backup folder>\Policies

Commandlet: Backup-Polices

Parameters:

Parameter

Default Value

Required

Description

FilePath

$backupfolder

Yes

 The $backupfolder variable will use the default backup path that is set on script load. You can enter your own path if you wish but it must be literal and the folder must already exist e.g. d:\backup\

LogFile

$LogPath

Yes

 The $logfile variable will use the default backup path that is set on script load. You can enter your own path if you wish but it must be literal and the file must already exist e.g. d:\backup\log\backup.log

All

$false

System Use Only

 This is used for internal script use and should not be declared in any function. Do not use as it will cause backup directory confusion.
Example:

Backup-Policies –FilePath $backupfolder –LogFile $logfile

Backup Configuration – Backup-Configuration

The Backup-Configuration commandlet will take a backup of all the configuration settings within your deployment. This is an extensive list of configuration that is backed up to the following directory <backup folder>\Configuration

Commandlet: Backup-CMS

Parameters:

Parameter

Default Value

Required

Description

FilePath

$backupfolder

Yes

 The $backupfolder variable will use the default backup path that is set on script load. You can enter your own path if you wish but it must be literal and the folder must already exist e.g. d:\backup\

LogFile

$LogPath

Yes

 The $logfile variable will use the default backup path that is set on script load. You can enter your own path if you wish but it must be literal and the file must already exist e.g. d:\backup\log\backup.log

All

$false

System Use Only

 This is used for internal script use and should not be declared in any function. Do not use as it will cause backup directory confusion.
Example:

Backup-Configuration –FilePath $backupfolder –LogFile $logfile

Backup File Store – Backup-FileStore

The Backup-FileStore commandlet will take a backup of the Lync shared folder and copy its contents to <backup folder>\<share name>

Commandlet: Backup-FileStore

Parameters:

Parameter

Default Value

Required

Description

FilePath

$backupfolder

Yes

 The $backupfolder variable will use the default backup path that is set on script load. You can enter your own path if you wish but it must be literal and the folder must already exist e.g. d:\backup\

LogFile

$LogPath

Yes

 The $logfile variable will use the default backup path that is set on script load. You can enter your own path if you wish but it must be literal and the file must already exist e.g. d:\backup\log\backup.log

All

$false

System Use Only

 This is used for internal script use and should not be declared in any function. Do not use as it will cause backup directory confusion.
Example:

Backup-FileStore –FilePath $backupfolder –LogFile $logfile

Backup Persistent Chat Data – Backup-PChat

The Backup-PChat commandlet will take a backup of the Persistent Chat Database data and save it to a zip file within the backup folder

Commandlet: Backup-PChat

Parameters:

Parameter

Default Value

Required

Description

FilePath

$backupfolder

Yes

 The $backupfolder variable will use the default backup path that is set on script load. You can enter your own path if you wish but it must be literal and the folder must already exist e.g. d:\backup\

LogFile

$LogPath

Yes

 The $logfile variable will use the default backup path that is set on script load. You can enter your own path if you wish but it must be literal and the file must already exist e.g. d:\backup\log\backup.log

All

$false

System Use Only

 This is used for internal script use and should not be declared in any function. Do not use as it will cause backup directory confusion.
Example:

Backup-PChat –FilePath $backupfolder –LogFile $logfile

Backup Response Groups Data – Backup-RGS

The Backup-Rgs commandlet will take a backup of the configured response groups.

Commandlet: Backup-Rgs

Parameters:

Parameter

Default Value

Required

Description

FilePath

$backupfolder

Yes

 The $backupfolder variable will use the default backup path that is set on script load. You can enter your own path if you wish but it must be literal and the folder must already exist e.g. d:\backup\

LogFile

$LogPath

Yes

 The $logfile variable will use the default backup path that is set on script load. You can enter your own path if you wish but it must be literal and the file must already exist e.g. d:\backup\log\backup.log

All

$false

System Use Only

 This is used for internal script use and should not be declared in any function. Do not use as it will cause backup directory confusion.
Example:

Backup-CMS –FilePath $backupfolder –LogFile $logfile

Backup User Data – Backup-UserData

The Backup-UserData commandlet will take a backup of user’s data and save it to a zip file within the backup folder

Commandlet: Backup-UserData

Parameters:

Parameter

Default Value

Required

Description

FilePath

$backupfolder

Yes

 The $backupfolder variable will use the default backup path that is set on script load. You can enter your own path if you wish but it must be literal and the folder must already exist e.g. d:\backup\

LogFile

$LogPath

Yes

 The $logfile variable will use the default backup path that is set on script load. You can enter your own path if you wish but it must be literal and the file must already exist e.g. d:\backup\log\backup.log

All

$false

System Use Only

 This is used for internal script use and should not be declared in any function. Do not use as it will cause backup directory confusion.
Example:

Backup-UserData –FilePath $backupfolder –LogFile $logfile

Restoring

With any backup you need a method of restoring the data, otherwise what’s the use of a backup right? I have resisted the temptation to create a restore script because there are that many different restore scenarios that it would almost be impossible to code a restore script, for free anyway. However, you can restore from the backups taken using a mixture of native Skype for Business commands and a little help from another awesome commandlet.

To restore open the Skype for Business Management Shell and change the working directory to your backup folder. From here you can reference easily the files you want to restore from.

Configuration Restore Example

So you have deleted a Call Park Orbit range, oops! No matter, I have a backup

Look for your backup file for the orbit range you have deleted.

Let’s restore it using this command

Import-CliXml –Path ‘.\CallPark\Call Park Orbit.xml’ | Set-CsCallParkOrbit

Now let’s check if it has restored

Life saved and I will live a bit longer! 🙂

Policy Restore Example

So you have deleted a Client Policy by mistake.. No bother we have a backup

Let’s restore the missing client policy using this command

Import-CliXml –Path ‘.\Client Policies\HQClientPolicy.xml’ | Set-CsClientPolicy

Now let’s check if it has been restored

Awesome. But… There is an additional step for user policy restores specifically, in that once restored, you are going to have to Grant users this policy again. However fear not. I have a script called Skype for Business User Detailed Report that you can run to find out which policies where assigned to users. So as long as you have run that prior to needing a restore, at least you have a starting point to work from.

On a side note, some of you with eyes for detail will realise that I have not added support for certificate backup. This is on purpose. When I was evaluating the benefit of putting this in, it was just as quick to request new certificates and apply them as it was to create PS Sessions to all servers for extraction and importing. And I prefer to keep control of certificate management manually because I have had a ton of pain with them in the past.

So hope you like this tool / script. I know it is nothing new, but hopefully will give you options.

22 thoughts on “Skype for Business Backup Tool”

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  4. Thank you for the tool, great work.

    Everything backups, but I’m getting an error on this part (I haven’t changed the backup path in the script):
    10/28/2015 13:04:15 [ERROR] Failed to Export Configuration
    10/28/2015 13:04:15 [DEBUG] The given path’s format is not supported.

    Reply

    1. Hi

      The script exports the data out of the databases to zip files. It makes it a supported restore using PowerShell. To do what you want to do you need sql to backup using maintenance jobs.

      Thanks

      Reply

      1. Great. Can it be added as scheduled task somehow? Or is there a better way to automate it?

        P.s. Thank you for this script.

      2. What would be your suggestion to automate it? Scheduled tasks? Or is there a better way?

      3. Hi
        I have to approve each comment to avoid spam. Yes you can add it as a scheduled task. just start program powershell.exe and in arguments add -file “c:\path\SkypeforBusinessBackupTool-V3.1.ps1” Make sure you choose the command in the file at the bottom to select your type of backup.
        thanks

      4. How do i set parameters in scheduled task? Just add after “Backup-All” command?
        Any example would be great.

      5. Hi
        So at the bottom of the script there are a few commands commented out Backup-Policies, Backup-All etc. Backup-All is the active command by default. Therefore, if you want specific type of backup just uncomment the type of backup you want, save the script and then add as scheduled task like i described before (dont forget to comment out the Backup-All in this case or it will do both!). That should be it, I have it running in various places like this at the moment.
        thanks

  7. Hi Mark

    I am getting a permissions issue when running this script, I am a domain admin and i have give permission on the folders and subfolders . But still getting the following error.

    02/22/2016 21:04:40 [ERROR] Failed to Export Topology Configuration
    02/22/2016 21:04:40 [DEBUG] Login failed for user ‘domain\first.last’.

    Reply

  9. I am getting

    Get-ChildItem : Cannot find path ‘C:\S’ because it does not exist.
    At C:\Scripts\SkypeforBusinessBackupTool-V3.3.ps1:13 char:1
    + Get-ChildItem $backupfolder -Recurse | ? {
    + ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
    + CategoryInfo : ObjectNotFound: (C:\S:String) [Get-ChildItem], ItemNotFoundException
    + FullyQualifiedErrorId : PathNotFound,Microsoft.PowerShell.Commands.GetChildItemCommand

    Reply

  10. hi Mark,
    Great work, indeed. Something I found though is that script doesn’t backup RGS correctly if multiple FE pools exist. I think there has to be a foreach loop inside Backup-Rgs() function something similar to this :

    $rgs = Get-CsService -ApplicationServer | Where {$_.Applications -like “*rgs*”}
    ForEach ($rg in $rgs)
    {
    Export-CsRgsConfiguration -Source “ApplicationServer:$($rg.PoolFqdn)” -FileName $FilePath”\$($rg.PoolFQDN)_RgsConfiguration.zip” -ErrorAction Stop
    $stamp = Get-Date
    Add-Content -Path $LogFile -Value “$($stamp) [INFO] Successfully Exported Topology Configuration to $($FilePath)\$($rg.PoolFQDN)_RgsConfiguration.zip”

    Reply

  11. Hi,

    Nice script!

    However I am receiving error:
    [ERROR] Failed to copy Lync Share
    [DEBUG] …..Meeting.Active’ because it is being used by another process.

    The script is failing because files are in use and cannot be copied. I found an article in Technet (applies to LYNC 2013 but should be the same to SfB) https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/hh202171(v=ocs.15).aspx

    A short quote from the page
    “Files named Meeting.Active should not be backed up. These files are in use and locked while a meeting takes place.”

    I think this could be considered in the next version of the script 🙂

    Reply

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