Hyper-V Backup Scripts

Automated backup solution for Hyper-V virtual machines with three-tier backup strategy.

Overview

This repository contains PowerShell scripts for comprehensive Hyper-V VM backup and management:

• Daily Snapshots - Checkpoint-based incremental backups (7pm)
• Weekly Live Backups - Live backups without downtime (Friday 8pm)
• Monthly Full Backups - Complete VM exports with shutdown (First Sunday 1am)

Features

• 🔄 Load-balanced checkpoint management
• 💾 7-Zip compression for storage efficiency
• 📦 Three-phase workflow: local processing → compression → NAS transfer
• 🛡️ Critical server protection (business hours awareness)
• 📊 Comprehensive logging and error handling
• 🔧 Automated retention policies

Scripts

Daily-SnapshotBackup.ps1

Creates daily VM checkpoints with staggered scheduling across two groups for load balancing.

• Schedule: 7pm daily
• Retention: 3 checkpoints per VM (6 days coverage)
• Groups: VMs divided into two groups with 2-day intervals

weekly_vmbackup.ps1

Live backup using checkpoints without VM downtime.

• Schedule: Friday 8pm
• Retention: 2 weekly backups (local and NAS)
• Compression: 7-Zip (mx=7)

monthly_vmbackup.ps1

Full shutdown export for complete VM backup.

• Schedule: First Sunday 1am
• Retention: 3 monthly backups (local and NAS)
• Compression: 7-Zip (mx=9 maximum)

HyperVCheck.ps1

Quick status check for all VMs and their checkpoints.

HyperVDiag.ps1

Comprehensive diagnostic tool for performance issues and merge operations.

Configuration

All scripts use the following paths (configurable):

• NAS: \\nas5362\Backups
• Temp: F:\TempBackup
• Local Backups: F:\Backups
• 7-Zip: C:\Program Files\7-Zip\7z.exe

Usage

# Daily snapshots - All VMs
.\Daily-SnapshotBackup.ps1 -AllVMs -MaxSnapshots 7

# Weekly backup - All VMs except critical servers
.\weekly_vmbackup.ps1 -AllVMs -ExcludeVMs @("PS01", "DC01") -MaxBackups 2

# Monthly backup - All VMs except critical servers
.\monthly_vmbackup.ps1 -AllVMs -ExcludeVMs @("PS01", "DC01") -MaxBackups 3

# Check VM status
.\HyperVCheck.ps1

# Run diagnostics
.\HyperVDiag.ps1 -Detailed -ExportReport

Task Scheduler Integration

All scripts are designed to run via Windows Task Scheduler:

• Daily: 7pm (snapshots)
• Weekly: Friday 8pm (live backups)
• Monthly: First Sunday 1am (full backups)

Infrastructure

• Platform: Windows Server 2022
• Hyper-V: Version 10.0.20348.1
• Storage: F: drive for processing, NAS for long-term storage
• Critical Servers: PS01, DC01 (weekend-only maintenance)

Backup Strategy

1. Local Processing First: All operations on F: drive
2. Compression: 7-Zip with appropriate levels
3. Network Transfer: Bulk copy after all VMs complete
4. Immediate Cleanup: Temp files removed after each VM
5. Retention Management: Automated on both local and NAS storage

License

Personal use - Hyper-V backup automation