This section answers some frequently asked questions about backup

Windows Server 2012 (R2) Essentials, Small Business Server 2011 Essentials and Storage Server 2008 R2 Essentials or Windows Home Server 2011 has a perfectly working backup solution based on a backup time window. This solution requires, that a machine either wakes up from standby or is switch on during that period. You have no or only little control on the exact point in time when the backup happens to run on a machine. 

Sometimes you may want to do a backup outside of that window. For example you have a machine with a long running backup and don't want to do this at work hours. Or your machines are shut down and not using standby. Up to now you had to start a manual backup. Now you can use the scheduled backup feature built into Lights-Out. Wake the machine at a scheduled time and start an automatic backup by Lights-Out. 

For more details please read Backup How-to

Windows Server 2012 (R2) Essentials, Small Business Server 2011 Essentials and Storage Server 2008 R2 Essentials or Windows Home Server 2011 restores the previous state (standby) when the backed up machine was in standby before backup. When the machine was already running, or started by Wake-On-Lan, Windows Home Server 2011 will not run a standby after backup. On some machines the automatic standby by Windows Home Server 2011 fails and the machine is up and running after backup. 

Lights-Out offers an action after backup which is always executed and allows additional actions like shutdown. Try this setting when you suffer on one of the problems above. Should Windows Server 2012 (R2) Essentials, Small Business Server 2011 Essentials and Storage Server 2008 R2 Essentials or Windows Home Server 2011 work reliably, don't enable that option for that machine.

Frequently asked questions