Incremental backup is the process of backing up only the changes made since the last backup. In Active Directory, it is backing up only those objects whose attributes have been modified since the previous backup. 

• Reduces usage of storage space.
  

• Faster to perform than full backups.
  

• Minimizes resource utilization. 
  

Incrementally backing up AD objects using native tools is not possible as they do not support incremental backups.

 

Apart from its many AD management, reporting, automation and delegation capabilities, ADManager Plus now supports incremental backups, in just a few clicks. 

You can also perform full backups, compare different backup versions, and restore objects completely or restore specific attributes individually, using ADManager Plus. 

 

Prerequisites for performing AD backup using ADManager Plus: 

Ensure that the following conditions are met before taking AD backups through ADManager Plus:

1. Backup settings have been enabled for the required domain. To enable backup settings for your domain:
   

1. Logon to ADManager Plus using administrator credentials and click on the Backup tab. 
   

2. Click on the Settings section in the left pane and click on Backup Settings.
   

3. Enable the backup settings for your domain. 
   

2. Elasticsearch is downloaded and installed on the same machine where ADManager Plus is installed. 
   

Note: Ideally, Elasticsearch will be downloaded and saved at the same location as ADManager Plus automatically, when you enable backup settings for any domain. If it is not downloaded automatically, use this link to download it. 

You can perform incremental backups in two ways:

1. Scheduled incremental backups.

2. On-demand incremental backups. 

 

1. Click on the Backup tab. 
   

2. Click on the Settings section in the left pane and click on Backup Settings. 
   

3. Click on the edit icon next to the domain name. 
   

4. Specify the OU and object types to be backed up. 
   

5. Under the incremental backup scheduler field, specify the frequency for taking incremental backups (daily or weekly). 
   

6. Specify the day on which the incremental backup must be taken (in case of weekly backups). 
   

7. Specify the time at which incremental backup must be taken. 
   

8. Click on Advanced Settings to configure options like:
   

1. Using PAExec to backup GPOs.
   

2. Replicating changes across all DCs before performing a backup.
   

3. Backing up disabled objects.
   

9. You can additionally configure backup settings for scheduling full backups.
   

10. Click on Save.
    

1. Click on the Backup tab.
   

2. Under the Operations Summary section, click on the Backup Now option available on the top-right corner of the page. 
   

3. The backup initiation message will pop-up. 
   

4. Once the backup is completed, scroll down to the Recent Operations section to view your incremental backup.  
   

 

Benefits of using ADManager Plus for AD backup.

1. Hassle-free backups in just a few clicks. 
   

2. Provision to compare different backup versions.
   

3. A single console to perform all AD management, reporting, automation, delegation, backup and recovery operations.  
   

• ADManager Plus' AD backup and recovery capabilities
  
• Highlight of ADManager Plus' backup and recovery
  
• How to backup and restore AD objects with ADManager Plus?