Little utility for sysadmins using NTBackup

For those of you who use NTBackup and need to set up a scheduled task and don't feel like reading through the cryptic and often conflicting documentation, I've created a .NET application that will create a scheduled task for you that runs NTBackup.

You can get it here:

http://www.red-abstract.com/users/alexander/software/default.htm

Hope you enjoy it... .NET runtimes are required!

--Alexander

I will giot on my personal pc and let you know what I think.

Yup, me too. The first thing I noted was that this package sure is big for such a simple function.....Must be .NET.

Ah, it's the .MSI Installer's that are eating up the space. Actuall program is very small.

Yeah, but MSI files are much nicer to uninstall if using regkeys and screwball dlls, and can be more easily deployed using AD.

I am referring to the general use of batch files, EXEs, and MSI files being used as installers. I like using scripts in Linux to install applications and such since you can go through it and know what is being done and how to get rid of everything (apps are based off of existing libraries the vast majority of the time and nobody tries to modify important ones to support their app). But, with system files and registry mods the MSI installer has been great. I have had far more success with application installations, and the ones that have had issues can be repaired easily (another MSI trait) or just removed much cleaner.

.MSI's are easy to edit although not as easy to understand as a script or a .BAT. I use the Wise Installer from Installshield to troubleshoot my .MSI's.

I still haven't quite got the hand of creating .MSI's tho. Need to sit down and play around with it.

APK, have you tried creating and using MSIs? You might like what you see, as using batch files in a windows environment isn't nearly as powerful nor consistent. You might be able to do more with a VB script, but if you can do that you might as well just step up to MSI files and get all the benefits. I have used installation designers from McAfee and MS that let me install applications with all the defaults I choose (including the serial number, installation location, and other options) whereas I wouldn't have had all the control via a batch file. Also, you can automate many features of MSI-based installations via commandline parameters, and this method allows for temporary elevation of privies for the installation (and can also be locked down to keep non-admins from installing things). Batch files would be too cumbersome, or downright incapable of doing these things. I would suggest trying it before comparing the two directly.

Hey gang...

Nice to see no one is bashing the app too hard har har har

Probably the only feature I will add at this point is the ability to choose the scheduled task time/date... aside from that, it's pretty cut and dry - not much else to do with it unless you folks think of something!

--Alexander

I do the network admin job too... senior engineer actually, and have to live with the pain of watching other admins suffer when they don't "have time" to read ntbackup's docs...

Hence this was born!

--Alexander

Looks like it moved...

http://www.red-abstract.com/software/win32/utils/NTBackup_Scripter_v0.2.zip

http://blogs.galaxycow.com/vermyndax/