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Native backup and size of target disk
I use the native backup system on my SBS 2011 Std server. I currently backup to a 2TB drive. I would like to use a higher capacity drive so that I can keep more backup sets than what I can currently store on the 2TB drive. I have a 6TB drive available (not currently being used for anything). Can the backup system properly use this size drive or does the windows 2TB limit come into play (i.e. will it fill the entire 6TB)?
For operating systems after Windows XP, there is no 2TB limit on drives. You can use as large a drive as you like ... though always bearing in mind that the bigger the drive, the more will be lost when it fails; and that all drives do eventually fail. Keeping a single backup is good; keeping multiple copies is far better, because when the time comes that a backup is needed, you don't want to find that the host drive developed a bad spot right at the end of the 2TB backup file.
As long as the new, larger drive is formatted as a GPT drive instead of an MBR drive, Windows should be able to use all the space. The 2TB limit is a "feature" of the MBR style partitioning system that most drives in SBS 2011's time period used. Modern drives use a GPT partitioning system that allows significantly more space. The limit isn't a limitation to Windows, so as long as the 6TB drive is created as a GPT partition, it'll work.
ASKER
Thanks, I understand. The server will have a 1TB RAID1 drive that I plan on using as the boot drive and a separate 2TB drive that I plan on using as the data drive. Will these also need to be GPT formatted or can they be MBR's while the 6TB drive is GPT?
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