Active Directory backup

[zidanski]

Hi,

please can anyone explain why backup method for Microsoft AD must be Full backup, as when i navigate at backup job properties to settings->Microsoft Active Directory in left pane i found the droplist of backup methods is demmed and stuck with Full backup.

also, what if i change the backup methods from settings->general rather than full backup and i run the job according.

[AmolB · Accepted solution]

AD database is in System state, you cannot take an inceremental or differential backup of

System state it has to be always a full backup.

EDIT: Refer to the below article.

 http://www.symantec.com/docs/HOWTO23306

[Hywel_Mallett]

To add to Amol's answer, because AD is effectively a database (and not with the interoperability of SQL Server), it's backed up as a single lump (as if you were backing up a single file). If you're only backing up one item, then having an incremental option makes no sense, as it's either modified or not.