Creating SharePoint backup jobs

This article explains how to configure a SharePoint backup job to create a local backup copies of your SharePoint Online or on-premises SharePoint Server data. This type of job lets you back up:

• SharePoint team sites (SharePoint Online only)
• SharePoint sites and site collections (modern and classic experience)
• OneDrive for Business data

Backup jobs, like other jobs configured in CodeTwo Backup, are created by running configuration wizards. To open a SharePoint backup job wizard, you can either:

• click the Create a new SharePoint backup job link on the How to start card, located on the Administration Panel’s Dashboard, or
• go to the Jobs tab and click New > Backup > SharePoint (Fig. 1.).

Fig. 1. Creating a new SharePoint backup job.

Either way, the New SharePoint backup job wizard will open (Fig. 2.). The wizard consists of the following steps that you can configure in any order you want and that will guide you through the whole SharePoint backup process:

• Job name, where you define the name of your backup job.
• Job continuity, where you choose to run the backup job continuously or only once.
• Activity periods, where you can configure the backup job to start and stop automatically.
• Server connection, where you set up or select a connection to your SharePoint server.
• Sites, where you select which classic SharePoint sites and site collections that you want to back up.
• Team sites, where you select SharePoint Online team sites that you want to back up.
• OneDrive sites, where you select users whose OneDrive for Business sites you want to back up.
• Target storage, where you select or create a storage that is used to keep your backed up data.
• Filters, where you can exclude some items from being backed up.
• Job summary, where you can review your backup job settings.

Fig. 2. The SharePoint backup job wizard.

Job name

In the first step (see Fig. 2. above), you simply need to provide a unique name for the backup job. You will not be able to finish the wizard if the entered name has already been used. 

Job continuity

There are two options available in this step (Fig. 3.):

• Continuous backup
• One-time backup

Fig. 3. Selecting the type of backup.

Select the first option, Continuous backup, if you want to back up your SharePoint data infinitely, in cycles. The first cycle backs up all your data, while each subsequent cycle is an incremental backup, meaning that only changes in your data, including new items, are backed up. The Idle time between cycles functionality allows you also to specify how much time needs to pass before the next cycle can start.

If you select the One-time backup option, the backup job will run only once (one cycle). However, once finished, you can restart such backup job manually in order to perform an incremental backup.

Learn more about the backup model used in CodeTwo Backup.

Activity periods

This feature allows you to specify the time ranges during which the program will automatically start and stop your backup job. To enable it, select the Enable activity periods checkbox (Fig. 4.).

Fig. 4. Enabling the activity periods feature.

You can now schedule your backups on a daily, weekly, monthly or custom basis, or define the end date for the backup job (Fig. 5.). 

Fig. 5. Configuring activity periods for the backup job.

Learn more about the activity periods feature.

Server connection

This is where you select a SharePoint server from which you want to back up the data. If you haven't defined any connections yet, click Manage > New (Fig. 6.) to open the SharePoint connection wizard where you can configure a connection to SharePoint Online (Microsoft 365) or to an on-premises SharePoint Server. Learn more about how to configure a SharePoint connection

Fig. 6. Creating a new SharePoint connection.

If you have already configured a SharePoint connection, simply select it from the drop-down menu (Fig. 7.).

Fig. 7. Selecting a SharePoint server that you want to back up.

Sites

In this step, you can select classic SharePoint sites that you want to back up. Classic sites include on-premises SharePoint Server site collections as well as SharePoint Online sites that are not connected to Microsoft 365 groups. You can:

• Back up selected sites only
• Back up all existing and future sites

If you want to back up SharePoint Online team sites that are connected to Microsoft 365 groups, go to the Team sites step instead.

Backing up selected SharePoint sites

First, select one of the available options:

1. Back up sites from the list below
2. Back up all existing and future sites except the ones from the list below

and click Add. The Select sites window will open. Depending on which option you have chosen previously, select the checkbox next to the site / site collection that you (a) want to back up (Fig. 8.) or (b) exclude from the backup. 

Fig. 8. Selecting sites to be included in the backup job.

If any of these sites have subsites, use the Include subsites of selected sites checkbox (Fig. 8. above) to include/exclude them from the backup. 

Backing up all SharePoint sites

To back up all sites and site collections from your SharePoint server, simply select the Back up all existing and future sites except the ones from the list below option and don't add any sites to the list (Fig. 9.).

Fig. 9. Backing up all SharePoint sites.

Team sites

Here you can choose modern team sites that are connected to Microsoft 365 groups. You can:

• Back up selected team sites only
• Back up all existing and future team sites

Backing up selected team sites

First, select one of the available options:

1. Back up team sites from the list below
2. Back up all existing and future team sites except the ones from the list below

and click Add. The Select team sites window will open. Depending on which option you have chosen previously, select site(s) that you (a) want to back up (Fig. 10.) or (b) exclude from the backup. You can choose them one by one by using the Ctrl button, use the Shift button for multiple selections, or press Ctrl+A to choose all sites.

Fig. 10. Selecting team sites you want to back up.

Backing up all team sites

To back up all team sites, select the Back up all existing and future team sites except the ones from the list below and don't add any sites to the list (Fig. 11.).

Fig. 11. Backing up all team sites in SharePoint Online.

OneDrive sites

Here you can select Microsoft 365 users whose OneDrive for Business sites you want to back up. Just like in the case of team sites, there are two options available:

• Back up OneDrive sites of users from the list below
• Back up all existing and future OneDrive sites of all users except the ones from the list below

This step is very similar to the previous step of the SharePoint backup job wizard, so for more information on how to select specific OneDrive sites refer to the Team sites section above.

Target storage

A storage is where your backed-up data is kept. In this step, you can either select an existing storage from the drop-down menu (Fig. 12.) or click New to create a new storage.

Fig. 12. Selecting an existing storage.

Learn more on how to create a new storage in CodeTwo Backup. 

Filters

Optionally, you can exclude hidden system lists and libraries from the backup job. These Backing them up is not necessary, as every SharePoint site has its own default system lists and libraries that are responsible for SharePoint's core functionalities. Keep also in mind that even if you decide to back up these objects, it may not be possible to restore some of them at all to protect the integrity of a given SharePoint site content.

To filter out this data from the backup, simply select the checkbox next to the Hidden system lists and libraries option (Fig. 13.). This checkbox is selected by default.

Fig. 13. Excluding hidden system lists and libraries from the backup.

Job summary

Here you can verify if you have configured the backup job according to your requirements (Fig. 14.).

Fig. 14. The summary of the backup job.

In case you want to make any changes, click the name of any of the previous steps of the wizard and adjust your settings accordingly. If everything is correct, click Finish.

If you did not specify the job's activity periods, you need to start the job manually. However, as soon as you finish the wizard, a pop-up window will appear, allowing you to start the backup job immediately (Fig. 15.). Click Yes to do so.

Fig. 15. A pop-up asking to start the backup job automatically.

Otherwise, use the Start button on the Jobs tab to start the selected job.

See also

Monitoring jobs – find out how to monitor and manage existing jobs.