Dug into this a bit. Most of the files appear in the C:/Windows/SoftwareDistribution tree. Apparently this subtree can be entirely deleted after stopping the 'wuauserv' service. When 'wuauserv' is restarted the tree is rebuilt from scratch and the next time Windows Update is run the subtree fills-out.
I presume that MS decided there is no point in having systems backup these files and therefore caused VSS to disappear them. I have excluded the entire SoftwareDistribution tree from backups not only on the W2K8 system but on the W2K3R2 and XP systems as well as the tree has no persistent value and is in a state of constant churn, thus wasting space on the backup hard drive. VSS does not exclude the entire tree. But the main thing retained in this case is DataStore.edb which contains the history of WU updates. I find this information of no value and it's a big file that burns much backup storage. The Windows Update settings are stored somewhere else (probably the registry) and are not impacted by deleting SoftwareDistribution. The other area excluded by VSS is C:/ProgramData/Microsoft/RAC. Don't know what it is but presumably the same logic that applies to SoftwareDistribution applies here. RAC has few files and is small, so I didn't bother excluding it explicitly. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Ridiculously easy VDI. With Citrix VDI-in-a-Box, you don't need a complex infrastructure or vast IT resources to deliver seamless, secure access to virtual desktops. With this all-in-one solution, easily deploy virtual desktops for less than the cost of PCs and save 60% on VDI infrastructure costs. Try it free! http://p.sf.net/sfu/Citrix-VDIinabox _______________________________________________ Bacula-users mailing list Bacula-users@lists.sourceforge.net https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/bacula-users
