Backup-GPO

Module:
grouppolicy
Backs up one GPO or all the GPOs in a domain.

Syntax 

Backup-GPO
      -Guid <Guid>
      -Path <String>
      [-Comment <String>]
      [-Domain <String>]
      [-Server <String>]
      [-WhatIf]
      [-Confirm]
      [<CommonParameters>]
Backup-GPO
      [-Name] <String>
      -Path <String>
      [-Comment <String>]
      [-Domain <String>]
      [-Server <String>]
      [-WhatIf]
      [-Confirm]
      [<CommonParameters>]
Backup-GPO
      -Path <String>
      [-Comment <String>]
      [-Domain <String>]
      [-Server <String>]
      [-All]
      [-WhatIf]
      [-Confirm]
      [<CommonParameters>]

Description

The Backup-GPO cmdlet backs up a specified Group Policy Object (GPO) or all the GPOs in a domain to a backup directory. The backup directory and GPO must already exist.

Examples

Example 1: Backup a GPO to a specific directory 

PS C:\> Backup-Gpo -Name TestGPO -Path C:\GpoBackups -Comment "Weekly Backup" 
DisplayName     : TestGPO 

GpoId           : 35c12ab3-956c-45d5-973b-46b17d225f47 

Id              : 2b509d4e-40f5-4337-82f7-458584555d0c 

BackupDirectory : C:\GpoBackups 

CreationTime    : 2/25/2009 8:48:19 PM 

DomainName      : contoso.com 

Comment         : Weekly Backup

This command backs up the "TestGPO" GPO to the C:\GpoBackups directory. The specified comment is included in the GPO backup.

Example 2: Backup a GPO with the specified GUID to a directory 

PS C:\> Backup-Gpo -GUID fa4a9473-6e2a-4b87-ab78-175e68d97bde -Domain "contoso.com" -Server "DC1" -Path "\\Server1\GpoBackups"

This command backs up the GPO with the specified GUID in the contoso.com domain to the \\Server1\GpoBackups directory. The domain controller at DC1.contoso.com is contacted to complete the operation.

If the domain of the user running the session (or, for startup and shutdown scripts, the computer) is different from the contoso.com domain, a trust must exist between the two domains or the command fails.

Example 3: Backup all GPOs in the domain of the user that is running the session 

PS C:\> Backup-Gpo -All -Path "\\Server1\GpoBackups"

This command backs up all the GPOs in the domain of the user that is running the session (or, for startup and shutdown scripts, the computer) to the \\Server1\GpoBackups directory.

Required Parameters

-Guid

Specifies the GPO to backup by its globally unique identifier (GUID). The GUID uniquely identifies the GPO.

You can also refer to the Guid parameter by its built-in alias, id. For more information, see about_Aliases .

Type: Guid
Aliases: Id
Position: Named
Default value: None
Accept pipeline input: True (ByPropertyName)
Accept wildcard characters: False
-Name

Specifies the GPO to backup by its display name.

The display name is not guaranteed to be unique in the domain. If another GPO with the same display name exists in the domain an error occurs. You can use the Guid parameter to uniquely identify a GPO.

You can also refer to the Name parameter by its built-in alias, displayname. For more information, see about_Aliases .

Type: String
Aliases: DisplayName
Position: 0
Default value: None
Accept pipeline input: True (ByValue)
Accept wildcard characters: False
-Path

Specifies the path to the backup directory; for instance, "C:\Backups" or "\\MyServer\Backups".

Type: String
Aliases: backupLocation
Position: Named
Default value: None
Accept pipeline input: False
Accept wildcard characters: False

Optional Parameters

-All

Specifies that all the GPOs in the domain are backed up.

Type: SwitchParameter
Position: Named
Default value: None
Accept pipeline input: False
Accept wildcard characters: False
-Comment

Specifies a comment for the backed-up GPO. The comment string must be enclosed in double-quotation or single-quotation marks and can contain 2,047 characters.

Type: String
Position: Named
Default value: None
Accept pipeline input: False
Accept wildcard characters: False
-Confirm

Prompts you for confirmation before running the cmdlet.

Type: SwitchParameter
Aliases: cf
Position: Named
Default value: False
Accept pipeline input: False
Accept wildcard characters: False
-Domain

Specifies the domain for this cmdlet. You must specify the fully qualified domain name (FQDN) of the domain (for example: sales.contoso.com).

For the Backup-GPO cmdlet, the GPO to back up must exist in this domain.

If you do not specify the Domain parameter, the domain of the user that is running the current session is used. (If the cmdlet is being run from a computer startup or shutdown script, the domain of the computer is used.) For more information, see the Notes section in the full Help.

If you specify a domain that is different from the domain of the user that is running the current session (or, for a startup or shutdown script, the computer), a trust must exist between that domain and the domain of the user (or the computer).

You can also refer to Domain by its built-in alias, domainname. For more information, see about_Aliases.

Type: String
Aliases: DomainName
Position: Named
Default value: None
Accept pipeline input: True (ByPropertyName)
Accept wildcard characters: False
-Server

Specifies the name of the domain controller that this cmdlet contacts to complete the operation. You can specify either the fully qualified domain name (FQDN) or the host name.

If you do not specify the name by using the Server parameter, the PDC emulator is contacted.

Type: String
Aliases: DC
Position: Named
Default value: None
Accept pipeline input: False
Accept wildcard characters: False
-WhatIf

Shows what would happen if the cmdlet runs. The cmdlet is not run.

Type: SwitchParameter
Aliases: wi
Position: Named
Default value: False
Accept pipeline input: False
Accept wildcard characters: False

Inputs

Microsoft.GroupPolicy.Gpo

A GPO to be backed up. Collections that contain GPOs from different domains are not supported.

Outputs

Microsoft.GroupPolicy.GpoBackup

This cmdlet returns an object that represents the file that holds the settings of the backed-up GPO.

Notes

  • You can use the Domain parameter to explicitly specify the domain for this cmdlet.

    If you do not explicitly specify the domain, the cmdlet uses a default domain. The default domain is the domain that is used to access network resources by the security context under which the current session is running. This domain is typically the domain of the user that is running the session. For instance, the domain of the user who started the session by opening Windows PowerShell from the Program Files menu, or the domain of a user that is specified in a runas command. However, computer startup and shutdown scripts run under the context of the LocalSystem account. The LocalSystem account is a built-in local account, and it accesses network resources under the context of the computer account. Therefore, when this cmdlet is run from a startup or shutdown script, the default domain is the domain to which the computer is joined.