Applies to: VisualSVN Server 3.8 and later
After you have decided to backup your repositories, you should choose destination for the backups. VisualSVN Server 3.8 supports the following backup destinations:
All options are available both for scheduled backup jobs and one-time backups.
VisualSVN Server installer preconfigures the default backup destination to C:\Users\Public\Documents\VisualSVN Server\Backup, but it is recommended to change the default backup destination to a network share, to a separate physical drive or to the Azure Files cloud. It is strongly discouraged to store repositories and their backups on the same physical drive, because this increases the possibility of data loss. For further details about how to configure the default backup destination setting, see the article KB123: Understanding backup and restore settings.
The account that runs the VisualSVN Background Job Service should have appropriate permissions to the backup destination. Required permissions differ depending on whether your backup destination is on a local disk or on a network share. See the corresponding sections below for more information.
Backup to a local drive
VisualSVN Server can backup repositories to any local drive. In this case, the following NTFS permissions should be configured for the backup destination folder.
| Account | NTFS permission |
| NT SERVICE\vsvnjobsvc | Modify |
| VisualSVN Server Admins | Read & Execute |
Backup to a network share
VisualSVN Server can backup repositories to a network share. In this case you should configure the necessary NTFS and share permissions.
By default, VisualSVN Background Job Service runs under the built-in NT AUTHORITY\Network Service account. Services that log on and run as NT AUTHORITY\Network Service account access network resources using the credentials of the computer account (for example, DOMAIN\Computer$). If you plan to use a network share as the backup destination, you should provide the server's computer account with NTFS and share permissions to the backup destination.
The following NTFS permissions should be configured for the backup destination on a network share.
| Account | NTFS permission |
| Computer account (e.g. DOMAIN\Computer$) | Modify |
| Accounts of VisualSVN Server administrators | Read & Execute |
The following share permissions should be configured too (in addition to the NTFS permissions above).
| Account | Share permission |
| Computer account (e.g. DOMAIN\Computer$) | Change |
| Accounts of VisualSVN Server administrators | Read |
Backup to the Azure Files cloud (via SMB 3.0)
VisualSVN Server 3.8 allows you to create the repository backups to the Azure Files cloud storage. Azure Files is a secure and highly-available cloud file share accessible via the SMB 3.0 protocol.
You should properly configure your VisualSVN Server instance for using Azure Files cloud as a backup destination. For details and complete instructions see the article KB133: Storing repository backups in the Azure Files cloud storage