PI Powershell

StartPIBackup Class

Save PDF

TABLE OF CONTENTS

StartPIBackup Class

Save PDF

Last UpdatedDec 15, 2025
4 minute read

PI System
Powershell Tools for the PI System 2024 R2
Developer

StartPIBackup Class

Initiate a PI Backup on a PI Data Archive

The Start-PIBackup cmdlet initiates a PI Backup on a PI Data Archive

The connection parameter specifies which connection to a PI Data Archive to use.

Inheritance Hierarchy

SystemObject
  InternalCommand
    Cmdlet
      PSCmdlet
        OSIsoft.PowerShellOSICmdletBase
          OSIsoft.PowerShellOSICmdletBaseWithConnection
            OSIsoft.PowerShellStartPIBackup

Namespace: OSIsoft.PowerShell
Assembly: OSIsoft.PowerShell (in OSIsoft.PowerShell.dll) Version: 3.1.1.0 (3.1.1.466)

Syntax

[CmdletAttribute("Start", "PIBackup", DefaultParameterSetName = "Archives", 
	SupportsShouldProcess = true)]
public class StartPIBackup : OSICmdletBaseWithConnection

<CmdletAttribute("Start", "PIBackup", DefaultParameterSetName := "Archives", 
	SupportsShouldProcess := true)>
Public Class StartPIBackup
	Inherits OSICmdletBaseWithConnection

Dim instance As StartPIBackup

[CmdletAttribute(L"Start", L"PIBackup", DefaultParameterSetName = L"Archives", 
	SupportsShouldProcess = true)]
public ref class StartPIBackup : public OSICmdletBaseWithConnection

[<CmdletAttribute("Start", "PIBackup", DefaultParameterSetName = "Archives", 
	SupportsShouldProcess = true)>]
type StartPIBackup =  
    class
        inherit OSICmdletBaseWithConnection
    end

The StartPIBackup type exposes the following members.

Constructors

	Name	Description
	StartPIBackup

Properties

	Name	Description
	ArchiveIndex	Indices of historical archives to include in the PI Backup. Index = 0 is the primary archive.
	BackupLocation	Backup location for the PI Backup
	Connection	Connection to a PI Data Archive from which to retrieve archive statistics (Overrides OSICmdletBaseWithConnectionConnection.)
	CutoffDate	Do not include historical archives older than the CutoffDate
	Exclude	Components to exclude from the PI Backup To get a list of possible components to exclude, see example 2 of Get-PIBackupIdentifyReport using "Get-Help Get-PIBackupIdentifyReport -Examples"
	ExcludeFuture	Exclude future archives from the PI Backup
	Include	Components to include in the PI Backup. If none are specified explicitly, all will be backed up. To get a list of possible components to include, see example 2 of Get-PIBackupIdentifyReport using "Get-Help Get-PIBackupIdentifyReport -Examples"
	NumberOfArchives	Number of most recent historical archives to include in the PI Backup
	Type	Type of PI Backup to perform

Examples

Start-PIBackup -BackupLocation E:\PIBackup -NumberOfArchives 3 -Type Incremental -Connection $con

Where:

$con = Connect-PIDataArchive -PIDataArchiveMachineName "PISRV1"

This example initiates an incremental backup of the "PISRV1" PI Data Archive. The backup will be written to E:\PIBackup and will include 3 historical archives, in addition to any files that have changed since the last backup. (incremental)

Examples

Start-PIBackup -BackupLocation E:\PIBackup -Type Copy -ArchiveIndex 0,12,13,14 -ExcludeFuture -Connection $con

Where:

$con = Connect-PIDataArchive -PIDataArchiveMachineName "PISRV1"

This example initiates a copy backup of the "PISRV1" PI Data Archive. The backup will be written to E:\PIBackup and will include 4 historical archives, specifically those with index 0 (primary archive), 12, 13 and 14. No future archives will be backed up.

PI Powershell