Files

T

kyleandClaude Opus 5.5 8d0e6dca71 Move code shared by the collectors into one module

The Veeam, MARS, WSB and VB365 collectors each carried identical copies
of logging, ISO time conversion, property lookup, posting to the API,
config loading, TLS setup, the sent-runs state file and the 401 check,
and their installers repeated the same key prompt, locked-down config,
file copy and scheduled-task registration. These now live in
collectors/common/BackupDashboard.Collector.psm1:

- Initialize-Collector / Test-RunSent / Send-JobReport /
  Test-AuthRejected / Complete-Collector for collector runs
- Write-Log, Get-ErrorText, ConvertTo-IsoTime, Get-FirstValue
- Install-CollectorTask for the shared half of each installer

Collectors find the module next to themselves (installed) or in
..\common (repo); installers copy it into Program Files beside the
collector. The diagnostic scripts stay standalone single files.

No behavior change: a harness ran each collector against its mock
(12 scenarios: dry run, two real runs against a stub API, state file,
logs, exit codes, rejected key, en-GB, backfill) before and after, and
all 84 outputs are identical. Installers, run with stand-ins for the
Windows-only commands, write identical configs and tasks; the only
differences are the module being copied and the summary line naming
the shell's path.

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 5.5 <[email protected]>

2026-10-08 11:09:01 -06:00

tests

Fix MARS collector against a real agent's object model

2026-10-07 15:40:08 -06:00

Get-MarsCollectorDiagnostics.ps1

Fix MARS collector against a real agent's object model

2026-10-07 15:40:08 -06:00

Install-MarsCollector.ps1

Move code shared by the collectors into one module

2026-10-08 11:09:01 -06:00

README.md

Move code shared by the collectors into one module

2026-10-08 11:09:01 -06:00

Send-MarsBackupStatus.ps1

Move code shared by the collectors into one module

2026-10-08 11:09:01 -06:00

README.md

Azure Backup (MARS agent) collector

A PowerShell script that runs on each server with the Microsoft Azure Recovery Services (MARS) agent and reports its backups to the dashboard. Each server appears as one job, named <SERVER> - Azure Backup by default.

Checked against: MARS agent 2.0.9274, a Files & Folders policy with completed backups only. Not yet seen on a real agent: a failed backup, a backup in progress, or a System State policy. Those paths are written to the same object model, but if one looks wrong, run Get-MarsCollectorDiagnostics.ps1 while it's in that state and send the output.

Install (on the server, as an administrator)

Runs under Windows PowerShell 5.1 (powershell.exe), which the agent's MSOnlineBackup module targets and which every supported Windows Server has.

On the dashboard host, create a key for this server:
```
python manage.py create-key mars-acme-fs01
```
Copy the whole collectors folder to the server (the installer needs common as well as this folder), then from collectors\mars run:
```
.\Install-MarsCollector.ps1 -ApiUrl https://backups.example.com -Tenant "Acme Corp"
```
Add -JobName "File Server" to choose the name shown on the dashboard. It prompts for the key, then:
- writes C:\ProgramData\BackupDashboard\mars-collector.json (readable only by SYSTEM and Administrators)
- copies the script to C:\Program Files\BackupDashboard\
- registers the scheduled task Backup Dashboard - MARS collector (SYSTEM, every 60 minutes)

Preview the payloads, then backfill 30 days so the history view is populated straight away:

powershell.exe -File 'C:\Program Files\BackupDashboard\Send-MarsBackupStatus.ps1' -DryRun
powershell.exe -File 'C:\Program Files\BackupDashboard\Send-MarsBackupStatus.ps1' -LookbackHours 720

It can be installed alongside the other collectors: it uses its own config, state, log and task. Re-run the installer to change settings or update the script. It also installs BackupDashboard.Collector.psm1, the code shared by all collectors, next to the script.

What it sends

Dashboard	MARS
Company	`Tenant` from the config
Job	One per server, ID `mars:<computer name>`, so changing `JobName` renames rather than duplicates it
Status	Backup job state: Failed → Failed. Completed with failed bytes or an error → Warning. Aborted/cancelled or unrecognised → Warning. In progress → Running. Restore jobs are ignored
Started / finished	Job start / end time. MARS reports these in UTC without marking them as UTC; the collector handles that
Next scheduled	Next slot from the backup policy schedule, or the System State policy's if that's sooner. Empty (so never Overdue) for schedules that run every 2+ weeks, since which week is next can't be told
Message	Job and per-datasource errors (non-zero error codes), failed file counts, and the failed-file log path
Size	Bytes transferred, summed across datasources

Each run covers the last 48 hours (LookbackHours). Jobs already delivered are recorded in mars-collector.state.json.

Troubleshooting

Log: C:\ProgramData\BackupDashboard\mars-collector.log. Exit codes: 0 OK, 1 some runs failed to send (retried next run), 2 setup failed (config or MARS module).
Wrong status, sizes or messages: run .\Get-MarsCollectorDiagnostics.ps1 (read-only). It prints the real structure of the objects the agent's cmdlets return.

Testing without MARS

. ./tests/MockMars.ps1
./Send-MarsBackupStatus.ps1 -ConfigPath ./my-test-config.json -DryRun