System state backups include:
System Registry
COM + Database
Certificate Services*
Active Directory*
SysVol
IIS Metabase*
Windows supports system state backups on server versions of Windows only. System state backups can only be restored to identical hardware – for practical purposes, the machine the backup was made on.
When the software makes a system state backup, it calls on Windows Server Backup to create the system state backup files. IBU then backs that file up. The end result is that, if you restore your system state backup, you get files that you can restore using Windows Server Backup.