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Backing Up the Exchange Server 2007 Environment : Using and Understanding the Windows Backup Utility

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6/25/2012 4:45:26 PM
Windows Server 2003 includes several tools and services to back up and archive user data, but when it comes to backing up the entire operating system and disk volumes, Windows Server 2003 Backup is the program to use. Windows Server 2003 Backup is included on all the different versions of the Windows platform. Some Windows Server 2003 services provide alternative backup utilities, but they still can be backed up using Ntbackup.exe.

Windows Server 2003 Backup provides all the necessary functions to completely back up and restore a single file or the entire Windows Server 2003 system. Third-party, or even other Microsoft, applications installed on a Windows 2003 server system should be researched to ensure that no special backup requirements or add-ons are necessary to back up the application data and configuration.

Windows Server 2003 Backup is capable of many types of backups; however, it is primarily used to back up the local server, but can also be used to back up remote server volumes. Although, in the case of backing up remote server volumes, open files are always skipped. Another limitation is that System State can only be backed up from the local server.

Modes of Operation

The Windows Backup utility can run in two separate modes: Wizard and Advanced. Wizard mode provides a simple interface that enables a backup to be created in just a few easy steps:

1.
Choose to back up or restore files and settings.

2.
Choose to back up everything or specify what to back up.

3.
Choose what data to back up only if you do not choose the option to back up everything.

4.
Specify the backup media, tape, or file.

That is all it takes to use Wizard mode, but features such as creating a scheduled backup or choosing to use Volume Shadow Copy Service can be performed only using Advanced mode.

Advanced mode provides greater granularity when it comes to scheduling and controlling backup media security and other backup options. In the following sections concerning Windows Server 2003 Backup, you use Advanced mode.

Using the Windows Backup Advanced Mode

Running the Windows Server 2003 Backup utility in Advanced mode enables administrators to configure all the available options for backups including using Volume Shadow Copy Service (VSS). Scheduled backups can be created; specific wizards can be started; and advanced backup options can be configured, such as verifying backup, using volume shadow copies, backing up data in remote storage, and automatically backing up system-protected files.

To create a backup in Advanced mode, use the following steps:

1.
Click Start, All Programs, Accessories, System Tools, Backup.

2.
If this is the first time you’ve run Backup, it opens in Wizard mode. Choose to run it in Advanced mode by clicking the Advanced Mode hyperlink.

3.
Click the Backup Wizard (Advanced) button to start the Backup Wizard.

4.
Click Next on the Backup Wizard welcome screen to continue.

5.
On the What to Back Up page, select Back Up Selected Files, Drives, or Network Data, and click Next to continue.

6.
On the Items to Back Up page, expand Desktop, My Computer in the left pane, choose each of the local drives and the System State, and then click Next to continue.

7.
Choose your backup media type and choose the correct media tape or file. If you’re creating a new file, specify the complete path to the file, and the backup will create the file automatically. Click Next to continue.

8.
If the file you specified resides on a network drive, click OK at the warning message to continue.

9.
If you chose tape for the backup, choose the media for the backup and choose to use a new tape.

10.
Click the Advanced button on the Completing the Backup Wizard page to configure advanced options.

11.
Choose the backup type and choose whether to back up migrated remote storage data. The default settings on this page will fit most backups, so click Next to continue.

12.
Choose whether a verify operation will be run on the backup media and click Next. Disabling Volume Shadow Copy would be an option if a backup were just backing up local volumes, not the System State.

13.
Choose the Media Overwrite option of appending or replacing the data on the media, and click Next.

14.
On the When to Back Up page, choose to run the backup now or to create a schedule for the backup. If you chose Now, skip to step 18.

15.
If you chose to create a schedule, enter a job name and click the Set Schedule button.

16.
On the Schedule Job page, select the frequency of the backup, start time, and start date, and click OK when you are finished. You can set additional configurations using the Settings tab as shown in Figure 1.

Figure 1. Changing the settings for a schedule job.


17.
On the Set Account Information page, enter the user account name and password that should be used to run the scheduled backup, and click OK when you are finished.

18.
On the When to Back Up page, click Next to continue.

19.
Click Finish to save the scheduled backup or immediately start the backup job.

20.
When the backup is complete, review the backup log for detailed information and click Close on the Backup Progress window when you are finished.

Automated System Recovery

Automated System Recovery (ASR) is a backup option that is used to back up a system to recover from a complete server failure. An ASR backup contains disk volume information and a copy of all the data on the boot and system volumes, along with the current System State. ASR can be used to restore a system from scratch, and it will even re-create disk volumes and format them as previously recorded during the ASR backup. ASR does not back up the data stored on volumes that are solely used for data storage.

To perform an ASR backup, you start with a blank floppy disk and a backup device—either a tape device or disk will suffice. One point to keep in mind is that an ASR backup will back up each local drive that contains the operating system and any applications installed. For instance, if the operating system is installed on drive C: and Microsoft Office is installed on drive D:, both of these drives will be completely backed up because the Registry has references to files on the D: drive. Although this can greatly simplify restore procedures, it requires additional storage and increases backup time for an ASR backup. Using a basic installation of Windows Server 2003, Enterprise Edition with only basic services installed, an ASR backup can average 1.3GB to less than 4GB or 5GB.

ASR backups should be created for a server before and after any hardware changes are performed or when a major configuration change occurs with the system. ASR backups contain disk information, including basic or dynamic configuration and volume set type. They save volume or partition data so that when an ASR restore is complete, only the data stored on storage volumes needs to be recovered.

Creating an ASR Backup

An ASR backup can currently be created only from the local server console using the graphical user interface (GUI) version of the Windows Server 2003 Backup utility.

To create an ASR backup, follow these steps:

1.
Log on to the server using an account that has the right to back up the system. (Any local administrator or domain administrator has the necessary permissions to complete the operation.)

2.
Click Start, All Programs, Accessories, System Tools, Backup.

3.
If this is the first time you’ve run Backup, it opens in Wizard mode. Choose to run it in Advanced mode by clicking the Advanced Mode hyperlink.

4.
Click the Automated System Recovery Wizard button to start the Automated System Recovery Preparation Wizard.

5.
Click Next after reading the Automated System Recovery Preparation Wizard welcome screen.

6.
Choose your backup media type and choose the correct media tape or file. If you’re creating a new file, specify the complete path to the file, and the backup will create the file automatically. Click Next to continue.

7.
If you specified a file as the backup media and it resides on a network drive, click OK at the warning message to continue.

8.
If you chose tape for the backup, choose the media for the backup and choose to use a new tape.

9.
Click Finish to complete the Automated System Recovery Preparation Wizard and start the backup. As the ASR backup process begins, you will see the ntbackup utility processing the backup, similar to what is shown in Figure 2.

Figure 2. ASR backup in process.


10.
After the tape or file backup portion completes, the ASR backup prompts you to insert a floppy disk to hold the recovery information. Insert the disk and click OK to continue.

11.
Remove the floppy disk as requested and label the disk with the appropriate ASR backup information. Click OK to continue.

12.
When the ASR backup is complete, click Close on the Backup Progress window to return to the backup program or click Report to examine the backup report.

Note

The information contained on the ASR floppy disk is also stored on the backup media. The ASR floppy contains only two files, asr.sif and asrpnp.sif, which can be restored from the backup media and copied to a floppy disk if the original ASR floppy cannot be located.


Tips on Using ASR

One tip on using ASR is to ensure an ASR backup is completed after the server is built, updated with service packs, reconfigured, and security changes are applied. Also, an ASR backup should be performed when hardware configurations change and periodically otherwise. On domain controllers, this period should be less than 30 days to ensure that the domain can be up and running again if an Active Directory authoritative restore is necessary, but best practices would say much sooner depending on the total amount of additions and changes occurring in Active Directory on a daily basis.

ASR backs up only the system and boot partitions. ASR will not back up the Exchange databases if they are installed on a separate drive. A normal tape backup of the drive(s) storing the Exchange databases or any other drive volume with critical data should be backed up separately. ASR backups, on average, are 1.3GB to 5GB in size, so be sure to place the data in a location that can hold several copies of an ASR backup. To prevent ASR backups from getting too large, user data and file shares should be kept off the system and boot volumes.

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