Hello, 15.02.2010 20:15, Joseph L. Casale wrote: >> For such a full backup, you need some secondary windows installation >> for the resore itself - for Server 2003 and XP, BartPE is a convenient >> way to get such a thing. For newer Windows versions, you probably best >> use Microsoft's PE system (I haven't actually built such a beast yet). > > I cant say that wont work, but I would strongly recommend not to approach > this that way, I would put money on an installation plagued with issues.
I tend to disagree - but I admit you seem to know what you're talking about :-) Anyway, my scenario in more detail - I'd be happy to see any hidden pitfalls! Use a secondary windows /typically PE-based) to boot. Create the partitions you originally had on the system in question (I'm aware of Server 2k8's service partition...) Assign drive letters as before, and format as before. Start FD, and restore a complete backup to it's original location. Make sure you've got the partitions activated, boot loader in place, etc. Reboot the restored system. Both theory and my experience tell me that you'll end up with a complete windows, happily running where it was backed up. For sanity#s sake, you next apply the system state backup you - hopefully - captured during your regular backups, following Microsoft's procedures. After three reboots, you should have your system in a consistent, mostly up-to-date state. Be aware that some applications - typically everything based on databases - may require additional steps, for example to replay transaction logs written and backed up after the last regular back up. > Reinstall windows, reinstall apps with appropriate methods (like exchange > cant just be re-installed new, setup needs switch's), That alone can be a problem - only identifying everything you had before requires a full-blown configuration and deployment management system, in my experience :-( > then add in only > applicable data. This is even worse (though getting better at least with Microsoft's applications) as it's really hard to determine wat is "applicable data". > You are *will* break all sorts of things pulling the rug > out from under complicated applications like AD/Exchange etc... True, but with the combination of VSS and system state backup / restore plus the things you (should) know about managing AD you get to an up-to-date, restored, system quite quickly - much faster than reinstalling tons of applications, updates, patches, service packs, bug fixes and the like one by one. >> I would expect problems when, for whatever reasons, you need to >> restore for example IIS (meta)data only, as I'm pretty sure that doing >> this in a running windows will not result in a merge of the data in >> the live system and the restored data, but only in an error (more >> likely) or loss of the current data by overwriting with backed up >> files (less likely). > > Yup, Metabase is involved, AFAIK it best done from a system state or using > the provided scripts which you can script with a runbeforejob and let Bacula > snag it after. See msdn and technet, you'll see all that's involved in that > ugly one. > > http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc783795%28WS.10%29.aspx Actually, the stuff Microsoft has in its libraries is quite complete and provides a good way to spend lots of time for windows admins thinking about backup and recovery ;-) Not really being a windows admin myself and needing that stuff makes me spend even more time with it... Thanks for your insight! Arno -- Arno Lehmann IT-Service Lehmann Sandstr. 6, 49080 Osnabrück www.its-lehmann.de ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ SOLARIS 10 is the OS for Data Centers - provides features such as DTrace, Predictive Self Healing and Award Winning ZFS. Get Solaris 10 NOW http://p.sf.net/sfu/solaris-dev2dev _______________________________________________ Bacula-users mailing list [email protected] https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/bacula-users
