System 800xA Training

Chapter 5 Backup Nodes

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Chapter 5 Backup and Restore....................................................................................................................................................... 1

5.1 General Information............................................................................................................................................................. 2
5.1.1 Objectives ..................................................................................................................................................................... 2
5.1.2 Legend .......................................................................................................................................................................... 2
5.1.3 Reference Documentation ............................................................................................................................................. 2
5.2 Cloning / Imaging ................................................................................................................................................................ 3
5.2.1 Issues and limitations .................................................................................................................................................... 4
5.2.2 Preparing the computer for Cloning.............................................................................................................................. 5
5.2.3 How to Create an Image Backup .................................................................................................................................. 6
5.2.4 Recovering data .......................................................................................................................................................... 10

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5.1 General Information

5.1.1 Objectives
On completion of this chapter you will be able to:
• Describe the different backup methods
• Use Acronis to create disk images

5.1.2 Legend
> Indicates when you go from one menu to a sub-menu
Italic Indicates object and file names
“ “ Indicates dialog box buttons, tabs, menus etc.
Bold Indicates important topics
Indicates start/explanation of student activity

5.1.3 Reference Documentation

3BSE046784 System 800xA

System Maintenance
3BUF001091 System 800xA
Information Management - Getting Started

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5.2 Cloning / Imaging

While there are definitely good reasons for performing backups of the system
configuration using the 800xA backup utilities, this would not be the answer for
recovery from a hard drive failure or other operating system corruptions. It takes many
hours to load Windows and all the prerequisite software. In fact, that is the most time
consuming part of a system load.
Drive images can be used to recover the system from a disaster. They are generated
and loaded much quicker than Windows backups, and they don’t need a running
system in the node to be reloaded.

There are three key times for creating an image:

• Immediately after performing a fresh load of Windows and all prerequisite
software. This is the most time consuming of all the loading processes especially
when you consider service packs, hot fixes, all the Microsoft and third party
applications, and so on. In the particular case of domain controllers the image
should be generated before promoting the domain server.
• Immediately after loading all 800xA software and before any system creation. In
the case of an Aspect Server, this would allow a restore of an 800xA backup to be
performed onto a known clean software load. In the case of other nodes, they
could be newly added into a system with no previous record of having been a
system node. This might also create options for certain upgrades that would be
better performed before adding a system.
• Immediately after getting the entire 800xA system finalized and running in a
satisfactory condition. This would allow the quickest recovery for any node. Of
course new images must be made periodically if changes to the system are made
in order to keep it current. A combination of an image as in the previous step and
an 800xA backup would also be an option to avoid losing work.

There are several software packages available for backing up a complete disk or
partition. Two popular packages are Acronis True Image and Norton Ghost.
NOTE! More information about Norton Ghost is to be found at
www.ghost.com; and for Acronis, see www.acronis.com.

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5.2.1 Issues and limitations

It is important to understand the following facts about making images:
• Some imaging software require offline backup
This means that the nodes where the backup images are going to be generated
need to be rebooted, which is usually not a problem because there are redundant
servers and multiple clients in most systems. However, there are some small
systems with only one Aspect Server. In order to make an image of that server, the
entire system will be unavailable for the time it takes to do the operation, usually
about an hour. Newer versions of Ghost and Acronis feature online backup
• Using the same image for multiple machines
It is important when using a single image for multiple of the same kind of
computer such as multiple clients to check if the computer where the image was
created and the computer where the image is going to be restored have the same
Hardware Abstraction Layer (HAL).In some cases, a different driver can be
loaded to replace an incorrect one after the image is loaded. If an image is
generated in a computer and deployed in another one with a different HAL the
reloaded system might not even boot. Nevertheless there are some techniques to
make images compatible with different HALs.
Another issue is that it is necessary to ensure that the computers are unique, not
only in terms of name and IP addresses, but in terms of the SID that is created as a
unique identifier when the Windows software is loaded. There is an easy way to
do this by using Sysprep, available from Microsoft. This tool is used to remove the
configuration settings that are unique to the computer before creating the image
file, allowing the installer to configure that kind of settings every time the image is
deployed.
Domain Controllers
It is generally not recommended to make an image of a domain controller once it is
promoted. For fault tolerance the answer is multiple domain controllers, or fault
tolerance in the PC hardware such as RAID drives, redundant power supplies and so
on.
The two main issues with domain controller images are:
• Normally the computers that were domain members will not recognize the domain
controller as the same domain they were in previously. This is a problem with
members but even more of a problem with other domain controllers since now
there are two domains with the same name.
• Even if a domain controller is recognized by the other domain controllers, the
replication would be way out of date. This can create problems especially with
objects that have been deleted.
If a domain controller is not redundant and the decision is to create an image, it is
recommended to remove all domain members and then re add them before bringing it
back to the domain.
There is a substantial advantage in having an image of the completed software load
prior to promotion to a domain controller. In case of a failure, the image could be
restored, and then promoting the computer again would allow it to be reconfigured
quickly if it is not redundant or to resume membership with the other domain
controllers if it is redundant.

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Don’t forget that if it is not redundant and the domain is recreated, even if the same
domain name is used, it will be considered a new domain. The domain is really
internally identified by the SID. All the computers will have to be rejoined to the new
domain.

5.2.2 Preparing the computer for Cloning

When one of the system nodes is used to generate a ghost image which will be
deployed throughout a network, the following procedure must be performed in order
to avoid having duplicated computer names and SIDs within the same network.
1. Navigate to the folder C:\Windows\System32\Sysprep\

2. Execute the sysprep application

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3. Prepare the System Preparation Toll 3.14 with the following options

4.
After the final step the computer will be automatically rebooted, ending the
preparation procedure. As a result the computer will no longer have it’s node specific
parameters like computer name or SID. Thanks to this, the image obtained from this
node can be deployed in other computers using different computer names and SID
After the image is generated (or deployed) the computer reboots and a windows
installation wizard automatically starts. Using this wizard the new computer name and
SID can be generated.

5.2.3 How to Create an Image Backup

1. Create a new folder for the Image files and name it e.g.
ImageBackup_without_System_ xx
2. Start the console..
3. Connect the console to the machine where the agent is installed.
4. As soon as the console connects to a managed machine or to a management
server, the respective items appear across the console's workspace (in the menu, in
the main area with the Welcome screen, the Navigation pane, the Actions and
tools pane) enabling you to perform agent-specific or server-specific operations.

5. Corresponds to “Navigation” pane - contains the navigation tree and the

shortcut bar and lets you navigate to the different views

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Corresponds to “Actions and tools” pane - Contains bars with a set of actions
that can be performed and tools

Corresponds to Main area - The main place of working, where you create, edit
and manage backup plans, policies, tasks and perform other operations. Displays
the different views and action pages depending on items selected in the menu,
navigation.

Corresponds to Menu bar - Appears across the top of the program window and
lets you perform all the operations, available on both panes. Menu items change
dynamically.
6. Action pages
An action page appears in the main area when clicking any action item in the
Actions menu, or in the Actions bar on the Actions and tools pane. It contains
steps you need to perform in order to create and launch any task, or a backup plan,
or backup policy. Action page - Create backup plan
7. To create a backup plan, perform the following steps.
General
• Plan name
[Optional] Enter a unique name for the backup plan. A conscious name lets you
identify the plan among others.
• Plan's credentials
[Optional] The backup plan will run on behalf of the user who is creating the plan.
You can change the plan account credentials if necessary. To access this option,
select the Advanced view check box .
• Comments
[Optional] Type a description of the backup plan. To access this option, select the
Advanced view check box.
• Label
[Optional] Type a text label for the machine you are going to back up. The label
can be used to identify the machine in various scenarios. To access this option,
select the Advanced view check box.
What to backup
• Source type
Select the type of data to back up. The type of data depends on the agents installed
on the machine.
• Items to backup
Specify the data items to back up. A list of items to backup depends on the data
type, specified previously.
• Access credentials
[Optional] Provide credentials for the source data if the plan's account does not
have access permissions to the data. To access this option, select the Advanced
view check box.

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• Exclusions
[Optional] Set up exclusions for the specific types of files you do not wish to back
up. To access this option, select the Advanced view check box.
Where to back up
• Archive
Specify path to the location, where the backup archive will be stored, and the
archive name. It is advisable that the archive name be unique within the location.
The default archive name is “Archive (N)” where N is the sequence number of the
archive in the location you have selected.
Name backup files using the archive name, as in Acronis True Image Echo, rather
than auto-generated names
• Access credentials
[Optional] Provide credentials for the location if the plan account does not have
access permissions to the location. To access this option, select the Advanced
view check box.
• Archive comments
[Optional] Enter comments on the archive. To access this option, select the
Advanced view check box.
How to back up
• Backup scheme
Specify when and how often to back up your data; define for how long to keep the
created backup archives in the selected location; set up schedule for the archive
cleanup procedure. Use well-known optimized backup schemes, such as
Grandfather-Father-Son and Tower of Hanoi; create a custom backup scheme, or
back up data once.
Archive validation
• When to validate
[Optional] Define when and how often to perform validation and whether to
validate the entire archive or the latest backup in the archive.
Backup options
• Settings
[Optional] Configure parameters of the backup operation, such as pre/post backup
commands, maximum network bandwidth allocated for the backup stream or the
backup archive compression level. If you do nothing in this section, the default
values will be used.
After any of the settings is changed against the default value, a new line that
displays the newly set value appears. The setting status changes from Default to
Custom. Should you modify the setting again, the line will display the new value
unless the new value is the default one. When the default value is set, the line
disappears and so you always see only the settings that differ from the default
values in this section of the Create backup plan page.
To reset all the settings to the default values, click Reset to default.

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8. Using controls and specifying settings

The action pages offer two ways of representation: basic and advanced. The basic
representation hides such fields as credentials, comments, etc. When the advanced
representation is enabled, all the available fields are displayed. You can switch
between the views by selecting the “Advanced view” check box at the top of the
action page.
Most settings are configured by clicking the respective “Change…” links to the
right. Others are selected from the drop-down list, or typed manually in the page's
fields.

Acronis Backup & Recovery 10 remembers the changes you made on the action
pages. For example, if you started to create a backup plan, and then for any reason
switched to another view without accomplishing the plan creation, you can click
the Back navigation button on the menu. Or, if you have passed several steps
forward, click the Down arrow and select the page where you started the plan
creation from the list. Thus, you can perform the remaining steps and accomplish
the backup plan creation.

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5.2.4 Recovering data

When it comes to data recovery, first consider the most functional method:
Connect the console to the managed machine running the operating system and
create the recovery task.
If the managed machine's operating system fails to start or you need to recover
data to bare metal, boot the machine from the bootable media or using Acronis
Startup Recovery Manager. Then, create a recovery task.
To create a recovery task, perform the following steps
1. General
• Task name
[Optional] Enter a unique name for the recovery task. A conscious name lets you
quickly identify the task among the others.
• Task credentials
[Optional] The task will run on behalf of the user who is creating the task. You
can change the task account credentials if necessary. To access this option, select
the Advanced view check box .
2. What to recover
• Archive
Select the archive to recover data from.
• Data type
Applies to: disk recovery
Choose the type of data you need to recover from the selected disk backup.
• Content
Select the backup and content to be recovered.
• Access credentials
[Optional] Provide credentials for the archive location if the task account does not
have the right to access it. To access this option, select the Advanced view check
box.
3. Where to recover
This section appears after the required backup is selected and the type of data to
recover is defined. The parameters you specify here depend on the type of data
being recovered.
• Disks
• Volumes

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4. Acronis Active Restore

[OPTIONAL] The Acronis Active Restore check box is available when
recovering Windows starting from Windows 2000. Acronis Active Restore brings
a system online immediately after the recovery is started. The operating system
boots from the backup image and the machine becomes operational and ready to
provide necessary services. The data required to serve incoming requests is
recovered with the highest priority; everything else is recovered in the
background.
See Acronis Active Restore for details.
• Files
You may have to specify credentials for the destination. Skip this step when
operating on a machine booted with bootable media.
• Access credentials
[Optional] Provide credentials for the destination if the task credentials do not
enable recovery of the selected data. To access this option, select the Advanced
view check box.
5. When to recover
Recover
Select when to start recovery. The task can start immediately after its creation, be
scheduled for a specified date and time in the future or simply saved for manual
execution.
[Optional] Acronis Universal Restore
Applies to: Windows OS and system volume recovery
6. Universal Restore
Use the Acronis Universal Restore when you need to recover and boot up
Windows on dissimilar hardware.
Automatic drivers search
Specify where the program should search for HAL, mass storage and network
adapter drivers. Acronis Universal Restore will install drivers that better fit the
target hardware.
Mass storage drivers to install anyway
[Optional] Specify the mass storage drivers manually if the automatic drivers
search has not found the appropriate drivers. To access this option, select the
Advanced view check box.
7. Recovery options
Settings
[Optional] Customize the recovery operation by configuring the recovery options,
such as pre/post recovery commands, recovery priority, error handling or
notification options. If you do nothing in this section, the default values (p. 71)
will be used.
After any of the settings is changed against the default value, a new line that
displays the newly set value appears. The setting status changes from Default to
Custom. Should you modify the setting again, the line will display the new value

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unless the new value is the default one. When the default value is set, the line
disappears and so you always see only the settings that differ from the default
values in the Settings section.
Clicking “Reset to default” resets all the settings to default values.
After you complete all the required steps, click “OK” to commit creating of the
recovery task.
Acronis Universal Restore lets you recover and boot up Windows on dissimilar
hardware or a virtual machine.
A Windows system can be brought online in seconds while it is still being
recovered. Using the proprietary Acronis Active Restore technology, Acronis
Backup & Recovery 10 will boot the machine into the operating system found in
the backup as if the system were on the physical disk. The system becomes
operational and ready to provide necessary services. Thus, the system downtime
will be minimal.
A dynamic volume can be recovered over an existing volume, to unallocated
space of a disk group, or to unallocated space of a basic disk. To learn more about
recovering dynamic volumes, please turn to the Microsoft LDM (Dynamic
volumes) section.

 Exercise 5.1

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