How to Restore Windows Server 2008 Domain Controller System State This article refers to the Barracuda Backup Legacy Release firmware or newer, and Windows Server 2008 domain controller. This article assumes that a System State backup exists, and that the user restoring to System State has access to the Directory Services Restore Mode (DSRM) password. You cannot perform a system state restore from the Cloud. Disaster Recovery Restoring Windows System State should only be performed in a disaster recovery situation. Typically, this is if a server goes down and will not boot, or if the configuration is severely corrupted. Requirements Before proceeding, verify that all of the following are true: The Barracuda Backup Agent is installed on the target server; File System and System State from the source server exist; Both the target and source server hardware and operating systems are configured the same; and The target server is on the network and can communicate directly with the Barracuda Backup Server. Active Directory Domain Controllers For Active Directory (AD) domain controllers, you must have access to the DSRM password. Additionally, it is highly recommended that the IP address to which you are restoring is the same as the original server. Prepare the Target When setting up the target server, the configuration should be identical to that of the source server that you are restoring including: Version Edition 32- or 64-bit For example, if the source server is 32-bit Windows 2008, Enterprise Edition, the target server should also be 32-bit Windows 2008, Enterprise Edition. Cancel Restore If you decide you do not wish to restore the server, use the steps in the section Restoring Normal Boot Mode to return your server to the normal boot mode. 1. Power on the target server, or if it is already running, reboot the target server. 2. Log on using an administrator account; if the target server is a domain controller, log in using a domain account with administrative access to the server. 3. At a command prompt, enter the following command: bcdedit /set safeboot dsrepair 4. Press Enter, and then enter the following command to restart the server: shutdown -r -t 1 1 / 6
5. 6. 7. 8. Press Enter to restart the server. The server restarts, and Windows boots into Directory Services Repair Mode. Press Ctrl-Alt-Delete and log into the system using the same credentials you entered above in Step 2. Click Start > Run, enter services.msc, and click OK to open Services. Navigate to Barracuda Backup Agent in the list of Services, and verify the Status field displays as Started: If the Barracuda Backup Agent Service is not listed in the Services window, you must first install the Agent before proceeding. 9. If the Status field displays as Stopped, right click the Agent, and click Start. Restore File System and System State Use the following steps to restore an AD domain controller to the target server, or to restore a complete copy of the source server without AD. This procedure restores the file system, overwriting existing files. Restoring System State from a source domain controller restores AD to its original state on that server; check with your system administrator before restoring a domain controller from an old revision backup. 1. 2. Log in to the Barracuda Backup web interface, and go to RESTORE > Restore Browser. Select the Windows Server that represents the source server you wish to restore: 3. 4. Click View all revisions up to: <date>; a list of revisions displays. Click Restore next to the revision you wish to restore: 5. The Restore window displays. Mark AD objects as authoritative. For more information, see Mark an Object or Objects as Authoritative. If the target server is set up with the same IP address as the source server you are restoring, select Original Location: 2 / 6
If the target server has a different IP address, select the third option and enter the IP address of the new location: 6. 7. Click Start Restore. Go to REPORTS > Restore to view restore job details. The restore job completion time is dependent upon the size of the original server. 8. 9. Once the restore is complete, a dialog displays. Click OK to close the dialog box. Once the restore job is complete, use the steps in the section Restoring Normal Boot Mode to restore the server to normal mode. Restore System State Use the procedure described in this section only if you wish to restore System State to the target server without restoring the rest of the file system as it was on the source server. This procedure restores System files including those in the C:\Windows folder. Perform the steps in this section if you are not performing full disaster recovery and wish to keep the target server's file system intact. Since this procedure does not restore file systems, following these steps will not restore replicated file systems or administration tools if the source server was a domain controller. This means group policy objects and log on scripts will not be available on the target server unless they are already on that server or on another server on the network. If you wish to restore 3 / 6
file systems, use the steps described in the section Restoring File System and System State, or restore file systems manually from another server on the network. Restoring System State from a source domain controller restores AD to its original state on that server; check with your system administrator before restoring a domain controller from an old revision backup. To restore System State only, 1. 2. Log in to the Barracuda Backup web interface, and go to RESTORE > Restore Browser. Expand the Windows Server that represents the source server, and select System State: 3. 4. Click View all revisions up to: <date>; a list of revisions displays. Click Restore next to the revision you wish to restore: 5. The Restore window displays. Mark AD objects as authoritative. For more information, see Mark an Object or Objects as Authoritative. If the target server is set up with the same IP address as the source server you are restoring, select Original Location: If the target server has a different IP address, select the third option and enter the IP address of the new location: 4 / 6
6. 7. Click Start Restore. Go to REPORTS > Restore to view restore job details. The restore job completion is dependent upon the size of the original server. 8. 9. Once the restore is complete, a dialog displays. Click OK to close the dialog box. Once the restore job is complete, use the steps in the section Restoring Normal Boot Mode to restore the server to normal mode. Restore Normal Boot Mode Once the restore is complete, use the following steps to restore the server to normal boot mode: 1. 2. 3. 4. Power on the target server, or if it is already running, reboot the target server. Log on using an administrator account; if the target server is a domain controller, log in using a domain account with administrative access to the server. At a command prompt, enter the following command: bcdedit /deletevalue safeboot Press Enter, and then enter the following command to restore normal boot mode: shutdown -t 0 -r 5. Press Enter to restart the server in normal boot mode. 5 / 6
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