Recovery Manager for AD Disaster Recovery Edition 10.2.1 - User Guide

Specifying an access account for Backup Agent and backup storage

For each Computer Collection (applicable to all domain controllers within a collection), you can specify a user account that will be used to access the following:

• Backup Agent that is manually or automatically installed on domain controllers in the Computer Collection. The account is used for the following operations:

  • backup creation

  • discover Backup Agent instances or update Backup Agent information

  • install, upgrade or uninstall Backup Agent instances

• Locations on target domain controllers or UNC shares where backup files created for the Computer Collection are to be saved. For more information on how to specify these locations, see Remote Storage tab section in Properties for an existing Computer Collection.

These credentials are also used to connect to Active Directory in the following cases:

• Show or refresh the content of collections that contain containers

• Operate on collections that contain container-items

• This account is used for backup unpacking only if no account is configured on the Remote Storage tab

For example: modifying an exclusion list for a container; installing the Backup Agent from a collection menu, collecting diagnostic data, etc.

To specify an access account

1. In the Recovery Manager Console tree, select the Computer Collection for which you want to specify an access account.

2. From the main menu, select Action | Properties.

3. On the Agent Settings tab, select the Use the following account to access Backup Agent check box.

4. Click Select Account, and specify the user name and password of the account with which you want to access Backup Agent, backup storages, and global catalog servers.

5. When finished, click OK.

You can also specify a separate account that will be used to access the backup storage on the Remote Storage tab.

If no access account is specified on the Agent tab and no scheduled tasks exist for the Computer Collection, Recovery Manager for Active Directory (RMAD) will use the account under which the Recovery Manager Console is currently running.

If no access account is specified and a backup creation task is scheduled for the Computer Collection, RMAD will use the account under which the scheduled task is run. You can view and change this account on the Schedule tab in the Properties dialog box for a Computer Collection. For more information, see Schedule tab subsection in Properties for an existing Computer Collection.

For additional information about the account requirements, please refer Permissions required for the Backup operation.

Adding domain controllers to a Computer Collection

You can add specific domain controllers to a Computer Collection. You can select domain controllers in the details pane after browsing the console tree and selecting the container that holds the domain controllers you want to add. Domains available for a forest are located under the Active Directory/Forest <Name> node; containers are located under domain nodes. You can add forests to the Active Directory node by using the Connect to Forest command on the node’s Action menu. A Computer Collection can hold domain controllers from multiple containers.

To add domain controllers to a selected Computer Collection

1. Right-click the Computer Collection, point to Add, and then click Domain Controller.

2. In the Select Computers dialog box, enter the domain controller name or select the domain controller from the list and click OK. The Select Computers dialog box allows you to specify multiple domain controller names.

To add domain controllers to a Computer Collection

1. Browse the console tree to select the container that holds the domain controllers you want to add.

2. In the details pane, select the domain controllers you want to add. To select multiple domain controllers, hold down CTRL, and click the domain controllers.

3. On the Action menu, click Add to Collection.

4. In the dialog box that opens, select an existing Computer Collection or click New Collection to create and select a new Computer Collection.

5. In the dialog box, click OK.

You can add domain controllers to a Computer Collection by using an import file that contains a list of domain controller names or IP addresses. Importing domain controllers from a file overcomes the limitations inherent to the Select Computers dialog box and is convenient when you need to add a large group of domain controllers.

An import file is a text file that contains one domain controller name or IP address per line. For example:

123.123.123.123
Domain Controller Name 1
Domain Controller Name 2
213.213.213.213

To add domain controllers by using an import file

1. Create an import file that contains domain controller names or IP addresses.

2. Right-click the Computer Collection, point to Add, and then click Import Computers.

3. Use the Open dialog box to locate and open the import file.

Adding containers to a Computer Collection

You can add containers such as Active Directory domains, sites, or organizational units to a Computer Collection. When a Computer Collection includes a container, it implicitly includes all domain controllers that are in that container. You can select containers in the details pane after browsing the console tree and selecting a node that holds the containers you want to add.

Domains are located under the Active Directory/Forest <Name> node, organizational units are located under domain nodes. You can add Active Directory forests to the Active Directory node by using the Connect to Forest command on the node’s Action menu.

To add a container to a selected Computer Collection

1. Right-click the Computer Collection, point to Add, and then click Container.

2. In the Domain box, select the domain that includes the container or type the DNS name of the domain. If you typed the domain name, click Connect to redraw the tree in the Containers box.

3. Browse the directory tree in the Containers box to locate and select the container.

4. In the dialog box, click OK.

Alternatively, you can add containers to a Computer Collection using the following procedure

1. Browse the Recovery Manager Console tree to select the node that holds the containers you want to add.

2. In the details pane, select the containers you want to add. To select multiple containers, hold down CTRL, and click the containers.

3. On the Action menu, click Add to Collection.

4. In the dialog box that opens, select an existing Computer Collection or click New Collection to create and select a new Computer Collection.

5. In the dialog box, click OK.

To view and modify an exclusion list for a container

This option lets you specify an explicit list of the domain controllers that will not be included in the backup.

1. In the Recovery Manager Console tree, select the Computer Collection that holds the container.

2. In the details pane, right-click the container and select Properties.

3. In the Properties dialog box, click Modify.

4. Select domain controllers that you want to exclude from the Available domain controllers list and click Add.

5. Click OK.

Adding AD LDS (ADAM) hosts and instances

You can add AD LDS (ADAM) hosts and instances to a Computer Collection. AD LDS (ADAM) instances available for a selected AD LDS (ADAM) configuration set are located under the Active Directory/AD LDS (ADAM) Configuration Set/All Instances node. To add an AD LDS (ADAM) configuration set to a Computer Collection, you need to connect to AD LDS (ADAM).

To connect to AD LDS (ADAM)

1. In the Recovery Manager Console tree, select the Active Directory node.

2. From the main menu, select Action | Connect to AD LDS (ADAM).

3. In the dialog box that opens, do the following:

   1. In the AD LDS (ADAM) host box, type the full DNS name of the host to which you want to connect.

   2. In the Port number box, type the port number used by AD LDS (ADAM).

   3. In the User name and Password boxes, type the user name and password with which you want to access the AD LDS (ADAM) host. Note that to display these boxes, you may need to click the Options button.

4. When finished, click OK.

To add AD LDS (ADAM) hosts to a particular Computer Collection

1. Right-click the Computer Collection, point to Add, and then click AD LDS (ADAM) Host.

2. In the Select Computers dialog box, enter the names of the AD LDS (ADAM) hosts you want to add or select the hosts from the list and click Add. The Select Computers dialog box allows you to specify multiple AD LDS (ADAM) host names.

Recovery Manager for Active Directory backs up all AD LDS (ADAM) instances hosted on the computer you have added to a Computer Collection.

To add AD LDS (ADAM) instances to a Computer Collection

1. In the Recovery Manager Console tree, expand the appropriate Active Directory/AD LDS (ADAM) Configuration Set node, and then click All Instances.

2. In the details pane, select the instances you want to add. To select multiple instances, hold down CTRL, and click the instances.

3. On the Action menu, click Add to Collection.

4. In the dialog box that opens, select an existing Computer Collection or click New Collection to create and select a new Computer Collection.

5. In the dialog box, click OK.

You can also select a Computer Collection, and then add AD LDS (ADAM) hosts to the selected Collection.