Recovery Manager for AD Forest Edition 10.2.1 - User Guide

Backup tab

On this tab, you can use the following elements:

• Backup type. There are two backup types available:

1. Standard (Active Directory). Select this option to create a standard Active Directory backup.
2. Full (Bare Metal Recovery). Select this option to create Bare Metal Recovery Backup. The storage for BMR backups is specified on the Remote Storage tab. Bare Metal backups require Recovery Manager for Active Directory Disaster Recovery Edition license.

• Encrypt and protect backups with password. Select this option to encrypt backups and protect them with a password. You will be prompted to specify a password for backup protection immediately after you select this check box.

  When restoring data from a password-protected backup, Recovery Manager for Active Directory prompts you to type the corresponding password. The password you specify using this option is case-sensitive and can contain any combination of letters, numerals, spaces, and symbols. If you forget or lose the password, you cannot use the corresponding password-protected backup.

• Set Password. Click this button to modify the password for backup protection.

• Backup description. Provides a space for you to enter an optional description of the backup. The description may include expressions such as %COMPUTERNAME% or %DATETIME%.

Local Storage tab

This tab includes the following elements:

• Save Backups on the Recovery Manager console computer. Select this check box to save backup files on the Recovery Manager for Active Directory computer. Enter the location for backup files in the Primary Backup Path box. If you specify a UNC share, backup files will be streamed to that share via the Recovery Manager for Active Directory computer.

• Primary Backup Path. Use the provided space to specify format for paths and names of .bkf files where to store backups. The path format may include optional expressions that enable the automatic creation of subfolders. The file name format may also include expressions. For example, you might specify C:\DIRNAME\%COMPUTERNAME%\%DATETIME%. As a result, backups for different computers will be saved in separate subfolders. In addition, the file name of each backup will be composed of the date and time of the backup creation.

• Expression. Click this button to specify optional path and file name notations in Backup file name format. You can choose the following expressions:

  • Default backup storage (%BACKUPS%). Path to the default backup storage folder. The default path is as follows: %AllUsersProfile%\Application Data\Quest\Recovery Manager for Active Directory\Backups.

  • Domain (%DOMAIN%). Name of the home domain of the computer being backed up.

  • Computer name (%COMPUTERNAME%). Name of the computer being backed up.

  • Date and Time (%DATETIME%). Date and time of the backup creation.

• Browse. Click this button to locate the folder where backups are to be stored.

• Sample path and file name matching the specified format. View an example of the path and file name that matches the format string supplied in Primary Backup Path.

• Additional backup path(optional). Select this checkbox to store a copy of each backup in an additional location.

• Sample path and file name matching the specified format. View an example of the path and file name that matches the format string supplied in Additional backup path(optional).

  As a result, copies of backups for different computers will be saved in separate subfolders. In addition, the file name of each backup will be composed of the date and time of the backup creation.

• For each computer, delete all backups except the last <Number>. Select this check box to retain a number of backups for each computer. Specify the number of backups to maintain. It is recommended to configure a backup retention policy to maintain backups created in the last two weeks. If you create backups on a daily basis specify 14 to maintain backups for each domain controller for two weeks.

  This check box can be selected only when Recovery Manager for Active Directory stores backups separately. To ensure that Recovery Manager for Active Directory does so, add the %DATETIME% expression to the path or file name in the Backup file name format box.

Remote Storage tab

This tab includes the following elements:

• Save backups on the backed up DC or a UNC share. Select this check box to save backup files either on the domain controller being backed up or on the Universal Naming Convention (UNC) share you specify. Enter the location for backup files. If you specify a UNC share, backup files will be directly streamed to that share from Backup Agent installed on the DC being backed up. Backup Agent accesses the DC being backed up and/or the specified UNC share under the account specified on the Agent tab.

• Primary Backup path. Use the provided space to specify format for paths and names of files where to store backups. If you want to store backups on remote computers, the path must include UNC names. The path format may include optional expressions that enable the automatic creation of subfolders. The file name format may also include expressions. For example, you might specify \\RemoteHost\ShareName\%COMPUTERNAME%\%DATETIME%.

• Expression. Click this button to specify path and file name notations in Backup path or Alternative backup path (optional). You can choose the following expressions:

  • Domain (%DOMAIN%). Name of the home domain of the computer being backed up.

  • Computer name (%COMPUTERNAME%). Name of the computer being backed up.

  • Date and Time (%DATETIME%). Date and time of the backup creation.

• Sample path and file name matching the specified format. View an example of the path and file name that matches the format string supplied in Backup path or Alternative backup path (optional).

• Additional backup path (optional).

• Use the following account to access the backup storage. Allows you to explicitly specify a user account that will be used to access the backup storage. This option lets you work with network shares from different security realms, such as Azure Files or Linux shares.

• For each computer, delete all backups except the last (Number). Select this check box to retain a number of backups for each computer. Specify the number of backups to maintain. It is recommended to configure a backup retention policy to maintain backups created in the last two weeks . If you create backups on a daily basis specify 14 to maintain backups for each domain controller for two weeks.

  This check box can be selected only when Recovery Manager for Active Directory stores backups separately. To ensure that Recovery Manager for Active Directory does so, add the %DATETIME% expression to the path or file name in the Backup file name format box.

Agent Settings tab

The Agent tab is used to specify settings for Backup Agent and Forest Recovery Agent.

The elements of the Agent tab are defined as follows:

• Use the following account to access Backup Agent. Allows you to explicitly specify a user account under which you want the Recovery Manager Console to access Backup Agent. When this check box is cleared, the Recovery Manager Console uses the account under which it is running to access Backup Agent. To explicitly specify a user account, select this check box, and then click Select Account to specify the account credentials.

• Use preinstalled Backup Agent. Allows you to enable or disable the automatic installation of the Backup Agent. The next table explains how Recovery Manager for Active Directory behaves when this check box is selected or cleared.

When the check box Use preinstalled Backup Agent is selected the product will have the following behavior:

• RMAD backs up only those computers where the Backup Agent is preinstalled manually.

• RMAD does not automatically install the Backup Agent on the computers in the Computer Collection.

• RMAD automatically installs the Backup Agent before backing up a computer where the agent is not preinstalled manually.

• When the backup operation completes, Recovery Manager for Active Directory removes the automatically installed Backup Agent.

• If the Backup Agent was manually preinstalled on the computer to be backed up, RMAD will use that agent to back up data on the computer. RMAD does not remove preinstalled Backup Agent after the backup operation completes

For more information on how to install, update, and uninstall the Backup Agent or discover the Backup Agent instances that were manually preinstalled in your environment, see Managing Backup Agent.

• Automatically configure Windows Firewall. Select this check box to have Recovery Manager for Active Directory automatically configure Windows Firewall on target Windows Server 2008-based or Windows Server 2012-based DCs, so that RMAD can back up these DCs.

• Ensure Forest Recovery Agent is deployed. Select this check box if you want the application to verify whether Forest Recovery Agent is installed on each domain controller the Collection includes. The application reinstalls Forest Recovery Agent, if necessary. For more information, see Using Forest Recovery Agent.