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Recovery Manager for AD 10.2 - User Guide

Overview Getting started
Permissions required to use Recovery Manager for Active Directory Recovery Manager Console Getting and using help Configuring Windows Firewall Using Computer Collections Managing Recovery Manager for Active Directory configuration Licensing
Backing up data
Permissions required for the Backup operation Managing Backup Agent Using a least-privileged user account to back up data Using Managed Service Accounts Active Directory backups vs Windows System State backups Creating BMR and Active Directory backups Using the Backup Wizard Retrying backup creation Enabling backup encryption Backing up AD LDS (ADAM) Backing up cross-domain group membership Backing up distributed file system (DFS) data Backup scheduling Setting performance options Setting advanced backup options Unpacking backups Using e-mail notification Viewing backup creation results
Restoring data
Getting started with Active Directory recovery Managing deleted or recycled objects Restoring backed up Active Directory components Integration with Change Auditor for Active Directory Using granular online restore Restoring AD LDS (ADAM) Selectively restoring Active Directory object attributes Restoring objects in an application directory partition Restoring object quotas Restoring cross-domain group membership Performing a restore without having administrator privileges Reports about objects and operations Using complete offline restore Offline restore implications Restoring SYSVOL authoritatively Performing a granular restore of SYSVOL Recovering Group Policy Restoring data from third-party backups Using the Extract Wizard Restoring passwords and SID history
Full Replication Consolidating backup registration data Monitoring Recovery Manager for Active Directory Using Management Shell Collecting diagnostic data for technical support Using Recovery Manager for Active Directory web portal Appendices
Frequently asked questions Best practices for using Computer Collections Best practices for creating backups Ports Used by Recovery Manager for Active Directory Backup Wizard Online Restore Wizard Online Restore Wizard for AD LDS (ADAM) Group Policy Restore Wizard Repair Wizard Extract Wizard Technical characteristics Events generated by Recovery Manager for Active Directory Descriptions of PowerShell commands
Add-RMADBackup Add-RMADCollectionItem Add-RMADReplicationConsole Add-RMADStorageServer Backup-RMADCollection Compare-RMADObject Convert-RMADBackup ConvertTo-RMADRecycledObject Create-RMADStorageAgentSetup Expand-RMADBackup Export-RMADBackup Export-RMADSecureStorageBackup Get-RMADBackup Get-RMADBackupAgent Get-RMADBackupInfo Get-RMADBackupObject Get-RMADBackupSecurityStatus Get-RMADCollection Get-RMADCollectionItem Get-RMADDeletedObject Get-RMADGlobalOptions Get-RMADLicenseInfo Get-RMADObject Get-RMADReplicationConsole Get-RMADReplicationSchedule Get-RMADReplicationSession Get-RMADReplicationSessionItem Get-RMADReportObject Get-RMADReportObjectAttributes Get-RMADReportObjectChildren Get-RMADReportSession Get-RMADSession Get-RMADSessionItem Get-RMADSessionItemEvent Get-RMADStorageServer Get-RMADStorageServerHardeningStatus Get-RMADStorageServerRetentionPolicy Import-RMADBackup Install-RMADBackupAgent New-RMADCollection New-RMADSchedule Protect-RMADSecureStorageServer Publish-RMADBackupSecurityStatus Refresh-RMADStorageServer Register-RMADSecureStorageBackups Remove-RMADBackup Remove-RMADBackupAgent Remove-RMADCollection Remove-RMADCollectionItem Remove-RMADReplicationConsole Remove-RMADReplicationSchedule Remove-RMADReplicationSession Remove-RMADStorageServer Remove-RMADUnpackedComponent Rename-RMADCollection Restore-RMADDeletedObject Restore-RMADDomainController Restore-RMADObject Set-RMADCollection Set-RMADGlobalOptions Set-RMADReplicationConsole Set-RMADReplicationSchedule Set-RMADStorageServerRetentionPolicy Start-RMADReplication Start-RMADReportViewer Test-RMADSecureStorageBackup Unprotect-RMADStorageServer Update-RMADBackupAgent Update-RMADLicense

Performance tab

The Performance tab is used to configure the throttling and performance tuning settings to be applied when creating backups for the given Computer Collection.

On this tab, you can use the following elements:

  • Enable bandwidth throttling. Limits the total bandwidth used by Backup Agent when transferring data over network links. Use bandwidth throttling to prevent excessive network traffic Backup Agent may cause.

  • Maximum network use. Provides a space for you to specify the maximum total bandwidth Backup Agent can use when transferring data over network links.

  • Enable backup agent CPU throttling. Limits the percentage of CPU processing time Backup Agent can use on each computer.

  • Maximum CPU use. Provides a space for you to specify the maximum percentage of CPU processing time Backup Agent can use on each computer.

  • Create backups on at most <Number> computers in parallel. Specifies the maximum number of computers serviced in parallel when creating backups. Increasing this number can speed backup creation. However, network saturation problems may occur. Symptoms of network saturation include slow network response when transferring data by Backup Agent, and possibly “RPC server unavailable” error messages when connecting to Backup Agent.

  • Data compression. Specifies the compression method Backup Agent uses when processing the data before sending it over network links. Using higher compression reduces network traffic, but increases CPU load on the computers being backed up. If you are planning that backups created with Recovery Manager for Active Directory be used by other MTF-compliant backup tools, set data compression to None.

 

Advanced tab

The Advanced tab is used to configure a number of advanced backup settings.

On this tab, you can use the following elements:

  • Limit maximum backup time This option limits the maximum backup session time.

  • Limit maximum DC backup time This option limits the maximum backup session time for a single DC.

  • Run Scripts This option allows you to customize your environment by running PowerShell scripts before and/or after creating a backup. Custom scripts can be launched either on the Recovery Manager for Active Directory Console machine or on the domain controller side.

    In the Run PowerShell Scripts dialog, the following options can be specified:

    • Run the script before starting the backup - Launches specified PowerShell scripts before the backup creation process is started.

    • Stop the backup if the script fails - Stops the backup process if the script cannot be run without errors.

    • Run the script after backup creation is complete - Launches specified PowerShell scripts after backup is created.

    • Mark the backup as unsuccessful if the script fails - If the script fails, the backup process will be shown as failed with error in the RMAD console.

    • Upload Script - Using this option you can upload an existing PowerShell script file (.ps1). After the script is uploaded, the contents of the script will be displayed in the dialog and you can edit it if necessary.

    • Select Account - Here you can select an account under which the scripts will be running. For the "Console scripts", by default, the account under which the console is launched will be used. For the "DC scripts", there is no default value, and the user has to select an account. Otherwise, the settings will not be saved.

NOTE

If the script is run on a domain controller, we strongly recommend using an account with the minimum rights required only to perform the actions specified in the script.

Resources/Images/Run_PS_scripts.png

NOTE

The "Console scripts" are launched only once for each run of backup creation on the console machine. The "DC scripts" are run on each DC for which the backup is created. If the "script for DC" fails, the corresponding DC will have an error or warning. If the "console script" fails, then all DCs for which the backup process was started will have an error or warning.

Recovery Manager for Active Directory provides an option to set the maximum timeout during which a script can run (the default value is 60 seconds). To change this value, set the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\WOW6432Node\Quest\Recovery Manager for Active Directory\Options\ScriptExecTimeoutInSeconds (DWORD) registry key to <required value>.

Failed script can lead to both Warning and Error results. It depends on the specified settings:

Option Name Scenario 1 Scenario 2 Scenario 3 Scenario 4
Run the script before starting the backup ✔ ✔
Stop the backup if the script fails ✖ ✔
Run the script after backup creation is complete ✔ ✔
Mark the backup as unsuccessful if the script fails ✖ ✔
Result Warning Error Warning Error

Script security

Running scripts can be dangerous - especially on a domain controller. Recovery Manager includes the following security measures for scripts:

  • Scripts are stored in the Recovery Manager database in an encrypted form.
  • Scripts are sent from the Recovery Manager console to the Backup Agent using a secure RPC channel.
  • Scripts are run in memory and no temporary files are created on the disk. When running scripts, the -EncodedCommand parameter of powershell.exe is used.
  • For scripts run on the domain controller, specifying a custom account under which the script will run is required. Using an account with minimum rights is recommended.
  • All scripts have a timeout when running. If the timeout is exceeded, the script will be forcibly stopped.
  • The result of the script running is recorded in the Windows Event Log.

 

Agent Settings tab

NOTE

For Recovery Manager for Active Directory 10.1 or higher: Make sure that you use the Backup Agent version supplied with this release of Recovery Manager for Active Directory.

The Agent Settings tab is used to specify settings for Backup Agent.
The elements of the Agent Settings 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.

Product behavior
When this check box is selected

  • Recovery Manager for Active Directory backs up only those computers where the Backup Agent is preinstalled manually.

  • Recovery Manager for Active Directory does not automatically install the Backup Agent on the computers in the Computer Collection.

When this check box is cleared

  • Recovery Manager for Active Directory 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, Recovery Manager for Active Directory will use that agent to back up data on the computer. Recovery Manager for Active Directory 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 Recovery Manager for Active Directory can back up these DCs.

 

Local Storage tab

When the backup is triggered and any specified backup path is not available, no backup is created, neither in the remote storage nor in the local storage. The backup creation session will fail.

NOTE

Options on this tab are not supported for BMR backups. The BMR backups location is configured on the Remote Storage tab.

This tab includes the following elements:

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

  • Backup file name format. 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 Specify format for backup file name.

  • 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.

  • Store a copy of each backup. Stores a copy of each backup in an alternate location.

  • Specify format for backup file name. Provides a space for you to specify format for paths and names of .bkf files where to store copies of backups. You can use UNC names to store backups in a shared network folder. 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, 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.

 

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