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Recovery Manager for AD Forest Edition 10.3.1 - 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 Hybrid Recovery with On Demand Recovery 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 Using Forest Recovery Agent 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 Recovering an Active Directory forest
Forest recovery overview Deploying Recovery Manager for Active Directory Forest Edition (Disaster Recovery Edition) Permissions required to use Forest Recovery Console Forest Recovery Console Managing a recovery project Recovery methods Phased recovery Managing Forest Recovery Agent Rebooting domain controllers manually Resetting DSRM Administrator Password Purging Kerberos Tickets Managing the Global Catalog servers Managing FSMO roles Manage DNS Client Settings Configuring Windows Firewall Developing a custom forest recovery plan Backing up domain controllers Assigning a preferred DNS server during recovery Handling DNS servers during recovery Forest recovery approaches Deciding which backups to use Running custom scripts while recovering a forest Overview of steps to recover a forest Viewing forest recovery progress Viewing recovery plan Viewing a report about forest recovery or verify settings operation Handling failed domain controllers Adding a domain controller to a running recovery operation Selectively recovering domains in a forest Recovering SYSVOL Deleting domains during recovery Resuming an interrupted forest recovery Recovering read-only domain controllers (RODCs) Checking forest health Collecting diagnostic data for technical support
Using Management Shell Appendices
Frequently asked questions Best practices for using Computer Collections Technical characteristics Best practices for creating backups Best practices for creating backups for forest recovery Best practices for recovering a forest Descriptions of recovery or verification steps Ports Used by Recovery Manager for Active Directory Forest Edition (Disaster Recovery Edition) Backup Wizard Online Restore Wizard Online Restore Wizard for AD LDS (ADAM) Group Policy Restore Wizard Repair Wizard Extract Wizard Events generated by Recovery Manager for Active Directory

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.

  • Parallel backup tuning

    • 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 session 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 domain controller.

  • 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.

  • Diagnostic Logging: - Specify the logging setting for the Recovery Manager and Backup Agents for all domain controllers in the collection.

  • When backing up Global Catalog servers, collect group membership information from all domains within the Active Directory forest - Set by default, this option will collect group membership information from all domains within the Active Directory forest when backing up servers containing the Global Catalog.

  • Run an integrity check after creating a backup - Set by default, this option performs an integrity check when a backup has been completed.

IMPORTANT

When this option is disabled you are at risk of having corrupted backups preventing viable restores when critically needed.

  • Check the integrity of previously created backups after a scheduled backup - Select this option to perform integrity checks of previously created scheduled backups. You can also check previous backups ranging from 1 to 100 sessions (1 is the default).

 

Advanced Scripts

  • Run Scripts

    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.

    • Use the following account to run scripts and 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.

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, edit HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\WOW6432Node\Quest\Recovery Manager for Active Directory\Options\ and create or modify DWORD registry value called ScriptExecTimeoutInSeconds and set it to the 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.

 

Advanced Logging

  • Diagnostic logging - Specify the logging setting for the Recovery Manager and Backup Agents for all domain controllers in the collection.

    The following options are available:

    • Global settings - Use the default logging settings from the Recovery Manager Console root node: Recovery Manager for Active Directory->Settings…>Logging.

    • Enable - If you select this option, extended logging will be enabled for all domain controllers within the collection during the backup operation.

    • Disable - If you select this option, the log will contain only Warnings and Error messages.

    The log files will be created in the %ProgramData%\Quest\Recovery Manager for Active Directory\Logs folder:

    • Agent side (domain controller): ErdAgent.log

    • Recovery Console: ErdServer.log

  • Creating a new set of log files - Specify the creation of new logs for Recovery Manager and Backup Agents for all controllers in the collection.

    Edit the following:

    HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Quest\Recovery Manager for Active Directory\Diagnostics

    Modify or create REG_SZ registry value called LogRotationInterval

    The following options are available:

    • Never - Never create new logs

    • Daily - Create new logs daily.

    • Weekly - Create new logs weekly.

    • Monthly - Create new logs monthly.

 

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