NetVault Bare Metal Recovery 13.1 - User Guide for Plug-ins

The following topic details the procedure required to recover a Plug-in Live Client backup to a physical machine with the same hardware specifications as the machine used for the backup.

Prerequisites for restoring to a physical machine with Plug-in Live Client for Windows

The restore procedure for a Plug-in Live Client backup is a delicate operation. Before setting up and running a restore, the following prerequisites must be met.

BitLocker volumes

Volumes that are encrypted using BitLocker on Windows Server 2012 clients and later lose encryption after restore. If you are using BitLocker, enable encryption again when you restore the machine.

Shadow copies for Windows

Windows uses VSS persistent snapshots to implement shadow copies in Windows Server 2012 and later. When restored, Windows does not properly recognize these shadow copies. They can become orphaned and consume disk space.

Microsoft does not recommend backing up shadow copies. However, the Plug-in Live Client performs backups at the block level so there is no way to prevent the backup of snapshot files. Manually delete the snapshot files and enable shadow copies on the recovered volume again.

For instructions on deleting shadow copies, see: http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc776119.aspx

For instructions on enabling shadow copies, see: http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc776483.aspx

In addition, Quest recommends limiting the amount of space allocated to shadow copies to 300 megabytes (MB). This step deletes the cache files. Alternatively, disable shadow copies.

For more information on Microsoft-recommended best practices for shadow copies, see: http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc753975.aspx

Windows disk management

Windows Server 2012 and later automatically assigns drive letters to new-found partitions following a restore. This behavior can be controlled by using the diskpart.exe command. For more information, see http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc773140.aspx.

Ensure that device filenames match

The target device name on the NetVault Bare Metal Recovery Client, for example, “Disk 0 (IDE),” must be the same as it was at the time of backup.

Boot the NetVault Bare Metal Recovery Client with Plug-in Offline Client

Boot the target NetVault Bare Metal Recovery Client with the Plug-in Offline Client to prepare it for the restore of a DR image. To complete the boot routine, perform the steps covered in Booting a NetVault Bare Metal Recovery Client with Plug-in Offline Client.

Verify access to the target NetVault Bare Metal Recovery Client

The NetVault Bare Metal Recovery Client machine that is to serve as a target for the restore must be accessible to the Plug-in Server. The topic that follows outlines the required steps for this verification.


	NOTE: Quest recommends that the target machine for the restore has the same hardware configuration as the original machine.

With the NetVault Bare Metal Recovery Client booted with Plug-in Offline Client, access the NetVault Server, and start the NetVault WebUI.

Access the NetVault Backup window to verify that the applicable client machine has been added as a NetVault Bare Metal Recovery Client.

Open the Plug-in Server to reveal existing clients.

Locate and right-click the applicable NetVault Bare Metal Recovery Client, and select Edit from the menu.

When the Edit Bare Metal Recovery Client dialog box is displayed, verify that the data is correct or change it as required.

If the NetVault Bare Metal Recovery Client is added correctly, continue to the next topic, Restore procedure for restoring data with Plug-in Live Client; otherwise, proceed to the following step.

Add the applicable NetVault Bare Metal Recovery Client.

For detailed instructions, see Adding a NetVault Bare Metal Recovery Client to the Plug-in Server for use with Plug-in Live Client.

Close the NetVault Backup window of the Plug-in Server, and continue to the Restore procedure for restoring data with Plug-in Live Client topic.

Restore procedure for restoring data with Plug-in Live Client

The following topics illustrate how to restore a Plug-in Live Client backup to a physical machine.

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Selecting data for a restore with Plug-in Live Client

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Setting restore options for restoring data with Plug-in Live Client

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Finalizing and submitting the job for restoring data with Plug-in Live Client

Selecting data for a restore with Plug-in Live Client

With the NetVault Bare Metal Recovery Client booted with Plug-in Offline Client, access the NetVault Server, and start the NetVault WebUI.

In the Navigation pane, click Create Restore Job.

On the Create Restore Job — Choose Saveset page, select Plug-in Server from the Plugin Type list.

To filter the items displayed in the saveset table further, use the Client, Date, and Job ID lists.

The table displays the saveset name (job title and saveset ID), creation date and time, and size. By default, the list is sorted by creation date.

In the saveset table, locate the applicable client, and select the applicable item.

When you select a saveset, the following details are displayed in the Saveset Information area: Job ID, job title, server name, client name, plug-in name, saveset date and time, retirement setting, Incremental Backup or not, Archive or not, saveset size, and snapshot-based backup or not.

When the backed-up NetVault Bare Metal Recovery Client machine is displayed, double-click it to open it and list the disks that were backed up.

On the Create Selection Set page, locate each applicable disk, and click the box to its left to select it for a restore.

You can also expand each disk to view its contents. To open the applicable disk, double-click it. With a disk open, individual items can be selected for restore if desired. Selectable items for a restore consist of:

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Master Boot Record and System Partition

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Individual Partitions

Click Next.

Setting restore options for restoring data with Plug-in Live Client

On the Create Selection Set page, click

, and select Physical Machine — the default — as the Restore Type.

When Physical Machine is selected, the Physical Recovery Options frame containing the Restore Name field is shown. The default is the NetVault name for the NetVault Bare Metal Recovery Client from which this backup was originally performed (based on the saveset selected on the Create Selection Set page). This name is associated with the client created under the Plug-in Server. You can use this field to relocate restored data to a standby NetVault Bare Metal Recovery Client, if necessary. For complete details on this procedure and the use of this option, see Using Plug-in Offline Client to recover data to a standby NetVault Bare Metal Recovery Client.

For Windows, select the applicable driver-related options; these options support using different hardware during a restore:

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Inject Boot-Critical Device Driver: If you are restoring to different hardware that also uses a different mass storage controller, select this option. After you select this option, the Boot-Critical Driver Directory and Driver Injection Only options are available.

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Boot-Critical Driver Directory: If you selected the Inject Boot-Critical Device Driver option, enter the complete path to the local drive where the drivers for the mass storage controller are stored.

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Driver Injection Only: If you previously completed a restore but pointed to an incorrect location in the Boot-Critical Driver Directory field, select this option to run the driver-injection portion of the restore process again. This option eliminates the need to restore the data again, but lets you inject the correct drivers. Check that you enter the correct path in the Boot-Critical Driver Directory field. By default, the Inject Boot-Critical Device Driver option remains selected; do not clear it as this option prevents the Driver Injection Only option from working.

Finalizing and submitting the job for restoring data with Plug-in Live Client

The final steps include setting additional options on the Schedule, Source Options, and Advanced Options pages, submitting the job, and monitoring the progress through the Job Status and View Logs pages. These pages and options are common to all NetVault Plug-ins. For more information, see the Quest NetVault Administrator’s Guide.

To save the settings, click Ok, and then click Next.

In Job Name, specify a name for the job if you do not want to use the default setting.

Assign a descriptive name that lets you easily identify the job when monitoring its progress. The job name can contain alphanumeric and non-alphanumeric characters, but it cannot include non-English characters. On Windows, there is no length restriction; however, a maximum of 40 characters is recommended.

In the Target Client list, select the NetVault Server from the list of machines; restores of Plug-in Live Client backups must be routed through the NetVault Server.


	TIP: You can also click Choose, and then locate and select the applicable client in the Choose the Target Client dialog box.

This step sets the chosen machine as the intended target. This setting works in tandem with the Restore Name option to route the restore properly.

Use the Schedule and Advanced Options lists to configure any additional required options.

Click Save or Save & Submit, whichever is applicable.

You can monitor progress on the Job Status page and view the logs on the View Logs page. For more information, see the Quest NetVault Administrator’s Guide.

NOTE: Be aware of the following:

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When entering a name in the Restore Name field, ensure that the value used is the NetVault machine name for the target machine, taking case sensitivity into account. The NetVault machine name can be found in the Manage Clients page.

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As mentioned earlier, route a restore of this type through the NetVault Server to use its locally installed Plug-in Server components. This step writes all restored data to the machine named in the Restore Name field, not to the NetVault Server.

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If you select either of the inject driver-related options, NetVault Bare Metal Recovery attempts to inject the drivers into every disk during the restore process.

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After you restore the system, it displays the Windows Error Recovery screen when it is started the first time. This behavior is expected, and you can opt to start Windows normally.

Restoring data as a VMDK Image with Plug-in Live Client for Windows

The following topic details the procedures required to recover a Plug-in Live Client backup to a VMDK Image, which you can then attach to a VM created from a VMware. This process lets you convert the backup of a physical machine to a VM.

Plug-in Server must be installed on the NetVault Server.

This procedure includes the steps outlined in the following topics:

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Selecting data for a restore as a VMDK Image with Plug-in Live Client for Windows

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Setting restore options for a restore as a VMDK Image with Plug-in Live Client for Windows

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Finalizing and submitting the job for a restore as a VMDK Image with Plug-in Live Client for Windows

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Creating the VM for a restore as a VMDK Image with Plug-in Live Client for Windows