Recovery Manager for AD Disaster Recovery Edition 10.0.1 - User Guide

Setting user account for scheduled tasks

Scheduled tasks are always executed under a particular user account. When scheduling backup creation, you need to specify a user account that has administrator privileges on the Recovery Manager for Active Directory computer as well as on the computers for which you plan to create backups (serviced computers).

When specifying a user account to run a scheduled backup creation task, you should consider whether you have explicitly specified an account for accessing Backup Agent and backup files. To check whether such an account is explicitly specified for a Computer Collection, you can use the Agent Settings tab in the Computer Collection properties. For more information, see Agent Settings tab subsection in Properties for an existing Computer Collection.

The Managed Service Account (in Windows Server 2008 or higher) or Group Managed Service Account (in Windows Server 2012 or higher) can be specified for scheduled tasks in the Computer Collection properties on the Schedule tab or in Task Scheduler.

MSA and gMSA requirements:

• Add the '$' character at the end of the account name (e.g. domain\computername$) and leave the Password field blank.
• The MSA or gMSA account must be a member of the local Administrator group on the Recovery Manager for Active Directory machine.

Table 2: Requirements towards the user account

To specify a user account for a scheduled task

1. Right-click Computer Collection and then click Properties
2. On the Schedule tab, click Modify.

3. On the Triggers dialog, click the New button and specify the task schedule settings, click OK.

4. Click Select Account on the Schedule tab.
5. In the Select Account dialog box, type the user name and password of the account you want to use, and then click OK.

Setting performance options

When creating a backup, Recovery Manager for Active Directory queries its configuration settings about what backup options to use. You specify configuration settings in the Defaults dialog box for the Computer Collections node or a Computer Collection (Computer Collection properties). You can also view and modify the settings being used by the Backup Wizard.

The Properties dialog box includes the Performance tab where you can set a number of backup options related to backup creation performance tuning.

To set performance options

1. Do one of the following:
   • Right-click the Computer Collections node and then click Collection Defaults.
   • Right-click the Computer Collection and then click Properties.
   • Click Advanced on the Completing the Backup Wizard page.
2. In the Properties dialog box, click the Performance tab.
3. To limit the total bandwidth used by backup agents when transferring data over network links, select the Enable bandwidth throttling check box. In Maximum network use, specify the maximum total bandwidth backup agents can use. Use bandwidth throttling to prevent excessive network traffic backup agents may cause creating backups for particular Computer Collections.
4. To limit the percentage of CPU processing time backup agents can use on each computer when creating backups for particular Computer Collections, select the Enable backup agent CPU throttling check box. In Maximum CPU use, specify the maximum percentage of CPU processing time backup agents can use. Use CPU throttling to prevent excessive CPU load backup agents may cause on the computers being backed up.
5. Under Parallel backup tuning, specify the maximum number of computers Recovery Manager for Active Directory services in parallel when creating backups. The default setting is 10 computers. Increasing this number can speed backup creation. However, when Recovery Manager for Active Directory services a number of computers in parallel and the connection is near its limits, network saturation problems may occur. Symptoms of network saturation include slow network response when transferring data by backup agents, and possibly “RPC server unavailable” error messages when connecting to backup agents. If you are experiencing such problems, decrease the number.
6. From the Data compression list, select the compression method backup agents will use when processing 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 the Windows Backup utility (NTBackup), set data compression to None. The Windows Backup utility cannot read backups that were created using data compression. Additionally, to enable the Windows Backup utility to restore data from Recovery Manager for Active Directory backups, you should not use the backup encryption (see Enabling backup encryption). Default settings are used for newly created Computer Collections. By changing properties of a certain Computer Collection, you define the settings specific to that collection. Different Computer Collections may have differing settings.

The Backup Wizard uses default settings unless other settings are specified using the Advanced button on the Completing the Backup Wizard page.

Setting advanced backup options

When creating a backup, Recovery Manager for Active Directory queries its configuration settings about what backup options to use. You specify configuration settings in the Defaults dialog box for the Computer Collections node or a Computer Collection (Computer Collection properties). You can also view and modify the settings being used by the Backup Wizard.

The Properties dialog box includes the Advanced and Agent Settings tabs where you can set a number of advanced backup options.

To set advanced backup options

1. Do one of the following:
   • Right-click the Computer Collections node and then click Collection Defaults.
   • Right-click the Computer Collection and then click Properties.
   • Click Advanced on the Completing the Backup Wizard page.
2. In the Properties dialog box, click the Advanced tab. To have Recovery Manager for Active Directory store copies of backups in an alternate location, select the Store a copy of each backup check box and specify format for the path and name of the backup file. Having an additional instance of each backup stored in an alternate location may be required to ensure the availability of backups. You can also limit the maximum backup session time using the Limit maximum backup time option.
3. In the Properties dialog box, click the Agent Settings tab, and then do the following:
   • To have Recovery Manager for Active Directory initialize Backup Agent using a different account, select the Access back p agent and backup files using the specified account check box and click Select Account to supply the user logon name and password of an account that has administrator privileges on the serviced computers. Using a special account for the Backup Agent initialization may be required when Recovery Manager for Active Directory cannot be configured to run under an account with administrator privileges on the serviced computers.
   • To have the application use preinstalled Backup Agent when backing up the Computer Collection, select the Use preinstalled Backup Agent check box.

Default settings are used for newly created Computer Collections. By changing properties of a certain Computer Collection, you define the settings specific to that collection. Different Computer Collections may have differing settings.

The Backup Wizard uses default settings unless other settings are specified using the Advanced button on the Completing the Backup Wizard page.

Using Forest Recovery Agent

Recovery Manager for Active Directory Disaster Recovery Edition helps you recover the entire Active Directory forest if a forest-wide failure renders all domain controllers in the forest incapable of functioning normally.

To recover an Active Directory forest, Recovery Manager for Active Directory Disaster Recovery Edition employs a Forest Recovery Agent. The Forest Recovery Agent must be installed on each domain controller in the forest before starting a forest recovery operation.

For more information about the agent, see Managing Forest Recovery Agent in the Recovery Manager for Active Directory Disaster Recovery Edition User Guide.