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Recovery Manager for AD Disaster Recovery Edition 10.0.1 - User Guide

Overview Backing up data
Permissions required for the Backup operation Managing Backup Agent Using a least-privileged user account to back up data Creating backups 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 Getting started
Permissions required to use Recovery Manager for Active Directory Recovery Manager Console Icons in the user interface Getting and using help Configuring Windows Firewall Using Computer Collections Managing Recovery Manager for Active Directory configuration Licensing
Restoring data
Getting started with Active Directory recovery Managing deleted or recycled objects Restoring backed up System State components 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
Fault tolerance Consolidating backup registration data Monitoring Recovery Manager for Active Directory Recovering an Active Directory forest
Permissions required to use Forest Recovery Console Forest Recovery Console Managing a recovery project Install Active Directory from Media recovery method Install Active Directory recovery method Managing Forest Recovery Agent Rebooting domain controllers manually Specifying fallback IP addresses to access a domain controller Resetting DSRM Administrator Password Purging Kerberos Tickets Managing the Global Catalog servers Managing FSMO roles Manage DNS Client Settings Configuring Windows Firewall Forest recovery overview 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
Bare metal forest recovery Using Management Shell Creating virtual test environments Using Recovery Manager for Active Directory web interface Appendices
Frequently asked questions Best practices for creating backups for forest recovery Best practices for recovering a forest Descriptions of recovery or verification steps 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

Recovering Group Policy

With Recovery Manager for Active Directory, you can selectively restore Group Policy information from normal System State backups of domain controllers.

To restore Group Policy information

  • Start the Group Policy Restore Wizard and follow the instructions in the wizard.

The Group Policy Restore Wizard helps you recover Group Policy objects and links deleted or modified since the last backup. The wizard operates in online mode and does not require restarting the domain controller. The wizard also enables the migration of Group Policy objects between domains.

Group Policy Restore allows you to roll back changes made to Group Policy information, and return individual Group Policy objects to the state they were in when the backup was created. It is important to note that a Group Policy Restore only affects the object selected for recovery, and optionally, the links to that object. Any objects that are not involved in the operation remain unchanged in the domain.

For this type of restore, it is not necessary to create any special backups; you may use any regular backup of a domain controller’s System State.

After Recovery Manager for Active Directory completes Group Policy Restore on the target domain controller, the restored Group Policy objects and links are replicated to the other domain controllers through the normal replication process. The previously erased or modified Group Policy information is ignored during replication, because the restored data appears to be more recent.

Group Policy Restore Wizard overview

The wizard lets you choose the backup source domain and lists System State backups of domain controllers of that domain. You select a backup from the list on the Backup Selection page, or click Register to register additional backups. The wizard then unpacks the backup, preparing backup data for further use.

After the backup data preparation is completed, the wizard prompts you to choose the target domain controller and lists all Group Policy objects that are in the backup. To have the wizard compare the state of Group Policy objects in the backup with their state on that domain controller, click Compare All. After the wizard performs the comparison, the State in AD column indicates a state of each object, shown as ‘Different’, ‘Identical’, or ‘Deleted’. You can select the object you want the wizard to restore.

Then, the wizard prompts you to choose whether to restore policy settings in the Group Policy objects, security settings on the objects, or both, and asks about how to process links to the selected Group Policy objects.

Finally, the wizard informs you about the changes to be made to the Group Policy and allows you to start the restore process or step back to modify the restore options.

Restoring data from third-party backups

Recovery Manager for Active Directory provides for restoration of Active Directory data from backups created by other applications if these backups are stored in Microsoft Tape Format (MTF). Such backups of domain controllers' System State can be created, for example, Veritas Backup Exec. Depending on your needs, you can use the Online Restore Wizard, the Group Policy Restore Wizard, the Repair Wizard, or the Extract Wizard to restore data.

To restore data from backups created by other applications

  1. Start the wizard you want to use and follow the instructions in the wizard.
  2. To register a backup in the Online Restore Wizard or the Group Policy Restore Wizard, on the Backup Selection page, click Register, and then click one from the following items:
    • Register Backup File. Registers a Microsoft Tape Format (MTF)-compliant backup file (.bkf).
    • Register Backups in Folder. Registers all backup files that are in the selected folder.
    • Register Offline Active Directory Database. Registers Active Directory database (ntds.dit file) unpacked from a backup created with third-party backup tools.

To register a backup in the Repair Wizard, on the Computer and Backup Selection page, click Register, and then click one from the above-listed items.

  1. Select the newly registered backup and follow the wizard instructions to walk through the restore process.

Snapshot backups (that is, backups created using the Volume Shadow Copy service) are not supported by the Repair Wizard. By default, Veritas Backup Exec 9.0 or later uses the Volume Shadow Copy service when creating System State backups. However, you can restore Active Directory data from snapshot backups using the Online Restore Wizard and Group Policy Restore Wizard. The Extract Wizard also supports snapshot backups.

Using the Extract Wizard

The Extract Wizard allows you to restore previously backed up files to a specified folder (an alternate location).

Restoring backed up files to an alternate location allows you to use the files as a standalone data source, or to replace existing files on a given computer. The wizard lets you select a backup, choose the components to be extracted from that backup, and specify the destination folder. Then, the wizard guides you through the extract operation.

The Extract Wizard can help you to perform an authoritative restore of the SYSVOL. For more information, see Restoring SYSVOL authoritatively.

Also you can use the Extract Wizard in conjunction with the Install from Media (IFM) feature of Windows to create a domain controller. IFM allows you to create an additional domain controller using a restored backup of another domain controller. The restored backup can be held on any backup media (tape, CD, or DVD) or on a shared network resource. A restored backup makes it possible to set up an additional domain controller in an existing domain without replicating the entire directory database to the new domain controller.

With the Extract Wizard, you can restore a backup of a domain controller’s System State to a specified folder. Then, using the restored backup files, you can create a new domain controller, as described in the following sections:

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