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Recovery Manager for AD Disaster Recovery Edition 10.1 - 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 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 Monitoring Recovery Manager for Active Directory 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
Restore Active Directory on Clean OS Bare metal forest recovery Using Management Shell Creating virtual test environments Using Recovery Manager for Active Directory web portal 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 Descriptions of PowerShell commands
Add-RMADBackup Add-RMADCollectionItem Add-RMADFEComputer Add-RMADReplicationConsole Add-RMADStorageServer Backup-RMADCollection Close-RMADFEProject Compare-RMADObject Convert-RMADBackup ConvertTo-RMADRecycledObject Create-RMADStorageManagementAgentSetup Expand-RMADBackup Export-RMADBackup Export-RMADFERecoveryCertificate Export-RMADFEResult Get-RMADBackup Get-RMADBackupAgent Get-RMADBackupInfo Get-RMADBackupObject Get-RMADBackupSecurityStatus Get-RMADCollection Get-RMADCollectionItem Get-RMADDeletedObject Get-RMADFEComputer Get-RMADFEConsole Get-RMADFEDnsCache Get-RMADFEDomain Get-RMADFEEvent Get-RMADFEGlobalOptions Get-RMADFEOperation Get-RMADFEPersistenceConnection Get-RMADFEProject Get-RMADFERecoveryAgent Get-RMADFESchedule 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-RMADStorageServers Import-RMADBackup Import-RMADFERecoveryCertificate Install-RMADBackupAgent Install-RMADFERecoveryAgent New-RMADCollection New-RMADFEProject New-RMADFERecoveryMedia New-RMADSchedule Open-RMADFEProject Publish-RMADBackupSecurityStatus Remove-RMADBackup Remove-RMADBackupAgent Remove-RMADCollection Remove-RMADCollectionItem Remove-RMADFEComputer Remove-RMADFERecoveryAgent Remove-RMADFESchedule Remove-RMADReplicationConsole Remove-RMADReplicationSchedule Remove-RMADReplicationSession Remove-RMADStorageServer Remove-RMADUnpackedComponent Rename-RMADCollection Restore-RMADDeletedObject Restore-RMADDomainController Restore-RMADObject Resume-RMADFERecovery Save-RMADFEProject Set-RMADCollection Set-RMADFEComputer Set-RMADFEDnsCache Set-RMADFEDomain Set-RMADFEGlobalOptions Set-RMADFEPersistenceConnection Set-RMADFERecoveryMode Set-RMADFESchedule Set-RMADGlobalOptions Set-RMADReplicationConsole Set-RMADReplicationSchedule Start-RMADFERecovery Start-RMADFEVerification Start-RMADReplication Start-RMADReportViewer Stop-RMADFEWorkflow Update-RMADBackupAgent Update-RMADFEProject Update-RMADLicense

Recovering Group Policy

Recovery Manager for Active Directory enables the recovery of Group Policy data from corruption or inadvertent modification, which can be caused by either hardware failure or human error.

Resources/Images/5_UG.png

Figure: Group Policy Recovery

If specific Group Policy objects or links are inadvertently deleted or modified, they can be restored from a backup of a domain controller’s Active Directory components, without restoring the entire Active Directory, restarting the domain controller, or affecting other objects.

Recovery Manager for Active Directory includes the following options for Group Policy recovery:

  • Policy settings restore. If the Group Policy object was modified since the backup was created, this option restores all policy settings to the state they were in at the time of the backup. If the Group Policy object was deleted, this option creates a new object with the same name and policy settings as the backed-up object.

  • Security settings restore. Restores all security information contained in the Group Policy object. As a result, all users and security groups receive the access permissions that were specified in the Group Policy object at the time it was backed up.

  • GPO links restore. Restores all links associated with the Group Policy object to the state they were in at the time the backup was created. As a result, the object is once again used by the same sites, domains, and organizational units that were linked to it at the time the backup was created.

  • Comparison reports. Shows whether Group Policy object was deleted or modified since the backup time.

You can use any combination of these options. For example, suppose some links to a Group Policy object are accidentally deleted. If your backup contains an outdated version of the Group Policy object, you can restore only the links, without restoring the policy settings or security settings.

Group Policy restore

To eliminate downtime when recovering Group Policy, Recovery Manager for Active Directory provides the Group Policy Restore method. This method allows individual Group Policy objects to be restored to a selected domain controller. The operation can be performed on any domain controller that can be accessed remotely. Using this method, domain controllers do not need to be restarted, and only those objects selected for recovery are affected.

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

A Group Policy Restore is particularly helpful when critical Group Policy objects or links have been inadvertently deleted or changed. To recover from such situations, you may carry out a Group Policy Restore to a domain controller using a Active Directory backup that was created before the objects in question were deleted or modified.

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.

 

Comparison reports

Recovery Manager for Active Directory provides comparison reports to assist with isolating deletion or changes to Active Directory or AD LDS (ADAM), and troubleshooting the resulting problems. These reports are based on per-attribute comparisons of Active Directory, AD LDS (ADAM), or Group Policy objects selected from a backup, with their counterparts in Active Directory, AD LDS (ADAM), or another backup.

By comparing the state of the directory objects or Group Policy objects in Active Directory with those in a backup, comparison reports improve the efficiency of recovering objects, by allowing you to specify precisely which objects should be restored.

By showing the changes that would be made to Active Directory or AD LDS (ADAM) during a restore operation, comparison reports help to highlight possible side effects that could result from restoring data. If such side effects are indicated in the report, you may then reconsider whether to apply the changes to the “live” directory data.

Comparison reports may also be used to monitor changes that occurred in Active Directory or AD LDS (ADAM) since the backup was created, or within the period between two backups. Comparison reports assist with troubleshooting Active Directory, and resolving problems that may result from the deletion of critical objects in Active Directory. The reports also help you monitor changes made to Active Directory or AD LDS (ADAM) by third party applications.

The ability to compare the current state of objects in Active Directory or AD LDS (ADAM) with their state in a backup helps when troubleshooting problems that may result from the deletion or modification of a user account or an Organizational Unit, or modification of more critical objects. Comparison reports show whether critical objects were deleted or modified since a backup was made.

The deletion of critical objects such as a domain controller’s computer account or the "NTDS Settings" object is one of the most common causes of Active Directory problems.

Other critical, equally sensitive objects include all objects in the System container, such as FRS subscription objects, trusted domain objects (TDO), and DNS objects. By comparing the current state of objects in the System container with the state of the objects in a backup, it is possible to isolate problems that result from the absence or incorrect modification of critical objects.

Recovery Manager for Active Directory serves as a valuable tool when implementing a change management process. The importance of testing changes to Active Directory is paramount, whether you are changing configurations, installing new software, or implementing service packs and patches. The product has the ability to report changes, and if necessary, roll back changes made to Active Directory. This improves the effectiveness of testing application deployment scenarios in a laboratory environment, and monitoring changes made to Active Directory by third-party applications.

 

Getting started

 

Permissions required to use Recovery Manager for Active Directory

Note

From version 8.8, Recovery Manager for Active Directory supports environments with disabled NTLM authentication and the Protected Users security group.

The following user account permissions are required to perform some common tasks with Recovery Manager for Active Directory.

Install Recovery Manager for Active Directory

The account must be a member of the local Administrators group on the computer where you want to install Recovery Manager for Active Directory. If during the installation you specify an existing SQL Server instance, the account with which Recovery Manager for Active Directory connects to that instance must have the following permissions on the instance:

  • Create Database

  • Create Table

  • Create Procedure

  • Create Function

Open and use the Recovery Manager Console

The account must be a member of the local Administrators group on the computer where the Recovery Manager Console is installed. The account must also have the following permissions on the SQL Server instance used by Recovery Manager for Active Directory:

  • Insert

  • Delete

  • Update

  • Select

  • Execute

Preinstall Backup Agent manually

The account you use to access the target computer must be a member of the local Administrators group on that computer.

Upgrade Backup Agent

The account you use to access the target computer must be a member of the local Administrators group on that computer.

Discover preinstalled Backup Agent instances

The account used to access the target domain controllers must:

  • Have the Write permission on the folder %AllUsersProfile%\Application Data\Quest\Recovery Manager for Active Directory that is located on the Recovery Manager for Active Directory computer.

  • Be a member of the Backup Operators group on each target domain controller.

Uninstall Backup Agent

The account used to access the target domain controllers must:

  • Have the Write permission on the folder %AllUsersProfile%\Application Data\Quest\Recovery Manager for Active Directory that is located on the Recovery Manager for Active Directory computer.

  • Be a member of the Backup Operators group on each target domain controller.

Update information displayed about Backup Agent in the Recovery Manager Console

The account used to access the target domain controllers must:

  • Have the Write permission on the folder %AllUsersProfile%\Application Data\Quest\Recovery Manager for Active Directory that is located on the Recovery Manager for Active Directory computer.

  • Be a member of the Backup Operators group on each target domain controller.

Automatically install Backup Agent and back up Active Directory data

To automatically install Backup Agent, the account must have:

  • Write permission on the folder %AllUsersProfile%\Application Data\Quest\Recovery Manager for Active Directory located on the Recovery Manager for Active Directory computer.

  • Local Administrator permissions on the target domain controller.

To back up data, the account must be a member of the Backup Operators group on the target domain controller.

Back up Active Directory using preinstalled Backup Agent

The account used to access the target domain controllers must:

  • Have the Write permission on the folder %AllUsersProfile%\Application Data\Quest\Recovery Manager for Active Directory that is located on the Recovery Manager for Active Directory computer.

  • Be a member of the Backup Operators group on each domain controller to be backed up.

Perform a complete offline restore of Active Directory by using the Repair Wizard

If you restore data to a domain controller where User Account Control (UAC) is not installed or disabled:

  • The account you use to access the domain controller must be a member of the Domain Admins group.

If you restore data to a domain controller where User Account Control (UAC) is enabled:

  • The account you use to access the domain controller must be the built-in Administrator on that computer.

In both these cases, the account you use to access the domain controller must have the Write permission on the folder %AllUsersProfile%\Application Data\Quest\Recovery Manager for Active Directory located on the Recovery Manager for Active Directory computer.

Perform a selective online restore of Active Directory objects

Agentless restore (used by default in Online Restore Wizard)

The account used to access target domain controllers must have:

  • Write permission on the folder %AllUsersProfile%\Application Data\Quest\Recovery Manager for Active Directory that is located on the Recovery Manager for Active Directory computer.

  • Reanimate Tombstones extended right in the domain where objects are to be restored.

  • Write permission on each object attribute to be updated during the restore.

  • Create All Child Objects permission on the destination container.

  • List Contents permission on the Deleted Objects container in the domain where objects are to be restored.

For more details, see Agentless method.

Agent-based restore

  • The account used to access target domain controllers must have domain administrator rights.

For more details, see Agent-based method.

Restore a Group Policy object

The account used to access the target domain controller must:

  • Be a member of the Group Policy Creator Owners group.

  • Have Full Control privilege on the Group Policy object.

  • Be a member of the Backup Operators group.

  • Have sufficient permissions to read/write Active Directory objects linked to the Group Policy object.

Automatically install Backup Agent and back up an AD LDS (ADAM) instance

The account used to access the computer hosting the instance must:

  • Have the Write permission on the folder %AllUsersProfile%\Application Data\Quest\Recovery Manager for Active Directory that is located on the Recovery Manager for Active Directory computer.

  • Be a member of the local Administrators group on the computer hosting the AD LDS (ADAM) instance

Back up an AD LDS (ADAM) instance using preinstalled Backup Agent

The account used to access the computer hosting the instance must:

  • Have the Write permission on the folder %AllUsersProfile%\Application Data\Quest\Recovery Manager for Active Directory located on the Recovery Manager for Active Directory computer.

  • Be a member of the local Administrators group on the computer hosting the AD LDS (ADAM) instance.

Restore an AD LDS (ADAM) instance

The account used to access the computer hosting the instance must:

  • Have the Write permission on the folder %AllUsersProfile%\Application Data\Quest\Recovery Manager for Active Directory located on the Recovery Manager for Active Directory computer.

  • Be a member of the local Administrators group on the computer hosting the AD LDS (ADAM) instance.

Install or uninstall Recovery Manager Portal

To install the Recovery Manager Portal, you can use a domain user account, MSA, or gMSA account that is a member of the local Administrators group on the target computer. All account requirements and limitations are described in the table below, where

  • Step 1. Access web site - user account that is specified on the "Specify Web Site Settings" step of the Recovery Manager Portal setup wizard.

  • Step 2. Create a database on the SQL server instance - user account that is specified on the "Specify Preinstalled SQL Server Instance" step of the Recovery Manager Portal setup wizard.

  • Step 3. Access a database on the SQL server instance - user account that is specified on the "Specify SQL Server Access Account" step of the Recovery Manager Portal setup wizard.

Step 1. Access web site Step 2. Create a database on the SQL server instance Step 3. Access the database on the SQL server instance Supported or not
AD user Windows authentication (dbcreator) Windows authentication any type of user NOT Supported
Windows authentication (dbcreator) SQL authentication any type of user Supported
SQL authentication (dbcreator) Windows authentication any type of user NOT Supported
SQL authentication (dbcreator) SQL authentication any type of user Supported
Windows authentication (sysadmin) Windows authentication any type of user Supported
Windows authentication (sysadmin) SQL authentication any type of user Supported
SQL authentication (dbcreator) Windows authentication any type of user Supported
SQL authentication (dbcreator) SQL authentication any type of user Supported
MSA/gMSA Windows authentication (dbcreator) Windows authentication MSA/gMSA NOT Supported
SQL authentication (dbcreator) Windows authentication MSA/gMSA NOT Supported
Windows authentication (sysadmin) Windows authentication MSA/gMSA Supported
SQL authentication (sysadmin) Windows authentication MSA/gMSA Supported

Access Recovery Manager Remote API Access service

To access a Recovery Manager for Active Directory instance, the Recovery Manager Portal requires the Recovery Manager Remote API Access service to be installed and running on the Recovery Manager for Active Directory computer. This service enables the following Recovery Manager for Active Directory features: integration with Recovery Manager Portal, full replication of RMAD console, consolidation of backup information and support for hybrid environment.

For information about minimum permission requirements for the service, refer Step 1: Install Recovery Manager Remote API Access Service.

Start and use the Recovery Manager Portal

Recovery Manager Portal can be run under Managed Service Account (in Windows Server 2008 or higher) or Group Managed Service Account (in Windows Server 2012 or higher). If you specify the MSA or gMSA account, add the '$' character at the end of the account name (e.g. domain\computername$) and leave the Password field blank (on the Specify Web Site Settings step of the wizard).

For more details about required permissions, see the Install or uninstall Recovery Manager Portal section above.

For more information about MSA/gMSA, see Using Managed Service Accounts.

To perform restore or undelete operation in Recovery Manager Portal

User must be a member of the "Recovery Manager Portal - Recovery Operators" security group on the computer where the Recovery Manager Portal is installed.

If you want to use the agentless recovery method, select the Configure a list of delegates that can perform the restore and undelete operations option on the Portal Settings tab. For more information about delegation, see Delegating restore or undelete permissions.

To perform the undelete operation in Recovery Manager Portal

User must be a member of the "Recovery Manager Portal - Undelete Operators" local security group on the computer where the Recovery Manager Portal is installed.

If you want to use the agentless recovery method, select the Configure a list of delegates that can perform the restore and undelete operations option on the Portal Settings tab. For more information about delegation, see Delegating restore or undelete permissions.

To modify the Recovery Manager Portal configuration and delegate restore permissions to other Recovery Manager Portal users

User must be a member of the "Recovery Manager Portal - Configuration Admins" local security group on the computer where the Recovery Manager Portal is installed.

To view the health summary and backup creation history for the Recovery Manager for Active Directory instances in Recovery Manager Portal

User must be a member of the "Recovery Manager Portal - Monitoring Operators" local security group on the computer where the Recovery Manager Portal is installed.

Access the SQL reporting database

To access the SQL reporting database (%ProgramData%\Quest\Recovery Manager for Active Directory\DBReporting\RecoveryManager-Reporting-<host name>), the account must be assigned to db_datareader, db_datawriter roles and have rights to execute all the usp_* procedures, as follows:

  • usp_GetSummaryReportBody

  • usp_GetSessionErrors

  • usp_GetReportsList

  • usp_GetReportsHeader

  • usp_GetReportBody

  • usp_GetReplicationHistory

  • usp_GetOptionalObjects

  • usp_GetOptionalAttributes

  • usp_GetObjectChildren

  • usp_GetObjectAttributes

  • usp_GetAllObjects

  • usp_GetAllChildObjects

  • usp_GetAllAttributes

 

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