Windows Server 2008 : Recovering Role Services and Features (part 4)

12/5/2010 11:08:38 AM

Windows SharePoint Services

When Windows SharePoint Services (WSS) is installed on Windows Server 2008 R2 using the default options, WSS stores configuration and content data in SQL databases on SQL servers or in databases included in the Windows Internal Database feature, which are essentially SQL databases with some limited functionality. When WSS databases need to be restored, this can be performed using the SharePoint 3.0 Central Administration Backup and Recovery Operations functions if a backup using this tool was previously performed. Restore of databases can also be performed using full system backups created using Windows Server Backup.

Recovering WSS Data Using SharePoint 3.0 Central Administration

If a previous WSS backup was performed using the SharePoint 3.0 Central Administration tool, recovery can be performed using this tool as well. To recover WSS using a SharePoint 3.0 Central Administration backup, perform the following steps:

1.	Log on to the Windows Server 2008 R2 Windows SharePoint Services server system with an account with administrator privileges.
2.	Click Start, click All Programs, click Administrative Tools, and select SharePoint 3.0 Central Administration.
3.	When the browser opens, if prompted, enter a username and password for an account with administrative privileges on the WSS server.
4.	When the SharePoint 3.0 Central Administration website opens, select the Operations tab.
5.	In the window, scroll down; on the right side, in the Backup and Restore section, click on the Restore from backup option.
6.	Near the top of the window, enter the UNC network path of the backup, and click OK. For example, enter \\server30\wssbackup\ and click OK.
7.	On the next page, select the desired backup by selecting the appropriate option button, and click the Continue Restore Process link.
8.	On the next page, select the appropriate databases or components of the WSS farm that will be restored by checking the appropriate check boxes, and then click the Continue Restore Process link. For this example, the entire farm will be restored by clicking the check box next to Farm.
9.	On the next page, in the Type of Restore section, select the Same Configuration option button because you are trying to restore an existing system back to a functional state. When this option button is selected, a window opens stating that the selected objects will be overwritten with the data from the restore; click OK to continue.
10.	Scroll to the bottom of the page, and click OK to submit the restore job to the SharePoint Services Timer Service.
11.	You will be directed to the Backup and Restore Status page. Click the Refresh link to view and get updates on the status of the job.
12.	After the job completes, open the restored SharePoint sites and check functionality. IIS might need to be restarted, and if the system can tolerate a system reboot, it might be helpful in case other dependent services are not running because of SharePoint issues.
13.	If WSS is restored back to normal operation, run a full backup and log off.

Recovering WSS Databases Using Windows Server Backup

If full system backups have been run on systems running Windows SharePoint Services, because SharePoint and Windows Server Backup are both support and use the Volume Shadow Copy Service (VSS), the databases files can be used for restore purposes. To restore a Windows Internal Database for Windows SharePoint Services from a Windows Server full system backup, perform the following steps:

1.	Log on to the Windows Server 2008 R2 system with an account with administrator privileges.
2.	Click Start, click All Programs, click Administrative Tools, and select Internet Information Services (IIS manager).
3.	Double-click on the server in the tree pane, and double-click on Sites.
4.	Locate the WSS site that will be restored, right-click the site, choose Manage Web Site, and click Stop. This stops the website. Leave IIS Manager open.
5.	Click Start, click All Programs, click Administrative Tools, and select Services.
6.	Locate the Windows SharePoint Services Timer Service, right-click the service, and select Stop.
7.	Scroll up and locate the Windows Internal Database (MICROSOFT##SSEE) service, right-click the service, and select Stop. Leave the services console open.
8.	Click Start, click All Programs, click Administrative Tools, and select Windows Server Backup.
9.	In the Actions pane, select Recover to start the Recovery Wizard.
10.	On the Getting Started page, select either to restore data previously backed up from the local computer or a different computer. For this example, select This Server (Servername), and click Next to continue.
11.	On the next page, select the date of the backup by selecting the correct month and click on the particular day.
12.	After the month and day are selected, if multiple backups were run in a single day, click the Time drop-down list arrow, and select the correct backup.
13.	On the Select Recovery Type page, select the Files and Folders option button and click Next to continue.
14.	On the Select Items to Recover page, expand the server node; select the disks, folders, and files to be restored; and click Next to continue. For example, select the c:\windows\SYSMSI\SSEE\MSSQL.2005\MSSQL\Data\WSS_Content.MDF and WSS_Content_log.LDF, as shown in Figure 4. Figure 4. Selecting the WSS_content database and log files for restore.
15.	On the Specify Recovery Options page, specify whether the files will be restored to the original location or an alternate location. Do not click Next.
16.	On the Specify Recovery Options page, choose to recover the files to the original location and choose to overwrite the existing versions with the recovered versions. Ensure that the check box to restore access control list permissions is checked and click Next to continue.
17.	On the Confirmation page, verify the restore selections and options. If everything is correct, click the Recover button to start the recovery process.
18.	On the Recovery Progress page, verify the success of the recovery or troubleshoot the errors if the recovery fails.
19.	Click Close to complete the recovery and close Windows Server Backup.
20.	Open the Services window and start the Windows Internal Database Service and start the Windows SharePoint Services Timer Service. Close the Services console.
21.	Open the IIS Manager console, locate the SharePoint site, right-click the site, choose Manage Web Site, and click Start to start the website.
22.	Open a web browser and connect to the SharePoint site. If everything looks okay, perform a full backup of the system.