4.7 Recovering data stored on another server
To recover nonsystem volumes, files and folders, or application data,
start Windows Server Backup. Tap or click Recover in the actions pane
or on the Action menu to start the Recovery Wizard. On the Getting Started page, choose A Backup Stored On Another Location, as shown in Figure 20, and then tap or click Next.
On the Specify Location Type page, select Remote Shared Folder and
then tap or click Next. On the Specify Remote Folder page, type the path
to the folder that contains the backup, such as \\FileServer07\Servers\Server18Backup.
If you are prompted to provide your logon credentials, enter the user
name and password for an account with owner or co-owner permissions on
the shared folder.
The rest of the recovery operation is the same as discussed previously, starting with the Select Backup Date page.
4.8 Recovering the system state
There are over 50,000 system-state files, and these files use 4 to 7 GBs of disk space. The fastest and easiest way to back up and restore a server’s
system state is to use Wbadmin. With Wbadmin, you can use the Start
SystemStateBackup command to create a backup of the system state for a
computer and the Start SystemStateRecovery command to restore a
computer’s system state.
Note
When you select a system-state restore on a domain controller, you
have to be in the Directory Services Restore mode.
You can back up a server’s system state by typing the following at an elevated command prompt:
wbadmin start systemstatebackup -backupTarget:VolumeName
Here, VolumeName is the storage location for the backup, such as G:.
You can restore a server’s system state by typing the following at an elevated command prompt:
wbadmin start systemstaterecovery -backupTarget:VolumeName
Here, VolumeName is the storage location that contains the backup you want to recover, such as G:.
You can use other parameters for recovery operations as well. Use the –recoveryTarget parameter to restore to an alternate location. Use the –machine
parameter to specify the name of the computer to recover if the
original backup location contains backups for multiple computers. Use
the –authorsysvol parameter to perform an authoritative restore of the Sysvol.
Restoring the operating system and the full system
As discussed previously, Windows Server 2012 includes startup repair
features that can recover a server in the case of corrupted or missing
system files. These features can also recover from some types of boot
failures involving the boot manager. If these processes fail and the
boot manager is the reason you cannot start the server, you can use the
Windows Server 2012 installation disc to restore the boot manager and
enable startup.
When the automated recovery features fail to recover normal
operations, you can recover a server’s operating system or perform a
full system recovery by using a Windows installation disc and a backup
that you created earlier with Windows Server Backup. These two
operations differ in fundamental ways:
-
With an operating system recovery, you recover all critical volumes
but do not recover nonsystem volumes. A critical volume is a volume that
has files the operating system needs during startup and normal
operations and includes both the boot volume and the system volume
(which might or might not be the same volume). You should use this
method only when you cannot recover the operating system using other
means.
-
With a full system recovery, Windows Server Backup reformats and
repartitions all disks that are attached to the server and then sets
about recovering the
server’s volumes. Data that was not included in the original backup
will be deleted when you recover the system, which includes any volumes
that are currently used by the server but were not included in the
backup. You should use this method only when you want to recover the
server data onto separate hardware or when all other attempts to recover
the server on the existing hardware have failed.
Before you begin, you should ensure that your backup data is
available. You can recover a server’s operating system or perform a full
system recovery by inserting the Windows installation disc into the DVD
drive and turning on the computer. If needed, press the required key to
boot from the disc. Windows Setup should start automatically. On the
Install Windows page, select the language, time, and keyboard layout
options that you want to use. Tap or click Next.
Don’t click Install Now. Instead, tap or click Repair Your Computer.
On the Recovery screen, tap or click Troubleshoot. On the Advanced
Options screen, tap or click System Image Recovery and then tap or click
Windows Server 2012 to select it as your target operating system. On
the Select A System Image Backup page, tap or click Use The Latest
Available System Image (Recommended) and then tap or click Next. Or tap
or click Select A System Image, and then tap or click Next.
If you select an image to restore, do one of the following on the Select The Location Of The Backup page:
-
Tap or click the location that contains the system
image you want to use, and then tap or click Next. Afterward, tap or
click the system image you want to use, and then tap or click Next.
-
To browse for a system image on the network, tap or click Advanced
and then tap or click Search For A System Image On The Network. When you
are prompted to confirm that you want to connect to the network, tap or
click Yes. In the Network Folder text box, specify the location of the
server and shared folder in which the system image is stored, such as
\\BackupServer15\Backups, and then tap or click OK.
-
To install a driver for a backup device that doesn’t show up in the
location list, tap or click Advanced and then tap or click Install A
Driver. Insert the installation media for the device, and then tap or
click OK. After Windows installs the device driver, the backup device
should be listed in the location list.
On the Choose Additional Restore Options page, do the following optional tasks and then tap or click Next:
-
Select the Format And Repartition Disks check box to delete existing
partitions and reformat the destination disks to be the same as the
backup.
-
Select Only Restore System Drives to restore only the drives from the
backup that are required to run Windows: the boot, system, and recovery
volumes. If the server has data drives, they will not be restored.
-
Tap or click Install Drivers to install device drivers for the hardware you are recovering.
-
Tap or click Advanced to specify whether the computer is restarted
and the disks are checked for errors immediately after the recovery
operation is completed.
On the Confirmation page, review the details for the restoration and then tap or click Finish. The wizard then restores the operating system or the full server as appropriate for the options you selected.
