Windwos Server 2008 : Recovering from a Server or System Failure (part 3)

Validating Permissions on NTFS Folders

When permissions seem to be configured correctly but an end user still cannot properly access a folder or file within a folder because of group membership or some other factor, perform the following steps:

1.	Log on to the Windows Server 2008 R2 system with an account with administrator privileges.
2.	Click Start and click on Computer.
3.	Browse to the drive and folder on which you will validate the end user’s permission. For this example, use the c:\HumanResources folder and check permissions for a user named Khalil Droubi.
4.	Right-click the folder and select Properties.
5.	Select the Security tab and click the Advanced button near the bottom of the window.
6.	Select the Effective Permissions tab, and click the Select button to add the end user.
7.	In the Select User, Computer, or Group window, type in the end user’s name, and click OK. For this example, use Khalil Droubi.
8.	On the Effective Permissions tab, the resulting permissions will be displayed, as shown in Figure 3. This example displays that Khalil Droubi only has Read permissions and cannot create files or folders. Figure 3. Display the effective permissions on a folder for a specific end user.

Application Access Troubleshooting

If the issue revolves around an application running on a Windows Server 2008 R2 system, troubleshooting the application according to the application administration guide is the recommended approach. Many applications can be configured to use authentication using Active Directory via LDAP, Kerberos, or NTLM authentication. Also, applications might use custom application or database user accounts and might still require NTFS permissions via application pool identities and service accounts. Each application is different and should be treated as such. Specific troubleshooting guides and backup and recovery documentation should be created for applications before they are deployed on a network.

Data Corruption and File and Folder Recovery

When data is reported as corrupted or deleted, administrators have the option of restoring the data from backup using Windows Server Backup or Shadow Copies for Shared Folders. An alternative to simply restoring a corrupted file from a shadow copy or backup, the CHKDSK tool can be run on a disk if multiple users are reporting issues or if disk errors have been reported in the System event log. CHKDSK is a utility that will scan a disk for file corruption and bad sectors. If any errors are found, repair attempts will be made and the details will be available in the Completed Status window. When data has been overwritten or deleted, the only options are to recover from shadow copies or from backup media.

Recovering File and Folder Data Using Shadow Copies

To recover individual files and folders using previously created shadow copies of shared folders, perform the following steps:

Recovering File and Folder Data Using Windows Server Backup

To recover individual files and folders using backup media created with Windows Server 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 Windows Server Backup.
3.	In the Actions pane, select Recover to start the Recovery Wizard.
4.	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. If no previous backup was performed using a local disk, choose a different disk and locate the backup folder, which will be scanned and will present all available backups for any system that stored a backup in that folder.
5.	On the next page, select the date of the backup by selecting the correct month and click on the particular day.
6.	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, as shown in Figure 4. Click Next to continue after the month, day, and time are selected. Figure 4. Selecting the correct backup.
7.	On the Select Recovery Type page, select the Files and Folders option button, and click Next to continue.
8.	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. Note Unlike other backup utilities, Windows Server Backup does not contain check boxes to select items for recovery. To select an item or multiple items, simply click on the item to highlight it and use the Shift or Ctrl keys to make multiple sections.
9.	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.
10.	On the Specify Recovery Options page, if the restore will be placed in the original location, specify how to deal with existing files by choosing to either create copies in the same folder, overwrite the existing data with restore data, or do not recover items that already exist, as shown in Figure 5. Figure 5. Selecting the restore options.
11.	On the Confirmation page, verify the restore selections and options. If everything is correct, click the Recover button to start the recovery process.
12.	On the Recovery Progress page, verify the success of the recovery or troubleshoot the errors if the recovery fails.
13.	Click Close to complete the recovery and close Windows Server Backup.
14.	Browse to the location of the restore to verify the recovery, and if the create copies option was selected, notice that there are two copies: the original and the restored, which is named after the date and time the backup was taken. When you are finished, log off of the server.