Disaster Recovery options ?? 1

[protos]

With the recent security issues nationwide,
will backup exec be able to do disaster recovery quickly say on a 2k server ??

do you need to backup the entire server(c&d) drives or
system state and how is the recovery done??

Does the OS have to be reinstalled then push the restore or is there an easier way like driveimage from powerquest or ghost ??

 

[fastbroshi]

To answer your first question, I don't know about win2k (I've never backed it up) but if it's anything like NT Server, Veritas will back it up quickly. With everything running optimally our servers do full backups in about 10 hours (25 servers).
Second question:Yes, you need to backup all drives. It is done via tape media. We use an auto loader.
Recovery is done via bootup floppys or cd-r to create a basic shell of an os to restore all files to. These are created through a wizard in Veritas.

 

[protos]

You mean the IDR option wizard which is a separate option ?

 

[Fuubar]

First thing: forget about IDR, it sucks. Broken out of the box. Only thing IDR brings to the process is confusion and a scripted, unattended install of Win2K. Save yourself the several hundred dollars V will charge you and learn how to install a custom unattended install of Win2K using a winnt.sif file, etc.

To restore Win2K, follow these technotes:

http://seer.support.veritas.com/docs/236240.htm

http://seer.support.veritas.com/docs/236286.htm

Basically,
1. install Win2K to workgroup, same computer name.
2. Install Backup Exec into a different directory than normal, like \Program Files2.
3. Restore C, (D if you have it) and system?state all in one restore.
That's it! (You need to test this out so when you have to do the real thing, you will know what you are doing.)

 

[protos]

thanks Dude !!

how about for an Exchange 2k server ??
we have some issue w/ not seeing the info store
after a recreation of the store, which is weird,
we went through ALL technotes at veritas, but no dice.

thanks again for any info.

 

[Jonmonster]

Protos,

As far as your question about system state, yes, you should backup all selections on the list including drives and system state.

No offence Fuubar, but "Broken out of the box" seems a little harsh. I can tell you haven't tested 9.0 IDR. Granted, 8.6 and previous versions had some issues but IDR has undergone a pretty big facelift as of late. I currently have several servers set up with it now and I completely trust in its effectiveness.

Now Protos don't go by what I'm telling you alone. I'm a big believer in testing a product before jumping into a production environment with it, especially when it comes to something like DR. The leap of faith of installing it and hoping that it just "works" when you need it is just too great. 9.0 now allows you to test IDR with an eval. I highly recommend you take advantage of this for yourself. If you have a spare system lying around somewhere, install 2K and 9.0 Eval on it then blow the system away before you IDR it. I've done it. It works.

I would recommend using the CD method. It is much faster not to mention more reliable than floppies.

Another cool thing that 9.0 does now that previous versions didn't do is automatic repartitioning. It will even recreate and restore your utility partitions now, which is a bonus to me. I hate SmartStart. Anyway, I hope this helped.

 

[zakallen]

Jonmonster, et al,
I have been working with Veritas on their REMOTE IDR option(BE 9.0), I have tried all of the options (Floppy Disk, CD Image, Bootable Tape). The only process that has worked so far is the bootable tape with the drive attached to the server. I have spoken with tech support and the engineers, and non of them have any answers. In light of this I would have to agree with Fuubar "Broken out of the box".

However, if you have the resources to put tape drives in to all of your servers, then the veritas Disaster recovery works well.

I would TEST, TEST, TEST the Disaster recovery throughly before you place your faith in it.

 

[Jonmonster]

Zakallen,

There is one major flaw in what you are telling us here. Bootable Tape is not supported for Remote IDR, so it could not have worked for you. You are not even able to prep a bootable tape IDR remotely. Try it yourself and you'll see. If you did get it to work then you are contradicting yourself because you had to have been able to successfully navigate your way through a local IDR, not a remote.

As far as the rest, I have had no such problems with remote or local IDRs. This is not to say that problems don't happen and issues do not exist because issues always exist in software products in general. There is no way around that. Ask Microsoft. All I have to say to you on this is that you have not spoken to the right person for your issues. Call them back and try again. Someone should be able to help you. Unless, that is, if you don't really have any issues and you are doing this just to flame the product.

I do agree with you on one area, however, as previously stated in my other post, you should test it for yourself before using it. It is the only way to gain a true comfort level with IDR.

Thanks,

-J