Read Windows Server 2008 R2 Unleashed Online
Authors: Noel Morimoto
is now enabled.
9. If necessary, select the next volume and enable shadow copying; otherwise, select
the enabled volume and immediately create a shadow copy by clicking the Create
Now button.
10. If necessary, select the next volume and immediately create a shadow copy by click-
ing the Create Now button.
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11. After the shadow copies are created, click OK to close the Shadow Copies page, close
the Server Manager, and log off of the server.
To learn how to recover lost or overwritten data using Shadow Copies for Shared Folders,
refer to Chapter 31.
Windows Server 2008 R2 Startup Options
When a Windows Server 2008 R2 system has startup issues, a few different startup options
can be used to troubleshoot the problem. On every server, when the boot loader is shown,
the administrator can press the F8 key to list several boot configurations, including Safe
mode to load only the core drivers and applications. The different options can be used to
disable or change a suspected driver or application that is causing normal system startup
to fail. The different startup options are detailed in Chapter 31.
Emergency Management Services Console Redirection
Windows Server 2008 R2 enables administrators to remotely manage or troubleshoot a
system when normal operating system functionality is not available. Using out-of-band
connections, such as a serial COM port, information can be redirected to other servers to
resolve startup or operating system problems. Emergency Management Services (EMS) can
be used when physical access to a server is not available and remote administrative
options through network connections are not working properly.
Best Practices
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Some hardware requirements must be met before Emergency Management Services
console redirection can be used. For example, the system motherboard BIOS must support
Serial Port Console Redirection (SPCR). Emergency Management Services is enabled and
installed on servers during operating system installation if the motherboard supports
SPCR. To enable and configure EMS on existing Windows Server 2008 R2 systems, use the
bcdedit.exe utility.
Refer to the Windows Server 2008 R2 Help and Support documentation for the specific
switches and settings for Bcdedit.
When it comes to disaster recovery planning and backing up Windows Server 2008 R2
systems, there are many options to consider. Specialized utilities can be leveraged for
specific backup tasks, but for complete server backup, the graphic and command-line utili-
ties of Windows Server Backup take care of all of the Windows Server 2008 R2 role services
requirements. Third-party applications might require additional backup programs or tasks
to be backed up properly.
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The following are best practices from this chapter:
. Make sure that disaster recovery planning includes considerations for the physical
site, power, entire system failure, server component failure, and software corruption.
. Identify the different services and technologies, points of failure, and critical areas;
then prioritize in order of importance.
. Make sure that the disaster recovery solution contains costs associated with addi-
tional hardware, complex configurations, and a service-level agreement estimating
how long it will take to recover the service should a failure occur. Different options
should also be presented.
. Document the server configuration for any environment, regardless of size, number
of servers, or disaster recovery budget.
. Verify that any backup disks or remote server shares used to store backups are both
physically secure and secured by NTFS and share permissions to reduce the risk of
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compromising or losing company data.
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IN THIS CHAPTER
Recovering from a
. Ongoing Backup and Recovery
Preparedness
Disaster
. When Disasters Strike
. Disaster Scenario
Troubleshooting
. Recovering from a Server or
System Failure
When organizations need to recover data or restore busi-
. Managing and Accessing
ness services and operations after a disruption in business
Windows Server Backup Media
operations, having a well-formulated and validated recovery
. Windows Server Backup
plan is vital to success. This requires a disciplined process of
Volume Recovery
creating and maintaining backup and recovery procedures
and documentation, as well as periodically validating the
. Recovering Role Services and
Features
recovery tasks by simulating different failure scenarios and
recovering data and applications.
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In addition to having a disaster recovery plan, many organi-
zations—not just the organizations that are required by
law—should also implement and follow a strict change
management system to evaluate the benefits and risks asso-
ciated with proposed changes to current business systems,
services, applications, and operational processes.
This chapter, as a complement to Chapter 30, “Backing Up
the Windows Server 2008 R2 Environment,” details how to
recover a Windows Server 2008 R2 environment using
Windows Server Backup after a failure or disaster has
occurred. In addition to system recovery, this chapter also
provides some best practices and ideas organizations should
consider when planning how to support and restore opera-
tion to the computer and network infrastructure when
system failures and disasters occur.
Creating and documenting processes that detail how to
properly back up and recover from a disaster is an essential
step in a disaster recovery project. Equally important as
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Recovering from a Disaster
creating these processes is periodically reviewing, validating, and updating the processes.
Disaster recovery planning should not be considered a project for the current calendar
year; instead, it should be considered an essential part of regular business operations and
should have dedicated annual budget and assigned staff.
Each year, many businesses, business divisions, or departments update their computer and
network infrastructure and change the way they provide services to their staff, vendors,
and clients. In many of these cases, the responsible information technology staff, cross-
departmental managers, executives, and employees are not involved or properly informed
in advance of the execution or implementation of these changes. Computer and network
infrastructure changes can have ripple effects throughout an entire organization during
transition and during disaster and failure situations, so proper planning and approval of
changes should always be performed and documented.
To reduce the risk of a change negatively impacting business operations, many organiza-
tions implement processes that require new projects and system changes to be submitted,
evaluated, and either approved or rejected based on the information provided. Although
this chapter does not focus or even really discuss project management, all organizations
that utilize computer and network infrastructures should consider implementing a Project
Management Office and a change-control committee to review and oversee organizational
projects and infrastructure changes.
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Project Management Office (PMO)
In recent years, many organizations have introduced Project Management Offices (PMOs)
into their business operations. A PMO is used to provide somewhat of a project oversight
committee to organizations that frequently operate several projects simultaneously.
Organizations that utilize a proven project methodology can further extend this method-
ology to include workflow processes that include checkpoints with the PMO staff.
The role of the PMO can be different in almost every organization, but most include a few
key functions. The role of the PMO usually involves reviewing proposed projects to deter-
mine how or if the project deliverables coincide with the organization’s current or future
business plans or strategies. PMO membership can also be very different among organiza-
tions. PMO membership can include departmental managers, directors or team leads,
executive staff, employee advocates, and, in some cases, board members. Having the PMO
staff represent views and insight from the different levels and departments of an organiza-
tion enables the PMO to add value to any proposed project.
Having diverse staff included in the PMO staff enables the organization to evaluate and
understand current and proposed projects and how these projects will positively or nega-
tively affect the organization as a whole. Some of the general functions or roles a PMO
can provide include the following:
.
High-level project visibility—
All proposed projects are presented to the PMO and
if approved, the project is tracked by the PMO. This provides a single entity that is
knowledgeable and informed about all ongoing and future projects in an organiza-
tion and how they align to business and technical objectives.
Ongoing Backup and Recovery Preparedness
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.
Project sounding board—
When a new project is proposed or presented to the
PMO, the project will be scrutinized and many questions will be asked. Some of
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these questions might not have been considered during the initial project design
and planning phases. The PMO improves project quality by constantly reviewing
and monitoring projects from when the project is proposed and during regular
scheduled project status and PMO meetings.
.
Committee-based project approval or denial—
The PMO is informed of all the
current and future projects, as well as business direction and strategy, and is the best-
equipped group to decide on whether a project should be approved, denied, or post-
poned.
.
Enterprise project management—
The PMO tracks the status of all ongoing pro-
jects and upcoming projects, which enables the PMO to provide additional insight
and direction with regard to internal resource utilization, vendor management for
outsourced projects, and, of course, project budget and scheduling.
Change Control
Whereas a PMO improves project management and can provide the necessary checkpoints
to verify that backup and recovery requirements are addressed within the new projects, an
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organization with a change-control system can ensure that any proposed changes have
been carefully evaluated and scheduled before approval or change execution. Change
control involves a submittal, review, and approval process for each change that typically
includes the following information:
.
Change description—
Includes which systems will be changed, what the change is,
and why it is proposed or required.
.
Impact of the change—
Details if any systems or services will be unavailable during
the execution of the change and who will be affected or impacted by the change.
.
Change duration—
Details how long it will take to execute and complete the
change and, if necessary, revert or roll back the change.
.
Change schedule—
Includes the proposed date and time to execute the change.
.
Change procedure—
Details how the change will be executed, including a detailed
description; this usually also includes detailed steps or an accompanying document.
.
Change rollback plan—
Details the steps necessary to recover or roll back the
change in the event that the change causes undesirable results.
.
Change owners—
Includes who will execute the change and is responsible for com-
municating the status and results of the change back to the change-control commit-
tee.
A change-control committee, similar to a PMO, is made up of managers, executives, and
employee advocates who will review and determine if the change is approved, denied, or
needs to be postponed. Proposed changes are submitted in advance. A day or two later, a
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change-control review meeting is held where each change is discussed by the change-
control committee and the change owner, and the change will be approved, denied, post-
poned, or closed, or more information will be requested.
During failure or disaster situations, going through the normal change-control process
might not be an option due to the impact of the failure. During these situations, emer-
gency change-request processes should be followed. An emergency change request usually
involves getting the particular departmental manager and the responsible information
technology manager, director, or CIO to sign off on the change before it is executed. In
short, all changes need to be considered and approved, even in failure scenarios when
time is of the essence. When an administrator is troubleshooting and trying to resolve a