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Several steps are required in order to have a fully stable and recoverable Windows* NT Server system.
- Make sure that during the initial installation of a Windows NT Server, an emergency repair disk is created. This disk, in addition to a copy of the SAM database, has the disk partition information. This information is critical in order to be able to re-create the system in the event of total failure.
- Make sure that all domain information is documented. For example, which servers are identified as Primary Domain Controllers, Backup Domain Controllers, and Domain Servers. Note all computer names and trust relationships.
- Make sure that the Gateway Services for NetWare* are fully documented.
- It is advisable not to create a Domain without a Primary Domain Controller (PDC) and at least one Backup Domain Controller (BDC).
Backup and Restore Procedures
Backup:
There are several issues to be aware of when performing a backup.
- Open Files are not backed up because these files are usually in use by the operating system.
- Gateway Services for NetWare* must be installed on the Windows NT Workstation or Server. If not, there could be some failure to connect errors generated by the StorageExpress system.
- Disk partition information is not saved by the Windows* NT Agent.
To ensure backup integrity, every time that the disk partition information is changed, those changes should be written to a floppy disk. This procedure is accomplished using the Disk Administrator tool under the Administration Tools program manager group. Failure to do so will result in the inability to fully restore a Windows NT installation.
Note: When backing up a volume that contains Macintosh files, all long file names are preserved. There is one exception; Macintosh files that end with a period (.) will be backed up, but not restored.
Restore:
The procedure for performing simple file restore is similar to that of a normal workstation running a DOS/Windows client. Use the File Tracker database to select which files are to be restored, and insert the appropriate tape.
Disaster recovery, however is different. If for some reason, the Windows* NT server crashes, the entire operating system must be loaded from scratch. If the affected system is the PDC, one of the BDC's on the network must be promoted to PDC. When re-loading Windows* NT, make sure that the server is installed as a BDC. The computer must be a member of the same domain and be named the same as it was prior to crashing, or there could be confusion. The disk partition information that was created by Disk Administrator must be reloaded prior to performing any file restoration as well. The Gateway Services must also be configured to ensure proper connection to the NetWare server. As long as all of these conditions are met, there is no difference whether the target server is a member of a large or small domain.
Once all of these preparatory steps have been completed, the Windows* NT Agent is loaded. When the service is started, choose the "Config" option, and select "Restore the registry". This will ensure that all user accounts, permissions, and file system securities are restored. As stated before, only restoring an NTFS partition requires that the target partition already be formatted as NTFS.
Once all files and the registry have been successfully restored, the changes will not take effect until the system is restarted. Once the restore is complete, the affected server can be promoted to be the PDC.
This applies to:
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