ShadowProtect SBS2003

When you are using ShadowProtect for backing up SBS or regular Windows servers where more than one Domain Controller is present, you will definitely want to consider the following:

To roll back the contents of Active Directory to a previous point in time, restore a valid system state backup. A system state backup can be restored up to the tombstone lifetime number of days after the backup was performed. The backup must have also been made on the same operating system installation as the operating system that you are restoring.

Active Directory does not support other methods to roll back the contents of Active Directory. In particular, Active Directory does not support any method that restores a snapshot of the operating system or the volume the operating system resides on. This kind of method causes an update sequence number (USN) rollback. When a USN rollback occurs, the replication partners of the incorrectly restored domain controller may have inconsistent objects in their Active Directory databases. In this situation, you cannot make these objects consistent.

Microsoft KB888794

If you are backing up Exchange using ShadowProtect:

1. Install latest OS updates (some contain VSS-related fixes)

2. Make sure that the Exchange VSS writer is enabled
By default, SBS does not have this provider enabled.
Microsoft KB838183

a. Click Start, click Run, type regedit, and then click OK.

b. Locate and then double-click the following registry subkey: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\MSExchangeIS\ParametersSystem

c. Double-click the Disable Exchange Writer value.

d. In the Value data text box, change the value from 1 to 0, and then click OK.

e. Quit Registry Editor.

f. Click Start, point to Administrative Tools, and then click Services.

g. Stop and then restart the Microsoft Exchange Information Store service. Microsoft Windows Server 2003 uses the Volume Shadow Copy service to back up open files. The Volume Shadow Copy service uses a writer component to back up files and settings that are specific to a program, such as Microsoft SQL Server 2000 or Microsoft Exchange Server 2003. The writer component tells the Volume Shadow Copy service which files to back up and then pauses corresponding services while the backup is in progress.

However, you will have to turn off the Exchange VSS writer in order to run NTBackup to capture the systemstate.

prebackup.bat
regedit /s exwriterenable.reg
net stop MSExchangeIS
net start MSExchangeIS

exwriterenable.reg
Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\MSExchangeIS\ParametersSystem]
"Disable Exchange Writer"=dword:00000000

postbackup.bat
regedit /s exwriterdisable.reg
net stop MSExchangeIS
net start MSExchangeIS

exwriterdisable.reg
Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\MSExchangeIS\ParametersSystem]
"Disable Exchange Writer"=dword:00000001

This would leave the Exchange VSS writer disabled except when ShadowProtect is running. You could then run NTBackup just before the ShadowProtect job, and save the SystemState using NTBackup.

3. Install the Microsoft hotfix for SQL Server 2000/2005 VSS writer, if required:
Microsoft KB934396

4. Create ShadowProtect backup job and specify “Use VSS for all backups”*
When configuring the backup job, make sure you select “Use VSS” on the Schedule page of the backup wizard. This will avoid getting the Exchange database in a “dirty” state.

5. Backup both the *.edb and log files in a single backup job
These files may be on different directories or volumes – that doesn’t matter.
Backing up all files in a single backup job will ensure that all the data is consistent.