Forum Discussion

Bulbous's avatar
Bulbous
Level 5
12 years ago

SDR and DR files

Can you use .DR files created from previous backup sets when you do an SDR recovery?

For example, if you are restoring Wednesday's backup, can you use an SDR file that was created Tuesday?

I'm asking because it seems the .DR file is created after the backup is run, and therefore not backed up until the following job.

2012
Backing Up
Backup and Recovery
Backup Exec
Recovering
  • pkh's avatar
    pkh
    12 years ago

    No.  Each .dr file is related to the particular backup set.  You don't have to be concerned about it being backed up.  A copy of the .dr file is also kept in the backup set itself.  You can also go to the BE settings and set a secondary path, then another copy of the .dr file will be kept in the secondary path.

  • pkh's avatar
    pkh
    Moderator
    12 years ago

    No.  Each .dr file is related to the particular backup set.  You don't have to be concerned about it being backed up.  A copy of the .dr file is also kept in the backup set itself.  You can also go to the BE settings and set a secondary path, then another copy of the .dr file will be kept in the secondary path.

  • Bulbous's avatar
    Bulbous
    Level 5
    12 years ago
    Thanks for the quick reply. Any idea how I would access the .dr file that is kept with the backup set? The scenario I am envisioning is that the entire infrastructure is gone, and all I have is a single backup tape - and maybe an SDR restore disk.
  • pkh's avatar
    pkh
    Moderator
    12 years ago

    If I am not mistaken, to access the .dr file kept with the backup set, you would need to have BE up and running.  To restore the media server using SDR, you would need to have the .dr file pointing to a backup set.  If you update your SDR, it will contain the latest .dr file.

    Do set up a secondary path to store another copy of the .dr file on another machine which is not the media server.  I use a share for this purpose.

  • Bulbous's avatar
    Bulbous
    Level 5
    12 years ago
    So, where would the .dr file be kept? If you are talking about the regular location, the problem is that .dr file is created AFTER the backup is completed - so it isn't backed up until the following job. This is my concern. Example: 1) Tuesday a full SDR backup is created, including the C: drive 2) the backup concludes and a .dr file is dropped on the C: drive (and an alternate location if configured 3) Wednesday a full SDR backup is created, including the C: drive (which also includes the .dr file for TUESDAY'S backup). So, my concern is that any given SDR backup would only have the .dr file from the PREVIOUS SDR backup. If you have a scenario where everything is lost but the single backup tape which was taken offsite, then you will not be able to do an SDR restore because your .dr won't match your backup set.
  • pkh's avatar
    pkh
    Moderator
    12 years ago

    If you have only the tape, then you cannot do a SDR restore.  However, you could specify a thumb drive as an alternate path for the .dr file and ship that off-site together with the tape.

  • Bulbous's avatar
    Bulbous
    Level 5
    12 years ago
    You'd think it would be a relatively simple matter to create the .dr file before the backup of the C: drive. Maybe I should just create another backup job, running after the full backup, just to backup the .dr to same tape!
  • pkh's avatar
    pkh
    Moderator
    12 years ago

    You'd think it would be a relatively simple matter to create the .dr file before the backup of the C: drive.

    What is the point of creating this .dr file if the backup is bad and cannot be used for a SDR recovery.  This is probably why the .dr file is only created after a successful backup.

    Maybe I should just create another backup job, running after the full backup, just to backup the .dr to same tape!

    How are you going to access this .dr file witthout a media server?  You would need a media server to restore this .dr file. If you have a media server, you can use the .dr file that is saved with the backup set.  Likewise, the same thing applies if it is possible to save a .dr file in your day's backup.

  • Bulbous's avatar
    Bulbous
    Level 5
    12 years ago
    First of all, thanks, PKH for discussing this with me. It looks like the .dr file is created during the "System State" portion of the backup. Too bad we don't have the ability to order which part of the backup comes first during a *.* backup - then we could have the .dr file created and then backed up during the C: portion of the backup. Maybe we can add this as a feature request. If I add a seperate job after all the backups just to backup the .dr files, then I have everything I need on the one tape. If everything else is lost, I can install a new media server, catalog the tape and extract the .dr file, then proceed with an SDR restore.
  • pkh's avatar
    pkh
    Moderator
    12 years ago

    Without  the system state, how are you going to restore a server?  This is why SDR is not possible when you exclude the system state from a backup and it is why your proposed feature request is mieaningless.

    If you have a media server up and running, you can already use the .dr file that is stored with the backup set to do your SDR restore.  There is no need to back up the .dr file separately.

  • Bulbous's avatar
    Bulbous
    Level 5
    12 years ago
    Hi PKH, I think you completely missing my point. When you backup the system state, the .dr file is created, in the default path. But it is NOT BACKED UP. Imagine a single-server environment: When you back up this server, the backup runs, completes, and then creates the .dr file. But because the .dr file is created AFTER the backup completes, it is not part of the backup set. If the server dies, you have no access to the .dr file.