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jwhausk's avatar
jwhausk
Level 2
10 years ago
Solved

What should be incilded in a daily backup

OK I am new at this so I have been just using what my predecessor had set up but it is very inconsistent sometimes the Utility Partition and System State were selected, sometimes just one of them and sometimes none.  So what should be includes in a daily full backup of each server.

We use a tape backup system with 8 tapes.

We use a 14 day rotation of the tapes.

From our "C" "D" drive we have selected the needed folders and files.

Do I need the utility partition? Do I need the System State?

What should be selected on our Microsoft Exchange server?  I only have the "Microsoft Information Store" selected.

I do a monthly fully selected backup for each orf our servers for disaster recovery.

 

Thank you for your sugestions!

JW

15
Backing Up
Backup and Recovery
Backup Exec
Basics
Best Practice
Windows Server (2003-2008)
  • pkh's avatar
    pkh
    10 years ago

    If you select bits and pieces of files/folders to backup, then there is a good chance that you may not back up enough to recover the server, meaning rebuild the server after it is completely wiped out.

    Usually the minimum to recover a server is the entire C: drive and system state, but depending on how the server is configured, there may be other critical pieces on other drives.  Hence the best indicator of whether your backup is sufficient to recover your server is the SDR indicator (top right hand corner of the selection list screen).  If it is green, then this backup is sufficient.  Otherwise, there may be critical pieces missing from the backup.

    The uility partition is optional.  You can load the utility partition from scratch before recovering the server.

    If you only backup the Microsoft Information Store on your Exchange server, it is only sufficient to recover the Exchange data, meaning mailboxes, etc.  In the event your Exchange server crashes, you would need to manually rebuild that server until you have loaded the Exchange software so that you can restore the Exchange data.

    I would suggest that you examine your backups carefully to ensure that you can recover from a server crash. If your backups are not sufficient to recover a server, then you would have to manually rebuild them.  Also you should test your server recovery.

    If need be, get a consultant to take a look at your backups.

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  • Sym-cr's avatar
    Sym-cr
    Level 5
    10 years ago

    Hi JW,

    You should ideally select all the system critical components which generally includes - System State, Shadow Copy Components, Drive on which OS is installed and Utility/System Reserved partition for any server to be recovered.

    Note: In Backup Exec 2012 and above Shadow Copy Components is merged with System State itself.

    Optionally, if you have any important data available in any of the data drives then you can select that drive for backup too.

    For MS Exchange backup, please refer below mentioned links:

    Backing up Exchange data

    http://www.symantec.com/docs/HOWTO99184

    Best practices for Backup Exec 2014/15 Agent for Microsoft Exchange Server

     http://www.symantec.com/docs/HOWTO74428

    Hope it helps. Thanks!!

  • pkh's avatar
    pkh
    Moderator
    10 years ago

    If you select bits and pieces of files/folders to backup, then there is a good chance that you may not back up enough to recover the server, meaning rebuild the server after it is completely wiped out.

    Usually the minimum to recover a server is the entire C: drive and system state, but depending on how the server is configured, there may be other critical pieces on other drives.  Hence the best indicator of whether your backup is sufficient to recover your server is the SDR indicator (top right hand corner of the selection list screen).  If it is green, then this backup is sufficient.  Otherwise, there may be critical pieces missing from the backup.

    The uility partition is optional.  You can load the utility partition from scratch before recovering the server.

    If you only backup the Microsoft Information Store on your Exchange server, it is only sufficient to recover the Exchange data, meaning mailboxes, etc.  In the event your Exchange server crashes, you would need to manually rebuild that server until you have loaded the Exchange software so that you can restore the Exchange data.

    I would suggest that you examine your backups carefully to ensure that you can recover from a server crash. If your backups are not sufficient to recover a server, then you would have to manually rebuild them.  Also you should test your server recovery.

    If need be, get a consultant to take a look at your backups.

  • jwhausk's avatar
    jwhausk
    Level 2
    10 years ago

    We do a monthly full backup of each server with everything selected with the SDR indicator green, we keep two sets one set is kept off site.  These are for disater recovery.

    The daily backups are for recovery of files or emails that were dleted and need to be recovered, we keep these for 2 weeks then reuse the tape.

    What are your thoughts will this survice for a good desaster recovery.

    I do have full support with Symantec so I can open a case if needed.

    We are on the latest version of BackupExec 15.

  • pkh's avatar
    pkh
    Moderator
    10 years ago

    Only you can answer that question. Nobody on the forum can tell you whether a monthly full backup is sufficient or not.  Potentially, if the disaster happens at the end of the month, your organisation stands to loose almost a month worth of work.  If this is acceptable, then your present scheme is acceptable.  If this is not acceptable, then you need to take more frequent full backups and/or incremental/differential backup.  It all depends on your organisation's requirement.