First of all, let me say that I am testing recovery of an entire server at this point, I am not in need of a critical recovery. So I am presenting the error first (to cut to the chase), with detailed explanation following...
Though I am restoring from a local disk cartridge, every restore job fails immediately, with this error:
Error: e000846a - The resource could not be restored because an error occurred while connecting to the Backup Exec for Windows Servers Remote Agent.
Make sure that the correct version of the Remote Agent is installed and running on the target computer.
For additional information regarding this error refer to link V-79-57344-33898
I am at a loss trying to understand why a Remote Agent is necessary for a restore from a directly attached disk cartridge. In a total server loss scenario, the source server would not be available via remote agent or any other method.
I have backed up a Windows 2008r2 domain server using the Simplified Disaster Recovery feature of Backup Exec 2012. I recently got a new server in for another application, but I'm not in a hurry to set it up. So...in an effort to ensure a complete recovery of our domain server in event of a future disaster, I decided to test the bare metal or SDR recovery feature.
I have a full backup of my DC, using an internal RDX drive. The new server also has an internal RDX drive. The backup job shows a green "ON" for the SDR indicator. Both servers have RAID 5 set up.
Initially, I tried the bare metal recovery, following Chapter 23 of the Backup Exec Administrator's Guide. I ran into issues with the RAID controller driver that, although I loaded the correct driver during the restore, kept cropping up after the restore - when the server would reboot following the restore. These errors included blue screens, boot errors that "Windows failed to start", suggesting I repair the installation using Windows media, and (during the "setup is preparing your computer for first use" phase) windows error that windows restarted unexpectedly or encountered an unexpected error. It never would complete a recovery using this method.
After running across a prior forum post here, I tried following the article Running a manual disaster recovery of a local Windows computer (includes non-authoritative and autho.... This method begins with installing Windows on the target machine, along with Backup Exec, before attempting to restore the original server. This is where I am now.
The issue I am running into is at the restore point. I have installed Windows Server 2008R2. I have installed Backup Exec (to an alternate location as detailed in the article), and I have inventoried and cataloged the disk cartridge with the full backup.
When I click the Backup and Restore tab, two servers are listed - the original domain controller and the newly setup target server. The article says to click Restore. That option is only available on the source server listed; it is grayed out on the target. Selections begin to diverge from this point forward. Options on the screen differ from those listed in the article. After clicking Restore, I am presented with 3 options - Files, folders or volumes; Complete online restore of a computer, or restore system; and Microsoft SQL Server databases. The article says:
From the General Settings, select the following options:
- Restore all information for files and directories (11.x and above) or Restore security (10.x)
- Preserve tree
- Restore over existing files
Though these don't line up exactly, I've selected Complete online restore of a computer, or restore system. which leads to two options: A Microsoft Windows computer that was fully selected for a backup; or Active Directory, ADAM/AD LDS, and/or System State. I have tried both. The Advanced Settings listed in the article do not appear when following these paths, although I did find the primary arbitrator option for restoring the only domain controller.
Continuing to the point where the restore settings are complete and running the job, I get a failed job notice that includes the error listed at the top of this post. After getting the same error, I installed the Remote Agent on the target server. The result was the same.
Any suggestions are appreciated,
Laner
