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Symantec System Recovery on a DC

Baron164
Level 6
Partner Accredited

I'm trying to backup a 2008 R2 Domain Controller but I've been unable to. I'm getting the following errors. My goal is to perform a P2V, and to do that I've always shut down Active Directory Domain Services or restarted in DSRM but VSS doesn't appera to work in either case. I'm hoping someone can provide me with a solution. Demoting the DC's is not an option.

Event ID 100

Error EC8F17B7: Cannot create recovery points for job: Drive Backup of System Reserved (*:\), (C:\).
 Error E4F3000E: Snapshot failure while using Volume Shadow Copy Service. Please check application event log for VSS errors. Error code: VSS_E_BAD_STATE (-2147212543). (UMI:V-281-3215-6071)

Details:
Source: Symantec System Recovery

VSS Event ID 26

This machine is a Domain Controller with the Active Directory service (NTDS) stopped. Backup cannot be performed, nor can shadow copies be managed in this case. Either the NTDS must be started (net start ntds), or reboot in DSRM to enumerate shadow copies/providers/writers only.

7 REPLIES 7

Andreas_Horlach
Level 6
Employee Accredited

This appears to be a VSS error.

First thing, ensure that the VOLUME SHADOW COPY is enabled and can be started. 

Looking up VSS Event ID 26 under Windows 2008 on Technet, it appears that this is the solution. The error message did not match the ID, so try this and if it does not work, we'll look into it further:

Ensure that the COM+ Event System service is started

You should check whether the system is running in Safe mode. When your computer is in safe mode, you will see the words Safe Mode in the corners of the display. If it is in Safe mode, restart it in Normal mode. If it is not in Safe mode, you should check whether the COM+ Event System is running.

To perform this procedure, you must have membership in Administrators, or you must have been delegated the appropriate authority.

To check that the COM+ Event System service is started:

  1. Click Start, click Administrative Tools, and then click Services.
  2. In the results pane, double-click COM+ Event System.
  3. In Service status, make sure that the status is Started. If the status is not Started, click Start.
  4. Make sure Startup type is set to Automatic.
  5. Click OK.

Verify

To perform this procedure, you must have membership in Administrators, or you must have been delegated the appropriate authority.

To verify that the Volume Shadow Copy Service is started:

  1. Click Start, point to Administrative Tools, and then click Services.
  2. In the results pane, double-click Volume Shadow Copy.
  3. In Service status, make sure that the status is Started. If the status is not Started, click Start.
  4. Make sure Startup type is set to Manual.
  5. Click OK.

Baron164
Level 6
Partner Accredited

Both the COM+ and the Volume Shadow Copy service look normal and both start properly.

Andreas_Horlach
Level 6
Employee Accredited

When converting from P2V, it shouldn't be necessary to stop NTDS or boot into DSRM mode. SSR will convert the backup image file from P2V without these steps. Have you tried this? 

Baron164
Level 6
Partner Accredited

The issue with that is since the VM is a DC it's not recommended to perform a P2V when Domain Services is running.

Andreas_Horlach
Level 6
Employee Accredited

Because 2008 is VSS aware, SSR  automatically calls VSS to prepare the Active Directory database for backup. Stopping NTDS should not be necessary since you are doing a full system backup (as opposed to a file-based backup). After the restore is complete, it may be necessary to go into DSRM mode to rejoin the machine to the domain. 

Baron164
Level 6
Partner Accredited

I've always had to stop domain services or boot in DSRM so the domain services are not running and changes are not being made to the AD database to avoid any issues.

Andreas_Horlach
Level 6
Employee Accredited

VSS wil properly queisce the database and allow the backup to occur. If the database if VSS aware (which it is in 2008), you won't loose any data.