wayy2be
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What do I backup on Windows 2000 & 2003 servers
Hi all,
I have Arcserve 2000 and I need to know what should I be backing up on Windows 2000 and 2003 servers. I pretty much know that I need to back up system state, data and such, but I am looking for the best way to backup my servers and plan it out correctly so that if I need to restore it can be done successfully. I also have SQL servers and a Exchange server. I have heard about brick level backups on Exchange. Is this the best way to backup an Exchange server? Thanks.
I have Arcserve 2000 and I need to know what should I be backing up on Windows 2000 and 2003 servers. I pretty much know that I need to back up system state, data and such, but I am looking for the best way to backup my servers and plan it out correctly so that if I need to restore it can be done successfully. I also have SQL servers and a Exchange server. I have heard about brick level backups on Exchange. Is this the best way to backup an Exchange server? Thanks.
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Duncan Meyers
BTW, you'll need an Arcserve Exchange agent
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ASKER
I am backing up to a DLT drive. My idea was to backup system state, data, SQL databases and the Exchange server. Instead of backing up the OS, I would build a server with the current service packs and hotfixes and then image it. This way if I have a crash, I could just re-image it instead of loading the OS and then do a restore. What do you think?
>This way if I have a crash, I could just re-image it instead of loading the OS and then do a restore.
Good idea. The only wrinkle may be if the OS is on a RAID set - making Ghost play with a RAID array can be no end of fun. The biggest advantage is that you would save yourself an hour or so in the event of a disaester recovery.
I would nevertheless consider taking a full backup - presumably the backup is happening outside business hours, so the additional time it takes to backup an extra 2-4GB shouldn't matter, and it could save you lots of tears in the event that you need to restore from the backup.
Good idea. The only wrinkle may be if the OS is on a RAID set - making Ghost play with a RAID array can be no end of fun. The biggest advantage is that you would save yourself an hour or so in the event of a disaester recovery.
I would nevertheless consider taking a full backup - presumably the backup is happening outside business hours, so the additional time it takes to backup an extra 2-4GB shouldn't matter, and it could save you lots of tears in the event that you need to restore from the backup.
ASKER
So basically I can either backup the entire drive, so if the server should crash, I just replace the drive and restore. Or I can just backup selected files, system state, reimage the drive, add any service packs and hotfixes and then restore my data. Which way is the most accepted and the most efficient?
I think if you use Norton Ghost, you can always reclaim the data files out of the GHO images... so what I did when I upgraded was pulled out the website out of that in Windows Server 2003 from my XP images..
A complete backup means you know your not missing something :)
It depends really on how often your data changes...and how often you want to backup
A complete backup means you know your not missing something :)
It depends really on how often your data changes...and how often you want to backup