StrongTech

Trouble Enabling Replication from server [servername] for the sysvol folder

steve.brown@concise.co.uk — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 16:28:27 +0000

When you promote a DC in a multi DC environment wan connectivity or other issues may prevent the server from becoming a DC as it fails to replicate the sysvol folder.

If you want to force replication from another DC you can stop ntfrs edit the below registry key that the KCC automatically populates to enable replication from an alternate source. Afterwards restart ntfrs.

net stop ntfrs

regedit

2003 Server

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\NTFRS\Parameters\SysVol\DomainName

2008 Server

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\NTFRS\Parameters\SysVol Seeding\Domain system Volume (SYSVOL Share)

Edit the key Replica Set Parent to point to the server you want to replicate from

net start ntfrs

Backup Exec – SQL Databases Alert

admin — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 15:15:19 +0000

When we have a database like sharepoint where we are unable to alter the recovery type to simple we can stop the alter from happening with a registry change

http://www.symantec.com/business/support/index?page=content&id=TECH126063

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Symantec\Backup Exec for Windows\Backup Exec\Engine\SQL Server\Number of Non-Log Backups Before Warning

The default value is a decimal value of 10
Increasing this value will increase the number of full database backups it will take to display the exception
Setting the value to 0 will disable this exception from ever occurring. Symantec does not recommend setting this value to 0.

Recover Backup Exec Licences

admin — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 15:13:02 +0000

If you ever have to restore/rebuild a server and the client can’t find the License key for Backup Exec, it is located it is in a file called besernum.xml in c:\windows\ or windows\system32

Providing you can recover that file from a previous backup!!

P2P VMware – Remove Hidden Devices

admin — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 15:11:36 +0000

When you’ve done a p2v of a windows machine and you get a message saying the ip address is already in use when configuring the nic, use the following procedure:–

Go to a command prompt in the VM

Type set devmgr_show_nonpresent_devices=1

Start devmgmt.msc

Once device manager has opened, click on ‘view’ and then ‘show hidden devices’.

Expand network adapters and remove the old/physical nic.

Auto deploy Sophos from Console on Vista / 7

admin — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 15:10:31 +0000

allow Sophos to deploy remotely on Vista PCs the following setting need to be applied via GPO

Computer Configuration > Policies > Windows Settings > Security Settings > Local Policies > Security Options > User Account Control

User Account Control: Behavior of the elevation prompt for administrators in Admin Approval Mode Elevate without prompting

User Account Control: Detect application installations and prompt for elevation Disabled

User Account Control: Run all administrators in Admin Approval Mode Disabled

Computer Configuration > Policies > Windows Settings > Administrative Templates > Windows Components > Security Center

Turn on Security Center (Domain PCs only) Disabled

Also put the following in a batch file:

net start RemoteRegistry

net start “windows installer”

net start msiserver

net start browser

Set it to apply via GPO from Computer Configuration > Policies > Windows Settings > Scripts > Startup

The Vista PCs will require a restart after these settings have been applied.

VCenter services does not start on reboot

admin — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 15:07:24 +0000

I’ve come across this a couple of times now on VCenter servers we have put in where the DB is on the same server and on reboot the VCenter services don’t start due to VCenter trying to work before SQL is operational (gives error 1000 in the application event log). Can we change the VCenter service to have a dependency on the SQL DB by editing the registry with the following when we do the install:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\vpxd

Edit the DependsOnService property to include:

MSSQL$SQLEXP_VIM (or the SQL instance it is using)

ADAM_VMwareVCMSDS

Active Directory lookup for “Password does not expire” flag

paul.rutherford@concise.co.uk — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 14:52:49 +0000

A handy command if you need to check which user accounts are set with the “Password Never Expires” property:

dsquery user | dsget user -samid -pwdneverexpires

Backup Exec – Recovery of a Microsoft Windows 2003 Small Business Server

admin — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 20:46:38 +0000

I. Requirements

1. A backup media must be attached to the computer that is being recovered.

2. A current full backup of the computer to be recovered and any subsequent incremental/differential backups must be done.

3. The sames version Windows 2003 or R2 1st disk for Small Business Server installation media

4. Backup Exec same media version.

If restoring Microsoft SQL Server databases, check:
1. The name of the installed SQL instance before the disaster

2. Whether the SQL Server Agent had been used for the backup on the Windows 2003 Small Business Server before the disaster

3. SQL user name and password if SQL authentication is used

II. Restoring Windows 2003 Small Business Server Operating System

1. Install Windows 2000/2003 Small Business Server. This basic Windows 2003 Small Business Server installation is necessary to provide Backup Exec with a target to which it can restore the system. The computer name, Windows 2003 Small Business Server directory (%systemdrive%:\%windir%) and the file system (NTFS) must be the same as the previous Windows 2003 Small Business Server installation. This installation will be overwritten by the backed up version, which will restore your original system configuration, application settings, and security settings. If recovering from an entire hard disk failure, use Windows 2003 Small Business Server setup to partition and format the new disk during installation. Format the partitions the same size (or larger), and file system as before the failure.

a. Connect the target computer to a hub or switch but be sure it is not connected to the rest of your network – an Internet connection is required.

b1. Windows 2000 SBS: As part of the installation, the computer will be joined to a domain, since Windows 2000 Small Business Server only supports one domain controller installed into one domain.

b2. Windows Server 2003 SBS: DO NOT join the domain, Cancel out of the initial configuration.

c. The only component that should be selected for installation at this time is Small Business Server (Figure 1).

d. Change the Server Name to the Predisaster Server Name. This must be exact. If you ar unsure, run gpresult /Z on any client to gather information about the domain.

d1. While changing the server name, click the more button, this is where you will set the FQDN Fully Quallified Domain Name for the DC without having to join the domain. This is important because the Backup Exec backups will always use a FQDN on a DC, thus a NETBIOS name will not work.

Figure 1

e. The default IP address provided during the installation can be used, as this information will be overwritten during the

installation.

2. Install any, and all, previously installed operating system service packs and hotfixes prior to the disaster. If you do not update server 2003 prior to a restore, you will recieve an error Failure to prepare for restore. You must update the server

3. Install Backup Exec to a directory other than where it was originally installed (this is a temporary installation).

Note: Always log on to Windows 2000/2003 Small Business Server using the Administrator account or its equivalent during this procedure.

4. Using the Device Driver Installation Wizard, install the appropriate device driver for the attached media drive

5. Finish the installation and reboot the server

6. Open Backup Exec and complete the first time wizards

7. From the Devices tab, inventory the media containing the latest full backup of the computer to be recovered

8. Catalog the media containing the latest full backup of the computer to be recovered. If the subsequent differential/incremental backups of the Windows 2000/2003 Small Business Server operating system are on separate media, catalog those also.

NOTE: This typically represents a few hours of work up to this point. If anything is misconfigured or if the restore fails for any reason, the work done thus far will be lost. It is highly suggested to take a Symantec System Recovery(SSR) backup of your clean operating system now. This can be done using SSR in trial mode and so does not require a key. If the restore goes bad, the clean OS can be recovered in 5 minutes from the SSR backup using the Symantec System Recovery Disk (SRD)

http://www.symantec.com/business/products/trialware.jsp?pcid=pcat_business_cont&pvid=1602_1

9. Reboot the computer

10. Press when prompted during the boot-up sequence. A blocked line at the bottom of the screen will show with the prompt to press below it.

11. Select Directory Service Restore Mode

12. Log on to the server as the user “Administrator” with the password that was selected during the installation of Windows 2000/2003 Small Business Server

13. Right-click the My Computer icon on the desktop and select Manage

14. Expand the Services and Applications node

15. Click Services

16. Double-click each of the Backup Exec for Windows NT and Windows 2000 services and do the following for each service:
1. Backup Exec Agent browser (Change it to run with the local system account )
2. Backup Exec Device and media (Change it to run with the local system account )
3. Backup Exec Job engine (Change it to run with the local system account )
4. Backup Exec Server (Change it to run with the local system account )
5. Backup Exec remote agent for Windows servers service runs with the local system account always.
6. SQL server (Bkupexec) in case of a Backup Exec 11d.(Note: In case of BE 10.x and previous versions the service for MSDE for Backup exec “Mssql$bkupexec” would run with the local system account.)
Note: If face any credential issue issue with restore change the account to Administrator account for all service except Backup Exec remote agent for Windows servers service and SQL server (Bkupexec).

a. Click on the Log On tab

b. Select Log on as: Local System Account
If you cannot log on using the Local System Account, try the following Microsoft article:How To Reset the Directory Services Restore Mode Administrator Account Password in Windows Server 2003

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/322672

17. Start all the Backup Exec for Windows NT and Windows 2000 services.

A reboot may be necessary, if the services do not start on the server.

18. Launch Backup Exec for Windows NT and Windows 2000 Small Business Server Edition

19. From the Restore Selections tab, select all sets of backups that contain logical drives on the hard disk.

For the incremental backups select the Full and all the subsequent incremental backups.
If differential backup sets are to be restored, select only the last differential set.
Make sure you include System State or Shadow Copy Components as part of the restore selections.
If Microsoft SQL 2000 or Microsoft Exchange 2000/2003 had been installed as part of the original installation of Microsoft Windows 2000/2003 Small Business Server before the disaster, then deselect them to restore the Microsoft SQL Server directory under the Program Files directory (example: %systemdrive%:\Program Files\Microsoft SQL Server) or the Microsoft Exchange 2000/2003 directory under Program Files (example:%systemdrive%:\Program Files\Exchsrvr).
It is equally important that if the log files for either Microsoft SQL Server or Microsoft Exchange 2000 had been moved to another location during the previous installation of Small Business server, that these log file directories not be restored as well.

20. Click Restore on the toolbar

21. From the General tab, select the options Restore security and Preserve tree

22. From the Advanced tab, select Restore over existing files

23. From the Windows 2000 tab, select Mark this server as the primary arbitrator for replication when restoring folders managed by the File Replication Service, or when restoring the SYSVOL in System State

(Figure 2)

Figure 2

24. Click Run Now to start the restore

25. Reboot the computer

The computer’s operating system is now restored to its pre-disaster state. The data files have been restored, except those protected by Backup Exec database agents.

III. Restoring SQL 2000 Instance and Databases

This section pertains to restoring an SQL Server database using a database backup only. If help is needed for restoring a SQL Server database using sequential restores, restoring SQL Server database transactions to a point in time, restoring SQL Server database transactions to a named transaction in a log, or restoring Microsoft SQL Server user-defined filegroups, then please refer to the Backup Exec for Window NT and Windows 2000 Administrator’s Guide.

1. After the computer’s operating system has been restored to its pre-disaster state, a reinstall of SQL may be needed.

2. Re-install Microsoft SQL 2000 by performing a custom installation of Windows 2000 Small Business Server. It is important that your Microsoft SQL 2000 Server instance be configured as it was before the disaster.

3. Verify that the setup of Microsoft SQL 2000 Server completed successfully by launching SQL Enterprise Manager by registering the newly installed instance and browsing the nodes underneath the instance

4. Once SQL 2000 has been installed, the master database will be the first database to be restored from the backup

5. Access the Services dialog in Windows via Start | Programs | Administrative Tools | Services

6. Right-click on the MSSQLSERVER service and click Stop on the resulting context menu

7. Double-click on the MSSQLSERVER service and on the General tab of the Service Properties dialog, type “-m” in the Start Parameters field

7a. This is performed so the master database is started in Single User mode

7b. If open, close SQL Enterprise Manager before running the restore

8. Click the Start button located on the General tab, and then click OK

9. Once the master database has been successfully restored, the remainder of the databases can be restored

10. Refer to the Related Documents section at the end of this document for more information on restoring databases for SQL.

IV. Restoring Exchange 2000/2003 Databases

The assumption made for this section is that Exchange 2000 was installed as part of the original installation of Windows 2000/2003 Small Business Server. During re-installation of Microsoft Exchange, Administrators may be prompted for the Microsoft Exchange Product Key.

Note: Transaction logs that are present on the system before the databases are restored may interfere with the recovery process and prevent the database from being mounted after the recovery. It is for this reason that the Microsoft Exchange 2000/2003 installation files were not selected for restore during the restoration of the Windows 2000 Small Business Server operating system. If the Exchsrvr directory, C:\Program Files\Exchsrvr, was restored during the restore of the operating system, the Exchsrvr directory will need to be deleted before reinstalling Microsoft Exchange 2000/2003 as outlined in the steps below. Subsequently, log file directories that may have existed will also need to be deleted.

1. Make sure that Backup Exec for Windows NT and Windows 2000 / Backup Exec for Windows Servers applications are closed

2. Set the Backup Exec services to Manual in the Services applet. This is necessary to have Backup Exec not claim exclusive control to the file mapi32.dll.

3. Reboot the server. It is normal for the Backup Exec services to not start after reboot since the Backup Exec services were set to Manual in the step above

4. Insert the Windows 2000 Small Business Server Disk 3 or the media for Windows 2003 Small Business Server that contains the Exchange setup files

5. Log on to the server as Administrator on the domain, click Start | Run and type the following for Windows 2000 SBS:

CD-ROM Drive:\Exchsrvr60\setup\I386\setup.exe /disasterrecovery (correct spelling is essential)

For Windows 2003 SBS:

CD-ROM Drive:\Exchsrvr65\setup\I386\setup.exe /disasterrecovery (correct spelling is essential)

6. Click Next at the Component Selection screen to continue with the Exchange Disaster Recovery Setup process

7. Click OK at the prompt asking to verify that a Server object for the Exchange server exists in Active Directory

8. There will also be multiple prompts indicating that files to be copied already exist and are newer than those being transferred from the CD. Click No to All to retain the newer files.

9. Click OK at the prompt and reboot the server now

10. When the Setup Disaster Recovery process is complete, re-apply any service pack for Exchange Server 2000/2003 that may have been installed on the original installation of Exchange Server 2000/2003 on the original installation of Windows 2000/2003 Small Business Server.

11. From the Services applet, verify if the Microsoft Exchange services are started and if they are not, attempt to start them. Reboot the server only if the Exchange services will not start.

12. Verify with Exchange System Manager that all the Information Store databases in all Storage Groups are dismounted and also set to be overwritten by restores on the Database tab of the Properties dialog of each individual store

13. Change the startup type of the Backup Exec services to Automatic mode and then start the services. Open the Backup Exec console.

14. Catalog the media that contains the latest Full, Incremental, and Differential backups of the Microsoft Exchange 2000/2003 storage groups that are to be recovered

15. Select the latest Full backups of the storage groups for restore

Note: If the Exchange 2000/2003 server being recovered contains the Site Replication Service (SRS) or Key Management Service (KMS), then select those databases for restore as well.

16. Select all subsequent incremental storage group backups. If differential backups are to be restored, only the most recent differential storage group backups need to be selected.

17. Click the Exchange tab, and clear the No Loss Restore selection

18. Enter a location where the associated log and patch files are to be kept until the database is restored in the field Temporary location for log and patch files. After the database is restored, the log and patch files in the temporary location are applied to the database, and then the current log files are applied. After the restore is complete, the log and patch files are automatically deleted from the temporary location (including any sub-directories).

Note: Make sure the temporary location for log and patch files is empty before starting a restore job. If a restore job fails, check the temporary location (including any sub-directories) to make sure any previous log and patch files from a previous restore job were deleted.

19. If the selection contains the last backup set to be restored, select Commit after restore completes. Do not select this option if backup sets still exist to restore. If the option Commit after restore completes is selected when an intermediate backup is being applied, the job cannot continue to restore backups and it must restart the restore operation from the beginning.

20. If the databases are to be immediately available to users after the recovery, select Mount database after restore. This option is only available if Commit after restore completes is selected.

21. Click OK, then click Run Now. The recovery procedure is complete

Hello world!

admin — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 09:12:50 +0000

Web site live date 11/01/2012, hope the information posted helps others