Veritas™ System Recovery 21 User's Guide

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Product(s): System Recovery (21)
  1. Introducing Veritas System Recovery
    1.  
      About Veritas System Recovery
    2.  
      The components of Veritas System Recovery
    3.  
      Accessing Help and Support for Veritas System Recovery
    4.  
      Sending your feedback regarding Veritas System Recovery 21
    5.  
      Accessing Veritas QuickAssist (VQA)
    6.  
      Updating Veritas System Recovery with Veritas Update
  2. Installing Veritas System Recovery
    1.  
      System requirements for Veritas System Recovery
    2.  
      Supported file systems, disk types, disk partition schemes, and removable media
    3.  
      Feature availability in Veritas System Recovery
    4.  
      About the trial version of Veritas System Recovery
    5. Installing Veritas System Recovery
      1.  
        Activating and setting up Veritas System Recovery after installation
      2.  
        Activating Veritas System Recovery after the trial period
    6.  
      Uninstalling Veritas System Recovery
    7.  
      System requirements for Veritas System Recovery Monitor
    8.  
      Installing Veritas System Recovery Monitor
  3. Ensuring the recovery of your computer
    1. Creating a new Veritas System Recovery Disk
      1.  
        Welcome Panel
      2. Creation Options
        1.  
          Veritas System Recovery Disk recovery matrix
        2.  
          Veritas System Recovery Disk customization support matrix
        3.  
          Non-availability of the Typical option
      3.  
        Download and install Windows Assessment and Deployment Kit (ADK)
      4.  
        Languages Options
      5.  
        Veritas System Recovery Disk Storage Media/Destination Options
      6.  
        Licensed Features Options
      7. Storage and Network Drivers Options
        1.  
          Adding a Storage or Network Driver
      8.  
        Startup Options
      9.  
        Network Options
      10.  
        Setup LightsOut Restore Options
    2. Customizing an existing Veritas System Recovery Disk
      1.  
        Welcome Panel
      2.  
        Recovery Disk Source Options
      3. Veritas System Recovery Disk Storage Media/Destination Options
        1.  
          How to add new drivers or driver versions to the Veritas System Recovery Disk
      4.  
        Licensed Features Options
      5. Storage and Network Drivers Options
        1.  
          Adding a Storage or Network Driver
      6.  
        Startup Options
      7.  
        Network Options
    3. About restoring a computer from a remote location by using LightsOut Restore
      1. Configuring LightsOut Restore
        1.  
          Welcome Panel
        2.  
          Source Location Options
        3.  
          Licensed Features Options
        4. Storage and Network Drivers Options
          1.  
            Adding a Storage or Network Driver
        5.  
          Startup Options
        6.  
          Network Options
        7.  
          Setup LightsOut Restore Options
    4.  
      Testing the Veritas System Recovery Disk
  4. Getting Started
    1.  
      How to use Veritas System Recovery
    2.  
      Starting Veritas System Recovery
    3.  
      Configuring Veritas System Recovery default options
    4. Setting up default general backup options
      1.  
        Setting a default backup destination
    5.  
      Improving your computer's performance during a backup
    6.  
      Enabling network throttling
    7.  
      Setting default options for the Windows notification area
    8. File types and file extension
      1.  
        Adding new file types and extensions
      2.  
        Renaming file types and extensions
      3.  
        Restoring default file types and extensions
      4.  
        Deleting a file type and all of its extensions
    9.  
      Removing or changing the unique name for an external drive
    10.  
      Configuring default FTP settings for use with Offsite Copy
    11.  
      Logging Veritas System Recovery messages
    12.  
      Enabling email notifications for product (event) messages
    13.  
      Setting up your first backup using Easy Setup
    14.  
      Home page
    15.  
      Status page
    16.  
      Tasks page
    17.  
      Tools page
    18.  
      Advanced page
    19.  
      Using Veritas System Recovery RESTful Application Programming Interfaces (APIs)
  5. Best practices for backing up your data
    1.  
      About backing up your data
    2.  
      Best practices for backing up data
    3.  
      What to do when a backup is finished
    4.  
      Tips for running defined backups
    5.  
      Backup destinations
    6.  
      Backing up dual-boot computers
    7.  
      Manually validating recovery points
  6. Backing up entire drives
    1. Defining a drive-based backup
      1. USB disk rotation
        1.  
          How USB disk rotation works
      2.  
        Rules for network credentials
      3.  
        Running command files during a backup
      4.  
        Editing backup options
      5.  
        Verifying the integrity of a recovery point
      6.  
        Viewing the progress of a backup
      7.  
        Recovery point encryption
    2.  
      Compression levels for recovery points
    3.  
      Running a one-time backup from Veritas System Recovery
    4.  
      Running a backup from Veritas System Recovery Disk
    5.  
      How Offsite Copy works
  7. Backing up files and folders
    1.  
      Backing up files and folders
  8. Running and managing backup jobs
    1. Running an existing backup job immediately
      1.  
        Running a backup to create an alternate type of recovery point
    2.  
      Adjusting the speed of a backup
    3.  
      Stopping a backup or a recovery task
    4.  
      Verifying that a backup is successful
    5.  
      Viewing the properties of a backup job
    6.  
      Editing backup settings
    7.  
      Enabling event-triggered backups
    8.  
      Editing a backup schedule
    9.  
      Disabling or enabling a backup job
    10.  
      Deleting backup jobs
    11.  
      Adding users who can back up your computer
    12.  
      Configuring access rights for users or groups
  9. Backing up remote computers from your computer
    1. About backing up other computers from your computer
      1.  
        Adding remote computers to the Computer List
      2.  
        Adding local computers to the Computer List
      3.  
        Removing a computer from the Computer List
    2. About the Veritas System Recovery Agent
      1.  
        Using the Veritas System Recovery Agent
      2.  
        About managing the Veritas System Recovery Agent through Windows Services
    3. About deploying the Veritas System Recovery Agent
      1.  
        Preparing a computer in a workgroup environment to deploy the Veritas System Recovery Agent
      2.  
        Deploying the Veritas System Recovery Agent
      3.  
        Manually installing the Veritas System Recovery Agent
    4. Best practices for Veritas System Recovery services
      1.  
        Opening Windows services
      2.  
        Starting or stopping the Veritas System Recovery Agent service
      3.  
        Setting up recovery actions when the Veritas System Recovery Agent does not start
    5.  
      Viewing Veritas System Recovery Agent dependencies
    6. About controlling access to Veritas System Recovery
      1.  
        Enabling users or groups to access Veritas System Recovery
      2.  
        Changing permissions for a user or a group
      3.  
        Disabling access for users or groups to Veritas System Recovery
      4.  
        Running Veritas System Recovery using different user rights
  10. Monitoring the status of your backups
    1. About monitoring backups
      1.  
        Refreshing the information that displays about hard disk configuration changes
    2.  
      Icons on the Home page
    3.  
      Icons on the Status page
    4.  
      Configuring Veritas System Recovery to send SNMP traps
    5.  
      Customizing the status reporting of a drive (or file and folder backups)
    6.  
      Viewing drive details
    7.  
      Improving the protection level of a drive
    8.  
      About using event log information to troubleshoot problems
  11. Monitoring the backup status of remote computers using Veritas System Recovery Monitor
    1.  
      About Veritas System Recovery Monitor
    2.  
      Starting Veritas System Recovery Monitor
    3.  
      Icons on the Veritas System Recovery Monitor console
    4.  
      Configuring Veritas System Recovery Monitor default options
    5. Adding a remote computer to the Computer List
      1.  
        Importing a text file to add multiple remote computers to the Computer List
    6.  
      Modifying the logon credentials for the remote computers
    7.  
      Removing a remote computer from the Computer List
    8.  
      Viewing the backup protection status of a remote computer
    9.  
      Viewing the Protection Status report
  12. Exploring the contents of a recovery point
    1.  
      About exploring recovery points
    2. Exploring a recovery point through Windows Explorer
      1.  
        Mounting a recovery point from Windows Explorer
    3.  
      Opening and restoring files within a recovery point browser
    4.  
      Dismounting a recovery point drive
    5.  
      Viewing the drive properties of a recovery point
  13. Managing backup destinations
    1.  
      About backup destinations
    2.  
      Differences between drive-based backups and file and folder backups
    3.  
      Cleaning up old recovery points
    4.  
      Deleting a recovery point set
    5.  
      Deleting recovery points within a recovery point set
    6.  
      Copying recovery points
    7. About managing file and folder backup data
      1.  
        Viewing the amount of file and folder backup data that is stored on a backup destination
      2.  
        Manually deleting files from your backups of files and folders
      3.  
        Finding versions of a file or folder
    8.  
      Automating the management of backup data
    9.  
      Moving your backup destination
    10.  
      About support of OneDrive for Business
  14. Managing virtual conversions
    1.  
      Defining a virtual conversion job
    2.  
      Running an existing virtual conversion job immediately
    3.  
      Viewing the properties of a virtual conversion job
    4.  
      Viewing the progress of a virtual conversion job
    5.  
      Editing a virtual conversion job
    6.  
      Deleting a virtual conversion job
    7.  
      Running a one-time conversion of a physical recovery point to a virtual disk
  15. Managing cloud storage
    1. Direct to cloud
      1.  
        Providing the OpenStorage destination path
      2.  
        OpenStorage destination options for backups
      3.  
        OpenStorage destination options for recovery
    2.  
      Downloading OpenStorage Files
    3.  
      How Offsite Copy works for cloud storage
    4. About creation of Amazon Machine Image (AMI) in Amazon from Veritas System Recovery backups
      1.  
        How to create an Amazon Machine Image (AMI)
      2.  
        How to view the conversion tasks and AMI status
    5. About S3-Compatible Cloud Storage
      1.  
        Using S3-Compatible Cloud Storage in Veritas System Recovery
    6. About Veritas System Recovery supporting Veritas Access
      1.  
        Using Veritas Access Storage in Veritas System Recovery
    7.  
      About the Cloud Instance Creator Utility
  16. Recovering files, folders, or entire drives
    1.  
      About recovering lost data
    2.  
      Recovering files and folders by using file and folder backup data
    3.  
      Recovering files and folders
    4.  
      Recovering a secondary drive
    5.  
      Recovering a drive
    6.  
      Exploring files and folders on your computer by using Veritas System Recovery Disk
    7.  
      Recovering files and folders by using Veritas System Recovery Disk
  17. Recovering a computer
    1.  
      About recovering a Unified Extensible Firmware Interface (UEFI)-based computer
    2. Booting a computer by using the Veritas System Recovery Disk
      1.  
        Configuring a computer to start from a USB device or DVD
    3.  
      Preparing to recover a computer by checking the hard disk for errors
    4.  
      Recovering a computer
    5.  
      Recovering a computer from a virtual disk file
    6.  
      Recovering a computer with different hardware
    7. About using the networking tools in Veritas System Recovery Disk
      1.  
        Starting networking services
      2.  
        Mapping a network drive from within Veritas System Recovery Disk
      3. Configuring network connection settings
        1.  
          Setting a status IP address to enable recovery from a recovery point on a network share or drive
        2.  
          Getting a static IP address if pinging is unsuccessful
    8.  
      Viewing the properties of a recovery point in the Veritas System Recovery Disk
    9.  
      Viewing the properties of a drive within a recovery point in the Veritas System Recovery Disk
    10.  
      About the Support Utilities
  18. Copying a hard drive
    1.  
      Preparing to copy a hard drive
    2.  
      Copying one hard drive to another hard drive
  19. Using the Veritas System Recovery Granular Restore Option
    1.  
      About the Veritas System Recovery Granular Restore Option
    2. Best practices when you create recovery points for use with the Granular Restore Option
      1.  
        Protecting your Microsoft Exchange server for successful backups
    3.  
      Starting the Granular Restore Option
    4.  
      Starting Granular Restore Option and opening a specific recovery point
    5.  
      Restoring a Microsoft Exchange mailbox
    6.  
      Restoring a Microsoft Exchange email folder
    7.  
      Restoring a Microsoft Exchange email message
    8.  
      Restoring files and folders using Granular Restore Option
  20. Appendix A. Backing up databases using Veritas System Recovery
    1.  
      About backing up databases using Veritas System Recovery
    2.  
      Creating a manual cold (offline) backup
    3.  
      Creating an automatic warm backup
    4.  
      Creating a hot (online) backup using Veritas System Recovery
  21. Appendix B. Backing up Active Directory
    1.  
      Tips for protecting a domain controller in Active Directory
  22. Appendix C. Backing up Microsoft virtual environments
    1.  
      About backing up Microsoft virtual hard disks
    2.  
      About backing up and restoring Microsoft Hyper-V virtual machines
  23. Appendix D. Using Veritas System Recovery 21 and Windows Server Core
    1.  
      About Veritas System Recovery 21 and Windows Server Core
    2.  
      Installing Veritas System Recovery 21 on Windows Server Core using commands
  24.  
    Index

Running a one-time backup from Veritas System Recovery

You can use One Time Backup to quickly define and run a backup that creates an independent recovery point. You use the One Time Backup wizard to define the backup. The backup runs when you complete the wizard. The backup definition is not saved for future use. You can use the independent recovery point later.

This feature is useful when you need to back up your computer or a particular drive quickly before a significant event. For example, you can run a one-time backup before you install new software. Or, you can run it when you learn about a new computer security threat.

You can also use Veritas System Recovery Disk to create one-time cold backups.

To run a one-time backup from Veritas System Recovery

  1. On the Tasks page, click One Time Backup.
  2. Click Next.
  3. Select one or more drives to back up, and then click Next.

    Note:

    Veritas System Recovery 21 is able to display the drives from a GPT disk even if one of the GPT headers is corrupted or if there is a disk signature collision.

  4. If the Related Drives dialog box is displayed, set the appropriate option, and then click Next. Otherwise, skip to the next step.

    Add all related drives (recommended)

    Lets you select and include all related drives in the backup definition.

    Edit the list of selected drives

    Lets you select or clear the related drives that you want or do not want to include in the backup definition.

    Do not add related drives

    Lets you deselect (not include) all related drives in the backup definition.

  5. In the Backup Destinations panel, select the appropriate options.

    Folder

    Indicates the location where you want to store the recovery points.

    You can browse or enter a Microsoft OneDrive location as the primary destination.

    See About support of OneDrive for Business.

    You can specify a hidden drive as a location where you want to store the recovery points in the following format:

    DiskNo-PartitionNo\

    For example, If 2 is the disk number and 3 is the partition number, you must specify 2-3\ as the location.

    Note:

    By default, this check box is not selected.

    If Veritas System Recovery detects that this location does not have enough available space, it alerts you. You should choose another location that has more space.

    Show only hidden drives

    Select this check box and click Browse to only see a list of the hidden drives.

    You can select a hidden drive as a location where you want to store the recovery points.

    The hidden drives are displayed in the following format:

    DiskNo-PartitionNo\

    For example, a hidden drive is displayed as: 2-3\. Where 2 is the disk number and 3 is the partition number.

    Note:

    By default, this check box is not selected.

    Browse

    Lets you browse to locate a backup destination that you want to use.

    Browse for OpenStorage Destination

    Lets you browse to select a cloud storage destination that you want to use for backups.

    See OpenStorage destination options for backups.

    Destination Details

    Displays the type of destination path. If you add a network path it also displays the user name.

    Recovery points are not automatically encrypted.

    Veritas recommends that you create permissions for the backup destination to prevent unauthorized access to any data contained in the recovery points. For more information, refer to the following link:

    https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc732880(v=ws.11).aspx

    Note:

    Veritas recommends that you use AES encryption when defining a backup to prevent unauthorized access to any data contained in the recovery points.

    Edit

    Lets you enter the user name and password for access to the network that is specified in the Folder field. This option is available only if you selected a backup destination that is on a network and if you want to save the recovery point on a network share.

    See Rules for network credentials.

    Customize recovery point file names

    Lets you rename the recovery point.

    Default file names include the name of the computer followed by the drive letter.

    You can also save recovery points to a unique subfolder.

    Enable USB Disk Rotation. Backup files to any USB disk inserted at this location

    Select this check box to enable the USB disk rotation feature for USB disks.

    See USB disk rotation.

    Add

    Lets you add up to two Offsite Copy destinations.

    Offsite Copy automatically copies your latest recovery points each time a backup completes to either a portable storage device, such as an external drive, or to a remote server either through a local area network connection or to a remote FTP server.

    See How Offsite Copy works.

  6. Click Next.
  7. On the Options panel, select the appropriate options, and then click Next

    Recovery Point options

    Name

    Indicates a name for your backup.

    Note:

    This option does not appear if you create a recovery point using the Back Up My Computer feature in Veritas System Recovery Disk.

    Compression

    Lets you set one of the following compression levels for the recovery point:

    • None

    • Standard

    • Medium

    • High

    The results can vary depending on the types of files that are saved in the drive.

    Verify recovery point after creation

    Tests whether a recovery point or set of files is valid or corrupt.

    Limit the number of recovery point saved for this backup

    Limits the number of recovery point that can be saved for this backup. You can limit the number of recovery points to reduce the risk of filling up the hard drive with recovery points. Each new recovery point replaces the oldest set on your backup destination drive.

    The backup destination must contain enough free space for the number of recovery points the job is set to retain, plus one. For example, if the maximum number of recovery points to retain is set to 3, the required space in the backup destination should be able to hold 4 recovery point sets. Veritas System Recovery 21 removes the oldest recovery point set only after the successful completion of the current backup. This ensures that the number of recovery points meets the recovery point retention setting.

    This option appears only if you are creating a recovery point set.

    Note:

    This option does not appear if you create a recovery point using the Back Up My Computer feature in a Veritas System Recovery Disk.

    Include system and temporary files

    Includes an indexing support for operating system and temporary files when a recovery point is created on the client computer.

    Note:

    This option does not appear if you create a recovery point using the Back Up My Computer feature in Veritas System Recovery Disk.

    Advanced

    Lets you add security options to the recovery point.

    Command Files

    Lets you use command files (.exe, .cmd, .bat) during a backup.

    See Running command files during a backup.

    Description

    Indicates a description for the recovery point. The description can be anything that helps you further identify the recovery point's contents.

    Advanced options

    Divide into smaller files to simplify archiving

    Splits the recovery point into smaller files and specifies the maximum size (in MB) for each file.

    This option is selected by default when you specify a Microsoft OneDrive location as your primary destination. A recovery point that is larger than 10 GB is automatically split into smaller files of less than 10 GB. You can split the size of the recovery point into smaller recovery points.

    Disable SmartSector™ Copying

    Copies that are used and unused hard-disk sectors. This option increases process time and usually results in a larger recovery point.

    SmartSector technology speeds up the copying process by copying only the hard-disk sectors that contain data. However, in some cases, you might want to copy all sectors in their original layout, whether or not they contain data.

    Ignore bad sectors during copy

    Runs a backup even if there are bad sectors on the hard disk. Although most drives do not have bad sectors, the potential for problems increases during the lifetime of the hard disk.

    Perform full VSS backup

    Lets you perform a full backup on the VSS storage and send a request for VSS to review its own transaction log. This option is used for Microsoft Exchange Server only.

    Exchange VSS determines what transactions are already committed to the database and then truncates those transactions. Among other things, truncated transaction logs help keep the file size manageable and limits the amount of hard drive space that the file uses.

    If you do not select this option, backups still occur on the VSS storage. However, VSS does not automatically truncate the transaction logs following a backup.

    Note:

    This option does not appear if you create a recovery point using the Back Up My Computer wizard feature in Veritas System Recovery Disk.

  8. In the Security Options panel, set the password, select the level of encryption for the one-time backup, and then click Next.

    Use password

    Sets a password and enables AES encryption on the recovery point when it is created.

    This check box is selected by default.

    Password

    Lets you specify a password for the backup. Passwords can include standard characters. Passwords cannot include extended characters, or symbols. (Use characters with an ASCII value of 128 or lower.)

    You must type this password before you restore a backup or view the contents of the recovery point.

    Confirm password

    Lets you retype the password for confirmation.

    AES encryption

    Encrypts recovery point data to add another level of protection to your recovery points.

    If you upgrade from a previous version to Veritas System Recovery 21, for older backup jobs where only password protection is defined, you need to edit the jobs to select the AES encryption level. If you do not edit the older backup jobs, they continue to run without AES Encryption. Veritas recommends that you edit the job and select AES encryption level.

    Note:

    If the Use Password check box is selected, you must define AES encryption.

    Choose from the following encryption levels:

    • Standard 128-bit (8+ character password)

    • Medium 192-bit (16+ character password)

    • High 256-bit (32+ character password)

  9. If appropriate, in the lists, select the command files that you want to run during a particular stage in the recovery point creation process. Then, specify the amount of time (in seconds) that you want the command to run before it is stopped.

    If you added the command file to the Command Files folder, you may need to click Back, and then Next to see the files in each stage's list.

    Command files folder

    Specifies the location of command files if you want them to be located in a place other than the default location. You can also specify a location on a per-job basis, as well as specify a location that can be shared among several computers. If you specify a network location, you are prompted for network credentials.

    Browse

    Lets you browse to locate a folder for any command files that you want to use.

    User name

    Specifies the user name to a command file folder that is located in a network path.

    Password

    Specifies the password to a command file folder that is located in a network path.

    Run before snapshot creation

    Indicates that you can run a command file after a backup has started and before a recovery point is created. You can run a command during this stage to prepare for the recovery point creation process. For example, you can close any open applications that are using the drive.

    Note:

    If you use this option, be sure that the command file has an error recovery mechanism that is built into it. If the computer has one or more services that must be stopped at this stage, and the command file does not contain any form of error recovery, one or more of the stopped services may not be restarted. For example, stopping a non-VSS aware database or a resource-intensive application. An error in the command file can cause the recovery point creation process to stop immediately. No other command files can run.

    See How to use Veritas System Recovery.

    Run after snapshot creation

    Indicates that you can run a command file after a snapshot is created. Running a command during this stage is a safe point to allow services to resume on the drive while continuing the recovery point creation.

    Because the snapshot takes only a few seconds to create, the database is in the backup state momentarily. A minimal number of log files are created.

    Run after recovery point creation

    Indicates that you can run a command file after the recovery point file is created. You can run a command during this stage to act on the recovery point itself. For example, you can copy it to an offline location.

    Timeout (applies to each stage)

    Lets you specify the amount of time (in seconds) that a command file is allowed to run.

  10. Click Next.
  11. Click Finish to run the backup.