Re: [Networker] Exchange Directed Restore for DR purposes

EMC NetWorker discussion <NETWORKER AT LISTSERV.TEMPLE DOT EDU> wrote on 
04/18/2008 04:57:25 AM:

> Hello,
> 
> we must do a (test) directed restore of 1 Exchange Storage Group. 
> Environment  NSR 7.2 on windows exchange  with NME 4.1
> 
> the goal was to set up a new server with identical windows and 
> exchange setup (but on different hardware) in the production environment
>  then just do a directed exchange recover.
> 
> however the NME admin guide state that this recover server must be 
> in a different activ directory forest
> 
> does anybody knows how we can prove (by only using networker) that 
> the exchange backup can be restored in case of disaster. we thougt of 2 
ways
> 1) test in in production, like described above, but then a new 
> forest must be built (is this really needed?)

I don't use Exchange here, but that sounds ... not correct .. it would 
really defeat the purpose. Exchange is tightly tied to Active Directory, 
and Exchange won't start, if it finds itself in a completely different AD 
environment. If it can, it's probably highly complicated to get it to 
transfer from the old forest name to the new ...

> 2) set up a test environment, but then you need to set up a active 
> directory as well and Networker can only recover this as part of the
> SYSTEM save sets, which need Identical Hardware for production and 
> recover server --> not possible

Virtualize. :-) At my old job, I had domain controllers (not the FSMO role 
holders) that were in a VMware environment. We restored the AD image to a 
new VMware server, completely separate from the old domain. When the DC 
came up, we seized all the AD roles, and it all worked - the virtual DC 
was now authoritative for the domain. Granted, in our tests then, we 
didn't restore Exchange, but we did restore other servers, and they didn't 
care - they saw the AD domain they were looking for.


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