Hello everyone, I am working on a project where I have to backup to tape various Windows machines (mainly XP Professional and Server 2k3). I have been testing many schemes and solutions for the past weeks.
In my search for a quick and painless solution, here is the best method I have found: Backup ------ >From Windows, do a normal backup. The job I use is based upon the windows full set from a vanilla install, with some additions like: RunBeforeJob = "\"C:\\Program Files\\Bacula\\bin\\make_catalog_backup\" bacula bacula" RunBeforeJob = "\"C:\\SetACL.exe\" -on \"\\\\SERVERNAME\\c$\" -ot file -actn list -lst \"f:sddl;w:d,s,o,g\" -rec cont -bckp \"C:\\setacl-c.txt\" -silent" RunBeforeJob = "\"C:\\SetACL.exe\" -on \"\\\\SERVERNAME\\d$\" -ot file -actn list -lst \"f:sddl;w:d,s,o,g\" -rec cont -bckp \"C:\\setacl-d.txt\" -silent" RunBeforeJob = "ntbackup backup systemstate /F \"C:\\systemstate.bkf\"" The "SetACL.exe" program is taken from setacl.sourceforge.net . Restore part 1 -------------- >From Linux (currently Mandriva 2008.1 on an external USB hard drive, but any other distro may fit), with a running MySQL database and a working bacula installation, I bscan the tape to build the catalog. Then, I restore to fresh NTFS partitions. Because the Windows setups I backupped are in French, I need to be careful with encodings. The mount commands I use are of the form: mount -t ntfs-3g -o users,fmask=0113,dmask=0002,locale=fr_CA.UTF-8 /dev/sdb1 /mnt/sdb1 After restoring every file, I use "chntpw" from http://home.eunet.no/pnordahl/ntpasswd/ , which permits me to reset the local administrator's password. Restore part 2 -------------- I reboot into Windows, in Active Directory repair mode. I don't know the exact expression in English; it is one of the many failsafe modes available by pressing F8 before Windows boots. I login with the local administrator account, then I restore the ACL with: C:\> SetACL.exe -on "dummy" -ot file -actn restore -bckp "C:\setacl-c.txt" C:\> SetACL.exe -on "dummy" -ot file -actn restore -bckp "C:\setacl-d.txt" Sometimes, SetACL will choke on certain files, like RECYCLER. You need to filter the offending entries in "setacl-c.txt" and "setacl-d.txt" and restart the process, until it ends successfully. At last, I do a system state restore from "C:\systemstate.bkf", using NTBackup. Final words ----------- This describes the main steps I use to do a complete backup of a Windows machine, and then do a bare-metal recovery. It works correctly, except for file attributes. For example, hidden files are no more hidden. On the other hand, Active Directory works, and the ACL are kept. Alas, I am still stuck with an annoyance: I would like to get rid of NTBackup. I need it to do a system state copy, because if I don't do a restore at the end, Active Directory will complain and make Windows unable to boot. It would be nice not having to copy a ~500 MB file every incremental backup. Thanks, and hope that will help, Alexandre Boily ------------------------------------------------------------------------- This SF.Net email is sponsored by the Moblin Your Move Developer's challenge Build the coolest Linux based applications with Moblin SDK & win great prizes Grand prize is a trip for two to an Open Source event anywhere in the world http://moblin-contest.org/redirect.php?banner_id=100&url=/ _______________________________________________ Bacula-devel mailing list [email protected] https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/bacula-devel
