The Definitive Guide To

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Windows Application and Server Backup 2.0

Don Jones

Introduction

IntroductiontoRealtimePublishers
by Don Jones, Series Editor

Forseveralyearsnow,Realtimehasproduceddozensanddozensofhighqualitybooks thatjusthappentobedeliveredinelectronicformatatnocosttoyou,thereader.Weve madethisuniquepublishingmodelworkthroughthegeneroussupportandcooperationof oursponsors,whoagreetobeareachbooksproductionexpensesforthebenefitofour readers. Althoughwevealwaysofferedourpublicationstoyouforfree,dontthinkforamoment thatqualityisanythinglessthanourtoppriority.Myjobistomakesurethatourbooksare asgoodasandinmostcasesbetterthananyprintedbookthatwouldcostyou$40or more.Ourelectronicpublishingmodeloffersseveraladvantagesoverprintedbooks:You receivechaptersliterallyasfastasourauthorsproducethem(hencetherealtimeaspect ofourmodel),andwecanupdatechapterstoreflectthelatestchangesintechnology. Iwanttopointoutthatourbooksarebynomeanspaidadvertisementsorwhitepapers. Wereanindependentpublishingcompany,andanimportantaspectofmyjobistomake surethatourauthorsarefreetovoicetheirexpertiseandopinionswithoutreservationor restriction.Wemaintaincompleteeditorialcontrolofourpublications,andImproudthat weveproducedsomanyqualitybooksoverthepastyears. Iwanttoextendaninvitationtovisitusathttp://nexus.realtimepublishers.com,especially ifyouvereceivedthispublicationfromafriendorcolleague.Wehaveawidevarietyof additionalbooksonarangeoftopics,andyouresuretofindsomethingthatsofinterestto youanditwontcostyouathing.WehopeyoullcontinuetocometoRealtimeforyour educationalneedsfarintothefuture. Untilthen,enjoy. DonJones

Table of Contents IntroductiontoRealtimePublishers.................................................................................................................i Chapter1:Introduction.........................................................................................................................................1 ThePhilosophyofBackup...............................................................................................................................2 WhyBackup1.0IsNoLongerEnough.......................................................................................................3 BackupWindows............................................................................................................................................3 NonContinuous..............................................................................................................................................5 JusttheDataNottheApplication.........................................................................................................5 DisasterRecoveryIsTooInflexible........................................................................................................6 Backup1.0:TheVerdict...............................................................................................................................7 BackupBasics........................................................................................................................................................7 WhyBackUp?...................................................................................................................................................7 WhatDoYouBackUp?.................................................................................................................................8 WhenDoYouBackUp?.............................................................................................................................10 WhatTypeofBackupWillYouUse? ....................................................................................................11 WhereDoYouStoreBackups?...............................................................................................................13 ShouldYouTestBackups?.......................................................................................................................13 AreYouKeepinganEyeonYourBackups?......................................................................................14 ApproachestoBackingUp............................................................................................................................16 FileBasedBackups.....................................................................................................................................16 ImageBackups..............................................................................................................................................17 ApplicationSpecificIdeas........................................................................................................................18 OurBackup2.0WishList..............................................................................................................................21 WhatsAhead......................................................................................................................................................22

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Copyright Statement

Copyright Statement
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Chapter 1

Chapter1:Introduction
Thefirstbackuptechnicallywasaround1951,whenthefirstgenerationofdigital computingappearedintheformofUNIVACI.Thebackups,suchastheywere,werethe punchcardsusedtofeedinstructionstothemassivemachine.Oncecomputersbeganto usemoreflexibleformsofstorage,reeltoreelmagnetictapebegantoreplacepunchcards. In1965,IBMintroducedthefirstcomputerharddrives,althoughthroughthe1970s,these devicesremainedimpracticallyexpensivetouseforbackups.Floppydiskscameintousein 1969an8inchmonsterstoringjust80kilobytesofdata.Recordablecompactdisks becameavailableintheearly1990s,andflashdrivesbecamecommonintheearlypartof the21stcentury.Shockingly,magnetictapethesecondoldestformofbackupstorageis stillinusetoday.Figure1.1showsatimelineofdatabackupstorage(excerptedfrom www.backuphistory.com),andyoucanseethattapeisstillaliveandwellandhasbeen foralmost50years.

Figure1.1:Backupstoragetimeline. Theresaninterestingparalleltobedrawnhere:Despitenumeroustechnicaladvancesin storage,wecontinuetorelyononeoftheoldestmediumstostorebackups.Thesame appliestoourbackuptechniquesandprocedures:Despiteadvancesinhowweperform backups,wetendtostillusethesamedecadesoldtechniques,albeitwrappedupinpretty newtools.

Chapter 1 Throughoutcomputinghistory,backupshavebeenpractical,simpleprocedures:Copya bunchofdatafromoneplacetoanother.Complexitiesarisewithalwaysondatalikethe databasesusedbyExchangeServerandSQLServer,andvarioustechniqueshavebeen developedtoaccessthatformofinusedata;however,backupshaveultimatelyalways beenaboutafairlysimple,straightforwardcopy.Evenmagnetictapemuchmore advancedthaninthe1960s,ofcourseisstillaprimaryformofstorageformany organizationsbackups. IcallitBackup1.0essentiallythesamewayweveallbeenmakingbackupssincethe beginningoftime,withtheonlymajorchangesbeingthestoragemediumweuse.Although manybrightengineershavecomeupwithclevervariationsontheBackup1.0theme,its stillbasicallythesame.AndIsayitsnolongerenough.Weneedtorethinkwhywedo backups,andinventBackup2.0anewwaytobackupourdatathatmeetstodays businessneeds.Surprisingly,manyofthetechniquesandtechnologiesthatsupportBackup 2.0alreadyexistwejustneedtoidentifythem,bringthemtogether,andstartusingthem.

ThePhilosophyofBackup
Letsstartwiththequestion,Whydowebackup? Isupposethefirstanswerthatcomestomindissimpleenough:Sothatwedontloseany data.Butthatsnotactuallyanaccurateanswer.Personally,Idontbackthingsupjustso theywillneverbelost;IbackthemupsothatIcancontinueusingthem.Thatsasubtle difference,butanimportantone.Ifyoureonlyconcernedaboutneverlosingdata,Backup 1.0isprobablysufficient:Copyyourdatatoalongtermstoragemediumprobably magnetictapeandstickitinavaultsomewhere.Youcouldcallitarchivingandbemore accurate,really.Butmostorganizationsarentasconcernedaboutarchivingastheyare aboutmakingsurethatdataremainsavailable,whichmeansyounotonlyneedabackup butalsoameansofrestoringthedatatousability.Sotherealanswer,formost organizations,ismorecomplicated:Sothatourdataremainsavailabletousallthetime. ThatswhereBackup1.0thebackuptechniquesandtechnologiesweveallusedforever andarestillnativetooperatingsystems(OSs)likeMicrosoftWindowscanreallyfail. Makingacopyofdataisonething;puttingthatcopybackintoproductionuseisoftentoo slow,toocomplicated,andtoomonolithic.AndthatswhereBackup1.0failsus.Aswestart consideringBackup2.0,andwhatweneedittodo,weneedtobearinmindourreal purposeforbackingup.Ultimately,wedontcareaboutthebackinguppartverymuchat allwecareabouttherestorepartalotmore.

Chapter 1

WhyBackup1.0IsNoLongerEnough
Ourdecadesoldbackuptechniquesarenotsufficientanymore.Theymaybegreatfor creatingbackupsalthoughinmanycases,theyarentevengoodforthatbuttheydonot excelatbringingtherightdatabackintoproductionasquicklyaspossible.Despite advancesinspecializedagents,compressednetworktransmissions,andsoforth,werestill justmakingacopyofthedata,andthatdoesntalwayslenditselfwelltorestoringthedata. Why?

BackupWindows
Oneproblemistheneedforbackupwindows,periodsoftimeinwhichourdataisntbeing usedveryheavily,sothatwecangrabaconsistentcopyofit.Consistencyiscriticalfor backups:Allthedatainanygivencopyneedstobeinternallyconsistent.Wecantbackup halfadatabasenowandtheotherhalflaterbecausethetwohalveswontmatch.Asour datastoresgrowlargerandlarger,however,gettingafullbackupbecomesmoreandmore difficult. MicrosoftsTerraServer,whichstoresandprovidesaccesstosatellitephotographsforthe entireUnitedStates,hasadatastoreinexcessof1terabyte,andevenwithfairlyadvanced backuphardware,itstilltakesalmost8hourstobackitallup.Thatsatotaldata throughputof137GBperhourbutifthatdatawereinconstantuse,itwouldbecomeless practicaltomakeacompletecopyonaregularbasis. Asaworkaround,wecommonlyusedifferentialorincrementalbackups.Theseallowusto grabalotlessdataallatonce,makingiteasiertomakeourbackupcopy.Theproblemis thattheseignoretherealreasonwemadethebackupinthefirstplacetoenableusto restorethatdata.ConsideracommonbackupapproachthatusesSQLServersnative backupcapabilities: Sunday,fullbackup Everyweekdayevening,adifferentialbackup Everyhourduringthedayfrom8amto5pm,alogbackup

Thoseweeknightdifferentialsgrabeverythingthathaschangedsincethelastfullbackup (asopposedtoanincremental,whichgrabseverythingthathaschangedsincethelastfull orthelastincremental).IfsomethinggoeswrongonFridayat4:05pm,theresalotofdata torestore: LastSundaysfullbackupwhichwillbefairlylarge Thursdaysdifferentialwhichwillalsohavegrownquitelarge ThelogbackupsfromFridayat8am,9am,10am,11am,noon,1pm,2pm,3pm,and 4pmthatsninefilesinall,althougheachwillbefairlysmall

Figure1.2illustratesthesedifferentbackuptypes.

Chapter 1

Figure1.2:SQLServerbackuptypes. Thatsatonofworkandatonofwaitingwhiletapesandharddrivesspin,restoringall thatdata.Sure,wewonthavelostmuchjust5minutesworthofworkbutonalarge database(say,aterabyteorso),youcouldeasilybewaitingfor16hoursormore. Andthatsifthebackupsallwork.Tapedrivesandevenharddrivesarenotimmuneto corruption,errors,andfailures,andoneofthemostcommonstoriesintheworldisthe administratorwhorealizedthatthebackuptapeswerenogoodandrealizeditwhile tryingtorestorefromoneofthem.Weallknowthatweshouldtestourbackups,but honestly,doyoudoit?Outofmorethan300consultingclientsIveworkedwithinthepast 10orsoyears,oneofthemhadaregularlyscheduledplantodotestrestores.One.Less thanonepercent.Why? Well,theonecustomerwhodidregularlyscheduledtestrestoreshadadedicated administratorwhodidalmostnothingelse.Afulltestrestoreoftheirenvironment,using Backup1.0styletechniquesandtechnologies,wouldrequiretheentireITteamabouta weektoperform.Thatoneadministratorcouldtestrestorevarioussystems,oneatatime, overthecourseofamonthandthenstartover.Ithinkthatprettymuchanswersthe questionaboutwhysofewpeopletesttheirbackups.Itsasimple:Toomuchdataforfull backupsresultsinworkaroundssuchasdifferentialsandincrementalsthatcontributeto lengthyrestoretimes,whichiswhyweneverbothertotestandwhy,whentherubber hitstheroadandweneedthosebackups,nobodyishappyabouthowlongittakestograb theneededdata.

Chapter 1

NonContinuous
Backup1.0hasanothermajorweakpoint:Itsalwaysapointintime.Asnapshot.Non continuous,inotherwords.ConsideroneapproachtobackingupActiveDirectory(AD), whichIseealotofmycustomersusing: FullbackupofeverydomaincontrollersSystemStateontheweekends.Thisisa quick,fairlysmallbackupevenanexceptionallylargedomaincanbebackedupin afewminutes. Ononeortwodomaincontrollers,atwicedailybackupoftheSystemState.Again, thisoperationisquick.

Theproblemisthatyoualwaysstandtoloseahalfdaysworthofworkbecauseyoure onlytakingsnapshotstwiceaday.Whatifyoujustimportedacoupleofhundrednew usersintothedomain,addedthemtogroups,andassignedthemfilepermissionson variousfileservers?Losingthatworknotonlymeansyouhavetostartover,italsomeans youvegotorphanSecurityIdentifiers(SIDs)floatingaroundonallthosefilepermission AccessControlLists(ACLs).Youllnotonlyhavetorepeatyourwork,youllalsohaveto cleanupallthoseACLs. BusinessestendtodesignbackupstrategiesaroundtheconceptofHowmuchdataarewe willingtolose,andhowmuchworkarewewillingtorepeat?Theresoftenalotless considerationaboutHowquicklydowewanttorestorethedata?andmuchtomy irritation,almostnobodythinkstoanswer,Wedontwanttoloseanydataorrepeatany work!Backup1.0hasconditionedustoacceptdatalossandrepeatedworkasinevitable, andsowedesignbackupschemesthattradeoffbetweentheinevitablelossofdataandthe amountofbackupresourceswewanttodevote.Frankly,theattitudethatIhavetoaccept datalossandrepeatedworkisnonsense.Icantbelievethat,adecadeintothe21stcentury, wereallsocomplacentaboutthatattitude.

JusttheDataNottheApplication
AnotherproblemwithBackup1.0isthatweoftentendtojustbackupdatadatabases, files,SystemState,orwhateverwerarelybackuptheapplicationsthatusethedata.I tookabriefsurveyonmyblogatConcentratedTech.com,andabout95%ofthe respondentssaidtheydontbackupapplicationsbecausetheykeeptheoriginal installationmediasothattheycanalwaysreinstalltheapplicationifnecessary. Really?Letsthinkaboutthat:MicrosoftExchangeServertakesabout45minutestoan hourtoinstallproperly.Thenyouhavetoapplythelatestservicepackanotherhalfhour orsoandanypatchesreleasedsincetheservicepackcallthatanother20to30minutes. Thenyoucanstartrestoringthedata,whichmaytakeanotherfewhours.Ifyoure rebuildinganentireserver,ofcourse,youllhavetostartwithreinstallingWindowsitself, anditsservicepackandpatches,whichwilladdanother2or3hourstotheprocess.The total?Maybeafullworkday.Andforsomereason,peoplefindthatacceptablebecause Backup1.0isallaboutarchiving,really,notrestoring.

Chapter 1 Onevalidcounterargumentisthatmostrestorationsareforjustthedata,orevenapartof thedata(likeasingledatabasetable,orasingleemailmessage),andarentafullon disasterrecoveryrebuild.Well,okaybutdoesthatmeanitsstillacceptableforafullon disasterrecoveryrebuildtotakeafullday?Typicallynot,andthatswhysome organizationswillimagetheirservers,usingsoftwarethattakesasnapshotoftheentire harddriveandoftencompressesittoasmallersize.Usedforyearsasadeployment technique,itworkswellforbackingupanentireserver.Forbackinguptheserverbutoften notrestoringit.Snapshot,orpointintime,imagestaketimetoproduce,andtheserver mayevenhavetobeshutdowntomakeanimagemeaningyoullneedafrequent maintenancewindow.Atraditionalsnapshotimagewontcontainthelatestdata,soeven afterrestoringtheimage,youstillhavetorelyontraditionalbackupstogetyourmost recentdataback.Itjustamazesmethatweaccepttheselimitations.

DisasterRecoveryIsTooInflexible
Closelyrelatedtothepreviousdiscussionisthefactthatpeopledobackupsfortwo differentreasons.Reasonone,whichIthinkisprobablymorecommonlycitedasareason tobackupistorestoresmallpiecesofdata.Youvedoubtlessdonethis:Restoredasingle filethatsomeonedeletedbyaccident,oranemailmessage,oradatabasetable.Nearly everyonehasdealtwiththis,anditisntdifficulttosellthisreasontomanagementwhen acquiringbackuptechnologies. ThesecondreasonisforwhatIcalledfullondisasterrecoveryintheprevioussection. Thisiswhenanentireserveror,goodnesshelpyou,anentiredatacenterislost,and hastoberestoredonsiteoratadifferentlocation.Unfortunately,thislevelofdisasteris actuallyquiterare,anditsatoughsellformanagementiftheorganizationhasnt encounteredthistypeofdisasterinthepast. TheultimateproblemisthatBackup1.0technologieslendthemselvestooneortheother scenariosbutnotusuallytoboth.Inotherwords,ifyouhaveaproductthatdoesgreat baremetalrecovery,itmaynotdosingleitemrecoveryaswell.Someproducts compromiseanddoanokayjobatbothbackinguptheentireservertoenablebaremetal recovery(andoftenprovidingbootableCDsorothertechniquessothatyoucaninitiatea baremetalrecovery),andthenkeepingaseparateindexofeverybackeduppieceofdata tomakesingleitemrecoveryeasier.Frankly,Ivenotusedmanysolutionsthatdoagreat jobatbothtasksandthefactthattheyreallessentiallysnapshotbasedstillmakesthem prettylimited.Ineverwanttohavetoagreethatlosingacertainamountofworkis acceptable.

Chapter 1

Backup1.0:TheVerdict
Ifyourejustarchivingdata,Backup1.0isprettyawesome.Itstartstofail,though,when youneedtorestorethatdata,andwanttodosoinanefficientmannerthatenablesboth singleitemandfullondisasterrecoveryrestoration.Thesnapshotorientednatureof Backup1.0meansyourealwaysatriskoflosingsomework,andthatsnapshotoriented naturealsoimposesrigidrequirementsformaintenanceandbackupwindowswindows thatmightnotalwaysbeinthebusinessbestinterests. Soletsrethinkbackup.Iwanttogobacktobasicsandreallydefinewhatbackupsshould do.ConsiderthisdefinitionawishlistforBackup2.0.

BackupBasics
IhavenodoubtthatyoureaprettyexperiencedadministratororITmanager,andyou mightnotthinkthatbackupbasicsisaparticularlyenticingsection.Bearwithme.Illtry tokeepeachofthefollowingsectionssuccinct,butIreallywanttostepbackfromthe existingtechnologiesandtechniquestofocusonwhatpeopleandbusinessesnot softwarevendorswanttheirbackupprogramstodo.Wevebeendoingbackupsmoreor lessthesamewayforsolongthatIthinkitsbeneficialtojustforgeteverythingweve learnedanddoneandstartoverwithoutanyassumptionsorpreconceptions.

WhyBackUp?
Wevecoveredthistopicprettywell,butletmestateitclearlysothattheresnoconfusion: Backupsshouldpreventusfromlosinganydataorlosingany work,andensurethatwealwayshaveaccesstoourdatawith aslittledowntimeaspossible. Thatstatementimpliesafewbasicbusinesscapabilities: Whenaproblemoccurs,wewanttoexperienceaslittledatalossaspossible Weneedtobeabletorecoverdataasquicklyaspossible Weplaceequalimportanceonrecoveringasinglebitofdataaswedoindealing withacompletedisaster

Chapter 1 ThestatementalsomeansafewthingstraditionallyassociatedwithBackup1.0probably arentacceptable: Snapshotsthatgrabonlyacertainpointintimeimagearelessdesirable Anysystemthatisweightedtowarddisasterrecoveryortowardsingleitem recoveryislessdesirableweneedbothcapabilities Anysystemthatrequireslengthy,multisteprestoreprocessesislessdesirable Backupsthatdonotlendthemselvestosomeformofphysicallyprotectedstorage arelessdesirable Backupsthatrequireshoursandhourstocompletewillrequirehoursandhoursto restorebothofwhicharelessdesirable

Sogivenwhywebackup,wecantakeafreshlookatwhatwebackup.

WhatDoYouBackUp?
EventherelativelyprimitivebackupsoftwareincludedwithWindowsServer2003(and priorversionsofWindows)understoodthatyoudontalwaysneedtobackupeverything everytimeyourunabackup.Figure1.3showshowthatutilityallowedyoutoselectthe itemsyouwantedtobackuporrestoreauserinterface(UI)duplicatedinsomeformby mostcommonlyusedbackupsoftware.

Chapter 1

Figure1.3:SelectingwhattobackuporrestoreinWindowsBackup. Sowhatdoyoubackup?Onanygivenserver,youhavemanychoices: Backuptheentireservereveryfileoneverydisk Backupjustdatasharedfiles,applicationdatabases,andsoforth Backupapplicationsandtheirdataincludingtheapplicationsexecutablefilesand settings BackuptheOSanditssettingsbutnotanyapplicationfilesoranydata

Chapter 1 Thepermutationsarepracticallylimitless.Ifyouresimplyafterarchivingcreating backups,thatisthenanythingthatgrabsthedataisfine.Infact,justgrabbingthedatais probablyallyouneedtodoifallyouwanttodoiscreateapointintimesnapshotfor archivalpurposes.Sure,youcouldbackuptheentireserverandifyourgoalistobeable tohandleafullondisasterorrecoverindividualitems,thenbackinguptheentireserver wouldprovidebothcapabilities.Butbackinguptheentireserverwouldprobablytakealot longer.Itmightnotevenbeentirelypossiblebecausetherewillalwaysbesomeopenfiles, runningexecutables,andotheritemsthatBackup1.0stylebackuptechniquescantgetto. Somaybebackinguptheentireserverisntreallypractical.Afterall,wecanalways reinstalltheOSandanyapplicationsfromtheiroriginalmedia,right? Wait,asecondletsgobacktowhywerebackingup: Backupsshouldpreventusfromlosinganydataorlosingany work,andensurethatwealwayshaveaccesstoourdatawith aslittledowntimeaspossible. Okay,thisstatementclearlyindicatesthatweneedtograbthedata,butthatlastphrase haveaccesstoourdatawithaslittledowntimeaspossibleaddssomethingimportant. Inordertoaccessourdata,weneedtheOSandassociatedapplicationstobeupand running!AdatabackupisuselesswithoutanapplicationandOStorestoreitto.Ivealready explainedwhyrebuildingaserverusingtheinstallationmediaissoslowyouhaveto performlengthyinstalls,theninstallservicepacksandpatches,andthenrestoreyourdata. Thistellsme,then,thatourbackupmustbeoftheentireserver.Afterall,Imnotjusthere toarchivemydataIalsoneedtobeabletorestoreitquickly,andgetaccesstoitquickly, andthatmeansIneedtorestoretheOSandanyapplicationsquickly.Soregardlessof practicalityfornowImgoingtosaythatbackinguptheentireserveristheonlywayto go.Ijustneedtofigureouthowtodoitquickly.

WhenDoYouBackUp?
HowoftenwillIbemakingbackups?UnderBackup1.0,thiswasarealquestion.Often,you mighttakeafullbackupduringaneveningorweekendmaintenancewindow,thengrab smallerbackupsmorefrequently.WhenIstartedoutinIT,IwasanAS/400operator. Everyevening,wemadetapebackupsofourmostimportantdatafilesfromtheAS/400;on weekends,weranafullbackupoftheentiresystem.Backingupthedatafilestookafew hours,andwehadtodoitintheeveningafterprettymuchalltheworkforthedaywas finishedbecausethedatawasunavailablewhilethebackupswererunning(infact,we prettymuchkickedeveryoneoffthesystemwhilebackupswerebeingdone).Theweekend fullbackupscouldtakeafullday,andeveryonehadtobeofflinethen. ButmaintenancewindowsareaBackup1.0concept,soletsdisregardthem.Infact,lets reviewourwholereasonforbeinghereonemoretime: Backupsshouldpreventusfromlosinganydataorlosingany work,andensurethatwealwayshaveaccesstoourdatawith aslittledowntimeaspossible.

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Chapter 1 Rightthereismyanswer:fromlosinganydataorlosinganywork.Thattellsmethe Backup1.0methodofpointintimesnapshotsisuselessbecausenomatterhowoftenIm makingincrementalordifferentialbackups,Imstillgoingtobeatriskforlosingsomework ordata,andthatsnotacceptable. Soifyouask,Whenwillyoumakebackups?IhavetoanswerAlways.Literally continuousbackups.Infact,theindustryalreadyhasatermforit:continuousdata protection.Althoughspecifictechniquesvary,youcanthinkofthisveryroughlyas beingsimilartoRAID1drivemirroring.InaRAID1array,asFigure1.4shows,thedrive controllerwritesblocksofdatatotwo(ormore)harddrivesatonce.Disk2isacomplete, blocklevelbackupofDisk1.RestoringisfastsimplyswapthetwoifDisk1goesbellyup.

Figure1.4:RAID1diskmirroring. Ofcourse,RAID1isgoodforacertaintypeofscenariobutitisntpracticalforallsituations, anditdoesntmeetallourbackuprequirements.Forone,serverdisksarestillpretty expensive.Inaserverusingalargenumberofdisks,mirroringeveryoneofthemisnt practical.SomeorganizationswillsetupaRAID5arrayandthensetupasecondarrayto mirrorthefirstbutthatcanbeincrediblyexpensive.Afurtherproblemisthatthebackup diskscoexistwiththeprimarydisks,sothebackupdisksarestillatriskfordamagedueto fire,flood,andotherphysicalthreats.Further,amirrorisonlyabackupforthecurrent conditionoftheprimarydisk:Youcantrollbacktoapreviouspointintime.Somirroring aloneisagreattoolforcertainsituations,butitisntacompletebackupsolution.Whatitis, though,isagoodideaforhowtomakecontinuousbackups.Wejustneedtoleveragethe techniqueabitdifferently.

WhatTypeofBackupWillYouUse?
Fullbackup?Differential?Incremental?IhavetosaynoneofthesebecausethoseBackup 1.0termsareassociatedwithpointintimesnapshots,andwerenotgoingtousethose. Instead,weregoingtouseaBackup2.0technique,borrowingfromtheRAID1conceptof blocklevelmirroring.Partofcontinuousdataprotection,wellcallthisblocklevelbackups. Figure1.5showshowitmightwork.

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Chapter 1

Figure1.5:Agentbasedblockbackups. Here,asoftwareagentofsomekindrunsontheserver.Asblocksarechangedondisk,this agenttransmitsthoseblockstoabackupserver,whichstoresthem.Thatservermight storeblocksformanydifferentservers.Theagentwouldlikelytapintoaverylowlevelof theOStoaccomplishthis.Thebenefits: Wecanhavenearlyrealtimebackupsofallchanges,astheyhappen Wegettheentireserver,notjustthedata Wecanstoremorethanjustthecurrentblocks;infact,wecanstorechangesasfar backaswewant,meaningwecanrestoreanygivenfilewhichconsistsofmultiple diskblockstoanypointintimewewant Wecanrestoretheentireserverbysimplywritingallthelatestbackedupblocksto aservereithertheoriginalserverorareplacement Intheeventofcorruptedblocks,wemightstillbebackingthoseupbutwevealso gotolder,noncorruptversionsofthosesameblocks,sowecanpotentiallyrepair filesthathavebecomecorruptedtotheirmostrecent,noncorruptedpointintime

Thisispowerfulmagic,butitsareality:Todaysmarketincludessolutionsthatfollowthis technique.ItdeliversBackup2.0:continuousbackupsthataredesignedforrestores,notfor archiving.

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Chapter 1

WhereDoYouStoreBackups?
Doyouneedoffsitestorageofyourbackups?Probablyyes.In1996,ParisbasedCredit Lyonnaishadafireintheirheadquarters.Administratorsranintotheburningbuildingto rescuebackuptapesbecausenothingwasstoredoffsite.Letmewritethatagain:Ranintoa burningbuilding.Folks,fireisaconstantpossibility,asisthepossibilityofdamagefrom floods(badplumbinganyone?)andotherdisasters.Ifthedataisworthbackingup,its worthkeepingcopiessomewhereelse.Attheveryleast,havesomesortofonsitestorage thatsdisasterproofawaterprooffiresafe,forexample.Doesthatmeanyouhavetouse magnetictape?No,butyouprobablywill,simplybecauseitsrelativelyinexpensive,fairly durable,andeasytoworkwith.Youlllikelyendupusingtapeinconjunctionwith somethingelse,infact,withtapesbeingthesortoflastresortplacetorestorefrom.The pointisthis:Dontassumethatamajordisasterwillnotstrikeyou.Pastperformanceis noguaranteeoffutureresults;justbecauseyouveneverbeenhitbyadisasterbefore doesntmeanyouwontbehitbyoneeventually.Thatswhypeoplebuyinsurancepolicies, andbackupsarebasicallyaformofinsurance. IntermsofBackup2.0,wemightcombineourblockbasedbackupswithsometapebased storage.Ourbackupserver,forexample,mightperiodicallydumpallitsbackedupblocks toatapearray,allowingustocarryasnapshotoffsiteforarchivalpurposesandtoprotect againstatotaldisastertoourdatacenter.

ShouldYouTestBackups?
Thisisatrickquestion.Theansweris,Ofcourse.AsIvealreadyexplained,though,few folksactuallydo.Why?Well,therearereallyafewreasons,manyofwhicharerelatedto ourBackup1.0mindset. First,asImentionedearlier,isthetimecommitment.Spendinghoursdoingatestrestore isntinmostfolksbudgetsthesedays.Ofcourse,ablockbasedrestorecanactuallybe donemorequickly:Yourestreamingtherestorefromdisksoverahighspeednetwork,not readingthemeversoslowlyfromatapedrive. Second,therestheavailabilityofhardware.Now,ifyouretestingsingleitemrecovery, mostbackupsolutionswillallowyoutorestorefilestoanylocationyouwant,soyoujust needasmallspotonanexistingfileserver.Butyoushouldalsobetestingfullondisaster recovery,whereyourestoreaserverthatwascompletelylost(say,tofire)toadifferent pieceofhardware.TheproblemisthatmanyBackup1.0stylesolutionsrequireyouto restoretoidenticalhardware,meaningyouhavetohavealotofspareserversaround.Not gonnahappen.Agoodsolutionwillletyourestoretodissimilarhardware,whichisactually morepracticalfromadisasterrecoveryperspective;anidealsolutionwillletyourestoreto avirtualizedserver,whichisabsolutelyperfect.Soyes:Testyourbackups.Regularly. Performbothsingleitemrestoresandthetypeofbaremetalrestoreyoudassociatewitha totaldisaster,ideallyutilizingmodernvirtualizationtechnologiestoeliminateorreduce theneedforextratestrestorehardware.

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Chapter 1 Virtualization:MorethanJustConsolidation AsIlldiscussinlaterchapters,virtualizationisanintegralpartoftheBackup 2.0mentality.InBackup1.0,afullsitedisastermightmeanretreatingtoa specialpurpose,leasedoffsiterecoveryfacilityandstartingalengthyrestore processusingyourmostrecentoffsitebackuptapes. InBackup2.0,thatfacilitymightliveontheInternetandconsistofoneor morevirtualizationhosts,eachrunningadozenorsovirtualservers.You streamyourlatestbackupsoverthewiretothevirtualservers,performinga barevirtualmetalrecoveryratherthanrecoveringtoactual,physical machines.Thisapproachmakesitmorepracticaltorecoverasetofservers, makesthatrecoveryfasterandcheaper(noleasedfacilities),andmakesit morepracticaltoconductoccasionaltestrunsofacompletedisaster scenario.

AreYouKeepinganEyeonYourBackups?
Doyoumonitoryourbackups?Otherthanjustcheckinganerrorlog,Imean?Youshould. Infact,checkingerrorlogsasidefrombeingincrediblyboringisthekindofoldschool Backup1.0mentalityImtryingtochangeinthisbook.Amodern,Backup2.0stylesolution shouldalertyoutoproblems,andideallymightevenintegratewithanexistingmonitoring solution,suchasMicrosoftsSystemCenterEssentialsorSystemCenterOperations Manager. Whatmightthosealertsactuallyinformyouof?Primarily,problemswiththebackups themselves,suchascorruption.Nothingsworsethansuddenlyfindingyouneedyour backupsandthenrealizingthattheyrenogoodduetocorruption;youshouldbeinformed ofcorruptionassoonasitoccurs.AgoodBackup2.0stylesolutionmightinformyouvia email,mightdropsomethinginaWindowseventlog(whichSystemCenterOperations Managercouldthenpickupandraisetoyourattention),orperformsomesimilarstyleof notification. Figure1.6showshowSystemCenterOperationsManagercanbeusedtoconfigureanalert foragiventypeofeventlogentrysuchasaneventlogentrycreatedbyyourbackup solution,alertingyoutocorruption.NotethatSystemCenterEssentialsworkssimilarlyfor thistypeofalert.

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Chapter 1

Figure1.6:CreatinganeventlogentryalertinSCOM. AreallywithitbackupsolutionmightevencomecompletewithaSystemCenter ManagementPack.AManagementPackisbasicallyapreconfiguredsetofrulesfor monitoringandalertingonaspecificapplication;thepacktellsSystemCenterOperations Managerwhattolookfor(suchasspecificeventlogIDs)andwhattodo(suchassending emailalerts).ButifyourbackupsolutiondoesntcomewithaManagementPack,atleast makesurethatithasitsownbuiltinfeaturesforprovidingthesetypesofnotifications.

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Chapter 1

ApproachestoBackingUp
Havingadvocatedforblocklevelbackups,Iwanttotakeastepbackandbrieflyreviewthe entiregamutofbackuppossibilities.Althoughsomeofthesedontmeetmyrequirements foragoodbackupandrecoverysystem,theynonethelessoffersomebusinessvaluethat youshouldbeawareof.

FileBasedBackups
Filebasedbackupsaretheoldesttypeofbackup,andprobablystillthemostcommon.It involvessimplytakingasnapshotapointintimecopyofoneormorefiles.Thesetypes ofbackupsmayhavedifficultyworkingwithopenfiles,andtheydontcaptureeverychange madetoafiletheyjustgrabacopyofitataspecifictime. Buttheresvaluehere.Forexample,WindowsbuiltinVolumeShadowCopyfeatureis essentiallyanonserverfilebasedbackup,grabbingcopiesoffilesasuserschangethem andstoringtheminalocalcacheontheserver.Userscanaccessthesecachedfieversions ontheirown,usingWindowsExplorersPreviousVersionsfeature,asFigure1.7shows.

Figure1.7:Accessingpreviousversions. 16

Chapter 1 Thekeyphrasehereisontheirown.Unlikemanydatacenterclassbackupsolutions, VolumeShadowCopy/PreviousVersionsisdesignedforuserselfservice.Properlyused (meaningyouruserswillneedabitoftraining),thisfeaturecanhelppreventcallstothe Helpdeskandoverheadforyouwhenusersneedtorollbackafiletoasomewhatolder version.Infact,Iveseenthisfeatureagain,withabitofendusertrainingreduce singlefilerecoveryHelpdeskcallsby90%inseveralofmyclients.Thoseorganizationstell methattheaveragecostforcompletingafilerecoveryrequestisabout$75,andtheones thatkeepreallygoodrecordsaverageaboutfourcallsaweek.Thatsasavingsofmorethan $15,000allforfree,sincethefeatureisbuiltintoWindows(well,youdohavetospenda bitextraforthediskspaceneededtostorethecache). InaBackup2.0world,thereshouldberoomforcomplementarysolutions.Previous Versionsmeetsaspecificneed:userselfserviceforindividualfilerollback.Whateverdata centerbackupsolutionyouselectshouldntinterferewithcomplementarysolutions,andin fact,shouldembracethem.WherefilebasedbackupstendtofallshortasIve discussedisinthewholeserverbackupscenario,whichyoudbeperforminginthedata center.

ImageBackups
ImagebackupisanothertermforwhatIvebeencallingblockbasedbackups.Thereare reallytwowaystoachieveanimagestylebackup:byusingsolutionssuchasthetriedand trueGhostsoftwareandviawhatIllcallstreamingimages. SoftwaresuchasGhostanditsmanycompetitorsmakepointintimesnapshotsofadisk, typicallycompressingthediskblockssothattheresultingimagefileismuchsmaller.This softwareisntusuallypositionedasabackupandrecoverysolutionbutratherasa deploymentsolution:Youmakeatemplatecomputerthemanualway,imageit,andthen deploythatimageratherthaninstallingothercomputersmanually.Itsmostcommonly usedfordesktopdeployment,anditcanserveasakindoflastditchrecoverytoolfor desktops,essentiallyredeployingtheimagetogetamachinebacktosquareone.Butasa pointintimesnapshot,itsnotusefulforcapturingdata,changestoapplications,andso forth. Anotherweakspotisthatsnapshotimagingsoftwareusuallyrequiresthesourcecomputer tobeunavailable.Typically,theimageiscapturedusingaprebootenvironment(likethe oneshowninFigure1.8)asortofstrippeddownOSthatrunsinlieuofWindows.This ensuresthatnoneofthefilesondiskareopenandchangingsothatasingle,consistent snapshotcanbegained.Youcanseewherethiswouldbeabitburdensomeasacontinual backuptechnique.

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Chapter 1

Figure1.8:Ghostsprebootenvironment. StreamingimagesarethekindofblockbasedbackupIillustratedinFigure1.5,earlierin thischapter.Thistechniqueisthebasisforalmostrealtime,continuousdataprotectionof multipleservers.Youcouldusethetechniquewithdesktopcomputers,too,althoughI suspectdoingsowouldntbepracticalitwouldinvolvealotofbackupdataflyingaround yournetwork,nottomentionalotofstorage.No,Ithinkthistechniqueisreallygeared bestforthedatacenter,whereyourebackingupserversandwhereyoucaneasilysetup highspeedorevendedicatednetworkconnectionsbetweenthoseservers.

ApplicationSpecificIdeas
Someapplicationsprimarilymissioncritical,alwaysonapplicationssuchasMicrosoft SQLServerandExchangeServerpresenttheirownchallengesforbackupandrecovery. Theseapplicationsexecutablesarealwaysrunning,andtheyalwayshaveseveraldatafiles open,makingitdifficultforfilelevelbackupsoftwaretogetaconsistentsnapshot.

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Chapter 1 Tohelpaddressthis,theapplicationsdesignerstakevaryingapproaches.SQLServer,for example,hasitsowninternalbackupandrecoverycapability,whichistiedtotheproducts ownuniquearchitecture.Traditionally,thebestwaytogetaSQLServerbackupistoask SQLServertodoit.Youmight,forexample,useSQLServersowntoolstoproduceabackup file,thengrabthatfilewithatraditionalfilebasedbackupsolution.Or,youmightcreatean agentthattapsintoSQLServerandgetsthedatathatwaytheapproachusedbymost enterpriselevel,Backup1.0stylebackupsolutions.Figure1.9showsacommondialogbox forabackupsolutionsconfiguration,showingthataSQLServerspecificagentisloaded andabletostreamdatafromSQLServertothebackupsoftware.ExchangeServer functionalitymightworksimilarlyinfact,youcanseethattabinthefigureaswell.

Figure1.9:Applicationspecificbackupagents. ExchangeServersdeveloperstookaslightlydifferentapproach,choosingtointegratewith WindowsVolumeShadowCopyservice.Essentially,theyprovideacopyoftheExchange datafilesthroughVolumeShadowCopy;abackupsolutionsimplyneedstoaccessthe VolumeShadowCopyApplicationProgrammingInterfaces(APIs)andrequestthelatest copyofthedatabase.Again,itsExchangeServerthatsdoingmostofthework,buta dedicatedagentofsomekindisusuallyneededtogettotherightAPIs.AsFigure1.10 shows,evenWindowsServer2008sbuiltinbackupcanbeextendedtoseetheExchange Serverdatabases. 19

Chapter 1

Figure1.10:BackingupExchangeServerinWindowsServerBackup. ThedownsideisthattheseapplicationspecificapproachesarestillBackup1.0innature, meaningtheyregrabbingasnapshot.Yourestillatriskforlosingdataandworkthat occursbetweensnapshots;particularlywiththesemissioncriticalapplications,Ithink thatsjustunacceptable. Blocklevelbackupscancertainlysolvetheproblembecausetheyregrabbingchangesat thedisklevelanddontparticularlyneedtounderstandwhatthosediskblocksarefor.A diskblockthatspartofafilelooksthesameasonethatspartofaSQLServerdatabase,so thebackupsolutionjustgrabsemall.Butfromarecoveryviewpoint,yourbackupsolution doesneedsomeadditionalsmarts.Hereswhy:Asimplefilesay,aWorddocument consistsofseveralblocksofdiskspace.Itseasytokeeptrackofwhichblocksmakeupany givenfile,andnodiskblockwilleversharedatafromtwofiles.Ifyouneedtorestore Salaries.xls,youfigureoutwhichblocksthatfileliveson,andrestorejustthose.Easy.

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Chapter 1 WithcomplexdatastoressuchasSQLServerandExchangeServerthingsarentsoeasy. Asinglemailmessagemightoccupymultipleblocksofdiskspace,butthosesameblocks mightalsocontaindatarelatedtoothermessages.Thedatabasealsohasinternalpointers andindexesthatneedtoberestoredinorderforagivenmessagetobeaccessible.Soa blockbasedbackupdoesntneedmuchinthewayofextrasmartstomakeabackup,butit willneedsomeclevernessinordertorestoresingleitemsfromthatbackup.Solution vendorstendtoapproachthisbyusingplugins:Itseasytothinkoftheseasbeingsimilar totheBackup1.0styleagents,buttheyrenot.Thesepluginsdontnecessarilyassistwith thebackupprocess(althoughtheymayrecordspecialinformationtoassistwith recoveries),buttheydocontainthesmartsnecessarytopeerinsidecomplexdatastores torecoversingleitems.

OurBackup2.0WishList
ThefollowinglisthighlightsdesirablecapabilitiesinaBackup2.0stylebackupsolution: Continuousdataprotectionthatsalwayson,alwaysworking,andasclosetoreal timeasispractical Theabilitytomovesnapshotsofmybackupstotape(orotherportablemedia)for offsitestorage Theabilitytorestoreanythingfromasinglefiletoanentireserverquickly,andto differenthardware(orvirtualhardware)ifneeded Blocklevelimagingthatprovidestheabilitytorollbacktoanypointintimeand keepsbackupsphysicallyseparatefromthesource Automaticnotificationsofproblemssuchascorruptionwiththebackups DoesntinterferewithcomplementarysolutionssuchasWindowsownVolume ShadowCopyfeature Theabilitytoeasilytestrestores,fromasinglefiletoacompletedisaster,ideally usingdissimilarhardwareorvirtualization TheabilitytorestoresingleitemsfromcomplexstoreslikeSQLServerorExchange Server

Illaddafewthingstothislistasweprogressthroughtheupcomingchapter,butthisisa goodstart.ItrepresentseverythingthattheBackup2.0philosophyisallabout,andit meetsalltheimpliedrequirementsinourbusinesslevelstatement: Backupsshouldpreventusfromlosinganydataorlosingany work,andensurethatwealwayshaveaccesstoourdatawith aslittledowntimeaspossible.

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Chapter 1

WhatsAhead
Ivegotafullplatecomingupforyou,startingwiththenextchapterinthisbook,whereI gettosharesomeofthehorrorstoriesIverunacrosswithmyconsultingclients,inthe news,andsoforth.Itskindofinterestingtoseetheproblemsothershavehad,butitcanbe instructional,too:Illexamineeachcaseanddrawconclusionsaboutwhatwentwrongand whatyouwouldneedtodotoavoidthatsituation. Chapter3iswhereIlldiveintotheactualtechnologyofwholeserverbackups.Thisisan areawhereIthinkBackup2.0reallyhassomeimmediatebenefit,butIllstartby examiningmoretraditionalwholeserverbackuptechniquesandidentifyingthingsthat dontalwaysworksowell.Ifyoureresponsibleforbackingupdomaincontrollers, infrastructureservers,Webservers,apublickeyinfrastructure,orsimilarservers,then thisisthechapterforyou. InChapter4,IlltacklethetoughtopicofExchangeServerbackupstoughenoughthatthe backupsoftwarethatshippedwithWindowsServer2008couldntevendoit.Again,Illlay outsomeofthemoretraditionalwaysthatExchangebackupshavebeenmade,andthen rethinktheprocessandcomeupwithawishlistofbackupcapabilitiesthatincludeseveral Exchangespecificconcerns.Chapter5willfollowthesameapproachforSQLServer,and Chapter6willexamineSharePointinthesameway. Chapter7willbeabitofadeparture,asIllfocusonvirtualizationserverbackups.Thisis stillarelativelynewfield,andIlllookatwaysinwhichtraditionalbackuptechniquesare beingusedandexaminehowwelltheyreactuallygettingthejobdone.Illcoversomeof theuniqueaspectsofvirtualizationbackupsandexamineinnovativetechniquesthat Backup2.0canbringtothetable. InChapter8,Illpullbackabitforabroadlookatotherbackupconcernsandcapabilities: Baremetalrecovery,dataretentionconcerns,complianceandsecurityissues,mobile infrastructureproblems,andsoon.Illalsolookatinstanceswhereoldschoolbackups mightstillprovidesomevalue,andIllofferadviceforintegratingBackup2.0withmore traditionaltechniques. Allofthebackupsweremakingaregoingtorequiresomeseriousstorage,soIlluse Chapter9tofocusonstoragearchitecture.Illlookathowbackupdataisstructured,and comparetheadvantagesanddisadvantagesofthingslikestorageareanetworks(SANs), tapedrives,localstorage,andsoforth,andexaminepressingissuesofstorage: compression,encryption,security,deduplication,andsoon.Illalsolookatuniqueways thatBackup2.0allowsyoutointeractwithyourbackedupdatamoreeasilyandefficiently.

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Chapter 1 Chapter10willfocusondisasterrecoveryandImeanrealdisasters.Illlookatthingslike baremetalrecovery,andIllcoversomeofthemoreinterestingcapabilitiesthattodays technologiesoffer,suchasusingvirtualizationratherthandedicatedoffsitefacilitiesas partofadisasterrecoveryplan. Chapter11isforallthebusinessmindedreadersoutthere;thischapteriswhereIll discussthecostsinvolvedinrearchitectingbackupandrecoverytouseBackup2.0 techniques.Naturally,Illalsohelpyoudeterminewhetherdoingsoisactuallyworthitto yourorganization,andeventacklesomeofthenontechnicalwhatIliketocall politicalissuesthatyoumayhavetosolveinordertomakeyourbackupsituationmore modernandefficient. Finally,Chapter12willbethechanceformetosharestoriesfrommyownexperiences withBackup2.0asortoftalesfromthetrencheschapter,withcasestudiesthat describesuccesses(andchallenges)IveseenwithBackup2.0. Wehavealongjourneyaheadofus,butyouvemadeagoodstart.Ilookforwardtoseeing youagaininthenextchapter.

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