18.5. The Bottom Line

Use Windows Server Backup to back up and restore a Windows Server 2008 R2 computer

Windows Server Backup is installed as a feature in Windows Server 2008 R2 and can be used to create various types of backups to protect your server computer. Full server backups contain the operating system, critical volumes, and all data on the server, while critical volume backups protect all volumes the operating system depends on but not necessarily the additional data stored on the server.

Master It

Your server contains two hard disks; the first contains the operating system, and the second contains user data. How can you use Windows Server Backup to protect the operating system and the user data?

Defragment AD DS offline

In Windows Server 2008, you had to restart a domain controller in DSRM to perform an offline defragmentation and integrity check of the AD DS database. Windows Server 2008 R2 gives you the ability to perform these tasks without having to restart the computer and enter DSRM. Instead, you can stop AD DS and then use Ntdsutil.exe from an elevated command prompt to perform the offline defragmentation and integrity check.

Master it

You want to defragment your AD DS database but do not want to shut down the server and restart it in DSRM. How do you do that?

Install the Active Directory Recycle Bin

In previous versions of Windows Server, recovering deleted objects in Active Directory required recovering from a backup. Windows Server 2008 R2 introduces the Active Directory Recycle Bin, which enables you to recover objects from Active Directory as if you were restoring a file that had been sent to the Windows Recycle Bin.

Master it

You want to provide additional protection against accidental deletion of objects in Active Directory. How can you provide an extra 180 days of recovery for deleted objects?

Create and recover a system state backup for Active Directory

Because domain controllers contain all the database information for Active Directory, recovering a failed domain controller server is critically important. When using Windows Server Backup or the command-line utility Wbadmin.exe, perform backups containing the system state at a minimum to preserve Active Directory.

Master it

You want to protect your Active Directory data from the possibility of complete hardware failure of the server computer. Which type of backups will provide this protection?