Restoring Data from Shadow Copies of Shared Folders


According to a recent survey, companies lose an estimated 12 billion dollars per year due to accidental file corruption and file deletion! When a user accidentally deletes a file, he or she must either re-create the file from scratch or have the network administrator search the tape backup library and try to restore the file from the latest backup. Even if the file is restored from tape backup, the user still needs to re-create the data lost prior to the latest backup. Either method is extremely frustrating and time-consuming .

Shadow Copies of Shared Folders, a new feature added to Windows 2003, provides point-in time copies of files located in shared folders on Windows Server 2003. Users can view, copy, and restore previous versions of their shared files as they existed at points-of-times in the past. With Shadow Copies of Shared Folders, you can

  • Recover accidentally deleted and corrupted files without assistance from network support

  • Recover files that were accidentally overwritten by using the Save command instead of the Save As file command

  • Compare or use previous versions of files

  • Recover files that are open and used by several users, such as Access database files

Shadow Copies of Shared Folders benefits include the following:

  • Applications can continue to write data during backup.

  • Open files are no longer omitted during backup.

  • Backups can be performed at any time, without locking out files and users.

  • Users can view, copy, and restore their own previous file versions, saving administrators time.

graphics/tip_icon.gif

Creating Shadow Copies of Shared Folders is not a replacement for regular backups.


graphics/alert_icon.gif

Microsoft likes to ask exam questions that involve permissions. Restoring a file from a regular backup restores all file permissions previously assigned. Recovering a file that was accidentally deleted resets the file to its original default permissions.


Here's how Shadow Copies of Shared Folders works. Shadow Copies stores only the changes that occur in files from the last time they were copied . By copying only changes between points in time, file sizes should be reduced, saving both time and hard disk space. Four key decisions must be addressed before you begin installing the server-side software for Shadow Copies of Shared Folders:

  • Source files Volume containing files that need shadow copying

  • Disk Space Amount of space allocated for shadow copies

  • Location of copies Location of volume on hard disk drives

  • Schedule Schedule frequency of shadow copies

graphics/tip_icon.gif

Planning ahead and making these decisions before you set up the server for Shadow Copies of Shared Folders saves time and unnecessary work for you afterward.


To set up server-side components and enable Shadow Copies of Shared Folders, perform the following steps:

  1. On the file server, share the volume drive you want to make available for shadow copying.

  2. Using Windows Explorer, right-click the volume, choose Sharing and Security from the context menu. From the Local Disk Properties page, click the Shadow Copies tab. The shared volume drive's properties are displayed as shown in Figure 5.2.

    Figure 5.2. Shadow Copies main tab.

    graphics/05fig02.gif

  3. Under Select a Volume, select the volume you want Shadow Copies installed on, and then click Enable as shown in Figure 5.2. A message appears indicating that if you enable Shadow Copies, Windows will use the default schedule and settings, and create a shadow copy of the selected volumes (s) nowa warning that the default settings are not appropriate for servers that have high I/O load and asks Do You Want to Enable Shadow Copies? Click the Yes button to enable Shadow Copies of Shared Folders. The Shadow Copies of Shared Folders service is initiated.

  4. When Shadow Copies for Shared Folders creates shadow backups, they're listed under Shadow Copies of Selected Volume as shown in Figure 5.2. You can click the Create Now button to create a shadow copy backup immediately. You can also click the Settings button to create a backup schedule.

  5. To change the default schedule for Shadow Copies on the volume, click the Settings button. The Settings dialog box opens, as shown in Figure 5.3.

    Figure 5.3. Shadow Copies volume settings.

    graphics/05fig03.gif

  6. In the Settings dialog box, click the Schedule button. Two default schedules are listed in the Schedule drop-down list box: Monday through Friday at 7 AM and Monday through Friday at Noon. You can select one of the default schedules or click the New button and create a new schedule.

  7. To specify and set up a new schedule task, click the Schedule Task drop-down list box and select one of the following options: Daily, Weekly, Monthly, Once, At System Startup, At Logon, or When Idle. If the task is scheduled for daily, weekly, monthly, or only once, select the start time using the spinner controls. Click the scheduled task weekly spinner controls to select how often in weeks you want to scheduled task to run. To run the task, you can select multiple days of the week. Check off the appropriate days in the week(s) on check boxes. Finally, click the New button to create the additional scheduled task and display it in the Scheduled Task drop-down list box as shown in Figure 5.4.

    Figure 5.4. Shadow Copies Schedule settings tab.

    graphics/05fig04.gif

  8. Click the Advanced button shown in Figure 5.4 if you need to set a start date, end date, or repeat the task. Click the OK button to return to the Volume Settings dialog box.

  9. You can also configure storage limits. Clicking the Details button displays the Shadow Copies volume storage area and free disk space statistics. Use the radio buttons to set either no storage limit or use limit for the storage volume. Use the radio buttons on the Setting Properties page to set either No Storage Limit or Use Limit for the Storage Volume.

graphics/alert_icon.gif

If the storage limit is reached, Shadow Copies will start deleting Shadow Copies backups, beginning with the oldest one. This bit of information would fit nicely into a Microsoft scenario-type question.


Shadow Copies of Shared Folders is built into the Windows Server 2003 family of products. Windows 98, Windows NT, Windows 2000 Server and Professional (SP3 and above), and Windows XP Professional clients have to install Shadow Copies of Shared Folders. You can download the client at http://www.microsoft.com/windowsserver2003/downloads/shadowcopyclient.mspx.

To set up client-side components and enable Shadow Copies of Shared Folders, perform the following steps:

  1. Install the downloaded file ShadowCopyClient.msi file on your computer.

  2. Using Windows Explorer, right-click the Shadow Copy Shared folder, choose Properties, and click the Previous Versions tab as shown in Figure 5.5.

    Figure 5.5. Shadow Copies' Previous Versions tab displaying folder versions.

    graphics/05fig05.gif

To view, copy, or restore a folder, you must select the folder version that you want to view, copy, or restore. To open the folder, click View. To copy the folder to a different location, click Copy. To restore the entire previous version folder, click Restore.

To recover data and restore a deleted file, perform the following steps:

  1. Select the Previous Versions tab as shown in Figure 5.5.

  2. Select the folder version containing the deleted file and click the View button.

  3. Select the version of the folder that contains the file (before deletion) and click the View button.

  4. Select the folder and select the file to be recovered.

  5. Drag and drop the file to your desktop or folder.

Restoring a corrupted or overwritten file is easier because you click the file itself and not the folder. To restore an overwritten or corrupted file, perform the following steps:

  1. Select the Previous Versions tab as shown in Figure 5.5.

  2. Select the folder version containing the overwritten or corrupted file and click the View button.

  3. Right-click the overwritten or corrupted file and choose Properties.

  4. Select the Previous Versions tab and click View to view the old version.

  5. Click Copy to copy the old version to a different location, or click Restore to replace the current version with the older version.

graphics/alert_icon.gif

Learn the difference between restoring a folder and restoring a file. Know the difference between recovering and restoring a deleted file and restoring a corrupted or overwritten file.


Shadow Copies for Shared FoldersBest Practices

The following lists some tips for receiving the full benefit from employing Shadow Copies for Shared Folders:

  • Consider user usage and scheduling before you enable shadow copies on the server.

  • Do not use shadow copies on dual-boot computers or volumes containing mount points.

  • For better performance, select a different volume on another disk for the storage area.

  • Perform your regular daily backups.

  • Do not schedule shadow copies to occur more than once an hour .

  • If you need to delete the shadow volume, you should delete the scheduled task for creating shadow copies first.




MCSA.MCSE Managing and Maintaining a Windows Server 2003 Environment Exam Cram 2
MCSA/MCSE Managing and Maintaining a Windows Server 2003 Environment Exam Cram 2 (Exam Cram 70-292)
ISBN: 0789730111
EAN: 2147483647
Year: 2006
Pages: 132

flylib.com © 2008-2017.
If you may any questions please contact us: flylib@qtcs.net