Recovery Solution™ 6.2 SP2 Reference Guide

Transcription

ALTIRIS®
Recovery Solution™ 6.2 SP2
Reference Guide
Notice
Altiris® Recovery Solution™ 6.2 SP2
© 1994-2007 Altiris, Inc. All rights reserved.
Information in this document: (i) is provided for informational purposes only with respect to products of Altiris or its subsidiaries (“Products”),
(ii) represents Altiris' views as of the date of publication of this document, (iii) is subject to change without notice (for the latest
documentation, visit our Web site at www.altiris.com/Support), and (iv) should not be construed as any commitment by Altiris. Except as
provided in Altiris' license agreement governing its Products, ALTIRIS ASSUMES NO LIABILITY WHATSOEVER AND DISCLAIMS ANY EXPRESS
OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES RELATING TO THE USE OF ANY PRODUCTS, INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION, WARRANTIES OF FITNESS FOR A
PARTICULAR PURPOSE, MERCHANTABILITY, OR INFRINGEMENT OF ANY THIRD-PARTY INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS. Altiris assumes no
responsibility for any errors or omissions contained in this document, and Altiris specifically disclaims any and all liabilities and/or obligations
for any claims, suits or damages arising in connection with the use of, reliance upon, or dissemination of this document, and/or the
information contained herein.
Altiris may have patents or pending patent applications, trademarks, copyrights, or other intellectual property rights that relate to the
Products referenced herein. The furnishing of this document and other materials and information does not provide any license, express or
implied, by estoppel or otherwise, to any foregoing intellectual property rights.
No part of this document may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means without the express
written consent of Altiris, Inc.
Customers are solely responsible for assessing the suitability of the Products for use in particular applications or environments. Products are
not intended for use in medical, life saving, life sustaining, critical control or safety systems, or in nuclear facility applications.
*All other names or marks may be claimed as trademarks of their respective companies.
Recovery Solution Reference Guide
2
This product includes software developed by the Apache Software Foundation. Such software is subject to the below conditions.
The Apache Software License, Version 1.1
Copyright (c) 1999-2004 The Apache Software Foundation. All rights reserved.
Redistribution and use in source and binary forms, with or without modification, are permitted provided that the following conditions are
met:
1. Redistributions of source code must retain the above copyright notice, this list of conditions and the following disclaimer.
2. Redistributions in binary form must reproduce the above copyright notice, this list of conditions and the following disclaimer in the
documentation and/or other materials provided with the distribution.
3. The end-user documentation included with the redistribution, if any, must include the following acknowledgment:
"This product includes software developed by the Apache Software Foundation (http://www.apache.org/)."
Alternately, this acknowledgment may appear in the software itself, if and wherever such third-party acknowledgments normally appear.
4. The names "Xerces" and "Apache Software Foundation" must not be used to endorse or promote products derived from this software
without prior written permission. For written permission, please contact apache@apache.org.
5. Products derived from this software may not be called "Apache", nor may "Apache" appear in their name, without prior written
permission of the Apache Software Foundation.
THIS SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED ``AS IS'' AND ANY EXPRESSED OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE
IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE ARE DISCLAIMED. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE
APACHE SOFTWARE FOUNDATION OR ITS CONTRIBUTORS BE LIABLE FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL,SPECIAL, EXEMPLARY,
OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES (INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, PROCUREMENT OF SUBSTITUTE GOODS OR SERVICES; LOSS
OFUSE, DATA, OR PROFITS; OR BUSINESS INTERRUPTION) HOWEVER CAUSED AND ON ANY THEORY OF LIABILITY, WHETHER IN
CONTRACT, STRICT LIABILITY, OR TORT (INCLUDING NEGLIGENCE OR OTHERWISE) ARISING IN ANY WAY OUT OF THE USE OF THIS
SOFTWARE, EVEN IF ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGE.
====================================================================
This software consists of voluntary contributions made by many individuals on behalf of the Apache Software Foundation and was
originally based on software copyright (c) 1999, International Business Machines, Inc., http://www.ibm.com. For more information on the
Apache Software Foundation, please see <http://www.apache.org/>.
3
Contents
Chapter 1: Introducing Recovery Solution . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Recovery Solution Product Overview . . . . . . . .
Recovery Solution Enterprise . . . . . . . . . .
Local Recovery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Local Recovery Pro . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Integration with other Altiris Solutions . . . . . .
Recovery Solution Documentation . . . . . . . . .
Recovery Solution Terminology . . . . . . . . . . .
Recovery Solution Architecture. . . . . . . . . . . .
Familiarizing Yourself with the Altiris Console . .
Altiris Console Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Recovery Solution Configuration Tools
Recovery Solution Task Policies . . . . .
Recovery Solution Reports . . . . . . . . .
Resource Manager Tools . . . . . . . . . .
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13
14
15
15
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16
17
19
21
21
22
23
23
24
Part I: Using Recovery Solution. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
Chapter 2: Installing Recovery Solution . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
Recovery Solution Server Component Requirements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Setting up Recovery Solution Prerequisite Components . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Configuring the Load Balancer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Configuring the SQL Database . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Install the Altiris Agent . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Recovery Solution Client Component Requirements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Requirements for Running the Recovery Agent in Server-based Mode. . . . . . .
Requirements for Running the Recovery Agent in Local Mode (Local Recovery)
Important Issues with Using the Recovery Agent and BootWorks Partitions . . .
Installing Recovery Solution Server Components . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Installing Recovery Solution Program Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Creating a Recovery Solution Cluster . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Adding Recovery Solution Servers to a Recovery Cluster . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
After Server Installation Is Complete . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Installing Recovery Solution Client Components . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Upgrading Recovery Solution . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Upgrading Recovery Solution Clusters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Licensing Recovery Solution. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Uninstalling Recovery Solution . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Uninstalling a Recovery Solution Server . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Uninstalling a Recovery Solution Cluster . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Uninstalling the Recovery Solution . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
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26
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45
Chapter 3: Getting Started with Recovery Solution . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
Creating a Recovery Solution Cluster . . . . . .
Adding Recovery Solution Servers to Clusters
Installing the Recovery Agent . . . . . . . . . . .
Verifying the Recovery Agent Installed . . . . .
Configuring a Recovery Solution Cluster . . . .
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47
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49
4
Monitoring the Recovery Solution Job Queue . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
Running Reports. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
Running Recovery Solution Utilities. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
Chapter 4: Recovery Solution Agent Installation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
Recovery Agent Requirements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Recovery Agent Installation Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Installing the Recovery Agent in Server-based Mode. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Recovery Agent Installation Policies (‘Push’ Installation) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Interactive Web-Based Agent Setup Wizard (‘Pull’ Installation) . . . . . . . . . .
Unattended Recovery Agent Installation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Registering the Recovery Agent in Server-based Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Creating and Registering a New Account . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Reinstalling the Recovery Agent using an Existing Account . . . . . . . . . .
Changing the Server or Installation Type. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Installing the Recovery Agent but the Server is not Available. . . . . . . . .
Canceling the Registration Process . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Recovery Agent Reinstallation and Repair . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Installing the Recovery Agent in Local Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Distribute Local Mode Prerequisite Package . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Install the Recovery Agent Software . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Create a Partition to Store Your Files In . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Perform the First Snapshot . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Installing the Recovery Agent in Mixed Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Installing Recovery Agent Using an Image. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Upgrading Recovery Agent. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Using Recovery Agent Rollout Policies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Recovery Agent Setup Command-Line Switches . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Uninstalling the Recovery Agent . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Using Windows Add/Remove Programs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Using Recovery Agent Policies to Uninstall the Recovery Agent Remotely
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51
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73
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74
Chapter 5: Configuring Recovery Solution . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75
Configuring Recovery Agent Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Creating Configuration Policies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Using Inherited Default Agent Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Configuring Default Agent Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Configure Snapshot Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Configure Excludes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Configure Rollback Data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Configure Space Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Configure Throttling and Connection (server-based only)
Configure Remote Access (server-based only) . . . . . . . .
Configure Performance (local mode only) . . . . . . . . . . .
Configure Storage Management (local mode only) . . . . .
Configure User’s Rights and Permissions . . . . . . . . . . . .
Configure Miscellaneous Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Recovery Solution Cluster Configuration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
General Settings. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Configuring Server Job Schedules. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Configuring Event Notifications. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Configuring Storage Management. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Storage Group . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Storage Location . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
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. 75
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. 76
. 77
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. 81
. 87
. 88
. 90
. 91
. 92
. 92
. 92
. 94
. 96
. 97
. 98
101
101
102
103
5
Managing Recovery Solution Servers . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Managing Cluster Users. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Configuring Communication Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Recovery Solution Security Role Management . . . . . . . . . . .
Security Role Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Configuring Recovery Server to Only Run Server Jobs. . . . . .
Scan for applied critical patches and Software Delivery tasks.
Manage Lost Recovery Solution Agents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
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106
108
110
110
111
112
113
113
Chapter 6: Recovery Solution Tasks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 114
General Recovery Solution Tasks in the Altiris Console . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Viewing Recovery-related Information about Individual Computers Using the Resource Manager
Performing Basic Recovery Tasks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Running Server Jobs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Performing Recovery Tasks on Individual Computers Using the Resource Manager . . . . . . .
Accelerate a Scheduled Snapshot . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Create a Full System Recovery Image . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Disable/Enable a Computer Account . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Manage Full System Recovery Image . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Manage Protected Data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Manage the Users of a Protected Computer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Mark the Client Computer Account to be Deleted . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Mark Files for Deletion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Perform a Rollback . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Perform a Snapshot Now . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Manage Agent Setup Packages. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
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114
114
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117
118
118
118
118
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120
120
120
122
127
127
Chapter 7: Advanced Snapshot and Recovery Procedures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128
Convert Encrypted Files on FAT Partitions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Restoring a User’s Data to a Different Computer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Web-Based File Recovery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Reinstall Recovery Agent Using the Same Account . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Restoring Data with the Migration Utility . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Full System Recovery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Full System Recovery Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Full System Snapshots Are Necessary for Full System Recovery .
What Happens During Full System Recovery . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Constraints of Full System Recovery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Full System Recovery Setup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Items You Need at Recovery Time . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Full System Recovery Disk Creation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Full System Recovery Using PXE. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Full System Recovery from USB Media . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Preparing the USB media for Full System Recovery. . . . . . . . . .
Running Full System Recovery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Using Full System Recovery Without Formatting Drives Option. .
Norton AntiVirus Notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Restoring Data From Full System Recovery Media . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Erasing the Partition Table. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Using the Snapshot Command-Line . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Scheduling Snapshots with the Command-Line Interface. . . . . . . . .
Command-Line Syntax . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Exit Codes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Using RSACmd.exe Utility . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
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128
129
129
129
130
131
131
132
132
132
133
134
134
139
139
140
143
145
146
146
146
147
148
148
150
152
6
Chapter 8: Using Recovery Solution Reports and Job Queue . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 153
Part II: Using the Recovery Agent. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 155
Chapter 9: Getting Started with the Recovery Agent . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 156
Manually Install the Recovery Agent . . . . . . . . . . . .
Take the Initial Snapshot . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
View Your Recovery Agent Options . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Ensure Automatic Snapshots Are Taken Successfully.
Take an Unscheduled Full System Snapshot . . . . . . .
Take an Unscheduled Partial Snapshot . . . . . . . . . .
View and Restore Protected Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Save and Restore Network Settings . . . . . . . . . . . .
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156
157
157
158
158
159
159
161
Chapter 10: Configuring the Recovery Agent . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 162
Snapshot and Restore Dialog Box . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Last Snapshot/Restore Status . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Snapshot Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Restore Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Throttling Options (server-based mode only) . . . .
Performance Options (local mode only) . . . . . . . .
Snapshot Selection Wizard Dialog Box . . . . . . . .
Restore Selection Wizard Dialog Box . . . . . . . . . .
Snapshot Schedule Dialog Box . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Enable Schedule Snapshots (local mode only) . . .
Snapshot type . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Start Time . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Use System Defaults. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Administration Dialog Box (server-based mode only) .
General Dialog Box . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
User Interface Language Preferences . . . . . . . . .
Recovery Solution Logs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Altiris Recovery Partition for local snapshots (local
Connection Settings (server-based mode only) . .
Space Management Dialog Box . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Default Rules . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Exception Rules . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Misc Dialog Box . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Full System Recovery Dialog Box . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Remote Access Dialog Box (server-based mode only) .
Snapshot Type . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Snapshot Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Excludes Dialog Box . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Files and Folders to Exclude Dialog Box . . . . . . . .
Select Folder or File Name . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Choose the Type of Item to Exclude . . . . . . .
Choose Where to Exclude This Folder or File .
Exception from Exclude List . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Folder or File Name. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Choose the Type of Item to Include . . . . . . .
Choose Where to Include This Folder or File. .
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7
Rollback Data Dialog Box. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Storage Locations Dialog Box (local mode only) . . . .
Location for stored data on the Recovery Agent .
Adding Additional Storage Locations . . . . . . . . .
Managing Additional Storage Locations . . . . . . .
Managing the Temporary Retention Folder. . . . .
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180
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182
Chapter 11: Advanced Recovery Agent Tasks. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 183
Excluding Files from Snapshots . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Why Exclude Files? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Files and Folders You Should Never Exclude. . . . .
Examples of Files and Folders to Exclude . . . . . . .
Performing Rollbacks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Rollback Dialog Box . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Rollback Error Dialog Box . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Full System Recovery Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Local Full System Recovery from DVD-ROM . . . . . . . .
Using the F11 Option in Local Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Using Web-Based File Recovery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Using Recovery Solution Event Viewer . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Event Log Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
View Menu. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
View Menu Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Event Viewer Dialog Box . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Find . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Filter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Event Viewer Elements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Event Details Dialog Box . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Troubleshooting the Event Viewer . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Scheduling Snapshots to Run When Your Computer is Idle
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183
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199
Part III: Recovery Solution Technical Reference . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 200
Chapter 12: Recovery Solution Troubleshooting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 201
Troubleshooting Resources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 201
Event Logs. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 201
Using the Windows 98 Event Viewer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 202
Event Details . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 203
Finding Specific Events . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 203
Saving Events to Other Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 204
Clearing the Event Log . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 204
Automatically Overwriting Events . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 204
File Version Details . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 205
Installation Troubleshooting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 206
Server Installation Troubleshooting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 206
After installation, W3SVC warnings appear in System event log . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 206
If Recovery Server uninstall encounters an error, uninstall rollback may fail . . . . . . . . . . 207
Altiris Recovery Server service error message after completing a Recovery Solution Server
upgrade . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 207
Recovery Server upgrade hangs with “Upgrade in progress” status forever . . . . . . . . . . . 207
Recovery Solution tasks are non-fuctional after aggregation of legacy servers . . . . . . . . . 208
Altiris Recovery Solution Server cannot be installed because 8.3 file names creation is disabled
208
Troubleshooting User Installations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 208
8
Altiris Local Recovery Agent Registration fails . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Error message appears during Recovery Agent Setup . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
User account not validated . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Setup does not run properly . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Applications will not start after agent install. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
User Account & Logon Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Protected Computers Cannot Connect to Server . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
User Logon Issues . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Protected users cannot be authenticated . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Data Protection & Recovery Troubleshooting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Snapshot & File Restore Troubleshooting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Snapshot Schedule for Certain Computers do not Run . . . . . . . . . . . . .
User Cannot Log On to Start Snapshot . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Job Cannot Be Submitted . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Protected computer drives missing from snapshots. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
User Cannot Browse Protected Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
User Cannot Access a Different Account Via Web-Based File Recovery . .
Snapshots Fail Because Server Clocks Are Not Synchronized . . . . . . . . .
General Snapshot & Recovery Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Short File Names Restored Incorrectly on FAT32 Partition . . . . . . . . . . .
Full System Recovery Troubleshooting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Disk space error appears during Full System Recovery disk creation . . . .
Full System Recovery does not start properly . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Error appears during Full System Recovery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Full System Recovery fails when creating disk structure . . . . . . . . . . . .
Full System Recovery incomplete, but no error appears . . . . . . . . . . . .
Problems occur after server upgrade. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Error appears after Full System Recovery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Recovery Agent not working after Full System Recovery . . . . . . . . . . . .
Files missing or outdated after Full System Recovery . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Full System Recovery stalls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Full System Recovery CD-ROM failure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Full System Recovery and Windows 98 with Symantec Antivirus . . . . . .
Cannot Cancel Restore of Folder. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Norton AntiVirus Security Warning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Account Disabled After Full System Recovery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Full System Recovery fails on HP NetServer LC2000 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Recovery Fails on Computers with Phoenix nForce 6A61CPAAC-00 BIOS .
Rollback Troubleshooting. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Unable to see Desired Snapshot During a System Rollback . . . . . . . . . .
Rollback Cannot Be Started From the Console . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Job Cannot Be Submitted . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
After Rollback, User Is Prompted to Uninstall . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Rollback Fails . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
After Rollback, a Restored Drive Contains No Data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
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Chapter 13: Recovery Agent Troubleshooting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 227
Troubleshooting: Install/Uninstall . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Troubleshooting: Unsupported Devices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Troubleshooting: Problems Installing the Local Partition . . . . . . . . . . . .
Troubleshooting: Cannot Update Recovery Agent . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Troubleshooting: Settings Not Saved During Update . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Troubleshooting: Unusable Clusters after Uninstall . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Troubleshooting: Install fails with unable to configure the settings error .
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Troubleshooting: Snapshots. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Troubleshooting: Snapshot Options Unavailable . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Troubleshooting: Nothing Happens . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Troubleshooting: Erratic Behavior . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Troubleshooting: Snapshots Don't Run . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Troubleshooting: Scheduled or Automated Snapshot Doesn't Run . . . . . . . . . . .
Troubleshooting: Snapshot on Logoff Doesn't Run . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Troubleshooting: Snapshot Stops Prematurely . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Troubleshooting: Recovery Solution Stops During a Snapshot or Restore . . . . . .
Troubleshooting: Windows Installer Appears During Snapshots . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Troubleshooting: Snapshot Is Missing Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Troubleshooting: Restoring Data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Troubleshooting: File Restores . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Troubleshooting: Cannot View Protected Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Troubleshooting: Protected File Versions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Troubleshooting: Cannot Find File Versions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Troubleshooting: Protected File Versions Are the Same . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Troubleshooting: Restored Files Are Incorrect Versions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Troubleshooting: Not Enough Space Available to Restore (FAT32) . . . . . . . . . . .
Troubleshooting: Miscellaneous File Version Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Troubleshooting: Web-Based File Recovery Logon Doesn't Appear . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Troubleshooting: Restore Crashes Windows Explorer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Troubleshooting: Recovery Solution Freezes During File Search . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Troubleshooting: Restore Stops Prematurely . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Troubleshooting: Unknown Restore Type. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Other Issues Relating to Restoring Data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Custom user names for message queues gets renamed into the GUID-like names
Troubleshooting: Error Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Troubleshooting: Error Messages in the Progress Dialog Box . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Troubleshooting: New Error . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Troubleshooting: Repeated Error . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Troubleshooting: Error Message Boxes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Troubleshooting: Job Could Not Be Submitted . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Troubleshooting: Drive Configuration Message . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Troubleshooting: System Low on Registry Quota. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Troubleshooting: Options. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Troubleshooting: Can't Open Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Troubleshooting: Options Are Unavailable . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Troubleshooting: Schedule Settings Cannot Be Displayed . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Troubleshooting: Event Logs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Troubleshooting: Messages.dll Is Missing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Troubleshooting: Event Log Full . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Troubleshooting: Error Messages in the Event Logs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Troubleshooting: Error Checklist. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Troubleshooting: Rollback . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Troubleshooting: Virus Warning During Rollback . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Troubleshooting: Rollback Has Missing or Damaged Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Troubleshooting: Rollback Disables Computer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Troubleshooting: Rollback General Protection Fault Error Message . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Troubleshooting: DHCP Problems After Rollback . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Troubleshooting: Other Issues . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Troubleshooting: DCOM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Troubleshooting: FrontPage 98 Personal Web Server Conflict. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Troubleshooting: Logon Problems. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
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10
Troubleshooting:
Troubleshooting:
Troubleshooting:
Troubleshooting:
Troubleshooting:
Cannot Access Dialog Box Buttons .
Connection Firewall . . . . . . . . . . .
Fast User Switching . . . . . . . . . . .
Unknown Solution . . . . . . . . . . . .
Event Viewer. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
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Chapter 14: Technical Reference . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 253
Product Limits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 253
Performance Tips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 254
Data Protection Performance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 254
Restore Performance. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 255
Changing DCOM Protocols . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 255
Configuring Microsoft Network Load Balancing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 256
Settings Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 257
User Account and Share Configuration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 257
Shared Folders . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 259
Microsoft SQL Server Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 259
Event Log Configuration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 261
Internet Information Server Configuration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 261
ODBC Configuration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 265
DCOM Configuration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 266
RPC Dynamic Port Allocation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 270
Firewall Configuration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 271
Web-Based File Recovery Configuration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 272
Configuring Web-Based File Recovery to run on Windows Server 2003 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 274
Job Schedule Worksheet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 274
Local Maintenance Job . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 276
Technical Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 276
Protected Computer IP Address Updates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 277
How Recovery Works . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 277
How the Temporary Operating System Is Created . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 278
Recovery Disk Space Needed . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 278
Command Line Utilities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 279
AeXRSEnc Utility . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 279
AeXMigrt.com Utility . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 282
Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 282
Command-line parameters. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 285
Input XML files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 287
BWINST Utility . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 288
RECREATE Utility . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 289
Stopping and Starting the Recovery Solution Server Service . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 289
Recovery Solution Infrastructure Backup and Restore . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 290
Recovery Solution Infrastructure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 290
Backup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 291
Notification Server Database Backup. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 291
Recovery Solution Database Backup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 292
Data Files Backup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 293
Load Balancer Configuration Backup and Restore . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 294
Restore . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 294
Notification Server Database Restore . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 295
Data Files Restore . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 295
Recovery Solution Database Restore . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 295
11
Appendix A: Hard Disk Support. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 297
Index. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 300
12
Chapter 1
Introducing Recovery Solution
The following topics contain general information about Altiris® Recovery Solution™:
z
Recovery Solution Product Overview (page 13)
z
Integration with other Altiris Solutions (page 15)
z
Recovery Solution Documentation (page 16)
z
Recovery Solution Terminology (page 17)
z
Recovery Solution Architecture (page 19)
z
Familiarizing Yourself with the Altiris Console (page 21)
Recovery Solution Product Overview
Recovery Solution protects operating systems, applications and data stored on desktops
and notebooks from unintentional changes, accidental deletions, and catastrophic loss
from hardware failure, virus corruption, or theft. By taking daily snapshots
automatically, the solution works seamlessly and unobtrusively to protect your systems
and data without impacting user productivity.
Recovery Solution provides total and system-wide protection for your organization’s
computers, including operating system, applications, network settings, drive mappings,
peripheral drivers, data, and other configuration settings. Recovery Solution captures email messages, contacts, and calendar entries, even while the e-mail application is in
use. Users can work completely unaware that snapshots are being taken. Remote users
are prompted at login to allow the snapshot, but once it begins, the process is
transparent and users can continue with their work uninterrupted.
Recovery Solution provides a three-level approach to minimize bandwidth and CPU
utilization with each snapshot:
z
Redundant File Elimination (RFE): Patented technology filters out files that already
exist in the Altiris recovery repository or Altiris partition, storing common files once
across your entire organization (Recovery Solution only).
z
Redundant Block Elimination (RBE): Patented technology that reduces data
transmission size by transmitting and storing only the portions of each file that is
different from the previous snapshot.
z
HLZS data compression is the industry standard for lossless data compression.
These technologies work together to make the backup process as seamless and efficient
as possible, and achieve compression ratios as high as 15:1, minimize network and CPU
loads, and provide scalability to thousands of users per repository.
Note
For a list of new features for Recovery Solution 6.2 SP2, see the Recovery Solution
Release Notes.
There are three different versions of Recovery Solution:
13
z
Recovery Solution Enterprise (page 14)
z
Local Recovery (page 15)
z
Local Recovery Pro (page 15)
Recovery Solution Enterprise
Recovery Solution Enterprise has a new architecture that provides enhanced fault
tolerance and scalability. You can now configure a cluster of Recovery Solution Servers
that can work together to back up and restore data. To facilitate this, Recovery Solution
leverages server load balancing, data mirroring, and Microsoft SQL Server clusters.
Because it is now possible to leverage a single Notification Server and SQL installation,
you can manage and get reports from multiple Recovery Solution Clusters, making
reporting enterprise-wide.
Computers that are connected to the network either continuously or periodically can
have their data automatically backed up through the following three options:
z
Files are backed up to a Recovery Solution Cluster (server-based mode)
z
Files are backed up to a dedicated partition on the local hard drive (local mode)
z
Files are backed up to both the Recovery Solution Cluster and the local hard drive
(mixed mode)
Recovery Solution is integrated with Altiris® Notification Server™ that provides
automated web-based reports, agent deployment, event processing, notification
policies, and more.
Additional product highlights include the following items:
z
Recovery Solution administrators can allow users to protect their own computers, or
they can schedule automatic snapshots to ensure that the computers are always
protected by receiving continuous scheduled backup.
z
Administrators can also control user rights, preventing users from performing
certain tasks (such as disabling the schedule). When rights are granted, users can
perform many tasks at will, reducing helpdesk involvement.
z
Recovery Solution provides full system protection. This means that not only are
typical data files (such as word processing documents and spreadsheets) protected,
but all of the programs installed on the computer and all of the user settings are
also protected. Files that are encrypted, open, or locked can also be backed up. This
allows the entire computer to be fully restored to an earlier state.
z
If a user's snapshot is cancelled or interrupted, they do not need to restart it from
the beginning. You can restart the snapshot from the failure point or break point.
This feature provides users with the ability to recover from a broken connection with
the server at the exact same place as when their connection was broken. This is
especially useful to remote users.
z
If a user's operating system becomes so damaged that the user cannot even start
the computer, you can create Full System Recovery (FSR) disks that can be used to
start the computer and repair the system.
z
The data protection process is secure. Protected data is stored within special “BLOB”
files which can be mirrored, and also be encrypted while in transit. No user can
access another user's files.
14
z
The Recovery Solution Console lets you manage the cluster and all its protected
computers from any location on the network. If multiple clusters are configured,
they can all be administered from a single console.
Local Recovery
Altiris® Local Recovery™ offers data and user-state protection for your organization's
desktop and notebook computers. Local Recovery takes daily snapshots of computers
automatically and stores backups locally in a hidden Altiris partition (known as local
mode).
Local Recovery is exceptionally end-user friendly. End users can initiate a backup or
restore by simply right-clicking their mouse or pressing the F11 key in a pre-boot
environment. By taking daily snapshots automatically, the solution works seamlessly
and unobtrusively to protect your systems and data without impacting user productivity.
Note
Local Recovery runs only on computers manufactured by Altiris partners (HP/Compaq/
Dell).
Local Recovery Pro
Altiris® Local Recovery Pro™ provides the same functionality of Local Recovery with the
following additional benefits:
z
Open and locked file support
z
Aggregate and individual status reporting
z
Support for all brands of computers
z
Create Altiris Partition on any drive
z
Install Recovery Agent on client computers based on Notification Server policies
z
Agent settings can be managed from Notification Server
z
Local Full System Recovery from DVD
Integration with other Altiris Solutions
Recovery Solution integrates with other Altiris solutions to provide broader functionality.
Recovery Solution integrates with Altiris® Patch Management Solution™ to allow
administrators to automatically take snapshots of PCs and servers prior to applying
patches. This integration ensures that should something go wrong, the administrator
can immediately roll a PC or server back to a known good and working state.
Similarly, Recovery Solution works with Altiris® Software Delivery™ to provide
restoration capabilities for PCs and servers receiving new applications.
Integration with Patch Management and Software Delivery solutions lets administrators
mark certain patches and Software Delivery tasks as critical. This makes all snapshots
taken before applying the task or patch unavailable for rollback, and thus prevents the
users at protected computers and helpdesk technicians at the console from restoring
15
computers to an improper state. However, administrators still have the right to roll back
computers to any snapshot taken before or after the task or patch was applied.
Altiris® PC Transplant Solution™ integration allows administrators involved in operating
system upgrades or hardware refreshes to perform migrations to the new or re-imaged
hardware directly from the Recovery Server. This provides the quickest most direct form
of migration to date.
Recovery Solution integrates with Altiris® Helpdesk Solution™ by providing embedded
Smart Tasks in the Helpdesk console. These embedded tasks allow helpdesk workers to
initiate remedial Recovery Solution tasks, such as starting a snapshot or restoring a file
for the end-user.
Companies using Recovery Solution can now download a free monitor pack (Altiris
Monitor Pack for Altiris Infrastructure) for use in Altiris® Monitor Solution™. This free
plug-in allows administrators to gather and observe real-time information concerning
their Recovery Solution servers.
Recovery Solution also provides a custom view plugin for Altiris® Real-Time System
Manager Solution™. Therefore, it is possible to see Recovery Solution Agent status on a
remote machine.
Recovery Solution integrates with Deployment Solution 6.5 to allow administrators to
perform Full System Recovery using PXE (Pre-Boot Execution Environment) over
network. For more information, see Full System Recovery Using PXE on page 139.
Please see the integrated product’s documentation for more information.
Recovery Solution Documentation
The following documentation is provided with Recovery Solution:
z
Release Notes
The release notes contain a list of the new features and known issues in this version
of the product. It also contains any last-minute information that are not included in
the main documentation.
z
The reference guide provides instructions the administrator. This guide is available
in both Adobe .PDF and Microsoft HTML Help formats.
z
Recovery Solution User’s Guide
The user’s guide provides information about using the Recovery Agent. This guide is
available in both Adobe .PDF and Microsoft HTML Help formats and provides users
with instructions for protecting their computers.
z
Altiris Console and Recovery Agent Context Sensitive Help
Click the help button to open the help.
Altiris product documentation is available in Microsoft HTML Help (.CHM) and Adobe
Acrobat (.PDF) formats. Documentation files are installed in the following directory:
C:\Program Files\Altiris\Notification Server\NSCap\Help
16
You can access documentation from the Altiris Console by clicking the following icons in
the upper-right corner of the Altiris Console:
Access the contextual online help by clicking the online help icon.
Access an index of all help by clicking the index icon.
The complete and most current versions of documentation are available from the Altiris
Knowledge Base, which is available from the Altiris support Web page at
www.altiris.com/support.
Recovery Solution Terminology
Altiris Partition
A hidden partition on a local computer that Recovery Solution uses to store snapshots.
This partition is created using the Recovery Agent Partition Wizard.
baseline snapshot
The first Recovery Solution snapshot of a protected computer.
cluster
A logical group of computers that consist of Recovery Solution servers.
DCOM
Microsoft Distributed Component Object Model consists of a set of system files that
Recovery Solution uses when communicating with the server. DCOM provides both
flexibility and added security for many applications that run on a network.
Full System Recovery (FSR)
A recovery of the whole system from scratch to any of the performed full system
snapshots.
Local Recovery database
The database where Local Recovery Agent stores information about protected data
included in snapshots.
Local Recovery golden image
The initial image of the client computer’s data performed by Altiris RapiDeploy® as part
of the Local Recovery snapshot. This image is created right after the Altiris Recovery
partition creation in Linux. The golden image is used for performing Full System
Recovery on Local Recovery Agent computers.
local database maintenance job
A job that verifies the integrity of stored protected data and removes old data (by
default, a job removes all file versions and data deleted from the client computer more
than six days previously).
17
partial snapshot
A snapshot of only the drives you select. You can choose to include or exclude any local
hard drive on your computer, whether or not it has system information on it.
Note
Files and folders that are specified in the Excludes for protected computer are not
included in the snapshot.
protected computer
A user’s computer (workstation, notebook, and so on) whose data is protected by
installing the Recovery Agent.
Recovery Agent
The software that manages backing up and restoring files on the computer.
rollback
Restoring files as well as computer’s registry from a snapshot that restores computers to
a previous state. Rollback is used to repair your operating system and applications when
your computer is not functioning properly.
restore session
The actual transference of data from a snapshot to a computer.
server
The computer that stores the snapshots of the protected computers running in serverbased mode.
server authentication
In server-based mode, Windows domain security is used. Your normal Windows logon
account is used to give you access to Recovery Solution.
If multiple users log onto your computer, each person’s account must have access rights
to the server. Your administrator configures the access rights.
space management job
A server task that deletes files from snapshots.
snapshot session
The actual transferring of data to a snapshot. If data from multiple drives are included in
a snapshot at the same time, Recovery Solution considers each drive a separate
snapshot session, even though it performs all the snapshots right away.
snapshots
Snapshots contain one or more backed up files.
storage location
The location used by Recovery Solution or Local Recovery to store protected data.
18
full system snapshot
A snapshot of a protected computer that contains enough information to restore the
computer in the event of a disaster. A Full System Recovery can only be performed from
a Full System Snapshot. In addition to whatever files you select, a Full System Snapshot
always contains the information about the protected computer’s disk partitions and
drives and the Windows registry. You can also include any additional data from local
drives. A Full System Snapshot does not have to contain all of the protected computer’s
files and folders.
VPN
In a Virtual Private Network, the communications are encrypted between a remote
computer (the VPN client) and the remote access VPN gateway (the VPN server) to
which it connects. With a VPN, a protected computer can send data across a shared or
public network in a manner that emulates a point-to-point private link.
Recovery Solution Architecture
Recovery Solution is a highly flexible and scalable system. It is designed to meet the
backup and recovery needs of small, medium, and large organizations with diverse
topologies and varying backup and recovery requirements. Because of this flexibility, it
is important to plan the design and the deployment before installing or upgrading to
Recovery Solution. This section provides information on system architecture and
possible deployment of Recovery Solution.
Recovery Solution consists of five main elements: Notification Server, Recovery Solution
Cluster, Recovery Solution Server, Microsoft SQL Server, and data storage. Each element
of the system is scalable not only to meet the exact backup and recovery needs but also
the level of fault tolerance required by the origination.
Logical Configuration of the Recovery Solution System
In the figure below is a logical configuration of a full fault tolerance Recovery Solution
system. This includes multiple Recovery Servers in a load balanced cluster, mirrored
Blob data storage, and Microsoft SQL Server Cluster.
Notes
Microsoft SQL Server Cluster design and setup of a database fault tolerance is covered
the Microsoft documentation.
We recommended that the network that connects the Recovery Solutions Servers,
Notification Server, MS SQL Server, and Data Locations be at least 100 Mbit or a
switched network.
19
Notification
Server
MS SQL Server
Cluster
Recovery Solution
Cluster
DB
MS IIS
Web Server
MS IIS
Web Server
DB
DB
Recovery
Administration
DB
Data Space
& Mirror
Blob
Blob
Load
Balancer
Protected servers, desktops, notebooks
Figure 1
Altiris Notification Server
In the versions of Recovery Solution earlier than 6.1, most administration tasks were
performed in the Recovery Solution Administrator’s Console using the Microsoft
Management Console (MMC). The MMC is no longer used. All recovery management
tasks are now performed in the Web-based Altiris Console. The Notification Server is
used to setup and modify cluster, servers, data base, data storage, and protected
systems settings. Notification Server also communicates with the Recovery Solution
Microsoft SQL Server data base to produce reports that are enterprise-wide.
Note
Both HTTP and DCOM are used for communication between Recovery Solution Server
and Notification Server.
Recovery Solution Cluster
Recovery Solution Cluster is made up of at least one Recovery Solution Server. There
can be multiple clusters with just one Recovery Solution Server in each cluster (this
mimics the previous versions of Recovery Solution configuration). If load balancing is
turned on and one of the supported load balancing solutions is used, then multiple
Recovery Solution Servers can be assigned to a cluster. All settings for servers, Blob
data storage locations, and Microsoft SQL Server configurations are administrated at the
cluster level.
20
Recovery Solution Server
The Recovery Solution Server is a Microsoft Windows server running Internet
Information Services (IIS). The protected computer or users connect to this server to
backup and restore their files or systems. Authentication is handled by Active Directory
domain accounts or Microsoft NT domain accounts (local computer accounts are not
supported). A Recovery Solution Server must be assigned to a Recovery Solution
Cluster. For information on how to configure a dedicated Recovery Solution Server for
handling only server jobs, see General Settings on page 97.
Microsoft SQL Server
The Microsoft SQL Server stores information about Recovery Solution system data,
protected computer data, and statistical information, including reporting data.
Blob data storage
User data is stored in encrypted blob data. The system can configure multiple physical
hard drives to store this data. Additional space can be added to the storage if needed.
The Blob data can now be mirrored, which occurs at the time of snapshots, to give an
extra level of fault tolerance.
Load Balancer
If Load Balancing is turned on for a given Recovery Solution Cluster, multiple Recovery
Solution Servers can be set up. The protected computer at the time of backup or
recovery communicates with the load balancer, which then assigns the session to a
recovery server. All load balancing is done through either HTTP or HTTPS and requires
that the load balancer keeps users attached to only one server for the whole session
until the session is ended by the recovery server. Microsoft Network Load Balancer (NLB)
(a software based load balancer for IIS servers) and F5 BIG-IP Blade Controller have
been tested and are supported.
Protected Computers
Protected computers are end users’ computers, laptops, and enterprise data servers
that are protected by Recovery Solution. Depending on system configuration, one of the
following protocols are used for communication between protected system and the
Recovery Server for backing up and restoring data: DCOM, HTTP, and HTTPS.
Note
If load balancing is used, only HTTP and HTTPS are supported.
Familiarizing Yourself with the Altiris Console
In the versions of Recovery Solution earlier than 6.1, most administration tasks were
performed in the Recovery Solution Administrator’s Console using the Microsoft
Management Console (MMC). All recovery management tasks are now performed in the
Altiris Console.
See also: Altiris Console Overview (page 21).
Altiris Console Overview
To open the Altiris Console, click Start > Programs > Altiris > Altiris Console.
21
The Altiris Console provides the following tools that help you manage Recovery Solution:
z
Recovery Solution Configuration Tools (page 22)
z
Recovery Solution Task Policies (page 23)
z
Recovery Solution Reports (page 23)
z
Resource Manager Tools (page 24)
Note
The computer running the Altiris Console must be able to connect to the Recovery
Servers on your network to perform the Recovery Solution tasks for those servers.
Specifically, make sure that TCP ports 80 and 135 are open on the Recovery Servers for
communication with the Altiris Console and that you can ping the servers using their
DNS names and IP addresses.
For proper operation of the Altiris Console on computers running Windows XP SP2, you
must disable pop-up blocking. In Internet Explorer window, click Tools > Pop-up
Blocker > Turn Off Pop-up Blocker.
Recovery Solution Configuration Tools
Most recovery configuration tasks are performed in the Configuration tab of the Altiris
Console.
To access Recovery Solution configuration tools
1.
Open the Altiris Console.
2.
Click the Configuration tab.
3.
Select Configuration > Solution Settings > Incident Management >
Recovery Solution.
The following Recovery Solution configuration tools are available:
z
z
z
Recovery Agent Rollout Tools

Recovery Agent Rollout tasks policies

Recovery Agent Rollout software package

Recovery Agent specific collections
Recovery Agent Settings Configuration Tools

Default Recovery Agent Settings configuration page

Default Local Recovery Agent Settings configuration page
Recovery Solution Cluster Tools

Recovery Solution Cluster creation tools

Recovery Solution Cluster nodes and configuration page

Recovery Solution Server installation policies

Upgrade and uninstall task policies

Recovery Solution specific collections
22
Recovery Solution Task Policies
On the Tasks tab, predefined policies are available to perform the following tasks:
Tasks
Link to information
Convert encrypted files on FAT
partitions
Convert Encrypted Files on FAT Partitions
(page 128)
Erase the protected computer’s
partition table
Full System Recovery incomplete, but no error
appears (page 220)
Manage Agent Setup package
Manage Agent Setup Packages (page 127)
Restore data from Full System
Recovery CD/DVD-ROMs
Restoring Data From Full System Recovery
Media (page 146)
Restore data using the Migrate
utility
Restoring Data with the Migration Utility
(page 130)
Agent Settings Encryption/
Decryption Utility
AeXRSEnc Utility (page 279)
Altiris Partition Removing Utility
BWINST Utility (page 288)
To access the Recovery Solution task policies, open the Altiris Console, click the Tasks
tab, and then select Incident Resolution > Recovery Solution. For information on
performing these tasks, click the policy and read the description and instructions in the
right content pane. You can also click the links listed above.
Recovery Solution Reports
Recovery Solution provides several predefined reports that give information about your
client computers and Recovery Servers. For these reports, Recovery Solution uses
information from both the Notification Database and Recovery Solution Database.
Note
For reports to work, the related data must have been previously collected.
For a list and description of Recovery Solution reports, open the Altiris Console and click
the Reports tab and then Reports > Incident Management > Recovery Solution.
Then click a report folder.
Note
The Local Reports are available for Local Recovery Pro users. The rest require the full
Recovery Solution.
You can modify these reports if desired or you can create your own reports. For more
information on using reports and creating custom reports, see the Altiris Notification
Server Help.
Note
Depending on your environment (your server and the number of computers being
backed up) you may want to schedule reports using date x and date y. Scheduling some
or all of these reports will greatly increase report performance when compared to
running these reports live. You can then view the saved report runs.
23
Resource Manager Tools
You can use the Resource Manger to do the following:
z
View recovery-based information about individual client computers
z
Perform recovery tasks on individual computers
z
Create and view collections of computers
To view the Resource Manager for a computer, click the computer item in either a report
or collection. From a collection, you can also right-click a computer to perform recovery
tasks on that computer.
For more information, see Viewing Recovery-related Information about Individual
Computers Using the Resource Manager (page 114).
24
Part I
Using Recovery Solution
This section explain how to use Recovery Solution. The following chapters describe tasks
that you can perform using Recovery Solution components in the Altiris Console:
z
Installing Recovery Solution (page 26)
z
Getting Started with Recovery Solution (page 46)
z
Recovery Solution Agent Installation (page 51)
z
Configuring Recovery Solution (page 75)
z
Recovery Solution Tasks (page 114)
z
Advanced Snapshot and Recovery Procedures (page 128)
z
Using Recovery Solution Reports and Job Queue (page 153)
Part II contains chapters that explain how to use the Local Recovery Agent on client
computers.
Part III contains chapters that include troubleshooting and technical reference
information.
25
Chapter 2
Installing Recovery Solution
This section lists the Recovery Solution product requirements and explains how to install
Recovery Solution.
z
Recovery Solution Server Component Requirements (page 26)
z
Recovery Solution Client Component Requirements (page 30)
z
Installing Recovery Solution Server Components (page 34)
z
Installing Recovery Solution Client Components (page 42)
z
Upgrading Recovery Solution (page 42)
z
Licensing Recovery Solution (page 44)
z
Uninstalling Recovery Solution (page 44)
For information on installing the Recovery Agent, see Recovery Solution Agent
Installation on page 51. For information on installing Local Recovery Pro, see Installing
the Recovery Agent in Local Mode on page 60.
Recovery Solution Server Component Requirements
This section lists the requirements of the computers that run the various components of
Recovery Solution.
Recovery Solution runs under Altiris Notification Server 6.0 SP3 and above. For a list of
requirements to run Notification Server, please see the Altiris Notification Server
Reference or help.
The specific Recovery Solution configuration needs depend on your specific situation.
The requirements depend on the number of client computers to be protected and on the
homogeneity of the data on those computers.
Software Requirements
Software
Description
Operating System
z
Windows Server 2003
z
Windows Server 2003 R2
z
Windows Server 2000 SP2 or later
z
Microsoft SQL Server 2000 SP3 or later
z
Microsoft SQL Server 2005
Microsoft Windows
Internet
Information
Services (IIS)
z
Microsoft IIS 5.0. This component is not installed by
default with Windows 2000 or later. For Windows 2003,
ASPNET needs to be enabled.
Web Browser
z
Microsoft Internet Explorer 6.0 or later
Altiris Software
z
Altiris Agent 6.0 SP3 or later
SQL Database
26
For Recovery Agent requirements, see Recovery Agent Requirements (page 51).
Note
If you have previously installed Local Recovery Pro on this computer before Notification
Server was installed, after you have installed Notification Server, you will need to
reinstall Local Recovery Pro for it to be recognized by Recovery Solution.
See also: Setting up Recovery Solution Prerequisite Components (page 27).
Setting up Recovery Solution Prerequisite Components
You may need to perform the following steps before you can install Recovery Solution:
z
Configuring the Load Balancer (page 27)
z
Configuring the SQL Database (page 28)
z
Install the Altiris Agent (page 29)
Configuring the Load Balancer
If you will be using more than one Recovery Solution Server, you must use a load
balanced cluster of servers. Recovery Solution supports the following load balancing
technologies:
z
Microsoft Network Load Balancing
z
BIG IP by F5 Networks, Inc.
The load balancer should be installed according to the installation instructions of the
manufacturer.
Microsoft Network Load Balancing Tips
Microsoft Network Load Balancing uses a virtual IP and MAC address. If the network
hardware is not setup correctly, it can cause network collisions to occur. To prevent this
we recommend the following:
z
All Recovery Solution Servers are connected to a network hub
z
The network hub is connected to a programmable switch on your network
z
Program the switched port address table with the Network Load Balancing virtual
MAC address. Example: if your hub is plugged in to port 8 on your switch, program
the switch that the Virtual MAC address is connected as port 8.
Configuring the BIG IP Controller Health Monitors
BIG IP health monitors verify connections and services on nodes that are members of
load balancing pools. The monitor checks the node at a set interval. If the node does not
respond within a specified timeout period, the node is marked down and traffic is no
longer directed to it. By default, an ICMP (Internet Control Message Protocol) monitor is
associated with every node that is a member of a load balancing pool. This monitor is of
the simplest type, checking only the node address and checking only for a ping
response. To change the interval and timeout values of this default check, or to check
specific services on a node, you need to configure a custom monitor or monitors to add
to the default monitor.
For the default icmp monitor, we select the icmp monitor template, as shown below:
27
monitor type icmp {
interval 5
timeout 16
dest *
}
The ICMP monitor template has three attributes: interval, timeout, and dest, each with a
default value. (All monitor templates have these three basic attributes).
For the default monitor, template ICMP is used as is, that is, as monitor ICMP with its
default attribute values. To change any of these default values, you would need to create
a custom monitor based upon ICMP, for example, my_icmp. Only the values that are
actually to be changed would need to be specified in the definition of the custom
monitor. Therefore, if you wanted to change the timeout values only, you would define
the custom monitor as follows:
b monitor my_icmp ’{ use icmp timeout 20 }’
This would create a new monitor in /config/bigip.conf, as show below:
monitor my_icmp{
#type icmp
use "icmp"
interval 5
timeout 20
}
You can display this monitor using the following command:
b monitor my_icmp show
Once the custom monitor exists, you associate it with a node or nodes using the
Configuration utility or the bigpipe node command. Example:
b node 11.11.11.1 11.11.11.2 11.11.11.3 monitor use my_icmp
Note
The nodes are identified by IP address only. ICMP can ping addresses only, not specific
ports on addresses. This creates three instances of monitor my_icmp, one for each
address. You can display the instances using the command b node monitor my_icmp
show.
Configuring the SQL Database
If you plan to authenticate to the SQL Server using a Windows account, and if the SQL
Server is set to Windows authentication mode only, you must set it to SQL Server and
Windows (mixed) mode for Recovery Solution Server to work correctly.
Caution
If you are using the Microsoft SQL 2005 Server, the sys.xp_cmdshell component is
required before you can create a Recovery Cluster. To enable the component, go to SQL
Server 2005 Surface Area Configuration > Surface Area Configuration for
Features > xp_cmdshell and select the Enable xp_cmdshell checkbox. After the
Recovery Cluster creation is complete, the component can be safely disabled.
28
To check or change the SQL authentication mode
1.
Open the SQL Server Enterprise Manager (Start > Programs > Microsoft SQL
Server > Enterprise Manager).
2.
Right-click the SQL Server group you want to configure.
3.
Click Properties.
4.
Click the Security tab.
5.
Under Authentication, select SQL Server and Windows.
6.
Click OK.
7.
Stop and restart the SQL service.
For more information, see your SQL Server documentation.
Install the Altiris Agent
All potential servers and computers you want to manage must have the Altiris Agent
installed if you have not done so already (through the use of other Altiris solutions that
require the agent).
When installing the agent, you specify the computers on which to install the agent. For
large numbers of computers, you can use the Resource Discovery and Network
Discovery features of Notification Server to discover the computers on your network and
create a list from which you can select the computers on which to install the agent. If
you have only a few computers to manage, such as during an evaluation, you can skip
computer discovery and perform the agent installation procedure.
Resource Discovery is used to discover Windows computers. The following procedure
describes how to use this feature.
Network Discovery can discover computers using Ping, Circular DNS resolution, SNMP,
and NetBIOS name and domain. You can discover Linux/UNIX, Mac OS, and Windows
computers. For details, see the Network Discovery Product Guide, which you can access
from the Altiris Web site (altiris.com/support/documentation) or the Altiris
Documentation page in the Altiris Console.
You need administrator rights to install the Altiris Agent.
For more information on the Altiris Agent, see the Notification Server documentation.
To discover Windows computers using Resource Discovery
1.
On the Notification Server computer, select Start > All Programs > Altiris >
Altiris Console to open the Altiris Console.
2.
In the console, click the Configuration tab.
3.
In the left pane, select Configuration > Server Settings > Discovery Methods
> Resource Discovery.
4.
In the content pane, click
and select the domains in which to search for
computers. Optionally, enter the name of a domain and click
5.
.
Select the discovery methods you want to use. You must select at least one method.

Select the Domain Browse List option to discover computers (including
Windows 98) that are currently sharing files.
29

Select the Domain Membership option to discover computers that have trust
accounts in the domain and are running Windows NT, 2000, XP, and 2003. This
method will not find any Windows 98 computers.
6.
Click Discover Now.
7.
After the discovery process completes, click Apply.
The computers in the specified domains are discovered and can be selected to receive
the agent.
To install the Altiris Agent
This procedure does not work with Windows 98 computers. For these operating systems,
see the “Pull Method” in the Notification Server documentation.
1.
On the Notification Server computer, select Start > All Programs > Altiris >
Altiris Console to open the Altiris Console.
2.
In the console, click the Configuration tab.
3.
In the left pane, select Configuration > Altiris Agent> Altiris Agent Rollout>
Altiris Agent Installation.
4.
In the content pane, do one or both of the following:

If you did not perform a computer discovery (because you only have a few
computers on which you want to install the agent, such as during an evaluation)
or you want to specify a computer manually, enter the name of the computer on
which you want to install the agent in the field next to the Add button, and then
click Add. Repeat this for all computers on which you want to install the agent.

If you performed a computer discovery, click Select Computers. In the dialog
that opens, select the computers to which you want to install the agent. Click
OK.
Note
The fact that a computer can be discovered does not mean that you can push
the agent to it. The computer must be running an operating system that
supports having agents pushed to it.
5.
Click Install Altiris Agent. The Options page opens to let you set configuration
properties for the Altiris Agent.
6.
Select the Show the Altiris Agent icon in the system tray option.
7.
Click Proceed with Install.
The Altiris Agent is installed to the computers.
Recovery Solution Client Component Requirements
The Recovery Agent is installed on Windows-based client computers.
Recovery Agent Requirements
This section lists the requirements for the Recovery Agent in the following topics:
z
Requirements for Running the Recovery Agent in Server-based Mode (page 31)
z
Requirements for Running the Recovery Agent in Local Mode (Local Recovery)
(page 33)
30
z
Important Issues with Using the Recovery Agent and BootWorks Partitions
(page 34)
Requirements for Running the Recovery Agent in Server-based
Mode
Minimum Requirements (server-based)
Operating
System
One of the following:
z
Windows Vista (32-Bit or 64-Bit Edition)
z
Windows Server 2003 (32-Bit or 64-Bit Edition)
z
Windows XP Professional (32-Bit or 64-Bit Edition)
z
Windows 2000 SP4 (Professional, Server, or Advanced Server)
z
Windows 98 SE (Second Edition)
Note
Multi-boot configurations are not supported.
Additional
Software
z
Microsoft Internet Explorer 5.0 or later
Disk Space
z
At least 10 MB of free disk space is required to store client
software.
z
Additional free disk space might be needed for DCOM and
Dial-Up Networking updates required to use Recovery
Solution.
z
For Full System Snapshot with Full System Recovery
capability: Requires additional free disk space (after
installation) equivalent to the size of the Windows registry.
(20 MB should be sufficient in most cases.)
z
For recoveries (including Full System Recovery): Free disk
space required is the greater of 1% of total disk space, or the
size of the largest file on the drive.
z
TCP/IP network or RAS connection
z
Windows domain account for each user
z
If you have a firewall, you must have ports 80, 137, and
43190 opened in order for the Recovery Agent to register with
the Recovery Solution Server.
z
10 Mbit connection recommended for first snapshot
z
28 Kbit or faster connection for subsequent Full System
Snapshot
Windows
Networking
Network
Connection
31
Other
Hardware
Display
Altiris
Software
For Full System Recovery
z
Bootable CD-ROM or DVD-ROM drive, or
z
CD-ROM or DVD-ROM drive and 3.5-inch 1.44 MB floppy drive
z
Full System Recovery currently does not support the use of
software RAID controllers. A limited number of hardware RAID
adapters is supported.
z
800 x 600 or greater screen resolution
z
256 or more colors
z
Altiris Agent 6.0 or later
32
Requirements for Running the Recovery Agent in Local Mode
(Local Recovery)
Minimum Requirements (Local Recovery and Local Recovery Pro)
Note
The Standard version of Local Recovery can only be installed on computers
manufactured by Altiris partners.
Local Recovery cannot be installed and run on computers with AMD K6-2 processor.
Operating
System
One of the following:
Microsoft Windows 2000 SP4
Microsoft Windows XP Home
Microsoft Windows XP Professional (32-Bit or 64-Bit Edition)
Microsoft Windows Server 2003 (32-Bit or 64-Bit Edition)
Microsoft Windows Vista (32-Bit or 64-Bit Edition)
Disk Drives
and Space
The following drive types are supported by Local Recovery and
Local Recovery Pro:
IDE
Serial ATA*
SCSI*
Note
To run the Recovery Agent in local mode, you must have enough
free space on the local hard drive to store your snapshots. We
recommend that you have between 40% and 50% of your hard
drive free of space. This free space must exist within the existing
primary partition for Local Recovery. Non-partitioned free space is
not required.
The Altiris Partition requires contiguous free space on the drive.
For best results, run a disk defragmentation utility on the drive
before installing. If the drive does not have enough contiguous
free space, you will get an error stating “Altiris Recovery Agent
failed to create initial image of the system.” For more information,
see “Troubleshooting: Problems Installing the Local Partition” in
the Recovery Solution Reference Guide.
Display
Other
Hardware
Local Mode
Prerequisite
Package
z
800 x 600 or greater screen resolution
z
256 or more colors
For Full System Recovery from DVD
z
Bootable DVD-ROM drive
The Local Mode Prerequisite Package contains the Recovery Agent
Partition component and must be distributed to clients prior to
running the Local Recovery Agent setup.
*For a list of supported devices, see Hard Disk Support on page 297.
33
Important Issues with Using the Recovery Agent and
BootWorks Partitions
Note
The following information only applies to Deployment Solution 6.1 or older. Newer
versions of Deployment Solution are compatible with Recovery Agent.
Recovery Solution, when configured to run in local snapshot mode, stores the contents
of snapshots in the hidden Altiris Partition on the computer’s hard drive. If you use
Altiris® Deployment Solution™, computers may already have an embedded BootWorks
partition on the hard drive. Currently, it is not possible for an embedded BootWorks
partition and the Altiris Partition to reside simultaneously on the same physical drive.
If you have an embedded BootWorks partition and you want to install the Recovery
Agent and create an Altiris Partition, you will have to first uninstall the BootWorks
partition (otherwise the Recovery Agent installation will be stopped). If you wish to use a
BootWorks partition and have computer backup and recovery capabilities, you must use
Recovery Solution in server-based mode only.
Caution
If you have the Recovery Agent and the Altiris Partition installed on a computer, and
then you install a BootWorks partition, the BootWorks partition will not recognize that
the Altiris Partition exists and, without warning, will delete the Altiris Partition and all
snapshot data and the space will be lost!
Uninstalling BootWorks
If you want to uninstall BootWorks so you can use an Altiris Partition, you can use one of
the following methods:
z
Using the bwinst -u command
z
Using Boot Disk Creator to create a BootWorks Windows Uninstall Package that can
be deployed to computers
For more information, see the “Uninstall BootWorks” section in the Altiris Deployment
Solution Product Guide.
Installing Recovery Solution Server Components
This section contains instructions for installing Recovery Solution on your Notification
Server.
z
Installing Recovery Solution Program Files (page 34)
z
Creating a Recovery Solution Cluster (page 36)
z
Adding Recovery Solution Servers to a Recovery Cluster (page 40)
z
After Server Installation Is Complete (page 41)
Installing Recovery Solution Program Files
After Notification Server has been installed, you can install Recovery Solution. The
installation creates log files that record operations and errors that occurred during
installation. For more information, see Check for Errors on page 41.
34
Caution
Do not install an evaluation version of Recovery Solution on a computer that already has
a licensed installation of the solution. Doing so might cause loss of protected data.
Notes
You must be logged onto the computer as a user with administrative rights in order to
install the solution.
The Windows computer name of the server must contain only letters (a–z), numerals
(0–9), and the hyphen character (-), and it must be no more than 15 characters long. In
addition, the DNS host name configured in TCP/IP properties must match the Windows
computer name.
Make sure that file sharing for Microsoft networks is enabled before you start Setup.
During installation, if you see an error message indicating that Setup could not start the
SQL ServerAgent service, then the service is already started. You must stop the service
manually using Control Panel before you can continue the installation.
If you configure Recovery Solution to use a different database server than the
Notification Database server, and if the Recovery Solution DBMS is configured with a
different collation than the Notification Server's DBMS, then some reports may not run
properly. To avoid this problem, make sure the DBMS on each database server is
configured to use the same default collation.
If the server has an A4 Tech Mouse, make sure that the A4 drivers are installed. If you
rely on the default Windows mouse drivers, Recovery Solution Server Setup might not
be able to complete successfully.
If an error appears saying that the installer has insufficient privileges, as a workaround,
you can try clicking Retry in the error dialog.
To install Recovery Solution
1.
2.
Access the Recovery Solution setup file:

Option 1: From the Altiris Console through the Solution Center

Option 2: From the files downloaded from the Altiris Web site
Start the installation:
a.
In the Altiris Console, click the Getting Started tab.
b.
Click Install Altiris Solutions from the Solution Center.
c.
At the top of the page, under the Available Solutions tab, click the Solutions
button.
d.
Click Altiris Recovery Solution.
e.
Click Start.
This extracts the setup files and launches the installation wizard.
3.
From the setup wizard Welcome page, click Next.
To accept the license agreement, click I accept the terms in the license
agreement and click Next.
35
4.
To start the installation, click Install.
5.
After Recovery Solution has been installed, click Finish.
The program files will be installed on the computer. You must now create a Recovery
Solution cluster even if you are going to have a single server. By default, after you have
installed Recovery Solution, the Cluster Creation Wizard will open automatically. For
more information, see Creating a Recovery Solution Cluster on page 36.
Note
If the Web page does not appear, you need to add the host name to the trusted sites for
internet explorer.
Creating a Recovery Solution Cluster
After you have installed the Recovery Solution program files, you need to create and
configure a Recovery Solution Cluster. You must create a cluster even if you are going to
have only one Recovery Solution Server.
The Cluster Creation Wizard guides you through the cluster creation process.
Note
For information on how to configure a dedicated Recovery Solution Server for handling
only server jobs, see General Settings on page 97.
To create a Recovery Solution Cluster using the Cluster Creation
Wizard
1.
By default, after you have installed Recovery Solution, the Cluster Creation Wizard
will open automatically.
If you need to launch the wizard manually, do the following:
2.
a.
Open the Altiris Console by selecting Start > Programs > Altiris > Altiris
Console.
b.
Click the Configuration tab, then select Configuration > Solution Settings
> Incident Management > Recovery Solution > Recovery Solution
Clusters > Recovery Solution Cluster Rollout.
c.
Click the Recovery Solution Cluster Creation.
d.
In the right content pane, click Launch Cluster Creation Wizard.
Specify the cluster name. These values can be changed later.
a.
Enter a cluster name. This name will appear in the Altiris Console and will not be
visible to client computers.
b.
Enter a cluster network address. This is how the cluster will be identified to
client computers.
If this will be a non-balanced cluster (containing only one Recovery Server),
then you can use either a name (such as the Recovery Server computer name)
or the server IP address. The name and the address can be the same if you
choose to do so. If this will be a balanced cluster (containing more than one
server), then enter the address of the virtual HTTP server created on the load
balancer.
For more information, see Configuring the Load Balancer on page 27.
36
3.
c.
(Optional) If you want to configure a balanced cluster, select the Enable
cluster load balancing support checkbox.
d.
(Optional) Enter the IP address or DNS name of the load balancer.
e.
Click Next.
Specify the communication protocol.
You can choose from three connection types:

DCOM

HTTP

HTTPS
If you are configuring a balanced cluster, you can only choose either HTTP or HTTPS.
If you are using a non-balanced cluster, you can use any of the three. Generally,
using DCOM can provide faster communication by as much as 10-20%. However,
DCOM may not work well behind firewalls or on slow WAN connections. In those
cases, HTTP is the preferred option.
Notes
This setting is for how the Cluster will communicate to the Client for the install of
the Recovery Agent. The Agent can be configured to use a different protocol after
install has completed.
For HTTP and HTTPS, ports 8080 and 8081 should not be used as binding ports used
by Recovery Solution if Altiris Deployment Server is installed on the same
Notification Server.
Both HTTP and DCOM are used for communication between Recovery Solution
Server and Notification Server.
4.
Enter the SQL server name that you want the Recovery Solution Database installed
on.
You can specify either a local or remote instance of a SQL server.
Caution
If you are using the Microsoft SQL 2005 Server, the sys.xp_cmdshell component is
required before you can proceed creating the Recovery Cluster. To enable the
component, go to SQL Server 2005 Surface Area Configuration > Surface
Area Configuration for Features > xp_cmdshell and select the Enable
xp_cmdshell checkbox. After the Recovery Cluster creation is complete, you can
safely disable the component.
Local Instance Notes
By default, setup uses the default instance of the local SQL server (MSSQLSERVER).
If the default instance of the local SQL server is not found, then the cluster creation
wizard will try to enumerate non-default local SQL instances. If more than one nondefault instances is found, setup will use the first found instance and the user will be
informed by a Multi-Instance SQL Server page. The SQL server instance that will be
used will be displayed.
The full SQL server name is specified in the following format:
37
<SQL Server_name>\<SQL instance name>
For a default SQL server instance (MSSQLSERVER) the name of the SQL server is:
<SQL Server_name>
a.
Select one of the following authentication modes that you use to connect to the
SQL server:

Windows authentication (logged on user)

SQL Server login - particular SQL server user
The specified account must have administrative rights for the selected SQL
server. For more information, or if you get an error about Windows
authentication, see Configuring the SQL Database on page 28.
b.
Click Next.
If you get an error that the server cannot be found, click Back to go to the
Connection Type page, and click Next again.
5.
Configure the database and data storage options.
Caution
Do not place the SQL Server database and log in a compressed or encrypted
location.
a.
Accept the default database name or specify a new one.
b.
Specify the storage location and the size and location of your Recovery Solution
database. The path must be local to the SQL Server computer.
c.
Specify the storage location and the size and location of your Recovery Solution
log. The path must be local to the SQL Server computer.
d.
Specify the user name and password that will be used to connect to the
Recovery database.
Note
If another cluster already exists on the server computer, the existing user name
and password will be used. To change the existing Recovery database user
credentials, see General Settings (page 97).
Caution
Two or more Recovery Solution clusters created on one or more server
computers and connecting to the same SQL server must use the same Recovery
database user credentials.
e.
6.
Click Next.
Configure data storage points and their size.
a.
Enter the data (blob) file size in Mb. The maximum size of a single data file is
2000 Mb.
b.
To add a storage location, click Add (you must specify at least one location).
Data storage location. To use a data location on the same computer where
Recovery Solution Server will be installed, enter a local path, such as
C:\AeXRSData. To use a data location on a different computer, enter an IP
38
address, DNS name, or computer name where hard drive space will be used.
The format for entering this information is
\\<servername>\<sharename>\<directory>.
Note
A local server path cannot be used in a balanced cluster.
Maximum space (Mb): Enter a maximum space limit (Mb), or enter 0 for
unlimited. This is the maximum amount of space on this location to be used.
Example: if you set a 1000 Mb maximum space limit and 200 Mb data file size,
then 5 data files can be created on this location.
If this is a remote location, provide authentication credentials.
Notes
Use domain (not local) user credentials, otherwise the storage location will be
inaccessible.
You probably do not have to specify credentials for local storage locations.
A remote share permissions and folder security must be configured to allow full
access to the user accessing the share.
You must not add network storages located on computers from domains, which
are not trusted by the Recovery Server domain. Also, do not use the credentials
of users from the non-trusted domains to access the storage locations. Storage
status will be reported ‘Inaccessible’ after adding such storages. The reason is
that Recovery Server cannot be impersonated under a user account from a nontrusted domain.
7.
c.
Click OK.
d.
Click Next.
Configure Recovery Solution Server users.

The two default groups are:

AeXRS_Users
Each member of this group will be given the access rights to protect its own
data with Recovery Solution.

AeXRS_Managers
Each member of this group will be given the access rights to other users’
data through Web Based File Recovery and Migration utility.

User Group is the name of Microsoft Domain Group to be used by Recovery
Solutions

Users are a list of the current users in that group. You can either add more
users to or remove users from this group.
a. To remove a user, highlight the user you want to remove and click
remove.
b. To add user or group, click add, see To add a user or domain group to a
Recovery Solution Cluster (page 108).
39
c. Enable the Allow web-based restoration for all users option to allow
for Web Based File Recovery to be available for all protected users after the
cluster creation.
d. Click Next.
8.
Review the Recovery Solution Server Summary to confirm your selections.
9.
To proceed with your selections, click Next.
10. To make any changes, click Back and change your selection options and then finish
the wizard.
After completing the wizard, an empty cluster is created.
You must add at lease one server to the cluster. To see and manage the cluster settings,
click the cluster node under the Recovery Cluster Configuration folder. For more
information, see Recovery Solution Cluster Configuration (page 96).
Adding Recovery Solution Servers to a Recovery Cluster
After you have created a cluster, you can add one or more servers to the cluster.
Notes
You should avoid adding stand-alone servers, which are not members of a trusted
domain or use local authentication, to a Recovery Solution Cluster, because your
protected users will not be able to authenticate on such servers. The problem can
appear even when Recovery Server is a member of a trusted domain if this domain has
no trust for all the domains where Notification Server has trusting set up.
If no servers offered for installation in Recovery Solution Server Install policy. The
problem may appear because of following reasons:
You have not Windows Servers with Altiris Agent installed. Recovery Solution Server can
only be installed on either Win2003 or W2k Server.
All your Windows Servers already have either Recovery Solution Server or Recovery
Solution Agent installed. Recovery Solution Server cannot be installed to computer with
Recovery Solution Agent.
Inventory is not yet received from this server or collections not yet updated.
To resolve the problem go to the Recovery Solution Cluster Configuration folder ->
“Computers where Recovery Solution Server can be installed” collection and press
Refresh button.
If no computers appeared in the collection after this, then most probably you should
wait inventory sending or accelerate the process manually.
If you install the Recovery Server on Windows 2003 running Windows Firewall service
(enabled by default on Windows 2003 Server with Service Pack 1), the Altiris Recovery
Server Host Manager (ping service) will open the port 43190 in Windows Firewall on
service start up. This port must be open during Recovery Server operations.
To add a server to a cluster
1.
Console.
40
2.
Click the Configuration tab, then select Configuration > Solution Settings >
Incident Management > Recovery Solution > Recovery Solution Clusters >
Recovery Solution Cluster Configuration.
3.
Click the Recovery Solution Server Install task.
4.
In the right content pane, select the cluster you want to add a server to.
5.
Click the Add Server
6.
Select the computer you want to install as a Recovery Solution Server.
7.
Click OK.
8.
(Optional) To override default installation folders, click Installation Settings.
9.
Select the Cluster to install the server to.
icon.
10. Click Install Server.
11. You can accept the default installation settings or changes them. Click Proceed
with Install.
It will take a few minutes for the server component to install. The rollout page
shows the status of the server rollout process. Click the Refresh
the page.
icon to refresh
Note
If you install Recovery Server on Windows 2003 without a service pack, the Internet
Sharing Configuration dialog box will appear during installation on the server
computer asking you to give the C:\Program Files\Altiris\Recovery
Solution\Server\Ahms.exe permission to edit this computer’s Internet Connection
Protection settings. Click Yes to let the Altiris Recovery Server Host Manager (ping
service) open the port 43190 in Windows Firewall. This port must be open during
Recovery Server operations.
After the installation is complete, the server will appear in the list of servers for the
cluster under the Servers tab of the cluster properties page.
Altiris Recovery Solution Server will also appear in the Add/Remove Programs list on
the computer it was installed on.
To view the servers tab of the cluster properties page
1.
Click the cluster node in the Recovery Solution Cluster Configuration folder.
2.
Click the Servers tab.
3.
Click the Refresh
icon.
After Server Installation Is Complete
After the Setup program for Recovery Solution Server is complete, you should perform
the following steps before continuing.
Check for Errors
The Recovery Solution Server installation creates log files that record operations and
errors that occurred during installation. The log files are text files that you can open in a
text editor (such as Notepad). If any problems occurred, you should see them listed
41
here. AeXCRSS.log lists all the high and medium level operations that server setup
performed.
During installation, AeXCRSS.log is created in the temporary folder that is used for
server installation (by default, C:\WINNT\Temp). After installation is complete, this file
is copied to the folder where the Recovery Solution Server is installed (by default,
C:\Program Files\Altiris\Recovery Solution\Server).
You may want to open these files to verify that there are no error messages before
continuing with your use of Recovery Solution.
Schedule Automatic Updates of Report Data
For more information, see Using Recovery Solution Reports and Job Queue on page 153.
Installing Recovery Solution Client Components
For information, see Recovery Solution Agent Installation on page 51.
Upgrading Recovery Solution
Before upgrading Recovery Solution we strongly recommend making a full offline backup
of the Recovery Solution SQL Server database. For information, see Recovery Solution
Infrastructure Backup and Restore on page 290.
Important
Upgrades from versions earlier than Recovery Solution 6.1 are not supported. For
information on upgrading previous Recovery Solution installations to version 6.1 or later,
see corrensponding solution documentation.
Upgrading from a previous 6.2 version or 6.1 requires the following steps:
To install Recovery Solution through the Solution Center
1.
In the Altiris Console, click the Getting Started tab.
2.
Click Install Altiris Solutions from the Solution Center.
3.
At the top of the page, under the Available Solutions tab, click the Solutions
button.
4.
Click Altiris Recovery Solution.
5.
Click Start. This extracts the setup files and launches the installation wizard.
6.
To start the installation, click Install.
Note
By default, after you have installed Recovery Solution, the Recovery Solution Cluster
Upgrade policy will open automatically after the completing of the Solution upgrade.
See also: Upgrading Recovery Solution Clusters (page 42)
Upgrading Recovery Solution Clusters
After you have upgraded the Recovery Solution program files, you must upgrade your
Recovery Solution Clusters.
42
During the installation on Recovery Solution, a Recovery Solution Cluster Upgrade
policy is created. Use this policy to perform the upgrade process.
To upgrade a cluster
1.
Open the Altiris Console by clicking Start > Programs > Altiris > Altiris Console.
2.
Click the Configuration tab, then click Configuration > Solution Settings >
Recovery Solution Cluster Rollout.
3.
Click the Recovery Solution Cluster Upgrade node.
4.
(optional) Select After Cluster upgrade, automatically start Recovery
Solution Server(s) upgrade.
5.
In the right pane, click Start Upgrading Clusters.
The Cluster begins to upgrade. If the After Cluster upgrade, automatically start
Recovery Solution Server(s) upgrade checkbox was selected, the servers also
upgrade; otherwise, you must, otherwise you must upgrade the servers manually. When
the upgrade is completed you will need to restart the computer.
It will take a few minutes for the server component to install. To view the status of the
server upgrade or to launch upgrade of the servers manually, see the Servers tab of the
cluster properties page or the Recovery Solution Server Upgrade policy on the
Configuration tab of the Altiris Console (Configuration > Solution Settings >
Incident Management > Recovery Solution Clusters > Recovery Solution
Cluster Configuration).
Notes
After Recovery Server is upgraded, Recovery Solution Agent needs to be upgraded on
client computers. For details, see Upgrading Recovery Agent on page 66.
If the server upgrade failed, you can restart the upgrade by executing Setup.exe from
\\<NS Server>\NSCAP\Bin\Win32\X86\Recovery Server Package location.
The Start Recovery Solution Server(s) upgrade will only create and activate a
Recovery Solution Server software delivery policy that may arrive at the Recovery
Solution Server computer after a delay (when the computer requests the configuration
from the Notification Server).
If you wish to speed up the policy delivery process, on the Recovery Solution Server
computer, use the Altiris Agent to request the configuration (right-click on the Altiris
Agent Icon, select the Altiris Agent details and then click Update Configuration).
We do not recommend clicking Reboot the computer(s) with the Recovery
Solution Server after a successful upgrade is completed if Recovery Solution
Server is installed on the same machine with Notification Server or there are several
Recovery Solution Clusters installed on the Notification Server. It is possible that the
Notification Server computer restart during the Recovery Solution SQL database
upgrade may corrupt the database.
43
Licensing Recovery Solution
Each Altiris product comes with a 7-day trial license that is installed by default. You can
register and obtain a 30-day evaluation license through our Web site at www.altiris.com
or purchase a full product license.
To view your current license, open the Altiris Console, click the Configuration tab and
then Licensing. For more information, click the help button on the Licensing page.
Uninstalling Recovery Solution
This section describes how to uninstall Recovery Solution:
z
Uninstalling a Recovery Solution Cluster (page 44)
z
Uninstalling a Recovery Solution Server (page 44)
z
Uninstalling the Recovery Solution (page 45)
Note
We recommend uninstalling the Recovery Agent software from the client computers
before uninstalling the solution. For details, see Uninstalling the Recovery Agent on
page 73.
Uninstalling a Recovery Solution Server
This section explains how to uninstall an existing Recovery Solution Server.
To uninstall a Recovery Solution Server
1.
2.
Click the Configuration tab, and then click Configuration > Solution Settings >
3.
Click the Recovery Solution Server Uninstall node.
4.
Select a cluster to view a list of servers assigned to that cluster.
5.
Select the server to uninstall.
6.
Click Uninstall Server.
7.
Click Yes to confirm that you want to uninstall the server.
Uninstalling a Recovery Solution Cluster
This section explains how to uninstall an existing Recovery Solution Cluster. This will
uninstall all servers assigned to this cluster, the database is deleted, and then the cluster
is deleted from the Notification Database.
44
Note
This does not remove the BLOB files in the storage. You must manually delete the files
after deleting the storage.
All Recovery Servers attached to the cluster will be automatically uninstalled after the
cluster removal.
To uninstall a Recovery Solution Cluster
1.
Console.
2.
Click the Configuration tab, and then select Configuration > Solution Settings
> Incident Management > Recovery Solution > Recovery Solution Clusters
> Recovery Solution Cluster Uninstall.
3.
Click the Recovery Solution Cluster Uninstall node.
4.
Select the cluster to uninstall.
5.
Click Start Uninstalling Cluster.
6.
Click Yes to confirm that you want to uninstall the cluster.
Uninstalling the Recovery Solution
This section describes how to uninstall Recovery Solution from the Notification Server.
For information on uninstalling the Recovery Agent, see Uninstalling the Recovery Agent
(page 73).
To uninstall Recovery Solution and/or the Recovery Solution Server
1.
From the Windows Start menu, select Settings > Control Panel Add/Remove
Programs.
2.
Click the component that you want to remove.
The Altiris Recovery Solution Server and Altiris Recovery Solution (the
application) are separate items. For a complete uninstall, remove both.
3.
Click Remove.
4.
Follow the instructions on the screen.
For more information on uninstalling Notification Server components, see the Altiris
Notification Server Help.
45
Chapter 3
Getting Started with Recovery Solution
The Getting Started tasks guide you through the basic setup, configuration, and use of
Recovery Solution. Each task has a procedure and, in many cases, exercises to illustrate
the steps of the procedure.
There are two methods for performing each task: the Quick Start page and the Altiris
Console. The Altiris Console is the primary interface for Altiris solutions.
The Quick Start page provides access to setup, configuration, and basic tasks in a
central location. You can access the Quick Start by doing the following:
From the Altiris Console:
1.
In the Altiris Console, click the Tasks tab.
2.
In the left pane, select Tasks > Quick Starts.
3.
In the content pane, select Recovery Solution Quick Start.
From the Start Menu
1.
In the Start Menu, click Start > Programs > Altiris > Quick Starts> Recovery
Solution.
Getting Started tasks
z
Creating a Recovery Solution Cluster (page 47)
z
Adding Recovery Solution Servers to Clusters (page 47)
z
Installing the Recovery Agent (page 47)
z
Configuring a Recovery Solution Cluster (page 49)
z
Monitoring the Recovery Solution Job Queue (page 49)
z
Running Reports (page 50)
z
Running Recovery Solution Utilities (page 50)
z
Verifying the Recovery Agent Installed (page 49)
Prerequisites for Getting Started tasks
z
Notification Server 6.0 SP3.
z
Recovery Solution installed on the Notification Server. See Installing Recovery
Solution (page 26).
z
One or two client computers to be configured as protected computers. See Recovery
Agent Requirements (page 12).
z
Configure and install the Altiris Agent on the client computers. See Install the Altiris
Agent (page 29).
46
Note
The Altiris Agent is not required in order to install and use stand-alone Local
Recovery or Local Recovery Pro Agent.
Creating a Recovery Solution Cluster
By default, you had the option to create a Recovery Solution Cluster when you installed
Recovery Solution. If you have not yet created a cluster, you can do so now. You must
create a cluster before you can install any Recovery Solution Servers.
To create a new cluster
1.
2.
Click the Configuration tab and select Configuration > Solution Settings >
Recovery Solution Cluster Rollout.
3.
Click the Recovery Solution Cluster Creation node.
4.
In the right pane, click Launch Cluster Creation Wizard.
For information, see Creating a Recovery Solution Cluster (page 36).
Adding Recovery Solution Servers to Clusters
After you have created a cluster, you must add one or more servers to the cluster.
To add a server to a cluster
1.
2.
Click the Configuration tab and select Configuration > Solution Settings >
3.
The wizard will guide you through the process of installing a server. For information,
see Adding Recovery Solution Servers to a Recovery Cluster (page 40).
Installing the Recovery Agent
Recovery Solution provides different options for installing the Recovery Agent on client
computers. For information, see Recovery Agent Installation Options (page 51).
Using Notification Server polices is the easiest way to roll out (push) the Recovery Agent
to computers on your network is .
To use rollout polices, the target computers must be discovered and have the Altiris
Agent installed. It is helpful to have a working knowledge of policies, packages,
programs, and collections (see the Altiris Notification Server Help). For information on
installing the Altiris Agent, see Install the Altiris Agent (page 29).
By default, these policies will perform tasks without any user intervention and will not
cause a restart of the client computer.
47
Note
The user should manually restart the computer before using the Recovery Agent. You
can also configure the policy to force a restart if your choose.
Each policy uses the Recovery Agent installation file, AgentSetup.exe, with various
command-line switches. AgentSetup.exe is located in the following folder:
C:\Program Files\Altiris\Notification Server\NSCap\Bin\Win32\X86\Recovery Agent
Package
Install the Recovery Agent using rollout policies
1.
From the Altiris Console, click the Configuration tab.
2.
In the left pane select Configuration > Solution Settings > Incident
Management > Recovery Solution > Recovery Agent Rollout.
3.
Click the RS Agent Install policy.
4.
In the right pane, select the Enable checkbox to enable the policy.
5.
Verify the program name is configured for Install RS Agent.
6.
(Optional) To have the client computer automatically restarted as part of the task,
select the Reboot computers checkbox.
Note
The users logged on the client computers will be shown the default reboot prompt
dialog that contains countdown timer and if user neither clicks Snooze nor Restart,
the computer will be restarted automatically in 60 seconds.
If no user is logged on at the target computer, the reboot will be performed
automatically.
The default reboot prompt will be shown or automatic reboot will be performed even
if Recovery Agent rollout fails, if the Reboot computers checkbox was selected.
7.
(Optional) To prevent the agent from performing an initial snapshot select the
Disable initial snapshot checkbox.
8.
Select the collection that the policy will use.
This is the group of computers the policy will be run on. You can use the default or
click the collection link to change or add other collections.
Note
If you are evaluating Recovery Solution solution in a lab environment, you can use
the default collection and scheduling options.
9.
Select the policy scheduling options.
For information on configuring policies, see the Altiris Notification Server Help.
10. Click Apply.
48
Verifying the Recovery Agent Installed
You can view a collection that includes all the client computers that have the Recovery
Solution Agent installed.
To access the Computers with RS Agent Installed collection
1.
2.
In the left navigation pane, click Configuration > Solution Settings > Incident
Management > Recovery Solution> Recovery Agent Rollout > Computers
with RS Agent installed.
Several other collections available on the Configuration tab are useful for deploying
Recovery Agent and tracking the agent status on client computers. These collections are
located at Configuration > Solution Settings > Incident Management > Recovery
Solution> Recovery Agent Rollout.
Configuring a Recovery Solution Cluster
You can configure the settings for cluster at any time. You can configure server job
schedules, event notifications, storage management, and communication settings. You
can also manage Recovery Servers and cluster users. To modify cluster settings, use the
cluster properties page.
To configure an existing cluster
1.
In the Altiris Console, click the Configuration tab.
2.
Recovery Solution > Recovery Solution Clusters > Recovery Solution
Cluster Configuration.
3.
Click the cluster node.
For more information on configuring clusters, see Recovery Solution Cluster
Configuration (page 96).
Monitoring the Recovery Solution Job Queue
The Recovery Solution Clusters Job Queue shows all currently running jobs on all
clusters. Monitoring the job queue enables you to monitor the job queue.
To open the Recovery Solution job queue
1.
In the Altiris Console, click the Reports tab.
2.
Select Dashboards > RS Cluster Job Queue.
This will show all currently running Jobs on all clusters.
3.
Click the Show pending jobs icon
to show all scheduled jobs as well as
currently executing jobs on all clusters.
4.
Click the Hide pending jobs icon
to show only current running jobs.
49
5.
Click the Refresh the job queue icon
to update the current view.
Note
You can see more details on a client job (like snapshot or rollback) by right-clicking on
the job in the list and selecting Details from the drop-down menu.
Running Reports
Recovery Solution provides the following types of reports:
z
Client Reports
z
Local Reports
z
Server Reports
To access Recovery Solution reports
1.
2.
In the right navigation pane, click the report type and the report you want to use.
For more information about reports, see Using Recovery Solution Reports and Job Queue
(page 153).
Running Recovery Solution Utilities
Recovery Solution includes the following utility programs:
Tasks
Link to information
partitions
(page 128)
partition table
Erasing the Partition Table (page 146)
Recovery CD or DVD-ROMs
Media (page 146)
utility
(page 130)
To access Recovery Solution utilities
1.
2.
In the left pane, click Tasks > Incident Management > Recovery Solution.
50
Chapter 4
Recovery Solution Agent Installation
The Recovery Agent is software that is installed on computers that allows files on that
computer to be backed up. The Recovery Agent can back up files to the Recovery Server
(server-based mode), or it can back up files to a special Altiris Partition on the local
computer (local mode). In server-based mode, computers that have the Recovery Agent
installed and have their files backed up to a Recovery Server are called protected
computers.
Note
If you are using Deployment Solution, before you install the Recovery Agent in local
mode, please read Important Issues with Using the Recovery Agent and BootWorks
Partitions on page 34.
This section describes how to install the Recovery Agent on client computers. The
following topics are covered:
z
Recovery Agent Requirements (page 51)
z
Recovery Agent Installation Options (page 51)
z
Installing the Recovery Agent in Server-based Mode (page 52)
z
Recovery Agent Reinstallation and Repair (page 59)
z
Installing the Recovery Agent in Local Mode (page 60)
z
Installing the Recovery Agent in Mixed Mode (page 65)
z
Installing Recovery Agent Using an Image (page 66)
z
Upgrading Recovery Agent (page 66)
z
Using Recovery Agent Rollout Policies (page 67)
z
Recovery Agent Setup Command-Line Switches (page 69)
z
Uninstalling the Recovery Agent (page 73)
Recovery Agent Requirements
The Recovery Agent is installed on Windows-based client computers. For a list of
requirements, see Recovery Solution Client Component Requirements on page 30.
Recovery Agent Installation Options
How you install the Recovery Agent on protected computers depends on the mode you
will be running the agent in. It also depends on whether you are using Recovery Solution
or Local Recovery Pro with Notification Server, or if you are using Local Recovery or Local
Recovery Pro stand-alone.
Before installing the Recovery Agent, please read Recovery Solution Client Component
Requirements on page 30.
51
For installation instructions, refer to the following sections:
z
Installing the Recovery Agent in Server-based Mode on page 52
z
Registering the Recovery Agent in Server-based Mode on page 56
z
Installing the Recovery Agent in Local Mode on page 60
z
Installing the Recovery Agent in Mixed Mode on page 65
z
Installing Recovery Agent Using an Image on page 66
The following topics are also available:
z
Upgrading Recovery Agent on page 66
z
Using Recovery Agent Rollout Policies on page 67
z
Recovery Agent Setup Command-Line Switches on page 69
z
Uninstalling the Recovery Agent on page 73
Installing the Recovery Agent in Server-based Mode
When the Recovery Agent is installed in server-based mode, snapshots are stored on the
Recovery Server.
Any of the following methods can be used to deploy the Recovery Agent in server-based
mode:
z
Recovery Agent Installation Policies (‘Push’ Installation) on page 53
z
Interactive Web-Based Agent Setup Wizard (‘Pull’ Installation) on page 53
z
Unattended Recovery Agent Installation on page 55
Before you actually deploy the Recovery Agent to users, we recommend that you install
the software on one or more computers with typical configurations, then perform
snapshots on these computers. This seeds the server with common files, making
snapshots faster for other users. To learn more, see Data Protection Performance on
page 254.
Before deploying the Recovery Agent, you might want to complete the following items:

Configuring Recovery Agent Settings (page 75)

Full System Recovery Setup (page 133)
Notes
You can cause the data protection components (which allow snapshots and recoveries)
to be disabled by default for all protected computer installations. This might be useful if
you want to deploy the software but not activate it immediately. To disable protected
computers by default, click Disable Computers By Default on the RS Agent Install
policy.
For protected computers running 2000/XP/2003, a user with administrator rights on the
protected computer must be logged on in order to install the Recovery Agent. No special
rights are required to use the software after it is installed.
For protected computers running Windows 98, usernames, passwords, and domain
names cannot contain extended ANSI characters. These characters have character
codes greater than 127 and are commonly used in non-English languages (Example:
umlauts and characters with accents). They cannot be used with Recovery Solution
52
because of a limitation in the Microsoft DCOM security component.
Make sure that the Windows domain authenticating user accounts do not have names
that contain these characters, and that the usernames and passwords for Windows 98
users with access to Recovery Solution do not contain these characters either.
The user who installed Recovery Agent on a protected computer can also re-install it if
needed.
If users encounter installation problems, see Troubleshooting User Installations on
page 208.
After the server is upgraded, each protected computer is automatically upgraded the
next time it connects to the server. For more information, see Upgrading Recovery Agent
on page 66.
Recovery Agent Installation Policies (‘Push’ Installation)
Using Recovery Agent installation polices, you can deploy (push) the Recovery Agent to
computers. This is the recommended way to install the Recovery Agent. For more
information, see Using Recovery Agent Rollout Policies (page 67).
Interactive Web-Based Agent Setup Wizard (‘Pull’ Installation)
The Interactive Web-Based Agent Setup Wizard is an easy method of deploying the
Recovery Agent because it requires no interaction on the part of the administrator. Users
simply access and run the setup wizard through a Web browser to install the software
and create an account on the server.
The interactive wizard is setup automatically during installation of the Recovery Server if
the server has Microsoft Internet Information Server (IIS) version 4.0 installed.
Notes
A server must be installed into the Recovery Solution Cluster.
Users must authenticate using a domain account.
This option is available only if the program files for the server are installed on a drive
formatted with the NTFS file system.
If the server is already installed but the Web-based Setup wizard is not available
(because IIS was not on the server at the time of installation), you can install IIS on the
server, then “upgrade” the Recovery Server. Setup then configures the Web-based Setup
wizard using IIS. You will not lose any data as long as you click the Upgrade option.
To successfully install Recovery Agent from the Web-based Setup wizard, users must be
running Microsoft Internet Explorer 5.0 or later. If a user is running a version of Internet
Explorer older than 5.0, a browser script error will appear when the Web-based Setup
wizard is accessed.
64-bit Recovery Agent installation is not available through the Web-Based Setup Wizard.
53
To install the Recovery Agent using the Setup Wizard
1.
Direct users to the following URL:
http://IP address/rsagent
where IP address is the address of the Recovery Solution Cluster specified when
you created the cluster (step 2 on page 36). You can also see the cluster
address from the cluster configuration page > General tab > Cluster address:
2.
Log in with domain credentials.
3.
From the Welcome page, click Next and follow the wizard.
4.
Select the mode that you want the Recovery Agent to run in:

Install the agent in Server-based mode (go to step 5)

Install the agent in Local mode (go to step 6)

Install the agent in Mixed mode (go to step 7)
For information on the different modes, see Recovery Solution Product Overview on
page 13.
5.
To install the agent in server-based mode, select the Server-based mode
checkbox.
6.
To install the agent in local mode, complete the following tasks:
a.
Select the Local mode checkbox.
b.
(Optional) Select the Create a partition to store your files automatically
checkbox.
c.
Specify the drive and size of the Altiris Partition.
7.
To install the agent in mixed mode, complete both steps 5 and 6.
8.
(Optional) Select additional setup options:
9.
a.
After the agent is installed, the computer must be rebooted. You can specify
whether or not to be prompted for the reboot.
b.
You can skip the initial default snapshot.
To continue, click Next.
10. Select the account type:

If you are creating a Recovery Solution account for the first time, click Create
New Account.

If you are using an existing Recovery Solution account, click Re-Install
Existing Account.
11. To install the agent and create a new account, do the following tasks:
a.
To download the wizard, click Install.
b.
Click Open or Run, not Save.
Note
After clicking Install, a Microsoft security warning may appear warning that the
publisher could not be verified. Continue by clicking Run or Yes to download
the AgentSetup.exe. Note that on Windows XP SP2, an additional warning might
appear about the cab file. Continue by clicking Install.
54
The wizard installs the agent.
c.
After the agent is installed, click Finish to exit the wizard.
To complete the installation, you must restart the computer.
d.
To restart the computer, click Yes.
After, the computer has restarted, the Altiris Recovery Agent Registration page
opens.
e.
To create a new account, enter an account login name and password.
f.
Enter a description of the computer.
g.
Click Register.
The account is created as a Protected User and is associated to the protected
computer.
12. To install the agent using an existing account, do the following tasks:
a.
Select the account login name of the account you want to re-install from the
drop-down list.
b.
Enter the password for the account.
c.
Click Next.
d.
To download the wizard, click Install.
e.
To start the wizard, click Open or Run.
The wizard installs the agent.
f.
When the agent is installed, click Finish to exit the wizard.
To complete the installation, you must restart the computer.
g.
To restart the computer, click Yes.
Unattended Recovery Agent Installation
You can use AgentSetup.exe to install the Recovery Agent. AgentSetup.exe is available
to users through the following network share:
\\<Recovery Server name>\agent
Example: you can distribute a batch file through e-mail, CD-ROM, or a network share
called AgentSetup.exe.
You can also use command-line parameters for other installation options. The possible
command-line parameters are explained in Recovery Agent Setup Command-Line
Switches on page 69.
Notes
If you are using a load-balanced cluster, unattended Recovery Agent installation from
the network share may be unavailable, depending on your load balancer configuration.
In this case, you can perform either ‘Push’ or ‘Pull’ Agent installation.
Recovery Agent installation does not require user logon and can be performed silently if
55
Recovery Agent setup was launched with the correct command-line parameters. For
details, see Recovery Agent Setup Command-Line Switches on page 69.
64-bit Recovery Agent installation package is not available from the default Recovery
Server network share.
Registering the Recovery Agent in Server-based Mode
This sections provides information that is provided to users in the Recovery Solution
User’s Guide.
If you install the Recovery Agent in server-based mode, you will need to register an
account on the Recovery Solution Server.
Caution
If you specify [/User:<username>] [/Domain:<domain>] [/Pass:<password>]
command-line switches and proper parameters during Recovery Agent setup, account
registration will be performed silently, without requiring additional user input. You can
modify the default Recovery Agent Setup policy to use these command-line switches if
you want the Agent registration to be performed silently upon policy execution.
You must make sure that “User account should change password on next logon” option
is not enabled for a user account prior to registering the account, otherwise the account
registration will fail.
The user account password must not be longer than 14 characters. Otherwise, the
registration will fail to complete.
After Recovery Solution is installed, the agent files are copied onto the computer. A
default account is created on the server to provide basic protection.
Note
On Windows XP and Windows 2003 client computers without a service pack, the Internet
Sharing Configuration dialog box will appear upon Altiris Recovery Agent service startup
asking to give the C:\Program Files\Altiris\Recovery Soluiton Agent\AeXRSAgt.exe
permission to edit Internet Connection Protection settings. Check Do not show this
dialog again and then click Yes in the dialog to let the Recovery Agent service modify
the Windows Firewall exceptions.
The Recovery Agent Registration dialog box is displayed to register an account on
the Recovery Solution Server. When an account is registered on the server, the
Recovery Agent Options dialog box is available.
The administrator may have performed an “unattended” installation and registration. If
that was successful, you will simply see a confirmation message.
This topic explains registering an account under the following scenarios:
z
Creating and Registering a New Account (page 57)
z
Reinstalling the Recovery Agent using an Existing Account (page 57)
z
Changing the Server or Installation Type (page 58)
z
Installing the Recovery Agent but the Server is not Available (page 59)
z
Canceling the Registration Process (page 59)
56
Creating and Registering a New Account
To back up files to a Recovery Solution Server, you must have an account on the server.
Recovery Solution uses Windows Active Directory domain services to manage user
accounts.
If the currently logged-on user is a member of a group that is already configured as
users of the Recovery Solution Server (Cluster), then the account is registered
automatically and the registration dialog will not appear. Otherwise, you will need to
create a new account.
To register a new account using a domain account
You can register an account on the Recovery Solution Server using your domain
credentials. If you are currently logged on, the domain user account will be used and no
other information needs to be provided. All you need to do is click Register.
Notes
The Recovery Solution Server name is displayed by default. Do not change the server
name unless you have been specifically instructed to do so.
If you specify [/User:<username>] [/Domain:<domain>] [/Pass:<password>]
command-line switches and proper parameters during Recovery Agent setup, account
registration will be performed silently, without requiring additional user input even if the
currently logged on user is not an authorized Recovery Solution user, or even without
logging on to the protected computer.
Reinstalling the Recovery Agent using an Existing
Account
You may have a need to reinstall the Recovery Agent but use an existing account. To
register the computer using an existing account, you must be able to provide the
password for the account.
To reinstall the Recovery Agent using an existing domain account
1.
Access the Web-Based Agent Setup Wizard page on the Recovery Solution Server
through a Web browser and click Next.
2.
If the “Installation Type” is not listed as “Reinstall existing account”, click Change,
and select Reinstall existing account (see Changing the Server or Installation
Type on page 58).
3.
In Select Account, select your account from the list.
4.
In Select Computer, select your computer.
5.
(Optional) Enter additional information that may be helpful in Computer
Description.
6.
Click Register.
If the account is not a member of the Altiris Recovery Solution users group, you will be
prompted for your password.
57
Notes
You can also reinstall Recovery Agent from the network share \\server\agent, where
server is the name or IP address of the Recovery Solution Server computer, using the
following command:
AgentSetup.exe /reinstall /comp:<reinstalled computer name>
[/user:<user name of the reinstalled account> /pass:<password>
/domain:<domain>]
For more information on other AgentSetup.exe command line switches, run
“AgentSetup.exe /?” at command line prompt.
Tip
You can reinstall any Recovery Agent computer account with a user account from the
Altiris Administrators group by executing the following command:
AgentSetup.exe /Reinstall /User:<Altiris Admin account>
/Xpass:<encrypted Altiris Admin password>
/Domain:<user domain> /Comp:<reinstalled computer name>
If the /Comp parameter is empty, the current computer name will be used.
An encrypted password provided through the /Xpass parameter can be created using
the XPassUtility available from the Altiris Support Services.
Changing the Server or Installation Type
When the Recovery Agent is installed on a computer, a default account for that computer
is created on the Recovery Solution Server so that the computer is protected as soon as
possible. If you change the Recovery Solution Server or the installation type in the
Recovery Agent Registration dialog box, you will be prompted with a warning that
the default account will be deleted. The default account is deleted to avoid having
unused accounts.
You are prompted whether or not you want to proceed.
Caution
If you confirm to delete the default account, the account will be deleted whether or not
you complete the registration process. If you have any questions, contact your Recovery
Solution Administrator.
To change Recovery Solution Servers, enter the name or IP address of the new Recovery
Solution Server. The Recovery Agent will then attempt to connect to the new server so
that you can complete registration.
To change the installation type, select whether to install a new account or reinstall an
existing account.
58
Installing the Recovery Agent but the Server is not
Available
If the client computer cannot communicate with the Recovery Solution Server, the
Recovery Agent Registration dialog box will appear with the message that the
specified server is not available.
If this happens, contact your Recovery Solution administrator. After the server is
available, you can click Register to reconnect to the server.
If instructed to do so, you can change the Recovery Solution Server that you are
registering to. To change the server, click Change in the Registration dialog box and
select a new server, and then click Register.
Caution
If the default account was created on the first server, you will get a warning that the
default account will be deleted. For more information, see Changing the Server or
Installation Type on page 58 or contact your Recovery Solution administrator for
assistance.
Canceling the Registration Process
If you cancel the registration process, a registration dialog will appear with one of two
messages:
z
If a default account was created on the server, the computer will be protected, but
the Recovery Agent Options dialog box will not be accessible until registration is
completed.
z
If a default account was not created on the server, your computer is not protected
until registration is completed. The default account may not be created if there is a
connection problem with the server, if there is insufficient information about the
computer, and so on.
We recommend that you complete registration as soon as possible. If you have any
questions, contact your Recovery Solution administrator.
Recovery Agent Reinstallation and Repair
It might sometimes be necessary to reinstall Recovery Agent on a protected computer,
either after certain types of data recovery or because the software is simply not working
properly.
Reinstallation
The user of a protected computer who originally installed the Recovery Agent or users
who have used the Recovery Agent after it was installed can reinstall with that
computer’s account.
Note
To prevent potential conflicts, reinstallation should only be performed with an account
that has been uninstalled or that exists on a computer that can no longer run its
installation of Recovery Solution.
To reinstall from an installation package, you or the user can use the Web-based agent
setup or specify command-line parameters for the Setup executable, “AgentSetup.exe.”
59
For more information, see Interactive Web-Based Agent Setup Wizard (‘Pull’
Installation) on page 53 or Recovery Agent Setup Command-Line Switches on page 69.
Repair
An agent repair might be required if some agent files are missing on the client computer.
A repair does not change any settings, but just recopies agent files. It can be performed
either from the command line - \reinstall parameter or using RS Agent Reinstall Rollout
policy. For more information, see Using Recovery Agent Rollout Policies on page 67 or
Recovery Agent Setup Command-Line Switches on page 69.
Installing the Recovery Agent in Local Mode
When you install the Recovery Agent in local mode, snapshots are backed up on a
special partition on the local computer’s hard drive and not on the Recovery Solution
Server. This special partition is called the Altiris Partition.
Caution
If you are using Deployment Solution, before you install the Recovery Agent in local
If you are going to install the Recovery Agent in local mode, you will perform the
following tasks:
z
Distribute Local Mode Prerequisite Package (page 61)
z
Install the Recovery Agent Software (page 62)
z
Create a Partition to Store Your Files In (page 63)
z
Perform the First Snapshot (page 64)
The first snapshot is taken in two different phases. The first phase is done in Linux using
Altiris RapiDeploy®. This creates a snapshot of the entire file system. In the event that
your Windows operating system becomes unusable, you can restore the file system from
the snapshot. The second phase is done in Windows. This makes all the files recoverable
from within Windows.
Caution
The Altiris Partition requires contiguous free space on the drive. For best results, run a
disk defragmentation utility on the drive before installing. If the drive does not have
enough contiguous free space, you will get an error stating “Altiris Recovery Agent failed
to create initial image of the system.” For more information, see Troubleshooting:
Problems Installing the Local Partition (page 228)
An Altiris Partition cannot be created on a computer that has the entire drive
compressed. Individual files can be compressed without causing a problem. If the entire
drive is compressed, compression will need to be temporarily turned off. To check if a
drive is compressed, in Windows Explorer, right-click on the drive (Local Disk C:), and
make sure the Compress drive to save disk space checkbox is cleared.
60
Notes
Because this first snapshot is backing up all files, this will take several minutes. All
subsequent snapshots are taken while running Windows. These snapshots will backup
files that are new or changed, making the snapshots much faster.
Windows allows you to set Compression and Encryption attributes to drives, folders, and
files. Recovery Solution can back up and restore compressed and encrypted files.
However, the initial snapshot performed in Linux and subsequent snapshots performed
in Windows handle compressed and encrypted files differently. As a result, files that are
compressed or encrypted before the Recovery Agent is installed will be backed up twice.
If you have many compressed or encrypted files, this will take double the space to store
snapshots of those files. We recommend that you turn compression and encryption off
(or limit it to a small number of files) before you install the Recovery Agent. After the
Recovery Agent is installed and the first snapshot is taken, you can turn compression
and encryption on, and the Recovery Agent will make only one backup of those files.
Distribute Local Mode Prerequisite Package
The Recovery Agent Local Mode Prerequisite Package file (alrfileXXXX.frm, where XXXX
is the package build number) contains the Recovery Agent Partition component that is
required for running the Local Recovery Agent. The package must be distributed to
clients prior to running the Altiris Local Recovery Agent setup.
New builds of Local Mode Prerequisite Package can be provided by Altiris to enable Local
Recovery support newer hardware. Whenever a new build is available, if needed, you
can update your clients with the new package by reapplying the RS Agent Local Mode
Prerequisite Package Install policy (see If you use the rollout policies for “Push”
installation on page 61), or manually specifying the location path during Local Recovery
Agent setup or using the /RSLMPPackagePath command-line parameter (see If you
install Recovery Agent from a network share or locally on page 62).
The Local Mode Prerequisite Package file is downloaded from http://
www.solutionsam.com/imports/6_2/recovery into “install path\Altiris\Notification
Server\NSCap\Bin\Win32\X86\Recovery Agent Local Mode Prerequisite Package” folder
on the Notification Server computer during the solution setup. In case the package was
not downloaded properly (because of connectivity problems for example), enabling the
RS Agent Local Mode Prerequisite Package Install policy in the Altiris Console can fail. In
this case you can manually copy the package from and to the locations specified above.
Caution
All silent Local Recovery Agent installations and upgrades will fail unless the Recovery
Agent Local Mode Prerequisite Package is distributed to client computers.
The package can be distributed to clients in the following ways.
If you use the rollout policies for “Push” installation
For automatic rollout of package to client client during “Push” installation, you must use
the RS Agent Local Mode Prerequisite Package Install policy in the Altiris Console
> Configuration > Solution Settings > Incident Management > Recovery Solution >
Recovery Agent Rollout. For details, see Using Recovery Agent Rollout Policies on
page 67.
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Notes
You must enable the RS Agent Local Mode Prerequisite Package Install policy before you
can enable other local-mode install policies.
You must enable the RS Agent Local Mode Prerequisite Package Install policy before you
can set the Enable Local Recovery Agent option (see the Configure User’s Rights and
Permissions on page 92) in the Default Recovery Agent Settings policy.
After the policy runs on client computers, the default package location is C:\Program
Files\Altiris\Setup Files\Recovery Agent Local Mode Prerequisite Package.
To reapply the RS Agent Local Mode Prerequisite Package Install policy on client
computers that have already run the policy, click the Update button on the policy page.
Clicking this button recreates the instance of the policy and enables the recurring rollout
of a Local Mode Prerequisite package when, for example, a newer version of the package
is available.
If you use the Web-based Setup Wizard
When you install the Recovery Agent using the Web-based Setup Wizard, the package
will be downloaded from http://www.solutionsam.com/imports/6_2/recovery by default.
In case Recovery Agent Setup cannot connect to the default location or find the package
in the specified folder, Altiris Recovery Agent Setup will pause asking you to specify a
URL, a network path, or a local folder where the file can be found by the Agent Setup.
Note
The package can be manually copied by a user to C:\Program Files\Altiris folder on a
client computer. After that, no prompt for download will appear during Recovery Agent
installation even if the package cannot be downloaded from the web.
If you install Recovery Agent from a network share or locally
If you manually install Recovery Agent by running the Recovery Agent setup executable
from a network share or locally, you can place the package file in a non-default location
and modify the default package location path by using the Recovery Agent Setup
command-line parameter: /RSLMPPackagePath:<pathname>. For details, see Recovery
Agent Setup Command-Line Switches on page 69.
Install the Recovery Agent Software
There are two ways to install the Recovery Agent software:
z
Using a Distribution Package
z
Using Notification Server Policies (see Using Recovery Agent Rollout Policies on
page 67)
To install the Recovery Agent using a distribution package
Depending on the version you have purchased, the Recovery Agent is available in two
different package files:
z
The standard Recovery Agent installation file is AeXRSLocalAgent.exe.
z
The Recovery Agent installation file for Local Recovery Pro is AeXLRPLocalAgent.exe.
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1.
Locate the Recovery Agent distribution package.
a.
If you have already installed Recovery Solution on your Notification Server, the
standard distribution file can be located in the following folder:
C:\Program Files\Altiris\Notification Server\NSCap\Install\Recovery
Server\Agent
b.
If you purchased Local Recovery Pro, copy and then open the package file on
your Notification Server. This extracts and copies the setup files to the following
folder:
C:\Program Files\Altiris\Notification Server\NSCap\Install\Recovery
Server\Agent
It is intended that you will extract these files on your Notification Server. After
the setup files are extracted, you can then distribute the actual setup file to any
computer you want to install the Recovery Agent on.
If you do not have a Notification Server, you can extract the files onto any
computer.
2.
Distribute the installation file to the computers you want to install the Recovery
Agent on.
You can distribute the file using e-mail, a network share, CD, and so on.
3.
On the computer you want to install the Recovery Agent on, run the Recovery Agent
installation file.
The installation wizard runs and installs the agent program files.
Note
In case the Local Mode Prerequisite Package cannot be found in the default location
or downloaded from http://www.solutionsam.com/imports/6_2/recovery during
setup, the installation process will pause asking you to specify a URL, a network
path or a local folder where the package file can be found. Click Rescan to rescan
the possible locations again, or click Browse to locate the file and then click Next
to proceed with installation. Click Finish. For information, see Distribute Local Mode
Prerequisite Package on page 61.
4.
Restart the computer.
5.
The computer is restarted, a file system check is performed on the computer, the
computer is restarted again, and the Recovery Agent Partition Wizard is loaded.
Create a Partition to Store Your Files In
The Recovery Agent Partition Wizard guides you through the process of creating the
Altiris Recovery Partition that your snapshots will be stored in. The partition is a
Linux-type partition created inside the existing Windows partition, hidden from the
end user and protected against common Windows Disk Management utilities. The
Altiris Partition can be created on any disk drive, including removable media such as
a USB drive, which you can later use for recovery in case of system drive failure by
booting from the drive where the Altiris Partition resides.
Recovery Solution cannot change the size of the partition after it is created without
removing and recreating the partition. You must either accept the default
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recommended or specify a new size when creating the partition. The following table
helps you with the Altiris Partition sizing.
Size
Calculation
The recommended size of the Altiris
Recovery Partition
~40% of the total system hard disk drive
The maximum size of the Altiris Recovery
Partition placed on the system drive
45% of the total system volume size
Partition placed on a non-system drive
(additional or external drive) formatted
with NTFS
49% of the total volume size
Partition placed on a non-system drive
(additional or external drive) formatted
with FAT32
100% of the total volume size
The minimum size of the Altiris Partition
70% of the space used on the system
drive + 100MB (reserved for operations
with the partition)
To create a partition
1.
From the Recovery Agent Partition Wizard introduction page, click Next.
2.
Select the existing partition that you want to create the Altiris Recovery Partition on.
You can use any supported hard disk drive on the computer. For a list of supported
hard disk drives, see Hard Disk Support on page 297.
3.
Set the size of the partition.
Recovery Solution determines the size of the hard drive, and by default sets the
partition size to 40% of the total drive space.
To change the default partition size,
a.
Click Change.
b.
Set the size of the partition by either entering a value in Megabytes or a
percentage of the hard disk.
c.
Click OK.
4.
Click Next.
5.
To complete the installation and start the first snapshot, click Finish.
6.
After the files have been installed, click Yes to restart the computer.
Perform the First Snapshot
After creating the Altiris Recovery Partition, the computer restarts and is started in
Linux. Altiris RapiDeploy is run to create the first phase of the first snapshot. This is
called the golden image. Because all files are read and backed up on the same drive, this
will take several minutes. On a computer with a lot of data, this snapshot can take up to
an hour. If the computer has only an operating system installed and little data, it can
take 20-30 minutes.
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When the first phase is completed, the computer will be restarted. You will be prompted
to perform the second phase of the snapshot. This will make the files in your snapshot
available for recovery through Windows.
When the snapshot is completed, all the files on the computer are protected in a
snapshot.
Installing the Recovery Agent in Mixed Mode
In mixed mode, Recovery Agent can be configured to back up files to both a local Altiris
Partition and a Recovery Solution Server. Both modes are configured and function
independently. When using mixed mode, and when a user opens the Recovery Agent
Options, the user must select whether to configure options for server-based or local
mode.
How you install Recovery Agent in mixed mode is based on the following conditions:
z
If the Recovery Agent is not installed in any mode
z
If the Recovery Agent is already installed in server-based mode
z
If the Recovery Agent is already installed in local mode
If the Recovery Agent is not installed in any mode
If the Recovery Agent is not installed in any mode, you can do the following:

Use the Interactive Web-Based Agent Setup Wizard (‘Pull’ Installation)
(page 53) and select the Mixed mode.

Use AgentSetup.exe with /local parameter (see Recovery Agent Setup
Command-Line Switches on page 69).

Use any other method for installing in server-based mode, then follow the
instructions in If the Recovery Agent is already installed in server-based mode
(page 65).
If the Recovery Agent is already installed in server-based mode
If the computer was configured in server-based mode first, do the following:
1.
On the local computer, open the Recovery Agent Options.
2.
Click the General tab.
3.
Click Create to create a local Altiris Partition.
The right to do this is disabled by default. To enable this right, see Enable Local
Recovery Agent (server-based mode) on page 93.
4.
Complete the Recovery Agent Partition Wizard.
If the Recovery Agent is already installed in local mode
If the computer was configured in local mode first, you can simply use any method to
deploy the Recovery Agent in server-based mode. This will maintain local mode settings
and files.
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Caution
If you are using Deployment Solution, before you install the Recovery Agent in mixed
Installing Recovery Agent Using an Image
You can easily deploy the Recovery Agent to multiple computers (with similar hardware
configurations) using an image. This is especially useful if you want to pre-install the
Recovery Agent in local mode on several new computers.
The following procedure describes the general steps in using an image to pre-install the
Recovery Agent.
1.
2.
Configure a baseline computer by doing the following:
a.
Install and configure the operating system.
b.
Install and configure the applications that you want the computers to have in
common.
c.
Install the Recovery Agent in local mode with the desired partition size.
d.
Take the first snapshot.
Make an image of the baseline computer.
Caution
Because the Recovery Agent uses Altiris RapiDeploy® create the Altiris Partition, you
must use RapiDeploy to image the computer and maintain the Altiris Partition.
3.
Place the image on the target computers.
Upgrading Recovery Agent
If the Recovery Solution Server is upgraded, you can use the RS Agent Upgrade rollout
policy to upgrade the Recovery Agent on each protected computer. Until the upgrade
occurs, the computer is displayed with an exclamation mark icon in the console,
indicating that its software version is older than the version on the server.
Warning
Starting with Recovery Solution 6.2 SP2, Microsoft Windows 95, 98 (original release),
ME, and NT 4.0 operating systems are no longer supported. You cannot upgrade the
Recovery Agent on these platforms.
During the upgrade, Recovery Solution creates a text file named AexCRAS.LOG in the
program folder on the protected computer. You can look here for information about the
status of the upgrade.
If there are problems with the automatic upgrade, see Troubleshooting User
Installations on page 208.
Notes
After the Recovery Agent has been upgraded on a client computer, previous snapshots
are not shown in the Rollback dialog in the Altiris Console unless you select the Show
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critical snapshots and snapshots from previous RS Agent installations checkbox.
This will not display previous snapshots on the client's Rollback dialog. For more
information, see Perform a Rollback on page 122.
If the user logged onto the protected computer at the time of the automatic upgrade is
not the user who originally installed the software, then the user sees a prompt asking for
new credentials. If the logged-on user has never manually accessed the existing
installation of Recovery Solution, then the account is added as a new user of the
computer’s account.
If the automatic upgrade of a Windows 2000/XP protected computer is interrupted
(Example: if the computer is restarted during the upgrade), the software is unable to
repair itself. If this happens, the user should reinstall Recovery Agent using the
computer’s existing account.
If Recovery Solutions Agent Install policy was enabled with schedule set to ASAP, then
this policy becomes a run-once policy. After it is executed it will never be executed again
in the future, even if policy is upgraded (or a package that this policy refers to). If an
Upgrade does not happen try to schedule this policy to execute at a certain date/time, or
to change its type to Manual and then run the policy manually.
See also: Using Recovery Agent Rollout Policies on page 67.
Using Recovery Agent Rollout Policies
Using Notification Server polices, you can roll out (push) the Recovery Agent to
computers on your network. You can install the Recovery Agent in server-based mode or
local mode. You can also use policies to reinstall, upgrade, and uninstall the Recovery
Agent.
To use rollout polices, the target computers must be discovered and have the Altiris
Agent installed. It is helpful to have a working knowledge of policies, packages,
programs, and collections. For information on installing the Altiris Agent and configuring
policies, see the Altiris Notification Server Help.
Recovery Solution includes the following predefined policies for Recovery Agent rollout:
RS Agent Local
Mode
Prerequisite
Package Install
Installs the Recovery Solution Agent Local Mode Prerequisite
Package.
RS Agent Install
Installs the Recovery Agent and creates an account to back up
files to a Recovery Solution Server.
RS Agent Install
in Local Mode
Installs the agent and creates a local Altiris Recovery Partition to
back up files locally.
Note
You must enable the RS Agent Local Mode Prerequisite Package
Install policy before this policy can be enabled
67
RS Agent
Promotion
If Local Recovery is installed on the client computer, you can
promote it to Local Recovery Pro version with more functionality
or mixed mode depending on the solution you have.
Note
Install policy before this policy can be enabled.
RS Agent
Reinstall
Reinstalls the Recovery Agent to perform a repair.
RS Agent
Uninstall
Removes the Recovery Agent from the protected computer.
RS Agent
Upgrade
Upgrades older versions of the Recovery Agent to the current
version.
Note
Install policy before this policy can be enabled.
Each policy uses the Recovery Agent setup executable (AgentSetup.exe) with various
command-line switches. AgentSetup.exe is located in the following folder on Notification
Server computer:
install path\Altiris\Notification Server\NSCap\Bin\Win32\X86\Recovery Agent Package
By default, a Recovery Agent Rollout policy is configured to restart computers after it
runs if no user is logged on. Otherwise, the logged-on user will be prompted to restart
the computer manually, or restart will be performed automatically after an interval.
Note
You must install at least one Recovery Server before you can push the Recovery Agent
installations.
To use Recovery Agent Rollout policies
1.
2.
In the left pane, click Configuration > Solution Settings > Incident
Management > Recovery Solution > Recovery Agent Rollout.
3.
Click the policy you want to use.
4.
In the right pane, enable the policy.
Caution
RS Agent Local Mode Prerequisite Package Install policy must be enabled before
other local-mode install policies (RS Agent Install in Local mode, RS Agent
Promotion) can be enabled.
5.
Verify the program name for the task you want to perform.
6.
(Optional) Enable status events.
7.
(For installation in server-based mode) Select the Recovery Solution Cluster that
this computer will be protected on.
8.
To have the client computer automatically restarted as part of the task, select the
Reboot computers checkbox.
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Notes
The users logged on the client computers will be shown the default computer restart
prompt dialog that contains the countdown timer. If the user neither clicks Snooze
nor Restart, the computer will be restarted automatically in 60 seconds.
If no user is logged on at the target computer, the reboot will be performed
automatically.
The default reboot prompt will be shown or automatic reboot will be performed even
if Recovery Agent rollout fails, if the Reboot computers checkbox was selected.
9.
(For installation in server-based mode) To have the client computer installed but
disabled, select the Disable computers by default checkbox.
10. (For installation in server-based mode) To have the client computer installed but
skip the initial snapshot, select the Disable initial snapshot checkbox.
11. (For uninstall) To have the account deleted, click the Delete account from
Recovery Solution cluster checkbox. All data backed up from the deleted account
will be removed during the next space management job.
12. Select the collection that the policy will use.
This is the group of computers the policy will be run on.
13. Select the policy scheduling options.
For more information on configuring policies, see the Altiris Notification Server Help.
14. Click Apply.
To check the Recovery Agent Rollout policy status
A rollout policy returns the status code as it runs. You can check the Recovery Agent
rollout status using the standard Notification Server report (Reports > Notification
Server Infrastructure > Agent > Altiris Agent Tasks Status)
Recovery Agent Setup Command-Line Switches
You can use command-line switches to automate installation, reinstallation, uninstall,
upgrade, and repair of the Recovery Agent. For SMS deployment, the required switches
must be specified when the SMS package is created. For interactive deployment,
switches can be specified in a batch file or by the user performing the installation.
Caution
/Reboot command-line switch is required for unattended Recovery Agent installation in
all modes.
/Silent switch option causes Agent setup progress dialog to be hidden from a user.
For silent registration upon Recovery Agent installation in server-based mode, you must
specify valid /User, /Domain, and /Pass command-line parameter values.
For silent installation in local mode, you must correctly specify /BWPart and /BWVolume
parameters that cause automatic creation of Local Recovery partition.
69
The following are examples of syntax (with possible parameters) for using commandline switches:
New Installation
agentsetup.exe [/Local]
[/Server:<server name>[;http|https][;port number]]
[/User:<username>] [/Domain:<domain>]
[/Pass[:<password>] [/BWPart:<partition_size>]
[/BWVolume:<volume>] [/RSLMPPackagePath:<pathname>][/Reboot]
[/Silent] [/Disable] [/InitialSnapshot]
Reinstallation
agentsetup.exe /Reinstall [/Comp:<computer>] [/User:<username>]
[/Domain:<domain>] [/Pass[:<password>]] [/ID:<computer ID>]
[/Server:<server name>[;http|https][;port number]] [/Reboot]
[/Silent]
Support SMS during installation
agentsetup.exe /SMS [/MIF:<mif file(no extension)>][/Reboot]
[/Silent]
Uninstall
agentsetup.exe /Uninstall [/Delaccount] [/Reboot] [/Silent]
Upgrade initiation
agentsetup.exe /Upgrade [/Reboot] [/Silent]
Repair installation
agentsetup.exe /Reinstall [/Reboot] [/Silent]
Local Agent installation
agentsetup.exe /LocalOnly [/BWPart:<partition_size>]
[/BWVolume:<volume>][/RSLMPPackagePath:<pathname>] [/Reboot]
[/Silent]
The command-line parameters are described below.
70
Notes
Command-line parameters are not case-sensitive, but any passwords specified are casesensitive.
Unless the /Server parameter is specified, all protected user accounts are created on
the server from which the setup package was made.
Parameter
Description
/User
/Domain
Specify the username, domain, and password of the
user account for which Agent registration will be
performed.
/Pass
If you supply valid credentials, Agent registration will
be performed silently.
/BWPart
Default
Value
Create a partition for “Local Snapshot” with the
specified size.
Example:
/BWPart:10000 - to specify size in MB
or
/BWPart:80% - to specify the size as the percentage
of the overall space.
All invalid sizes will be skipped and the default
behavior will be used.
/BWVolume
Create a partition for “Local Snapshot” on specified
volume where <volume> is drive letter
(Example: /BWVolume:D).
/
RSLMPPack
agePath
Specify the full pathname of the Local Mode
Prerequisite Package file (URL, UNC, or local path)
placed in a non-default location. Note that the path
cannot contain Unicode characters.
(Example: /
RSLMPPackagePath:\\server\share\alrfileXXXX.frm)
/
Delaccoun
t
Deletes account from server in uninstall case (for
server-based agent only).
/Disable
Disables account for protected user (for server-based
agent only).
/
InitialSn
apshot
Determines whether to perform an initial snapshot:
/Local
Install Agent in Mixed mode
0 - Do not show initial snapshot dialog
1- Show initial snapshot dialog
71
Parameter
Description
/
LocalOnly
Installs Agent in “Local Snapshot” mode only
/MIF:.MIF
file
Specifies a Management Information Format (.MIF)
file for use with SMS deployments.
No default
value.
Do not include the .MIF file extension.
Not required.
If not
specified, no
.MIF file is
used.
Specifies that Setup should automatically restart the
computer after the installation is complete.
No default
value.
Not required.
If not
specified, the
user is
prompted to
restart the
computer.
Specifies that this is a reinstallation of the software.
No default
value.
/Reboot
/
Reinstall
Required only to continue using an existing account.
This ensures that the user continues to have access
to existing protected data on the server.
/Server:
server;
http(s);p
ort
Not required.
The name of the server that stores this protected
computer’s account for Recovery Solution. This can
be the Windows name, the full Internet DNS name, or
the IP address of the server. You might have to
specify the IP address if the server is on a different
subnet from the protected computer.
Optionally, you can specify the protocol to be used
during Recovery Agent registration (HTTP or HTTPS)
and the port number.
/Silent
Performs a silent installation of Recovery Agent.
Note
If you do not include the /Reboot parameter, the user
must reboot the computer before Recovery Agent
becomes functional.
Not required.
Default
Value
If not
specified, a
new
installation is
performed.
The default
name is the
name of the
server from
which the
Setup
package was
created.
The default
protocol is
DCOM.
No default
value.
If not
specified, the
installation is
interactive.
72
Parameter
Description
Default
Value
/SMS
Specifies that Setup is being distributed through
Microsoft Systems Management Server (SMS).
No default
value.
Required only for distribution through Microsoft SMS.
If not
specified, the
Setup
package is
not
configured
for SMS.
/
Uninstall
Perform an account uninstall.
/Upgrade
Initiates a Client Auto Update.
Uninstalling the Recovery Agent
You can uninstall the Recovery Agent from a protected computer in one of the two
following ways:
z
Using Windows Add/Remove Programs (page 73)
z
Using Recovery Agent Policies to Uninstall the Recovery Agent Remotely (page 74)
Using Windows Add/Remove Programs
To uninstall the Recovery Agent and/or Local Recovery (Pro) from a
protected computer
1.
On the protected computer, click Start > Settings > Control Panel > Add/
Remove Programs.
2.
On the Install/Uninstall tab, scroll down and select Altiris Recovery Solution
Agent and/or Altiris Local Recovery (Pro).
3.
Click Remove.
Caution
This will uninstall the program files and the recovery partition, including all backed
up files.
4.
The following screen lets you uninstall Recovery Agent either removing (default) or
leaving account on the server. To remove account you should enter credentials of a
user that installed this account or used it later. In case of a mixed mode agent you
can choose to uninstall Local Recovery Agent, Server-based Recovery Solution
Agent or both.
73
Notes
These options are applicable only to the uninstallation of the server-based Recovery
Agent.
This screen does not appear in case Recovery Server not available at the time of
uninstall.
Using Recovery Agent Policies to Uninstall the
Recovery Agent Remotely
You can use Recovery Agent policies to uninstall the Recovery Agent remotely. This
allows you to uninstall the agent from multiple computers at one time. For more
information, see Using Recovery Agent Rollout Policies on page 67.
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Chapter 5
Configuring Recovery Solution
This section contains information about configuring Recovery Solution. This chapter
provides information about the following topics:
z
Configuring Recovery Agent Settings (page 75)
z
Recovery Solution Cluster Configuration (page 96)
z
Recovery Solution Security Role Management (page 110)
z
General Settings (page 97)
z
Scan for applied critical patches and Software Delivery tasks (page 113)
z
Manage Lost Recovery Solution Agents (page 113)
Configuring Recovery Agent Settings
You can configure the default settings for the Recovery Agent that is running in either
server-based mode or local mode on protected computers. Default Recovery Agent
settings are managed through configuration policies that will apply to all computers in
the collections you specify. For more information about changing and setting up custom
collections, see the Notification Server help.
When the Recovery Agent is installed on a computer, the default settings will be used on
the protected computer. If you change the default settings, the new default settings will
be applied to all existing computers in the collections you specify.
You can configure multiple configuration policies that can be applied to different
computers. For each configuration policy, you can modify the settings and apply it to
different collections. For more information, see Creating Configuration Policies on
page 75.
Rather than modifying the existing Default Recovery Agent Settings policy, we
recommend that you create new configuration policies by cloning the existing policy and
modifying the copy of the policy.
The following topics describe how to clone policies and then configure default agent
settings.
z
Creating Configuration Policies (page 75)
z
Configuring Default Agent Settings (page 77)
Creating Configuration Policies
Caution
The following is a “best practice” for handling multiple configuration policies.
By default, there is one Default Recovery Agent Settings policy for protected computers
running in server-based mode and one Default Local Recovery Agent Settings policy for
protected computers running local mode. Rather than modifying the existing default
75
Recovery Agent settings policy, we recommend that you create new configuration
policies by cloning the existing policy and modifying the copy of the policy.
Any settings changed within the original policy will change all other settings in cloned
policies following the rules of inheritance. As a result, we strongly recommend working
with multiple policies in the following way:
z
Disable the Default Recovery Agent Settings (page 76)
z
Clone the Default Recovery Agent Policy (page 76)
z
Configure a Copy of Default Local Recovery Agent Settings (page 76)
Disable the Default Recovery Agent Settings
1.
From the Altiris Console, click the Configuration tab, then click Configuration >
Solution Settings > Incident Management > Recovery Solution > Recovery
Agent Settings.
2.
Click on the policy named either Default Recovery Agent Settings or Default
Local Recovery Agent Settings.
3.
Click the Snapshot tab.
4.
Under Policy Settings, clear the Enable checkbox.
5.
Click Apply.
Clone the Default Recovery Agent Policy
1.
Click the Configuration tab, then click Configuration > Solution Settings >
Incident Management > Recovery Solution > Recovery Agent Settings.
2.
Right-click on a policy. Example: Default Local Recovery Agent Settings.
3.
Click Clone.
4.
Click Ok.
This will create a policy called Copy of Default Local Recovery Agent Settings. You
can rename this policy.
Configure a Copy of Default Local Recovery Agent Settings
For details, see Configuring Default Agent Settings on page 77.
Creating additional policies
When creating additional policies, either clone Default Recovery Agent Settings
(which is your default policy) or clone your new created policy. Example: accounting
department policy. If you do clone your newly created policy, all rules of inheritance will
be applied and should be done with caution.
Using Inherited Default Agent Settings
Recovery Solution supports multiple generation inheritance. Grand parent properties are
passed to the parent which are passed to the child unless the inheritance tree is broken.
The Default Recovery Agent Settings is a policy group that the following inheritance
trees:
z
Snapshot
z
Excludes
76
z
Rollback Data
z
Space Management
z
Bandwidth Throttling Settings
z
Connection Management
z
Remote Access
z
User Rights
z
Miscellaneous Settings
z
Health Alerts Settings
z
Storage Space Limits
z
Communication Settings
z
Performance Settings
z
Storage Management
z
F11 Recovery Settings
Two of these trees, Excludes and Rollback Data, can be appended to at each level of
inheritance. At any level of inheritance of this policy group for each of these eleven trees
you can turn off the inheritance and inheritances will be started new for that tree within
that policy group. These new settings are inherited to its children and grand children.
Any change to a policy group will in real time affect its children and grandchildren.
Configuring Default Agent Settings
To configure default Recovery Agent settings
1.
2.
In the left pane, click Configuration > Solution Settings > Incident
Management > Recovery Solution > Recovery Agent Settings.
3.
Click the Recovery Agent Settings policy you want to configure.

To configure the Local Recovery Agent settings, use the Default Local
Recovery Agent Settings policy.

To configure the server-based Recovery Agent settings, use the Default
Recovery Agent Settings policy.
Rather than modifying the existing Default Recovery Agent Settings policy directly,
we recommend that you create new configuration policies by cloning the existing
policy and modifying the copy of the policy. For more information, see Creating
Configuration Policies (page 75).
4.
Under Policy Settings, select the Enable checkbox (this will enable the policy).
5.
Use the existing Notification Server collection or click the collection link to select a
different or additional collections.
6.
Configure the default settings.
7.
Click Apply.
The following topics describe the default settings that you can configure.
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Note
The topic name defines whether it applies only to the Default Local Recovery Agent
Settings policy (local mode only), server-based Default Recovery Agent Settings
policy (server-based only), or both.
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Configure Snapshot Settings (page 78)
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Configure Excludes (page 81)
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Configure Rollback Data (page 87)
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Configure Space Management (page 88)
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Configure Throttling and Connection (server-based only) (page 90)
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Configure Remote Access (server-based only) (page 91)
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Configure Performance (local mode only) (page 92)
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Configure Storage Management (local mode only) (page 92)
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Configure User’s Rights and Permissions (page 92)
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Configure Miscellaneous Settings (page 94)
Notes
If you change the default Recovery Agent settings shortly after installing the agent on a
client computer, the updated settings may not immediately get updated on the client
computer. When the Recovery Agent is installed on a computer, it may take several
minutes for the Notification Server to process all the database information about that
computer. The time require depends on your settings (Example: see Automatic
Collection Updating in Configuration > Server Settings > Notification Server Settings).
After the Notification Server information is updated, then the new default settings will be
applied the next time the agents settings are updated on the client computer.
Configure Snapshot Settings
Recovery Solution lets you schedule snapshots to ensure that they are being done on a
regular basis. You can specify when to automatically take a snapshot. You can also
specify what data you want to protect. By default, Recovery Solution protects all drives
on all users’ computers.
Tip
You can use the enhanced exclude list to specify a partial snapshot that will capture only
specific files or filetypes on your drive instead of having tons of other unnecessary files
in the snapshot. For information, see Using Exceptions (page 82).
By default, protected computers always inherit the default schedule for the collections.
Default snapshots are scheduled Monday through Friday inclusive, between 7:00 a.m.
and 7:00 p.m. Because of the advanced compression techniques used by Recovery
Solution, there is usually little network traffic associated with a snapshot. But in some
cases you might want to change the default schedule to better suit your time zone and
network environment. Recovery Agent inherits the default schedule of the collections
that the protected computer is a member of. For more information, see Using Inherited
Default Agent Settings on page 76.
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To change the default schedule
1.
Click the Snapshot tab.
2.
You can decide whether or not to allow users to change their settings. For more
information, see Configure User’s Rights and Permissions on page 92.
3.
By default, the scheduled snapshots are enabled. To disable scheduled snapshots,
clear the Enable Scheduled Snapshot checkbox.
4.
Select the Snapshot type: Full system snapshot or Partial snapshot.
We recommend that you keep Snapshot Type set to Full System Snapshot. Partial
snapshots do not provide Full System Recovery protection.
5.
Select the boxes next to the days of the week that you want snapshots to run.
6.
In the Start Scheduled Snapshot, select the time range in which you want
members of the collection snapshot to start. This is not necessarily when it will be
completed by.
In addition to scheduled time intervals, you can set up the following options.

Allow Recovery Agent to initiate scheduled snapshot
While this option is disabled (by default), Recovery Server initiates snapshots by
sending TCP/IP packets on client’s 43189 port. This may not be acceptable in
case client is behind a firewall. Select this box to initiate snapshots from the
client side.
Notes
Scheduled snapshots initiated from the client may start with a short delay (up
to 5 minutes).
Client jobs started from the Altiris Console will work even in case 43189 port is
closed. But the jobs (snapshot, restore, rollback) may be delayed up to 15
minutes.

As soon as user turns on the computer
Select this box to have Recovery Solution start the snapshot scheduled for each
day as soon as the protected computer is turned on. It is not necessary for a
user to log onto the computer for the snapshot to start, but the computer must
already have a physical connection to the network.
Note
The snapshot will not start immediatelly after logon. It starts after a 12-minute
timeout in local mode or after a 10-minute timeout in network mode.
This option is generally useful for desktop computers connected to a LAN.
A snapshot is started only if there is one scheduled to take place at the same
time or later on the same day, or if the end time for the snapshot scheduled for
the previous day has not yet been reached. A snapshot is not started if its
scheduled time has passed, even if one did not take place during the scheduled
time period. A snapshot runs only once each day, no matter how many times
the computer is turned on.

As soon as user resumed the computer
79
day as soon as the protected computer is resumed (after having been
suspended).
Note
The snapshot will not start immediatelly after resuming the computer. It starts
after a 8-minute timeout in local mode or after a 6-minute timeout in network
mode.
This option is generally useful for laptop computers.
the computer is suspended and resumed.

As soon as user docks the computer
day as soon as the protected computer is docked.
Note
The snapshot will not start immediatelly after docking the computer. It starts
after a 7-minute timeout in local mode or after a 5-minute timeout in network
mode.
This option is generally useful for laptop computers.
the computer is docked.

As soon as the computer idle state reaches
day as soon as the protected computer goes into an idle state. Specify the
timeout (6 minutes in local mode or 4 minutes in network mode by default) in
the field nearby.
the computer goes into an idle state.
7.
Miscellaneous Snapshot Settings

Take snapshot when user is logging off
Select this box to have Recovery Solution start a snapshot as soon as a user
logs off, restarts, or shuts down the protected computer.
At logoff time, the snapshot runs automatically after a short delay. Before it
runs, the user has the chance to skip the snapshot. A snapshot will run again
the next time a user logs off the computer.
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Note
The Windows registry setting that controls the application timeout should be set
to at least 20000 (the value in milliseconds) on the protected computer in order
to ensure that snapshots have time to start before Windows completes the
logoff process. The registry value is HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control
Panel\Desktop\HungAppTimeout, which is a string value that is configurable per
user.

Attempt to wake the Agent before a scheduled snapshot
This option allows for computers that are sleeping (standby) to be woken up to
have snapshots taken. This allows snapshots to be done after hours during low
network usage times. This option is enabled by default and is configurable on
the protected computer’s properties page.
For Wake on LAN from standby to work properly, the NIC needs to support Wake
on LAN and the Wake on LAN needs to be enabled in the NIC properties in MS
Windows
For Wake on LAN from hibernate\shutdown to work properly, the NIC and the
motherboard should support Wake on LAN from shutdown\hibernate and Wake
on LAN needs to be enabled in the BIOS.
Note
The protected computer is returned to standby when snapshot is completed.

Backup mount points, junction points and other reparse points (not the
data they reference)
Select this box to allow backup of NTFS reparse points, which is a new capability
added to NTFS version 5 with the release of Windows 2000. Backup of the
following reparse points is supported by default:

Symbolic Links

Junction Points

Volume Mount Points

Remote Storage Server (RSS)
Note
Snapshot of reparse points allows you to restore only the reparse point objects,
not the data they reference. If the referenced location or data is unavailable
after restore, your reparse points may become non-functional
8.
Click Apply.
Configure Excludes
Excluding Files From Snapshots
You do not want users to waste valuable server disk space by protecting unimportant
files such as files in temporary folders and cache folders. You can apply exclude rules to
file types, files, folders, and drives. You can set global rules that apply to a collection.
You can also export an exclude list to import to other collections.
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Using Exceptions
It is possible to add exceptions to the exclude list. For example, if you want to exclude
all *.NSF files, but to include Names.NSF file, use the Edit exceptions list option
.
The Exceptions enhancement lets you specify only the files that you want backed up
instead of having tons of exclude filters. In other words, if you only support certain
applications, then you know the filetypes to include in snapshots and just configure that
instead of having every other file on the filter.
Example: Using the enhanced exclude list you can specify a partial snapshot that will
only capture *.DOC and *.XLS files on your drive. To enable the functionality, follow
these steps:
1.
In the Altiris Console, select Configuration tab > Solution settings > Incident
management > Recovery Solution > Recovery Agent Settings > Default
Recovery Agent Settings > Excludes tab.
2.
Add one or more drives into the Excludes list (for example, to exclude the whole
drive C, enter “C:\” without quotes). For details, see To exclude files (page 82)
3.
Add file extensions you want to include into snapshots to the exceptions list for the
drive. For details, see To edit exceptions (page 83).
4.
After this, schedule a partial snapshot of the drive. For details, see Configure
Snapshot Settings (page 78).
The snapshot will now skip all data on the designated drive except the file
extensions you added as an exception.
For more information, see the following:
z
Exporting and Importing Exclude Lists (page 83)
z
Files and Folders You Should Never Exclude (page 84)
z
Examples of Files and Folders to Exclude (page 85)
To exclude files
1.
Click the Excludes tab.
2.
3.
Configure exclusion options.
The list shows the currently excluded items defined for all computer or groups you
are viewing.
If a folder icon appears next to an item, then this item is a folder. Files by this name
are not excluded unless you add another item to the list and indicate that it is a file.
The reverse is true if a file icon appears next to an item.
4.
Click the
to add a new item to the list, or select an item and click
to edit.
A dialog box appears.
Enter the file type, file, or folder you want to exclude; specify whether the path you
entered is to a file or folder; and finally specify whether the path applies to all files
or folders on a specific drive or on all drives. Enter each file, file type, or folder
individually.
82
Notes
Extended ANSI characters are case–sensitive in the exclude list. Example: excluding
the file type.
To exclude all files on all drives, enter "*.*" and select Exclude everythere.
If you select Exclude only this path and File type options, only the files in the
specified folders will be excluded from snapshot; all subfolders will be included into
snapshot.
If you select Exclude only this path and Folder type options, all subfolders on
the drive will be excluded (but not files in the root folder) will be excluded during the
snapshot.
You can use system environment variables when specifying the excluded items.
Please note that user environment variables cannot be used.
5.
Click OK.
You can continue adding, editing, and removing excluded items as needed.
6.
Click OK again to apply the new properties.
To edit exceptions
1.
Configure an exclude list using the steps listed under To exclude files on page 82.
2.
On the Excludes tab, select an item and click Edit exceptions list icon
.
The list shows the current exceptions defined for excludes you are viewing.
3.
Click the
to edit.
The following dialog box appears.
Enter the file type, file, or folder you wish to make exception for; specify whether
the path you entered is to a file or folder; and finally specify whether the path
applies to all files or folders on a specific drive or on all drives. Enter each file, file
type, or folder individually.
Note
You can use system environment variables when specifying the exceptions. Please
note that user environment variables cannot be used.
4.
Click OK.
5.
Exporting and Importing Exclude Lists
You can configure an export list that you want to reuse for another computer or groups
of computers. You can export an exclude list and then import that list for use on another
computer. When you export an exclude list, the folders and files in the list are saved in a
text file with an .ELF extension (Exclude List File). When you import an Exclude List File,
the paths and files are added to the existing excludes.
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To export an exclude list
1.
Configure an exclude list using the steps listed under To exclude files on page 82.
2.
From the Excludes tab, click Export icon
3.
Browse to the path where you want to save the Exclude List File (.ELF).
4.
Enter a name for the Exclude List File (.ELF).
5.
Click Save.
.
To import an exclude list
1.
Open the exclude list for a computer or groups of computers using the steps listed
under To exclude files on page 82.
2.
From the Excludes tab, click Import icon
3.
Browse to the path of the Exclude List File (.ELF) you want to use.
4.
Select the Exclude List File (.ELF).
5.
Click Open.
.
The contents of the .ELF are added to the exclude list.
Files and Folders You Should Never Exclude
Certain files and folders are required for the proper system configuration, and Full
System Recovery cannot be performed without them. In addition, some file extensions,
such as .DLL, are nearly always associated with valid data.
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C:\, C:\DOS, C:\WINDOWS, and C:\WINNT
These are boot and operating system folders necessary to start the computer. If the
contents of these folders are excluded, Full System Recovery might be impossible.
You should include all subfolders of the Windows folder, particularly the SYSTEM and
SYSTEM32 subfolders. The only exceptions are the specific cache subfolders
specified below, the contents of which you might want to exclude.
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C:\BOOT.INI, C:\NTDETECT.COM, C:\NTLDR
These files in the root folder are needed to start Windows 2000/XP.
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*.BAT, *.COM, *.EXE
These are program and command-line script files.
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*.386, *.DLL, *.DRV, *.PNF, *.SYS, *.VXD
These are system files needed for proper system configuration. If they are
damaged, the computer might not start. Without them, Full System Recovery is
impossible.
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*.INI
These are configuration settings.
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*.DOS, *.W40
On multi-boot computers, these files store information necessary to start the
computer in other operating systems.
84
Examples of Files and Folders to Exclude
If you are aware of common cache and temporary files used by your standard
applications, you can exclude them from snapshots.
Below are some examples of files and folders that you might want to exclude. In
general, these files are not needed to completely restore a computer to working
condition, but you should read the description of each item carefully before you decide
to exclude it. While the data in these files is not needed by most users, some users
might have a good reason for protecting them. Some of these files are excluded by
default.
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_RESTORE
Folders by this name might be created in Windows Me and Windows XP, if the user
performs a System Restore using the Windows System Restore tool. The folders
contain information about past System Restores so that they can be undone.
Recovery Solution provides similar but more flexible functionality with the rollback
feature.
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PAGEFILE.SYS
This file is used to create virtual memory while Windows is running. It is usually
stored in the root folder of drive C. Depending upon the computer’s configuration,
the file can become quite large, although it does not contain any data that is saved
between one Windows session and the next.
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WIN386.SWP
Like PAGEFILE.SYS, the file WIN386.SWP is used in Windows 98 to create virtual
memory, and can become quite large. WIN386.SWP is a temporary file that
Windows deletes whenever the computer is shut down or restarted. It is usually
stored in the Windows folder.
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386SPART.PAR
This is the Windows 3.1 equivalent of WIN386.SWP. If users upgraded from
Windows 3.1 to their current versions of Windows, 386SPART.PAR might still exist
on their computers, even though it is no longer needed.
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Disk compression container files
When a protected computer is running a disk compression program, such as
DriveSpace (included with Windows 95), Stacker, or SuperStore, you should exclude
the container files that store the compressed information. (Example: a typical
DriveSpace file is named DRVSPACE.000; a typical compressed Stacker file is
STACVOL.DSK). Because the container files actually hold much of the data on an
entire compressed drive, it is very likely that these files will change every day. It
takes much longer for Recovery Solution to find the changes in such large files and
copy the data than it takes to take a snapshot of the drive itself. Simply include the
letter of the compressed drive, but exclude the container files, and all data is
protected.
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Hibernation files
Some computers and operating systems support hibernation, which allows a user to
effectively turn off the computer without losing any data in memory. This is
accomplished by writing the data in memory to special hibernation files, which can
become quite large. Protecting these files could significantly slow down snapshots,
increase the strain on the network and the server, and in some cases prevent
recoveries from working properly.
85
As long as users save their work before putting their computers into hibernation, the
only contents of the hibernation files will be nonessential information, such as the
current running applications, window positions, and view settings.
Listed below are some of the hibernation files used by various systems.
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HIBERFIL.SYS is used by Windows XP and Windows 2000.

HIBRN8.DAT is used on Compaq notebooks.

PM_HIBER.BIN is used on IBM notebooks.

SAVE2DSK.BIN is used on IBM notebooks.

TOSHIBER.DAT is used on Toshiba computers.

VMMHIBER.W9X is used by Windows Me.
C:\TEMP
Some computers use this folder as a storage place for temporary files.
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C:\WINDOWS\TEMP and C:\WINNT\TEMP
These folders store temporary files.
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*.TMP
Files with this extension are usually temporary files.
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~*.*
Files that begin with a tilde ( ~ ) are usually temporary files.
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Web browser cache
As users browse the Web, the browser stores files, such as HTML documents and
graphics files, in a cache folder on the computer. Over time, the cache folder can
become quite large, sometimes containing thousands of files. These files are saved
only to improve the speed of Web browsing; they are usually not needed by the
browser or by users.
If Microsoft Internet Explorer is the Web browser, the browser cache file is usually
the TEMPORARY INTERNET FILES subfolder of the Windows folder. If the Web
browser is Netscape Navigator, the browser cache is usually located somewhere
within the Netscape Navigator folder.
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*\MSDOWNLD.TMP
Folders by this name are created and used by Microsoft Web sites when software is
downloaded and installed from those sites. These folders are usually created in the
root of a hard drive, and they might exist on multiple hard drives. They are not
needed once the software installation is complete.
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Internet history
If Microsoft Internet Explorer is used, the HISTORY subfolder of the Windows folder
contains information about Web sites that have been visited, allowing users to easily
return to those sites at a later time. This information is generally not important.
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*.GID, *.FTS, *.FTG
Files with these extensions are usually cache files that get created automatically
when a Help file is opened. These cache files do not store any information that is
necessary to use Help.
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*.BAK
Files with this extension are typically backup files that applications create
automatically while the main data files are being edited. A *.BAK file can sometimes
86
be used to restore the data in case the main file becomes corrupted, but since
copies of the main data file are also being stored on the server, there should rarely
be a need to include *.BAK files in snapshots.
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RB001.CAB, RB002.CAB, RB003.CAB, RB004.CAB, RB005.CAB
Some versions of Windows store registry backups using these file names. Since the
registry is protected during Full System Snapshots, there should be no need to
include the registry backup files as well.
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C:Program Files\Altiris\Recovery Solution Agent\Data\C\*.DTF
These cache files are used by Recovery Solution to help speed up snapshots.
Recovery Solution will recreate them if necessary.
If users have more than 1 hard disk drive, you might want to add the additional
DATA subfolders DATA\D\*.DTF, DATA\E\*.DTF, and so forth, to exclude all these
files.
Caution
You should not exclude all .DTF files everywhere (*.DTF). This file extension is also
used by other applications.
Configure Rollback Data
Here you specify the file types to exclude from rolling back and deleting. These file types
are considered to be user data files or documents and will not be rolled back or deleted
unless you select Restore all files in the Rollback settings.
To exclude files from rolling back and deleting
1.
Click the Rollback Data tab.
2.
3.
Configure exclusion options.
The list shows the currently excluded items defined for all computers or groups you
are viewing.
If a folder icon appears next to an item, then this item is a folder. Files by this name
are not excluded unless you add another item to the list and indicate that it is a file.
The reverse is true if a file icon appears next to an item.
4.
Click the
.
A dialog box appears.
Enter the file type, file, or folder you want to exclude; specify whether the path you
entered is to a file or folder; and finally specify whether the path applies to all files
or folders on a specific drive or on all drives. Enter each file, file type, or folder
individually.
Note
Extended ANSI characters are case–sensitive in the exclude list. Example: excluding
the file type.
5.
Click OK.
87
6.
Exporting and Importing Exclude Lists
You can configure an export list that you want to reuse for another computer or group of
computers. You can export an exclude list and then import that list for use on another
computer. When you export an exclude list, the folders and files in the list are saved in a
text file with an .XML extension. When you import an Exclude List File, the paths and
files are added to the existing list.
To export an exclude list
1.
From the Rollback Data tab, click Export icon
.
2.
Browse to the path where you want to save the Exclude List File (.XML).
3.
Enter a name for the Exclude List File (.XML).
4.
Click Save.
To import an exclude list
1.
From the Rollback Data tab, click Import icon
.
2.
Browse to the path of the Exclude List File (.XML) you want to use.
3.
Select the Exclude List File (.XML).
4.
Click Open.
The contents of the .XML are added to the exclude list.
Configure Space Management
Use space management to specify how long you want to keep protected files for.
You set up space management policies in two stages:
1.
Set rules that tell Recovery Solution what files you want to delete and how old they
must be.
2.
Schedule one or more times each week for Recovery Solution to actually delete the
files.
To set space management rules
1.
Click the Space Management tab.
2.
To limit the computer storage space on the server on per protected computer basis,
select the Enable quota checkbox. If the protected computer exceeds the quota,
then all snapshots from the protected computer will be blocked until the limit is
increased or the storage space used by this protected computer on the server is
decreased during retention job.
Note
We strongly recommend not using storage space limits until most of the protected
computers have successfully completed their initial snapshots.
You can specify the following settings:

Storage space limit per protected computer
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Issue warning when storage usage reaches
The warning message will be displayed on clients.

Log event when a user exceeds warning level
Select this box if you want to log the event when the level is exceeded.

Show message to the user
Select this box if you want to show a message to the user when the level is
exceeded.
3.
If you want to apply default rules to all files, then under Default Rules, check
either or both of the following:

Delete snapshots older than
This option deletes all files from the snapshots of the protected computers you
have selected, after the amount of time you specify has elapsed.

Delete files after they have been deleted from a Protected Computer
This option deletes only files that were included in a snapshot but that a
protected computer has since deleted. The files are deleted from the snapshots
only after the originals have been removed from the computers, and then only
after the amount of time specified here has elapsed.
4.
Under Exception Rules, use the Add icon
make exceptions to the default rules.
, Remove icon
, and Edit icon
to

You can specify exceptions at the folder or file level, and you can use wild cards
to specify files of a specific type.

You can specify as many exception rules as you wish.

The exceptions always take precedence over the default rules. It does not
matter whether the period of time you specify for the exception is longer or
shorter than the default. However, if a particular file is included in more than
one exception rule, it is kept for the longest length of time specified by any of
the rules that contain it. Example: if you keep the folder “C:\My Documents” for
1 year and “*.doc” files for 2 years, then the file “C:\My Documents\Status.doc”
is kept for 2 years.

In each rule, you can select or clear the box labeled This item is critical for
Rollback or FSR.
Select this box to indicate that the item in this rule must be present in a
snapshot in order for rollback or Full System Recovery to succeed. Once this
item has been deleted from a snapshot, the snapshot no longer appears in the
list of snapshots that are valid for rollback or Full System Recovery.
Note
By default, a rule is added for the file WINFAL.LOG to ensure that you do not
accidentally remove it. This file is stored by Recovery Solution on each protected
computer, and it contains a record of all the files needed to start the computer. You
can change the rule, but remember that this file must be present in a snapshot if
you intend to perform a Full System Recovery from the snapshot.
5.
When you have finished, click OK.
6.
Click Apply.
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Configure Throttling and Connection (server-based
only)
You can set bandwidth throttling options that let you limit the network bandwidth used
when taking snapshots and restoring files. You can set bandwidth throttling options
globally for all protected computers, for protected computer groups, or individual
protected computers.
You can also give the user rights to set bandwidth throttling options from the Recovery
Agent Options dialog. For more information, see Configure User’s Rights and
Permissions (page 92).
To configure bandwidth throttling options
1.
Click the Throttling tab.
2.
Set Snapshot Throttling Settings:

Limit snapshot speed to
You can select the maximum network bandwidth used when taking snapshots.

Do not start snapshot if transfer rate is less than
You can select the minimum network bandwidth used when taking snapshots.

Do not start automatic snapshots over WAN connection
Select this box to restrict automatic scheduled snapshots from running when
client computer is on the WAN, connected using Virtual Private Networking
(VPN), or Remote Access Service (RAS).

Consider protected computer to be on WAN connection if the number
of gateways between the computer and Recovery Solution Server is
greater than
Specify the number of hops that the signal sent from a protected computer
to the server must perform in order for the protected computer’s location to
be regarded as Wide Area Network (WAN). (Default: 2)
3.
Set Restore Throttling Settings

Limit restore speed to
You can select the maximum network bandwidth used when restoring files.
4.
Configure Connection Management.
Your organization may have a large number of users running snapshots and
restoring data on the cluster, so you will want to be sure the network does not come
to a halt because too many users are accessing it simultaneously. You can limit the
number of connections to the cluster during the day or night, and control network
bandwidth using the Throttling tab.
5.
Under Work time definition, specify when daytime starts and ends.
6.
Under Maximum simultaneous connections, specify throttling options for
scheduled snapshots.
Note
These settings have no effect on server jobs (such as server space management).

Specify the maximum number of scheduled jobs that can be running at any one
time during the day.
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Daytime is defined with the Work time definition options on this tab.
Nighttime is defined with the Work time definition options on this tab.
7.
Under Manual jobs, specify throttling options for manual protected computer jobs.
Manual jobs include snapshots started by users and recoveries (including Full
System Recovery).
Note
These settings have no effect on server jobs (such as server space management).
Daytime is defined with the Work time definition options on this tab.
Nighttime is defined with the Work time definition options on this tab.
8.
Click Apply.
Configure Remote Access (server-based only)
Recovery Solution lets you define how it will handle snapshots through remote access
(Example: dial up connections or VPN connections). By default, protected computers
always inherit the default remote access settings for the collections. But in some cases
you might want to change the default settings to better suit your time zone and network
environment.
To change the Remote Access settings
1.
Click the Remote Access tab.
2.
Chose a Snapshot type: Full system snapshot or Partial snapshot.
We recommend that you keep Snapshot Type set to Full System Snapshot. Partial
snapshots do not provide Full System Recovery protection.
3.
Choose which drives to take a snapshot of. By default, all local drives are selected.
4.
Snapshot Settings

Take each day’s snapshot as soon as I start remote access
Select this box to have Recovery Solution start a snapshot as soon as the
protected computer has a remote access connection.
Note
Changing this setting will only affect clients that have configured remote access
connection (VPN or dial up).
5.

Display a message before taking the snapshot

Take each day’s snapshot as soon as computer connects to server

Continue incomplete snapshot from the break point

Skip Outlook files snapshot
Click Apply.
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Configure Performance (local mode only)
To set the performance settings
1.
Click the Performance tab.
2.
3.
Set the Priority of Recovery Agent operations.

Priority Level
The priority level indicates how much of the computer resource, such as CPU
and disk access, Recovery Agent will leave for other applications. The lower the
setting the more resources for other applications.
4.
Click Apply.
Configure Storage Management (local mode only)
This tells the Recovery Agent at install where to create the Altiris partition for snapshot
data. As an administrator, you can change the rights assigned to each collection of
users.
To manage your storage
1.
Click the Storage Management tab.
2.
3.
Click the Add Storage icon
4.
Enter the path to the storage location.
.
The following restrictions apply (otherwise the location will not be added):

Additional storage location cannot reside on a system hard disk drive.

Additional storage location must exist on clients to which the policy is applied.
5.
If you want to limit the amount of disk space used then check Limit storage
capacity to enter a maximum MB to use.
6.
Click OK.
7.
If you want to specify where the Temporary retention folder is to be located,
enter the string. By default, it is located in the system temporary folder.
8.
Click Apply.
Configure User’s Rights and Permissions
By default, all Recovery Solution users are allowed to use certain parts of the software.
As an administrator, you can change the rights assigned to each user.
Note
All these options can also be set on each specific settings page.
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To assign rights to a protected computer
1.
Click the Rights tab.
2.
Select Inherit rights if you want this computer’s rights to be inherited from the
group or the server that contains it.
3.
Select or clear the Protected Users Rights options you want.
The following rights can be configured.

Perform manual snapshots
Select this box to allow users of this computer to manually initiate snapshots.

Perform restore
Select this box to allow users of this computer to perform restore.

Perform rollback
Select this box to allow users of this computer to perform rollbacks.

Accelerate scheduled snapshots
Select this box to allow users of this computer to manually initiate snapshots.

Enable Local Recovery Agent (server-based mode)
Check this box to allow users of this computer to enable Local Recovery Agent
functionality.

Manage Altiris Partition (local mode)
Select this box to allow users of this computer to change the Altiris Partition
settings.

Create Recovery DVD (local mode)
Select this box to allow users of this computer to create Full System Recovery
DVDs locally.
4.
Select or clear the User Permissions options you want.
The following rights can be configured.
5.

Allow to edit snapshot settings

Allow to append snapshot excludes

Allow to append rollback excludes

Allow to edit space management settings

Allow to edit performance settings (local mode)

Allow to edit storage management settings (local mode)

Allow to edit miscellaneous settings

Allow to edit F11 recovery settings

Allow to edit bandwidth throttling settings

Communication settings (server-based mode)

Remote access settings (server-based mode)
Click Apply.
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Configure Miscellaneous Settings
The following Recovery Agent options can be configured by an administrator as well as
by a user at a protected computer:
z
Display Settings
z
Health Alerts Setting (server-based only)
z
Communication Settings (server-based only)
z
F11 Recovery Settings (local-mode only)
To configure miscellaneous settings
1.
Click the Misc tab.
2.
3.
Under Miscellaneous Settings, select or clear the Display Options you want.

Notify user when a scheduled snapshot completes successfully
Select this box if you want the user at the protected computer to see a message
when snapshots that have been scheduled complete successfully.

Notify user when a scheduled snapshot fails
when a scheduled snapshot fails.

Notify user when disk configuration change(s)
Select this box if you want a user at the protected computer to see a message
after a drive configuration change.
To ensure that all files are protected, the user or administrator should verify the
computer’s schedule for snapshots as soon as possible after a drive
configuration change. If the schedule is not updated, then files stored on new
drives or drives for which drive letter assignments have changed might not get
included in snapshots.

Show progress indication of the scheduled snapshot
This option configures the status indicator dialog to be displayed during a
snapshot. This option is disabled by default and is configurable on the protected
computer’s properties page.

Show the Welcome Screen when I start Window
This option configures the welcome screen to be displayed during login to
windows. This option is enabled by default and is configurable on the protected

Show the status icon in the Welcome system tray
This option configures the status icon to be displayed into the system tray. This
option is enabled by default and is configurable on the protected computer’s
properties page.

Show Recovery Agent options in Start Menu
This options defines whether the Recovery Agent menu will be put in the
Windows Start menu.
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Show Recovery Agent desktop icon
This option configures the Recovery Agent Icon will be put on the desktop of the
protected computer. This option is enabled by default and is configurable on the
protected computer’s properties page.

Hide client UI
This option configures the status indicator dialog to not be displayed during a
snapshot. This option is disabled by default and is configurable on the protected

User interface language
This option configures the language to be displayed in the Recovery Agent on
the protected computer. This option is disabled by default and is configurable on
the protected computer’s properties page.
4.
Select or clear the Other Options you want (server-based only).

Use encryption when communicating with the Server
This option is disabled by default and is configurable on the protected
5.
Select or clear the Health Alerts Settings you want.

Show health alert if a snapshot has not occurred in
when snapshots that have been scheduled complete successfully.
The user will always see a message if a snapshot fails, whether or not this box is
selected.

Show health alert if an upgrade has not occurred in
Select this box if you want a user at the protected computer to see a message if
the Recovery Solution User’s software needs an upgrade.
6.
Modify the Communication Settings (server-based only).

Connection type
You can choose from three connection types for the protected computer to
communicate to the Recovery Server:

DCOM

HTTP

HTTPS
If you are using balanced cluster, you can either use HTTP or HTTPS.
using DCOM can provide faster communication by as much as 10-20%.
However, DCOM may not work well behind fire walls or on slow WAN
connections. In those cases, HTTP will be the preferred option.
The Recovery Server supports multiple protocols being used at the same time.
It is possible to have a different protected computer use a different protocol,
depending on the collection and policy that a protected computer is using.

Use Altiris Agent proxy settings for HTTP/HTTPS communication
between Recovery Agent and Server
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(enabled by default) Clear this checkbox if you do not want the Recovery Agent
to use the Altiris Agent proxy settings (in case they are configured on the client
computer) for HTTP/HTTPS communication with the server.
Notes
The Altiris Agent on client computers uses the proxy server settings configured
through Windows Control Panel > Internet Options > Internet Properties
> Connections tab > LAN Settings > Proxy server.
The Recovery Server computer must be visible to the proxy server used by the
client for communication.

Enable Altiris Recovery Agent to modify Windows Firewall settings
Clear this checkbox if you do not want the Recovery Agent to modify Windows
Firewall port exception rules on client computers.
Note
By default, when the Recovery Agent service starts on protected computers
running Windows XP or Windows 2003 Server, it will add port 43189 to the
Windows Firewall exceptions.
On Windows XP and Windows 2003 client computers without a service pack or
with SP1, the Internet Sharing Configuration dialog box will appear upon Altiris
Recovery Agent service startup asking to give the C:\Program
Files\Altiris\Recovery Solution Agent\AeXRSAgt.exe permission to edit Internet
Connection Protection settings. The users must select Do not show this
dialog again and then click Yes to let the Recovery Agent service modify the
Windows Firewall exceptions.
When the Recovery Agent service stops, the port 43189 will be removed from
the Windows Firewall exceptions.
7.
Modify the F11 Recovery Settings (local-mode only):

Show F11 Recovery prompt
Clear this box if you want the F11 Recovery prompt not to appear at the
protected computer start.

Protect F11 Recovery with password
Select this box if you want the user to be prompted for a password when
launching the F11 Recovery. Specify the password in the Password field.
8.
Click Apply.
Recovery Solution Cluster Configuration
Using the cluster properties page, you can perform the following cluster configuration
tasks:
z
General Settings (page 97)
z
Configuring Server Job Schedules (page 98)
z
Configuring Event Notifications (page 101)
z
Configuring Storage Management (page 101)
96
z
Managing Recovery Solution Servers (page 106)
z
Managing Cluster Users (page 108)
z
Configuring Communication Settings (page 110)
For information on creating a cluster, see Creating a Recovery Solution Cluster
(page 36).
To open the cluster properties page
1.
2.
Click the Configuration tab
3.
In the left pane, select Configuration > Solution Settings > Incident
Management > Recovery Solution > Recovery Solution Clusters > Recovery
Solution Cluster Configuration.
4.
General Settings
Changing General Cluster Settings
1.
2.
3.
Solution Configuration.
4.
5.
Click the General tab.
6.
Change the name of the cluster.
7.
Change the address of the cluster.
8.
Change the Recovery Solution database user credentials.
Note
If you have multiple cluster databases on the server, changing credentials for one
them will affect the other clusters as well.
Caution
Two or more Recovery Solution clusters created on one or more server computers
and connecting to the same SQL server must use the same Recovery database user
credentials.
9.
(optional) Select or clear Enable cluster load balancing support. If selected, the
Cluster Address needs to be the virtual IP address of the load balancer.
10. (optional) Enter or Change the IP Address of the Load Balancer.
Note
This is only used for F5 BIG-IP Blade Controller.
11. Click Apply.
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Note
If the storage locations are entered not using UNC paths, then you must change them
from local paths to UNC paths before you uninstall the Recovery Server, otherwise you
cannot change the cluster. Without an active Recovery Server, the storage type will not
be changed in the Recovery Database.
Configuring Server Job Schedules
There are serveral types of jobs that are not associated with any particular protected
computer. These are collectively called server jobs.
Delete Marked Items
This job deletes files and folders marked for deletion and initiates storage compaction to
consolidate the “empty space” after deletion.
Note
You do not have to schedule Deletion Jobs if Server Space Management jobs are already
scheduled. Server Space Management automatically deletes any files or folders marked
for deletion.
Integrity check
This job checks to make sure that all of the data included in snapshots actually exists on
the server. Recovery Solution verifies the presence of the data, but does not verify that
the information is intact or recoverable. This job also updates statistics in the database
in order to keep performance optimized
The following options are available for the Integrity Check server job:
z
Delete lost protected data files
Check this option to have the Integrity Check job delete the information about the
protected data file in the database in case the file is missing from the raw storage.
z
Delete unrecoverable protected data files
Check this box to have the Integrity Check job delete the information about the
protected data file in the database in case the file is corrupted.
If integrity job finds a corrupted block, it will try do the following things:
1.
If there is more than one storage group, then integrity job will try looking for the
valid block located in other storage groups.
2.
Integrity job will perform database cleanup. This involves database information that
refers to the corrupted blob block and will be removed from the database. There are
three cases:

File data block is corrupted - the entire file will be removed from the database,
the user will not be able to restore the file or some of its revisions.

Security data block is corrupted - only security record will be removed from the
database, so user will not be able to restore file security for some files.

Full system recovery block is corrupted - full system recovery blocks will be
removed from the database, so user will not be able to perform full system
recovery or rollback from the snapshots that refer to that full system recovery
block, that snapshot will not be visible in data recovery wizard.
98
Note
The same process runs during snapshot - if the agent that performs the snapshot
tries reading the corrupted block, the references to this block will be removed from
the database, and the agent should backup that data again. If data was corrupted,
the file will be backed up again; if the security block is corrupted, the security
descriptors will be backed up again. There is no handling for corrupted full system
recovery blocks.

Perform CRC
Select this box to have the Integrity Check job use Cyclical Redundancy
Checking to verify that the data found matches the original data stored during
snapshots. Recovery Solution checks the integrity of the information in the
“BLOB” files. While a successful integrity check with CRC makes it likely that
most files can be recovered, it does not guarantee that any individual file is
actually recoverable, as it handles file corruptions the same way as integrity
check without CRC. Using this option can cause the Integrity Check job take a
very long time to run, so you should be selective when and how often you run
it.
Server Space Management
This job provides the same functionality of Delete Marked Items job with the following
additional benefits:
z
Blob data storage retention occurs according to the Server Space Management
rules.
z
Server space management job CPU throttling can be managed via the console.
Storage Locations Synchronization
This Job performs regular storage synchronization between synchronous storage groups
(i.e. Main Storage) and asynchronous mirrors. The frequency of this job determines how
current these mirrors are. This server job only needs to be scheduled if the cluster has
asynchronous storage.
To schedule server jobs
1.
Click the Server Schedules tab.
2.
From the Job list, click the type of job you want to schedule.
Note
Although you can only select one job at a time from the list, you can enter its
schedule, then click other items to schedule them.
3.
In the Days area, check the boxes next to the days of the week you want this job to
run.
4.
Under Start Job, specify a time window within which you want the job to start.
Note
The job is not necessarily completed within this time window. However, you should
ensure that the start window is reasonably long, because if the server is busy when
Recovery Solution tries to start the job then it might be skipped until the next day or
week (depending on your schedule).
99
You might want to use the Job Schedule Worksheet (page 274) to help you plan out
appropriate times to run server jobs.
5.
(Server Space Management Job only) Force deletion of the recently excluded
files During the SSM job, this will cause the automatic deletion of any files or
folders that have been configured by the user to be excluded.
6.
(Server Space Management Job only) Server space management job CPU
throttling This is the maximum amount of server processing to be use for this job.
7.
(Server Space Management Job only) Storage Compaction Compaction is a form
of compression used on NTFS volumes performed by Recovery Solution itself rather
than the operating system. Compaction works by consolidating the “empty space”
stored inside protected data (“BLOB”) files. In most cases the main benefits of
compaction occur when protected data is deleted. Recovery Solution only applies
compaction to the data during server space management and deletion jobs.
8.
(optional) Compact compressed volumes This will use compaction on operating
system compressed volumes
9.
(optional) Minimum space to reclaim (% data file size): default is 50%.
This option configures the minimum amount of unused space in a raw storage file
(BLOB) that would trigger the compaction. The purpose of the Compaction is to
reclaim space on non-compressed NTFS and FAT16/32 volumes. It also decreases
the actual number of BLOBs, that is useful if you plan to backup BLOBs to tape.
Decreasing the number of BLOB files is also good for the general file-system
performance.
Setting this option to a lower value, 10% for example, causes the Compaction to
occur even if the amount of unused space is as low as 10% of the entire disk space
occupied by a BLOB. A higher value set, 50% for example, makes the Server Space
Management job reclaim unused space only when at least 50% of the entire BLOB
file is empty. Thus a lower value reclaims more disk space to the prejudice of the
speed of the job. On the contrary, a higher value makes the job complete faster
while more free space is retained unused. An optimal value depends on the specific
Server Space Management job schedule and the amount of data in raw storage.
Note
In most environments enabling Compaction or changing its settings will not result in
any reduction of space utilization, as normally BLOBs are already compressed by
NTFS compression.
10. Click Apply.
In addition, any pending job in the job queue that is scheduled to run at a later time can
be accelerated to run immediately. For more information, see Job Schedule Worksheet
(page 274).
Notes
All server jobs runs on only one Recovery Solution Server and it is not fault tolerant.
All server jobs run according to the time setting of the Recovery Solution Server that is
the machine physically running the job.
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Configuring Event Notifications
Recovery Solution can notify by e-mail if a specific event has occurred. An example of
such an event is “Unable to recover file”.
Note
SMTP server and port settings used for notifications must be properly configured during
Notification Server setup or afterwards through the Altiris Console > Configuration tab
> Server Settings > Notification Server Settings > E-mail Configuration,
otherwise Recovery Solution e-mail notifications will not work.
To add an event notification
1.
2.
3.
Solution Configuration.
4.
5.
Click the Events tab.
6.
Enter an e-mail address to send the alert to.
7.
Enter the subject line of the alert.
8.
Click the add event notification icon
9.
Select an event.
.
10. Click Apply.
11. Click Apply.
To delete an event notification
1.
2.
3.
Configuration.
4.
5.
Click the Events tab.
6.
Choose the event you wish to delete.
7.
Click the delete event notification icon
.
Configuring Storage Management
A Storage Group defines a logical group of physical storage space to be managed as a
unit. Storage Groups are used to simplify the management of storage devices. They
allow groups of physical storage to be treated as a single resource. When additional
storage groups are added, the data is synchronized from the main storage group and
101
after synchronization then all groups are synchronous updated and the system is
mirrored.
Note
There must be one synchronous storage group in a cluster.
Storage Group
By default there is a Main Storage storage group. By adding additional storage groups
you are mirroring the BLOB data. There are two types of mirrors that can be added
synchronous and asynchronous. A synchronous mirror adds the data is update in the
mirror at the same time the data is update in the Main Storage. Asynchronous mirror
updates when the Storage Locations Synchronization server job runs which needs to
be scheduled by the administrator.
In case one mirror goes offline during snapshot (restore), snapshot continues to (from)
another mirror. Space management and Integrity Check jobs work simultaneously with
all mirrors. In case whole BLOB file created only on one mirror, then it is copied to other
mirrors by Storage Locations Synchronization job. In case only some blocks were
unsynchronized, then these blocks also synchronized by Synchronization job.
There are three actions you can do to a storage group: add, edit and delete.
To add a storage group
1.
2.
3.
Configuration.
4.
5.
6.
Click the add group name icon
7.
Enter a name for the new group.
8.
(optional) If the group is to be updated Asynchronous, select the checkbox.
9.
Click Ok.
.
To edit a storage group
1.
2.
3.
Configuration.
4.
5.
6.
Choose the group you wish to edit.
7.
Click the edit group name icon
next to the group name.
102
8.
You can either change the name of the group or change updating between
synchronous and asynchronous.
9.
Click Ok.
To delete a storage group
1.
2.
3.
Configuration.
4.
5.
6.
Choose the group you wish to delete.
Click the delete storage group icon
next to the group name.
Storage Location
In the Main Storage storage group there will be at least one storage location that was
specified at installation of Recovery Solution. There are six actions you can do to the
storage location: add, edit, enable, disable, move and delete.
To add a storage location
1.
2.
3.
Configuration.
4.
5.
6.
Choose the group you want to add a storage location to.
7.
Click the Add Storage Location icon
8.
Enter a data storage location. This can be either an IP address, a DNS name, or a
computer name where hard drive space will be used. The format for entering this
information is \\<servername>\<sharename>\<directory>.
9.
Select Limit storage capacity to if you do not want to use all the free space on the
specified drive. Enter a maximum space to be used (MB), or enter 0 for unlimited.
above list of storage location for that group.
10. If this is a remote location, provide authentication credentials.
Notes
Use domain (not local) user credentials, otherwise the storage location will be
inaccessible.
A remote share permissions and folder security must be configured to allow full
access to the user accessing the share.
103
You must not add network storages located on computers from domains, which are
not trusted by the Recovery Server domain. Also, do not use the credentials of users
from the non-trusted domains to access the storage locations. Storage status will be
reported ‘Inaccessible’ after adding such storages. The reason is that Recovery
Server cannot be impersonated under a user account from a non-trusted domain.
11. Click OK.
12. Click Apply.
To edit a storage location
1.
2.
3.
Configuration.
4.
5.
6.
Select the group you want to add a storage location to.
7.
Click the Edit Storage Location icon
group.
8.
You may edit the amount of storage space to use and authentication credentials.
9.
Click OK.
above the list of storage locations for that
10. Click Apply.
To enable a storage location
1.
2.
3.
Configuration.
4.
5.
6.
Select the group you want to enable a storage location too.
7.
Select the storage location you wish to enable.
8.
Click the Enable Storage Location icon
group.
9.
Click Apply.
To disable a storage location
1.
2.
104
3.
Click Configuration > Solution Settings > Incident Management > Recovery
Solution > Recovery Solution Clusters > Recovery Solution Configuration.
4.
5.
6.
Select the group you want to disable a storage location.
7.
Select the storage location you wish to disable.
8.
Click the Disable Storage Location icon
group.
9.
Click Apply.
To move data files
1.
2.
3.
Configuration.
4.
5.
6.
Select the group you want to move a data file from.
7.
Select the storage location you which data file you wish to move.
8.
Click Move Data File.
9.
Select where you wish to move the data file to.
10. (optional) Click Disable the storage after its contents has been moved.
11. (optional) Click Delete the storage after its contents has been moved.
12. Select one

Move all This will move all the data from the one location to the other.

Move an mount of storage from the totaled stored

Move the ID in a range
13. Select one

Start Job Now will start the data file move now.

Schedule job allows you to choose a data and start time frame for the job to
be executed.
14. Click Ok.
15. Click Apply.
To delete a storage location
1.
2.
105
3.
Configuration.
4.
5.
6.
Select the group you want to delete a storage location.
7.
Select the storage location you wish to delete.
8.
Click the Delete Storage Location icon
group.
9.
Click Apply.
Note
You must manually delete the storage files after deleting a storage location.
Managing Recovery Solution Servers
A Recovery Solution Cluster must have at least one Recovery Solution Server. If Load
Balancing is turned on for a given Recovery Solution Cluster, multiple Recovery Solution
Servers can be set up.
To install a Recovery Solution Server
1.
2.
Click the Configuration tab, and then click Configuration > Solution Settings >
3.
4.
In the right content pane, select the cluster you want to add a server to.
5.
Click the Add Server
6.
Select the computer you want to install as a Recovery Solution Server.
7.
Click OK.
8.
(Optional) To override default installation folders, click Installation Settings.
9.
Click Install Server.
icon.
10. You can accept the default installation settings or changes them. Click Proceed
with Install.
It will take a few minutes for the server component to install. The rollout page
shows the status of the server rollout process. Click the Refresh
the page.
icon to refresh
After the installation is complete, the server will appear in the list of servers for the
cluster under the Servers tab of the cluster properties page.
Altiris Recovery Solution Server will also appear in the Add/Remove Programs list on
the computer it was installed on.
106
To view Recovery Solution Servers
1.
2.
3.
Click Configuration > Solution Settings > Incident Management > Recovery Solution
> Recovery Solution Clusters > Recovery Solution Configuration.
4.
5.
The following information is displayed for each server for that cluster:

Name of the server

Domain which the server resides

The IP address of the server

The current status of the server
To disable a Recovery Solution Server
1.
2.
3.
Click Configuration > Solution Settings > Incident Management > Recovery Solution
> Recovery Solution Clusters > Recovery Solution Configuration.
4.
5.
6.
Highlight the server to disable.
7.
Click the Disable Server icon
8.
Click Yes.
9.
Click Apply.
.
To enable a disabled Recovery Solution Server
1.
2.
3.
Configuration.
4.
5.
6.
Highlight the server to enable.
7.
Click the Enable Server icon
8.
Click Apply.
.
To uninstall a Recovery Solution Server
1.
107
2.
Click the Configuration tab. In teh left pane, select Configuration > Solution
Settings > Incident Management > Recovery Solution > Recovery Solution
Clusters > Recovery Solution Cluster Configuration.
3.
Click the Recovery Solution Server Uninstall task.
4.
Select the cluster which you want to uninstall a server from.
5.
Highlight the server you wish to uninstall.
6.
Click Uninstall Server.
7.
Click Yes.
To stop or start a Recovery Solution Server service
See Stopping and Starting the Recovery Solution Server Service (page 289).
Managing Cluster Users
Recovery Solution uses Microsoft Domain users and groups only for authentication.
To view users of a Recovery Solution Cluster
1.
2.
3.
Configuration.
4.
5.
Click the Users tab.
To add a user or domain group to a Recovery Solution Cluster
1.
2.
3.
Configuration.
4.
5.
6.
Click the User Add icon
7.
Check User if you wish to add a Domain User.
8.
Check Groups if you wish to add a Domain Group.
9.
Select where to search:
.

Local

Domain enter the domain name
10. Select type of query either Equals or Starts With.
11. Enter name or part of name to search for.
108
12. Click Find.
13. Highlight users to add.
14. Click Ok.
15. Click Apply.
To delete a user or domain group from a Recovery Solution Cluster
1.
2.
3.
Configuration.
4.
5.
6.
Highlight the User or Group to be deleted.
7.
Click the User Delete icon
8.
Click Apply.
.
To enable Web-Based File Recovery for all new users
1.
2.
3.
Configuration.
4.
5.
6.
Enable the Allow web-based restoration for all new users checkbox.
Note
This setting will affect all newly installed clients.
7.
Click Apply.
To enable Web-Based File Recovery for all existing users
1.
2.
3.
Configuration.
4.
Right-click the cluster node.
5.
Select Recovery Solution tasks > Administration > Change Web Access settings >
Enable from in the drop-down list.
6.
In the Enable Web Access dialog, click Ok.
109
Configuring Communication Settings
1.
2.
3.
Configuration.
4.
5.
Click the Communication tab.
6.
Manage Server(s) from Altiris Console Using HTTP Binding port: the default
is 80 this can be change to another port.
7.
Recovery Solution Agents communication with server(s): You can choose
from three connection types:

DCOM

HTTP

HTTPS
If you are configuring a balanced cluster, you can either use HTTP or HTTPS.
using DCOM can provide faster communication by as much as 10-20%. However,
DCOM may not work well behind firewalls or on slow WAN connections. In those
cases, HTTP will be the preferred option.
This setting is used when the cluster communicates to protected computers during
the Recovery Agent installation and registration. The protocol may be different when
the Recovery Agent communicates to the Recovery Server farther on.
Configuration of transport protocol used after the installation can be configured on
the Misc tab of Recovery Agent Settings policy. For more information on
Recovery Solution Agent communication settings see Configure Miscellaneous
Settings on page 94
Notes
If you are using HTTP for communication the binding port will be the same port as
communications between the Altiris Console and Recovery Servers
If you are using HTTPS for communication the binding secure port will default to
port 443 and can be change by the administrator if need.
For HTTP and HTTPS ports 8080 and 8081 should not be used as binding ports used
by Recovery Solution if Altiris Deployment Server is installed on the same
Notification Server.
Both HTTP and DCOM is used for communication between Recovery Solution Server
and Notification Server.
Recovery Solution Security Role Management
Recovery Solution setup creates new folders and items in the Altiris Console. Each of
these folders and items has certain permissions available to assign to users. In the
110
Notification Server, roles are assigned access rights to various elements in the console.
By default, setup creates new role named Altiris Recovery Solution Helpdesk
Technicians, which applies specifically to the solution. Administrator can manage roles
and assign each role its own set of Global Privileges in the Role Management window.
Note
For information on Altiris Console permissions, security and role management, see Altiris
Notification Server Help.
See also: Security Role Management (page 111).
Security Role Management
The Security Role Management page allows you to handle all of your Role Management
settings. In the Notification Server roles are assigned access rights to various elements
in the console. So, a user's console rights are dependent on which roles they are a
member.
To access this page
1.
In the Altiris Console, select the Configuration tab.
2.
In the treeview pane, navigate to Configuration > Server Settings > Notification
Server Settings.
3.
In the treeview pane, select Security Role Management.
Note
There are a number of default roles in the Role Management window and each has its
own set of Global Privileges.
The following table lists the Recovery Solution global privileges and their default
assignments.
Privilege
Description
Assigned roles
Manage Recovery
Solution Agent Jobs
Roles with this privilege can
manage content and Recovery
Solution Agent jobs which include
start/cancel snapshots, restores,
rollbacks.
z
Altiris
Administrators
z
Altiris Recovery
Solution
Helpdesk
Technicians
create media for Full System
Recovery.
z
Altiris
Administrators
z
Altiris Recovery
Solution
Helpdesk
Technicians
Roles with this privilege can start/
cancel Recovery Solution clusters'
jobs.
z
Altiris
Administrators
Create FSR Media
Manage Recovery
Solution Cluster Jobs
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Privilege
Description
Assigned roles
Manage Protected
Computers
manage protected computers
which include enable/disable
accounts, manage users, and
mark data for deletion.
z
Altiris
Administrators
Run Critical Rollbacks
Roles with this privilege can run
snapshots performed prior to a
critical patch or a software update
installation.
z
Altiris
Administrators
Administrator can control role’s access permissions for every Recovery Solution interface
item in the Altiris Console by changing Security Descriptor Settings for the item. To see
security settings for the item, click on the Security tab of Properties window accessible
via the item’s right-click menu.
Notes
By default, Altiris Recovery Solution Helpdesk Technicians can only perform Recovery
Agent Rollouts and have read-only access to the Recovery Agent Settings via the Altiris
Console.
For more information about Altiris Console permissions, security and role management,
see Altiris Notification Server Help.
Configuring Recovery Server to Only Run Server
Jobs
You may want server jobs (such as server space management) to run on a dedicated
Recovery Solution Server that does not run client jobs.
To configure a Recovery Solution Server to only run server jobs
1.
2.
Create a new load balanced Recovery Solution Cluster. For instructions, see Creating
a Recovery Solution Cluster on page 36.

If you are planning to distribute client jobs among several servers, use the load
balancer address to specify Recovery Solution Cluster address. Configure the
load balancer properly to forward requests from the clients to the server. For
additional information, see Configuring the Load Balancer on page 27.

If you are planning to distribute server and client jobs between two servers, use
the address of the server that will run client jobs.
Add the new servers to the cluster. For instructions, see Adding Recovery Solution
Servers to a Recovery Cluster on page 40.
By default, all the servers can run both server and client jobs. The server dedication
to running server or client jobs is determined by the value stored in the Role column
of the Vault table found in the Recovery Solution database. You can use Microsoft
SQL Server tools to modify the server role.
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Caution
Be extremely careful when modifying the Recovery Solution database. If you
accidentally change or delete the wrong values, the solution may stop working
properly.
The following values can be assigned:

0 - the server is dedicated for snapshots

1 - the server is dedicated for server jobs

2 - the server accepts any kind of jobs
Example
If you want some server to run only server jobs, change the value in the column
Role for the server to 1. If you want some server to run only server jobs, change the
value to 0.
Scan for applied critical patches and Software
Delivery tasks
This policy updates Recovery Solution databases with patch and Software Delivery task
execution data.
You can either enable the policy to run on schedule, or execute the policy once by
clicking on the Execute button.
To access and enable the policy
1.
2.
Click Configuration > Solution Settings > Incident Management > Recovery
Solution > Recovery Solution Clusters > Recovery Solution Cluster
Configuration. Scan for applied critical patches and Software Delivery
tasks.
3.
Set the Enable checkbox and click Apply.
Manage Lost Recovery Solution Agents
Using this policy, you can manage clients that are not displayed in other Notification
Server collections. These may be clients, for which two or more accounts exist in the
Recovery Solution Database, or for which the account exists in the Recovery database
but is missing in the Altiris database.
To access this policy
1.
In the Altiris Console, click the Configuration tab.
2.
In the left pane, click Confguration > Solution Settings > Incident
Solution Cluster Configuration > Manage Lost Recovery Solution Agents.
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Chapter 6
Recovery Solution Tasks
This chapter lists the tasks that you can perform using Recovery Solution.
z
General Recovery Solution Tasks in the Altiris Console (page 114)
z
Viewing Recovery-related Information about Individual Computers Using the
Resource Manager (page 114)
z
Performing Basic Recovery Tasks (page 116)
z
General Recovery Solution Tasks in the Altiris
Console
On the Tasks tab, predefined policies perform the following tasks:
Tasks
Link to information
Agent Settings Decryption/
Encryption Utility
Altiris Partition Removing Utility
partitions
(page 128)
partition table
Recovery CD or DVD-ROMs
Media (page 146)
utility
(page 130)
To access the Recovery Solution task policies, open the Altiris Console, click the Tasks
tab, and then click Tasks > Incident Management > Recovery Solution.
Viewing Recovery-related Information about
Individual Computers Using the Resource Manager
You can use the Resource Manager to view recovery-based information about individual
client computers. You can view the following information:
z
Summary Information:

The cluster that files are backed up to

The last snapshot start and end time
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z
z
z

The snapshot status

The number of files and amount of bytes backed up

The space used to store backed up files
Inventory Information:

Name, version, and last update time of the Recovery Agent.

Address of Recovery Solution Cluster the computer is connected to

Altiris Partition: size, available space, amount of recovery data

Size and date of image creation

Recovery Agent database: size and last update time
Event Information (Example):

Agent registration

Snapshots started and completed

Snapshots failed

Service started

Connection failures
Recovery Agent settings defined and customized by a user (not the administrator)
Notes
Inventory information is available only after the Altiris Agent on the client computer has
reported inventory data to the Notification Server. By default, inventory data is reported
once daily.
Only the settings defined by the user will be displayed (not the settings defined by the
administrator).
To view the recovery-based information about a computer in the
Resource Manager
1.
Click the computer item in either a report or collection.
a.
Example: click the Configuration tab, In the left pane, select Configuration >
Solution Settings > Incident Management > Recovery Solution >
Recovery Agent Settings folder.
b.
Click the Computers with Recovery Agent installed to cluster collection.
c.
Double-click a computer in the collection.
The resource manager for the computer opens.
2.
For summary information, click Recovery Summary under the Summaries tab.
3.
For inventory information, click Recovery Solution > AeX RSA Configuration
under the Inventory tab.
4.
For event information, click Recovery Solution > AeX RSA Events under the
Events tab.
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Performing Basic Recovery Tasks
Users can recover their own files by browsing to them in Windows. Instructions for
recovering files are contained in Recovery Solution User’s Guide.
Normal file recovery is possible as long as Windows and Recovery Solution are
functioning properly. If the computer cannot be started, it might be necessary to
perform Full System Recovery. For more information see Full System Recovery on
page 131. For information on more advanced tasks, see Advanced Snapshot and
Recovery Procedures on page 128.
Caution
You cannot restore encrypted files to drives using FAT or FAT32.
See also:
z
Running Server Jobs (page 116)
z
Performing Recovery Tasks on Individual Computers Using the Resource Manager
(page 117).
Running Server Jobs
You can run various server jobs through the cluster right-click menu in the Altiris
Console (Configuration > Solution Settings > Incident Management > Recovery
Solution Recovery Solution Clusters > Recovery Solution Cluster Configuration
> (right-click a cluster) > Recovery Solution Tasks > Start Server Job). The
following server jobs are available for immediate running:
z
Delete Marked Items
For information about this job, see Delete Marked Items on page 98.
z
Integrity Check
For information about this job, see Integrity check on page 98.
z
Server Space Management
For information about this job, see Server Space Management on page 99.
z
Storage Locations Synchronization
For information about this job, see Storage Locations Synchronization on page 99.
You can also delete all users’ snapshot data from data storage and from the
Recovery Database by right-clicking the cluster name > Recovery Solution Tasks
> Delete All User Data.
In addition, the following administration and client tasks are available through the
cluster right-click menu (Configuration > Solution Settings > Incident
Management > Recovery Solution Recovery Solution Clusters > Recovery
Solution Cluster Configuration > (right-click a cluster) > Recovery Solution
Tasks). These tasks apply to all clients installed on the Recovery Solution cluster.
z
z
Administration

Change Account’s Status

Change Web Access Settings

Mark Files for Deletion
Start Client Jobs
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z
Rollback

To the Last marked Snapshot

To the Last Snapshot
Accelerate Scheduled Snapshot
Snapshot Now...
Performing Recovery Tasks on Individual Computers Using the
Resource Manager
Administrators or helpdesk personnel can restore or delete files and/or folders from
snapshots without having to remote control in to the client. If you need to perform
recovery tasks on an individual client computer, you can do so through the Resource
Manager.
You can use the Resource Manager tasks to do the following:
z
Accelerate a Scheduled Snapshot (page 118)
z
Create a Full System Recovery Image (page 118)
z
Disable/Enable a Computer Account (page 118)
z
Manage Full System Recovery Image (page 118)
z
Manage Protected Data (page 118)
z
Manage the Users of a Protected Computer (page 120)
z
Mark the Client Computer Account to be Deleted (page 120)
z
Mark Files for Deletion (page 120)
z
Perform a Rollback (page 122)
z
Perform a Snapshot Now (page 127)
Note
Recovery tasks are available only after the Altiris Agent on the client computer has
reported inventory data to the Notification Server. By default, inventory data is reported
once daily.
In case port 43189 port is closed, client jobs (such as snapshot, restore, rollback)
initiated from the Altiris Console may start with a delay of up to 15 minutes. For details,
see Configure Snapshot Settings on page 78.
To perform recovery-based tasks on a computer using the Resource
Manager
Click the computer item in either a report or collection.
1.
Example: on the Configuration tab, select Configuration > Solution
Settings > Incident Management > Recovery Solution > Recovery
Agent Settings folder.
2.
3.
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You can also select a collection or one or more computers in a collection and
choose Recovery Solution Tasks from the right-click menu to access a list of
recovery tasks.
Accelerate a Scheduled Snapshot
You can start the next scheduled snapshot for the protected computer.
1.
From the Task tab of the Resource Manager, click Accelerate Scheduled
Snapshot.
The snapshots run immediately on the computer, and their schedules are modified
to clear all further snapshots for the remainder of the day. A snapshot for each
computer runs on the next day defined in its schedule.
Create a Full System Recovery Image
You can create a Full System Recovery Image for the protected computer. For more
information, see Full System Recovery Disk Creation on page 134.
Disable/Enable a Computer Account
You can enable or disable the computer’s ability to perform recovery tasks.
1.
From the Task tab of the Resource Manager, click Disable/Enable Account...
2.
Check or clear the checkbox to Enable or Disable the account
3.
Click Ok.
Note
You can enable or disable all computers at once through the right-click context menu for
a cluster or a collection of computers with Recovery Solution Agent installed: right-click
the cluster name > Recovery Solution Tasks > Change Account's Status > Disable/
Enable Accounts.
Manage Full System Recovery Image
You can manage Full System Recovery images for the computer. This option lets you
copy or delete Full System Recovery images for the computer.
1.
From the Task tab of the Resource Manager, click Manage FSR Images...
A list shows the Full System Recovery images and their properties.
2.
To copy an image, highlight it and click the copy icon.
3.
To delete an image, highlight it and click the delete icon.
Manage Protected Data
This feature lets administrators view which files are backed up and delete the files that
do not need to be protected. The restore function will restore files and folders to the
original location on the protected computer.
You can restore the following file revisions:
z
Latest Version
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Choose this option to display only the most recent snapshot of each file. Even files
that were not included in the most recent snapshot are displayed, as long as they
were in some previous snapshot.
z
All Versions
Choose this option to display all snapshots of your files.
If you're viewing all file details (View menu), the Snapshot Taken column shows the
date and time that each snapshot was originally run.
Note
In some cases the time displayed under Snapshot Taken might be the only
distinguishable difference between two or more versions of a file. This could happen
if the file itself did not change between snapshots, but the properties of the file did.
Example: Recovery Solution creates a new version of the file if the only change is in
its NTFS security attributes.
If you have installed the Recovery Agent more than once (or if your software was
automatically updated from the server), you might have the following additional
options:
z
Snapshots From All Installations
Choose this option to display protected files from all of your Recovery Agent
installations.
z
Snapshots From Current Installation
Choose this option to display protected files only from your current Recovery Agent
installation.
z
Snapshots From Previous Installations
Choose this option to display protected files only from your previous Recovery Agent
installations.
Note
If a particular file or folder originated on an NTFS drive, and you do not have at least
read access to the file or folder, then you cannot see it in the list of protected files.
However, if you restore a folder containing the secure item, the item will also be restored
(but you still won't have access to open it).
To restore and delete files
1.
From the Task tab of the Resource Manager, click Manage Protected Data.
2.
In the left pane, select the path.
3.
In the right pane, select the folders and files you want to mange.
4.
To restore data, click Restore.
After the file/folder restore is completed, the console displays a completion
message. A message is also displayed on the protected computer informing the user
that a file/folder restore has been performed by the Recovery Solution
Administrator.
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5.
To delete data from a snapshot, click Delete.
You can manually delete specific files and folders that were accidentally backed up
to the server, or that you no longer need.
Files are manually deleted in two stages.
6.

You tell Recovery Solution which items you want to delete. This is known as
marking the items for deletion.

You schedule one or more times each week for Recovery Solution to actually
delete the files. For more information, see Configuring Server Job Schedules on
page 98.
To unmark data for deletion, click the undelete.
Manage the Users of a Protected Computer
This option lets you add and remove users. It can be useful to add or remove users
using the dialog because this enables users to perform Web-Based File Recovery of their
account data, restore data using the Migrate utility or reinstall the account using the
existing account.
1.
From the Task tab of the Resource Manager, click Manage Users.
2.
Select a user and click the enable to disable icon, or click + to add a user, or X to
delete.
3.
Click Ok.
Mark the Client Computer Account to be Deleted
This option lets you mark the account to be deleted. This will delete all unique data
stored on the server for this account. Do this only of you are sure you will never need
access to the data associate with this account again. Data stored locally on the user’s
computer will not be affected.
Note
To optimize Recovery Solution Server performance, this task will be performed during
the server management job.
1.
From the Task tab of the Resource Manager, click Mark Computer Account for
Delete...
2.
To mark the account for deletion, click Ok.
Mark Files for Deletion
This option lets you mark files, folders, or file types to be deleted from snapshots that
were accidentally backed up to the server, or that you no longer need. You can have files
deleted from a certain path only or all locations.
Files are manually deleted in two stages.
z
You tell Recovery Solution which items you want to delete. This is known as marking
the items for deletion.
z
You schedule one or more times each week for Recovery Solution to actually delete
the files. For more information, see Configuring Server Job Schedules on page 98.
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Notes
You can use the Largest Files report in order to determine the files taking up most space
on the server. For instructions, see Using Recovery Solution Reports and Job Queue on
page 153.
In order to prevent the server from backing up the files and folders marked for deletion,
make sure to exclude these files and folders from future snapshots. For instructions, see
Excluding Files From Snapshots on page 81.
To mark files or folders for deletion
1.
From the Task tab of the Resource Manager, click Mark files for Delete...
2.
Click the add or edit icon.
3.
Under Enter the name of the folder, file or file type you wish to mark for
deletion, type the name of the item you want to delete.
If you want to browse for files and folders and mark them for deletion, use the
Manage Protected Data (page 118) option.
You can use wild cards to specify files. Example: “Cache*.*” means all files that
start with “Cache”.
If you want to delete a specific file or folder, you must enter the full path to that file,
starting with the drive letter.
If you want to delete a file or file type no matter where it exists on the drive, do not
enter a path.
4.
Under Enter the name of the folder or file you wish to mark for deletion,
choose the description that matches the type of item you specified above.

This is a folder
Choose this option to specify that the name you entered above is a folder rather
than a file. Files by this name will not be deleted.

This is a file
Choose this option to specify that the name you entered above is a file rather
than a folder. Folders by this name will not be deleted.

This is a file type
Choose this option to specify that the name you entered above is a file type or
extension. All files with this extension will be deleted.
5.
Under Choose where to mark for deletion this folder or file select the locations
from which you want the item to be deleted.

Exclude this folder or file name everywhere
Choose this option to delete the item from every location on the server.

Exclude only this path on
Choose this option to specify that the text you entered above should be treated
as a path to a specific folder or file.
If you choose this option but you specify only a folder or filename without a
path, the folder or file is only deleted from the root of the drive. Example: if you
type LOGFILE.TXT as the name of the item to delete, then choose “Mark this
path for deletion on,” Recovery Solution deletes files such as C:\LOGFILE.TXT
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and D:\LOGFILE.TXT (depending on your drive settings below). However,
LOGFILE.TXT files found elsewhere on a drive are not deleted.
Specify below which drives you want to delete the item from.
-
All drives
Choose this option to delete the above path from every drive.
-
This drive only
Choose this option to delete the above path only from a specific drive.
Specify the drive letter in the box.
6.
Click Ok.
Perform a Rollback
The rollback option lets you return a computer to the state it was in at the time of a Full
System Snapshot. This is useful if a protected computer can be started but is not
functioning properly. (If the computer cannot even be started, you need to use Full
System Recovery instead.)
A rollback can be performed by the administrator, or by the user (if the administrator
has allowed it).
Notes
You can only roll back a computer if the disk configuration is the same as it was at the
time of the snapshot you are recovering. Example: if drive letters were changed or
drives were re-sized on the computer since the time of a snapshot, then you cannot roll
the computer back to this point.
You cannot roll back a Windows 2000/XP protected computer that uses disk volume
sets, stripe sets, or fault-tolerant drives.
Performing a rollback could cause some evaluation software to claim that it has expired,
preventing further use of the software.
Before rolling back a computer, Recovery Solution automatically runs a Full System
Snapshot of the computer to ensure that the most recent files are protected. After the
rollback, the user can restore any needed files that were overwritten by the rollback.
If you do not need the extra level of data protection (Example: if the protected
computer’s current data is already backed up somewhere) you can prevent the snapshot
from running. To do so, modify the protected computer’s Windows registry to add or edit
the following value:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Altiris\eXpress\Recovery Solution
Agent\NoSnapshotRollback
This is a DWORD value that should be set to either 0 (meaning the snapshot will be
performed) or 1 (meaning the snapshot will be skipped).
For additional rollback help, see Rollback Troubleshooting on page 224.
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To roll back a protected computer
1.
Before starting a rollback, you should ensure that there are no other programs open
on the protected computer. Recovery Solution automatically runs a Full System
Snapshot before the rollback starts (unless you have turned that option off), so
closing all programs helps to ensure that the latest versions of all data files are
protected.
2.
From the Task tab of the Resource Manager, click Rollback...
3.
Select a snapshot to return the protected computer to that point in time.
Only Full System Snapshots are listed. If any date and time settings are different
between the computer and the server, some older snapshots might not be available
for rollback. To see all available snapshots, the following settings must be identical
on your computer and the server: the date and time, the time zone, the state of the
option to automatically adjust the clock for Daylight Savings Time (whether this
option is on or off).
The snapshots affected by the Server Space Management job or containing some
corrupted data removed by the Integrity check job are not displayed.
The snapshots performed before applying a critical patch and from previous
Recovery Agent installations (performed before upgrade or reinstallation with an
existing account) will not be displayed on the server’s Rollback dialog unless you
enable the Show critical snapshots and snapshots from previous RS Agent
installations option. This will not display previous snapshots on the client's
Rollback dialog.
You can show snapshots from a previous Recovery Agent installation, but it is not
recommended.
Notes
If the protected computer previously had Microsoft Office 97 installed but upgraded
to Microsoft Office 2000, you should try to avoid rolling back the computer to a point
in time when Office 97 was installed. This might cause some Office files to be
restored incorrectly. If you must do this, you might need to reinstall Office 2000
after the rollback is complete.
If any date and time settings are different between the protected computer and the
server, some older snapshots might not be available for rollback. To see all available
snapshots, the following settings must be identical on the protected computer and
the server: (1) the date and time; (2) the time zone; (3) the state of the option to
automatically adjust the clock for Daylight Savings Time (whether this option is on
or off).
4.
Select the items to restore.
Note
If rollback is performed using a snapshot from an earlier version of Recovery
Solution, then after the recovery is complete, Recovery Agent must be reinstalled on
the protected computer with the user’s existing account.
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Restore system
and application
files only:
Choose this option to restore only those files required to run the
operating system and installed applications. User data files are not
restored.
Note
Recovery Solution determines if a file is considered “user data” by
looking at the file extension. The list of user data file extensions is
specified on the Rollback Data tab of the protected computer’s
properties. All file extensions not listed here are considered to be
system or application files, and are restored during any type of
rollback. (The configuration of rollback data is available only to
administrators through the console, not to protected computer
users.)
It is not always obvious from a file’s extension whether the file is a
system file or a data file. Example: the .DAT file extension is used
by some applications to store information that is actually part of
the program, while other applications use it to store options or
cached data, and still others use it as a default file extension for
data files created by users.
Before you start a rollback of system files only, you should
examine the list of user data file extensions to be sure that they
match the set of files that you consider to be user data. By
default, Recovery Solution considers most files to be system data.
This is done to ensure that the system works properly after the
rollback. However, you might want to add data file extensions to
the user data list (thereby preventing the rollback of these files)
for the following reasons.
z
Files that are not excluded from the rollback are overwritten if
an older version exists in the snapshot.
z
Excluding files that do not need to be rolled back means that
the rollback can be completed in a shorter amount of time.
Here are some examples of additional data file types you might
want to specify.
*.bmp (bitmaps)
*.htm (HTML files)
*.mp3 (compressed sound files)
*.nsf (Lotus Notes mail files)
*.txt (text files)
*.wav (sound files)
*.zip (compressed zip files)
Restore all files
(including your
data files):
Choose this option to restore data files as well as program files. All
of your applications and settings will be returned to their previous
state, and all of your data will be restored.
Caution
This option overwrites data files as well as program files. Some of
your files might be overwritten with older versions.
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Roll back master
boot record
Click Roll back master boot record if you want to restore the
computer’s master boot record and the boot sectors of all primary
partitions.
The master boot record is necessary to start Windows. It contains
information about the computer’s disk partitions and passes this
information along to other programs in order to start the
computer. The partition tables themselves are not rolled back by
Recovery Solution, but the program that reads the partition
information is. You might want to roll it back if you suspect that it
has become damaged or infected by a virus.
Note
Some virus protection programs, such as Norton Antivirus 5.0,
have an option to protect the computer’s boot code. If the
protected computer has Norton Antivirus installed with this option
turned on, and the master boot record has changed since the time
of the snapshot being restored, then during the rollback Norton
Antivirus prompts the user to accept or reject the rollback
changes to the master boot record. Whether the user decides to
accept or reject the change, the rollback continues normally but
does not restore either the master boot record or the Windows
registry.
Caution
If the file system of a drive has been changed since the snapshot
selected for rollback (Example: from FAT to NTFS), then the
drive’s boot sector is not restored during rollback. This could
cause the drive to become unbootable after the rollback is
complete.
Enable Rollback
file deletion
Click Enable Rollback file deletion if you want to delete
protected computer files that are not present in the snapshot you
are rolling back to.
Which files get deleted depends on what you choose to roll back.
If you roll back only system and application files, then only system
and application files that are not present in the snapshot are
deleted.
If you do not choose this option, no files are deleted during the
rollback.
Note
You can set a default value for this option for each protected
computer in the protected computer’s properties (Rollback Data
tab).
Note
After the rollback is complete, a text file named DELETION.LOG,
stored in the protected computer’s installation folder for Recovery
Agent, contains information about which files were deleted.
5.
Select the rollback method.
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This selects the method you want to use to determine whether or not files have
changed. An item is restored only if it is different from the protected copy on the
server.
Check file
properties only
(faster)
Choose this option if you want Recovery Solution to check the
properties (size, date/time) of each file to determine whether or
not it has changed. If any of these file properties are different for
the file on the protected computer than they are for the protected
copy on the server, the file is restored. If all file properties are the
same, the file on the protected computer is assumed to match the
protected copy, and restoration of that file is skipped.
Although unlikely, it is possible that two files can have the same
file properties but contain different data. If you want to ensure
that such files are restored, click Check all file data (more
thorough).
Check all file
data (more
thorough)
6.
Choose this option if you want Recovery Solution to check the
contents each file to determine whether or not it has changed.
This is a more thorough method than checking only the file
properties, but if you choose this option, the rollback might take
considerably longer.
Click Ok to begin the rollback.
Notes
If you are rolling a computer to a state where protected files must be replaced, a
Windows File Protection message may appear on the protected computer. If there is
a user at the protected computer, the user should either cancel the prompt to
restore files (choosing to keep the existing files), or simply ignore the prompt
altogether.
Certain error conditions that cause the rollback not to succeed might not report that
condition back to the console. If the rollback seems to be running for an excessively
long time, you should check the protected computer itself to see if any errors have
occurred. An administrator can cancel the job from the console job queue.
Depending on the files restored, the protected computer might need to be restarted
at the end of the rollback process.
If the protected computer’s drive configuration has changed since the time of the
snapshot to which you are rolling back, then the old drive configuration is restored,
but it is possible that one or more drives contains no data. To restore the data,
perform a second rollback to the snapshot you chose for the first rollback.
Temporary folders might have to be recreated manually. These are usually not
included in snapshots and are therefore not restored to the protected computer.
Certain applications might require the existence of temporary folders before they
will work properly.
In versions of Windows that include the System Restore feature, Recovery Solution
creates a restore point before starting the rollback.
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Perform a Snapshot Now
This option lets you start a snapshot of a protected computer without affecting its
schedule (a snapshot still runs at the next scheduled time).
1.
From the Task tab of the Resource Manager, click Snapshot Now.
2.
Specify the snapshot type.
3.
Select the path to take a snapshot of.
4.
To change the path, click the pencil icon.
5.
Click OK.
Manage Agent Setup Packages
Using this utility the administrators can modify what files and get installed on the
Protected Computer at time of install. A common uses is installing custom corporate
splash screen.
To perform recovery-based tasks on a computer using the Resource
Manager
1.
2.
Click the Tasks tab
3.
Select the Tasks > Incident Management > Recovery Solution folder.
4.
Click the Manage Agent Setup package policy.
5.
Download the application ASPack Utility by clicking on the link.
6.
Execute ASPack.
7.
Enter the location of the package. The default path for the Recovery Agent Solutions
Setup files is C:\Program Files\Altiris\Notification
Server\NSCap\Bin\Win32\X86\Recovery Agent Package
8.
There are two files that can be modified: AgentSetup.exe and Data1.cab.
9.
Select if you want to overwrite the source package. If you clear this box, enter a
location and filename of the new package.
10. Select the action to perform for

AgentSetup: you can only modify the package files

Data1.cab: you can modify the package files or change the client splash screen.
11. Click Start.
12. Add and delete files as needed and click Finish.
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Chapter 7
Advanced Snapshot and Recovery Procedures
This section describes procedures for performing certain types of advanced snapshots
and recoveries. These are procedures that are likely to be performed by an
administrator or to involve administrator assistance to users. Normal data protection
and recovery of typical workstations should not require these procedures. Ordinarily,
Recovery Solution performs snapshots according to a set schedule (see Configure
Snapshot Settings on page 78).
This section describes the following procedures:
z
Convert Encrypted Files on FAT Partitions (page 128)
z
Restoring a User’s Data to a Different Computer (page 129)
z
Full System Recovery (page 131)
z
Using the Snapshot Command-Line (page 147)
z
Using RSACmd.exe Utility (page 152)
A user can restore encrypted files on FAT partitions. Because these files are restored in
raw encrypted form, the user cannot read them. To convert restored files from the raw
encrypted form into the regular encrypted form, the user can use the EFSCONV utility.
After the files are converted, the user can access the converted files, but only if they had
access to the files before the backup.
EFSCONV can be used to convert raw encrypted files restored by Web-based File
Recovery. EFSCONV can also be used when the Recovery Agent failed to apply the
“encrypted” attribute to a restored file (Example: when there is not enough space to
create the regular encrypted file). In this case the restored file remains in raw encrypted
form and the user can use EFSCONV to convert it to the regular encrypted form.
Efsconv.exe is located on the Recovery Solution Server at C:\Program
Files\Altiris\Recovery Solution\Console. You can also access it through the Altiris Console
on the Tasks tab under Tasks > Incident Resolution > Recovery Solution >
Convert Encrypted Files on FAT Partitions.
To Convert Encrypted Files on FAT Partitions
1.
Restore encrypted files to a FAT partition, or use the Web-based File Recovery.
2.
Enter the following command at the command prompt:
EFSCONV.EXE <restored raw file path> <destination file path>
Note
The destination path must be on the NTFS partition.
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Restoring a User’s Data to a Different Computer
The following options are available for restoring a user’s data to a different computer.
z
Web-Based File Recovery (page 129)
z
Reinstall Recovery Agent Using the Same Account (page 129)
z
Restoring Data with the Migration Utility (page 130)
z
Restoring Data From Full System Recovery Media (page 146)
Note
Members of AeXRS_Managers group created during cluster setup can restore user data
using Web-Based File Recovery and the Migration utility for any protected computer.
Web-Based File Recovery
Users can recover files over the Internet by browsing to a Web site located on the server
for Recovery Solution. This allows users to access their protected data from any location,
not just from computers that have Recovery Agent installed.
For information about using Web-Based File Recovery, see Using Web-Based File
Recovery (page 57).
Note
Using Web-Based File Recovery, you cannot restore file and directory data from symbolic
links and junctions ("soft links").
Reinstall Recovery Agent Using the Same Account
If the installation is done using an existing account, the user will have access to all
previous snapshot data.
Note
With Windows domain security, multiple computers being protected by the same server
can use the same NT account. However, if installation using the same account is done on
a new computer, make sure that the new computer has a unique computer name.
For more information on how to re-install the Recovery Agent, see Interactive WebBased Agent Setup Wizard (‘Pull’ Installation) (page 53). For specific information on how
to install the Recovery Agent using an existing account, see Reinstalling the Recovery
Agent using an Existing Account on page 57.
After the agent has been re-installed, you can view files from previous installations.
To view files from previous installations
1.
On the protected computer, open the Recovery Agent Options dialog box
2.
Click the Snapshot and Restore tab.
3.
Click Restore Files.
4.
Click Advanced Selection.
5.
In Windows Explorer, click View > Recovery Solution Versions > Snapshots
From Previous Installations.
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You can use the Migrate utility to restore data to a computer other than the one from
which it was protected. Users can restore data to or from any computer on the network
that is accessible with their domain user account. The ability to restore to alternate
destinations makes the migrate utility very versatile.
Use the utility to do the following:
z
Restore data to a new or upgraded computer.
z
Restore data to alternate media, such as a CD-ROM.
Example: you can restore to a computer connected to a storage device such as a
CD-ROM writer. Then use the CD-ROM writer software to write to the CD-ROM. This
can be useful if the user is offsite and you need to ship data from the user’s desktop.
Note
This utility allows you to migrate only data files. If you need to migrate a user’s entire
system, including all application settings, you should use the full migration feature
instead.
To run the Migrate utility
1.
Download the program AeXMigrt.exe.
The migrate utility, AeXMigrt.exe is located on the Recovery Solution Server at
C:\Program Files\Altiris\Recovery Solution\Console. You can also access it through
the Altiris Console on the Tasks tab under Tasks > Incident Resolution >
Recovery Solution >Restore Data with the Migration Utility.
2.
At the user’s computer, do the following.

Ensure that Recovery Agent is installed.

Ensure that the user is logged on appropriately.
If this user has originally installed the Recovery Agent, then he or she will not
be prompted to log on. Otherwise, this user will need to log on and supply a
domain name as well.
3.
Copy AeXMigrt.exe from the floppy to the hard drive of the destination computer
and run it.
4.
In the dialog box that opens, enter the user’s logon information.
5.
Click OK to continue.
A dialog box shows all of the user’s snapshot data.
Use the dialog box to select folders or files for restore and specify a location on the
destination computer.
If the user ran snapshots on more than one computer, each computer appears in the
dialog box.
6.
When the restore is complete, remove the floppy from the destination computer and
delete AeXMigrt.exe from the computer’s hard drive.
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Caution
Protect network security. Do not leave the utility on a user’s computer. The utility is for
use when you need to restore data from a different protected computer, but with this
capability, users might access data that you do not want them to.
Failure Messaging
If a failure occurs during a restore, information is provided in a log file. The log file is
stored as C:\Program Files\Altiris\Recovery Soluiton Agent\Data\ CRA_Restore_<date of
the restore>.log. You can open the log file in a text editor.
Migrating a User to a New Computer
Altiris provides a way to migrate user accounts, computer settings, and files through
Altiris® PC Transplant Pro™. For more information, see www.altiris.com/products/
pctransplantpro/.
Full System Recovery
When other recovery methods are not possible, you can use Full System Recovery to
recover an entire protected computer using CD/DVD-ROMs, PXE, and USB media.
This section explains how to create Full System Recovery images and use Full System
Recovery in server-based mode.
z
Full System Recovery Overview (page 131)
z
Full System Recovery Setup (page 133)
z
Full System Recovery Disk Creation (page 134)
z
Full System Recovery Using PXE (page 139)
z
Full System Recovery from USB Media (page 139)
z
Running Full System Recovery (page 143)
z
Restoring Data From Full System Recovery Media (page 146)
z
Note
Full System Recovery is also available for protected computers running Local Recovery
Agent. For details, see Full System Recovery Options (page 54).
Full System Recovery Overview
Use Full System Recovery when other recovery methods, such as file restore and
rollback, cannot be used. Full System Recovery restores an entire protected computer to
the state it was in at the time of a Full System Snapshot that you choose. The operating
system itself is recovered, as well as all applications, settings, and data files. This
includes disk partitions and volumes and the restored disk must be either the same size
or larger.
The main reason to use Full System Recovery is if a protected computer is damaged to
the point that it cannot even start Windows. However, you might also use Full System
Recovery from to recover notebooks or other computers that do not have a fast
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connection to the network. For those computers, alternatives such as rollback might
take too long.
See also:
z
Full System Snapshots Are Necessary for Full System Recovery (page 132)
z
What Happens During Full System Recovery (page 132)
z
Constraints of Full System Recovery (page 132)
Full System Snapshots Are Necessary for Full
System Recovery
To ensure Full System Recovery protection, computers must have periodic snapshots
with the Full System Snapshot option selected. The other snapshot type, Partial
snapshot, does not provide Full System Recovery protection.
In addition, you should make sure that snapshots include all files necessary to start the
protected computer. Although boot and system drives are always included in Full System
Snapshots and cannot be removed, it is possible that some files required to start specific
drivers, services, or applications could be stored on other drives. Unless you have a
good reason for excluding a particular drive, you should ensure that schedules include
all protected computer drives.
For instructions on scheduling snapshots, see Configure Snapshot Settings on page 78.
What Happens During Full System Recovery
While most users can manage ordinary recoveries of their own data files, Full System
Recovery does require some administrator involvement. If a computer fails, the typical
Full System Recovery process is the following.
1.
The administrator creates a set of Full System Recovery disks.
2.
The administrator or the user starts Full System Recovery by restarting the
protected computer with the Full System Recovery disk.
3.
User input is required to initiate the DOS part of a FSR (except for Full System
Recovery from USB media), authentication is required to start the file recovery, and
a restart is required at the end of the FSR.
Recovery Solution performs the following steps during Full System Recovery.
z
Partitions and formats the hard disk drives.
z
Restores the basic operating system and settings.
z
Restores the remaining data.
Constraints of Full System Recovery
The following are conditions that must be met in order to successfully perform Full
System Recovery.
z
Full System Recovery can be performed from a Full System Snapshot that was done
using previous versions of Recovery Solution. To use snapshots from earlier versions
(back to 3.2), you must add all the user data to the CD/DVD-ROM image set.
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z
Drives formatted with the NTFS file system are always recovered with the default
allocation unit size of 512 bytes, regardless of the allocation unit size the drive
originally had.
z
Full System Recovery cannot be performed on a protected computer running disk
compression software (such as DriveSpace or Stacker).
z
Full System Recovery cannot be performed on a Windows 2000/XP protected
computer that uses dynamic disks. For a list of RAID adapters certified for Full
System Recovery, see Hard Disk Support on page 297.
z
In general, Full System Recovery can only be performed on the same protected
computer from which the Full System Snapshot was performed. In some cases Full
System Recovery can be performed on a computer that is not the same as the
originally protected computer, but there are limitations. Specifically, the recovered
computer must match the originally protected computer in the following ways.

The hard disk adapter types must match. Example: if the original computer had
an IDE hard disk adapter, the recovered computer cannot have a SCSI hard disk
adapter.

The network adapter cards must match.

The drivers required to run the hardware must match.

The hard disks on the recovered computer must be large enough to hold the
protected drives; during Full System Recovery, Recovery Solution cannot
separate files that were originally stored on the same drive.
z
Full System Recovery cannot re-create RAID configuration. So, before starting the
Full System Recovery on a computer with RAID, you must ensure that the
configuration is correct, or manually recreate the RAID configuration to be the same
as it used to be at the time of the snapshot selected for Full System Recovery.
z
The trial periods of shareware applications (like PerfectDisk, for example) can expire
after Full System Recovery because of the license violation prevention mechanisms
these applications use.
z
Full System Recovery can be performed only with the same keyboard and mouse,
which were used during snapshot selected for Full System Recovery. For example,
Full System Recovery will not work if PS2-compatible mouse and keyboard were
used during snapshot, but during FSR USB-compatible mouse and keyboard were
attached.
Full System Recovery Setup
Caution
The most important step you can take to prepare for Full System Recovery is to ensure
that all protected computers have regular Full System Snapshots scheduled. Partial
snapshots do not provide Full System Recovery protection. For instructions on
scheduling snapshots, see Configure Snapshot Settings on page 78.
You must also create a folder for storing FSR images and share that folder. Example:
\\servername\FSRShare.
See also: Items You Need at Recovery Time (page 134).
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Items You Need at Recovery Time
You need to have the following items ready when you run Full System Recovery.
z
Hardware and software required to create CDs or DVDs (for Full System
Recovery from CD/DVD)
Recovery Solution does not create CD/DVD-ROMs for you. You must create CD/
DVD-ROMs from the Full System Recovery images before you can recover the
protected computer.
z
z
1 blank or reusable 3.5" 1.44 MB diskette (if the protected computer
cannot boot from CD-ROM or DVD)

Make sure that the disk is blank or that you do not need any of the existing data
on it.

When the Full System Recovery is complete you no longer need the disk, so you
can reuse it for future recoveries.
CD-ROM or DVD driver (if the protected computer cannot boot from CDROM or DVD, and its CD-ROM or DVD drive has a SCSI interface) for Full
System Recovery from CD/DVD.
The boot diskette supports most EIDE CD-ROM drives automatically. If the protected
computer has a SCSI CD-ROM drive that requires drivers to be loaded before it can
be accessed, you must add the drivers to the boot floppy disk. For more
information, see Full System Recovery Disk Creation on page 134.
Full System Recovery Disk Creation
Creating the CD-ROMs or DVDs for Full System Recovery is usually a simple procedure.
You can create the disks at the time you need to run Full System Recovery.
To create Full System Recovery media
1.
In the Altiris Console, select any protected computer.
a.
Example: Click the Configuration tab. In the left pane, select Configuration
> Solution Settings > Incident Management > Recovery Solution >
Recovery Agent Settings folder.
b.
c.
d.
Click the Tasks tab.
e.
Click Create FSR Image.
Notes
Your browser must be set to run ActiveX applets.
If the Altiris Web site is configured to require SLL, to use the Full System
Recovery Wizard, you must either clear the Require SSL checkbox before
downloading the Wizard ActiveX component or use the Altiris Console from the
computer where Notification Server has been installed.
You can also right-click the computer in the collection and select Recovery
Solution Tasks to access a list of recovery tasks. In this case, right-click the
134
computer and click Recovery Solution Tasks > FSR Tasks > Create FSR
Image.
2.
Click Specify path.
3.
Specify the share location where Full System Recovery images will be stored (see
Full System Recovery Setup on page 133).
4.
Click Ok.
5.
Click Run FSR Wizard.
6.
Click an item from the Snapshot date drop-down list.
The snapshot you choose determines which versions of the protected computer’s
files are restored.
To ensure that the most recent data is restored, choose Use latest snapshot data
available at restore time.
Notes
The Snapshot date list does not include snapshots that are missing files due to
server space management and snapshots containing corrupted data (in case this
data was removed during Integrity Check job).
If any date and time settings are different between the protected computer and the
server, some older snapshots might not be available for Full System Recovery. To
see all available snapshots, the following settings must be identical on the protected
computer and the server: (1) the date and time; (2) the time zone; (3) the state of
the option to automatically adjust the clock for Daylight Savings Time (whether this
option is on or off).
using previous versions of Recovery Solution. When you use snapshots from earlier
versions, all user data will be included in the image.
7.
Under FSR media capacity, specify the type of media you are using.
8.
(Optional) To do the entire recovery from CD-ROM or DVD, select Include all user
data on CD-ROM.
Select this option if you want to do the entire recovery from CD-ROM or DVD.
Otherwise, only the temporary operating system is stored on the CD-ROM or DVD,
and Recovery Solution will connect to the server to restore the remaining data.
Note
Make sure that the network share for Full System Recovery has free disk space
equal to the total size of the CD-ROM or DVD images plus the maximum amount of
data for a single CD-ROM (up to 750 MB) or DVD, depending on the capacity of your
blank media.
Choosing this option makes the Use latest snapshot data available at restore
time option equivalent to simply choosing the snapshot with the latest date from
the list. If all the data is included on the CD-ROM or DVDs, Recovery Solution does
not connect to the server during Full System Recovery.
9.
(Optional) Password protect the image.
If you include all the user’s data on the CD-ROM or DVD, select the Password
protect CD-ROM. This prevents anyone from browsing the CD-ROM or DVD
135
contents and restoring files without performing Full System Recovery. Note that if
only the temporary operating system is stored on the CD-ROM or DVD, this option is
not available; at recovery time, the user must log on to the server to restore the
remaining data anyway.
a.
Select the Account name. The is the domain account name of the user.
b.
Enter and confirm the account password.
10. Edit image description.
You can edit the Image description field if you want to find this temporary
operating system image later.
11. (Optional) Create boot floppy disk.
If the protected computer is unable to start from CD-ROM or DVD, you can create a
boot floppy disk.
a.
Modify the boot floppy image.
You can add, delete, or edit the files that will be placed on the boot disk. To
modify the image, click Modify Boot Floppy Image.
SCSI CD-ROM Drivers
The Full System Recovery boot floppy provides broad support for EIDE CD-ROM
drives. However, if a protected computer uses a SCSI CD-ROM drive, a driver
for that particular SCSI controller must be added to the Full System Recovery
boot floppy. Which DOS SCSI driver (also known as “ASPI Manager”) to use
depends on the manufacturer and model of the SCSI controller.
Generally, adding DOS SCSI drivers to the Full System Recovery boot floppy
involves the following:

Determine which SCSI driver to add to the boot floppy.
Adaptec DOS SCSI drivers and information are available from Adaptec’s FAQ
page, at http://www.adaptec.com/worldwide/support/faqindex.html.
LSI Logic (maker of Symbios brand products) provides DOS SCSI drivers and
information on its web site, http://www.lsilogic.com/support/index.html.
Many other SCSI controller manufacturers also provide DOS SCSI drivers for
the products on their web sites.

In the root directory of the Full System Recovery boot floppy, locate the
config.sys file. In that file, you will need to replace the EIDE CD-ROM driver
information with the necessary lines to install the DOS SCSI CD-ROM drivers.
Replace the line DEVICE=OAKCDROM.SYS /D:mscd001 as follows:
For the Adaptec 2940U/UW controller:
DEVICE=A:ASPI8DOS.SYS /D
DEVICE=A:ASPICD.SYS /D:mscd001
For the Symbios SYM53C8XX line of SCSI controllers:
DEVICE=C:[PATH]ASPI8XX.SYS
DEVICE=C:[PATH]SYMCD.SYS /D:mscd001
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Note
Microsoft’s CD-ROM Extension “MSCDEX.EXE” is added automatically to the Full
System Recovery boot floppy and set to execute from the “AUTOEXEC.BAT” file,
with the line LH MSCDEX.EXE /D:mscd001. Note that the device name
“mscd001” matches the device name given with the /D switch used when
loading the DOS SCSI drivers above.
b.
Insert a blank or removable 1.44 MB 3.5-inch floppy disk.
c.
Click Create Boot Floppy Disk.
12. Check temporary operating systems settings.
When you choose a snapshot, Recovery Solution immediately checks the protected
data to verify that it contains the information required to run Full System Recovery.
Temporary operating system
During Full System Recovery, Recovery Solution starts by installing just enough of
the protected computer’s operating system to run Recovery Agent and securely
communicate with the server. This temporary operating system consists mainly of
files that Recovery Solution has detected as being required to start the protected
computer. This set of files should be sufficient to start the computer. However, you
have the option to add files from the protected computer’s snapshot to its
temporary operating system. Click the Advanced button in the Protected
Computer Settings area if you want to modify it, and then click Modify
temporary OS contents.
Note
Make sure the temporary operating system fits on a single media (Example: one
650 MB or one 4GB DVD) . Otherwise, Full System Recovery will not succeed.

The Protected Computer Files file tree shows all of the files contained in the
Full System Snapshot that you are recovering. The files with red check marks
are included in the temporary operating system image. The folders with red
check marks each contain one or more files that are included in the temporary
operating system image. The green files and folders without check marks were
added manually.

The Temporary Operating System file tree shows all of the files currently
contained in the temporary operating system that Recovery Solution will use to
start the computer during Full System Recovery.
Note
If the protected computer had an LMHOSTS file specifying network access
configurations, verify that this file is included in the list of temporary operating
system files. Inclusion of this file ensures that the protected computer will
retain its network configuration during recovery.

Use the Add and Remove buttons to modify the temporary operating system.
You can select multiple items by holding down the CTRL (1 item at a time) and/
or SHIFT (range of items) key while making your selections.

Choose Reset Image to put the temporary operating system image back to the
default set of files detected by Recovery Solution.
13. You can also modify the following options in the Advanced settings dialog:
137

Don’t restore the partition table and don’t format the volumes if they’re
already formatted
Enabling this option may be useful in case Full System Recovery fails when
recreating drives structure. See Using Full System Recovery Without Formatting
Drives Option (page 145).

Don’t delete source files after the ISO files creation
Enabling this option may be useful in case the administrator wants to perform
Full System Recovery from PXE or USB media.

Don’t use compression in temporary OS CAB files
Enabling this option may be useful in case data copying from FSR media fails in
DOS mode.
14. Click OK to close the Advanced settings dialog window.
15. Click Start to begin creating the Full System Recovery disk.
Progress information appears in the window as the disk is created.
Note
During this process, Recovery Solution creates large image files on the server. If you
cancel the process, the files already created are not automatically deleted. You
should delete them manually to conserve disk space.
16. Choose one of the following options to write Full System Recovery images to CD/
DVD-ROM.

Use a CD/DVD writer on a computer from which you can access the shared
network folder for Full System Recovery.
You need to find the image within the shared folder. Within the main folder you
should see a folder with the name of the server. Beneath this are folders that
have names in the format Computer_xxxx.IMG, where Computer is the
name of the protected computer you are creating the CD/DVD-ROMs for, and
xxxx is a number indicating the snapshot used (sequential from the oldest one
on the server). The folder contains an ISO image file for each CD/DVD-ROM in
the set.

Copy the images from the shared network folder to a location from which you
can write it to a CD/DVD.
You can do this from the Altiris Console. Select the protected computer, and
from the Action menu or the context menu, click Full System Recovery, then
Manage Images. Select the one you want, then click Copy To to copy the
image to another location.
Note
Depending on the size of the image, the copying process could take a long time.
When the folder is accessible to your CD/DVD writer, you can begin making the CD/
DVD-ROMs. You can use any standard CD/DVD writing software to create a CD/
DVD-ROM from the image file.
138
Notes
These files are CD-ROM images. To create CD-ROMs from these images, you must
use the feature of your CD writing software that is specifically designed to extract
the image information from a standard .ISO file and write it to a CD-ROM. The
option is typically called something like “Create CD From Image File.” If you simply
copy the file to the CD-ROM, it will not work for Full System Recovery.
Some CD-ROM drives might not be able to read CD-ROMs that have not been
finalized (or “closed”). This happens frequently with older NEC drives.* If you
encounter problems such as error messages claiming that files or folders cannot be
found, or if you find that the data on the CD-ROM cannot be browsed or manually
restored, you might need to ensure that you finalize the discs in your CD writing
software. The easiest way to do this is to create the CD-ROMs using the “disc-atonce” option.
* Information courtesy of Andy McFadden’s CD-Recordable FAQ (http://
www.cdrfaq.org).
Full System Recovery Using PXE
Recovery Solution integrates with Deployment Solution 6.5 and lets administrators
perform a Full System Recovery using PXE (Pre-Boot Execution Environment) over
network without physically attending the problematic computer and burning any Full
System Recovery CD or DVD-ROMs. Instead, the Full System Recovery data is
accessible through a network share. For information on how to configure the Full System
Recovery and PXE, see Article # 18934 in the Altiris Knowledgebase.
Full System Recovery from USB Media
Universal Serial Bus (USB) is the standard for connecting additional equipment to your
computer, like printers, scanners, webcam's, digital camera's, keyboards, mouse, hard
disks, etc. One of these devices is the so called thumbdrive, keychange disk, USB pen,
or flash drive etc. whatever you want to call them. You can use one of those as well as
USB hard disk drives to boot the protected computer and perform Full System Recovery
similarly as you would with the Full System Recovery CD/DVD.
Full System Recovery from USB media can be particularly useful for recovery of
protected computers which do not have a CD/DVD-ROM drive.
Unlike Full System Recovery from CD/DVD-ROM, using the USB media for the same
purpose requires specific preparation steps to be manually performed by the user.
Note
“Include All User Data” option is not supported for Full System Recovery from USB. Only
basic operating system (Mini OS) image can be restored from USB media.
Requirements for Full System Recovery from USB media
These are requirements for Full System Recovery from USB media.
z
The USB media must be bootable (most USB flash drives and hard disk drives are
compatible).
z
BIOS on target computer must support booting from a USB device.
139
z
USB drive must be properly formatted as bootable FAT16 partition before it can be
used as Full System Recovery media.
z
Full System Recovery floppy content and source Mini OS files (Full System Recovery
image content) must be copied to the USB drive and specially modified.
z
The selected snapshot size plus the size of Full System Recovery floppy files cannot
exceed 2GB (FAT16 partition limitation).
Note
Full System Recovery from USB media process is the same as the original Full System
Recovery from CD/DVD-ROM. The only step that is omitted is the 30-second timeout at
start-up when Full System Recovery prompts the user to press any key to initiate Full
System Recovery, since the USB bootable media is not formatted by the Recovery
Console Full System Recovery Wizard.
See also: Preparing the USB media for Full System Recovery (page 140).
Preparing the USB media for Full System Recovery
To prepare the USB media for Full System Recovery take the following steps in order:
1.
Create the Full System Recovery boot floppy disk (page 140)
2.
Create the Full System Recovery source files (page 140)
3.
Format the bootable USB media (page 141)
4.
Copy the Full System Recovery content to USB media (page 141)
Create the Full System Recovery boot floppy disk
Create a bootable Full System Recovery floppy. For information, see Full System
Recovery Disk Creation (page 134) step 11.
Create the Full System Recovery source files
For Full System Recovery from USB media, we need the temporary Full System
Recovery image source .CAB files created by Full System Recovery Wizard at run time.
The files are created in the Full System Recovery image location (see Full System
Recovery Setup on page 133) subfolder when the ISO image is compiled.
Configure the Full System Recovery Wizard with the following options and run the image
creation process (for details, see Full System Recovery Disk Creation on page 134).
1.
Choose the required snapshot.
2.
Select “CD 650MB” for FSR Media Capacity.
3.
Clear the Include all user data on CD-ROM checkbox.
4.
Set the Don’t delete source files after the ISO files creation check box in the
Advanced settings dialog of Full System Recovery Wizard to keep the source files
after the Full System Recovery image is created.
5.
Click Start.
Tip
The Full System Recovery souce files can also be obtained from the ISO image file using
a third-party ISO extraction utility.
140
Format the bootable USB media
Format the USB hard disk or flash drive as a bootable FAT16 DOS partition (2GB
maximum) manually or by using a third-party tool.
Note
Altiris Recovery Solution does not format the USB media. You must buy or find a
freeware tool for it.
Examples:
z
For HP Drive Key or DiskOnKey USB Device, use Windows-based format utility found
at http://h18000.www1.hp.com/support/files/serveroptions/us/download/
20306.html.
z
Use the FlashBoot utility (http://www.prime-expert.com/flashboot/). This utility
supports formatting of both USB hard drives and memory sticks, performing all the
steps that are required to make it bootable.
z
Format the USB media manually (for example, see http://www.weethet.nl/english/
hardware_bootfromusbstick.php). Both methods let you create a bootable USB
media with the boot OS (Free DOS, MS-DOS, Caldera DOS etc.).
Copy the Full System Recovery content to USB media
1.
Copy all files, except system files, from the Full System Recovery floppy into the
root folder of USB media. The following files are required (highlighted on the
picture).

autoexec.bat

config.sys

display.sys

ega.cpi

keyb.com

mode.com

pclean.exe

readme.txt

restore.dat

rndm_dr.exe

strings.ini

vdisk.sys
141
2.
Modify and save the AUTOEXEC.BAT, CONFIG.SYS and RESTORE.DAT files (for
example, using Notepad application) in the USB media root folder.
a.
AUTOEXEC.BAT. Remove all references to MSCDEX.EXE, Nwcache.exe and hardcoded paths. The file must look as follows:
@echo off
mode con codepage prepare=((437)ega.cpi)
mode con codepage select=437
rndm_dr.exe
b.
CONFIG.SYS. Remove all references to oakcdrom.sys driver. The file must look
as follows:
files=30
lastdrive=z
DEVICE=Vdisk.sys 4096 512 128 /E:8 /X
DEVICE=DISPLAY.SYS CON=(EGA,,1)
c.
RESTORE.DAT. Adding “USBFSR=1” line. The file must look as follows:
CD=1
FLOPPY=1
USBFSR=1
3.
Copy the following Mini OS source files (created at Create the Full System Recovery
source files on page 140) into the root folder of USB media as is — no other
modifications needed:

DISK1 (folder)

Browse CD.cds

FLOPPY.IMG

Readme.txt
142
Finally, the USB drive content should look similar to the contents of the USB drive F on
the picture (Free-DOS was used in this example, MS-DOS or Caldera DOS can be used
as well)
Running Full System Recovery
Before running Full System Recovery, ensure that a snapshot is not scheduled for the
day. Otherwise, it could run during Full System Recovery and interfere with the process.
Then, run an integrity check job to ensure that the database is refreshed before
recovery starts.
Note
By default, performing a Full System Recovery will reformat the computer’s hard dive. If
the computer has data that is not part of a snapshot, and you want to preserve the data,
you can run the Full System Recovery without formatting the hard drive. For more
information, see Using Full System Recovery Without Formatting Drives Option
(page 145).
To run a Full System Recovery
1.
Turn the computer off.
Note
It is important to turn the computer off rather than simply restarting it. When you
turn the computer off, all of the memory is cleared, which helps ensure that you will
not run into memory problems when you boot from the Full System Recovery disk.
2.
Insert the first disk or CD-ROM in the recovery set (if you are using a disk, make
sure the disk is not write-protected) or insert the USB media into the slot and turn
the computer on.
143
Notes
Some Toshiba computers cannot be recovered by booting from the floppy disk. For
Toshiba computers, insert the first CD-ROM, then press the C key during bootup to
force the computer to boot from the CD-ROM. Booting from the CD-ROM is the
preferred solution for Toshiba computers, since it can take up to half an hour to boot
from the floppy disk.
Important
In case of Full System Recovery from USB media, the computer BIOS must be
configured to boot from the USB device.
3.
A confirmation prompt with a countdown appears. To boot from Full System
Recovery disk and begin the recovery, press any key.
If you do not answer the prompt within the timeout period, the computer boots
normally from the hard disk. To restart Full System Recovery, turn the computer off
and back on again.
Notes
This confirmation prompt appears whenever the computer is started with Full
System Recovery media in a bootable drive. For subsequent restarts during Full
System Recovery, you should either remove the disks before the restart, or you
should ignore the prompt and let the computer start normally.
The confirmation prompt does not appear in case of Full System Recovery from USB
media.
4.
The Full System Recovery confirmation appears. To start the recovery, press F10.
Recovery Solution partitions and formats the hard drives. It also installs the
temporary operating system on the hard disk, and Windows Setup restarts the
computer. This could take some time, depending on the size of the temporary
operating system. Expect it to take up to 30 minutes for Windows 2000 computers.
Note
If the Full System Recovery fails in formatting the hard drives, see Using Full
System Recovery Without Formatting Drives Option (page 145).
5.
When prompted, remove the Full System Recovery disk.
Recovery Solution restarts the computer and continues the Full System Recovery.
6.
When prompted, you can choose to restore the remaining data either directly from
the CD-ROM or over the network, from the Recovery Solution Server. If the data is
not accessible from one of these places, the appropriate option is disabled, and you
must choose the other one.
7.
If you are recovering from a CD-ROM that is not password protected, Full System
Recovery continues automatically after 30 seconds, or you can click OK to continue
immediately.
Otherwise, specify the account information according to the recovery data source:
If you are restoring data over the network, specify the account information of
any authorized Recovery Solution user.
144
If you are restoring data directly from CD-ROM, specify the account information
of the user the administrator selected when he created the recovery CD-ROM
set for this computer. If the CD-ROM set has been password-protected, you will
also need the password that was assigned to the CD-ROM set at that time.
8.
Recovery Solution restores the complete snapshot to the protected computer (from
the Recovery Solution Server or from CD-ROM), and restarts the computer.
Note
If there are a large number of files on the CD-ROM set, data restore might be very
slow, and might appear to be making no progress for some minutes. In this case,
Full System Recovery has not failed; the process is simply slow.
9.
Temporary folders might have to be recreated manually. These are usually not
included in snapshots and are therefore not restored to the protected computer.
Certain applications might require the existence of temporary folders before they
will work properly.
Using Full System Recovery Without Formatting
Drives Option
If the Full System Recovery fails in formatting the hard drives, you can perform a Full
System Recovery with a no-format option. You can also use this option to protect data
that is not part of a snapshot.
Caution
If you decide to use the “No format” option, partitions must be formatted prior to
running the Full System Recovery; otherwise, the recovery can fail leaving the computer
in an unusable state in case the non-formatted partitions are incorrectly identified.
Notes
If you are using this option because the Full System Recovery failed, you should first
manually re-format your hard drives and create a new system partition. The system
partition that you create must correspond with the Windows system, which will be
restored by Full System Recovery.
The copying of the Mini OS under DOS cannot be performed on NTFS volumes. All
partitions which contain Mini OS data should be reformatted as FAT or FAT32. The
partitions will later be converted back to NTFS.
This feature cannot be performed on FAT partitions larger than 2 GB, or on NTFS
partitions larger than 2 GB.
To run Full System Recovery without formatting hard drives
1.
Complete the first four steps from To run a Full System Recovery (page 143).
2.
Press and hold the Ctrl key during the boot from Full System Recovery media.
3.
From the No format Full System Recovery menu, select to start Full System
Recovery without formatting drives.
After this, Full System Recovery will proceed as usual, but without drives formatting.
145
Norton AntiVirus Notes
If the protected computer has Norton AntiVirus installed, you may encounter the
following errors during Full System Recovery.
z
If you begin Full System Recovery by restarting the protected computer with the Full
System Recovery disk or CD-ROM inserted, Norton AntiVirus might claim that it
detects a boot sector virus, even though there is not one. To work around the virus
error, remove the disk or CD-ROM, turn the computer off, then restart the computer
with the Full System Recovery disk or CD-ROM already inserted.
z
After Recovery Solution copies the temporary operating system files, you might see
a Norton AntiVirus error regarding the file SYMEVNT.386. This happens because
virus protection program files are not included in the temporary operating system.
Press Enter to continue past this error and the Full System Recovery continues
normally.
z
After Full System Recovery is complete, you might see a Norton AntiVirus warning
indicating that security resources have been tampered with. You can safely close
and ignore this error.
z
After Full System Recovery is complete, evaluation versions of Norton AntiVirus
might claim that they are expired and stop working.
Restoring Data From Full System Recovery Media
A user can restore data directly from Full System Recovery CD/DVD-ROMs and other
media. This method can be used to move files to a new or upgraded computer. Data can
also be restored this way if a protected computer is functional but Full System Recovery
is impossible or inconvenient.
An administrator can ensure that the CD/DVD-ROM is password-protected, so only a
user who knows the username and password that the files were protected under can
retrieve them.
To restore data from Full System Recovery CD/DVD-ROM
1.
Start the computer in Windows.
2.
Insert the CD or DVD-ROM that you want to restore your data from.
3.
If Recovery Agent is not installed or is not working properly, run the CD/DVD-ROM
file Disk1\Agent\CDViewer.exe to enable browsing of the image.
You do not have to do this if Recovery Agent is still functional on the computer.
4.
Open the file Browse CD.cds from the root folder of the media.
5.
If prompted, enter the username and password that were used to protect the data.
6.
Browse and restore drives, folders, and files from the CD/DVD-ROM as you normally
would do using Windows Explorer.
Erasing the Partition Table
You may need to erase the partition table on a client computer if after a full system
recovery converts partitions to NTFS, computer restarts, but does not boot.
This symptom could occur when the partition information in a disk’s Master Boot Record
(MBR) does not match the information in the disk controller.
146
To fix the problem, you need to erase the partition table from the MBR. You can use the
pclean.exe program installed with the console for this purpose.
Pclean.exe is located on the Recovery Solution Server at C:\Program
on the Tasks tab under Tasks > Incident Resolution > Recovery Solution > Erase
Partition Table.
To erase the protected computer’s partition tables
1.
Boot the protected computer to DOS.
To do this you can boot using Full System Recovery disks and then press N to
cancel.
2.
From the DOS prompt, run pclean.exe.
3.
You will be prompted to enter disk numbers from which you want to erase the
partition tables.
If you know which disk is causing the problem, you can erase only that partition
table. Otherwise, you might have to erase them all.
4.
After you have erased the partition tables, restart Full System Recovery.
Using the Snapshot Command-Line
Ordinarily, Recovery Solution performs snapshots according to a set schedule. In some
cases, however, you might want to take a snapshot of a computer as part of the process
of running an application on the computer, in order to ensure that information changed
by the application is protected in case of potential problems with the data later on.
Example: if a user is updating a local copy of one or more central databases over the
Internet and there are problems during the transmission of these files, it might be
necessary to restore the local copies of the databases to their pre-transmission state
and restart the update. But if some of the files are protected, it might be possible to
restore later versions of the files and avoid re-transmitting much of the content.
A command-line interface in Recovery Agent can be used to start a snapshot in these
situations. To run it, include a call to the executable file install path\Altiris\Recovery
Solution Agent\AeXCmd.exe in your application’s batch command file. You can also run
this file manually from a DOS-style command prompt.
AeXCmd.exe determines which data to protect as follows.
1.
If the protected computer has remote access options configured for Recovery Agent,
the files specified in the remote access options are included in the snapshot.
2.
If no remote access options are defined, a Full System Snapshot is performed on all
local drives. (There is no way to restrict the files being protected to those created by
the application.)
Note
AeXCmd.exe runs manual snapshots. If additional snapshots are scheduled, they will
still be performed.
See also:
z
Scheduling Snapshots with the Command-Line Interface (page 148)
z
Command-Line Syntax (page 148)
147
z
Exit Codes (page 150)
Scheduling Snapshots with the Command-Line Interface
Under certain circumstances, you might want to schedule snapshots using the
command-line interface instead of the protected computer’s properties. One reason for
doing this is to be able to process additional commands just before or after running the
snapshot, stopping services to ensure that important files are not locked during the
snapshot. You can include all of the commands that you want to run together in a batch
file that you can schedule as a single item.
Tasks can be scheduled using Windows Task Scheduler on any protected computer that
has a recent version of Windows and Internet Explorer installed. Tasks can also be
scheduled in Windows 2000/XP using the AT command-line program (see Windows Help
for details.) You might want to disable the normal schedule for snapshots in the
protected computer’s properties so that all snapshots run from the command line
together with the associated commands, and you will not have to try to figure out which
snapshots are valid later on.
Note
By default, Windows 2000/XP runs scheduled tasks using the credentials of the local
computer’s SYSTEM account. This means that if the server is running in Windows
domain security mode, then the user is prompted for valid credentials before the
snapshot runs. The prompt can be circumvented by specifying the credentials in
scheduled task created with Task Manager.
Command-Line Syntax
The following usage scenarios are available using the AeXCmd command-line:
z
Full system snapshot. By default, all drives will be included in snapshot.
aexcmd.exe /RunFullSnapshot [/AutoClose] [/Wait] [/Local]
[/Folder:<drive letter:>] [/Silent]
z
Partial snapshot. A partial snapshot does not include registry backup and FSR
data collection. Rollbacks cannot be initiated to such snapshot.
aexcmd.exe /RunSnapshot [/AutoClose] [/Wait] [/Local]
[/Folder:<path to folder>] [/File:<path to file>] [/Silent]
At least one parameter (/folder or /file) must be used, otherwise an error will be
reported. You can specify one or more “/folder” and “/file” arguments.
Example
aexcmd.exe /runsnapshot /folder:"c:\folder1"
/folder:"d:\folder2" /file:"e:\somefile" /wait
z
Rollback. By default, only system and application files will be restored.
aexcmd.exe /Rollback [/AutoClose] [/Wait] [/Local] [/NoReboot]
148
[/Folder:<drive letter:>] [/AllData] [/Silent]
z
Restore. By default, it restores the same data that was backed up during the
snapshot.
aexcmd.exe /Restore [/AutoClose] [/Wait] [/Local]
[/Folder:<drive letter:>] [/Silent]
z
Apply settings. This command can be used to reapply Recovery Agent settings on
clients.
aexcmd.exe /ApplySettings
Parameters description
The command-line parameters are described below. Parameters are not case-sensitive.
AeXCmd.exe command-line parameters
Parameter
Description
/Runfullsnapshot
Performs a full snapshot (same as without parameters).
/Runsnapshot
Performs a partial snapshot.
Usage:
/Runsnapshot [/file:<full file path> or /folder:<full folder
path>]
/rollback
Performs a rollback to latest full snapshot performed by
AexCmd utility. By default, only system and application files
will be restored. To restore all data, add the ‘/AllData’
switch.
/restore
Performs a restore of data from the latest snapshot
performed by AeXCmd.
Usage:
/folder:<drive letter>
Use the /folder:<drive letter> parameter to select a drive to
restore. Example: if the previous snapshot included C: and
D: drives, then using /Restore with /Folder:D: will start a
restore of all data backed up from D: drive only.
/Wait
Specifies that the program should not exit until the
snapshot is complete or returns an error code in the case of
failure. In a batch file, this prevents any subsequent
commands from running until the snapshot has finished.
If this parameter is not specified, subsequent commands
run while the snapshot is running.
/AutoClose
The progress screen will be closed after snapshot/restore/
rollback is finished.
149
AeXCmd.exe command-line parameters (Continued)
Parameter
Description
/Local
For mixed mode, forces a local snapshot/restore/rollback to
be performed. If not specified, a remote operation will be
performed in mixed mode.
/NoReboot
The automatic restart will not be performed after rollback.
/Folder
Specifies a full path to folder (or drive) that must be backed
up/restored (only drive letters are accepted by restore/
rollback operations).
/File
Specifies a full path to file that must be backed up.
/Archive
Creates an “archived” snapshot that will not be deleted
through Server Space Management jobs. This is useful for
creating a “golden” image of a computer. This parameter
can only be used with local snapshots, not server-based
snapshots.
/Silent
All operations will be performed silently, invisible to the
user.
/AllData
Instructs rollback to restore all data files as well as program
files. All of your applications and settings will be returned to
their previous state, and all of your data will be restored.
/ApplySettings
Rereads and reapplies Recovery Agent settings.
In most cases, the /AutoClose and /Wait parameters should be used together. If the
/Wait parameter is used alone, the restore or rollback process can stop, waiting for
user input.
When performing a full snapshot, you can limit the number of drives/volumes that are
backed up by specifying them using the /folder parameter. By default, all volumes are
backed up. The system and boot volumes will always be included in full snapshot.
Exit Codes
AeXCmd.exe returns exit codes that can be retrieved in a batch file by checking the
ERRORLEVEL value. For more information about checking exit codes, see Windows Help.
AeXCmd.exe exit codes
Exit
Code
Description
0
Success.
1
Failure. The protected computer is disabled for snapshots and
recoveries.
2
Failure. Another task is already running on the protected computer.
3
Failure. Recovery Agent must be upgraded before a snapshot can run.
128
“Invalid command line arguments.”
129
“Failed to initialize MFC.”
150
AeXCmd.exe exit codes (Continued)
Exit
Code
Description
130
“Failed to initialize COM.”
131
“Failed to initialize event chain.”
132
“Failed to query mediator interface.”
133
“Failed to obtain mediator state.”
134
“Update is required.”
135
“Error creating manual snapshot specification.”
136
“Error submitting job.”
137
“Job failed or was cancelled.”
138
“Cannot reschedule job.”
139
“Failed to query job queue interface.”
140
“Failed to initiate scheduled job start.”
141
“Failed to update job status.”
142
“Created snapshot specification is empty.”
143
“Created restore job specification is empty.”
144
“Failed to obtain registered volumes list.”
145
“Failed to obtain client key.”
146
“Failed to obtain snapshot job data.”
147
“Error creating restore specification.”
148
“Failed to query DSSBS interface.”
149
“Failed to query DSFileSystemView interface.”
150
“Failed to submit rollback job.”
151
“Failed to obtain client information.”
152
“Failed to create metajob specification.”
153
“Cannot read job key from registry.”
154
“Rollback cannot be initiated from partial snapshot.”
155
“Failed to obtain system folder.”
156
“Failed to obtain client rights.”
157
“Insufficient rights to perform rollback.”
158
“Insufficient rights to perform restore.”
159
“Insufficient rights to perform snapshot.”
160
“Invalid context was selected for rollback/restore operation.”
161
“Memory allocation error.”
162
“Registry agent failed to restore registry.”
163
“Failed to query DSFileSystem interface.”
164
“The snapshot was critically retentioned.”
151
Using RSACmd.exe Utility
RSACmd.exe utility, provided for integration with Altiris® PC Transplant Solution™, is
located on each protected computer at install path\Altiris\Recovery Solution Agent. You
can use this utility locally on a protected computer to initiate Full System Snapshot and
to restore separate files. In order to restore files, you need to specify them in XML
(Extensible Markup Language) and supply the specification file using command-line
switches.
RSACmd command-line parameters
Parameter
Description
/FullSnapshot
Take full system snapshot
/Job:<path to XML file
specifying items to
restore>”
Restore items specified in XML file
/?
Display help on RSACmd.exe input
parameters
The following are some examples of syntax (with possible parameters) for using
RSACmd.exe utility with command-line switches.
Note
Command-line parameters are not case-sensitive.
Run full system snapshot
rsacmd.exe /fullsnapshot
Restore files
RSACmd.exe /job :”<path to XML file specifying items to restore>”
XML file format
<?xml version=”1.0” encoding=”utf-8” ?>
<Jobs>
<Job type=”restore”>
</Items <File Name=”source file name”
Source=”source folder path”
Dest=”destination folder path”/>
</Items>
</Job>
</Jobs>
152
Chapter 8
Using Recovery Solution Reports and Job Queue
Recovery Solution lets administrators monitor Recovery jobs using the Recovery
Solution job queue and provides the following reports:
z
Client Reports
Client reports provide summaries of the data on the server. You can use this
information to help you manage snapshots and recoveries.
The following client reports are available:
z

Client Event History

Clients with No Full Snapshot in Last ‘N’ Days

File Extensions Backed Up by Client

File Recovery History

Full System Recovery History

Most Recent Recovery Solution Events

Recovery Solution Clients by Version

Recovery Solution Jobs in Last ‘N’ Days

Snapshot History

Snapshot Status

System Rollback History
Local Reports
Local reports provide summaries of the data on the server. You can use this
The following local reports are available:
z

Computers by Agent Version

Computers with Local Agent

Computers with Potential Space Issues

Computers without Local Agent

Most Recent Recovery Solution Events

Computers with Local Agent by Linux Kernel Version
Server Reports
Server reports provide summaries of the data on the server. You can use this
The following server reports are available:

Cluster Space Usage Trend

Computers with more than one Recovery Agents Settings Policy Applied
153
z

Data Collector

File Extensions Backed Up by Cluster

Health Alerts

Largest Files

Search for a File

Cluster Disk Space Currently Used

Unsuccessful Jobs in Last ‘N’ Days

Users

Users with Web Based File Recovery Access

Users without Web Based File Recovery Access

Clients

Clients registered under default account

Critical Software Bulletins
Critical Software Delivery Tasks
To open the Recovery Solution job queue
1.
2.
Select Dashboards > RS Cluster Job Queue.
This will show all currently running Jobs on all clusters.
3.
Click Show pending jobs icon
to show all scheduled jobs as well as currently
executing jobs on all clusters.
4.
Click the Hide pending jobs icon
5.
Click the Refresh the job queue icon
to show only current running jobs.
to update the current view.
Note
You can view details for a running client job. Right-click on a job in the list and select
Details from the menu. No details are available for server jobs.
To access Recovery Solution reports
1.
2.
In the left pane, click the report type and report you want to use.
154
Part II
Using the Recovery Agent
The following chapters describe how to manually install and perform tasks using the
Recovery Agent on client computers:
z
Getting Started with the Recovery Agent (page 156)
z
Configuring the Recovery Agent (page 162)
z
Advanced Recovery Agent Tasks (page 183)
155
Chapter 9
Getting Started with the Recovery Agent
The Getting Started tasks guide you through the basic setup, configuration, and use of
the Recovery Agent.
Getting Started tasks
z
Manually Install the Recovery Agent (page 156)
z
Take the Initial Snapshot (page 157)
z
View Your Recovery Agent Options (page 157)
z
Ensure Automatic Snapshots Are Taken Successfully (page 158)
z
Take an Unscheduled Full System Snapshot (page 158)
z
Take an Unscheduled Partial Snapshot (page 159)
z
View and Restore Protected Files (page 159)
z
Save and Restore Network Settings (page 161)
Prerequisites for Getting Started tasks
z
Notification Server 6.0 with SP3.
z
Recovery Solution 6.2 SP2.
z
One client computer running a supported Windows operating system with the Altiris
Notification Server 6.0 Agent and the Recovery Agent 6.2 SP2 installed on it.
Manually Install the Recovery Agent
The Recovery Agent Setup Wizard lets you install the Recovery Agent, which will run on
the computer and take automatic snapshots of all the data.
To install the Recovery Agent
1.
Open the Recovery Agent Setup Wizard by entering the page address provided by
your administrator in the Internet Explorer Address bar. Click Next.
Notes
The default address of the Recovery Agent Setup Wizard page is http://server/
rsagent, where server is the address of the Recovery Server computer.
64-bit Recovery Agent installation is not available through the Web-Based Setup
Wizard.
2.
On the Customize your Altiris Recovery Agent page, select one or both of the
following options:

Server-based Mode
In this mode, files are backed up to and restored from a Recovery Server.
156

Local Mode
In this mode, files are backed up to and restored from your computer's hard
disk. The Recovery Agent will create the Recovery Agent Partition where your
snapshots will be stored. The partition is created inside the existing Windows
partition.
3.
Select additional setup options:
a.
Select Do not prompt to reboot after Recovery Agent installation.
Your computer will restart automatically.
b.
Select Skip the initial snapshot after the agent installation.
By default, the Recovery Agent attempts to take a snapshot of the computer
immediately after successful installation. If you select this option, the initial
snapshot will not be started but your data will be backed up during the next
scheduled snapshot or you can back them up manually.
4.
Click Next.
5.
On the Select Installation Type page, click Create New Account to create a new
account on the server.
6.
Click Next.
7.
Click Install and follow the instructions on the screen to complete the installation.
Take the Initial Snapshot
After you install the Recovery Agent and restart the computer, a dialog will prompt you
to take a Full System Snapshot of the system.
To take the initial snapshot
1.
In the Take initial snapshot dialog, click Take Snapshot Now.
Note
(Local mode only) Clear the Update snapshot schedule box at the bottom of the
dialog if you do not want the existing snapshot schedule updated according to the
specified settings.
2.
In the Take Snapshot dialog, select the required Snapshot type.
View Your Recovery Agent Options
You can see how the Recovery Agent is configured on your computer and change the
settings if your administrator granted the appropriate rights. For information on
changing the agent options, see Configuring the Recovery Agent (page 19).
To view Recovery Agent options
These are the ways to access the Recovery Agent Options dialog:
z
Option 1: Double-click the Recovery Agent icon
located on the desktop.
157
Note
If the icon is not on the desktop, you might have moved it to your “My Computer”
folder.
z
Option 2: Select Start > Programs > Altiris > Recovery Agent > Recovery
Agent Options.
Ensure Automatic Snapshots Are Taken Successfully
The Recovery Agent has a default automatic snapshot schedule. Your administrator can
configure Recovery Agent so that snapshots of your files are taken regularly.
Notes
To view the snapshot schedule and options for your computer, see View Your Recovery
Agent Options (page 157).
You can make changes to your snapshot schedule if your administrator granted you the
rights. See Configuring the Recovery Agent (page 19).
Follow these guidelines to ensure that your scheduled snapshots are taken.
z
Schedule snapshots at appropriate times.

The best time for your snapshots to run is while you are not using your
computer. Although you can continue using your computer while the snapshot is
taken, we recommend taking snapshots when the computer is not being used
because it degrades computer performance.

If you use a portable computer in server-based mode, your snapshots will
usually run when you connect to the network, regardless of the scheduled
snapshot time.
z
Determine whether the Wake on LAN option is enabled on your computer (see
Attempt to wake the client before a scheduled snapshot on page 31). If it is not,
leave your computer on all the time. You can log out or use a password-protected
screen saver to ensure security.
z
Continue to use the regular backup features that come with programs (such as
Microsoft Office) because Recovery Agent usually takes a snapshot of your computer
once a day, so if something happens to your files just before your snapshot runs,
you could still lose a whole day’s work.
Take an Unscheduled Full System Snapshot
The Full System Snapshot includes your computer’s configuration and operating system
files. In server-based mode, this makes Full System Recovery possible in case your
computer’s disk drive fails. This makes a Full System Recovery possible in case Windows
fails to start. A Full System Snapshot will include everything on a selected drive except
for excluded files.
For immediate protection of recently created files, you can perform snapshots manually
through Windows Explorer.
To run the Full System Snapshot manually
1.
Right-click the My Computer icon and click Snapshot.
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2.
Click Full System Snapshot.
The dialog box lists all the drives in your computer. Set or clear the check box next
to any drive that you do not want to exclude or include in the snapshot. You cannot
clear either the startup drive or the drive with the installed operating system.
(Usually, they are both on drive C.)
3.
Click OK to continue with the snapshot.
4.
In the Snapshot of Local Drive(s) dialog, click Start.
The Altiris Recovery Agent Snapshot Progress dialog window appears.
Take an Unscheduled Partial Snapshot
A partial snapshot protects only the files that you select. In case of failure, you cannot
use a partial snapshot for Full System Recovery of your computer.
To run a partial snapshot
1.
In Windows Explorer, select one or more drives, folders, and files to include in the
snapshot.
2.
Right-click your selections and click Snapshot.
Note
The Snapshot command is not available if none of the selected items are stored on
supported media.
3.
A dialog box opens and prompts you for a descriptive label for your snapshot.
Accept the default description that uses the current date and time.
4.
Click Start.
5.
The Snapshot Progress window appears and shows the status of the snapshot.
You can use your computer during the snapshot.
To cancel the snapshot, click Stop. Start the snapshot again to ensure that your
data is protected.
When the snapshot finishes, the Stop button changes to Close. Click Close.
View and Restore Protected Files
Using the Recovery Agent folder in the Windows Explorer tree, you can view the files and
folders in the snapshots.
To view protected files
1.
In the Recovery Agent Options dialog, click the Snapshot and Restore tab.
2.
Click Restore Files.
3.
Click Advanced Selection.
4.
Select the Altiris Recovery Agent folder, which displays drive snapshots.
5.
Browse the folders in the snapshot.
6.
Double-click a drive in the window to view folders and files.
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To view earlier versions
1.
In Windows Explorer, click the View menu.
2.
Select Recovery Solution Versions.
3.
Select one of the following options:

All Versions
Choose this option to display all snapshots of your files.
If you are viewing all file details (View > Details), the Snapshot Taken
column shows the date and time that each snapshot originally ran.
Note
In some cases, the time displayed in the Snapshot Taken column is the only
way to distinguish the difference between two or more versions of a file. This
happens if the file itself did not change between snapshots, but some properties
of the file did. Example: Recovery Solution creates a new version of the file if
the only change is in its NTFS security attributes.

Latest Version Only
Choose this option to display the most recent snapshot of each file. Even files
that were excluded in the most recent snapshot are displayed, as long as they
were in a previous snapshot.
4.
If you have installed the Recovery Agent more than once (or if the software was
automatically updated from the server), select from the following additional options:

Snapshots From All Installations (default)
Choose this option to display protected files from all of your Recovery Agent
installations.

Snapshots From Current Installation
Choose this option to display protected files only from your current Recovery
Agent installation.

Snapshots From Previous Installations
Choose this option to display protected files only from your previous Recovery
Agent installations.
Notes
If you are viewing all file details (View > Details), the Snapshot Taken column
shows the date and time that each snapshot originally ran.
However, if you restore a folder containing the secure item, the item will also be
restored (but you still will not have access to open it).
To restore files
You can restore any version of a file that is displayed.
1.
Browse the items in the snapshot. See To view protected files (page 159).
2.
Select the items to restore, and then drag the files to their destination on your local
hard disk. Alternatively, you can right-click the selected items and click Restore.
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If files or folders with the same name already exist at the destination, Recovery
Solution lets you choose whether to replace them.
The Restore Progress window appears, showing the status of the restore.
3.
To cancel the restore, click Stop.
When the restore finishes, the Stop button changes to Close. Click Close.
For information about other ways to restore files and computer settings in case of
failure, see the following sections:
z
Performing Rollbacks (page 39)
z
Full System Recovery Options (page 41)
z
Using Web-Based File Recovery (page 44)
Save and Restore Network Settings
Whenever you start your computer or make a successful Dial-Up Networking connection,
Recovery Agent saves your computer’s remote network settings, including all of your
Dial-Up Networking, Virtual Private Networking connections, and Direct Connection
settings (if you are running Windows 2000/XP). If your networking settings change and
you cannot make a connection, restore the settings from one of the network setting
snapshots.
To save and restore network settings
1.
In the system tray, right-click the Recovery Agent icon.
2.
Click Network Setting Snapshots.
In this dialog box, you can create and delete snapshots, as well as restore settings
from existing snapshots.
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Chapter 10
Configuring the Recovery Agent
You can configure Recovery Agent options by using the Recovery Agent Options dialog
box.
Note
If a section of the dialog box is disabled or missing, only the administrator can change
those settings.
To change Recovery Agent options
1.
Open the Recovery Agent Options dialog box (see View Your Recovery Agent
Options on page 15).
Note
When you are using the Recovery Agent in mixed mode, you will be prompted to
select one mode to view the settings.
In the Recovery Agent Options dialog box, the following tabs are displayed:
Recovery Agent Options Tabs
Tab
Function
Snapshot and
Restore
Displays status information about your See Snapshot and Restore
snapshots and restores, and lets you
Dialog Box on page 164.
perform snapshot and restore tasks.
Link
Snapshot Schedule Lists the schedule and settings for your See Snapshot Schedule Dialog
automatic snapshots.
Box on page 167.
Administration
(server-based
mode only)
Lets you view and change preference
settings. Go here to change your
Recovery Agent description on the
server.
See Administration Dialog Box
(server-based mode only) on
page 169.
General
Lets you view log files related to your
computer’s snapshots and restore
jobs. Go here to create and remove
the Altiris Recovery Partition for local
snapshots.
See General Dialog Box on
page 170.
Space Management These rules determine when old
snapshots are automatically deleted.
See Space Management Dialog
Box on page 172
Misc
Lets you set miscellaneous snapshot
and agent settings.
See Misc Dialog Box on
page 173.
Full System
Recovery (local
mode only)
Lets you set Full System Recovery
See Full System Recovery
settings and launch the Recovery DVD Dialog Box on page 174.
Wizard.
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Recovery Agent Options Tabs (Continued)
Remote Access
(server-based
mode only)
If you use a modem or other remote
connection to log on to your office
network, use this tab to set up
Recovery Solution to run automatic
snapshots with a modem or remote
connection.
See Space Management Dialog
Box on page 172.
Note
This tab only appears if you have DialUp Networking installed.
Excludes
The files you enter here are excluded
from all manual and automatic
snapshots. Choose excluded files
carefully (see Excluding Files from
Snapshots on page 35).
See Excludes Dialog Box on
page 177.
Notes
Full System Recovery cannot be
performed if you exclude certain files
and folders. For details, see Files and
Folders You Should Never Exclude on
page 35.
In server-based mode, this tab is
available only if the administrator has
granted you rights.
Rollback Data
Lets you specify file types, which will
not be rolled back when the Restore
system and application files only
Rollback option is selected.
See Rollback Data Dialog Box
on page 180.
Storage Locations
(local mode only)
Lets you view and edit the location
where your snapshots are saved.
See Storage Locations Dialog
Box (local mode only) on
page 180.
2.
Click one of the tabs in the dialog box to view or change settings.
3.
Make your changes and then click OK.
Note
After clicking OK, you should open the Options dialog box again to ensure that the
Schedule tab AM/PM fields of the Start Time and End Time are correct. A known
problem with the scheduling controls sometimes causes a “PM” time to be reset to
“AM.”
How Administrator Settings Might Affect You
The Recovery Solution administrator can limit your ability to perform certain tasks and
modify various Recovery Agent settings. When any of the user rights are disabled, you
may not have access to some of the Recovery Agent settings and actions described in
the User’s Guide. If you have more than one computer, the restrictions may be different
for each one.
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Snapshot and Restore Dialog Box
To access this dialog box, open Recovery Agent Options (see View Your Recovery Agent
Options on page 15) and click the Snapshot and Restore tab.
This section contains the following topics:
z
Last Snapshot/Restore Status (page 164)
z
Snapshot Options (page 164)
z
Restore Options (page 165)
z
Throttling Options (server-based mode only) (page 165)
z
Performance Options (local mode only) (page 166)
z
Snapshot Selection Wizard Dialog Box (page 166)
z
Restore Selection Wizard Dialog Box (page 166)
Last Snapshot/Restore Status
The “Last Snapshot/Restore Status” section provides information about your computer’s
most recent snapshot or restore job.
Time
This box shows the date and time that your computer’s most recent snapshot or restore
was run.
Description
This box shows a description of your computer’s most recent snapshot.
Status
This box indicates whether your computer’s most recent snapshot or restore succeeded
or failed.
Snapshot Options
Snapshot options can be configured using the Misc tab. For more information, see Misc
Snapshot
Click the Snapshot button to launch the Snapshot Selection Wizard that guides you
through taking a snapshot. If this button is not available, then you do not have
permission to perform a snapshot manually.
Accelerate
Click the Accelerate button to accelerate scheduled snapshot to be performed
immediately
See also: Snapshot Selection Wizard Dialog Box (page 166).
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Restore Options
These options let you restore files from a snapshot of your computer.
Restore Files
Click the Restore Files button to restore one or more specific files, folders, or drives
from the Recovery Solution Server.
Rollback
Click the Rollback button to open the Rollback dialog box and to return your entire
computer to its state at the time of any previous Full System Snapshot. For more
information, click Help.
If this button is not available, then you do not have permission to perform a rollback.
Contact your Recovery Solution administrator if you need to return your computer to a
previous state.
See also: Restore Selection Wizard Dialog Box (page 166).
Throttling Options (server-based mode only)
The Bandwidth Throttling page contains settings that let you limit the network
bandwidth used when taking snapshots and restoring files. This option is only available if
the administrator has granted rights to you to change these settings. If you have rights
to view this page, you will see the values that have been set by the administrator. You
may want to change these settings especially if you are using dial-up networking.
Note
Network bandwidth limits can be set in kilobits (Kbps) or megabits per second (Mbps).
Default Options
z
Use system defaults
By selecting this check box, Recovery Solution will use the system defaults, which is
unlimited bandwidth.
Snapshot throttling options
z
Limit snapshot speed to
You can select the maximum network bandwidth used when taking snapshots.
z
Do not start snapshot if transfer rate is less than
You can select the minimum network bandwidth used when taking snapshots. If this
minimum bandwidth is not available, the current snapshot will be cancelled.
z
Do not start automatic snapshots over WAN connection
Select this box to restrict snapshots from running when the client computer is on
the WAN.
Restore throttling options
z
Limit restore speed to
You can select the maximum network bandwidth used when restoring files.
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Performance Options (local mode only)
Click Performance to open the Recovery Agent Performance Options page. This page
lets you set computer performance options for taking snapshots or restoring files. You
can use system defaults or select your own options.
Snapshot Selection Wizard Dialog Box
This wizard helps you make a snapshot of your files. To access the wizard, open
Recovery Agent Options (see View Your Recovery Agent Options on page 15), go to the
Snapshot and Restore tab, and click Snapshot.
Full System Snapshot
A snapshot of a computer that contains enough information to restore the computer in
the event of a disaster. A Full System Recovery can only be performed from a Full
System Snapshot. In addition to whatever files you select, a Full System Snapshot
always contains the information about the computer’s disk partitions and drives and the
Windows registry. You can also include any additional data from local drives. A Full
System Snapshot does not have to contain all of the computer’s files and folders.
Search
Click this button to search for specific files.
Type the name of the file or folder to find. You can also search for multiple files that
match a search pattern. Use standard wildcard characters, such as “?” and “*”, to look
for multiple files or folders.
Advanced Selection
Opens Windows Explorer so you can search for files yourself. You can take snapshots of
files from within Windows Explorer by right clicking them and selecting Snapshot in the
drop-down menu.
Restore Selection Wizard Dialog Box
This wizard helps you restore your files.
Search
Use this option to search for specific files. Type the name of the file or folder to find. You
can also search for multiple files that match a search pattern. Use standard wildcard
characters, such as ? and *, to look for multiple files or folders. Click this button to
search for specific files.
Advanced Selection
Opens Windows Explorer so you can search for files yourself. You can restore files from
within Windows Explorer by right clicking them and selecting Restore in the drop-down
menu.
For more information on rollbacks, see Rollback Dialog Box on page 39.
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Snapshot Schedule Dialog Box
Options on page 15) and click the Snapshot Schedule tab.
This section contains the following options:
z
Enable Schedule Snapshots (local mode only) (page 167)
z
Snapshot type (page 167)
z
Start Time (page 167)
z
Use System Defaults (page 169)
Enable Schedule Snapshots (local mode only)
To enable automatic scheduled snapshots, select the Enable Schedule Snapshots
check box. By clearing this check box, all scheduling functions are disabled.
Next snapshot time
Shows the time that your next snapshot is currently scheduled to be taken.
Snapshot type
Select the snapshot type you want to schedule.
Partial snapshot
Choose this option to have Recovery Solution include only the files and folders you select
in the snapshot. You must specifically add files and folders to the snapshot, using the
Add, Remove, and Edit buttons.
Note
Files and folders that are specified on the Exclude tab of the Recovery Agent Options for
this computer are not included.
Start Time
Days
Select the box next to each day of the week that you want Recovery Solution to take a
snapshot. The snapshot is started during the scheduled interval you choose below.
Choose the time of day at which you want scheduled snapshots to start.
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After
Choose the desired start time for scheduled snapshots. This is the earliest time at which
the snapshot can occur on each scheduled day. Recovery Solution attempts to start the
snapshot at this time. If the snapshot cannot be started at this time because the
computer was turned off or off-line, Recovery Solution will keep trying until the latest
start time you specify in the next field.
Before
Choose the latest time at which you want to allow scheduled snapshots. On each day, a
snapshot is scheduled, Recovery Solution keeps attempting to start the snapshot until
either it succeeds or the time you specify here is reached. If this time is reached and
Recovery Solution has been unable to start the snapshot, no scheduled snapshot occurs
on this day.
Conditions
The following settings control when a snapshot will occur.
As soon as user turns on the computer: Select this box to have Recovery Solution
start a day’s scheduled snapshot as soon as your computer is turned on. In server-based
mode, it is not necessary to log onto the computer to take the snapshot, but your
computer must already have a physical connection to the network. This option is
generally useful for desktop computers connected to a LAN. A snapshot is started only if
there is one scheduled to take place at the same time or later on the same day, or if the
end time for the previous day’s snapshot has not yet been reached. No snapshot is
started if the scheduled snapshot time has passed, even if no snapshot took place during
the scheduled period. Only one scheduled snapshot is taken each day, no matter how
many times the computer is turned on.
Note
The snapshot will not start immediatelly after logon. It starts after a 12-minute timeout
in local mode or after a 10-minute timeout in network mode.
As soon as user resumes the computer: Select this box to have Recovery Solution
start a day’s scheduled snapshot as soon as your computer is resumed after you have
suspended it. This option is generally useful for notebook computers. A snapshot is
started only if there is one scheduled to take place at the same time or later on the
same day, or if the end time for the previous day’s snapshot has not yet been reached.
No snapshot is started if the scheduled snapshot time has passed, even if no snapshot
took place during the scheduled time period. Only one scheduled snapshot is taken each
day, no matter how many times the computer is suspended and resumed.
Note
The snapshot will not start immediatelly after logon. It starts after a 8-minute timeout in
local mode or after a 6-minute timeout in network mode.
As soon as user docks the computer: Select this box to have Recovery Solution start
a day’s scheduled snapshot as soon as your computer is docked on the network. This
option is generally useful for laptop computers. A snapshot is started only if there is one
scheduled to take place at the same time or later on the same day, or if the end time for
the previous day’s snapshot has not yet been reached. No snapshot is started if the
scheduled snapshot time has passed, even if no snapshot took place during the
scheduled time period. Only one scheduled snapshot is taken each day, no matter how
many times the computer is docked.
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Note
As soon as computer goes into idle state: Select this box to have Recovery Solution
start a day’s scheduled snapshot as soon as your computer goes idle.
Note
Use System Defaults
By default, the Use systems defaults checkbox is selected. When selected, the
Recovery Agent uses the settings configured by the administrator or the default settings.
To customize settings, clear the checkbox. To revert back to the administrator’s settings,
select the checkbox.
Administration Dialog Box (server-based mode
only)
Options on page 15) and click the Administration tab.
Recovery Solution Server
This area displays information and options relating to the Altiris Recovery Solution
Server and your data on it.
Server name
This area displays the name of the Recovery Server that stores the snapshots of your
computer. You cannot change this name here. To use a different server, you must
uninstall and reinstall the Recovery Agent.
Change Recovery Agent Description
Click this button to change the description of the computer. When the Change Recovery
Agent Description dialog box appears, type a description for your computer. This
description is used for Recovery Solution and is not necessarily related to your Windows
computer description. In most cases, you do not need to change this value.
Server storage space used
This is the amount of disk space on the server that has already been used by your
computer. For common files that are identical to files stored on other computers, your
disk space usage is calculated as a fraction of the total storage space required for the
file. This is because Recovery Solution stores the file only once on the server, no matter
how many computers have it in their snapshots. Example: if 20 computers each protect
an identical copy of the system file kernel32.dll, that is 731920 bytes in size, this counts
as 731920 / 20 = 36596 bytes of storage space used by your computer.
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Server storage space usage quota
The server storage quota limits the computer storage space on the server. If the storage
quota is enabled by administrator and you exceed the quota then all snapshots from
your computer will be blocked until the limit is increased or the storage space used by
this computer on the server is decreased during the space management job.
General Dialog Box
These options allow you to view log files related to your computer’s snapshots and
restore jobs and manage the Altiris Recovery Partition for local snapshots.
Options on page 15) and click the General tab.
z
User Interface Language Preferences (page 170)
z
Recovery Solution Logs (page 170)
z
Altiris Recovery Partition for local snapshots (local mode only) (page 170)
z
Connection Settings (server-based mode only) (page 171)
z
User Interface Language Preferences
You can select the language the Recovery Agent user interface is displayed in. However,
the language settings will not take effect in the currently opened Recovery Agent
windows and dialogs. Close the options dialog box and reopen it to apply the language
change.
Recovery Solution Logs
Activity Log
Click this button to view a history of your computer’s Recovery Solution activity,
including all snapshot and restore jobs. This log is stored in a text file.
Event Log
Click this button to open the Event Viewer so you can view all logged Recovery Solution
events. This information is provided in the event viewer.
Altiris Recovery Partition for local snapshots (local mode only)
When using Recovery Solution in local mode, snapshots are stored in a hidden partition
on your hard disk called the Altiris Recovery Partition. By default the Altiris Recovery
Partition is created when the Recovery Agent is installed. These buttons create and
remove Altiris Recovery Partitions.
Create
If no Altiris Recovery Partition exists, click this button to create a partition that local
snapshots can be stored on. This enables the functionality of local snapshots.
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To add additional storage resources, see Storage Locations Dialog Box (local mode only)
on page 180.
Resize
If an Altiris Recovery Partition exists, click this button to delete the existing partition and
create a new one.
Caution
If you have snapshots on this partition, all your local snapshots will be lost.
Data Removal
Click this button to launch the Recovery Solution Data Removal wizard to remove all
user data from the Altiris Recovery Partition. This disables the functionality of local
snapshots.
Caution
If you have snapshots on this partition, all your local snapshots will be lost.
Check Now
You can have Recovery Solution do a self-check of the Altiris Recovery Partition. This
procedure requires the computer to be restarted.
Connection Settings (server-based mode only)
Connection type
This shows the connection type used to communicate with the Recovery Solution
Server—DCOM, HTTP, or HTTPS.
Port
You can see the port number to be used for communication with Recovery Server.
Use encryption when communicating with the Recovery Solution
Server
Check this box to turn on DCOM encryption. This causes Recovery Solution to perform
the following functions when sending or retrieving data from the server.
z
Validation on the source of the data. Recovery Solution does a second check to
ensure that files in your snapshot are really coming from your computer rather than
from some other source, and that files you restore are really coming from the
server.
z
Data integrity checking. Recovery Solution verifies that the data are intact and
free of errors, reducing the chances of data corruption.
z
Data encryption. Encryption is especially useful if you are concerned about
transmitting confidential data through connections that may not be secure, such as
Dial-Up Networking (RAS) or the Internet. Snapshots, restores, and file information
are encrypted during transmission only. The data stored on your computer and on
the server are not encrypted.
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Note
On Windows 98 computers, only data that is transmitted to the server is encrypted,
not data that comes from the server (Example: snapshots are encrypted, but
recoveries are not). This is because of a limitation of Windows 98, which cannot
receive encrypted DCOM data.
Because of government regulations in France, no data encryption is performed if you are
running Recovery Solution on a French version of Windows. However, this option still
enables source validation and data integrity checking.
Use System Defaults
Space Management Dialog Box
Options on page 15) and click the Space Management tab.
Note
This tab only appears if your administrator has given you the right to edit your own
space management rules.
z
Default Rules (page 172)
z
Exception Rules (page 173)
z
Default Rules
This area specifies the default space management rules that you want to apply to all
files on your computer. You can make exceptions to these rules in the Exception Rules
area below.
Delete snapshots older than
Specify the length of time for which the snapshot of the item should be kept. If you
select this box, then the item will be deleted after the amount of time you specify.
Delete files after they have been deleted from your computer
Specify the length of time for which the snapshot of the item should stay after the
original copy has been deleted from your computer. If the original item is not deleted,
then the snapshot copy will not be deleted either.
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Exception Rules
This area specifies exceptions to the default rules that are configured above. You can
make exceptions for any number of folders or files. The exceptions always override the
default rules, regardless of whether the length of time you specify is longer or shorter
than the default.
Use System Defaults
Misc Dialog Box
Options on page 15) and click the Misc tab. This area contains miscellaneous Recovery
Agent options.
Note
Some of these features may not be available in the standard Local Recovery version. If a
setting is inactive, you do not have the rights to change it.
Take a snapshot whenever I log off my computer
This option configures Recovery Solution to start a snapshot as soon as you log off,
restart, or shut down your computer. At logoff time, the snapshot runs automatically
after a short delay. Before it runs, you have the chance to skip that specific snapshot.
Another snapshot will run the next time you log off. In server-based mode, your
computer must have a physical connection to the network.
Notes
The snapshot prompt appears no matter which logoff option you choose (log off, restart,
or shut down). However, you should check that the logoff option displayed in the dialog
box is the one you actually want.
If Windows continues logging off before the snapshot timeout is complete, you might
need to configure Windows to give Recovery Solution enough time to start the snapshot
before the logoff occurs.
Notify me when a scheduled snapshot completes successfully
Select this box if you want to see a message when your scheduled snapshots complete
successfully. You will always see a message if your snapshot fails, whether or not this
box is checked.
Notify me when a scheduled snapshot fails
This option configures the Recovery Agent to display a message if a scheduled snapshot
fails.
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Show progress indication of the scheduled snapshot
Select this option if you want to show the progress indicator when scheduled snapshots
are taken. Clear the check box to have the indictor hidden during scheduled snapshots.
Attempt to wake the client before a scheduled snapshot
If this option is selected in server-based mode, and if your computer has a Wake on LAN
enabled network card, and if your computer is not in “awake” status, Recovery Solution
will attempt to wake your computer in order to perform a scheduled snapshot. If this
option is selected in local mode, and the computer uses OnNow power management,
Recovery Solution will attempt to wake your computer while it is in stand-by mode in
order to perform a scheduled snapshot.
Show the Welcome screen when I start Windows
Select this box to display the Recovery Solution startup screen whenever your computer
starts.
Show the status icon in the Windows system tray
Select this box to display the Recovery Agent icon in the tray at the end of your Windows
task bar. This icon shows the status of Recovery Solution. You can also use the icon to
access Recovery Solution features.
Show Recovery Agent options in Start Menu
Select this box to show the Recovery Agent options in Windows Start menu programs.
Show Recovery Agent Desktop icon
Enable this to show the Recovery Agent desktop icon.
Use system defaults
Full System Recovery Dialog Box
Options on page 15) and click the Full System Recovery tab.
Note
This option is available only in local mode.
This area contains Recovery Agent options for Full System Recovery.
F11 Recovery Settings
This section lets you configure the F11 Recovery prompt appearing on computer startup.
Configure the following options in this section:
Show F11 Recovery prompt
Lets you disable the F11 Recovery prompt appearing on computer startup
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Note
If this option is disabled, pressing F11 on computer startup still starts Full System
Recovery even though the prompt does not appear.
Protect F11 Recovery with password
Lets you specify the password for protection
Use system defaults
Create Recovery DVD
Click this button to launch the Recovery DVD Wizard.
If this button is not available, then you do not have permission to create Full System
Recovery DVDs. Contact your Recovery Solution administrator if you need to create Full
System Recovery DVDs for your computer.
See also: Full System Recovery Options (page 41).
Remote Access Dialog Box (server-based mode
only)
These options control snapshots that are taken when your computer uses remote access
to connect to a Recovery Solution Server, such as dial-up networking and VPN
connections.
Options on page 15) and click the Remote Access tab.
z
Snapshot type (page 167)
z
Start Time (page 167)
z
Snapshot Type
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Partial snapshot
Click this option to have Recovery Solution take a snapshot of only the drives you select.
You can choose to include or exclude any local hard drive on your computer, whether or
not it has system information on it.
Note
Files and folders that are specified on the Exclude tab of the Recovery Solution
properties for this computer are not included in the snapshot.
Take a snapshot of all data on
Check the box next to each drive of which you want Recovery Solution to take a
snapshot. If this is a Full System Snapshot, you cannot clear the check box next to the
drive that contains the operating system or other files needed for a Full System
Recovery. If you do not need a Full System Snapshot and do not want to include these
files, click Partial snapshot as the snapshot type. We recommend that you include all
drives, both to protect all the data and to ensure that any files needed to start your
computer are included, even if they are not stored on the boot or system drives.
Snapshot Settings
Take each day’s snapshot as soon as I start remote access
Select this box to have Recovery Solution take a day’s scheduled snapshot as soon as a
remote connection is made to the network. This is the best way to guarantee that your
data is protected. Even while connected to the network, portable and remote computers
are often difficult for the server to reach because they frequently are not configured to
use Domain Name System (DNS) names.
Display a message before taking the snapshot
Select this box to have Recovery Solution prompt you before taking an automatic
snapshot over a remote connection to the network. You will have the option to start or
cancel the snapshot. If this box is cleared, Recovery Solution does not prompt you, but
starts taking the snapshot automatically.
Take each day’s snapshot as soon as computer connects to the server
Select this box to have Recovery Solution take a day’s scheduled snapshot as soon as
the computer connects to the server.
Continue incomplete snapshot from the break point
This option configures Recovery Solution to restart the snapshot from the failure point or
break point if a user’s snapshot was cancelled or interrupted. This feature provides users
with the ability to recover from a broken connection with the server at the exact same
place as when their connection was broken. This is especially useful to remote users.
If this feature is enabled, or if you manually restart an interrupted snapshot, a dialog is
displayed giving the option of continuing the snapshot from the break point or skipping
the incomplete snapshot and starting a new one.
Skip Outlook files snapshot
To increase performance while doing backups, you can exclude Microsoft Outlook PST
files from being backed up.
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Use System Defaults
Excludes Dialog Box
Options on page 15) and click the Excludes tab.
Caution
The files you enter here are excluded from all manual and automatic snapshots. Choose
excluded files carefully (see Excluding Files from Snapshots on page 35). Excluding the
wrong files might mean that there is not enough information in a snapshot to perform a
Full System Recovery.
Files and folders to exclude from all snapshots
From the list, choose the files and folders that you do not want included in your
snapshots or add a new item. Use the buttons below the list to modify the items in the
list. If a folder icon appears next to an item, then this item is a folder. Any files with the
listed name are not excluded unless you add another item to the list and indicate that it
is a file. The reverse is true if a file icon appears next to an item.
If the icon next to an item appears with a padlock
, then you cannot change it.
When you add or edit the excluded items, the following options are available:
z
Files and Folders to Exclude Dialog Box (page 177)
z
Exception from Exclude List (page 179)
Use system defaults
Files and Folders to Exclude Dialog Box
This dialog box appears when you add or edit an item in the Files and folders to
exclude from all snapshots list on the Excludes tab.
See also:
z
Select Folder or File Name (page 178)
z
Choose the Type of Item to Exclude (page 178)
z
Choose Where to Exclude This Folder or File (page 178)
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Select Folder or File Name
Type the name of the file or folder to exclude from snapshots.
Browse
Click the browse button to browse to the folder or the file you want to add to the list.
This button is only available if you choose Exclude only this path under Choose
where to exclude this folder or file. Otherwise, the Browse button is dimmed. The
dialog box that appears when you choose Browse depends on the option you selected
under Choose the type of item to exclude. If you specified that this is a folder, you
will be able to browse for a folder here. If you specified that this is a file, then you can
browse for a file.
Choose the Type of Item to Exclude
Choose the appropriate option to describe the name you entered above. Recovery
Solution only adds items to the list if they match the type you specify. Example: if you
enter “C:\TEMP” and select This is a file, Recovery Solution does not exclude the
C:\TEMP folder.
This is a folder
Click this option to specify that the name you entered above is a folder rather than a file.
This is a file
Click this option to specify that the name you entered above is a file rather than a folder.
Choose Where to Exclude This Folder or File
Choose the locations from which you want Recovery Solution to exclude the item you
entered above.
Exclude this folder or file name everywhere
Choose this option to exclude the item from every location that Recovery Solution
encounters it during a snapshot.
Exclude only this path on
Choose this option to specify that the text you entered above should be treated as a
path to a specific folder or file. If you choose this option but you specify only a folder or
file name without a path, Recovery Solution only excludes that folder or file from the
root directory of the drive. Example: if you type logfile.txt as the name of the item to
exclude, then choose Exclude only this path on, Recovery Solution excludes files such as
c:\logfile.txt and d:\logfile.txt (depending on your drive settings below). However,
Recovery Solution does not exclude logfile.txt files found elsewhere on a drive. Specify
below which drives you want to exclude the path from.
All drives
Choose this option to exclude the above path from every drive during Recovery Solution
snapshots.
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This drive only
Choose this option to exclude the above path only from a specific drive. Type the drive
letter in the box.
Exception from Exclude List
This dialog box appears when you add or edit an item in the Exceptions list in the
Excludes dialog window. The files and folders added to the exceptions will be included
into the snapshot even if there is a rule according to which they must be excluded.
See also:
z
Folder or File Name (page 179)
z
Choose the Type of Item to Include (page 179)
z
Choose Where to Include This Folder or File (page 179)
Folder or File Name
Type the name of the file or folder to include into snapshots.
Browse
Click the browse button to browse to the folder or the file you want to add to the list.
This button is only available if you choose Include only this path under Choose
where to include this folder or file. Otherwise, the Browse button is dimmed. The
dialog box that appears when you choose Browse depends on the option you selected
under Choose the type of item to include. If you specified that this is a folder, you
will be able to browse for a folder here. If you specified that this is a file, then you can
browse for a file.
Choose the Type of Item to Include
Choose the appropriate option to describe the name you entered above. Recovery
Solution only adds items to the list if they match the type you specify. Example: if you
enter “C:\TEMP” and select This is a file, Recovery Solution does not include the
C:\TEMP folder.
This is a folder
Click this option to specify that the name you entered above is a folder rather than a file.
This is a file
Click this option to specify that the name you entered above is a file rather than a folder.
Choose Where to Include This Folder or File
Choose the locations where the included item (entered above) can be found.
Include this folder or file name everywhere
Choose this option to include the item from every location that Recovery Solution
encounters it during a snapshot.
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Include only this path on
Choose this option to specify that the text you entered above should be treated as a
path to a specific folder or file. If you choose this option but you specify only a folder or
file name without a path, Recovery Solution only includes that folder or file from the root
directory of the drive. Example: if you type logfile.txt as the name of the item to include,
then choose Include only this path on, Recovery Solution includes files such as
c:\logfile.txt and d:\logfile.txt (depending on your drive settings below). However,
Recovery Solution does not include logfile.txt files found elsewhere on a drive.
All drives
Choose this option to include the above path from every drive during Recovery Solution
snapshots.
This drive only
Choose this option to include the above path only from a specific drive. Type the drive
letter in the box.
Rollback Data Dialog Box
Options on page 15) and click the Rollback Data tab.
File types to exclude from rolling back and deleting
You can exclude specific file types from being restored. The excluded file types are
listed. To add a file type to the list, click the Add button, and select a file type from the
list. To remove a file type from the list, select the file type and click Remove.
Use system defaults
Storage Locations Dialog Box (local mode only)
Options on page 15) and click the Storage Locations tab.
z
Location for stored data on the Recovery Agent (page 180)
z
Adding Additional Storage Locations (page 181)
z
Managing Additional Storage Locations (page 181)
z
Managing the Temporary Retention Folder (page 182)
Location for stored data on the Recovery Agent
This lists the storage locations on your computer where snapshots are stored. By
default, the Altiris Recovery Partition that was created when the Recovery Agent was
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installed is listed. If you have created other storage locations, they will be displayed as
well.
If the icon is a light blue disk, the location is active. If the icon is light blue but has an X
through it, the location is full or is not active. If the icon is red, the location is disabled.
If the icon is yellow, the location has been specified, but has not been saved.
The Maximum size shows the total size of the storage location. This size is set when the
partition is created.
The Used space shows the combined size of all the files on the storage location.
The Free space shows the amount of free space on the storage location.
Adding Additional Storage Locations
Note
This feature is not available in the standard Local Recovery version.
If you need additional space to store snapshots, you can either increase the size of the
original Altiris Recovery Partition or create additional storage locations.
To increase the size of the original Altiris Recovery Partition, click Resize on the
General Tab to re-create the partition with a different size. For more information, see
General Dialog Box on page 170.
You can add additional storage locations to other hard drives on your computer.
Additional storage locations have the following requirements:
z
It cannot exist on a system hard disk drive (HDD0)
z
It cannot be removable media, it must be a fixed hard drive
z
It cannot be a network resource, it must be a local hard drive
To add an additional storage location
1.
Click Add.
2.
Enter or browse to the path on the other drive.
3.
(Optional) If you want to limit the size of the location, clear the No storage limit
check box, and enter the maximum size.
4.
Click OK.
5.
Click Apply.
Managing Additional Storage Locations
Note
This feature is not available in the standard Local Recovery version.
From the Storage Locations tab, you can manage additional storage locations that you
have created after Recovery Agent was installed. You cannot manage the original Altiris
Recovery Partition here. Instead, you must use the General Tab. For more information,
see General Dialog Box on page 170.
Click Edit to modify the properties of an additional storage location.
Click Delete to remove an additional storage location.
181
Note
If data is on the location, you cannot delete it.
Click Disable to prevent Recovery Solution from storing snapshots to that storage
location.
Managing the Temporary Retention Folder
The Temporary retention folder specifies the path used to store temporary files
during space management jobs.
Use system defaults
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Chapter 11
Advanced Recovery Agent Tasks
This section describes the following advanced Recovery Agent tasks:
z
Excluding Files from Snapshots (page 183)
z
Performing Rollbacks (page 187)
z
Full System Recovery Options (page 189)
z
Using Web-Based File Recovery (page 192)
Excluding Files from Snapshots
Recovery Solution lets you specify files and folders to exclude from all snapshots.
To exclude files, use the Excludes Dialog Box (page 34).
z
Why Exclude Files? (page 183)
z
Files and Folders You Should Never Exclude (page 183)
z
Examples of Files and Folders to Exclude (page 184)
Why Exclude Files?
Excluding files and folders you do not need has several advantages.
z
Snapshots and some restore operations are performed more quickly.
z
Snapshots take up less space.
z
Folder snapshots contain only the files you really need, making it easier to locate
important data when you need to restore it.
Files and Folders You Should Never Exclude
Certain files and folders are required for the proper system configuration, and a Full
System Recovery cannot be performed without them. In addition, some file extensions,
such as .DLL, are nearly always associated with valid data.
C:\, C:\DOS, C:\WINDOWS, and C:\WINNT
These are boot and operating system folders necessary to start the computer. If the
contents of these folders are excluded, Full System Recovery might be impossible.
You should include all subfolders of the Windows folder, particularly the SYSTEM and
SYSTEM32 subfolders. The only exceptions are the specific cache subfolders specified
below, the contents of which you might want to exclude.
C:\BOOT.INI, C:\NTDETECT.COM, C:\NTLDR
These files in the root folder are needed to start Windows 2000/XP.
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*.BAT, *.COM, *.EXE
These are program and command-line script files.
*.386, *.DLL, *.DRV, *.PNF, *.SYS, *.VXD
These are system files needed for proper system configuration. If they are damaged, the
computer might not start. Without them, Full System Recovery is impossible.
*.INI
These are configuration settings.
*.DOS, *.W40
On multi-boot computers, these files store information necessary to start the computer
in other operating systems.
Examples of Files and Folders to Exclude
Below are some examples of files and folders that you might want to exclude from
Recovery Solution snapshots. Read the description of each item carefully before you
decide to exclude it. While most users do not need the data in these files, you might
have a good reason for including them in your snapshots. Some of these files are
excluded by default.
Caution
Even if you exclude these files from your Recovery Solution snapshots, do not delete the
files themselves from your computer. Even though they probably contain no critical data,
it is necessary that some of these files exist for Windows to work properly.
_RESTORE
Folders with this name might be created in Windows XP if you perform a System Restore
using the Windows System Restore tool. The folders contain information about past
System Restores so that they can be undone. Recovery Solution provides similar but
more flexible functionality with the rollback feature.
PAGEFILE.SYS
This file is used to create virtual memory while Windows is running. It is usually stored
in the root folder of drive C. Depending upon the computer’s configuration, the file can
become quite large, although it does not contain any data that is saved between one
Windows session and the next.
WIN386.SWP
Like pagefile.sys, the file win386.swp is used in Windows 98 to create virtual memory,
and can become quite large. The temporary file that Windows deletes whenever the
computer is shut down or restarted is win386.swp. It is usually stored in the Windows
folder.
386SPART.PAR
This is the Windows 3.1 equivalent of win386.swp. If you upgraded from Windows 3.1 to
your current version of Windows, 386spart.par might still exist on your computer, even
though it is no longer needed.
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Disk compression container files
If you are running a disk compression program (such as DriveSpace, Stacker, or
SuperStore), exclude the container files, which store the compressed information
created by the programs.
Example: a typical DriveSpace file is named drvspace.000; a typical compressed Stacker
file is stacvol.dsk. Because the container files actually hold much of the data on an entire
compressed drive, it is very likely that these files will change every day. It takes much
longer for Recovery Solution to find the changes in such large files and take their
snapshot than to take a snapshot of the drive itself. Simply include the letter of the
compressed drive, but exclude the container files, and all data is included.
Hibernation files
Some computers and operating systems support hibernation that lets you turn off your
computer without losing any data in memory. This is accomplished by writing the data in
memory to special hibernation files, which can become quite large. Protecting these files
could significantly slow down your snapshots, increase the strain on the network and the
server, and in some cases prevent recoveries from working properly.
You should always save your work before putting your computer into hibernation. As
long as you do, the only contents of the hibernation files will be nonessential information
such as the current running applications, window positions, and view settings.
Listed below are some of the hibernation files used by various systems.
z
hiberfil.sys is used by Windows XP and Windows 2000.
z
hibrn8.dat is used on Compaq notebooks.
z
pm_hiber.bin is used on IBM notebooks.
z
save2dsk.bin is used on IBM notebooks.
z
toshiber.dat is used on Toshiba computers.
C:\TEMP
Some computers use this folder as a storage place for temporary files.
C:\WINDOWS\TEMP or C:\WINNT\TEMP
This folder stores temporary files.
Substitute your own Windows folder in this path if Windows was not installed in the
default folder.
*.TMP
Files with this extension are usually temporary files.
~*.*
Files that begin with a tilde (~) are usually temporary files.
Web browser cache
As you browse the Web, the browser stores files, such as HTML documents and graphics
files, in a cache folder on the computer. Over time, the cache folder can become quite
large, sometimes containing thousands of files. These files are saved only to improve
the speed of Web browsing; they are usually not needed by the browser or by you.
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If Microsoft Internet Explorer is your Web browser, your browser cache file is usually the
TEMPORARY INTERNET FILES subfolder of your Windows folder.
If the Web browser is Netscape Navigator, the browser cache is usually located
somewhere within the Netscape Navigator folder.
*\MSDOWNLD.TMP
Folders by this name are created and used by Microsoft Web sites when you download
and install software from those sites. These folders are usually created in the root of a
hard drive, and they might exist on multiple hard drives. They are not needed after the
software installation is complete.
Internet history
If you use Microsoft Internet Explorer as your Web browser, the HISTORY subfolder of
the Windows folder contains information about Web sites that you have visited, allowing
you to easily return to those sites later.
If you do not need this information, you can exclude it from your Recovery Solution
snapshots.
*.GID, *.FTS, *.FTG
Files with these extensions are usually cache files that are created automatically when a
Help file is opened. These cache files do not store any information that is necessary to
use Help.
*.BAK
Files with this extension are typically backup files that applications create automatically
while the main data files are being edited. A *.BAK file can sometimes be used to restore
the data in case the main file becomes corrupted, but because copies of the main data
file are also being stored on the server, there should rarely be a need to include *.BAK
files in snapshots.
RB001.CAB, RB002.CAB, RB003.CAB, RB004.CAB, RB005.CAB
Some versions of Windows store registry backups using these file names. Because the
registry is protected during Full System Snapshots, there should be no need to include
the registry backup files as well.
C:\Program Files\Altiris\Recovery Solution Agent\Data\C\*.DTF
These cache files are used by Recovery Solution to help speed up snapshots. Recovery
Solution will re-create them if necessary.
If you have more than 1 hard disk drive, you can add the additional DATA subfolders
\Data\D\*.DTF, \Data\E\*.DTF, and so forth, to exclude all these files.
Caution
You should not exclude all .DTF files everywhere (*.DTF). This file extension is also used
by other applications.
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Performing Rollbacks
This section describes how to roll back computers to a previous state. Rollback is used to
repair your operating system and applications when your computer is not functioning
properly.
If you can start your operating system and open the Recovery Agent Options dialog, you
can use the Rollback feature. To roll back the computer from Windows, open Recovery
Agent Options (see View Your Recovery Agent Options on page 15). On the Snapshot
and Restore tab, click Rollback (see Rollback Dialog Box on page 187).
Note
You can replace all the files on your computer with the files in your Full System
Snapshot. This will replace all the files on your computer with the files that were copied
during your initial snapshot. You can then use the Recovery Agent to restore files from a
more current snapshot.
Rollback Dialog Box
Use this dialog box to return part or your entire computer to the state it was in at the
time of a specific Full System Snapshot.
Caution
You might lose some data that is currently on your computer because some of your files
will be overwritten with older versions. Only use Rollback as a last resort.
If the file system of a drive has been changed because the snapshot is selected for
rollback (Example: from FAT to NTFS), then the drive’s boot sector is not restored during
rollback. This could prevent the drive from starting after the rollback is complete.
Before starting the rollback, you should close all open programs on your computer.
Recovery Solution automatically runs a Full System Snapshot before the rollback starts.
Therefore, closing all programs helps to ensure that the latest versions of all data files
are protected.
Do not perform rollbacks from Windows XP with Service Pack 1 or Service Pack 2 to a
“clean” Windows XP as it may cause your computer to become unusable. Use Windows
Add/Remove Programs to remove the Service Pack instead, then run rollback if needed.
Notes
You can only roll back your computer if your disk configuration is the same as it was at
the time of the snapshot you are restoring. Example: if you changed drive letters or
resized your drives since the time of a snapshot, then you cannot roll back to this
particular snapshot.
You cannot roll back your computer if your computer uses Windows 2000/XP disk
volume sets, stripe sets, or fault-tolerant drives.
There is a setting that determines whether or not files that did not exist in the snapshot
you roll back to are deleted from your computer during the rollback. The default is to
delete the files. In server-based mode, your administrator specifies the setting. In local
mode, the setting is in this dialog box.
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If you were previously running Microsoft Office 97 but upgraded to Microsoft Office
2000, you should try to avoid rolling back your computer to a point in time when you
had Office 97 installed. This might cause some Office files to be restored incorrectly. If
you must do this, you might need to reinstall Office after the rollback is complete.
If you are running Windows 2000 with Service Pack 2, and you are to roll your computer
back to a previous operating system, a Windows File Protection message might appear
during the rollback. You can either cancel the prompt to restore Service Pack 2 files
(choosing to keep the existing files), or simply ignore the prompt altogether. Do not
restore the files. If you do, your computer will be in an indeterminate state and
could stop working properly.
Performing a rollback could cause some evaluation software to claim that it has expired,
preventing you from continuing to use the software.
If your computer’s drive configuration has changed since the time of the snapshot to
which you are rolling back, then the rollback restores your old drive configuration, but it
is possible that one or more of your drives contains no data after the rollback is
complete. To restore the data, perform a second rollback to the same snapshot you
chose for the first rollback.
After the rollback is complete, you might have to re-create temporary folders manually.
These are usually not included in snapshots and are therefore not restored to your
computer. Certain applications might require the existence of temporary folders before
they will work properly.
In versions of Windows that include the System Restore feature, Recovery Solution
creates a restore point before starting the rollback.
Before rolling back your computer, Recovery Solution automatically takes a snapshot of
your computer to ensure that your most recent files are protected. After the rollback,
you can restore any files you need that were overwritten by the rollback.
Snapshot list: Choose a snapshot to return to. Only Full System Snapshots are listed.
Notes
(server-based mode) If any date and time settings are different between your computer
and the server, some older snapshots might not be available for rollback. To see all
available snapshots, the following settings must be identical on your computer and the
server: the date and time, the time zone, the state of the option to automatically adjust
the clock for Daylight Savings Time (whether this option is on or off).
The snapshots performed before an upgrade will not appear in the list.
Items to restore: Choose which files you want to restore to your computer.
Restore system and application files only: Choose this option to restore just
operating system and application files. This type of rollback will not restore data files,
which are determined by file name extension. If you are not sure whether any file you
wish to restore is an application or data file, check Restore all files.
Note
You can specify which file types are considered to be user data files or documents and
will not be rolled back or deleted on the Rollback Data tab (if your administrator allowed
this through the Altiris Console). For details, see Rollback Data Dialog Box on page 37.
188
Restore all files (including your data files): Choose this option to restore data files
as well as program files. All of your applications and settings will be returned to their
previous state, and all of your data will be restored.
Caution
This option overwrites data files as well as program files. Some of your files might be
overwritten with older versions.
Roll back master boot record: (server-based mode only) Choose this option if you
want to restore the computer's master boot record and the boot sectors of all primary
partitions. The master boot record is necessary to start Windows. It contains information
about the computer's disk partitions and passes this information along to other
programs in order to start the computer. The partition tables themselves are not rolled
back by Recovery Solution, but the program that reads the partition information is. You
might want to roll it back if you suspect that it has become damaged or infected by a
virus.
Caution
If the file system of a drive has been changed since the snapshot selected for rollback
(Example: from FAT to NTFS), then the drive's boot sector is not restored during
rollback. This could cause the drive from starting after the rollback is complete.
Enable Rollback file deletion: Choose this option if you want to delete computer files
that are not present in the snapshot you are rolling back to. Which files are deleted
depends on what you choose to roll back. If you roll back only system and application
files, then only system and application files that are not present in the snapshot are
deleted. If you do not choose this option, no files are deleted during the rollback.
Note
After the rollback is complete, a text file named DELETION.LOG, stored in the
computer's installation folder for Recovery Agent, contains information about which files
were deleted.
Continue: Click this button to continue with the rollback.
See also: Rollback Error Dialog Box (page 189).
Rollback Error Dialog Box
This dialog box appears when errors occur during rollback.
One reason you might see this message is if the server is temporarily unavailable.
If you cannot fix the error, you might be able to restart the computer, and then continue
with manual file restore. For more information about manual file restore, see View and
Restore Protected Files on page 17.
Full System Recovery Options
If you take full system snapshots of your system regularly, you can perform full system
recovery of your computer in case of failure.
You can use a full system recovery in a variety of situations, such as fixing an operating
system that cannot start or recovering data to a replaced hard disk or stolen notebook.
189
In the case where the operating system can start, a rollback is preferable because it
requires less time.
Note
In server-based mode, you can use the server-based Full System Recovery Wizard to
create the full system recovery CD/DVD-ROMs.
z
Local Full System Recovery from DVD-ROM (page 190)
z
Using the F11 Option in Local Mode (page 192)
Local Full System Recovery from DVD-ROM
You can perform a full system recovery using the DVD-ROM created using the Local Full
System Recovery Wizard. The Full System Recovery Wizard lets you create bootable
DVD ISO images and burn them to single-layer (4.7 GB) or double-layer (8.5 GB) DVDs,
which you can later use to perform a full system recovery.
To create the Recovery DVD set in local mode
To start the Full System Recovery DVD Wizard, open Recovery Agent Options (see View
Your Recovery Agent Options on page 15). On the Full System Recovery tab, click
Create Recovery DVD to launch the Recovery DVD Wizard.
Note
The Full System Recovery Wizard creates large image files in the temporary folder that
you specify. Depending on the amount of data on your hard drive, there must be enough
space on your computer to hold these files.
To create DVD-ROMs from the full system recovery images, you must use the feature of
your DVD writing software that is specifically designed to extract the image information
from a standard .ISO file and write it to a DVD-ROM. The option is typically called
something like "Create DVD From Image File." If you simply copy the file to the DVDROM, it will not work for full system recovery.
To run full system recovery from DVD-ROM
Start the computer from the first disk in the Full System Recovery DVD-ROM set and
follow the instructions on the screen. The Full System Recovery process runs
automatically.
Caution
The Full System Recovery process reformats all the local hard disk drives. All existing
information will be lost.
The number and the size of hard disk drives on a computer at the time of full system
recovery must be the same as or larger than the number and the size of drives present
at the time of the full system snapshot selected for recovery.
DVD drives connected to a USB or a Serial ATA controller without IDE compatibility mode
are not supported for full system recovery from DVD.
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Local Full System Recovery DVD Wizard Tips
z
You can create a new full system snapshot or use an existing snapshot for Full
System Recovery DVD creation. Creating a new snapshot ensures that the Full
System Recovery DVD set contains all the latest data. Snapshots performed before
an upgrade and some snapshots affected by the Storage Space Management job will
not appear in the list of existing snapshots.
z
You can password-protect your Full System Recovery DVD set. In this case, you will
be prompted for a password on any attempt to start Full System Recovery or to
restore data manually.
z
The target folder for Full System Recovery images can be your local hard disk drive
or, if there is not enough space, a network storage location.
z
If there is not enough space, you can create the Full System Recovery images one
by one burning each image as soon as it has been created and deleting it after
burning.
z
We recommend verifying the Full System Recovery images after burning. For that,
use your DVD burning software feature or manually copy all data from DVD disks to
a hard drive.
Warning
Protect your Full System Recovery media. If the Full System Recovery media
becomes corrupted, the Full System Recovery process will fail and all data may be
lost.
Local Full System Recovery from DVD Tips
z
The Full System Recovery process must be started using the first created DVD disk
in the Full System Recovery DVD set. After starting the computer from the Full
System Recovery DVD, initiate the Full System Recovery on prompt by pressing F10
on the keyboard. If the Full System Recovery DVD set was password-protected, you
will be prompted for a password.
z
During the first phase, all fixed local hard disk drives will be reformatted and the
original disk configuration will be restored. Then, the minimal set of Windows files
will be copied and the restore process will continue. This phase may take up to 30
minutes.
z
After a restart, all FAT32 partitions will be converted to NTFS if needed. Each FAT32to-NTFS conversion requires an additional computer restart.
z
The computer will be restarted to Windows and all remaining user data will be
restored. If the Full System Recovery DVD set contains more than one DVD disk,
you will be prompted to insert the disks one by one, otherwise the whole Full
System Recovery process can run unattended.
Local Full System Recovery from DVD Limitations
z
All fixed local hard disk drives are reformatted during the Full System Recovery
process.
z
The number and the size of hard disk drives must be the same as or larger than the
number and the size of disks present at the moment of the full system snapshot
selected for Full System Recovery.
z
Full System Recovery DVD creation cannot be scheduled - you must launch it
manually.
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The Full System Recovery from DVD can be performed even in case of a stolen notebook
or a totally destructed hardware. For that to occur, you must replace the computer with
the same model and start it from the Full System Recovery DVD.
Using the F11 Option in Local Mode
On Local Recovery client computers, the full system recovery can be performed by
pressing F11 on the startup of a computer you want to restore.
Note
On some of Fujitsu Siemens Computers computer models (like LIFEBOOK), Full System
Recovery can also be initiated by pressing the specially designated Recovery button.
Typically, you can run a full system recovery in many cases, such as when a computer
has an operating system that won’t start. It does not help in the case of a stolen
notebook because all the backed up data is stored locally on the drive, unless the Altiris
Local Recovery partition was located on a removable disk drive that you can use to
restore your data to another computer.
If you created the Local Recovery partition on a non-system disk, you can run Full
System Recovery from that disk in case your system hard drive fails. Simply replace the
unrecoverable system disk with disk of the same or larger size and set your computer to
start from the drive that contains the Local Recovery partition to perform Full System
Recovery.
After the restore from the disk drive hosting the Altiris partition, you should change the
startup order back to the original in computer BIOS (start from the system disk drive, to
which the restore was performed). After this the Full System Recovery will proceed.
The disk partitioning layout will be restored to the time of a snapshot that you selected
during the Full System Recovery image creation.
The following limitation applies to running Full System Recovery in case of a system
hard drive failure.
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If the new drive is smaller than the original one, there may not be enough space for
all of the data.
Using Web-Based File Recovery
Recovery Solution lets you access protected data and recover files over the Internet
using a Web browser from any computer.
To recover files
1.
Use Microsoft Internet Explorer 5.0 (or later) or Mozilla Firefox 2.0 to access http://
server/wbfr where server is the name or address of the Recovery Server.
Notes
If the server name contains the “_” sign, you must use the server IP address (http:/
/IP address/wbfr) to access the Web Based File Recovery page.
Recovery Solution administrator can change the address of the Web-Based File
Recovery web site.
2.
Enter valid Recovery user credentials when prompted.
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3.
Click the computer name in the list of protected computers.
4.
Select the files and follow the instructions on the screen to restore.
Notes
For the Web-Based File Recovery feature to become available, Microsoft Internet
Information Server (IIS) must be installed and running on the Recovery Server
computer during server setup. If IIS was not installed on the server, or if Web-based file
recovery was not automatically configured for any other reason, then it can be
configured manually.
The Recovery Solution administrator can disable the Web-based File Recovery access for
users.
Before accessing the Web-Based File Recovery page, you must ensure that the latest
version of Microsoft Java Virtual Machine or Sun Java Runtime Environment is installed
(downloadable at http://java.com/en/download/).
Caution
If a user runs Web-based file recovery from a computer that is accessible to other users,
then when Web-based file recovery is complete, all browser windows should be closed in
order to clear cached password information from the browser. If any browser windows
remain open, then it may be possible for someone else to browse to the server without
entering any credentials, and access the original user’s data.
Note
If you are running Windows 98, Recovery Solution writes events to the Recovery
Solution event log instead. For more information, see Using Recovery Solution Event
Viewer on page 193.
If you are in Windows 98, click Application from the Log menu to display the
Application event log.
, or Delete Event Log in the Windows 98 Recovery Solution Event Viewer, and on
Windows 98 computers the file will be removed from your computer
Using Recovery Solution Event Viewer
If you are running Windows 98, the Recovery Solution Event Viewer is automatically
installed with Recovery Solution. This tool lets you view the Recovery Solution event log.
The event log stores Recovery Solution events. An event is an important occurrence that
is caused by Recovery Solution or that affects Recovery Solution somehow. Examples
include successful snapshots, security data, and error messages.
The Event Viewer window allows you to view, print, or delete the event log, or to save it
under a different name. You work with the entire log at once. You cannot change or
delete individual entries. However, you can open and save the event log to a file in text
format so it can be opened in any text editor.
For a description of each of the log entry fields, see the description of the Event Details
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Note
If you are running Windows 2000/XP, Recovery Solution writes events to the Windows
Application Event Log.
Event Log Menu
How to Print the Event Log
From the Event Viewer Log menu, click Print.
Log Menu: Open
Opens an event log file.
If you have copied or renamed an event log file, you might have several of them on your
disk. When you start the program, Recovery Solution Event Viewer opens the default log
file. Use the Open command to open a different file.
You cannot use the Event Viewer to view an event log file that was saved in ASCII text
format; use a text editor, such as Notepad, instead.
Open is also on the Event Viewer toolbar.
Log Menu: Save As
Saves the event log in one of the two formats:
z
As a Recovery Solution event log file, readable in the Event Viewer.
z
As a comma-delimited ASCII file formatted for importing into a database or a
spreadsheet, readable in a text editor.
Saving the event log file under another name does not affect the current event log. If
you want to start a new event log, you can rename the event log file. Recovery Solution
automatically creates a new file with the default name when it needs to write another
event.
Note
To save the log file with an extension other than .EVT or .TXT, choose the file type from
the list, and then type the file name in quotation marks.
Save As is also on the Event Viewer toolbar.
KEYBOARD: Ctrl+S
Log Menu: Delete Event Log
Deletes the entire event log from your computer. Because the event log can become
very large, you might want to do this occasionally.
You cannot edit the event log or delete individual events within the Event Viewer
window. However, before deleting it, you can move or rename the event log file in
Windows, or from the Event Viewer window, you can save it under another name.
When you click Delete, the opened event log file is immediately deleted. Recovery
Solution automatically creates a new file with the default name when it needs to write
another event.
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Delete Event Log is also on the Event Viewer toolbar.
KEYBOARD: Del
Log Menu: Print
Prints the entire event log.
Windows displays a Print dialog box in which you can set printing options or choose a
printer before sending the print job.
Print is also on the Event Viewer toolbar.
KEYBOARD: Ctrl+P
Log Menu: Exit
Closes the Recovery Solution Event Viewer.
KEYBOARD: Alt+F4
KEYBOARD: Alt+X
View Menu
View Menu Toolbar
Shows or hides the Event Viewer toolbar.
The toolbar contains buttons for common Event Viewer commands.
Open: Opens an event log file.
Save As: Saves the current event log to a new file.
Print: Prints the current event log.
Find: Searches for specific events.
Filter Events: Limits what events are displayed in the Event Viewer window.
Delete Log: Removes the current Recovery Solution event log from your computer.
Event Details: Displays more detailed information about the selected event.
View Menu Status Bar
Shows or hides the status bar at the bottom of the Event Viewer window.
The status bar displays the following information:
z
A brief help message: This area of the status bar displays brief help messages
about commands as you work in the Event Viewer window. Example: if you rest the
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mouse pointer on a toolbar icon or a menu command, you will see a description of
that command in the status bar.
z
The total number of events the log currently contains: This area of the status
bar displays the total number of events that the currently open event log contains.
z
The total size of the event log file: This area of the status bar displays the total
size (in KB) of the currently open event log file.
View Menu Options
Filter Events
Limits the events displayed in the Event Viewer window. You can filter events based on
any combination of the event log fields.
Filter Events is also on the Event Viewer toolbar.
Find
Searches for specific events in the currently open event log. You can search on any
combination of the event log fields.
After finding an event, you can search for the next event that matches the same criteria
by using the Find Next command.
Find is also on the Event Viewer toolbar.
KEYBOARD: Ctrl+F
Find Next
Searches for the next event that meets the criteria of your last search.
KEYBOARD: F3
Event Details
Displays detailed information about the selected event. All information is read-only.
Event Details is also on the Event Viewer toolbar.
KEYBOARD: Enter
You can also open the Details dialog box by double-clicking an event date in the list.
Refresh
Updates the information in the Event Viewer window.
If events occur while the event log is open, you will need to click Refresh to force the
Event Viewer to update the information.
KEYBOARD: F5
About Recovery Solution
Displays license and version information about Recovery Solution.
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Event Viewer Dialog Box
Find
To open this dialog box, click Find in the Event Viewer’s View menu.
Use this dialog box to search for events that match the criteria you give. You can specify
any combination of criteria listed below.
z
Type

Information

Warning

Error

Success Audit

Failure Audit
z
Description
z
Computer
z
User
z
Source
z
Find
For more information, see Event Viewer Elements on page 197.
Filter
To open this dialog box, click Filter in the Event Viewer’s View menu.
Use this dialog box to limit the events displayed in the Event Viewer window. You can
specify any combination of criteria listed below.
z
Type

Information

Warning

Error

Success Audit

Failure Audit
z
Description
z
Computer
z
User
Event Viewer Elements
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Event Details Dialog Box
To view the details of an event, select the event and click Event Details from the Event
Viewer View menu. You cannot change any of the information in this dialog box.
Date: The date the event occurred.
Time: The time the event occurred.
Type: The category into which this event falls. The following are the event types.

Information

Warning

Error

Success Audit

Failure Audit
Source: The part of the program that caused the event.
User: The username of the person who was logged on to the computer when the event
occurred.
Computer: The name of the computer on which the event occurred.
Description: Detailed information about the event.
System Error: An error message generated by the operating system that is associated
with the event you are viewing. This field only appears if there is a system error
associated with the event. It appears below the Description field.
Close: Click this button to close the dialog box.
Previous: Displays the details of the previous event in the list. (In the default sort
order, this is the next chronological event.) This button shows the previous visible event.
If events are filtered, you will not see the ones that are not being displayed.
Next: Displays the details of the next event in the list. (In the default sort order, this is
the previous chronological event.) This button shows the next visible event. If events
are filtered, you will not see the ones that are not being displayed.
Troubleshooting the Event Viewer
Troubleshooting: Event Log Needs Information
If you are running the Recovery Agent under Windows 98, the event log is probably
empty, in which case the file might not even exist.
The event log might be empty for any of the following reasons.
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You just installed the Recovery Agent and no events have yet been logged.
z
You recently renamed or deleted the event log.
The log file will be re-created the next time an event occurs.
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Scheduling Snapshots to Run When Your Computer
is Idle
If desired, you can have snapshots run while your computer is in an idle state. When
activated, the “snapshot on idle” option causes a snapshot to run after a specified
amount of idle time (time with no mouse or keyboard input to the computer). In serverbased mode, the default idle time is four minutes, and in local mode, the default is six
minutes.
To activate the “snapshot on idle” option, click the Snapshot Schedule tab, and select
the As soon as computer goes into idle state check box.
After the snapshot starts, it will run to completion unless you cancel it manually. Even if
the snapshot is already running, you can resume working on the computer without
affecting snapshot progress.
A snapshot is started only if there is one scheduled to take place at the same time or
later on the same day, or if the end time for yesterday’s snapshot has not yet been
reached. No snapshot is started if the scheduled snapshot time has passed, even if no
snapshot took place during the scheduled period. Only one scheduled snapshot is taken
each day, no matter how many times the computer is turned on.
Additionally, no snapshot is started on idle if another Snapshot Schedule option has
already caused a snapshot to run (see Snapshot Schedule Dialog Box on page 24).
These options include the following.
z
Take each day’s snapshot as soon as user turns on the computer
z
Take each day’s snapshot as soon as user resumes the computer
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Take each day’s snapshot as soon as user docks the computer
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Part III
Recovery Solution Technical Reference
This part contains the following chapters:
z
Recovery Solution Troubleshooting (page 201)
z
Recovery Agent Troubleshooting (page 227)
z
Technical Reference (page 253)
z
Hard Disk Support (page 297)
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Chapter 12
Recovery Solution Troubleshooting
Use the information in this section to solve problems you might encounter with Recovery
Solution.
Be sure to also read Release Notes for important information that might not have made
it into the documentation. You can also review Product Limits on page 253 to view
information about a few of the things that Recovery Solution is not designed to do.
If you cannot find the information you need, you can visit the support page at
www.altiris.com.
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Troubleshooting Resources (page 201)
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Installation Troubleshooting (page 206)
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User Account & Logon Problems (page 211)
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Data Protection & Recovery Troubleshooting (page 213)
Troubleshooting Resources
This section describes other resources you can use when troubleshooting problems with
Recovery Solution.
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Event Logs (page 201)
z
Using the Windows 98 Event Viewer (page 202)
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File Version Details (page 205)
Event Logs
An event is an important occurrence that is caused by Recovery Solution or affects
Recovery Solution in some way. Examples include security data and error messages.
Different Recovery Solution components report information in several log files.
z
Recovery Solution Setup, Recovery Solution Cluster Creation Wizard and Altiris
Console report events into the Notification Server log that you can view at http://
<server name>/Altiris/NS/LogView.asp.
z
Recovery Solution Agent Setup logs events into the agent installation log
(AexCRAS.log) found on client computer.
z
Recovery Server Setup logs events into the server installation log (AexCRSS.log)
found on the server computer in %ProgramFiles%\Altiris\Recovery Solution\Server
folder by default.
Both Recovery Solution and Recovery Agent write events to an event log. In Windows
2000/XP, events are written to the Windows Application event log. System events might
also affect or be affected by Recovery Solution. In Windows 9x/Me, events are written to
an event log file maintained by Recovery Solution. Viewing the appropriate event logs is
a good way to help troubleshoot Recovery Solution. You should make a note of the
201
information that gets logged when problems occur. This information can greatly assist
systems engineers and any other technical support staff you might contact for help.
To view event messages on the server
1.
From the Windows Start menu, click Administrative Tools (Common).
2.
Click Event Viewer.
3.
From the Log menu, click either Application or System to view each event log.
To view event messages on a protected computer
1.
Open Recovery Agent Options.
2.
On the General tab, click Events Log.
For details about an event, double-click it in the list, or highlight it and press ENTER.
Note
If an event reported by Recovery Solution is associated with a system event reported by
Windows or an operating system component, then the System Event Code of the
Windows event is reported along with the other event information. System events are
documented by Microsoft. The system events associated with Recovery Solution are
frequently reported by the following Windows components. The typical system event
codes listed below are meant only as a guide; it is possible that these components could
report other codes and that these codes could be reported by other components.
Windows Components
Typical System Event Code
DCOM
Starts with 0x8004.
Windows
Starts with 0x8007.
RPC
Starts with 0x8008.
Using the Windows 98 Event Viewer
This section describes the Event Viewer installed with Recovery Solution on Windows 98
computers.
Note
The Windows Event Viewer used on Windows 2000/XP computers is an operating system
component (see Windows Help for instructions on using it).
See also:
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Event Details (page 203)
z
Finding Specific Events (page 203)
z
Saving Events to Other Files (page 204)
z
Clearing the Event Log (page 204)
z
Automatically Overwriting Events (page 204)
202
Event Details
Some information about each event is displayed in the main Event Viewer window. For
complete details on an event, select it in the list, then from the View menu, click Event
Details.
The following information is associated with each event.
z
Date
This is the date on which the event occurred.
z
Time
This is the time of day at which the event occurred.
z
Type
The category into which this event falls.
The following are the event types.

Information
Something that occurred without any problems.

Warning
A potential problem that might prevent the program from performing as
expected.

Error
A problem that prevented the program from performing as expected.
z
Source
This is the part of the program that caused the event.
z
User
This is the user name of the person who was logged on to the computer when the
event occurred.
z
Computer
This is the name of the computer on which the event occurred.
z
Description
This is detailed information about the event.
z
System Error
If an error message generated by the operating system is associated with this
event, the system message is displayed here, below the main description.
Otherwise, this field does not appear.
Finding Specific Events
You can locate specific events in the event log in the following ways.
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On the View menu, click Filter Events to limit the events displayed in the Event
Viewer window. You can filter events based on any combination of the event log
fields. Leave a field blank if you do not want to filter on it.
z
On the View menu, click Find to search for specific events. You can search on any
combination of the event log fields. Leave a field blank if you do not want to search
on it.
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After finding an event, you can search for the next event that matches the same
criteria by using the Find Next command.
Saving Events to Other Files
If the event log gets too full but you do not want to delete the events, you can save the
log under a different file name. Use the File menu Open and Save As commands to work
with event log files other than the default. You can then clear the main event log.
You also have the option to save the event log as a comma-delimited ASCII text file
formatted for importing into a database or a spreadsheet. Simply click this option from
the Save as type list when saving the file.
Note
You cannot use Event Viewer to open an event log file that you saved in text format. If
you want to be able to view the event log file from within the Event Viewer, save it as an
event log file.
Clearing the Event Log
You can clear the event log at any time. You might want to do this to if the file becomes
too large. You can view the file size and the number of events in the file from the status
bar.
When you clear the event log, all events are deleted, and the file is removed from the
computer. You cannot delete just a portion of the event log, but you can rename the
event log file instead of deleting it, or you can save the event log under a different
filename before you delete it.
To clear the event log
1.
From the Log menu, click Delete Event Log.
2.
Follow the confirmation prompts on the screen.
Automatically Overwriting Events
Because the event log can grow quite large, you might want to limit its size. You can
configure the Event Viewer to automatically overwrite old events as new ones occur.
To configure the Event Viewer to overwrite events
1.
From the Windows Start menu, click Run.
2.
Type REGEDIT.EXE and then click OK.
Caution
Be extremely careful when using the Registry Editor. If you accidentally change or
delete the wrong values, the computer could stop working properly. You might want
to print the Registry Editor Help topic To restore the registry before making any
changes. This topic describes how to revert to an old version of the registry if the
computer will not start.
3.
Browse to the following registry location.
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Altiris\eXpress\Recovery Solution
Agent\EventLog
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4.
If you do not see an Overwrite Mode value in the right-hand pane, then click the Edit
menu, click New and then click DWORD Value. Type Overwrite Mode.
5.
Select the Overwrite Mode value.
6.
From the Edit menu, click Modify.
7.
Under Value data, specify one of the following.

0
This tells the Event Viewer to overwrite events as needed. The log size will not
exceed the maximum size specified by the Maximum Log Size registry value
(default 128 KB).

1
This tells the Event Viewer to overwrite events that are older than the number
of days specified in the Overwrite Days registry value.

2
This tells the Event Viewer to never overwrite log events.
Caution
If you specify this option, there is no limit to the size of the event log file. The
file could eventually grow to fill all of the remaining space on the drive. If you
want to keep all old events, you should periodically archive the event log file
and delete it from the local drive.
8.
Click OK.
9.
Repeat the above procedure to create or edit the following values as appropriate.
Note
While editing values, be sure you specify Decimal for the Base option, unless you
truly intend to enter the numbers using hexadecimal notation.

If you chose to overwrite log events as needed and you want to change the
maximum size for the log file, repeat the above procedure to create or edit the
value named Maximum Log Size, and specify the maximum number of kilobytes
(KB) you want the file to consume.
10. If you chose to have overwrite log events after a specified number of days, repeat
the above procedure to create or edit the value named Overwrite Days, and specify
the maximum number of days for which you want Recovery Solution to store events
in the log.
File Version Details
You can view detailed version information about most of the program files for any
component of Recovery Solution (server, console, or agent). This information might be
useful if you need to obtain product support. When you first install Recovery Solution
most of the file version numbers probably match, but this could change if you apply
updates to your installation.
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To view detailed program file information
At any computer with any component of Recovery Solution installed, browse to the
installed program files folder for Recovery Solution and run the program AeXVer.exe.
On protected computers, file version details for Recovery Agent can also be viewed from
the Options dialog box, by choosing the General tab, the About Recovery Solution
link, and finally the Details button.
To save the program file details to a text file
1.
While viewing program file details, from the File menu, click Save As.
2.
Specify a filename and then click Save.
Installation Troubleshooting
Use the information in this section to solve problems you might encounter while
installing or getting started with Recovery Solution.
z
Server Installation Troubleshooting (page 206)
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Troubleshooting User Installations (page 208)
Server Installation Troubleshooting
This section provides troubleshooting tips for installing the server.
Choose the item that best describes the problem you are having, or scroll down to
browse the information.
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After installation, W3SVC warnings appear in System event log (page 206)
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If Recovery Server uninstall encounters an error, uninstall rollback may fail
(page 207)
z
Altiris Recovery Server service error message after completing a Recovery Solution
Server upgrade (page 207)
z
Recovery Server upgrade hangs with “Upgrade in progress” status forever
(page 207)
z
Recovery Solution tasks are non-fuctional after aggregation of legacy servers
(page 208)
z
Altiris Recovery Solution Server cannot be installed because 8.3 file names creation
is disabled (page 208)
After installation, W3SVC warnings appear in
System event log
After Recovery Solution Server is installed on a computer with IIS, whenever Windows is
restarted the System event log on the server might log warnings that the Web shares for
Recovery Solution could not be created.
In fact, the shares are created and you can safely ignore these warnings. If you would
prefer to eliminate the warnings, you must edit the security properties of the shared
folders to grant the computer’s SYSTEM read access. By default, the shared Web folder
for Recovery Agent Setup is:
206
C:\Program Files\Altiris\Notification Server\Client Recovery Server\Agent\AgentWeb
and the shared Web folder for Web-based file recovery is:
C:\Program Files\Altiris\Notification Server\Client Recovery Server\WBFR.
If Recovery Server uninstall encounters an error,
uninstall rollback may fail
If Recovery Server is brought to unusable state after uninstall rollback encounters an
error, you can try these steps to complete the server uninstall.

Try uninstalling Altiris Recovery Solution Server via Control Panel > Add/
Remove Programs on the Recovery Server machine.

Initiate Recovery Server Install on the same machine from Altiris Console and
try uninstalling later again.
Altiris Recovery Server service error message after
completing a Recovery Solution Server upgrade
After the setup program for Recovery Solution Server is complete, you see the following
error message in the server event log: “Service 'Altiris Recovery Solution Server' (Altiris
Recovery Solution Server) could not be installed. Verify that you have sufficient
privileges to install system services.”
You should check the AeXCRSS.log file created by the server installation for the following
message: “Setup has detected that version of selected Altiris Recovery Solution Cluster
is older than version of this Recovery Solution Server installation package.”
Note
For instructions on locating the log file, see “After Server Installation Is Complete” on
page 41.
The error may occur, if the Microsoft Services MMC snap-in widow was open on the
server during upgrade. This causes upgrade to fail when replacing the Recovery Solution
Server service components. If this occurs, close the Services window and other running
applications on the server and retry running the Recovery Solution Server Install.
Recovery Server upgrade hangs with “Upgrade in
progress” status forever
After starting Recovery Server upgrade never ends as the server status is shown as
"Upgrade in progress” on the Recovery Solution Servers in this Cluster page. Accelerate
Scheduled Snapshot and Full System Recovery Wizard functionalities may fail with error
saying that no available server is found.
The problem may appear if Recovery Server upgrade occurs while Notification Server is
offline.
The workaround for this problem is to uninstall the Recovery Server for which the status
cannot be updated and to install it again using the corresponding policies.
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Recovery Solution tasks are non-fuctional after
aggregation of legacy servers
Recovery Solution tasks (such as Manage Protected Data, Disable or enable account, Full
System Recovery image creation) may become non-functional after an aggregation of a
remote legacy Recovery Server and a Notification Server has already been running
Recovery Solution with a not yet upgraded Recovery Server. Upgrading local Recovery
Server should resolve the issue.
Altiris Recovery Solution Server cannot be installed
because 8.3 file names creation is disabled
8.3 file names creation must be enabled on a computer before installing the Recovery
Solution server, otherwise the error "Altiris Recovery Server cannot be installed because
8.3 file names creation is disabled" will appear during installation.
The '8.3 file names creation' can be enabled the following way:
Registry key:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\FileSystem
Parameter: NtfsDisable8dot3NameCreation
Type: string
Set this value to 0 to enable 8.3 name creation.
Troubleshooting User Installations
Listed below are some of the potential problems users might experience when trying to
install Recovery Agent.
z
Altiris Local Recovery Agent Registration fails (page 208)
z
Error message appears during Recovery Agent Setup (page 208)
z
User account not validated (page 209)
z
Setup does not run properly (page 210)
z
Applications will not start after agent install (page 211)
Altiris Local Recovery Agent Registration fails
Local client registration can fail after installation with error 0x80004005 or 0x80070057
if Windows default temporary folder (%WINDIR%\Temp) is missing on the client
computer. The workaround is to recreate the Windows Temp folder. For information, see
Microsoft Knowledgebase article 251254.
Error message appears during Recovery Agent
Setup
Script error appears in browser when user tries to install Recovery Agent from
Web-based Setup wizard
208
z
The server might be running an earlier version of Microsoft Internet Explorer.
Internet Explorer 5.0 or later is required.
z
The user might be running an earlier version of Microsoft Internet Explorer. Internet
Explorer 5.0 or later is required.
z
If Microsoft SQL Server on the server is running under the SYSTEM account or
another account that is not part of the AeXRS_Users group on the server, this user
must be added to AeXRS_Users before the Web installation can be accessed. An
administrator can make this change using Web Console.
z
"Page not found" error appears in browser when user tries to access Altiris Recovery
Agent Setup Wizard or Web Based File Recovery page on Windows 2003 Server.
To resolve this problem, change the status of Active Server Pages to Allowed in the
Web Service Extension list in IIS 6.0. For more information about, visit the
Microsoft Support Web Site.
“Cannot read the Windows registry” error
This could happen if the Windows computer name of the server does not match the
Domain Name System (DNS) host name in its TCP/IP properties. One of these names
should be changed to match the other.
User account not validated
Setup package prompts for credentials but does not accept them
If the server is using Windows domain security, and the user installing the software is
not a user (has never used the Recovery Agent on the computer), then the /User
parameter and account credentials must be specified on the command line.
Users unable to reinstall using their previous accounts
z
If the server is using Windows domain security, and the domain structure has been
changed in such a way that a user’s original installation account or the domain
containing it has been moved or renamed, then reinstallation requires one of the
following.

z
For users reinstalling through the Web-based Setup wizard, an account with the
user’s original username and password must exist in the domain containing the
server, or in a trusted domain.
Under certain situations, a user might see a message saying that the installation
cannot be performed because there is more than one protected computer with that
user name. This could happen if the server is using Windows domain security and
different accounts were reinstalled to the same computer.
To resolve the conflict, an administrator must locate the user’s conflicting accounts
within the console. This might be easiest to do using the Protected Users list. The
administrator must then do one of the following.

Rename the computer that is not being used for the reinstallation.

Delete the account that is not being used for the reinstallation. This can be done
by selecting the protected computer, then from the Action menu or the context
menu, choosing Mark For Delete, then Computer Account. The account is
deleted during the next deletion or server space management job. For
instructions on scheduling these jobs, see Configuring Server Job Schedules on
page 98.
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Caution
Deleting an account also deletes all protected data associated with that account.
User with expired password is prompted to change it during Web installation,
but then installation stops
This appears to be an issue with the way Internet Explorer handles account
authentication. If a user’s password has expired, it should be changed through Windows
before installing Recovery Agent.
Setup does not run properly
After user chooses to let browser run installation automatically, file
downloads, but nothing happens
z
Check the available disk space on the user’s computer. There should be free space
equal to at least 3 times the size of the installation files to allow for the creation of
temporary files during the browser download and the installation.
If there is not even enough disk space to download the file, browser limitations
might prevent the problem from being reported, but the installation will fail to run.
z
If the user is running Windows 2000/XP, see the server detection problem
description.
During SMS deployment, Setup runs twice
This could happen during installation on a Windows 9x computer, if operating system
components such as DCOM or Dial-Up Network need to be updated. To fix the problem,
the person configuring SMS can do one of the following.
z
Create separate deployment packages for each operating system component, and
deploy them before deploying Recovery Agent. This is the recommended fix, since
deploying all components in the same package could potentially result in an
incorrect installation status being reported to the SMS server.
z
Make a change to the SMS program properties for the distribution package. On the
General tab, for the After running option, click Program restarts the computer.
The automatic upgrade fails.
The following are potential causes of this problem.
z
If the user who is logged on at the time the upgrade starts is not an authorized user
of Recovery Solution, the upgrade might fail. To fix the problem, the user can be
added to the user group for Recovery Solution (AeXRS_Users by default), or
someone else can log onto the protected computer as a valid user of Recovery
Solution, and let the upgrade run again. You can cause the upgrade to start by
simply browsing the computer’s protected files.
z
The Setup files for the upgrade are downloaded to the TEMP subfolder of the
installed program files folder for Recovery Agent (C:\Program Files\Altiris\Recovery
Solution Agent). If there is not enough disk space on this drive, the upgrade could
fail.
z
If Windows System Restore is used to return a protected computer to a point at
which a previous version of Recovery Agent was installed, the automatic upgrade
does not re-upgrade Recovery Solution to the current version. In this case, a
reinstallation of Recovery Agent must be performed, using the computer’s existing
account.
210
z
If the automatic upgrade of a Windows 2000/XP protected computer is interrupted
(Example: if the computer is restarted during the upgrade), the software is unable
to repair itself. If this happens, the user should reinstall Recovery Agent using the
computer’s existing account.
z
If you are upgrading from Recovery Solution version 2.2 or earlier, and the
protected computer’s IP address has changed since its most recent contact with the
server, then the server cannot contact the protected computer to start the upgrade.
This is most likely to happen if the protected computer is configured to use a
dynamic IP address. To correct the problem, an administrator can go to the server
and run the “RefreshClientsIP.exe” file from the installed program files folder. This
updates the IP addresses of all protected computers in the database. If you the
upgrade is being done gradually (a few computers at a time), the program can be
run as many times as needed until all protected computers have been upgraded.
Before running it, the administrator must make sure that (1) the server specifies the
correct settings for your DNS server in its TCP/IP properties (if applicable), and (2)
each protected computer’s DNS host name matches its Windows computer name.
Alternatively, a user at a protected computer can start a snapshot manually, which
will cause the protected computer to send its updated information to the server.
After reinstallation from command line, Recovery Agent does not work
This can occur if the server is running in Windows domain security mode, and no domain
was specified as part of the installation command. In this case, it is impossible to
configure Recovery Agent options or initiate a snapshot after reinstallation. To solve this
problem, you can do either of the following:
z
Run the installation command again as described in Recovery Agent Setup
Command Line, being sure to specify the domain parameter.
z
Reinstall Recovery Agent using the Web-based Setup wizard.
Applications will not start after agent install
After the Recovery Agent has been installed, the computer must be restarted. If the
computer is not restarted, applications may not start properly.
User Account & Logon Problems
This section provides information on the following topics:
z
Protected Computers Cannot Connect to Server (page 211)
z
User Logon Issues (page 212)
z
Protected users cannot be authenticated (page 213)
Protected Computers Cannot Connect to Server
If protected computers receive errors when trying to connect to the server, check the
following.
z
If the address of the cluster is changed, you must change the cluster address on the
general tab of the Recovery Solution cluster configuration page (Configuration >
Solution Settings > Incident Management > Recovery Solution > Recovery
Solution Clusters > Recovery Solution Cluster Configuration).
211
z
If the protected computer connects to the server via a Dial-Up or Virtual Private
Networking (VPN) connection, and any of these remote networking settings have
recently changed on the computer, it might have affected the ability of the computer
to communicate with the server. You can use Recovery Solution to return the
settings to a previous state.
Each time a protected computer starts, Recovery Solution saves the computer’s Dial-Up
Networking settings in a snapshot that is stored locally on the protected computer.
These settings can be restored without making a connection to the server.
To access snapshots of network settings, the user clicks Network Settings Snapshots
from the context menu of the desktop or system tray icon for Recovery Solution. This
opens a window from which snapshots can be managed.
Before restoring settings, it is a good idea to first save the current settings so that they
can also be restored if necessary. Then any previously saved settings can be restored.
z
The DCOM configuration of either the server or the protected computer might not be
correct. For information about checking the DCOM configuration settings, see DCOM
Configuration on page 266.
z
If there is a firewall between a protected computer and the server, it must be
configured to let DCOM traffic through. For documentation about DCOM and how it
works with firewalls, visit the Microsoft Web site (http://www.microsoft.com).
User Logon Issues
Under certain conditions, Windows 2000 running on the server counts all connections
from Recovery Agent as invalid logon attempts, even if the account is authenticated
properly. This can occur if the protected computer is running Windows 98 SE.
Depending on the account policy settings in place on the server, it is possible under
these conditions for an account to become locked out without any failed logon
notifications to the user. Recovery Solution connects to the server whenever Windows
starts, so if the user restarts the computer several times in a short period, the limit for
invalid logon attempts might be reached, and the account locked out.
Possible symptoms of this problem that might appear to the user include the following.
z
Manual snapshots cannot be run. The user is prompted for logon information, but
the credentials are never accepted.
z
The user cannot browse protected files.
z

The main folder in Windows Explorer cannot be expanded.

Trying to open the protected files folder in its own window causes Windows to
display an Action canceled Internet Explorer page.
When trying to view options for Recovery Solution, the user sees a message saying
that the schedule settings cannot be displayed.
If a user encounters these problems, check the System event log on the server to see if
the account is being locked out. If it is, you can change the user’s account so that it is
not disabled and then have the user restart the protected computer.
To prevent this problem in the future, you might consider changing the account policy to
allow more bad logon attempts and/or to reduce the reset time.
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Protected users cannot be authenticated
Domain users become a member of the Recovery Solution user group (AeXRS_Users) by
default on the Altiris Recovery Solution Server service startup. If, e.g. because of a
network connection problem, your domain controller is unavailable as the service starts,
then your protected users will not be able to authenticate on the Recovery Solution
server.
To fix the problem, verify that your domain controller is available and restart the Altiris
Recovery Solution Server service.
Data Protection & Recovery Troubleshooting
Use the information in this section to solve problems you or Recovery Agent users might
encounter while protecting or recovering data.
The topics below describe specific problems you might need to resolve. If you suspect
other problems with the protected data that is stored on the server, see Configuring
Server Job Schedules on page 98.
z
Snapshot & File Restore Troubleshooting (page 213)
z
Full System Recovery Troubleshooting (page 216)
z
Rollback Troubleshooting (page 224)
Snapshot & File Restore Troubleshooting
The following are some specific problems that might occur during snapshots.
z
Snapshot Schedule for Certain Computers do not Run (page 213)
z
User Cannot Log On to Start Snapshot (page 214)
z
Job Cannot Be Submitted (page 214)
z
Protected computer drives missing from snapshots (page 214)
z
User Cannot Browse Protected Files (page 214)
z
User Cannot Access a Different Account Via Web-Based File Recovery (page 214)
z
Snapshots Fail Because Server Clocks Are Not Synchronized (page 215)
z
General Snapshot & Recovery Problems (page 215)
z
Short File Names Restored Incorrectly on FAT32 Partition (page 215)
Snapshot Schedule for Certain Computers do not
Run
If the protected computer is running Windows XP or Windows Me, its connection to the
server could be hampered by the Windows connection firewall, which prevents the
server from reaching the computer.
If the protected computer is behind a corporate firewall, or on a VPN connection to a
network that has a firewall, it is probably protected by that firewall, so the user can
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usually turn off the personal firewall. Assuming that the server is on the same network,
this should allow all features to work properly.
Note
Internet Connection Sharing uses the Windows firewall by default, so if the protected
computer uses Internet Connection Sharing then you could run into the same problem.
User Cannot Log On to Start Snapshot
For more information, see User Logon Issues on page 212.
Job Cannot Be Submitted
z
In Windows 2000/XP, one cause of this error is that the drive that contains the files
being protected uses the NTFS file system, and the local SYSTEM account on the
protected computer does not have full access to the drive. Recovery Solution uses
this account to read and write data.
To fix the problem, make sure that the SYSTEM account has access to the drive.
z
If multiple users report this problem at the same time, it might be an issue with the
server. Try to restart the server, following the instructions in Stopping and Starting
the Recovery Solution Server Service on page 289.
Protected computer drives missing from snapshots
If some files or drives are missing from a snapshot, if may be because the protected
computer’s disk configuration changed.
If the disk configuration changes on a protected computer, Recovery Agent should be reinstalled using the existing account to ensure that the updated drives are protected.
Following are some of the specific disk configuration changes that might require reinstallation of the software.
z
A hard drive is added to or removed from the computer.
z
A drive is resized.
z
A hard drive letter is changed.
z
A drive’s file system is changed (Example: from FAT to NTFS).
User Cannot Browse Protected Files
For more information, see User Logon Issues on page 212.
User Cannot Access a Different Account Via WebBased File Recovery
Under some circumstances, Web browsers can obtain valid logon credentials without
prompting the user for them. This could make it difficult for the user to access protected
files that are stored under a different account name.
The Web-based file recovery logon prompt might not appear if any of the following
conditions are true.
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z
The user has already accessed Web-based file recovery during the same Web
browser session.
Even if the user chooses the Log Off button, the credentials are not necessarily
cleared from the browser’s cache, so returning to the page might not require
another logon.
z
The user is running Internet Explorer, and the user’s logon credentials for Windows
are the same as those for Recovery Solution.
In this case, Internet Explorer just uses the Windows credentials without prompting
for a logon.
If a logon prompt is required (Example: if the user wants to access protected files
that are stored under a different account name), then the user can do one of the
following.

Log onto Windows using different credentials.

Access Web-based file recovery using Netscape, which is available for free from
the Netscape Web site (http://www.netscape.com).
Snapshots Fail Because Server Clocks Are Not
Synchronized
If computers’ clocks on two or more Recovery Servers in a cluster are unsynchronized,
snapshots may fail. You must ensure that server clocks are synchronized. If Recovery
Server computer is a member of a domain, its computer clock can be synchronized
automatically by a network time server. If Recovery Server computer is not a member of
a domain, the computer’s clock may be automatically and regularly synchronized by an
Internet time server.
To quickly synchronize computer’s clock with that of another Recovery Server computer,
open a command prompt on the server and enter the following command:
NET TIME \\computername /SET
General Snapshot & Recovery Problems
If the server is running MSDE (the lite version of Microsoft SQL Server), then the
number of SQL Server connections used by Recovery Solution should not be set to
anything greater than 5. If too many simultaneous connections are allowed, certain
tasks could fail.
For instructions on setting the number of connections used by Recovery Solution, see
Licensing Recovery Solution on page 44.
Short File Names Restored Incorrectly on FAT32
Partition
If you restore files on FAT32 partition on Windows Vista or XP 64-Bit Edition, the short
file names may be different from the originally backed up short file names. This is a
current FAT32 limitation. File restore on an NTFS partition works properly with short file
names.
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Full System Recovery Troubleshooting
This document contains troubleshooting information you can use in case a Full System
Recovery does not work properly. For instructions on performing a Full System Recovery,
see Running Full System Recovery on page 143.
z
Disk space error appears during Full System Recovery disk creation (page 216)
z
Full System Recovery does not start properly (page 216)
z
Error appears during Full System Recovery (page 217)
z
Full System Recovery fails when creating disk structure (page 220)
z
Full System Recovery incomplete, but no error appears (page 220)
z
Problems occur after server upgrade (page 221)
z
Error appears after Full System Recovery (page 221)
z
Recovery Agent not working after Full System Recovery (page 222)
z
Files missing or outdated after Full System Recovery (page 222)
z
Full System Recovery stalls (page 222)
z
Full System Recovery CD-ROM failure (page 222)
z
Full System Recovery and Windows 98 with Symantec Antivirus (page 223)
z
Cannot Cancel Restore of Folder (page 223)
z
Norton AntiVirus Security Warning (page 223)
z
Account Disabled After Full System Recovery (page 223)
z
Recovery Fails on Computers with Phoenix nForce 6A61CPAAC-00 BIOS (page 224)
z
Full System Recovery fails on HP NetServer LC2000 (page 223)
Disk space error appears during Full System
Recovery disk creation
Make sure that the network share for Full System Recovery has free disk space equal to
the total size of the CD/DVD-ROM images plus the maximum amount of data for a single
CD/DVD-ROM (depending on the capacity of your blank CD/DVD media).
Full System Recovery does not start properly
Computer starts normally, but nothing else happens
After the computer starts, run the Full System Recovery program (RNDM_DR.EXE) at
the command prompt.
If the program still does not start, create a new Full System Recovery disk.
Temporary operating system does not start
If the operating system appears to have been copied correctly but it does not start, it is
possible that the disk partition or drive information was not restored correctly. Example:
some types of computers use a special utility partition that is stored at the beginning of
216
the hard disk. If this partition is not restored correctly, the temporary operating system
might not be able to start.
To correct the problem, you can use a disk partition tool such as PartitionMagic to
restore the original partitions and drive letters. After you restart the computer Full
System Recovery should continue from the point at which it stopped.
Cannot log into temporary operating system when starting Full System
Recovery
There may be a problem with the temporary operating system copied to CD-ROM as part
of the Full System Recovery image. A problem occurs when a Windows NT computer has
non-English regional settings (stored in the system’s .NLS files). If this is the case, it is
impossible to log on, because the logon prompt does not accept keyboard input.
This problem can be fixed by creating new Full System Recovery disks that include, in
the temporary operating system, all of the .NLS files from the SYSTEM32 subfolder of
the protected computer’s Windows folder (by default, C:\WINNT\SYSTEM32). You must
then restart Full System Recovery using the new disks.
Error appears during Full System Recovery
“Cannot load DOS. Press any key to retry.”
If the computer is booting from a floppy disk, the disk might be bad. Ordinarily this
would be detected at the console, but if the floppy disk drive at the console is better at
handling disk errors than the floppy disk drive at the protected computer is, Recovery
Solution might not be able to detect the problem when you create the Full System
Recovery disk.
Try creating a new Full System Recovery disk with a different floppy disk.
“VDISK memory allocator already installed. XMS driver not installed.”
You might have started the Full System Recovery by simply restarting the computer
instead of turning it off. Be sure to turn the computer off to clear its memory, then with
the first disk or CD-ROM inserted, turn the computer back on.
“Partition table file is invalid”
The Full System Recovery cannot continue because there is a problem with your
computer’s file system.
This error usually appears if you have chosen to continue a Full System Recovery that
you started previously. You might need to restart the Full System Recovery from the
beginning.
“Hard disk [C:] is smaller than the original.”
The partition table cannot be restored.
The hard disks on the computer to which you are restoring data are too small to hold all
of the protected data from the original hard disks. For Full System Recovery to work, the
computer to restore must have at least as many hard disks as the original protected
computer, and the contents of each original disk must fit entirely onto one of the
restored computer’s disks.
Listed below are some specific circumstances that might cause this error to occur.
z
A hard disk has been removed from the protected computer since the time of the
Full System Snapshot.
217
z
You are trying to restore to a different computer than the one from which the Full
System Snapshot was run.
z
The protected computer uses Windows 2000/XP disk volume sets or stripe sets. In
this case, there must be physical disks on the recovered computer large enough to
store the entire contents of the logical disks from the snapshot.
“Cannot open partition information file.”
Recovery Solution cannot access the information about the computer’s file system.
This might be because the data is invalid, or it might just be a temporary access
problem.
You should start the Full System Recovery again. If you attempt to continue from where
you left off and you still see this message, you will have to restart the Full System
Recovery from the beginning.
“Invalid volume information file.”
The Full System Recovery cannot continue because there is a problem with the
information about your hard drives.
This error usually appears if you have chosen to continue a Full System Recovery that
you started previously. You might need to restart the Full System Recovery from the
beginning.
“Cannot open volume information file.”
Recovery Solution cannot access the information about your computer’s hard drives.
This might be because the data is invalid, or it might just be a temporary access
problem.
You should start the Full System Recovery again. If you attempt to continue from where
you left off and you still see this message, you will have to restart the Full System
Recovery from the beginning.
“Run-Time error R6003. Attempt to divide by 0”
You might see this message in the following cases.
z
On computers with certain BIOS versions, if you attempt to recover from a bootable
CD-ROM. Example: computers with American Megatrends AMIBIOS Version
1.00.04.DK0K cannot be recovered from bootable CD-ROM.
One possible work around is to use the console to create a bootable floppy disk, and
restart the Full System Recovery from the floppy disk. However, this might not work on
all BIOS versions.
“Disk Write Error. Could not write to disk %c.”
It is possible that part of the disk specified is damaged. You might try using a tool such
as ScanDisk to mark the bad clusters as unusable. If there is enough disk space left over
to recover the system, you can try again. Otherwise, you can install the operating
system manually and perform a data-only Full System Recovery.
You could also replace the hard disk with another one that is at least the same size as
the original one and then run the Full System Recovery again.
“Original boot sector not found”
You might see this message on computers with a single SCSI drive and certain BIOS
versions installed, if you attempt to recover from a bootable CD-ROM. One possible work
218
around is to use the console to create a bootable floppy disk, and restart the Full System
Recovery from the floppy disk.
“ntldr not found”
If the protected computer has multiple SCSI hard disks, and the computer is configured
in the BIOS to boot from one of these SCSI hard disks with an ID greater than 0, you
cannot perform a Full System Recovery on the computer. If the computer will not boot,
you must install the operating system manually. Then you can restore the data from the
Full System Recovery CD-ROM.
“Cannot extract files to disk”
You might see this message if you are recovering from a CD-ROM set in which the
temporary operating system spans more than 1 disc. To fix the problem, you must
recreate the discs with a temporary operating system smaller than the capacity of a CDROM (650 MB). The same error can also appear in case of a bad CD media.
“The modem has detected an internal error”
You might see this message during Full System Recovery on the IBM ThinkPad 600E,
along with options to restart or shut down the modem. Simply choose to shut down the
modem, and the Full System Recovery should continue normally.
“D:\DISK1 is not accessible. Folder was moved or removed”
Some CD-ROM drives, notably certain NEC models, might not be able to read CD-ROMs
that have not been finalized (or “closed”). If you encounter error messages claiming that
files or folders cannot be found, you might need to finalize the CD-ROMs with your CD
writing software.
Some CD writing programs let you finalize discs that you have already written. If you do
not have this option, you must create the discs again. In that case, the easiest way to
finalize the discs is to create them using the “disc-at-once” option.
System file errors
If you see Windows errors relating to system files that cannot be replaced, or Windows
Update errors relating to .DLLs, you might be attempting to recover the computer from
a Full System Snapshot that was performed in the middle of the installation of a
program. If a user installs a program that requires the computer to be restarted, but a
Full System Snapshot is performed before the computer is restarted, you cannot recover
the computer from this snapshot. Try creating a new Full System Recovery disk from a
different snapshot.
Service Control Manager and other Windows errors
During the Windows part of Full System Recovery, you might see error messages
relating to services not starting or files not being found. Often these messages appear
because certain items specified in the Windows registry were not included in the
temporary operating system being used to restore the computer’s files. The Full System
Recovery should continue normally in the background, even if these messages appear.
They should not appear when the Full System Recovery is complete.
After the temporary operating system is installed, the protected computer
cannot connect to the server to complete Full System Recovery
If a network device driver was installed or updated just before the snapshot used for Full
System Recovery, and the protected computer was not restarted between the driver
installation and the snapshot, then it is possible that the required driver files were not
included in the temporary operating system. This occurs because Recovery Solution only
checks for required system files while the computer starts up. If the required files are
219
missing, the network card might not function correctly, and a connection to the server
becomes impossible.
The problem can sometimes be corrected by recreating Full System Recovery disks and
adding the entire Windows folder to the temporary operating system.
“psAuthInfo or psAuthInfo->psAuthIdentityData is Null”
You might see this error if you chose a snapshot from a version of Recovery Solution
earlier than 4.0 as the source for Full System Recovery. You can use snapshots from
Recovery Solution 3.2 or later, but to do so you must include all user data on the CDROMs.
Full System Recovery fails when creating disk
structure
If the Full System Recovery fails when creating the disk structure, you can perform a
Full System Recovery without formatting the hard drive.
For information, see Using Full System Recovery Without Formatting Drives Option
(page 145).
Full System Recovery incomplete, but no error
appears
After partitions converted to NTFS, computer restarts, but does not boot
This symptom could occur when the partition information in a disk’s Master Boot Record
(MBR) does not match the information in the disk controller.
To fix the problem, you need to erase the partition table from the MBR. You can use the
pclean.exe program installed with the console for this purpose.
Pclean.exe is located on the Recovery Solution Server at C:\Program
on the Tasks tab under Tasks > Incident Resolution > Recovery Solution > Erase
Partition Table.
To erase the protected computer’s partition tables
1.
Boot the protected computer to DOS.
To do this you can boot using Full System Recovery disks and then press N to
cancel.
2.
From the DOS prompt, run pclean.exe.
3.
You will be prompted to enter disk numbers from which you want to erase the
partition tables.
If you know which disk is causing the problem, you can erase only that partition
table. Otherwise, you might have to erase them all.
4.
After you have erased the partition tables restart Full System Recovery.
I’m prompted to insert next CD-ROM, but it has already been inserted, or
current CD-ROM is last of recovery set
The most likely cause of this error is a bad CD. Try the following to resolve the problem.
z
Click Try Again in the dialog box that appears following the error message.
220
z
Recreate the CD-ROM that was being processed at the time of failure. This is not the
CD-ROM that you inserted after the prompt, but the previous one. Be sure not to rerecord the data onto the faulty CD-ROM. Try to continue with the new CD-ROM.
Full System Recovery stops
First make sure that the Full System Recovery has really stopped.
z
Check the status messages on the screen to see if Recovery Solution is in the middle
of a task.
z
Check the hard disk activity light on the computer casing to see if there data is
being read from or written to the hard disk.
z
Even after you are convinced that the system has stopped prematurely, wait 10
minutes to be sure.
If you are still convinced that the Full System Recovery has stopped before it is done,
you can try the following.
z
Restart the computer. The Full System Recovery might continue normally once you
restart.
z
If the recovery does not continue, you might have to start over again. If you
attempted a fully automatic Full System Recovery that failed, you can try a dataonly Full System Recovery.
Problems occur after server upgrade
After the server has been upgraded, certain limitations of Full System Recovery may
apply. If you are performing Full System Recovery over the network, you cannot use an
image created with an older version of the software. In this case, the server cannot
automatically upgrade the protected computer, and user’s account becomes disabled.
To successfully perform Full System Recovery from an old image after a server upgrade,
and ensure that the user’s account remains active, use only Full System Recovery from
CD-ROM (and not over the network). A similar issue arises (the user’s account becomes
disabled because the new version of Recovery Agent cannot use data restored from the
older version), but the user can then reinstall Recovery Agent after Full System
Recovery is completed to fix the problem.
Error appears after Full System Recovery
Norton AntiVirus security warning
If the protected computer is running Windows Me, then after Full System Recovery is
complete, Norton AntiVirus might display a warning indicating that security resources
have been tampered with. You can safely close and ignore this error.
Hibernation Utility: “Your computer cannot go into hibernation mode”
If you are using a Toshiba notebook computer with Windows 98 SE, you may see this
error message after you have run a Full System Recovery and restarted the recovered
computer. This error message appears because a hibernation file was not restored
during Full System Recovery. Hibernation files are not included in Full System Recovery
or snapshot operations, because they can take up large amounts of memory, and
contain non-essential information such as current running applications and their window
positions.
To work around this error, you can restore the computer’s hibernation file using a
hibernation utility named “Halloc.exe”.
221
To restore a hibernation file
1.
Restart the computer in MS-DOS mode.
2.
Go to the directory “C:\Windows\”.
3.
Type Halloc /C.
Note
The file “Halloc.exe” will be in “C:\Windows” if you installed Windows on the
computer from the original Toshiba CD. If you do not have this file in the Windows
directory, you can obtain it from the Toshiba Web site (http://www.toshiba.com).
4.
After you see a “File is created” message, restart the computer.
Recovery Agent not working after Full System
Recovery
If Recovery Solution was uninstalled before the Full System Recovery, you might have
trouble running snapshots and restoring files once the Full System Recovery is complete.
That’s because the uninstall process removed some of the information about the
protected computer from the server.
To fix this problem, reinstall Recovery Agent using the same account as before. After the
software is reinstalled, snapshots and restores should work normally.
Note
using previous versions of Recovery Solution. To use snapshots from earlier versions,
you must add all the user data to the CD-ROM set.
Files missing or outdated after Full System
Recovery
If you completed a Full System Recovery but some of your files are missing or outdated,
the Full System Recovery disk might have been created with an older snapshot
specified. Once the protected computer is up and running with Recovery Agent installed,
the user can restore the missing files by using Recovery Agent options. For instructions,
see the Recovery Solution User’s Guide.
Full System Recovery stalls
If there is a large number of files on a CD-ROM recovery set, data restore may be slow,
and may even appear to be making no progress for some minutes. In this case, recovery
has not failed; it is simply slow.
Full System Recovery CD-ROM failure
During Full System Recovery from CD-ROM, processing of a particular CD-ROM may fail.
One of the following scenarios may occur:
z
During recovery, you are prompted to insert the next CD-ROM, but the CD-ROM
being processed is the last in the recovery set.
222
z
During processing of a CD-ROM, you are prompted to insert the next CD-ROM in the
recovery set. Upon insertion of the next CD-ROM, recovery fails.
Try the following in order to resolve the problem:
z
Click the Try Again button in the Recovery Solution Full System Recovery error
dialog box.
z
Re-record the CD that was being processed at the time of failure. This is not the CD
inserted after the prompt for the next CD, but the previous one. Data from the CD
being read at the time of failure must be re-recorded onto a different CD.
Full System Recovery and Windows 98 with
Symantec Antivirus
After the Full System Recovery DOS part finishes and the computer is restarted, the
following message may appear.
Cannot find device that might be needed to run windows or windows
application c:\progra~1\symantec\symevnt.386
Press any key
Pressing any key will boot Windows without problems
Cannot Cancel Restore of Folder
Files from the folder for which you're trying to cancel the restore process are probably
stored on multiple CD-ROMs. To cancel restore of the folder, you must insert and confirm
cancellation for each CD-ROM containing data from that folder.
Norton AntiVirus Security Warning
If you are running Windows Me and have Norton AntiVirus installed, then after Full
System Recovery is complete, Norton AntiVirus might display a warning indicating that
security resources have been tampered with. You can safely close and ignore this error.
Account Disabled After Full System Recovery
After Full System Recovery has been performed on your computer, you might see a
message saying that your account has been disabled. This can happen if your computer
is recovered to a point in time from before your current account status. Example: the
following situations could cause this message to appear.
z
You have reinstalled Recovery Agent, but your computer is recovered to a point in
time before you reinstalled.
z
You have uninstalled Recovery Agent, and your computer is recovered using
Recovery Solution Full System Recovery.
To fix the problem, simply reinstall using your existing account.
Full System Recovery fails on HP NetServer LC2000
Full System Recovery can fail when creating disk structure on HP NetServer LC2000 with
Phoenix BIOS 4.06.23 PV. For information, see Full System Recovery fails when creating
disk structure on page 220.
223
Recovery Fails on Computers with Phoenix nForce
6A61CPAAC-00 BIOS
Computers with Phoenix nForce BIOS ver. 6A61CPAAC-00 (BIOS date 10/22/04) may fail
to start after RapiDeploy image creation and after RapiDeploy image restore during F11
recovery with the following error:
Booting Production partition....
NTLDR is missing
Press Ctrl+Alt+Del
Restart the computer manually once again. The problem should be resolved.
Rollback Troubleshooting
Certain error conditions that cause the rollback not to succeed might not report that
condition back to the console. If the rollback seems to be running for an excessively long
time, you should check the protected computer itself to see if any errors have occurred.
You can cancel the job from the console job queue.
The following are some specific errors you could encounter while trying to perform a
rollback.
z
Unable to see Desired Snapshot During a System Rollback (page 224)
z
Rollback Cannot Be Started From the Console (page 225)
z
Job Cannot Be Submitted (page 225)
z
After Rollback, User Is Prompted to Uninstall (page 225)
z
Rollback Fails (page 225)
z
After Rollback, a Restored Drive Contains No Data (page 226)
Unable to see Desired Snapshot During a System
Rollback
Problem: When the agent software is reinstalled or upgraded, the snapshots from the
previous installation do not appear in the Steam Rollback wizard.
Cause: This was done by design to hide old snapshots.
Solution: You must add a registry value to use snapshots from previous installations for
a System Rollback.
1.
Open the Windows registry editor.
2.
Browse to the following registry key:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Altiris\eXpress\Recovery Solution Agent
3.
Right-click on the details pane and select New and then DWORD value.
4.
Type in the name ShowRedSnapshots.
5.
Double-click ShowRedSnapshots and type in a value of 1.
224
Rollback Cannot Be Started From the Console
If the protected computer is running Windows XP or Windows Me, its connection to the
server could be hampered by the Windows connection firewall, which prevents the
server from reaching the computer.
If the protected computer is behind a corporate firewall, or on a VPN connection to a
network that has a firewall, it is probably protected by that firewall, so the user can
usually turn off the personal firewall. Assuming that the server is on the same network,
this should allow all features to work properly.
Note
Internet Connection Sharing uses the Windows firewall by default, so if the protected
computer uses Internet Connection Sharing then you could run into the same problem.
Job Cannot Be Submitted
In Windows 2000/XP, one cause of this error is that the drive that contains the files
being restored uses the NTFS file system, and the local SYSTEM account on the
protected computer does not have full access to the drive. Recovery Solution uses this
account to read and write data.
To fix the problem, make sure that the SYSTEM account has access to the drive.
After Rollback, User Is Prompted to Uninstall
If rollback is performed using a snapshot from an earlier version of Recovery Solution,
then after the recovery is complete, Recovery Agent must be reinstalled on the
protected computer with the user’s existing account.
Rollback Fails
z
If the server is running MSDE (the lite version of Microsoft SQL Server), then the
number of SQL Server connections used by Recovery Solution should not be set to
anything greater than 5. If too many simultaneous connections are allowed, certain
tasks could fail.
For instructions on setting the number of connections used by Recovery Solution,
see Licensing Recovery Solution on page 44.
z
There might not be enough registry free space on the protected computer. Under
Windows 2000/XP, Recovery Solution requires that a certain percentage of the
space allocated for the registry be free in order for snapshots or rollback operations
to work. If the registry quota is insufficient, the registry cannot be restored properly
during rollback.
To correct the problem, you must increase the maximum registry size so that there
is enough free space for Recovery Solution to use. The change is made in the Virtual
Memory dialog box along with the Windows paging file sizes. Start by following the
recommendations published by Microsoft for increasing the maximum registry size.
They are included in the Microsoft Knowledge Base article Q176083, which you can
obtain from a number of Microsoft technical publications or from the Microsoft Web
site (http://www.microsoft.com).
225
If rollback still fails, it might be necessary to increase the maximum registry size
even more. You might find you need to increase the maximum registry size to as
much as 50 MB.
After Rollback, a Restored Drive Contains No Data
If the protected computer’s drive configuration has changed since the time of the
snapshot to which you are rolling back, then the old drive configuration is restored, but
it is possible that one or more drives contains no data. To restore the data, perform a
second rollback to the snapshot you chose for the first rollback.
226
Chapter 13
Recovery Agent Troubleshooting
To troubleshoot the Recovery Agent, choose the troubleshooting topic that applies to
your situation.
z
Troubleshooting: Install/Uninstall on page 227
z
Troubleshooting: Snapshots on page 230
z
Troubleshooting: Restoring Data on page 236
z
Troubleshooting: Error Messages on page 240
z
Troubleshooting: Options on page 243
z
Troubleshooting: Event Logs on page 244
z
Troubleshooting: Rollback on page 246
z
Troubleshooting: Other Issues on page 248
Troubleshooting: Install/Uninstall
What type of installation problem are you having?
z
When installing Local Recovery, I get an error stating that I am using non-supported
devices. See Troubleshooting: Unsupported Devices on page 227.
z
I cannot install the Altiris Partition for Local Recovery. See Troubleshooting:
Problems Installing the Local Partition (page 228).
z
I cannot update my Recovery Agent installation. See Troubleshooting: Cannot
Update Recovery Agent on page 229.
z
When I update Recovery Agent, my settings are lost. See Troubleshooting: Settings
Not Saved During Update on page 229.
z
After Uninstalling Recovery Agent, bad clusters still exist on hard drive.
SeeTroubleshooting: Unusable Clusters after Uninstall on page 229
z
When Installing Recovery Agent fails with error “unable to configure the settings.
See Troubleshooting: Install fails with unable to configure the settings error on
page 230
Troubleshooting: Unsupported Devices
When installing Local Recovery, you may get an error message similar to the following:
Found hardware, which is not supported by the current version of the Local
Recovery. Local snapshot functionality will not work. Please review the drivers in the
Hardware Device Manger and disable the unsupported hardware.
Local Recovery and Local Recovery Pro cannot be installed on the following drive types:
Serial ATA
RAID
227
SCSI* (*Adaptec 3800/3900 series are supported, others are not)
If your computer uses these devices, you will need to remove them before installing
Local Recovery.
If your computer does not use these devices, you may still get this error message. Some
computers may have drivers loaded for devices that are not actually used in the
computer. If you get this error message, but you are not using this devices, view your
Windows Device Manager. If a driver for one of these devices is loaded, uninstall it,
restart your computer, and try the installation again.
Troubleshooting: Problems Installing the Local Partition
Problems Launching the Recovery Agent Partition Wizard
If you have compression turned on for the drive that you are trying to install Local
Recovery on, you will get the following error:
“Recovery Agent failed to launch Partition Wizard. Procedure failed with error 0x1F.
If problem persists, please contact support for Altiris Recovery Solution.”
Local Recovery cannot create the Altiris Partition on a compressed drive. To solve this
problem, disable compression for the drive, and reinstall Local Recovery.
For more information on using compression with Local Recovery, see the notes under
Installing the Recovery Agent in Local Mode on page 60.
Problems Creating the Altiris Partition
When trying to create the Altiris partition for local recovery, the user may get the
following message:
“Altiris Recovery Agent failed to create initial image of the system.”
This message usually indicates that it was not possible to find enough contiguous free
space on the drive to create the partition of the size specified. To correct this situation
the user can do one of two things; first, they can try and create a partition smaller than
the suggested size or second, they can exit the install and run a defragmentation utility
to attempt to create enough contiguous space for the partition creation.
Problems Creating the Initial Snapshot
After the creation of the Altiris partition, the user may get the following error:
“Altiris Recovery Agent failed to create the initial image of the system.”
On computers where 50% or more of the hard drive is used prior to the creation of the
Altiris Partition, users may encounter problems taking the initial snapshot. If this
message is encountered and the drive is more than 50% full, the user can try the
following steps to correct the issue:
1.
Cancel the snapshot.
2.
Reboot to Windows.
3.
Run Windows Disk Cleanup.
4.
Delete any unnecessary files.
5.
Run Windows Disk Defragmenter.
6.
Restart the installation.
228
Troubleshooting: Cannot Update Recovery Agent
The following are some potential causes of update problems.
z
If the automatic update doesn't seem to work, make sure that you are logged on as
an authorized user of Recovery Solution, then let the upgrade run again. You can
cause the upgrade to start by simply browsing your protected files.
z
To install the Recovery Agent on a Windows 2000/XP computer, you must be a
member of the Administrators user group or have administrative rights on your
computer. If you don't have administrative rights, ask the Recovery Solution
administrator to install the software for you.
z
If you get errors trying to install the Recovery Agent over an older version, try
uninstalling the Recovery Agent first, then install the new version.
In some cases Setup might prompt for a user name and password, but not accept
them even if they are valid. This could occur if you are trying to reinstall from a
command-line Setup package provided by your administrator, and you are not the
original user who installed Recovery Agent on your computer. In this case, you need
to specify user credentials on the command line as follows:
AgentSetup.exe /Reinstall /Comp:computer /User:primary_username /
GUser:your_username /Pass:your_password
If your administrator provided other command-line switches to use, be sure to
include them as well. The order that switches appear on the command line is not
important.
Troubleshooting: Settings Not Saved During Update
During a regular software update or reinstallion using the same account, all your
settings should be saved. However, some settings might revert back to the default state
under any of the following circumstances.
z
You completely uninstall the software first, then reinstall it.
Uninstalling the software removes all settings. If you want to update the software
and keep your old settings, simply install it over the existing copy.
z
You install the software on a different computer from the one you originally installed
it on.
Some settings are stored on your computer rather than on the server, so even if you
use the same account, those settings are not kept when you install the software on
a different computer.
Troubleshooting: Unusable Clusters after Uninstall
After uninstalling the Recovery Agent, there still may be clusters on the computer’s hard
drive that are not made available. To repair the clusters, you can download a BWINST
utility from Altiris Technical Support. Then from a command prompt, run it with the
following parameters:
BWINST -rs -u -d:<disk number>
229
Troubleshooting: Install fails with unable to configure the
settings error
During install you get the following error:
Error 25015. The setup has detected that Recovery Agent is unable to configure
the settings for this computer. See more details in to the AexCRAS.log file which
is available in your Windows temporary folder.
The reason for this error is that the current logged in user on the computer can not
access of modify settings in the registry, the user can try the following steps to correct
the issue:
1.
Run Regedit
2.
go to the following entry
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Altiris\eXpress
3.
right click on eXpress folder and select Permissions....
4.
Reset Permissions for all users to Full Control and Read
5.
Rerun the Recovery Solution agent install
Troubleshooting: Snapshots
What happens when you try to take a snapshot?
z
The snapshot options are disabled or otherwise not available. See Troubleshooting:
Snapshot Options Unavailable on page 231.
z
I start a manual snapshot, but nothing happens. See Troubleshooting: Nothing
Happens on page 231.
z
I start a manual snapshot, but my computer locks up or otherwise fails to respond
as expected. Troubleshooting: Erratic Behavior on page 231.
z
I scheduled a timed or automated snapshot that does not appear to have been
performed. See Troubleshooting: Snapshots Don't Run on page 232.
z
The snapshot starts correctly, but stops before it is completed. See Troubleshooting:
Snapshot Stops Prematurely on page 234.
z
During the snapshot, the Windows Installer screen appears. See Troubleshooting:
Windows Installer Appears During Snapshots on page 235.
z
The snapshot does not contain all my files. See Troubleshooting: Snapshot Is
Missing Files on page 235.
z
I receive an error message while the snapshot is being taken. See Troubleshooting:
Error Messages on page 240.
z
I am prompted to log on, but then nothing happens. See Troubleshooting: Logon
Problems on page 250
z
I am prompted to log on, but my user name and password are not accepted. See
Troubleshooting: Logon Problems on page 250.
230
Troubleshooting: Snapshot Options Unavailable
z
An administrator can disable snapshot and recovery activity on your computer. This
might be done temporarily for maintenance purposes.
z
If you want to take a snapshot of a specific file or folder, and you browse to the
folder using Windows Explorer, you can start a snapshot by right-clicking the file or
folder and clicking Snapshot from the menu. You can also select the file or folder
and click File > Snapshot. In some cases, the Snapshot option is not available.
This problem can occur if using a version of Windows Internet Explorer earlier than
6.0. To solve this problem, upgrade Internet Explorer to 6.0 or newer.
Troubleshooting: Nothing Happens
If you choose an Recovery Solution option but nothing happens, it could be for the
following reasons.
z
Under some circumstances, if you are starting a snapshot or restore, it might take
up to several minutes for the progress window to appear, so it seems as if nothing is
happening.
z
If for some reason the server is not working properly, it might also be several
minutes before an error message appears.
You can check the availability of the server by looking at the Windows taskbar. The
Recovery Agent system tray icon, usually located at the bottom right of your screen,
displays a red mark if there is a problem contacting the server.

If the server is unavailable, contact your Recovery Solution administrator for
further assistance.

If the server is available, there might be a configuration problem. See
Troubleshooting: Options on page 243.
If the progress window opens but does not continue, see Troubleshooting: Recovery
Solution Stops During a Snapshot or Restore on page 234.
z
If you are using Windows XP and your computer is not part of a Windows domain,
you might be running into problems with Fast User Switching. For more information,
see Troubleshooting: Fast User Switching on page 252.
Troubleshooting: Erratic Behavior
There appear to be some incompatibilities between Recovery Agent and other products
that could cause some Recovery Solution functions to fail. Check to see if you have the
programs below installed. If you do, you might need to uninstall the other product
before you can continue.
z
Legato Replica
z
Replica for HP SureStore Tape
z
Stac Replica Tape
z
Timbuktu Enterprise 2.0 Build 635
z
Tivoli Data Protection for Workgroups
231
Troubleshooting: Snapshots Don't Run
Snapshots can be performed at specific times (scheduled), or they can be associated
with specific events (Example: snapshots that start when you log off).
What type of snapshot are you having trouble with?
z
Scheduled snapshots. See Troubleshooting: Scheduled or Automated Snapshot
Doesn't Run on page 232.
z
Snapshot on logoff. See Troubleshooting: Snapshot on Logoff Doesn't Run on
page 233.
Troubleshooting: Scheduled or Automated
Snapshot Doesn't Run
Automated snapshots can be performed at specific times (scheduled), or they can be
associated with specific events (Example: snapshots that start when you log off). There
are a number of reasons that a scheduled or automated snapshot might not start when
you expect it to.
If a scheduled or automated snapshot does not run, check the following.
z
Scheduled snapshots that are based on a time of day take place according to the
internal clock of the server, not your computer. When scheduling your snapshots,
you should allow for typical deviations in clock settings.
Example: suppose your computer's clock reads 1:00 P.M., while the server's clock
reads 1:10 P.M. If you schedule a snapshot to start at 1:05 P.M., you might expect it
to run in 5 minutes, but it won't because according to the server 1:05 P.M. is already
past. The snapshot won't run until the next scheduled day.
For proper operation, the clocks on the Recovery Solution Servers and clients must
be synchronized.
z
If you are running Windows XP or Windows Me, a connection firewall might be
preventing the server from reaching your computer. For more information, see
Troubleshooting: Connection Firewall on page 251.
z
Your computer might have been off. You do not have to be logged on with a user
name and password, but your computer must be on for a snapshot to be run. If
you're running Windows 9x/Me, your computer must be started in Windows mode
(not MS-DOS mode).
z
To ensure that all your files are protected, you should reinstall the software as soon
as possible after an upgrade to Windows. If you don't reinstall, then your scheduled
or automated snapshots might not occur.
z
The Recovery Solution administrator can limit the number of simultaneous
connections to the server. If many scheduled snapshots are running at the same
time, then some snapshots might get delayed because they are not all allowed to
run at the same time. As long as the server is not constantly using the maximum
number of connections throughout the entire scheduled time range for your
snapshot, the snapshot should start (though probably not at the beginning of the
time range).
On the other hand, if many other protected computers are accessing the server
constantly during the entire time range scheduled for your snapshot, the scheduled
snapshot might not run on that day, and your computer won't take an automatic
snapshot again until the next scheduled snapshot time. If you are allowed to change
232
your own snapshot schedule, you can increase the time range to give your snapshot
a greater chance of being taken.
If your snapshots are frequently skipped because of limited access to the server, you
should notify the Recovery Solution administrator.
z
If there's a problem on the server or if the server is simply not running during your
scheduled snapshot time, the snapshot won't start.
z
A local-mode snapshot on event (such as log on, idle, resume, or dock) may fail to
start in case HP Wireless Assistant 1.01 is installed on the computer. The
workaround is to uninstall the HP Wireless Assistant software or to rely on automatic
scheduled snapshots. You can still use the Snapshot on Logoff feature, as it is not
affected by this issue.
Troubleshooting: Snapshot on Logoff Doesn't Run
Snapshot on logoff might not run for the following reason.
z
Windows might be logging you off before the snapshot has a chance to run. This
behavior is controlled with an application timeout registry setting that is different for
each user on the computer.
In most versions of Windows, the default for this timeout is long enough that it does
not interfere with the snapshot on logoff timeout. However, in Windows XP and
Windows 2000, the default timeout is too short. Recovery Solution automatically
increases this timeout when Setup is run, but if the setting was subsequently
changed, or if you are not the user who installed the software, then you might have
to change the setting manually.
To increase the Windows application timeout
1.
2.
Type regedit.exe, and click OK.
Caution
Be extremely careful when editing the Windows registry. If you accidentally change
or delete the wrong values, your computer could stop working properly. You might
want to print the Registry Editor Help topic “To restore the registry” before making
any changes. This topic describes how to revert to an old version of the registry if
your computer won't start.
3.
Browse to the following Registry location.
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Desktop
4.
In the list of values (usually on the right), select HungAppTimeout.
5.
6.
Under Base, click Decimal so you can enter the number you want in regular
decimal format.
7.
Under Value data, specify the number of milliseconds you want Windows to wait
before automatically trying to close an application.
Be sure this value is at least 20000.
8.
Click OK.
233
For additional troubleshooting information, see Troubleshooting: Snapshots Don't Run
on page 232.
Troubleshooting: Snapshot Stops Prematurely
What happens when the snapshot stops?
z
The Progress window stays on the screen for a long time without continuing. See
Troubleshooting: Recovery Solution Stops During a Snapshot or Restore on
page 234.
z
Recovery Solution completes the snapshot, but the snapshot does not contain all of
my files. See Troubleshooting: Snapshot Is Missing Files on page 235.
z
Recovery Solution stops the snapshot and displays an error message. See
Troubleshooting: Error Messages on page 240.
z
The Progress window closes. See Troubleshooting: Unknown Solution on page 252.
z
Something else happens. See Troubleshooting: Unknown Solution on page 252.
Troubleshooting: Recovery Solution Stops During a
Snapshot or Restore
z
If you're running a snapshot, check to see if the Close button is available. When a
snapshot is complete, the Close button replaces the Stop button, and a Snapshot
complete message appears. Sometimes the statistics mistakenly indicate that there
is still more information to be copied, but this is not the case. Once the Close
button becomes available, all files have been successfully included in the snapshot.
Note
Be careful not to close the window too soon. If you are running a snapshot on
multiple drives, the progress is displayed separately for each drive and reaches
100% after each drive is finished. If more data still needs to be included, the button
reads Stop, not Close, and if you choose it, the rest of the files will not included.
z
If you start a snapshot and the Close button becomes available but no files appear
to have been protected (the percentage complete stays at 0%), you might be using
the McAfee VirusScan Safe & Sound feature. If you use this feature to store backup
files as “protected volume files,” your snapshots might not run successfully. The
problem can be fixed by either turning off Safe & Sound, or by reconfiguring it to
store backups as folders instead.
z
If you are restoring many files, the message “Initializing the list of items to restore.
Please wait...” might stay on the screen for a very long time. This is normal
behavior. You can continue working in other programs while the restore process
initializes.
z
If you think your snapshot or restore is really stalled, try clicking the Stop button in
the Progress window. (If you don't see a Stop button but you see a Close button,
then the snapshot or restore is finished, and you can close the window.)
If you cannot close the Progress window, close your other programs and restart your
computer, then try the snapshot or restore again. If it still fails, contact the
Recovery Solution administrator. There might be a problem with the server.
234
Troubleshooting: Windows Installer Appears During Snapshots
You might see the Windows Installer screen appear during your snapshots if you have
Microsoft Office 2000 installed on your computer, and any of its components are
configured with the option to Install on first use (which is the default for many
components).
If you cancel the installer, the snapshot should continue normally.
Troubleshooting: Snapshot Is Missing Files
Listed below are some reasons that your snapshots might be missing files.
z
The files are excluded from the snapshot.
A file might be excluded from a snapshot in any of the following ways.

By not including the drive in the snapshot.
If performing a manual snapshot, make sure you select the drive on which you
want to run a snapshot.
For scheduled snapshot, make sure the drive is checked in the snapshot
schedule options.

By excluding the file automatically from all snapshots (manual or scheduled).
This is configured in the snapshot exclude options.
There are a number of ways you that the exclude options might be configured
to make Recovery Solution ignore a file during a snapshot. For more
information, see the “Snapshot Exclusion Notes” in the Recovery Solution User’s
Guide.
z
The files are open or locked during snapshot.
Under certain conditions, Recovery Agent fails to backup files, which are locked or open.
These conditions include the following:

· Recovery Agent is running Windows 9x/Me.
Recovery Agent for Windows 9x/Me does not include the OFM driver, hence, it
does not provide open and locked file support.

· Protected computer is running Local Recovery Agent.
Local Recovery Agent does not provide support for open and locked files.
Note
Local Recovery Pro provides open and locked file support. For more information
on the additional benefits of Local Recovery Pro, see Local Recovery Pro on
page 15·

OFM synchronization fails during snapshot.
Sometimes, when the write activity rate spread is uneven among the protected
computer multiple hard drives, the most active drive’s write operations may
cause OFM synchronization to fail even though this particular drive was
excluded from the snapshot. In this case, you need to change the OFMState
value to enable OFM synchronization by volume (as opposed to the default
“synchronize the whole system” setting).
235
Warning
Before using “Sync by volume” option, make sure there are no databases or
applications that span across multiple volumes in your environment.
z
If you start a snapshot and the Close button becomes available but no files appear
to have been protected (the percentage complete stays at 0%), you might be using
the McAfee VirusScan Safe & Sound feature. If you use this feature to store backup
files as “protected volume files,” your snapshots might not run successfully. The
problem can be fixed by either turning off Safe & Sound, or by reconfiguring it to
store backups as folders instead.
Troubleshooting: Restoring Data
Which type of data restore are you trying to perform?
z
I am trying to restore files by browsing my snapshot data. See Troubleshooting: File
Restores on page 236.
z
I am trying to perform a rollback. See Rollback Troubleshooting (page 224).
z
I am trying to perform a Full System Recovery. See Full System Recovery
Troubleshooting (page 216).
z
I am trying to restore files with a Web browser. See Troubleshooting: Web-Based
File Recovery Logon Doesn't Appear on page 238.
z
I don't know the difference between the restore types. See Troubleshooting:
Unknown Restore Type on page 240.
z
Other Issues Relating to Restoring Data on page 240
Troubleshooting: File Restores
What happens when you try to restore data?
z
I cannot view my protected files. See Troubleshooting: Cannot View Protected Files
on page 237.
z
I'm having trouble understanding file versions or getting a particular file version.
See Troubleshooting: Protected File Versions on page 237.
z
I choose Restore or drag file snapshots to my computer, but nothing happens. See
Troubleshooting: Nothing Happens on page 231.
z
Problems on page 250.
z
Troubleshooting: Logon Problems on page 250.
z
I cannot log on with a different account when using Web-based file recovery. See
Troubleshooting: Web-Based File Recovery Logon Doesn't Appear on page 238.
z
Windows Explorer crashes. See Troubleshooting: Restore Crashes Windows Explorer
on page 239.
z
Recovery Agent freezes during a search for files to restore. See Troubleshooting:
Recovery Solution Freezes During File Search on page 239.
236
z
I choose Restore, but my computer locks up or otherwise fails to respond as
expected. See Troubleshooting: Erratic Behavior.
z
The restore process starts correctly, but stops before it is completed. See
Troubleshooting: Restore Stops Prematurely on page 239.
z
I receive an error message during the restore process. See Troubleshooting: Error
Messages on page 240.
z
I cannot restore a file larger than 4GB on a FAT32 disk. See Troubleshooting: Not
Enough Space Available to Restore (FAT32) on page 238.
z
I completed a manual restore, but some of the files I tried to restore are missing or
damaged. Troubleshooting: Unknown Solution on page 252.
Troubleshooting: Cannot View Protected Files
z
However, if you restore a folder containing the secure item, the item will also be
restored (but you still won't have access to open it).
z
It's possible that your account has been locked out from the server. Possible
symptoms of this problem include the following.

You cannot expand the Client Recovery Agent folder in Windows Explorer.

Trying to open the Client Recovery Agent folder in its own window causes
Windows to display an Action canceled Internet Explorer page.
An account lockout is most likely to occur if you are running Windows 9x/Me, and
the server is authenticating users locally (not via a domain). In this case, the
operating system on the server counts all Recovery Solution connections as invalid
logon attempts. If you've restarted your computer several times in a row, you might
have to wait until the account lockout expires, then restart your computer again in
order to access Recovery Solution. Your administrator should be able to determine
what the account lockout policy on the server is.
z
Troubleshooting: Protected File Versions
What type of file version problem are you having?
z
I don't know how to find the version I need. See Troubleshooting: Cannot Find File
Versions on page 238.
z
I cannot tell the difference between file versions. See Troubleshooting: Protected
File Versions Are the Same on page 238.
z
When I restore a folder, I get the wrong version of one or more files. See
Troubleshooting: Restored Files Are Incorrect Versions on page 238.
z
I have a different problem. See Troubleshooting: Miscellaneous File Version
Problems on page 238.
237
Troubleshooting: Cannot Find File Versions
While browsing protected files, you can change which file versions are displayed by
clicking the View menu, then Recovery Solution Versions.
For details about the view options, see “Viewing and Restoring Protected Files” in the
Recovery Solution User’s Guide.
Troubleshooting: Protected File Versions Are the
Same
If you are viewing multiple versions of your protected files and you encounter two or
more files that appear to be identical, look at the Snapshot Taken column. The date
and time shown here might be the only distinguishable difference between versions of a
file. This could happen if the file itself did not change between snapshots, but the
properties of the file did. Example: Recovery Solution creates a new version of the file if
the only change is in its NTFS security attributes.
In most cases, you'll probably want to restore the file that has the latest snapshot date.
Troubleshooting: Restored Files Are Incorrect
Versions
If you are running Windows 9x/Me, there is a small chance that when you manually
restore a folder, you will not get the latest protected version of every file. This can
happen if the letters in a filename on your computer have changed from uppercase to
lowercase or vice versa (Example: renaming “testfile.txt” to “Testfile.txt”), because
protected files stored on the server are case-sensitive. This is unlikely to happen to data
files unless the cases of the file names are intentionally changed. However, it is possible
this could happen to program files during software upgrades. You can still view all
versions of your files and manually recover the specific file you need.
Troubleshooting: Not Enough Space Available to
Restore (FAT32)
If you try to restore a file larger than 4 GB on a disk formatted with FAT32 file system,
you will receive the error “Not enough space available to restore file” even though there
may be enough free space available on the disk. This is a limitation of the FAT32 file
system. The largest possible file for a FAT32 volume is 4 GB minus 2 bytes.
Troubleshooting: Miscellaneous File Version
Problems
For details about the view options, see “Viewing and Restoring Protected Files” in the
Recovery Solution User’s Guide.
Troubleshooting: Web-Based File Recovery Logon Doesn't
Appear
Under some circumstances, Web browsers can obtain valid logon credentials without
prompting you. This could make it difficult for you to access protected files that are
stored under an account name that is different from the one the browser automatically
obtains.
238
The Web-based file recovery logon prompt might not appear if any of the following
conditions are true.
z
You have already accessed Web-based file recovery during the same Web browser
session.
Even if you choose the Log Off button, your logon credentials are not necessarily
cleared from the browser's cache, so returning to the page might not require
another logon.
z
You are running Internet Explorer, and your logon credentials for Windows are the
same as those for Recovery Solution.
In this case, Internet Explorer just uses your Windows user name and password
without prompting for a logon.
If a logon prompt is required (Example: if you want to access protected files that are
stored under a different account name), then you can do one of the following.

Log onto Windows with a different user account.

Access Web-based file recovery using Netscape, which is available for free from
the Netscape Web site.
Troubleshooting: Restore Crashes Windows Explorer
There appears to a compatibility problem between Recovery Solution and a program
called PowerArchiver. If PowerArchiver is installed, you might need to disable its Explorer
shell extension feature before you can restore files.
To disable the PowerArchiver shell extension, do the following.
1.
Open PowerArchiver.
2.
Click Options.
3.
Click Configuration.
4.
Click the Explorer Shell Extensions tab.
5.
Clear the Use Explorer Shell Extensions checkbox.
6.
Click OK.
Troubleshooting: Recovery Solution Freezes During File Search
If you are searching for files to restore and the Recovery Agent freezes, it may be
because the search operation was interrupted and then restarted. If your computer is
running Windows Me, the Restore Selection Wizard is likely to freeze after a search is
canceled.
In this case, you may need to restart your computer in order to continue using Recovery
Solution.
Troubleshooting: Restore Stops Prematurely
What happens when the restore stops?
z
Recovery Solution stops the restore and displays an error message. See
Troubleshooting: Error Messages (page 240).
239
Troubleshooting: Unknown Restore Type
You can restore data in the following ways.
z
Regular Restore
You are performing a regular restore if your computer works, but you have lost
some identifiable data that you need to retrieve from a snapshot. You are browsing
your snapshot and restoring the files you need.
z
Rollback
You are performing a rollback if you can start your computer, but it is not working
properly and you want to return it to a previous state.
z
You are performing a Full System Recovery if your files have become so damaged
that your computer no longer works properly, and you have lost most or all of your
data. You are restoring files by using a Full System Recovery disk created for you by
the Recovery Solution administrator.
Which type of data restore are you trying to perform?
z
I am trying to restore files by browsing my snapshot data. See Troubleshooting: File
Restores on page 236.
z
I am trying to perform a rollback. See “Performing Rollbacks” in the Recovery
Solution User’s Guide.
z
I am trying to perform a Full System Recovery. See “Recovery Solution Full System
Recovery” in the Recovery Solution User’s Guide.
Other Issues Relating to Restoring Data
Custom user names for message queues gets
renamed into the GUID-like names
Sometimes after a rollback or full system recovery, the custom user names for the
message queues get renamed into GUID-like names. Such names will be returned back
to the normal view after the user sends a new message into the queue or after
restarting the Message Queueing service.
Troubleshooting: Error Messages
Where do you see this error message appear?
z
The message appears in the Progress dialog box. See Troubleshooting: Error
Messages in the Progress Dialog Box on page 241.
z
The message pops up in its own window. See Troubleshooting: Error Message Boxes
on page 242.
z
I found the message in the event logs. See Troubleshooting: Error Messages in the
Event Logs on page 246.
240
Troubleshooting: Error Messages in the Progress Dialog Box
If the message says that there was an error restoring the registry, see Troubleshooting:
System Low on Registry Quota.
Otherwise, have you previously performed the same task without seeing this error?
z
Yes, I was once able to perform this task successfully. See Troubleshooting: New
Error.
z
No, this error often appears when I perform this task. See Troubleshooting:
Repeated Error.
Troubleshooting: New Error
A new error indicates that something on your computer, on the server, or on the network
has changed recently.
z
First, try again. Sometimes temporary conditions on the network prevent normal
communications from occurring, and a retry is all that's required. You might also
find that restarting your computer makes the problem disappear.
z
If you recently changed any settings (particularly network settings) or installed any
new software on your computer, it's possible that Windows replaced some of the
shared files required by Recovery Agent. If the files were replaced with older
versions, then Recovery Agent might no longer work properly. Specifically, some
programs replace the DCOM system files that Recovery Solution uses to
communicate between your computer and the server, which could prevent you from
running snapshots and restoring data. Ask your Recovery Solution administrator to
help you get the correct files back on your computer.
Note
To minimize this problem, always keep the newer versions of files when given the
choice. Windows usually asks whether or not you want to keep your existing version
of a file when it is newer than the one being installed, and you should always choose
Yes. Some programs (such as Internet Explorer 4.0 and the Windows 98 Upgrade)
replace files without asking, so you might still see this problem occasionally.
Windows 98 includes a Version Conflict Manager that you can use to restore files
that were on your computer before you installed Windows 98.
z
If you recently installed FrontPage 98 Personal Web Server, you might need to
change one of the default Personal Web Server settings to allow you to continue
taking snapshots manually. For instructions, see Troubleshooting: FrontPage 98
Personal Web Server Conflict on page 250.
z
If any network settings changed recently, Recovery Solution might not have the
information it needs to communicate properly across the network. If you changed
the network configuration of your own computer, you might try putting your settings
back the way they were to see if it fixes the problem. If you're running certain
versions of Windows, you can use Recovery Solution to do this. For details, see
“Saving and Restoring Network Settings” in the Recovery Solution User’s Guide.
If your network administrator changed settings somewhere else on the network, or
if anything on the Recovery Solution server was changed, you might ask if other
Recovery Solution users are encountering problems as well. If they are, there's a
good chance that the network change has something to do with the problem. You'll
have to work with the network administrator or the Recovery Solution administrator
to correct the problem.
241
For more recommendations, see Troubleshooting: Error Checklist on page 246.
Troubleshooting: Repeated Error
z
If you haven't restarted your computer in a long time, restart it and try again.
Sometimes restarting the computer clears temporary problems from memory.
z
If you haven't successfully run a snapshot yet, try reinstalling Recovery Agent using
your existing account.
z
If you have FrontPage 98 Personal Web Server installed, you might need to change
one of the default Personal Web Server settings to allow you to take snapshots
manually. For instructions, see Troubleshooting: FrontPage 98 Personal Web Server
Conflict on page 250.
For more recommendations, see Troubleshooting: Error Checklist on page 246.
Troubleshooting: Error Message Boxes
Here are some specific types of error messages that you might see. For information
about solving each problem, follow the appropriate link.
z
The message says that the job could not be submitted. See Troubleshooting: Job
Could Not Be Submitted on page 242.
z
The message says that my computer's drive configuration has changed, but it
hasn't. See Troubleshooting: Drive Configuration Message on page 243.
z
The message says that the system is running low on registry quota. See
Troubleshooting: System Low on Registry Quota on page 243.
z
My virus protection program warns me about changes to my computer. See
Troubleshooting: Virus Warning During Rollback on page 247.
z
The message indicates a problem with an “authentication service.” See
Troubleshooting: Options on page 243.
z
The message indicates an error in the module tapeng.exe.
If your error message does not appear above, have you previously performed the same
task without seeing this error?
z
Yes, I was once able to perform this task successfully. See Troubleshooting: New
Error on page 241.
z
No, this error often appears when I perform this task. See Troubleshooting:
Repeated Error on page 242.
Troubleshooting: Job Could Not Be Submitted
In Windows 2000/XP, one cause of this error is that the drive that contains the files you
are protecting or restoring uses the NTFS file system, and the local SYSTEM account on
your computer does not have full access to the drive. Recovery Solution uses this
account to read and write data.
To fix the problem, you need to give the SYSTEM account access to the drive. For
information on modifying security settings to a drive, see Windows Help.
242
Troubleshooting: Drive Configuration Message
Recovery Solution detects when your computer's drive configuration has changed and
informs you of this because you might need to check your settings in order to ensure
that all your files are protected under the new configuration.
It is possible that configuration changes could occur that cause Recovery Solution to
display this message even though no real changes to your drive configuration have been
made. One circumstance under which this could occur is if you are using the McAfee
VirusScan Safe & Sound feature to store backup files as “protected volume files.” In this
configuration, McAfee creates a virtual drive on your computer. Although this “drive”
does not contain any data that needs to be protected (since it's all stored in McAfee's
backup file), it causes Recovery Solution to display the drive configuration message. The
problem can be fixed by either turning off Safe & Sound, or by reconfiguring it to store
backups as folders instead.
Troubleshooting: System Low on Registry Quota
Under Windows 2000/XP, Recovery Solution requires that a certain percentage of the
space allocated for the registry be free in order for snapshots to work. If the registry is
already using most of the space available for it, then you might see this message when
you perform a Full System Snapshot.
An insufficient registry quota can also prevent the registry from being restored properly.
To correct the problem, you must increase the maximum registry size so that there's
enough free space for Recovery Solution to use. The change is made in the Virtual
Memory dialog box along with the Windows paging file sizes.
Start by following the recommendations published by Microsoft for increasing the
maximum registry size. They are included in the Microsoft Knowledge Base article
Q176083, which you can obtain from a number of Microsoft technical publications or
from the Microsoft Web site.
If you still encounter the error, it might be necessary to increase the maximum registry
size even more. When performing a rollback, you might find you need to increase the
maximum registry size to as much as 50 MB.
Troubleshooting: Options
What type of problem are you having with the options?
z
I can't open the Recovery Agent Options dialog box. See Troubleshooting: Can't
Open Options.
z
A message appears saying that my computer's drive configuration has changed, but
it hasn't. See Troubleshooting: Drive Configuration Message on page 243.
z
Some options don't appear and/or are disabled. See Troubleshooting: Options Are
Unavailable.
z
A message appears saying that the schedule settings cannot be displayed. See
Troubleshooting: Schedule Settings Cannot Be Displayed.
z
When I click the button to change my credentials, nothing happens. See
Troubleshooting: Fast User Switching on page 252.
z
I can't close the Recovery Agent Options dialog box. See Troubleshooting: Cannot
Access Dialog Box Buttons on page 251.
243
Troubleshooting: Can't Open Options
What happens when you try to view the options?
z
I can't find the Recovery Agent icon. See Troubleshooting: Fast User Switching.
z
Nothing happens. See Troubleshooting: Nothing Happens on page 231.
z
Problems.
z
Troubleshooting: Logon Problems.
z
I get a different error message. See Troubleshooting: Error Message Boxes on
page 242.
Troubleshooting: Options Are Unavailable
Options might be unavailable for any of the following reasons.
z
Your version of Recovery Agent does not include the option you are looking for.
z
Your computer might not have the required support installed for an option.
Example: if you do not have Dial-Up Networking installed on your computer, the
options for protecting your computer remotely do not appear.
z
You might not have the rights to view or change some options. By default, some
options are not available to you. Also, your Recovery Solution administrator can
enable or disable certain options for you.
z
If you see a message saying that your schedule settings cannot be displayed. See
Troubleshooting: Schedule Settings Cannot Be Displayed on page 244.
z
Troubleshooting: Schedule Settings Cannot Be Displayed
If you see a message saying that your schedule settings cannot be displayed, it's
possible that your account has been locked out from the server. An account lockout is
most likely to occur if you are running Windows 9x/Me, and the server is authenticating
users locally (not via a domain). In this case, the operating system on the server counts
all Recovery Solution connections as invalid logon attempts. If you've restarted your
computer several times in a row, you might have to wait until the account lockout
expires, then restart your computer again in order to access Recovery Solution. Your
administrator should be able to determine what the account lockout policy on the server
is.
Troubleshooting: Event Logs
What type of problem are you having with the event log?
z
When I open the Event Viewer, I see an error regarding the file messages.dll. See
Troubleshooting: Messages.dll Is Missing on page 245.
244
z
After installing Recovery Agent under Windows NT, I get frequent messages
informing me that the event log is full. See Troubleshooting: Event Log Full on
page 245.
z
I don't understand the event messages. See Troubleshooting: Error Messages in the
Event Logs on page 246.
z
More information: Troubleshooting: Error Checklist on page 246.
Troubleshooting: Messages.dll Is Missing
You might see this message if you're running the Recovery Agent under Windows 9x/Me,
and your software was automatically upgraded from an earlier version.
To fix the problem, do one of the following.
z
Reinstall Recovery Agent using your existing account.
z
Edit the Windows registry as follows.
1.
2.
Type regedit.exe, then click OK.
Caution
Be extremely careful when editing the Windows registry. If you accidentally
change or delete the wrong values, your computer could stop working properly.
You might want to print the Registry Editor Help topic To restore the registry
before making any changes. This topic describes how to revert to an old version
of the registry if your computer won't start.
3.
Browse to the following registry location.
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\Eventlog\Applicat
ion\Altiris CR Solution
4.
In the list of values (usually on the right), select EventMessageFile.
5.
6.
Under Value data, enter the following.
C:\Program Files\Altiris\Recovery Solution Agent\messages.dll
7.
Click OK.
Troubleshooting: Event Log Full
Recovery Solution stores errors and other messages in the event log. Depending on how
frequently you use Recovery Solution, the event log could fill up very quickly—especially
if other installed programs are also writing to the same log.
You have two options for dealing with this problem.
z
Clear the log each time you receive the message. You'll have the option of saving
the log before you delete it.
z
Change the Event Viewer settings to automatically overwrite events.
If you do this, you won't have a chance to save old log information, but in most
cases it is only the recent log information that is valuable.
245
Troubleshooting: Error Messages in the Event Logs
See your Recovery Solution administrator for information about all Recovery Solution
event messages, including errors.
Troubleshooting: Error Checklist
Here are some additional things to try if you're still receiving errors.
z
Make sure the version of Recovery Agent you're running is the same as the version
that's on the server. Your Recovery Solution administrator should have installation
software for the correct version of Recovery Agent.
z
If you're running Windows 9x/Me, your computer's network access control settings
must be configured in one of the following ways. Choose any item for information
about where these settings are located.

For User-level access control.
See the Windows Help topic To control access by using a list of names for
instructions. For the Windows NT domain name, be sure to specify the name of
the domain that your computer logs onto.

For Share-level access control, with your network adapter bound to the TCP/IP
protocol.
See the Windows Help topic To control access by using passwords for
instructions on setting up share-level access control.
Windows Help also has information on binding an adapter to a protocol.

For Share-level access control, with NetBIOS over TCP/IP enabled.
To enable NetBIOS over TCP/IP, do the following.
1.
From the Windows Start menu, click Settings.
2.
Click Control Panel.
3.
Click the Network icon.
4.
On the Configuration tab, scroll down until you find the TCP/IP protocol, and
select it.
If you see more than one TCP/IP protocol, select the one that you use when
running snapshots or restoring files with Recovery Solution.
5.
Click Properties.
6.
Click the NetBIOS tab.
7.
Check the box labeled I want to enable NetBIOS over TCP/IP.
8.
Click OK.
Troubleshooting: Rollback
What happens when you try to perform the rollback?
z
I don't know how to perform a rollback. See “Performing Rollbacks” in the Recovery
Solution User’s Guide.
z
I choose a snapshot to restore from, but nothing happens. See Troubleshooting:
Nothing Happens on page 231.
246
z
The restore process starts correctly, but stops before it is completed. See
Troubleshooting: Restore Stops Prematurely on page 239.
z
My virus protection program warns me about changes to my computer. See
Troubleshooting: Virus Warning During Rollback on page 247.
z
I receive an error message during the restore process. See Troubleshooting: Error
Messages on page 240.
z
I completed a rollback, but some of the files I tried to restore are missing or
damaged. See Troubleshooting: Rollback Has Missing or Damaged Files on
page 247.
z
I completed a rollback, then I received a message saying that my computer has
been disabled. See Troubleshooting: Rollback Disables Computer on page 248.
z
After rolling back my system, I see an error in the module tapeng.exe. See
Troubleshooting: Rollback General Protection Fault Error Message on page 248.
z
After Rollback, the DHCP server was not started and error 1811 is recorded in the
event log. See Troubleshooting: DHCP Problems After Rollback on page 248.
z
I need to restore data, but I can't start the computer. See “Recovery Solution Full
System Recovery Dialog Box” in the Recovery Solution User’s Guide.
Troubleshooting: Virus Warning During Rollback
Some virus protection programs, such as Norton Antivirus 5.0, have an option to protect
the computer's boot code. If you are running Norton Antivirus with this option turned
on, and the master boot record has changed since the time of the snapshot being
restored, then during the rollback Norton Antivirus prompts you to accept or reject the
rollback changes to the master boot record.
No matter which option you choose, the rollback continues normally but does not
restore either the master boot record or the Windows registry. If you suspect problems
with the master boot record or the registry and need these files restored, you should
disable the option to protect the boot code, then run the rollback (or have your
administrator run it) again.
Troubleshooting: Rollback Has Missing or Damaged Files
There are some specific issues related to rolling back computers that have Microsoft
Office installed.
z
If you are running Microsoft Office 97, a rollback might cause the Office Shortcut
Bar icons to be incorrect. (They all show the same icon.) These are caused by
outdated temporary files that remain on the computer after the rollback. To correct
the problem, close the Office Shortcut Bar and delete the following files from your
computer. They are located in the “Office\Shortcut Bar” subfolder of the folder
containing your Microsoft Office program files (by default “C:\Program
Files\Microsoft Office”).

off3071.tmp

off3071h.tmp

off3071s.tmp
Once the files have been deleted, the Office Shortcut Bar should display the correct
icons.
247
z
If you were previously running Microsoft Office 97 but upgraded to Microsoft Office
2000, you should try to avoid rolling back your computer to a point in time when
you had Office 97 installed. This might cause some Office files to be restored
incorrectly. To correct the problem, you might need to reinstall Office.
z
If your computer's drive configuration has changed since the time of the snapshot to
which you are rolling back, then the rollback restores your old drive configuration,
but it's possible that one or more of your drives contains no data after the rollback is
complete. To restore the data, perform a second rollback to the same snapshot you
chose for the first rollback.
Troubleshooting: Rollback Disables Computer
If you roll back to a snapshot that was performed using a previous version of Recovery
Agent, your Recovery Agent software is also rolled back. To bring your system up to
date, you should reinstall the software using your existing account.
Troubleshooting: Rollback General Protection Fault Error
Message
Certain Toshiba DVD-ROM drives, including the Toshiba Tecra 750 DVD, include a utility
called Toshiba Access Panel. Under certain situations, a minor bug in this utility causes a
General Protection Fault error “in module tapeng.exe at 0137:0040d919.” This error
might occur after files are restored during a rollback using Recovery Solution. However,
the rollback is successful; this error does not affect your data. Simply close the error
message and restart the computer.
Troubleshooting: DHCP Problems After Rollback
Sometimes after a rollback is completed on the client computer, the DHCP service is not
started and an error -1811 appears in event log. This can occur if during the rollback,
the client computer requested the IP Address from the DHCP server. To resolve this
problem, delete j50.chk from the Windows DHCP folder and then restart server or start
DHCP service manually.
Troubleshooting: Other Issues
z
Troubleshooting: DCOM on page 249
z
Troubleshooting: FrontPage 98 Personal Web Server Conflict on page 250
z
Troubleshooting: Logon Problems on page 250
z
Troubleshooting: Cannot Access Dialog Box Buttons on page 251
z
Troubleshooting: Connection Firewall on page 251
z
Troubleshooting: Fast User Switching on page 252
z
Troubleshooting: Unknown Solution on page 252
z
Troubleshooting: Event Viewer on page 252
248
Troubleshooting: DCOM
DCOM is a Windows component that Recovery Solution uses for communication between
your computer and the server. Usually it is installed and configured automatically, and
you don't have to do anything with it. However, installing or removing certain Windows
components can result in configuration changes that prevent Recovery Solution from
being able to use DCOM.
The specific symptoms of DCOM configuration problems are different depending on
which version of Windows you are running.
Windows 2000/XP
This section describes DCOM configuration problems you might encounter under
Windows 2000 and Windows XP.
Symptom
Trying to view protected files or open the options window results in the error “The
authentication service is unknown (0x800706d3).”
Explanation
It's likely that the remote procedure call (RPC) locator service has been removed
from your computer. This is a communication service required for proper DCOM
operation.
The RPC service gets removed if you uninstall the Client for Microsoft Networks
networking component.
Solution
You must reinstall Client for Microsoft Networks. To do so, see To add a network
component in Windows Help.
Once it is installed, you can disable it by clearing the checkbox next to it in the list.
This prevents the client component from being used, but it does not remove the RPC
files that DCOM applications require.
Windows 98 SE
This section describes DCOM configuration problems you might encounter under
Windows 98 SE.
Symptom
When you try to view protected files or open the options window, nothing happens.
Explanation
It's likely that the Client for Microsoft Networks networking component has been
removed from your computer. DCOM is frequently configured to use this networking
component for communications.
Solution
You must reconfigure DCOM. To do this, run the file dcomcnfg.exe, which is usually
located in the SYSTEM subfolder of your Windows folder. Click the Default Properties
tab, then under Default Authentication Level, click (None). Click OK to apply the
changes and close the window, then restart your computer.
249
Troubleshooting: FrontPage 98 Personal Web Server Conflict
If you have FrontPage 98 Personal Web Server installed, you might need to change the
following default Personal Web Server setting to allow you to take snapshots manually.
1.
From the Windows Start menu, click Settings.
2.
Click Control Panel.
3.
Open the Network applet.
4.
Click Personal Web Server.
5.
Click Properties.
6.
Change the Use Local Security option to FALSE.
7.
Click OK.
Troubleshooting: Logon Problems
There are a number of reasons that you might have difficulty logging onto the server.
z
If you entered your user name and password and nothing is happening, it might just
be taking a while. Your connection to the server depends on various conditions. If
nothing happens after several minutes, see the items below.
z
If your user name and password are not accepted, make sure they are correct.
Passwords are case-sensitive, so “PASSWORD” is not the same as “password.”
z
If you keep getting prompted to reregister your computer or enter your logon
information, and you are sure you have entered your user name and password
correctly, it's possible that one of the following has happened:

The server software has been recently reinstalled. Restart your computer and
try again.

Your account has been locked out. This is most likely to happen if you are
running Windows 9x/Me, and the server is authenticating users locally (not via a
domain). In this case, the operating system on the server counts all Recovery
Solution connections as invalid logon attempts. If you've restarted your
computer several times in a row, you might have to wait until the account
lockout expires, then restart your computer again in order to access Recovery
Solution. Your administrator should be able to determine what the account
lockout policy on the server is.
z
If the administrator has upgraded the copy of the console that is installed on the
server, but has not yet upgraded the server software, you'll be unable to use
Recovery Solution until the administrator completes the upgrade. You might want to
let the administrator know that you are having problems.
z
If you are running Windows 9x/Me and you log onto a Windows NT domain, make
sure that your user name and password, as well as the name of the domain itself, do
not contain extended ANSI characters. These characters have character codes
greater than 127 and are commonly used in non-English languages (Example:
umlauts and characters with accents). They cannot be used with Recovery Solution
because of a limitation in the Microsoft DCOM security component. For more
information, see Troubleshooting: DCOM on page 249.
If your account contains such characters, you can do one of the following:
250
z

If you have another account without extended ANSI characters, you can
uninstall Recovery Agent, log onto Windows using your other account, then
reinstall Recovery Agent.

If you do not have another account without extended ANSI characters, or if
these characters are in the domain name itself, contact your administrator for
help.
Certain networking and security components are required to be installed on your
computer in order for Recovery Agent to work correctly. For more information, see
Troubleshooting: DCOM on page 249.
If you still have problems, contact your Recovery Solution administrator for help.
Troubleshooting: Cannot Access Dialog Box Buttons
The minimum screen resolution requirement for Recovery Agent is 800 x 600.
z
If you are using an 800 x 600 screen resolution and displaying Large Fonts, you
might need to move the Recovery Agent Options dialog box up a little bit on your
screen before you can access the buttons.
To do this, click the very bottom tip of the window title bar and drag it up as far as it
will go.
The buttons at the bottom should come into view.
z
The 640 x 480 screen resolution is not supported.
z
If you are running at this resolution, you should change to an 800 x 600 or higher
resolution if possible.
If you need to access the Recovery Agent Options dialog box buttons at a 640 x 480
resolution, you can use the following shortcut keys while the dialog box is displayed.

ENTER to click the OK button.

ESC to click the Cancel button.
Troubleshooting: Connection Firewall
If you are running either Windows XP or Windows Me, you have the option of using a
built-in Windows firewall to safeguard your computer while it is connected to the
Internet. Unfortunately, this firewall prevents the server from reaching your computer,
meaning that some Recovery Solution functions will not work.
Recovery Solution features that do not work through a Windows connection firewall
include the following.
z
Scheduled snapshots.
z
Rollbacks started by your administrator.
Note
Internet Connection Sharing uses the Windows firewall by default, so if you use Internet
Connection Sharing then you could run into the same problem.
If you are behind a corporate firewall, or on a VPN connection to a network that has a
firewall, your computer is probably protected by that firewall and you can turn your
personal firewall off. Assuming that the server is on the same network, this should allow
all features to work properly. See also Firewall Configuration on page 271.
251
Troubleshooting: Fast User Switching
If you are running Windows XP and your computer is not part of a Windows domain,
then a feature known as “Fast User Switching” might be enabled on your computer. This
feature lets multiple users log onto the computer simultaneously, and then the computer
can be quickly switched from one user's settings to another.
Recovery Solution does not currently support this environment. We recommend that you
disable Fast User Switching while Recovery Solution is installed.
If you do not disable Fast User Switching, the most noticeable issue is that only one
logged-on user at a time will be able to interact fully with Recovery Solution. The other
logged-on users won't see the Recovery Agent desktop and system tray icons, and
might not be able to open certain Recovery Agent windows or perform manual tasks
with the program. Which user is able to perform these tasks might vary depending on
order in which they logged on.
Troubleshooting: Unknown Solution
Recovery Agent Help does not appear to have a solution for your problem.
If you need additional assistance, check with your Recovery Solution administrator.
Troubleshooting: Event Viewer
For more information, see “Troubleshooting the Event Viewer” in the Recovery Solution
User’s Guide.
252
Chapter 14
Technical Reference
This section contains additional information about Recovery Solution.
z
Product Limits (page 253)
z
Performance Tips (page 254)
z
Settings Information (page 257)
z
Technical Information (page 276)
z
Command Line Utilities (page 279)
z
Stopping and Starting the Recovery Solution Server Service on page 289
z
Recovery Solution Infrastructure Backup and Restore (page 290)
Product Limits
Listed below are some of the known limits of Recovery Solution.
z
Data Protection & Recovery Limits
The following restrictions apply to snapshots.
z

Recycle Bin files are automatically excluded from all snapshots. You cannot
change this option.

A maximum of 32767 versions of any one protected file can be stored on the
cluster.

On Windows 9x/Me protected computers, data that is transmitted to the server
can be encrypted while in transit, but data that comes from the server cannot
(i.e., snapshots are encrypted, but recoveries are not). This is because of a
limitation of Windows 9x/Me, which cannot receive encrypted DCOM data.
Full System Recovery Limits
The following restrictions apply to Full System Recovery.

Full System Recovery cannot be performed on a protected computer running
disk compression software (such as DriveSpace or Stacker).

Full System Recovery that copies data from the network might not work on
Windows 95/98 computers that are using real-mode DOS drivers. Protected
computers that were upgraded from Windows 3.1 to Windows 9x might be
using such drivers. To perform Full System Recovery on these computers, you
must either configure them to use Windows drivers, or include the real-mode
drivers in the temporary operating system you place on CD-ROM.
Alternatively, you can recover these computers completely from CD-ROM. Be
sure to click the option to Include all user data on CD-ROM when creating
the CD-ROM.
253
Performance Tips
Though not required to use Recovery Solution, the following information could help you
get better performance from the product.
The following topics are covered in this section:
z
Data Protection Performance (page 254)
z
Restore Performance (page 255)
z
Changing DCOM Protocols (page 255)
z
Configuring Microsoft Network Load Balancing (page 256)
Data Protection Performance
Following are some tips you can use to ensure that snapshots run efficiently.
z
You can help to improve the speed of baseline snapshots by seeding the cluster with
files that exist on most users’ computers. Since Recovery Solution checks for the
existence of each file on the cluster and only transfers it if is not already there,
seeding the cluster with common operating systems, programs, and other files can
reduce the amount of time that the initial snapshot takes for most or all protected
computers.
Seed the cluster just after you set it up, and before allowing users to take a
snapshot. Many of the files being protected will then already exist on the cluster.
Here are some examples of files you might want to initially add to the cluster.

Windows XP, Windows 2000, Windows NT, Windows Me, Windows 98, and
Windows 95 installations.

Applications used throughout your company, particularly those that take up
moderate to large amounts of disk space. Common examples are Microsoft
Office, Microsoft Internet Explorer, Netscape Communicator, and Lotus Notes.

Common data files that might reside on many users’ hard disks.
If you seed the cluster with multiple protected computer installations, you should
perform snapshots one at a time, allowing each one to complete before starting the
next one. That way you are sure to get the maximum benefit from Redundant File
Elimination and Redundant Block Elimination.
z
Try to avoid having a remotely connected computer be the first one to protect any
particular application. Instead, protect a computer on the network that has this
application installed to eliminate the need to transfer the application over a slow
link.
z
If snapshots are exceptionally slow for protected computers running Windows 2000/
XP, you might benefit from changing the primary DCOM protocol being used for
communications. For more information, see Changing DCOM Protocols on page 255.
z
If you are using Microsoft Network Load Balancing with Recovery Solution, snapshot
performance can be improved by appropriately configuring your Network Load
Balancing Cluster settings. For more information, see Configuring Microsoft Network
Load Balancing on page 256.
z
If your protected computers use HTTP protocol for communication with Recovery
Server (for information, see Configuring Communication Settings on page 110), you
can improve the performance of jobs on clients running Windows 98 SE and
254
Windows 2000, by clearing the Enable Integrated Windows Authentication
(requires restart) checkbox in Windows Control Panel > Internet Options >
Advanced tab > Security on client computers. In this case, a less secure (but more
robust) NTLM protocol will be used for authentication with the server.
Restore Performance
Following are some tips you can use to ensure that recoveries run efficiently.
z
Over a dial-up connection, it is practical to restore up to a few tens of megabytes.
For larger file sets, or for Full System Recovery, it makes more sense to ship user
data on CD–ROM to the remote location. Alternatively, you can send the protected
computer to a place where it can be connected at high speed to the server, and
restore the data from there.
z
If recoveries are exceptionally slow for protected computers running Windows 2000/
XP, you might benefit from changing the primary DCOM protocol being used for
communications. For more information, see Changing DCOM Protocols on page 255.
Changing DCOM Protocols
Most of the data transferred back and forth between protected computers and the server
is sent via Microsoft Distributed Component Object Model (DCOM). DCOM itself employs
RPC (remote procedure call) to actually send messages from one networked computer
to another.
When running on Windows 2000/XP, DCOM can be configured to use any of several
different RPC network protocols to send and receive messages. By default, Windows
uses UDP (commonly known as datagram packets) protocol. UDP typically uses less
network bandwidth and is quicker than TCP—unless packets start getting lost regularly.
Since UDP is a connectionless protocol, DCOM itself handles the retransmitting of
packets that fail or become lost. If the network is busy or has other problems that cause
a number of DCOM packets to get lost, then data transfer rates can become very slow
because DCOM has to retransmit a large number of packets. This can greatly impact the
performance of snapshots and recoveries.
To improve performance in these situations, you can configure a protected computer to
use TCP as its primary DCOM protocol.
Note
This change is not applicable to Windows 9x/Me computers, which always use TCP for
DCOM communications.
To configure DCOM to use TCP as its primary protocol
1.
On the protected computer, from the Windows Start menu, click Run.
2.
Enter DCOMCNFG.EXE.
3.
Do one of the following:
z
Change the list of DCOM protocols used specifically for Recovery Solution.
This is safer than changing the default DCOM protocols for the entire system.
However, it involves a few more steps, and if Recovery Agent is ever uninstalled and
reinstalled on the protected computer, the changes are lost and must be made
again.
255
To change the list of protocols for Recovery Solution, do the following.
a.
On the Applications tab, in the Applications list, select Altiris Recovery
Solution Agent.
b.
Click Properties.
c.
Click Endpoints.
d.
Click Add to add all missing protocols except Connection-oriented TCP/IP to
the DCOM Protocols and endpoints list.
This helps to ensure that a connection can be established even if something
goes wrong with the TCP/IP communications.
z
e.
If Connection-oriented TCP/IP appears in the list but is not at the top, select
it and click the Remove button. This is the only way to change its position in
the list.
f.
If Connection-oriented TCP/IP does not appear in the list, add it to the list
as follows.

Click Add.

In the Protocol Sequence list, click Connection-oriented TCP/IP.

Click OK.

Click OK to accept the changes.
Change the default list of DCOM protocols for the entire system.
Changing the default protocols for the system might give you similar advantages for
other applications, but it might also cause problems for other applications that use
DCOM and must use UDP for communications. In most cases, however, it should not
matter which protocol is used.
Example
To change the list of default protocols, do the following:
g.
Click the Default Protocols tab.
h.
In the DCOM Protocols list, look for the item Connection-oriented TCP/IP.
If you do not see it, add it to the list as follows.

Click Add.

In the Protocol Sequence list, click Connection-oriented TCP/IP.

Click OK.
i.
In the DCOM Protocols list, select Connection-oriented TCP/IP.
j.
Click the Move Up button repeatedly until Connection-oriented TCP/IP is at
the top of the list.
4.
Click OK to save the changes and exit Distributed COM Configuration Properties.
5.
Configuring Microsoft Network Load Balancing
If you are using Microsoft Network Load Balancing with Recovery Solution, you can
configure your Network Load Balancing cluster properties to improve snapshot
performance as follows.
256
1.
Open Network Load Balancing Manager console for your cluster through Windows
Start menu > Control Panel > Administrative Tools.
2.
Right-click cluster name in the Network Load Balancing Clusters list on the left and
select Cluster Properties from the drop-down menu.
3.
In the Cluster Properties dialog window on the Port Rules tab select the Defined
port rules for Recovery Solution and click the Edit button to open the Add/Edit
Port Rule dialog window.
4.
Set Affinity to Single in the Filtering mode section.
5.
Click OK to save the settings and close the Add/Edit Port Rule dialog window.
6.
In the Cluster Properties dialog window go to Cluster Parameters tab and set
Cluster operation mode to Multicast.
7.
Click OK to save settings and exit Network Load Balancing Manager.
Settings Information
This section contains additional information about settings created and used by
Recovery Solution.
z
User Account and Share Configuration (page 257)
z
Microsoft SQL Server Settings (page 259)
z
Event Log Configuration (page 261)
z
Internet Information Server Configuration (page 261)
z
ODBC Configuration (page 265)
z
DCOM Configuration (page 266)
z
RPC Dynamic Port Allocation (page 270)
z
Firewall Configuration (page 271)
z
Web-Based File Recovery Configuration (page 272)
z
Job Schedule Worksheet (page 274)
User Account and Share Configuration
During Setup, Recovery Solution Server creates Windows users and shared folders as
needed to simplify deployment and to allow the server to communicate with the
protected computers.Automated Account Configuration
257
Recovery Solution automatically creates the following user accounts and groups.
Account Configuration
Account or
Group
Description
XUSR_RepNDM
User Account
(Local)
Recovery Solution requires this special account for
communicating (via DCOM) between the server and the
protected computers. This account is given the minimum default
rights assigned to users; it requires only the Access this
computer from the network right to be used by Recovery
Solution. The account is created locally on the server, so it cannot
be used to access other computers on the domain. All the
required accesses are configured through DCOM.
AeXRS_Users
User Group
(Local)
This group is given the access rights to protect and restore files
with Recovery Solution. You can change its name during
Recovery Solution Server Setup, but not thereafter.
By default, this group contains the Domain Users group, which
means that all domain users have the necessary rights to protect
their computers.
Notes
If you have users on trusted domains that you want to be able to
use the server, you must add those users to the Domain Users
group for the server or the AeXRS_Users group before they can
use Recovery Solution.
If the server is installed using local server security, this user
group is granted the Log on locally right on the server, which is
required for access to Web-based file recovery. If you do not
intend to use Web-based file recovery, you can remove this right
through Windows.
If you want to restrict access to certain individual users, you will
have to remove Domain Users from AeXRS_Users. Windows
domains allow different types of user groups, including local and
global. Because of the way the Windows security model works,
you can simplify administration tasks by using a combination of
local and global groups. Global groups can only contain users,
but local groups can contain both users and global groups. For
granting access, we recommend that you create a new global
group in the domain, add the users to the global group, and then
add the global group to the local group AeXRS_Users.
This strategy offers you maximum flexibility in more complicated
situations—you get the ease of managing a global group for the
individual users combined with the ease of adding other entire
groups to the local AeXRS_Users group as appropriate.
Example: if you begin your deployment by allowing access to a
select group of pilot users (by creating a global group of those
users and adding it to the AeXRS_Users local group), you can
then easily expand by allowing access to one department at a
time, simply by adding their department global groups to the
AeXRS_Users local group.
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Account Configuration (Continued)
Account or
Group
Description
AeXRS_Manage
rs User Group
(Local)
This group is given the rights to restore data for any client using
the Migrate utility and Web-Based File Recovery.
Altiris Helpdesk
Technicians
User Group
(Local)
Members of this group have rights to perform certain Recovery
Solution tasks through the Altiris Console.
Shared Folders
Recovery Solution Server Setup automatically creates a folder for Recovery Agent
installation files and shares it so that users can easily install the software from this
folder. By default, the folder is stored within the server program files folder.
Microsoft SQL Server Settings
Recovery Solution Server Setup automatically configures Microsoft SQL Server.
Following is a list of the changes that are made.
Performance Enhancements
Currently, Recovery Solution Server Setup changes only the Max Worker Threads
setting from its default. This change is based upon our experiences in two sets of early
Beta deployments of the product.
Max Worker Threads
Configures the number of worker threads that are available to SQL Server
processes. SQL Server makes use of the native thread services of the operating
system. Instead of one worker thread, there are many. Each network that SQL
Server simultaneously supports is supported by one or more threads, another
thread handles database checkpoints, and a pool of threads handles all users.
The max worker threads option allows you to control the number of threads
allocated to the user pool. When the number of user connections is less than max
worker threads, one thread handles each connection. However, if the number of
connections exceeds max worker threads, thread pooling occurs. Additionally, if the
configured value for worker threads is exceeded, the request is handled by the next
worker thread that completes its current task. The default is 255.
—Microsoft Transact-SQL Reference
Additional Information
A worker thread performs a database operation on behalf of a client. While it may
seem that one thread per connection is ideal for performance, an excessive number
of threads will cause the server to spend more time simply managing the threads
and can result in significant contention for CPU time among the threads. In a 1996
Compaq TPC-C benchmark with SQL Server 6.5 running on Windows NT 4.0, the
optimal setting for max worker threads was 100, even with 5000 concurrent
users.
259
Databases
Setup creates and configures databases as follows.
z
Recovery Solution Database
The default name for this database is AeXRSDatabase, although during a custom
installation you have the option to change it. Setup creates and configures the
database as needed.
z
Database Backups
Setup creates a backup device for the database. It also schedules regular backups
of the database. For more information, see Job Schedule Worksheet on page 274.)
Caution
Make sure that the schedules for database backup and Recovery Server jobs (such
as Server Space Management and Integrity Check) do not coincide; otherwise data
storage corruption can occur.
Security
Setup makes the following changes to Microsoft SQL Server security settings.
z
SQL Login
To limit any security risks, Recovery Solution creates its own Microsoft SQL Server
login (named AeXRSDatabaseUser by default) that it uses whenever it needs to
access the Recovery Solution database. This login is a member only of the
db_owner fixed database role (not the sysadmin role as it used to be Recovery
Solution 6.1 and earlier versions) in and has full access only to the Recovery
Solution database. Its default password is password.
Note
The default password cannot be changed.
z
Authentication
In Microsoft SQL Server 2000, the default authentication mode is Windows only.
Recovery Solution Server Setup changes this to SQL Server and Windows to allow
authentication via the SQL login created specifically for Recovery Solution.
Note
For Recovery Solution to function properly, Notification Server admin must have dbo
rights for Recovery Solution database.
260
Event Log Configuration
During server setup, Recovery Solution automatically makes the following changes to
the configuration of the Windows event logs.
Event Log Table
Log
Change Made
Reason
System
Event Log
Prevents warning messages from
appearing on the server when the event
log fills up.
Wrapping:
Overwrite
Events as
needed.
Application
Maximum Log
Size:
Ensures that enough log entries are
retained so that troubleshooting can be
performed if necessary.
10240 KB (10
MB)
Application
Event Log
Wrapping:
Overwrite
Events as
Needed
Prevents warning messages from
appearing on the server when the event
log fills up.
Recovery Solution Server uses this event
log extensively, so it can fill up quickly.
We recommend that you leave these settings the way Setup has configured them.
Internet Information Server Configuration
This section describes the Microsoft Internet Information Server settings that Recovery
Solution needs in order for the Web-based installation wizard to function properly. If you
did not accept the default settings during IIS installation, or if you changed your IIS
configuration, you might need to verify your settings with the list below.
261
The following virtual directories must exist in the IIS configuration on the server. Their
settings must match those in the following table.
Virtual
Directory
Name
Agent
AsMext
LogFiles
WBFR
Actual Folder
The “AgentWeb”
subfolder of the shared
Recovery Agent
installation subfolder of
the program
installation folder. By
default, this is
C:\Program
Files\Altiris\Recovery
Solution\Server\Agent\
AgentWeb.
The “ASMext”
subfolder of the
shared Recovery
Agent installation
subfolder of the
program
installation folder.
By default, this is
C:\Program
Files\Altiris\Reco
very
Solution\Server\
Agent\ASMext.
The “LogFiles”
subfolder of the
“System32”
subfolder of the
Windows folder.
By default, this is
%WINDIR%\
System32\
LogFiles.
The folder where the
Web-based file recovery
program files are stored.
Web access
permissions
Read must be checked
None required.
Read must be
checked.
Read must be checked.
Web
application
permissions
Execute (including
scripts) must be
selected.
Execute
(including
scripts) must be
selected.
Default
Document(s)
for Web
Browsing
Enable Default
Document must be
checked, and
“Default.htm” must be
included as a default
document.
Not required.
If Web-based file
recovery was configured
automatically during
installation of the server,
then this is the folder that
was specified for Webbased file recovery during
Setup. By default, the
folder is C:\Program
Files\Altiris\Recovery
Solution\Server\WBFR
None required.
Script must be selected.
Not required.
Enable Default
Document must be
checked, and
“Default.asp” must be
included as a default
document.
262
Virtual
Directory
Name
Agent
Web
Authentication
Methods
z
Basic
Authentication
must be checked.
z
Integrated
Windows
authentication
(Windows 2000)
Windows
Folder
Security
Settings
z
The SYSTEM user
must have Full
Access.
z
The
AeXRS_Manager
s (or the name of
your
administrators
group for Recovery
Solution) must
have Read access.
z
The
AeXRS_Users (or
the name of your
administrators
group for Recovery
Solution) must
have Read access.
AsMext
LogFiles
z
Allow
Anonymous
Access must
be checked.
z
Allow
Anonymous
Access must
be checked.
z
Integrated
Windows
authenticatio
n (Windows
2000)
z
Integrated
Windows
authentication
(Windows
2000)
The Everyone
user group must
have Full Access.
The Everyone
user group must
have Full Access.
WBFR
z
Integrated Windows
authentication
(Windows 2000)
z
For Windows 2000,
the folder and all
contents must have
the Allow
inheritable
permissions from
parent to
propagate to this
object box cleared.
z
The user group for
Recovery Solution
(by default
AeXRS_Users) must
have Read access to
the main folder.
z
The Everyone user
group must have Full
Access to the
following contents.
All files in the “Image”
subfolder.
subfolder.
subfolder.
All “*.class” files.
“FileDownload.asp”
“GetFiles.asp”
“GetFolders.asp”
“Global.asa”
“LogOff.asp”
“ServerUtils.asp”
“Styles.css”
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Virtual
Directory
Name
AeXRSVault
Actual Folder
The “HTTPVault” subfolder of the shared Recovery Agent installation subfolder of the program
installation folder. By default, this is C:\Program Files\Altiris\Recovery
Solution\Server\HTTPVault.
Web access
permissions
Read must be checked
Web
application
permissions
Execute (including scripts) must be selected.
Default
Document(s)
for Web
Browsing
Enable Default Document must be checked, and “Default.htm” must be included as a
default document.
Web
Authentication
Methods
z
Basic Authentication must be checked.
z
Integrated Windows authentication (Windows 2000)
Windows
Folder
Security
Settings
z
The SYSTEM user must have Full Access.
z
The AeXRS_Managers (or the name of your administrators group for Recovery Solution)
must have Read, List, and Execute access.
z
The AeXRS_Users (or the name of your administrators group for Recovery Solution)
must have Read, List, and Execute access.
z
The XUSR_RepNDM user must have Read, List, and Execute access.
Notes
You can require users to establish an encrypted channel (https:// rather than http://)
with your server before accessing the Web-based Setup Wizard or Web-Based File
Recovery. The use of an encrypted channel, however, requires that the user's Web
browser and your Web server both support the encryption scheme used to secure the
channel. Before enabling encryption, you must install a valid server certificate. To
require encryption in IIS, follow the procedure for enabling Secure Sockets Layer (SSL).
For precise instructions, see the following topics in Internet Information Services section
of Windows Help.
Enabling Encryption
Using Certificate Wizards
Obtaining and Installing Server Certificates
Configuring SSL
264
ODBC Configuration
During server setup, Recovery Solution configures Open Database Connectivity (ODBC)
so that Recovery Solution can access its SQL Server databases. If you are having
problems with Recovery Solution, you can verify that the configuration information is
correct and update it yourself if necessary.
To set up the ODBC connection to the database
1.
From the Windows Start menu, click Settings > Control Panel.
2.
Open the ODBC applet.
The actual name of the applet varies depending on the version of Windows you are
running. In Windows XP and Windows 2000, it can be found in the Control Panel
Administrative Tools subfolder.
3.
Click the System DSN tab.
4.
Select AeXRSDatabaseDSN in the list and then click the Configure button.
If you do not see this entry, you can add it as follows.
5.

Click Add.

Click SQL Server from the list and then click Finish.
A wizard appears, walking you through the process of creating or modifying a data
source to SQL Server. Set the values indicated below, and leave the defaults for any
settings not mentioned here.

In the Name field, type AeXRSDatabaseDSN.

In the Server field, type the name of the server, then click Next.

Under How should SQL Server verify the authenticity of the login ID?,
choose With SQL Server authentication using a login ID and password
entered by the user.

Make sure the checkbox labeled Connect to SQL Server to obtain default
settings for the additional configuration options is checked, then enter the
SQL user name for Recovery Solution (the default name is
AeXRSDatabaseUser) and its password, and click Next.

Click Change the default database to, then select the database for Recovery
Solution (AeXRSDatabase) from the list.
Note
Check this box even if AeXRSDatabase already appears in the list.

Click Next.

Click Finish.

A confirmation screen appears next. Click the Test Data Source button to
verify that the ODBC connection is working properly.
You should then see a test results screen similar to the following.
6.
Click OK in all open dialog boxes to complete the ODBC configuration.
265
DCOM Configuration
For secure communications among the server, consoles, and protected computers,
Recovery Solution uses the Microsoft Distributed Component Object Model (DCOM),
which consists of a set of system files installed on each computer. DCOM is a common
operating system component that provides both flexibility and added security for many
applications that run on a network.
Windows 2000/XP contains DCOM as part of the basic operating system. On Windows 9x
computers, Recovery Agent automatically installs the latest version of DCOM if
necessary. All Recovery Solution Setup programs configure DCOM as needed to run
Recovery Solution.
Caution
In rare cases, the DCOM configuration might be changed so that Recovery Solution no
longer works properly. This may happen when another, third-party, setup program has
reinstalled or reconfigured DCOM improperly.
To set up DCOM on a protected computer
1.
2.
Type DCOMCNFG.EXE, then click OK.
3.
If the protected computer is running Windows XP, then do the following.

In the Console Tree, browse to Console Root/Component Services/
Computers/My Computer, and select it in the list.

From the Action menu or the context menu, click Properties.
4.
Click the Default Properties tab.
5.
Make sure the following default values are set.

Enable Distributed COM on this computer is checked.

The Default Authentication Level setting is Connect.

The Default Impersonation Level setting is Impersonate.
This setting allows the server to use each protected computer’s network account
to perform actions on behalf of the protected computer. It prevents a protected
computer from potentially using the network credentials of the server itself to
perform operations that it would not be able to perform on its own.
6.
Do one of the following.
z
Windows 98 (Second Edition) Computers
z

Click the Default Security tab.

Check the box labeled Enable remote connection.

Click OK.
Windows 2000/XP Computers

If the protected computer is running Windows XP, click OK to close the main
DCOM properties dialog box, then in the Console Tree, expand My Computer/
DCOM Config.

Scroll down the list until you see Altiris Recovery Solution Agent, and select
that item.
266
z

In Windows XP, from the Action menu or the context menu, click Properties.

In Windows 2000, click the Properties button.
Click the option to specify custom access permissions, then click the Edit button.
Make sure that following users appear in the list, and are allowed access.

INTERACTIVE

SYSTEM
Note
If you prefer, you can choose to use default permissions and then make the security
changes described below in the main DCOM properties. However, we strongly
recommend that you use custom permissions for the objects, since you might not
want all COM objects to have the rights you will assign to Recovery Solution.
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Configure the launch permissions to be the same as the access permissions you
configured above.
z
Click OK to close all open windows.
To set up DCOM on the server
1.
2.
3.
Scroll down the list until you see Altiris Recovery Solution RemoteService, and select
that item.
Recovery Solution Console uses this object to communicate with the server.
4.
Click the Properties button, then click the Security tab.
5.
Click Use custom access permissions, then click the Edit button. Make sure that
following users and groups appear here.

The local AeXRS_Managers group (or the name of your administrator group for
Recovery Solution)

INTERACTIVE

SYSTEM
Note
If you prefer, you can choose to use default permissions and then make the security
changes described below on the main tabs of the Distributed COM Configuration
Properties window. However, we strongly recommend that you use custom permissions
for the objects, since you might not want all COM objects to have the rights you will
assign to Recovery Solution.
6.
Click Use custom launch permissions, then click the Edit button and add the
same users as you added for the access permissions in the previous step.
7.
Click OK until you get back to the main Distributed COM Configuration
Properties window.
8.
In the DCOM Applications list, scroll down until you see Altiris Recovery
Solution Server, and select that item.
267
Recovery Agent running on protected computers uses this object to communicate
with the server.
9.
Click the Properties button, then click the Security tab.
10. Click Use custom access permissions, then click the Edit button. Make sure that
following users and groups appear here.

INTERACTIVE

SYSTEM

The local AeXRS_Managers group (or the name of your administrator group for
Recovery Solution)

The local AeXRS_Users group (or the name of your user group for Recovery
Solution)
Click Use custom launch permissions, then click the Edit button. Make sure that
following users appear here.

INTERACTIVE

SYSTEM
Caution
Do not add XUSR_RepNDM or the AeXRS_Users local group to the Launch
Permissions list. If you do, you will effectively lose control over when Recovery
Solution is running. The reason is that this account is used automatically by all Recovery
Agent installations. If it has launch permissions, then even if the service is stopped on
the server, it will restart automatically as soon as a protected computer attempts to
interact with the server.
11. Click OK until you get back to the main Distributed COM Configuration
Properties window.
12. In the main Distributed COM Configuration Properties dialog box, click the
Default Properties tab.
13. Make sure the following default values are set.

Enable Distributed COM on this computer is checked.

The Default Authentication Level setting is Connect.

The Default Impersonation Level setting is Impersonate.
This setting allows the server to use each protected computer’s network account to
perform actions on behalf of the protected computer. It prevents a protected
computer from potentially using the network credentials of the server itself to
perform operations that it would not be able to perform on its own.
14. Click OK.
Default DCOM security settings on the server
The following tables display the full default DCOM security settings which must be
configured on the Recovery Server:
268
Abbreviations and acronyms
Launch and activation permissions:
LAct - Local Activation
LL - Local Launch
RAct - Remote Activation
RL - Remote Launch
Access permissions:
LAcc - Local Access
RAcc - Remote Access
def - default
lim - limit
Default COM Security Permissions on the Recovery Server
Group or
user names
LAct
LL
RAct
RL
LAct
LL
RAct
RL
LAcc
RAcc
LAcc
RAcc
def
def
def
def
lim
lim
lim
lim
def
def
lim
lim
INTERACTIVE
X
X
X
X
SYSTEM
X
X
X
X
Administrators
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
IUSR_...
(Internet Guest
Account)
X
X
X
X
IWAM_...
(Launch IIS
Process
Account)
X
X
X
X
Distributed
COM Users
X
X
X
X
Everyone
X
X
SELF
ANONYMOUS
LOGON
X
X
X
X
AHMS {67B86D82-9B78-11D3-B597-00A0C91D0917}
Group or user names
LAct
LL
RAct
RL
LAcc
RAcc
INTERACTIVE
X
X
X
X
X
X
SYSTEM
X
X
X
X
X
X
AeXRS_Users
X
X
X
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Altiris Recovery Solution Server (RSS)
{864A9B22-6B68-11D1-9640-00C04FCD3EB0}
Group or user names
LAct
LL
RAct
RL
LAcc
RAcc
INTERACTIVE
X
X
X
X
X
X
SYSTEM
X
X
X
X
X
X
XUSR_RepNDM
X
X
AeXRS_Users
X
X
X
X
AeXRS_Managers
X
X
X
X
Altiris Recovery Solution RemoteService (RmtSvc)
{B438E666-9BE0-11D1-B83B-00A0C9843F26}
Group or user names
LAct
LL
RAct
RL
LAcc
RAcc
INTERACTIVE
X
X
X
X
X
X
SYSTEM
X
X
X
X
X
X
XUSR_RepNDM
X
X
X
X
X
X
RPC Dynamic Port Allocation
DCOM uses Remote Procedure Call (RPC) dynamic port allocation to randomly select
port numbers above 1024 by default. You can control which port range RPC dynamically
allocates for incoming communication and then configure your firewall to confine
incoming external communication to that port range, port 135 (the RPC Endpoint
Mapper port) and ports 43189 - 43190.
To control RPC dynamic port allocation on the Recovery Server
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
On the Default Protocols tab, select Connection-oriented TCP/IP in the DCOM
Protocols list and click Properties button.
6.
In the Properties for COM Internet Services dialog box click Add button.
7.
In the Port range text box add a port range (ex. 55000-55199), then click OK.
8.
Leave the Port range assignment and the Default dynamic port allocation
options set to Internet range.
9.
Click OK to close all dialogs and restart the server computer.
270
On the client computer (optional)
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
On the Default Protocols tab move Connection-oriented TCP/IP to the top of
the list.
6.
Firewall Configuration
To use Recovery Solution Server behind a firewall, a defined set of ports must be open to
enable communication between the clients and the server. The following table lists these
ports.
Protocol
Port
Direction
TCP and UDP
135 (DCOM)
Both
TCP
80 (HTTP)
Both
TCP
443 (HTTPS)
Both
TCP
43189
Inbound (to client)
UDP
43190
Inbound (to server)
TCP
>1024 (DCOM)
Both
When using DCOM for communication, you must open the port range (>1024) used for
Remote Procedure Call (RPC) dynamic port allocation. For more information, see RPC
Dynamic Port Allocation on page 270.
Notes
You must open port 80 in case you are using HTTP for communication between clients
and Recovery Server.
You must open port 443 in case you are using HTTPS for communication between clients
and Recovery Server.
You must open ports 135, 1024 and above in case you are using DCOM for
communication between clients and Recovery Server.
You do not have to open port 43189 inbound to client if you enable the Allow Recovery
Agent to initiate scheduled snapshot option in the Agent Settings. For details, see
Configure Snapshot Settings on page 78.
By default, when the Recovery Solution Agent service starts on protected computers
running Windows XP or Windows 2003 Server, it will add port 43189 to the Windows
Firewall Exceptions list. This functionality is controlled through the Enable Altiris
Recovery Agent to modify Windows Firewall settings checkbox. For details, see
Configure Miscellaneous Settings on page 94.
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Web-Based File Recovery Configuration
Web-based file recovery is automatically configured during installation of the server, if all
of the configuration requirements are met. If they are not, you can configure Web-based
file recovery manually after the server is installed.
To configure Web-based file recovery manually
1.
If the Web-based file recovery program files are not stored on a drive formatted
with the Windows NT file system (NTFS), then do one of the following.

Move the WBFR folder to an NTFS drive on the server.

Convert the drive where the Web-based file recovery program files are stored to
an NTFS drive. You can do this using the Windows CONVERT.EXE command-line
program.
Caution
Conversion to NTFS is an irreversible action. After converting a drive to NTFS,
you cannot go back to the FAT file system without destroying the data on the
drive.
2.
On the server, open a command prompt and enter the following command.
REGSVR32.EXE “Web-based file recovery folder\WFEngine.dll”
Replace Web-based file recovery folder with the full path to the Web-based file
recovery program files (by default, this is C:\Program Files\Altiris\Notification
Server\Client Recovery Server\WBFR), but a different folder might have been
specified during installation of the server.
3.
Open the Internet Service Manager program.
Note
In Windows 2000, the default Start menu shortcut is Start > Programs >
Administrative Tools > Internet Services Manager.
4.
Create a new virtual directory for the Web-based file recovery folder as follows.

In the Console Tree, select the Default Web Site item for the server.

From the Action menu or the context menu, click New, then click Virtual
Directory.

Step through the wizard until you are prompted to specify an alias for the
virtual directory, then specify one.
The alias is the folder name that users will access when restoring files. To keep
the configuration simple and consistent with the documentation, we recommend
that you specify the default alias WBFR.
After you have specified an alias, click Next.

Specify the full path to the folder containing the Web-based file recovery
program files, then click Next.

Accept the default access permissions, which should include Read and Script
access, but nothing else.
Click the Next and Finish buttons as necessary to complete the wizard.
5.
Configure the virtual directory as follows.
272

In the Console Tree, select the virtual directory.

If the server is running Windows 2000, then on the Virtual Directory tab,
change the Application Protection option to Low (IIS Process).

Click the Documents tab. Make sure that the checkbox labeled Enable
Default Document is checked, and that Default.asp appears as one of the
default file names in the list. If it does not, add it using the Add button.
Configure access to the virtual directory as follows.
6.

Click the Directory Security tab.

Under Anonymous access and authentication control, click the Edit
button.

Clear the Anonymous access checkbox.

You may also clear the box labeled Basic authentication (password is sent
in clear text).

Check the box labeled Integrated Windows authentication (Windows 2000).

Click OK in all open dialog boxes until you return to the main Internet Service
Manager window.
Configure Windows security for the Web-based file recovery program files as
follows.
In the Web-based file recovery program files folder, open the properties for the
following items, click the Security tab, and make sure that the Everyone group
has Full Access rights to them.
All files in the “Image” subfolder.
The “Image” folder.
All “*.class” files.
“FileDownload.asp”
“GetFiles.asp”
“GetFolders.asp”
“Global.asa”
“LogOff.asp”
“ServerUtils.asp”
“Styles.css”
When you have finished, click OK to close the Properties dialog box.
z
If the server is running Windows 2000, then for all files in both the main Web-based
file recovery folder and the Images subfolder, click Properties/Security and clear
the checkbox labeled Allow inheritable permissions from parent to propagate
to this object, then click OK.
z
Open the properties for the main Web-based file recovery program files folder,
WBFR.
z
273
z
If the server is running Windows 2000, clear the checkbox labeled Allow
inheritable permissions from parent to propagate to this object.
z
Give the user group for Recovery Solution (by default AeXRS_Users) the Read
access permission to the folder.
z
You can remove any other access rights to the folder, although you might want to
give yourself and/or other administrators full access. (Even if you do not, you can
add the permissions later if the need arises.)
z
When you have finished configuring the security permissions, click OK to close the
Properties dialog box.
Configuring Web-Based File Recovery to run on
Windows Server 2003
1.
On the Windows Server 2003 computer, open the Computer Management window
by clicking Start > Programs > Administrative Tools > Computer Management.
2.
Expand the Services and Applications > Internet Information Services item.
3.
Right-click Application Pool > New > Application Pool...
4.
Name the new application pool with a WBFR specific name. Example: “WBFR”.
5.
Click OK.
6.
Right-click the new application pool and click Properties.
7.
Click the Identity tab.
8.
Select Local System.
9.
Click OK and then click Yes on the warning shown.
10. Open properties of the Default Web Site > WBFR.
11. Under the WBFR Properties page, change the application pool for the WBFR virtual
directory to the newly created application pool.
12. Click OK to save the changes.
Job Schedule Worksheet
The purpose of this worksheet is to help you schedule various activities that need to run
on the server. Since multiple activities running at the same time could slow down
Recovery Solution, you might want to divide processing time among the various jobs to
allow them to run more efficiently.
You can print this topic and fill in schedules as you create them. Some schedules are set
by default when you install, but you can change them. The defaults are shown in the
274
table below. The table also provides a sample schedule that you might wish to use as a
guide.admin
Supplemental Table
Activity
Default Schedule
Manual Snapshots
& Recoveries
Actual Schedule
Sample
Typically Occur
Daily
Monday - Friday
8:00 A.M. to
5:00 P.M.
Scheduled
Snapshots
Server Space
Management
Report Table
Updates
Daily
Daily
Monday - Friday
Monday - Friday
7:00 A.M. to
7:00 A.M. to
7:00 P.M.
7:00 P.M.
Weekly
Daily
Friday
Monday - Friday
6:00 P.M.
5:00 A.M. to
to 11:59 P.M.
7:00 A.M.
None
Daily
7:00 A.M. to
8:00 A.M.
Back Up the Server
to Tape
None
Weekly
Saturday
8:00 A.M.
Master Database
Backup
Weekly
Weekly
Sunday
Sunday
12:00 A.M.
12:00 A.M.
(Microsoft SQL Server
default)
Database Backup
Deletion
Weekly
Weekly
Sunday
Sunday
5:00 P.M.
5:00 P.M.
None
Occasional
Sunday after
5:00 P.M.
275
Supplemental Table (Continued)
Activity
Default Schedule
Actual Schedule
Integrity Check
Weekly
Weekly
Sunday
Sunday
1:00 A.M. to
1:00 A.M. to
1:00 P.M.
11:59 P.M.
Idle Time
Sample
Sunday after
5:00 P.M.
Local Maintenance Job
The Local Recovery Maintenance job starts regularly at 1 a.m. every Saturday by
default, or before the snapshot if there is not enough free space on the Altiris Local
Recovery partition. In the latter case the job will try to deallocate the amount of space
that is required in order to perform at least two snapshots, meaning that more revisions
of the files can be deleted than during a regular maintenance job.
The Maintenance Job is automatically scheduled using the Windows Scheduled Tasks
service and its task can be found in Windows Control Panel > Scheduled Tasks list. By
default, the task is set to wake the computer to run the job (the computer will be shut
down after completion). You can control the power management options on the Settings
tab of the scheduled tasks’s Properties.
The job consists of two phases and performs the following tasks:
z
z
Integrity check

checks the Altiris partition

checks the database’s integrity

checks the BLOB files for consistency

cleans up the corruptions in the database and BLOB files (if a BLOB cannot be
repaired it will be deleted)

optimizes the database for better performance
Storage Space Management job

deletes files which were selected by the user for deletion (the files in the golden
image and the files marked as locked will be never deleted)

deletes the files added to the Exclude list by the user

deletes the revisions of the files according to the Storage Space Management
rules

defragments the BLOB files residing on the BootWorks partition
Technical Information
This section contains miscellaneous technical information about Recovery Solution.

Protected Computer IP Address Updates (page 277)

How Recovery Works (page 277)
276

Recovery Disk Space Needed (page 278)
Protected Computer IP Address Updates
Successful communications between the cluster and each protected computer require
the use of the protected computer’s IP address. The cluster keeps a record of each
protected computer’s IP address in the database.
In the event that a protected computer’s IP address changes, the new information must
be sent to the cluster to ensure that Recovery Solution continues working properly on
that protected computer.
z
If the IP address change requires the protected computer to be restarted, then the
update does not occur until the computer is restarted.
z
If the IP address change does not require the protected computer to be restarted,
then the IP address update happens automatically the next time any of the following
events occurs.

Approximately 5–10 minutes passes. Periodic updates are sent automatically.

Recovery Agent is restarted.
This normally occurs only when the computer is restarted, but it is also possible
to restart Recovery Agent by stopping and starting the Control Panel service
Altiris Recovery Solution Agent.

A Dial-Up Networking connection on the protected computer is started or
disconnected.

Snapshot on idle runs.
How Recovery Works
Restoring a file from the cluster is as simple as dragging and dropping the file to its
destination.
When a user restores a file, Recovery Solution does the following.
1.
Determines if the copy of the file being recovered is different from the copy that
already exists on the user’s computer. If a user recovers an entire folder. Example: it
is possible that some of the files it contains have not changed and do not need to be
transferred from the server.
2.
If the file needs to be copied, determines if the file was originally obtained from that
user’s computer, or if the snapshot just contains a placeholder with information
about where an identical file is stored. Remember that Recovery Solution includes
each file in a snapshot only once.
If a placeholder was used during the snapshot, Recovery Solution locates the actual
file.
3.
Decompresses the file and copies it to the protected computer.
During this process, Recovery Solution reconstructs the file if more than one version
was included in a snapshot. Since the file was copied in its entirety only for the
baseline snapshot, restoring a later version means assembling the pieces of the file
that were copied during the baseline and during subsequent snapshots. The file is
constructed as the pieces are downloaded.
277
Files are reconstructed quickly, so there is usually little time difference between
Recovery Solution restore and a simple file copy.
Recovery Solution does all of these things automatically. If a user restores an entire
folder or a drive, Recovery Solution performs these actions for each restored file. The
result is that the user gets complete copies of restored files as they were at the time of
a snapshot.
You can also use either rollback or Full System Recovery to return the files on the
computer to their state at a selected point in time. This can be useful to reverse
unwanted changes to the operating system and other important files. Users can also
perform rollbacks themselves.
Specific files can also be restored from Full System Recovery CD-ROMs if the protected
computer is bootable. This can be useful if a remote user is not on the local network and
needs to restore files quickly. A Full System Recovery CD-ROM can be passwordprotected, in which case an Recovery Solution user name and password are required to
access the files on the CD-ROM. For more information on password-protection and
access to CD-ROM data, see Full System Recovery Disk Creation on page 134.
How the Temporary Operating System Is Created
Every time a protected computer starts, a system file installed with Recovery Solution
monitors which files are accessed during the startup process. This is the File Access
Logger, or FAL, and it creates a log that contains the list of startup files. A corresponding
FAL Stopper, which appears as a service under Windows 2000/XP, stops the FAL as soon
as Windows has finished starting up. When a Full System Snapshot is performed, the
FAL log is sent to the server and stored along with the protected files.
When you create Full System Recovery disks, Recovery Solution also creates a
temporary operating system from this list of startup files and stores a compressed copy
of this operating system in a CD-ROM image. When compressed, a small temporary
operating system image uses about 20 MB of disk space, but depending on the
protected computer’s configuration it is possible to have a much larger image. For a
Windows 2000 computer, you will typically need about 100 MB.
Recovery Disk Space Needed
In general, to recover a file a protected computer must have at least the size of the
recovered file in free disk space.
However, this rule might not suffice in all situations. Redundant Block Elimination, which
minimizes the amount of disk space needed to store multiple versions of protected files,
also requires a little extra disk space on the protected computer for recovering files. If
there is not enough free disk space, the user encounters an error when attempting to
recover the file.
The actual calculations for the amount of disk space needed are somewhat involved, but
if you have an idea about how big the earlier versions of a file have been, you can at
least determine the maximum amount of space that would be needed to recover the file.
To calculate the maximum amount of recovery disk space required
1.
Determine the largest size that the file has been since it was first protected.
If multiple files are being recovered as one job, determine the largest size that any
one of the recovered files has been since it was first protected.
278
Since files increase in size more frequently than they decrease, in many cases the
size of the version being recovered is an adequate estimate of the largest file size.
Example: Suppose 3 files are being recovered, with file sizes 200 KB, 250 KB, and
100 KB. If the 250 KB file has always been the largest file, and it was once 400 KB
at the time of a snapshot, then use 400 KB as an estimate of the largest file size.
2.
Add the sizes of any remaining files being recovered.
Example: To 400 KB, add the sizes of the other two files (200 KB and 100 KB). The
total amount of disk space needed to recover the files is 700 KB.
Command Line Utilities
z
z
AeXMigrt.com Utility (page 282)
Local Recovery has a number of utilities, which you can use to work on Altiris partition.
The following utilities are described:
z
z
RECREATE Utility (page 289)
AeXRSEnc Utility
AeXRSEnc.exe utility lets administrator encrypt and decrypt the policy.cfg file that
contains Recovery Agent settings on client computers. The utility is especially useful in
case Recovery Solution is installed without Notification Server. In this case administrator
can modify Recovery Agent setup package to contain custom agent settings.
The recovery.xml file is an ASCII file that controls where the Recovery Agent stores its
settings and accessibility to which tabs in the agent UI is controlled via password. This
file is encrypted using Microsoft's implementation of RC2 algorithm with 40bit encryption
key. This algorithm is widely used in a number of commercial software packages,
including Lotus Notes, Microsoft Windows, Internet Explorer and Netscape
Communication's Navigator and Communicator (refer to the RSA Data Security, Inc. web
site at http://www.rsasecurity.com for more details on this algorithm).
To replace the policy.cfg file in AgentSetup.exe package you can use the ASPack utility
found in install path\Altiris\Recovery Solution\Console\Tools folder on the computer
where Recovery Solution is installed.
To download the AeXRSEnc utility
1.
2.
In the left pane, select Tasks > Incident Resolution > Recovery Solution >
Agent Settings Decryption/Encryption Utility.
AeXRSEnc utility usage
To encrypt the recovery.xml file outputting the encrypted recovery.cfg file in the current
working directory, run:
AeXRSEnc.exe -e|-encrypt
To decrypt the recovery.cfg outputting the decrypted recovery.xml file in the current
working directory, run:
279
AeXRSEnc.exe -d|-decrypt
For help, run:
AeXRSEnc.exe -h|-help
Policy XML File Description
The client settings stored in .XML files (policy.cfg and usercfg.xml) are installed with
Recovery Agent. These .XML files can be found in the Recovery Agent’s Config folder.
The policy.cfg file is encrypted and contains all Recovery Agent settings; the usrcfg.xml
is stored in plain text and contains custom user settings (the file is empty by default). To
encrypt or decrypt the policy.cfg file you must use the AeXRSEnc.exe utility.
The policy.cfg reflects the settings from the Altiris Console; the non-encrypted
usrcfg.xml contains custom user settings, which will override the settings defined in
Console in case the permissions are set to allow it. The usrcfg.xml has the same XML
structure that the policy.cfg has, except the inherit and permission attributes and
some other sub-categories, which can not be modified through the Recovery Agent
Options, such as <UserRight>, <HealthAlerts>, <SpaceUsage> etc. The policy.cfg
must contain all the settings (none of them can be deleted from policy.cfg), but the
usrcfg.xml file can be empty.
All Recovery Solution settings are grouped together under different categories. On the
top level, all Recovery Agent settings are divided into three categories that reside inside
the <AgentSettings> root XML tag:
<AgentSettings>
<RemoteSettings>
...
</RemoteSettings>
<LocalSettings>
…
</LocalSettings>
<CommonSettings>
…
</CommonSettings>
</AgentSettings>
The <RemoteSettings> category contains server-based Recovery Agent settings. The
<LocalSettings> category contains Local Recovery Agent settings and the
<CommonSettings> category contains common settings for both Recovery Agent
modes (server-based and local).
Inside the top three categories, the settings are grouped by sub-categories, such as:
z
<SnapshotSettings> - Snapshot and Snapshot Schedule settings
z
<SnapshotExcludes> - Snapshot excludes
z
<RollbackExcludes> - Rollback excludes
z
<SpaceManagement> - Space Management settings
280
z
<SpaceUsage> - Storage quota settings (server-based mode only)
z
<HealthAlerts> - Health Alerts settings (server-based mode only)
z
<BandwidthThrottling> - Bandwidth Throttling settings (server-based mode
only)
z
<MiscSettings> - Miscellaneous settings
z
<ConnectionManagement> - Connection Management settings (server-based
mode only)
z
<UserRights> - User rights
z
<RemoteAccessSettings> - Remote Access settings (server-based mode only)
z
<TransportSettings> - Transport settings (server-based mode only)
z
<HiddenTransportSettings> - Transport settings that depend on cluster network
settings (server-based mode only)
z
<StorageManagement> - Storage settings (local mode)
z
<F11RecoverySettings> - F11 Recovery settings (local mode)
The sub-categories contain two attributes (that exist only in policy.cfg file and absent in
usrcfg.xml): permission and inherit. The permission attribute controls the settings
behavior. The inherit attribute is not used by Recovery Agent, it was reserved for the
Altiris Console usage only. The permission attribute can have one of the three values:
z
ReadOnly - the settings for this sub-category are taken from policy.cfg and cannot
be modified by user from the Recovery Agent Options.
z
Edit - the settings for this sub-category could be overridden by user settings
modified from the Recovery Agent Options. The overridden settings are stored in
usrcfg.xml. In case of Edit permission, the settings for current sub-category will be
first looked up in usrcfg.xml and if they are absent then the settings will be taken
from policy.cfg.
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Append - this attribute is used only for Snapshot and Rollback excludes. In case of
the Append permission, the settings (list of excludes) are taken from policy.cfg and
usrcfg.xml.
Caution
We do not recommend manual modification of policy.cfg or usrcfg.xml files, because any
misprint can cause the Recovery Agent to become totally unusable. The best practice is
to modify the settings from the Altiris Console.
Here is the example of how to modify the Hide client UI settings using the policy file:
z
Get the AeXRSEnc.exe utility and copy it to the Recovery Agent Config subfolder.
Then run it using the following command line:
AeXRSEnc.exe -d
This will decrypt the policy.cfg file to policy.xml.
z
Find the HideClientUI tag that reflects the Hide client UI settings in the Altiris
Console and modify this setting (set to enabled attribute to True)
z
Check that XML file format is correct and readable by opening it using the Microsoft
Internet Explorer.
z
If XML file is correct, then delete policy.cfg file and run the following command line
to encrypt policy.xml file to policy.cfg:
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AeXRSEnc.exe -e
z
To force the Recovery Agent rereading policy.cfg file and to apply the modified
setting, run the following command in the Recovery Agent folder:
AeXCmd.exe /ApplySettings
Here is the example how to modify the scheduled snapshot starts time:
z
Decrypt the policy.cfg file using the AeXRSEnc.exe utility (like in previous example).
z
Locate the <StartTime> tag inside the <SnapshotSettings> sub-category in
policy.xml file.
z
Modify the time inside the <StartTime> tag (please use the same time format).
z
Check the policy.xml file and encrypt and apply it like in the previous example.
The following figure shows sample policy.xml file settings. Note that to hide all Recovery
Agent user interface elements, the enabled attribute of the <HideClientUI> tag must
be True, and the following <CommonSettings> must be False:
z
<ShowStatusIcon>
z
<ShowAgentDesktopIcon>
z
<ShowAgentDesktopIcon>
z
<ShowAgentOptionsInStartMenu>
z
<ShowWelcomeScreen>
AeXMigrt.com Utility
The purpose of the AexMigrt.com utility installed with Recovery Solution into the folder
install path\Altiris\Recovery Solution\Console\Tools on Notification Server computer is
to let administrators automate retrieval of files from the Recovery Server for a client or
a set of clients.
z
Overview (page 282)
z
Command-line parameters (page 285) (with usage examples)
z
Input XML files (page 287) (with usage examples)
Overview
The AeXMigrt.com utility runs on a computer where Recovery Agent installed and
configured to connect to the Recovery Server to restore files from. Utility accesses the
Recovery Server using the Recovery Agent, so the Recovery Agent must be fully
functional (not disabled) on the computer.
Note
We recommend disabling scheduled snapshots and snapshots on events for the client,
otherwise these snapshots can affect the utility workflow.
The utility can run on Microsoft Windows 2000 and later platforms. It does not support
Windows 98.
The utility uses command-line parameters , the list of protected computers and the
search mask supplied at run time to perform the following operations:
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z
Authenticate on the Recovery Server to obtain the list of files for specified protected
computers.
z
Create a list of files that must be restored.
z
Initiate restore operation using the Recovery Agent.
Note
The utility is command-line based and exposes no UI.
Use cases
Administrator wants to locate and restore a particular file (including all revisions) from
selected computers backing up to the Recovery Solution Server. The utility
automatically creates folders for each computer where the file exists during the restore.
When multiple revisions of the file exist then the incremental ID is added to the name of
the file revision (myfile001.txt, myfile002.txt etc.). The destination folder can be a local
drive or a network share.
Restore
The utility lets the user restore files or folders by their name, name mask or location.
Also, it is possible to restore files from a particular date range. There is no UI available
for the search pattern configuration — all options must be provided using the commandline parameters or in an XML file.
To search for files, the utility enumerates files that were backed up from a particular
client to the Recovery Server and applies the specified mask to locate the required files.
The search engine creates the list of files that fall under specific criteria specified by the
user and will be restored.
Note
Specifying a more precise search mask will significantly decrease the search time.
The utility performs an automated restore for files specified by the supplied mask and
that were backed up from the specified computers to the Recovery Server. The utility
accepts the file or folder name masks and the list of computers as input parameters,
searches for these files on the Recovery Server and submits the restore job for the
found items. The utility waits for the submitted job to complete complete and logs the
resulting event into the activity log.
The restore itself is performed by the Recovery Agent, using the list of found files. The
utility creates the restore specification and submits the restore jobs to the Recovery
Server. Depending on the number of files found, the utility submits either one or more
restore jobs. In case of multiple jobs, utility submits them one by one, waiting for each
job to complete.
Destination folder for a restore operation must be provided using the command-line or
the default one will be used. The default subfolder “aex_restored” is created in the
location from where the utility has been launched.
Restored file naming
If you restore only latest revisions, the files will have exactly the same name they were
backed up under on the Recovery Server. If you restore all revisions, the restored files
that have multiple revisions will be renamed using following pattern:
original_file_name(revision_numer).original_extension
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So if the file "mymail.pst" has 10 revisions and "restore all revisions" parameter was
specified, the restored folder will contain files:
Mymail(001).pst
Mymail(002).pst
...
Mymail(010).pst
All file creation and modification dates will be restored correctly for corresponding
versions, and it is up to the user to find the required one.
Authentication
The utility accesses the Recovery Server under a logged-on user account or an account
specified in the command-line parameters or the specified XML file. If the utility fails to
access the Recovery Server using the specified credentials, it will log the corresponding
entry into the log file.
The utility accepts accounts from the AexRSUsers or AeXRSManagers groups. For an
account from the AexRSUsers group, only files from protected computers that belong to
the particular user can be restored. For accounts from the AeXRSManagers group, the
files from all protected computers can be restored.
Destination folder structure
The restored files will be placed in the destination folder as follows: <destination
folder>\<computer name>\<disk name>\<path to file>. So, if the destination folder is
C:\Tmp and original file is D:\Program Files\PST\mypst.pst on machine XRG200 then
the resulting restored file path will be:
C:\Tmp\XRG200\D\Program Files\PST\mypst.pst
Activity and error logging
During execution, the utility creates the activity log file that contains the description and
details of performed operations. The default log file name is "ade.log" and it will be
created in the same folder where utility resides by default. The log file path can be
changed by providing the special command-line parameter.
The log file will contain following information:
z
Utility executions start time
z
Name of the currently logged user
z
Name of the Recovery user selected to authenticate on Recovery server
z
List of machines that are available for search
z
Destination folder
z
List of found files
z
Any information about errors that occur during execution
Any internal utility errors that occur the execution will be logged to the activity log file.
Any errors that occur during the restore job execution and the status of restore
operation for found files will be logged into the Windows application log as usual.
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Command-line parameters
The restore operation can be started by specifying the mandatory "/R" parameter. All
other parameters are optional. The following table lists the parameters recognized the
by utility.
Parameter
Description
/R
Perfrom restore
/M:<computer_name>
Specifies the particular client machine
name or name mask to search files for. If
not specified, utility will search files on all
machines that can be accessed by user
specified in logon dialog.
/File:”<file_name>”
Specifies the file name or file name mask
to search for. More than one mask can be
specified. Optional, if no masks (file or
folder) specified, all files will be restored.
/Folder:”<folder_name>”
Specifies the folder or folder mask to
search for. More than one mask can be
specified. Optional, if no masks (file or
folder) specified, all files will be restored.
/All
Specifies that all revisions of found file
must be restored. Optional, if not
specified latest revisions of file(s) will be
restored. Valid only for restore operation.
/FromDate:"MM/DD/YY”
Specifies an optional time based filter.
Only file revisions that are newer than
specified date will be restored. The utility
will accept only one mask of this type but
it can be used with "/ToDate". Valid only
for restore operation.
/ToDate:"MM/DD/YY”
Specifies an optional time based filter.
Only file revisions that are older than
specified date will be restored. The utility
will accept only one mask of this type but
it can be used with "/FromDate". Valid
only for restore operation.
/XML:<full_path_to_xml>
Specifies a full path to XML file with
parameters for restore/deletion
operation. If specified, the utility will
obtain search masks and other
parameters from XML file. NB!
Parameters provided from command line
will override parameters from XML file,
except search masks and client machines
that will be used as additional to one
specified in XML.
See Input XML files (page 287).
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Parameter
Description
/Dest:<destination_folder>
Valid for restore operation, specifies a
folder to restore found files into.
Optional, if not specified, utility will
restore found files into its current
location subfolder aex_restored. The
destination can be local, UNC path, or a
mapped network location.
/S
Stops execution of previously started
restore operation.
/Login
Login name (DOMAIN\User) to
authenticate on Recovery Server.
Optional, if not specified, utility will try to
authorize under currently logged user.
/Pass
Password to authenticate on Recovery
Server. Optional, if not specified (but /
Login was specified), empty password
will be used. Ignored if "/Login" was not
specified.
/L:<log_file_path>
Full path to log file that will be generated
by utility. Optional, if not specified, utility
will generate log file in folder where it
resides.
/?
Displays a dialog with utility usage
scenarios.
Usage examples
The following table gives some examples on how the restore operation can be
configured from the command line.
Sample task
Command
Search all clients and restore all found
PST files
AexMigrt.com /R /File:"*.pst"
Word and Excel documents
AexMigrt.com /R /File:"*.doc" /
File:"*.xls"
Search client XRG200 for folder
C:\Documents and restore its content.
AexMigrt.com /R /
Folder:"C:\Documents" /
M"XRG200"
PST files into c:\tmp folder using
ALTIRIS\Britney account with password
"oops".
AexMigrt.com /R /File:"*.pst" /
Login:"ALTIRIS\Britney" /
Pass:oops /Dest:"C:\tmp"
Search all clients and restore all revisions
of found PST files that were included in
snapshots performed between 10/11/
2006 and 10/12/2006.
AexMigrt.com /R /File:"*.pst" /
All /FromDate:"10/11/2006" /
ToDate:"10/12/2006"
Cancel restore.
AexMigrt.com /S
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Input XML files
The most convenient way to perform a restore is using an XML file passed to the utility
through the command line. While the XML file can contain all parameters required to
perform the restore, these parameters can be overridden or extended by using the
corresponding command-line parameters.
Note
File masks provided in an XML file should not contain reserved symbols for XML syntax.
For example, you cannot use symbols “<“, “>”, “(“, “)” and other. If you need to use a
file or folder mask with these symbols, use the command-line parameters instead of
XML file.
Sample XML file 1
The following sample XML file (adeu.xml provided with the utility) configures the utility
to restore latest revisions of two files and all folders on disk C: that start with "Photo" on
computers PC1, PC2, PC3. The Recovery Server will be accessed under
"ALTIRIS\Britney" user account with password "oops". All activity logging will be
performed into "C:\britney.log" file.
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<Operations>
<Operation type="restore" Dest="c:\Tmp" Login="ALTIRIS\Britney"
Pass="oops" LogFile="C:\britney.log" FromDate="10/11/2006"
ToDate="20/11/2006">
<Machines>
<Machine Name="PC1"/>
</Machines>
<SearchItems>
<Item type="File" Name="party.img"/>
<Item type="File" Name="mail.pst"/>
<Item type="Folder" Name="C:\photo*"/>
</SearchItems>
</Operation>
</Operations>
Sample XML file 2
The following sample XML file configures the utility to restore all revisions of two files
"party.img" and "mail.pst" and all revisions of files in all folders on disk C: that starts
with "Photo" that were modified between 10/11/2006 and 10/12/2006. This operation
will be performed for all computers to which currently logged user has access. The
Recovery Server will be accessed under currently logged-on user account. All activity
logging will be performed into "C:\britney.log" file.
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<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<Operations>
<Operation type="restore" Dest="c:\Tmp" LogFile="C:\britney.log"
Versions="all" FromDate="10/11/2006" ToDate="10/12/2006">
<Machines>
</Machines>
<SearchItems>
<Item type="File" Name="party.img"/>
<Item type="File" Name="mail.pst"/>
<Item type="Folder" Name="C:\photo*"/>
</SearchItems>
</Operation>
</Operations>
Overriding XML values with command-line parameters
It is possible to override parameters specified in XML file by providing corresponding
parameters from command line:
The following sentence executes the restore operation for the XML file specified above
using "D:\restoredstuff" folder as destination.
AexMigrt.com /XML:"adeu.xml" /Dest:"D:\restoredstuff"
The following sentence executes the restore operation for XML file specified above using
"D:\restoredstuff" folder as destination and adds one more computer to search for in PhotoVault:
AexMigrt.com /XML:"adeu.xml" /Dest:"D:\restoredstuff" /
M:PhotoVault
BWINST Utility
Bwinst is a utility that is useful for removing an Altiris Partition in case the Altiris
Partition remains after the software has been uninstalled. It is also useful for clearing
out the marked bad sectors if the Altiris Partition is gone, but the bad sector marks
remain.
The Bwinst utility can be obtained from the Altiris Console > Tasks tab > Incident
Resolution > Recovery Solution > Altiris Partition Removing Utility.
BWINST utility usage
Boot to DOS and run
bwinst -rs -u
-rs : operate on the Recovery Altiris Partition
-u : uninstall the partition
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-d<HDD number> : remove partitions from additional HDDs (-d1 (default) means
removing Altiris Partition from HDD0, -d2 from HDD1 etc.)
RECREATE Utility
Recreate is a collection of files that can be used to restore a system from RSDATA, when
the disk with the original RSMAIN partition fails. Recreate will format a new disk,
destroying any data thereon, and install a new RSMAIN Altiris Partition on that disk. This
disk can then be used to access the RSDATA partition, and the data it holds.
Recreate utility is usually needed if a user cannot boot from the hard drive on which
Altiris partition was created. Otherwise, the user can simply boot from the disk drive
containing the Altiris Partition instead.
The Recreate utility is available per request from the Altiris Technical Support.
RECREATE utility usage
Boot to DOS and change directory (cd) to the recreate directory.
Run
partmake.bat
Note
If there is more than a single disk on the system, Recreate will prompt the user for the
correct disk.
After Recreate runs, restart the machine from the new RSMAIN disk. It will then boot to
the Recovery partition and restore the user's data.
Stopping and Starting the Recovery Solution Server
Service
At times, you may need to stop the server service to perform basic maintenance. You
can stop the server, temporarily preventing users from running snapshots or restoring
data. Before you stop the server, let your users know that the server will be unavailable
for snapshot and restore operations. If you disable the server while users are running
snapshots, the users will receive error messages stating their computers are unable to
connect to the server.
To stop or restart the server service
1.
From the Windows Start menu, open the Control Panel, then open the Services
applet.
2.
Highlight Altiris Recovery Solution Server service and click Stop or Start.
3.
Highlight Altiris Recovery Server Host Manager (ping service) and click Stop or
Start.
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Note
Altiris Recovery Solution Server service depends on the Altiris Recovery Server Host
Manager (ping service). Stopping the Altiris Recovery Server Host Manager (ping
service) also stops the Altiris Recovery Solution Server service.
If you stop the Altiris Recovery Solution Server service by itself, the Altiris Recovery
Server Host Manager will automatically restart the server service on start-up.
Recovery Solution Infrastructure Backup and
Restore
This topic describes the steps that need to be done in order to obtain a complete backup
of Recovery Solution infrastructure.
z
Recovery Solution Infrastructure (page 290)
z
Backup (page 291)
z
Restore (page 294)
Recovery Solution Infrastructure
A Recovery Solution cluster may have one or several Recovery Solution Servers, which
can be installed remotely. A cluster's Recovery Solution Database can be also located on
a remote SQL server.
One Notification Server can manage many Recovery Solution clusters.
The Notification Server Database stores the following Recovery Solution data: list of
Recovery Solution clusters, Recovery Solution agent and Recovery Solution cluster
settings.
Through Recovery Solution data file mirroring, there can be several copies of data files,
these copies are synchronized between themselves either synchronously or
asynchronously (by means of an Recovery Solution Server job).
You can have an optional load balancer device that can be "attached" to the cluster. It is
used to distribute client requests among the cluster's servers.
As a result, the Recovery Solution infrastructure can be now heavily distributed:
z
The SQL Server computer with Notification Server Database.
z
A Windows Server computer with Notification Server and Recovery Solution.
z
Each Recovery Solution cluster can have its own SQL Server computer with
Recovery Solution Database.
z
Any number of Recovery Solution Server computers. Every such computer has its
own local Windows group for Recovery Solution users; it also has ODBC DSN string
for communication with the Recovery Solution Database computer.
See also: Recovery Solution Architecture (page 19).
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Backup
Generally, to get a complete snapshot of an Recovery Solution 6.2 SP2 installation, you
must back up the following pieces of information:
z
On computer with SQL Server that hosts the Notification Server Database:

The Notification Server Database. Either the complete database must be backed
up, or only Recovery Solution-related data (see Notification Server Database
Backup on page 291).

"Linked Server" entries to SQL Server computers with Recovery Solution
databases. SQL Server Enterprise Manager allows doing this easily via rightclick on "Linked Servers" node in the Enterprise Manager console, and selecting
"Export List..." menu item.
Note
This step is only needed if the Notification Server database is located on a
different SQL server rather than Recovery Solution database.
z
On computers with SQL Servers that host Recovery Solution databases (for all
Recovery Solution clusters):

The Recovery Solution Database (see Recovery Solution Database Backup on
page 292).

AeXRSDatabaseUser login account
This account can be seen under Security\Logins node in the Enterprise Manager
console. Right click provides "Export List..." menu item.
z
For every Recovery Solution cluster, Recovery Solution data files must be backed up
as well (see Data Files Backup on page 293).
z
For clusters that use load balancers, load balancer configuration must be backed up.
Since this information is balancer-dependent, there is no step-by-step instruction
for backup procedure. Please refer to the specific load balancer's documentation.
Notification Server Database Backup
If Notification Server is only used to host the Recovery Solution installation, you can
back up the complete Notification Server Database. The Notification Server Database
can be backed up using approaches described in Recovery Solution Database Backup on
page 292 except that you will specify the Notification Server Database.
Note that if the SQL Backup Agent is not used, then the SQL Server service that hosts
the Notification Server Database must be stopped, which will make the Notification
Server non-operable for the duration of Notification Server Database backup.
But if there are several solutions installed, it's not feasible to back up the complete
Notification Server Database, as in case of disaster the whole database will have to be
restored, possibly overriding other solution's settings. For this scenario, a set of SQL
scripts was developed. These scripts are available for download from http://
www.solutionsam.com/imports/6_2/recovery.
z
Backup_All_RS_Clusters.sql - creates a backup database named RS_Backup_DB,
then backs up all RS clusters-related data into that database.
z
Restore_All_RS_Clusters.sql - restores information about all RS clusters from the
RS_Backup_DB.
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z
Backup_Single_RS_Cluster.sql - backs up information about a single cluster.
z
Restore_Single_RS_Cluster.sql - restores information about a single cluster.
z
Create_RS_Backup_DB.sql - creates an empty RS_Backup_DB. Should be called
before Backup_Single_RS_Cluster.sql in cases when there is no backup database.
Caution
These scripts do not backup RS Agent Settings and RS Agent Rollout policies. So
changes to these settings will be lost after restore.
Notes
Every script has a comment in the beginning, describing its usage.
Before running Backup_Single_RS_Cluster.sql and Restore_Single_RS_Cluster.sql
scripts, you must specify proper cluster GUID. To get the Recovery Solution cluster
GUID, open Properties for the Recovery Solution cluster you want to back up in the
Altiris Console.
Recovery Solution Database Backup
For every Recovery Solution cluster, its Recovery Solution Database must be backed up.
It is strongly recommended that you back up the database to removable storage on a
regular basis. For that, you can use use the SQL Server database backup functionality
built-in the Microsoft SQL Server software.
Important
Whichever method you use, back up the database files first and then the protected data
(BLOB) files. Also, because Recovery Solution uses the domain user accounts database,
the domain controller computer must be also backed up.
The following instructions help you backup the Recovery Solution database. For
additional information on backup and restore of Microsoft SQL Server databases, see
Microsoft SQL Server documentation.
To backup the database
1.
Stop the Recovery Solution Server service (see Stopping and Starting the Recovery
Solution Server Service on page 289).
2.
If the server is running Microsoft SQL Server:
a.
Open SQL Enterprise Manager.
Note
For Microsoft SQL 2005, Microsoft SQL Server Management Studio shoud be
used.
b.
In the Console Tree (usually on the left side), expand SQL Server Group, the
name of the server, and then Databases.
c.
Select the database for Recovery Solution.
By default, it is named AeXRSDatabase.
d.
In the Details Pane, under Backup, click backup database.
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e.
Under Backup, click Database - complete.
f.
Under Destination, click Add.
g.
In the Click Backup Destination dialog box, click File name.
h.
Specify the full path and file name. You can use the ... button to locate a path.
The path is where the database backup will go. The file name is the file that you
will have your backup software back up.
3.
i.
Click OK.
j.
Click Overwrite existing media.
k.
Click OK to start the backup.
l.
Have your backup software back up the file you created.
If the server is running MSDE:
a.
Open an MS-DOS style command prompt.
b.
Change to the BINN subfolder of the folder containing the MSDE program files.
You can use a command such as the following.
CD /D "D:\MSSQL7\BINN"
c.
Enter the following command.
OSQL.EXE -U sa -P -n -Q "BACKUP DATABASE AeXCRDatabase TO DISK =
'e:\AeXCRDatabase.dat'"
AeXRSDatabase is the default name of the database. If your installation of
Recovery Solution uses a different database name, make the appropriate
changes in the above command. The path and file name specified at the end
can be modified to any appropriate location.
This command could be scheduled through Windows Task Scheduler or the AT
command-line program. Database backups can also be scheduled using a SQL
script. For details, see the Microsoft knowledge base article Q241397, which is
available on the Microsoft Web site (http://www.microsoft.com).
4.
Use your backup software to back up the protected data (BLOB) files. See Data Files
Backup (page 293).
Data Files Backup
For every Recovery Solution cluster, its data files must be backed up. After the
synchronization job is complete, only one copy of the data files (from any group) should
be backed up. All servers in the clusters must be stopped or disabled during this
process, to ensure data integrity.
Backing Up With Software That Includes a SQL Backup
Agent
Follow these steps if your backup software includes a SQL backup agent. You might also
need to refer to the instructions for your backup software.
1.
Back up the database files for Recovery Solution.
By default, these are the following.
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2.

The main data file is AeXRSDatabase_Data.MDF, in a folder named
AeXRSDatabase.

You might have additional data files. Typically the next name would be
AeXRSDatabase_Data.NDF.

The log file is AeXRSDatabase_Log.LDF, in a folder named AeXRSLog.
Back up the protected data (BLOB) files.
Load Balancer Configuration Backup and Restore
Note
This step is only needed if your Recovery Solution Cluster is uses load balancer.
Since in Recovery Solution 6.2 SP2 the load balancer device configuration (such as
adding the nodes) must be performed manually, backup and restore must also be
performed manually. What exactly should be backed up and restored is balancerdependent, generally information about nodes and about protocols/ports should be
preserved and restored.
Note that any changes to the restored configuration, such as balancer address, must be
reflected in the Recovery Solution cluster settings UI in the Altiris Console.
Restore
If only the Recovery Solution Database or the data files got corrupted, there is no need
to restore the Notification Server Database. In such cases skip the "Notification Server
Database Restore" section.
Similarly, if only the Notification Server Database got corrupted, there is no need to
restore the Recovery Solution databases or data files of Recovery Solution clusters.
Note, however, that if the Notification Server Database is restored from an old backup,
then the restored database will not contain information about recently created Recovery
Solution clusters and their settings.
The Recovery Solution can be restored using either of the two approaches:
If whole Notification Server database is restored
In this case Notification Server and Recovery Solution databases should be simply
restored using SQL server tools (see Notification Server Database Restore on page 295),
data files should be restored to original location and Recovery Solution Server should be
installed if original installation was corrupted. If Recovery Solution Database was
created on different SQL server than Notification Server database, then saved ODBC
DSN string should be restored as well.
If only Recovery Solution specific information is restored using SQL
scripts
1.
Recovery Solution should be installed again if its installation was corrupted.
2.
Should be executed either Restore_All_RS_Clusters.sql or
Restore_Single_RS_Cluster.sql scripts (see Notification Server Database Backup on
page 291) depending on whether you want to restore all Recovery Solution Clusters
or just one. Note that in case of using Restore_Single_RS_Cluster.sql script admin
should specify correct RS Cluster GUID in the script.
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3.
Recovery Solution SQL database should be restored using SQL Server tools. For
information, see Recovery Solution Database Restore (page 295).
4.
Recovery Solution data files should be restored from backup to original location. See
Data Files Restore (page 295).
5.
Recovery Solution Server should be installed to the same machine where it was
originally installed.
6.
If Recovery Solution Database created on different SQL server than Notification
Server database, then saved ODBC DSN string should be restored as well.
7.
You should also restore the AexRSDatabaseUser account backed up at step
AeXRSDatabaseUser login account (page 291) if it is missing.
Notification Server Database Restore
If the whole Notification Server Database was backed up, it can be restored using
approach described in Recovery Solution Database Restore on page 295. Simply
substitute the Notification Server Database name instead of Recovery Solution Database
name.
If either of backup SQL scripts was used, then the appropriate restore script should be
used to restore either all or a specific Recovery Solution cluster.
Data Files Restore
If data files mirroring is utilized in Recovery Solution 6.2 SP2 installation, then it's only
needed to restore the files to the main storage group. Other groups will be
synchronized, either (for synchronous groups) automatically on the background or (for
asynchronous groups) during the next synchronization job.
We recommend that you back up the data files along with the Recovery Solution
Database, and also restore these two pieces of information together.
Recovery Solution Database Restore
This section describes how to restore the database from a backup. For instructions on
creating a backup, see Recovery Solution Database Backup on page 292.
The following instructions help you restore the Recovery Solution database. For
additional information on backup and restore of Microsoft SQL Server databases, see
Microsoft SQL Server documentation.
To restore the database
1.
Install the Recovery Solution Server.
2.
Stop the Recovery Solution Server service (see Stopping and Starting the Recovery
Solution Server Service on page 289).
3.
If the server is running Microsoft SQL Server:
a.
Open SQL Enterprise Manager.
b.
In the Console Tree (usually on the left side), expand SQL Server Group, the
name of the server, and then Databases.
c.
Select the database for Recovery Solution.
By default, it is named AeXRSDatabase.
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4.
d.
In the Details Pane, under Backup, click Restore database.
e.
For Restore, click From device, then click Select Devices.
f.
For Restore from, click Disk, then click Add.
g.
Specify the file name of the backed up database, then click OK.
h.
Click OK again to return to the Restore database screen.
i.
Click the Options tab.
j.
Click Force restore over existing database.
k.
Click OK.
If the server is running MSDE:
a.
Open an MS-DOS style command prompt.
b.
Change to the BINN subfolder of the folder containing the MSDE program files.
You can use a command such as the following.
CD /D "D:\MSSQL7\BINN"
c.
Enter the following commands.
OSQL.EXE -U sa -P -n -Q "DROP DATABASE AeXRSDatabase"
OSQL.EXE -U sa -P -n -Q "RESTORE DATABASE AeXRSDatabase FROM
DISK = 'e:\AeXRSDatabase.dat'"
AeXRSDatabase is the default name of the database. If your installation of
Recovery Solution uses a different database name, make the appropriate
changes in the above commands. The path and file name specified at the end
should point to the existing database backup file.
5.
Once the database restoration is complete, restore the BLOB files back to their
original location.
6.
Use Windows Control Panel to restart the Altiris Recovery Solution Server service.
296
Appendix A
Hard Disk Support
Altiris Partition creation in local mode is supported only for a specific set of SCSI/SATA
and RAID adapters. All IDE controllers are supported for Local Recovery.
Server-based Full System Recovery of RAIDs is supported only for a specific set of RAID
adapters.
See below for more information.
Notes
The full list of supported adapters can also be found in the following file:
C:\Program Files\Altiris\Recovery Solution Agent\SCSIConfig.ini.
The latest information may be also provided in the Altiris Recovery Solution Release
Notes.
For information on enabling 48-bit Logical Block Addressing (LBA) support for ATAPI disk
drives in Windows 2000 and Windows XP, see Microsoft Knowledge Base articles
Q305098 and Q303013 available on the Microsoft Web site (http://www.microsoft.com).
297
SCSI/SATA controllers supported for Local Recovery
ACARD
ATP850UF
ATP860R
Adaptec
ATP865
ATP860A
ATP865
AHA-2930C
AIC-7855
AIC-7896
AHA-2940/2940W
AIC-7860
AIC-7896/7
AHA-2940U/2940UW
AIC-7861
AIC-7899
AHA-2944
AIC-7870
AIC-7899A
AHA-2944UW
AIC-7880
AIC-7899D
AHA-3940/3940W
AIC-7880p
AIC-7901
AHA-3940Uxx
AIC-7883U
AIC-7901
AHA-3944/3944W
AIC-7888
AIC-7902
AHA-3944U/
3944UWD
AIC-788x
AIC-7902B
AIC-7890
ASC-29320
AIC-7890/1
ASC-29320A
AIC-7890AB
ASC-29320ALP
AIC-7892
ASC-29320LP
AIC-7892A
ASC-39320
AIC-7892B
ASC-39320
AIC-7892D
ASC-39320A
AIC-7895
ASC-39320D
AHA-3985
AHA-4944UW
AHA-4944W/4944UW
AIC-7515
AIC-7560
AIC-7810C
AIC-7821
AIC-7850P
American
Megatrends
MegaRAID 428
MegaRAID 434
Compaq
CISS
CISSB
HPFC-5166A
Dell
PowerEdge 2 /Si
PowerEdge 3/Di
PowerEdge 3/Si
DEC
21554
HP
HPFC-5200B
Intel
31244
82371SB
82801CAM
6300ESB
82372FB/82468GX
82801DB/DBL
6300ESB
82443MX
82801DBM
6300ESB
82451NX
82801E
80960RP
82801AA
82801EB
82371AB/EB/MB
82801AB
82801EB/ER
82371FB
82801BA
82801ER
82371FB
82801BAM
82371MX
82801CA
298
LSI Logic
LSI53C1020/1030
LSI53C1035
LSIFC919
LSI53C1030ZC
LSI53C1510
LSIFC929
LSI53C1035
LSIFC909
PDC 20277
PDC20268
PDC20319
PDC 20622
PDC20268R
PDC20371
PDC20246
PDC20269
PDC20375
PDC20262
PDC20271
PDC20376
PDC20263
PDC20275
PDC20378
PDC20265R
PDC20276
PDC20267
PDC20318
QLogic
ISP 2300
QLA2100
QLA2200
Silicon Image
Sil 0680
Sil 3114
Sil 3512
Promise
Technology
Sil 3112
Silicon
Integrated
Systems
SiS180
Vitesse
VSC7174
Caution
RAID arrays must be configured on the supported RAID adapters prior to running any
tasks.
RAID controllers supported for Local Recovery
HP
SmartArray 641
SmartArray 5i
Dell
IBM
NetRAID-2M
CERC SATA 6ch
PERC 4e/Si
PERC 4/Di RAID
PERC 4/DC RAID
PERC 3/Di
PERC 3/DC
ServeRAID 3L RAID
RAID controllers supported for server-based Full System Recovery
HP
SmartArray 641
SmartArray 5i
Dell
CERC SATA 6ch
PERC 4e/Si
PERC 4/Di RAID
PERC 4/DC
NVIDIA
SATA 4
Silicon Image
3112A
299
Index
A
of event log contents 204
access
problems with 212
accounts for users 257
administration options 169
administrator 163
administrator settings 163
Administrator’s Guide 16
AeXRSEnc utility 279
Altiris Helpdesk 16
Altiris Monitor Solution 16
Altiris PC Transplant Solution
integration with 152
overview 131
problems with 216
requirements for 132, 133
running 143
setup for 133
dial-up networking 175
disks
for recovery 134
Distributed Component Object Model
see DCOM 17
Distributed Component Object Model
(DCOM) 255, 266
documentation 16
domain account 57
Domain Name System 176
DOS drivers
and recovery 253
drive configuration changes 94, 95
full system recovery 17, 189
full system snapshot 158
command line 152
G
groups
for users 257
H
Altiris Recovery Partition 17, 63, 64,
171
check for errors 171
manage 170
E
hard disks
formatting during Full System
Recovery 144
encrypted files
files and encryption 253
hard drives
replacement of 213
B
encryption 171
help 16
errors
during Setup 206
hiding progress indicator 94, 94, 94,
95, 95, 95, 95
bandwidth 90
bandwidth throttling 90, 165
baseline snapshot 17
C
CD-ROMs
for recovery 134, 136
clearing the event log 204
clusters 14
command line
and snapshots 147
configuration
of DCOM 255, 266
of Full System Recovery 133
of IIS 261
of ODBC 265
connection
troubleshooting 211
Event Details 198
event log
clearing 204
configuration of 261
configuring 204
saving to file 204
event log file 194
event messages
viewing 202
Event Viewer 197
searching 197
using 193
exclamation mark icon on protected
computer 66
excluding files 183
excluding files from snapshots 81
F
D
files
data
defining for rollback 80, 91
migrating 129, 146
migrating using PC Transplant
Pro 131
recovering 131
excluding from snapshots 81
protected 159
restoring 160
I
installation 26
and new hard drives 213
errors 41
of Web-based file recovery 272
prerequisites 26
problems with 208
Recovery Agent 51
Recovery Agent Setup Wizard 54
Internet Information Server (IIS) 261
IP address of protected
computers 277
L
last snapshot 164
license 44
limits
of recovery 132
of Recovery Solution 253
load balancing 14
local mode 14
files types
restoring 180
Local Recovery 15
database
errors installing 206
filters
for rollback data 80, 91
log file 194
DCOM 17, 171, 255, 266
formatting hard disks during Full
System Recovery 144
logs 170
DCOMCNFG.EXE 267
deletion
Local Recovery Pro 15
logon problems 212
creating disks for 134
300
M
manual snapshots 147
Microsoft Internet Information Server
(IIS) 261
Microsoft Office 158
Microsoft Outlook 176
Microsoft SQL Server
and ODBC 265
Microsoft Windows
and recovery 137, 278
preferences
Recovery Agent 173
prerequisites 26
problems
with Agent installation 208
with Full System Recovery 216
with rollback 224
with Setup 206
with snapshots 213
product overview 13
Migrate utility 130
progress indicator
hiding 94, 94, 94, 95, 95, 95, 95
migration
using PC Transplant Pro 131
properties
of file exclusion 82, 87
mirrored Blob files 14
protected computer 18
mixed mode 14
protected files 159
N
protocols
for DCOM communications 255
network
and bandwidth 90
network configuration
restoring 212
network protocols
for DCOM communications 255
network settings 161
O
Open Database Connectivity
(ODBC) 265
operating systems
temporary copies of 137, 278
options
administration 169
for file exclusion 82, 87
for Full System Recovery 133
for recovery 134
performance 166
Recovery Agent 157, 157, 162
remote access 175
restore 165
options dialog box
tabs 162
using 162
overview
overwriting logged events 204
P
partial snapshot 18
running 159
Patch Management Solution 15
PC Transplant Solution 16
performance
of recovery 255
of snapshots 254, 254
performance of 255
performance options 166
R
Real-Time System Manager 16
recovery 255
about 137, 277
and disk space 278
and DOS drivers 136, 253
creating disks for 134
over the Web 192, 272
problems with 216
requirements for 278
to a new computer 129, 146
Recovery Agent 18
existing account 57
Full System Recovery 174
installation 51
Installation Policies 48, 68
installation using Setup Wizard 54
installing 60
options 157
preferences 173
register 56
settings encryption utility 279
Recovery Agent options
changing 162
viewing 157
Recovery Solution
logs 170
Versions 160
Recovery Solution Server 58
Recycle Bin 253
Redundant Block Elimination
(RBE) 278
Release Notes 16
remote access options 175
remote procedure call (RPC)
RPC 255
removal
of logged events 204
requirements 26
restore
command line 152
restore options 165
restore session 18
restoring
file types 180
files 160
restoring files (see recovery) 277
restoring network settings 212
rollback 165
files 187
of network settings 212
problems with 224
rollbacks 18, 187
RSACmd.exe utility 152
S
scheduled snapshots
conditions 199
on idle 199
view schedule for 158
schedules
for server jobs 274
for snapshots 212
worksheets for 274
SCSI drives
and Full System Recovery 136
server
limiting connections to 90
server-based mode 14
settings
updates in database 277
setup
for Full System Recovery 133
of Web-based file recovery 272
silent snapshots 94, 94, 94, 95, 95,
95, 95
snapshot
command line 147
schedule 158
snapshot conditions 168
snapshot session 18
snapshot types 167
snapshots
and recovery 131
displayed 159
excluding files from 81
from applications 147
performance of 254
problems with 213
scheduled 199
scheduling 199
silent 94, 94, 94, 95, 95, 95, 95
speed of 254
Software Delivery 15
Solution Center 35
301
SQL Server
and ODBC 265
storage locations 180
T
temporary operating systems 137,
278
throttling
bandwidth 90, 165
troubleshooting 227
Agent installation 208
Full System Recovery 216
logon problems 211, 212
rollback 224
Setup 206
U
uninstalling
Recovery Solution 44
user accounts
and groups 257
V
version information 205
Virtual Private Network
see VPN 19
VPN 19, 175
W
Wake on LAN 81
Web-based file recovery 192, 272
Windows
and recovery 137, 278
Windows Explorer
perform snapshots through 158
wizards
for web-based setup 53
worksheet
job schedule 274
302