If you want some good free imaging software. Try this out http://www.feyrer.de/g4u/ . It is a linux based boot floppy that uploads an image or your HD to an FTP server. I use it all the time. It works on any OS you can get the boot disk to work on. Just make sure you do follow the "Reducing the image size" directions, as it will cut the image size down DRAMATICALLY.
I dont know if you have seen any of them, but there are now a couple affordable (around $300) NAS products out there that have a NAT firewall, FTP server, etc. built-in. This would be a great compliment to using the linux imaging disk, and would be accessable on the network if your server totally blows up. Just stick the image disk in, point it to the NAS, which is running a FTP sever, and let it restore it for you. Backup Process 1. Image your server with all patches, programs, and service packs on it. 2. Run nightly backup of "data only," with Windows backup utility. 3. FTP the backup to your NAS FTP server with a batch 4. Done Restore Process 1. Image machine from NAS FTP server backdown to hardware with linux floppy 2. FTP latest "data backup" from NAS FTP server to the server image you just restored 3. Run "Restore" on the backup file. 4. Done -----Original Message----- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Behalf Of Jake Connor Sent: Wednesday, January 14, 2004 3:22 PM To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: Re: [ActiveDir] Backups Why don't you image your servers and only your workstations? On Jan 14, 2004, at 11:40 AM, Mark Nold wrote: > Don't know about Drive Image. Didn't see it on Symantec's site. > > We have/use the corp edition of Ghost. And yes it does have its > drawback, but it works for us overall. We are a small shop of 150 > employees; 130 of whom are all located in one office. > > As another poster already pointed out, I DON'T image my servers. I > build those from scratch....but I also only have 5 total servers. I do > however image all my desktops and laptops and then use GhostWalker to > re-sid the machine. > > Ghost Personal (now Ghost 2003) only lets you drop your image from disk > to disk or some such and does not offer some of the "advanced" cloning > items (re-sid, etc). But you don't need nor want to re-sid you image. > So I would think that ghost 2003 would work. > > -----Original Message----- > From: Jake Connor [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] > Sent: Wednesday, January 14, 2004 11:23 AM > To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > Subject: Re: [ActiveDir] Backups > > No they are too cheap to buy a few hard drives and a raid card :-\ > > I'll look into Ghost and pcInspector. Do you know if Drive Image by > Symantec will work on Win2k server or just workstations? > > > > On Jan 14, 2004, at 11:09 AM, Mark Nold wrote: > >> They would spring for Ghost or pcInspector or the like, but not 80 >> bucks >> for a 120G IDE drive that you could slap in there to mirror? >> >> Do you have any "dead" pc's lying around that you can grab the IDE >> drive >> from? Not the best I know, but seems like it would be better than >> re-imaging your drive after every change you made in AD to keep your >> "backup" fresh. >> >> My 2cents anyway.... >> >> -----Original Message----- >> From: Jake Connor [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] >> Sent: Wednesday, January 14, 2004 11:03 AM >> To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] >> Subject: Re: [ActiveDir] Backups >> >> Because it's a small company and I have recommended it a hundred times >> but in a nutshell, they are too cheap even though we have experienced > a >> server crash which took about almost a week to restore everything >> (which costs more for paying me) and they don't realize a RAID will >> solve about almost everything and cheaper. >> >> >> On Jan 14, 2004, at 10:25 AM, Coleman, Hunter wrote: >> >>> If you're concerned about the hard drive failing, why not just set up >> a >>> RAID1 (mirror) configuration? Cost would be low, and you won't have > to >> >>> worry >>> about creating disk images and swapping hard drives around. >>> >>> Hunter >>> >>> -----Original Message----- >>> From: Jake Connor [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] >>> Sent: Wednesday, January 14, 2004 11:00 AM >>> To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] >>> Subject: Re: [ActiveDir] Backups >>> >>> First of all, thank you for the information :-) >>> >>> I would like to make a complete hard drive backup onto the firewire >>> drive >>> (like a complete image) so that if the one on my system crashed then > I >> >>> can >>> just get the hard drive on the fire wire cable and put it into the > IDE >>> ribbons. >>> >>> I probably should have mentioned that what I am using is just a fire >>> wire >>> cable that lets you connect any type of IDE drive to it. >>> >>> So with pcinspector, would it be able to make a complete copy of the >>> hard >>> drive (with all the partitions, bootup stuff, etc) to another hard >>> drive and >>> have that hard drive be exactly the same as the hard drive in the >>> system so >>> in the event of a crash I can just swap the hard drive, start up the >>> system, >>> and everything is back to normal with all my Active Directory users, >>> etc? >>> >>> Thanks once again in advanced. >>> >>> Jake >>> >>> >>> >>> On Jan 14, 2004, at 4:25 AM, GRILLENMEIER,GUIDO (HP-Germany,ex1) >> wrote: >>> >>>> using a FW drive, you may run into issues with available drivers to >>>> allow you to copy the data without first re-installing an OS on the >>>> box. >>>> There >>>> are some cool free-utilities (such as a disk-cloner) that you may >> want >>>> to look at - but I have no idea if they support drives connected via >>>> FW: >>>> http://www.pcinspector.de/file_recovery/uk/welcome.htm >>>> >>>> so in worst case, you'd have to restore the OS onto the new > harddrive >>>> (default install - incl. the FW driver, if this is not in the >> default) >>>> and then restore your backup afterwards onto this new drive. >>>> >>>> Otherwise you may preferr using a backup on tape afterall, for which >>>> you can get routines to completely restore a server from bare-metal >>>> fully automated. >>>> >>>> /Guido >>>> >>>> -----Original Message----- >>>> From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] >>>> [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Jake Connor >>>> Sent: Mittwoch, 14. Januar 2004 00:04 >>>> To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] >>>> Subject: [ActiveDir] Backups >>>> >>>> I have a schedule backup that just copies everything on my hard > drive >>>> to a drive on my firewire drive. >>>> >>>> If my active hard drive crashes, how do I restore it with the data > on >>>> my firewire drive so I can just boot up the new hard drive and it >> will >>>> have all the active directory users and all that stuff? >>>> >>>> Thanks >>>> >>>> List info : http://www.activedir.org/mail_list.htm >>>> List FAQ : http://www.activedir.org/list_faq.htm >>>> List archive: >>>> http://www.mail-archive.com/activedir%40mail.activedir.org/ >>>> List info : http://www.activedir.org/mail_list.htm >>>> List FAQ : http://www.activedir.org/list_faq.htm >>>> List archive: >>>> http://www.mail-archive.com/activedir%40mail.activedir.org/ >>>> >>> >>> List info : http://www.activedir.org/mail_list.htm >>> List FAQ : http://www.activedir.org/list_faq.htm >>> List archive: >>> http://www.mail-archive.com/activedir%40mail.activedir.org/ >>> List info : http://www.activedir.org/mail_list.htm >>> List FAQ : http://www.activedir.org/list_faq.htm >>> List archive: >>> http://www.mail-archive.com/activedir%40mail.activedir.org/ >>> >> >> List info : http://www.activedir.org/mail_list.htm >> List FAQ : http://www.activedir.org/list_faq.htm >> List archive: >> http://www.mail-archive.com/activedir%40mail.activedir.org/ >> List info : http://www.activedir.org/mail_list.htm >> List FAQ : http://www.activedir.org/list_faq.htm >> List archive: >> http://www.mail-archive.com/activedir%40mail.activedir.org/ >> > > List info : http://www.activedir.org/mail_list.htm > List FAQ : http://www.activedir.org/list_faq.htm > List archive: > http://www.mail-archive.com/activedir%40mail.activedir.org/ > List info : http://www.activedir.org/mail_list.htm > List FAQ : http://www.activedir.org/list_faq.htm > List archive: > http://www.mail-archive.com/activedir%40mail.activedir.org/ > List info : http://www.activedir.org/mail_list.htm List FAQ : http://www.activedir.org/list_faq.htm List archive: http://www.mail-archive.com/activedir%40mail.activedir.org/ List info : http://www.activedir.org/mail_list.htm List FAQ : http://www.activedir.org/list_faq.htm List archive: http://www.mail-archive.com/activedir%40mail.activedir.org/
