Windows Server - SBS 2003 Server Crash: How to restore

Asked By Kevi

23-Jul-08 08:23 PM

I posted this in the wrong area, sorry for retyping this again.
We lost two SCSI drives on our raid 5 and a power supllu on our five year
old server.  We decided to get a new PowerEdge 2900 server.
We have been using the backup feature in SBS 2003 so have the data.
How do I retore AD, domain, exchange?  I assume I will need to load the
server 2003 portion from the 1st cd we have.  How retore the rest of SBS 2003?

Help please...
Kevin

23-Jul-08 09:29 PM

To my knowledge (and I may be wrong...things change) MS doesn't support
restoring to different hardware.  They seem to view disaster recovery and
hardware migration as two separate issues.

In the rare circumstances where I've had to do this, I've found the best
solution is to do the following:

1) Restore the system-state (which will include your AD) to a virtual server
running Win2k3.  The barebones Virtual Serer drivers rarely cause problems
that surface when trying to restore system state to a 'real' server.

2) Follow the 'adding SBS to an existing domain' document to add your new
PowerEdge 2900 to the virtual server's domain.  That'll get your AD
structure onto a clean machine without the cruft from the rest of the system
state.

3) Finish restoring the other items (sharepoint, email) to the new server.

Since the old server is apparently no longer functional, the usual
suggestion of a swing migration is, unfortunately, probably not going to
work well.  You could install SBS to a virtual server, restore everything,
and then do a swing migration, but I feel like that'd be moving a lot more
data and could actually intrudce more complexity than what you
need...considering the situation.  Others may feel differently.

-Cliff

Two documents that'll help
http://www.microsoft.com/smallbusiness/support/articles/backup_restore_sbs2003.mspx
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/884453

23-Jul-08 10:00 PM

If the Software you have is OEM it is not legal to use it on a new server.
If it is Retail or Open License then you can transfer it. What I recommend
depends on the answer to that question. If the software is OEM I recommend
repairing the server and restoring from Backup. Then if you buy a new server
get a 64 Bit server and wait for SBS 2008 release later this year. If the
software can be transferred then I would attempt restorring from Backup
after Loading the OS from CD1 and installing the SP level the Backup was
made with. You may have to Load the drivers for the new server.

--
Frank McCallister SBS MVP
MCP Microsoft Small Business Specialist
COMPUMAC

24-Jul-08 02:46 PM

Hi Kevin,

I think Frank is correct regarding your dilema. You may also look into
Acronis Universal restore. They have bare metal restore ability.
You'll still have to buy a new copy of SBS if your decision is to go
with a new server. Good luck!

On Wed, 23 Jul 2008 17:23:04 -0700, Kevin

25-Jul-08 10:47 AM

Does the OEM license give you some flexibility when installing to new
hardware if the oringinal server dies?

-Dave

25-Jul-08 10:49 AM

I do not think Acronis would work in this situation since he does not
currently have an image of the server and it sounds like he would not be able
to get one now with the server being dead.

-Dave

25-Jul-08 11:25 AM

NO! OEM License is tied to the original hardware and cannot be transferred
if the hardware fails.

--
Frank McCallister SBS MVP
MCP Microsoft Small Business Specialist
COMPUMAC

25-Jul-08 12:37 PM

There is/was an exception given for replacement main boards when one is not
available to match the one that failed.  You might be able to fall under
this exception, and I, for one, would have no reservations about doing so if
in fact the main board had failed and could not be replaced.  How to define
a failure is up to you, really, and I can't say if a hammer could be the
cause or not.  <g>

I would carefully read your EULA and do some research on this before I did
it.  The responsibility is yours.

-Larry

25-Jul-08 12:45 PM

I think the replacement board still has to be supplied by the OEM of the
server-you cannot just replace with something you buy elsewhere that fits in
the case.

25-Jul-08 05:10 PM

Therein may lie the rub.  Or is it therein may lay the rub?  In any case,
with proprietary hardware there may not be an available main board that will
fit inside the case.  Manufactures have a vested interest in selling new
systems, and normally do not concern themselves with making parts that will
fit various cases.  I used to love "white box" servers, because you could
switch standard server boards in and out, switch standard power supplies in
and out and so on.  afaik, you can't do this any more.

Willing to bet that any 5000 series Intel board and case of the current
generation will be useless when the next generation rolls out.  This
tendency may be simply a reflection of lower pricing for servers (and
workstations for that matter, but you can still purchase and use an ATX case
and mobo mix and match)

-Larry