Source:SEP sesam BSR Pro – Backup Configuration

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Docs latest icon.png Welcome to the latest SEP sesam documentation version 4.4.3 Tigon. For previous documentation version(s), check SEP sesam BSR Pro for Windows archive.


Overview

This article describes how to prepare your Windows system for disaster recovery with SEP sesam BSR Pro 2.0, introduced in SEP sesam version 4.4.3 Tigon. For previos BSR Pro for Windows versions, check SEP sesam BSR Pro for Windows archive.
SEP sesam BSR Pro 2.0 is a fast and efficient disaster recovery solution for Windows systems. It is based on O&O DiskImage. This solution enables you to recover and have a fully functional Windows system within a very short period of time by simply recovering your system to the same or a different (dissimilar) hardware configuration (M.I.R.).

By creating a recovery disc with BSR Pro 2.0, you ensure that your backups are restorable (on EFI/UEFI and BIOS-based systems) even when Windows is no longer able to start.

BSR Pro for Windows meets Microsoft's licensing requirements by supporting the creation of a bootable disk on the customer side with only a few clicks.

For details on supported Windows versions, see the latest SEP sesam OS and Database Support Matrix. To find out more about creating the images of the computer or the system partition, check O&O DiskImage 11 – Frequently asked questions.

Key features

  • BSR Pro 2.0 is a part of the SEP sesam installation.
  • It is used locally on the client to create a boot image which is later used to recover the client system (as required by Microsoft). The BSR ISO boot image contains the SEP sesam Server component that allows the disaster recovery of a SEP sesam Client or Server system.
  • BSR Pro images can be stored in any SEP sesam-managed storage.
  • The option Machine Independent Restoration (M.I.R.) automatically adjusts the recovered system if the hardware and drivers are changed. During the recovery, it scans the system for missing drivers and automatically adapts the restored OS and its drivers to the dissimilar hardware. (Note that if the drivers are unavailable, they must be provided manually).
  • All BSR-backups required for the recovery of your system are stored to save sets and managed by SEP sesam.

Prerequisites

  • The BSR Pro for Windows 2.0 component must be installed on each SEP sesam Client you want to prepare for recovery. If your SEP sesam Server is a Windows system, BSR Pro should be installed on this server too (recommended).
  • If the Windows Firewall is enabled on the SEP sesam Client, you can check if the firewall rule applied during SEP sesam installation is still valid. If it is not, create an exception for oodiag.exe (a process used by BSR Pro) to explicitly allow a connection through the firewall.
    1. To create an exception, select Advanced Settings in the Windows Firewall, right-click Inbound Rules then click New Rule. The New Inbound Rule Wizard opens.
    2. For the rule, select Program then specify the path to the SEP sesam BSR Pro executable file oodiag.exe. The default path is most likely C:\Program Files\SEPsesam\SEP sesam BSR Pro\oodiag.exe.
  • Ensure that you have sufficient space for your boot image on your target device (USB drive, local disk space or network share) (max. 2 GB).
  • On the SEP sesam Server, run a test to ensure that the SEP sesam file system backup (type Path) of the corresponding client is working and that data can be restored.
  • Information sign.png Note
    BSR Pro 2.0 does not support recovery from tape media. If your save sets are stored on tape media, they must be migrated to a SEP sesam data store or restored to a network share before recovery. For details, see Restoring the image file to a network share.

Migration from obsolete BSR CBMR

SEP sesam BSR Pro substitutes the old SEP sesam BSR 2.3, also known as BSR dissimilar. To upgrade to the new version, the SEP sesam version must be upgraded to version 4.4.3 or higher and the optional package SEP sesam BSR Pro must be selected during upgrade on the Windows system. Old BSR Windows backup tasks will be automatically applied to the new BSR Pro for backup.

Information sign.png Note
Save sets created by previous SEP sesam BSR 2.3 version can only be restored with the same BSR Windows old version. For disaster recovery with the new BSR Pro, only the save sets backed up with BSR Pro can be used.

Preparing for a disaster recovery

Preparing for a disaster recovery consists of the following steps that must be performed on your Windows client and SEP sesam Server.

  1. Before the backup, make sure that your SEP sesam Server has a FQDN name specified in the client properties.
  2. Back up your Windows system using BSR Windows backup to introduce the required credentials and security information.
  3. Only then should you proceed to create a bootable image on your Windows client.
Information sign.png Note
Follow the general recommendations for disaster recovery preparation to ensure a successful recovery.

Setting SEP sesam Server FQDN name

To ensure efficient data protection and restorability of your data, it is recommended that you configure your SEP sesam Server with a fully qualified domain name (FQDN) name. This step should be performed before the backup is triggered since the FQDN name might be included in the BSR boot image.

  1. From the Main selection -> Components -> Clients, double-click your SEP sesam Server.
  2. Check the Interfaces field: Make sure that your server has a fully qualified domain name (FQDN) specified. If the FQDN is not yet specified, enter it into a new line, e.g, sesam-srv.demo.com, and click OK to apply the changes.
  3. Make sure that the FQDN is resolvable by using sm_setup tool from the command line. For details on syntax, see Using sm_setup check_resolution. The returned addresses and hostnames must match. If the reverse resolve returns an official name that is different from the name specified on the command line, there will be problems with backing up the client.

Configuring BSR backup on the SEP sesam Server

Configuring a BSR backup on a SEP sesam Server involves creating a BSR Windows backup task for your Windows client, setting up a backup schedule (specifying when you want to back up your data) and linking the schedule to a backup event (specifying how to back up the data and where to back it up to).

For general information on backup configuration and prerequisites, see Standard Backup Procedure. This section deals only with BSR-specific information.

  1. In the Main Selection -> Tasks -> By clients, select your Windows client then click New backup task. The New backup task window appears.
  2. To specify the Source, click the browse button and select Bare System Recovery. If BSR Pro 2.0 is working, the specification "Bare System Recovery ..." appears under the Description column.
  3. This specifies your system configuration as the source and sets the BSR backup type and the task name automatically.
  4. Click OK to save the task.

  5. Once your BSR task is configured, create a backup schedule. For details, see Creating a backup schedule.
  6. Create an event to link to the schedule. Under Backup type, select COPY. For general information on creating a backup event, see Creating a backup event.

  7. Finally, run the BSR backup. You can use the Immediate start button to start your BSR backup instantly.

After the BSR backup of your Windows client finishes successfully, you can create a bootable image on your Windows client.

Information sign.png Note
To successfully recover your clients from disaster, you should ensure that consistent backups of your client's file system data are performed regularly and that all data can be successfully restored.

Creating a bootable image on a Windows client

Keep in mind that the information about the image data must always be kept up to date. Create a new bootable disk with the latest configuration whenever you upgrade your Windows operating system. Make sure that the latest version is safely stored to a bootable disk (CD/DVD/USB drive/local disk space) or network share.

To find out more about creating the images, check O&O DiskImage 11 – Frequently asked questions.

  1. Start the SEP sesam BSR Pro application on the Windows client you are preparing for recovery.
  2. BS Pro 2.0 create boot image.png
  3. On the start page, click Create bootable disk. The Creating a bootable CD image window appears.
  4. Depending on your Windows installation, the available system configuration and the most appropriate option is selected by default, so you only need to click Create.
  5. Wait until BSR Pro processes the volume image. Note that some errors may be encountered during processing but they do not affect the overall operation. Ignore these errors and wait until the message "Processing was successful" is displayed. Then click Next.
  6. BSR Pro 2.0 create boot image03.png
  7. Choose a location to which you want to save your bootable image. Create a bootable USB drive or save the image to a safe place on the network. If you are creating a bootable USB drive, all data previously stored on the drive will be deleted. Select your target device from the drop-down list or enter a path if you are storing the image as an ISO file. Click Create.
  8. BSR Pro 2.0 create boot image05.png
  9. Optionally, you can burn the ISO image onto a CD or DVD using BSR Pro. This will create a bootable CD or DVD. In BSR Pro, under the Tools tab, click Burn image files and follow the wizard. Note that the Burn image file(s) option will not appear if your CD/DVD is not ready.
  10. BSR Pro 2.0 burn image01.png

Once the Windows client bootable image has been created and is available for disaster recovery, you are prepared for a recovery. Two recovery methods are available depending on the size of your Windows client system volumes:

  • Direct recovery by using SEP sesam BSR Pro option Execute BSR Pro Quick-Start. This is the simplest and the recommended method, suitable for all save sets that are smaller than 120 GB.
  • For recovering save sets that are larger than 120 GB, it is recommended to use a 2-step network share restore instead. In such cases, throughput via network share could be better than via STPD data store restore. For example, a direct recovery of a 120 GB save set could last approx. 2 hours because of the slow throughput (30-60 GB) of a direct restore via STPD data store. If a 2-step restore via network share is used instead, the restore time can be significantly reduced.
Information sign.png Note
The given time estimates are only approximate and depend on each individual environment. The network share restore also requires an additional preparation task – manual restore.

What is next?

SEP sesam BSR Pro – Recovery

See also

O&O DiskImage 11 – Frequently asked questionsBacking up System StateStandard Backup ProcedureTroubleshooting SEP sesam BSR Pro for Windows