Wednesday, November 25, 2009

Server Recovery Tips

Data disasters will happen. Accepting that reality is the first step in preparing a comprehensive disaster plan. Time is always against an IT team when a disaster strikes, therefore the details of a disaster plan are critical for success.


Here are some suggestions from Ontrack Data Recovery engineers of what not to do when data disasters occur:

  1. In a disaster recovery, never restore data to the server that has lost the data - always restore to a separate server or location.
  2. In Microsoft Exchange or SQL failures, never try to repair the original Information Store or database files - work on a copy.
  3. In a deleted data situation, turn off the machine immediately. Do not shut down Windows - this will prevent the risk of overwritten data.
  4. Use a volume defragmenter regularly.
  5. If a drive fails on RAID systems, never replace the failed drive with a drive that was part of a previous RAID system - always zero out the replacement drive before using.
  6. If a drive is making unusual mechanical noises, turn it off immediately and get assistance.
  7. Have a valid backup before making hardware or software changes.
  8. Label the drives with their position in a RAID array.
  9. Do not run volume repair utilities on suspected bad drives.
  10. Do not run defragmenter utilities on suspected bad drives.
  11. In a power loss situation with a RAID array, if the file system looks suspicious, or is unmountable, or the data is inaccessible after power is restored, do not run volume repair utilities.

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