How often should you backup Active Directory?
ProblemIn this article, we will overview how you can recover an Active Directory (AD) database with CloudBerry Backup for Windows. Show Active Directory is a Microsoft product that consists of several services that run on Windows Server to manage permissions and access to networked resources. AD DS is a distributed database that stores and manages information about network resources as well as application-specific data from directory-enabled applications. Microsoft Active Directory services use a database located on the file system of a domain controller. Further in the article, we will consider two possible network configurations:
While the backup process doesn't vary much for these network setups, the restore process will be different. Here’s how you perform a backup of the Active Directory using the image-based backup feature in CloudBerry Backup. ResolutionHow to backup the Microsoft Active Directory Image-based backup allows the backup and recovery of the whole computer including the state and the structure of its drives and the operating system. Thus, it allows us to back up the domain controller’s system volume, boot volume, and the volumes where the AD database and transaction logs are located. By default, the Active Directory database is located in the %systemroot%\NTDS folder (C:\Windows\NTDS) of a domain controller. Since the database and the transaction logs may be stored on different volumes make sure to include both in the backup. When the backup is done - you have all the information required to recover the domain controller from scratch to new hardware (so-called bare metal recovery) with previously saved Active Directory settings. How to recover the Microsoft Active Directory Let’s consider several possible scenarios when you need to recover the Active Directory There was only one DC in the domain and this DC has crashed or when all domain controllers are lost. Active Directory database is corrupted and the AD service doesn’t start. Some critical files were accidentally deleted from the Active Directory. Domain controller recovery Here are the steps to recover the last or the only domain controller to new hardware:
NOTE: If your domain has only one domain controller, it is a good idea to run a backup at least daily.
Active Directory database recovery If your AD database gets corrupted and the AD service doesn’t start - you need to recover only the database, no need to restore the whole server. If the AD database becomes corrupted on the file level rather than on the AD logic/schema level the way to recover it is to pull the corrupted files from the Image-based backup using Item-level restore option. The AD database consists of the following files:
By default, these files are located in the %systemroot%\NTDS folder. The entire process will look like this:
If your domain has only one domain controller, it is a good idea to run a backup at least daily.
References: Microsoft documentation
Contact Us **Tech questions**: [](mailto:) **Sales questions**: [](mailto:) Do I need to backup Active Directory?If the Active Directory Domain Controller (AD DC) becomes unavailable for whatever reason, then users cannot log in and systems cannot function properly, which can cause disruption to business activities. That's why backing up your Active Directory is important.
How often should you backup a domain controller?It's usually recommended to perform backup of one Domain Controller per time, not to interfere with DFS Replication — even if the modern backup applications (ex.
Why backing up an Active Directory is important?Active Directory is a key component of your Microsoft Windows network, and you really need to protect it by performing regular backups. It's really essential to have a backup of your Active Directory in case one of your domain controllers (DCs) fails, or any other issues prevent your users to log in to their computers.
How often does Active Directory update?How often does Active Directory replication occur? Well, that depends. By default, for domain controllers that are in the same site (intra-site replication), replication occurs every 15 seconds.
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