{"id":12673,"date":"2015-05-13T10:00:00","date_gmt":"2015-05-13T08:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/nolabnoparty.com\/?p=12673"},"modified":"2020-03-15T18:11:03","modified_gmt":"2020-03-15T17:11:03","slug":"veeam-8-restoring-active-directory-after-dcs-failure","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nolabnoparty.com\/en\/veeam-8-restoring-active-directory-after-dcs-failure\/","title":{"rendered":"Veeam 8 restoring Active Directory after DCs failure"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img decoding=\"async\" style=\"background-image: none; float: none; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin: 0px auto; display: block; padding-right: 0px; border-width: 0px;\" title=\"restoread01\" src=\"https:\/\/nolabnoparty.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/restoread01.jpg\" alt=\"restoread01\" width=\"602\" height=\"202\" border=\"0\" \/><\/p>\n<p>With Veeam 8 restoring\u00a0Active Directory\u00a0functionality after Domain Controllers failure it's a matter of few clicks if supported by a working\u00a0backup.<\/p>\n<p>One of the most undervalued components of Veeam is the <strong>VBK Extract utility<\/strong> that helps fixing scenarios where the disaster recovery plan is not in place and the backup strategy is poor.<\/p>\n<p><!--more--><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2>Scenario<\/h2>\n<p>During a network maintenance, all Domain Controllers failed due to a wrong update causing the <strong>complete Active Directory failure<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>After a quick check the network\u00a0was\u00a0working with very limited services:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>No Domain Controllers available - AD authentication not working<\/li>\n<li>No DNS service - most services not working, vCenter and Veeam servers\u00a0as well<\/li>\n<li>No replica available and no DR plan in place<\/li>\n<li>All network servers are running except DCs<\/li>\n<li>Backups available and backup storage accessible<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2>Procedure<\/h2>\n<p>The only way to recover Active Directory functionality is <strong>restoring at least the primary\u00a0Domain Controller<\/strong>. Since Veeam Server and its components rely on DNS availability, <strong>VBK Extract utility<\/strong> is the first solution that come to my mind to quickly restore the environment.<\/p>\n<p>To run the tool, the required files are located in Veeam Server under <strong>C:\\Program Files\\Veeam\\Backup<\/strong>. Make a copy to the Veeam Proxy where the <strong>backup repository<\/strong> is connected to (via iSCSI in this example). Remember that both DNS and authentication services are unavailable.<\/p>\n<p>The files to copy are the following:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Veeam.Backup.Extractor.exe<\/li>\n<li>Extract.exe<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" style=\"background-image: none; float: none; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin: 0px auto; display: block; padding-right: 0px; border-width: 0px;\" title=\"restoread02\" src=\"https:\/\/nolabnoparty.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/restoread02.jpg\" alt=\"restoread02\" width=\"215\" height=\"101\" border=\"0\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Double click on <strong>Veeam.Backup.Extractor.exe<\/strong> to run the tool. Click <strong>Browse<\/strong> in the <strong>VBK file<\/strong> field to specify the <strong>full backup<\/strong> file to use (the extractor can recover VMs from full backups only) containing the primary Domain Controller. Click <strong>Open<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" style=\"background-image: none; float: none; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin: 0px auto; display: block; padding-right: 0px; border-width: 0px;\" title=\"restoread03\" src=\"https:\/\/nolabnoparty.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/restoread03.jpg\" alt=\"restoread03\" width=\"600\" height=\"472\" border=\"0\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Click <strong>Browse<\/strong> and select the <strong>Extract folder<\/strong> with enough space to store the VM.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" style=\"background-image: none; float: none; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin: 0px auto; display: block; padding-right: 0px; border-width: 0px;\" title=\"restoread04\" src=\"https:\/\/nolabnoparty.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/restoread04.jpg\" alt=\"restoread04\" width=\"600\" height=\"431\" border=\"0\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Select the VM to restore (i.e. <em>w2k8r2-dc01<\/em>) and click <strong>Extract.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" style=\"background-image: none; float: none; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin: 0px auto; display: block; padding-right: 0px; border-width: 0px;\" title=\"restoread05\" src=\"https:\/\/nolabnoparty.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/restoread05.jpg\" alt=\"restoread05\" width=\"600\" height=\"431\" border=\"0\" \/><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2>Copy extracted VM to the storage<\/h2>\n<p>Extracted the VM, it must be copied to the shared storage where ESXi is connected to.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" style=\"background-image: none; float: none; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin: 0px auto; display: block; padding-right: 0px; border-width: 0px;\" title=\"restoread06\" src=\"https:\/\/nolabnoparty.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/restoread06.jpg\" alt=\"restoread06\" width=\"478\" height=\"348\" border=\"0\" \/><\/p>\n<p>From the computer where vSphere Client is installed, <strong>map the disk<\/strong> of the machine where the VM has been extracted using the correct credentials.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" style=\"background-image: none; float: none; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin: 0px auto; display: block; padding-right: 0px; border-width: 0px;\" title=\"restoread07\" src=\"https:\/\/nolabnoparty.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/restoread07.jpg\" alt=\"restoread07\" width=\"600\" height=\"423\" border=\"0\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Since users cannot be authenticated against Active Directory (no DCs are available), the <strong>local\u00a0 Administrator<\/strong> account should be used instead.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" style=\"background-image: none; float: none; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin: 0px auto; display: block; padding-right: 0px; border-width: 0px;\" title=\"restoread08\" src=\"https:\/\/nolabnoparty.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/restoread08.jpg\" alt=\"restoread08\" width=\"429\" height=\"250\" border=\"0\" \/><\/p>\n<p>The VM is now accessible from the computer with vSphere Client.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" style=\"background-image: none; float: none; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin: 0px auto; display: block; padding-right: 0px; border-width: 0px;\" title=\"restoread09\" src=\"https:\/\/nolabnoparty.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/restoread09.jpg\" alt=\"restoread09\" width=\"471\" height=\"324\" border=\"0\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Select the storage to use and click on the upload icon. Select <strong>Upload Folder<\/strong> option.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" style=\"background-image: none; float: none; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin: 0px auto; display: block; padding-right: 0px; border-width: 0px;\" title=\"restoread10\" src=\"https:\/\/nolabnoparty.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/restoread10.jpg\" alt=\"restoread10\" width=\"405\" height=\"173\" border=\"0\" \/><\/p>\n<p><strong>Browse<\/strong> the folders and select the VM to upload then click <strong>OK<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" style=\"background-image: none; float: none; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin: 0px auto; display: block; padding-right: 0px; border-width: 0px;\" title=\"restoread11\" src=\"https:\/\/nolabnoparty.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/restoread11.jpg\" alt=\"restoread11\" width=\"326\" height=\"315\" border=\"0\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Click <strong>Yes<\/strong> to continue.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" style=\"background-image: none; float: none; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin: 0px auto; display: block; padding-right: 0px; border-width: 0px;\" title=\"restoread12\" src=\"https:\/\/nolabnoparty.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/restoread12.jpg\" alt=\"restoread12\" width=\"472\" height=\"165\" border=\"0\" \/><\/p>\n<p>The VM is being uploaded to the selected storage.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" style=\"background-image: none; float: none; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin: 0px auto; display: block; padding-right: 0px; border-width: 0px;\" title=\"restoread13\" src=\"https:\/\/nolabnoparty.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/restoread13.jpg\" alt=\"restoread13\" width=\"400\" height=\"193\" border=\"0\" \/><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2>Add VM to Inventory<\/h2>\n<p>To make the VM visible to the ESXi, the VM must be added to the inventory. When the upload is complete, select the VM folder and right click the <strong>.vmx file<\/strong>. Select <strong>Add to Inventory<\/strong> option.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" style=\"background-image: none; float: none; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin: 0px auto; display: block; padding-right: 0px; border-width: 0px;\" title=\"restoread14\" src=\"https:\/\/nolabnoparty.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/restoread14.jpg\" alt=\"restoread14\" width=\"600\" height=\"283\" border=\"0\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Give a <strong>Name<\/strong> for the virtual machine and click <strong>Next<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" style=\"background-image: none; float: none; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin: 0px auto; display: block; padding-right: 0px; border-width: 0px;\" title=\"restoread15\" src=\"https:\/\/nolabnoparty.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/restoread15.jpg\" alt=\"restoread15\" width=\"600\" height=\"423\" border=\"0\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Select the resource pool to run the VM and click <strong>Next<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" style=\"background-image: none; float: none; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin: 0px auto; display: block; padding-right: 0px; border-width: 0px;\" title=\"restoread16\" src=\"https:\/\/nolabnoparty.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/restoread16.jpg\" alt=\"restoread16\" width=\"600\" height=\"423\" border=\"0\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Click <strong>Finish<\/strong> to register the VM.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" style=\"background-image: none; float: none; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin: 0px auto; display: block; padding-right: 0px; border-width: 0px;\" title=\"restoread17\" src=\"https:\/\/nolabnoparty.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/restoread17.jpg\" alt=\"restoread17\" width=\"600\" height=\"423\" border=\"0\" \/><\/p>\n<p>The virtual machine is now visible from the ESXi.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" style=\"background-image: none; float: none; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin: 0px auto; display: block; padding-right: 0px; border-width: 0px;\" title=\"restoread18\" src=\"https:\/\/nolabnoparty.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/restoread18.jpg\" alt=\"restoread18\" width=\"467\" height=\"257\" border=\"0\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Right click the VM and select <strong>Power &gt; Power On<\/strong> options.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" style=\"background-image: none; float: none; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin: 0px auto; display: block; padding-right: 0px; border-width: 0px;\" title=\"restoread19\" src=\"https:\/\/nolabnoparty.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/restoread19.jpg\" alt=\"restoread19\" width=\"545\" height=\"271\" border=\"0\" \/><\/p>\n<p>The VM (Domain Controller) is now up and running restoring Active Directory authentication functionality.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" style=\"background-image: none; float: none; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin: 0px auto; display: block; padding-right: 0px; border-width: 0px;\" title=\"restoread20\" src=\"https:\/\/nolabnoparty.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/restoread20.jpg\" alt=\"restoread20\" width=\"600\" height=\"326\" border=\"0\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Since the Extractor doesn't need to be installed, the tool\u00a0can be stored anywhere and easily used in case Veeam Server is unavailable.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/nolabnoparty.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/images\/firma.jpg\" alt=\"firma\" title=\"\"><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>With Veeam 8 restoring\u00a0Active Directory\u00a0functionality after Domain Controllers failure it's a matter of few clicks if supported by a working\u00a0backup. One of the most undervalued components of Veeam is the VBK Extract utility that helps fixing scenarios where the disaster recovery plan is not in place and the backup strategy is poor.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":12653,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rop_custom_images_group":[],"rop_custom_messages_group":[],"rop_publish_now":"initial","rop_publish_now_accounts":{"linkedin_93tdZWzMZc_93tdZWzMZc":"","facebook_2879994398731222_17841400390232720":"","twitter_113568041_113568041":"","mastodon_115463926174894442_115463926174894442":""},"rop_publish_now_history":[],"rop_publish_now_status":"pending","footnotes":""},"categories":[2138,933,903],"tags":[1560,2167],"class_list":["post-12673","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-backup-en","category-veeam-en","category-vmware-en","tag-extractor","tag-recover-en-2","has_thumb"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nolabnoparty.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12673","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nolabnoparty.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nolabnoparty.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nolabnoparty.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nolabnoparty.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12673"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/nolabnoparty.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12673\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nolabnoparty.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/12653"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nolabnoparty.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12673"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nolabnoparty.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12673"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nolabnoparty.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12673"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}