Invenio IT

Critical Steps to a Successful Datto SIRIS Bare Metal Restore

Dale Shulmistra

Dale Shulmistra

Data Protection Specialist @ Invenio IT

Published

bare-metal-restore

Why someone should perform a Datto SIRIS Bare Metal Restore?

Before discussing why someone should use the Datto SIRIS Bare Metal Restore, let see a brief discussion about how a typical Datto SIRIS back-up system works. A back-up agent installed on the servers that require to be backed up, and a Datto SIRIS back-up device that normally manages and stores the backed up data.

During a disaster, or a system failure, the Datto SIRIS will virtualize your backups as a virtual machine (VM). There will be minimal interruption to your business, as the VM will replace your failed server. During this time you will need to order new physical servers or replace failed components.

Once your physical servers are replaced, it’s time to restore your operating system on the physical server with the exact operation system and state that is running on the virtual machine.

The Datto SIRIS Bare Metal Restore Process (BMR)

Have on Hand:

  1. USB stick that is more than 4GB is size, to be imaged with the USB BMR Environment (we will provide)
  2. A ShadowProtect ISO.  (also provided)
  3. A Windows Boot CD.
  4. Any drivers (i.e. Hardware RAID, trackpad, etc.) that may need to be injected separately.
  5. Note: If not on a CD they can be slip-streamed in during the USB BMR process.  However they need to be in the actual driver format (i.e. NOT in EXE, ZIP or any other compressed or executable format).
  6. If the backups are Encrypted then the passphrase for the specified agent would need to be entered during the USB Bare Metal Restore Process.

To proceed, the physical machine to be restored to must have:

  • a USB port to boot the physical machine into the USB BMR Environment.
  • be connected to the same network that the Datto.
  • the ability to boot off of a USB port, when a bootable image is plugged into it.

USB Boot Configuration

To be able to boot to USB, follow the instructions below to configure the target machine.

  1. Image the USB Stick.
  2. Plug in (with the imaged USB BMR stick) and boot the target machine into the BIOS.
  3. Configure the BIOS on the target machine to be able to boot to USB.
  4. Note: Most target machines will have different BIOS configurations, so it is important to understand where all the settings are for the specific target machine.
  5. Tip: If the target machine does not have the option to boot to USB directly, download and burn to a disk plpbt.iso.  This will boot to the CD and from the interface choose to boot from USB.
  6. Set the USB stick as the Primary Boot Device from the machine’s BIOS.
  7. Save and exit out of the BIOS.
  8. Reboot the target machine.

Imaging

Prerequisite

  • USB stick at least 4GB in size that can be formatted.
  • A Datto device that uses ShadowSnap™ to plug the USB stick into for formatting.
      1. Plug the USB stick into one of the open USB ports on the back of the Datto device.
      2. From the web interface, click the Restore link at the top of the page.
        Select an Agent and Bare Metal Restore and then click Start USB Imaging when ready.
      3. Select the USB stick to have the device image as a bootable USB drive for the USB BMR Environment.
        Note: If no USB is seen here, click the to refresh.  If the USB is still not seen, plug the USB into another port of the device, wait ~15 seconds and refresh again.
      4. Click Start Imaging.
      5. Wait for the process to complete.
      6. Unplug the USB stick and start the USB BMR Restore process.
        Datto SIRIS Bare Metal Restore Process (USB)The USB BMR is a new process that allows the target machine to be booted with a USB stick that has been imaged from the Datto UI Limitations
      7. Not able to be used to restore to 32-bit hardware
      8. OS Partitions with GPTs that are larger than 2TB in used space
      9. Pre-requisitesBe sure to have a monitor, keyboard and mouse plugged into the target machine.  The target machine should also be connected to the same network as the Datto storing the backup data.Make sure that any Hardware RAID configurations are already set as needed, otherwise the BMR environment will not be able to recognize the drives in the way needed for the restore.In order for the target machine to be able to boot off of USB, please make sure that the USB boot option is enabled via the BIOS settings of the target machine.The Process
      10. Plug in the USB flash drive while the target machine is off.
      11. Boot the target machine from the USB flash drive.
        Note: This can take some time depending on the speed of the USB port.
      12. The target machine will then populate the Welcome screen, click Get Started.
        Note:  The interface automatically checks to see if there is any network connectivity.  If the BMR environment reports there is no network connectivity, then check the cable and the port on the switch to which the ethernet cable is connected.

USB BMR Process

The USB BMR is a new process that allows the target machine to be booted with a USB stick that has been imaged from the Datto UI.

Limitations

  • Not able to be used to restore to 32-bit hardware
  • OS Partitions with GPTs that are larger than 2TB in used space

Pre-requisites

Be sure to have a monitor, keyboard and mouse plugged into the target machine.  The target machine should also be connected to the same network as the Datto storing the backup data.

Make sure that any Hardware RAID configurations are already set as needed, otherwise the BMR environment will not be able to recognize the drives in the way needed for the restore.

In order for the target machine to be able to boot off of USB, please make sure that the USB boot option is enabled via the BIOS settings of the target machine.

The Process

  1. Plug in the USB flash drive while the target machine is off.
  2. Boot the target machine from the USB flash drive.
    Note: This can take some time depending on the speed of the USB port.
  3. The target machine will then populate the Welcome screen, click Get Started.
    Note:  The interface automatically checks to see if there is any network connectivity.  If the BMR environment reports there is no network connectivity, then check the cable and the port on the switch to which the ethernet cable is connected.
      1. Search for the hostname of the device that houses the backup data.
        Note:  In most cases there will be only one device listed.  If the datto device housing the backup data is not listed, enter the IP and attempt to connect.  However, if it is not listed, then there most likely is a connectivity issue between the target machine and the Datto attempting to restore from.
      2. Click Select on the extreme right hand side next to the Datto device’s IP address.
      3. Enter the Username and Password of a user that has access to the Local Web UI of the Datto.

 

 

 

 

 

      1. Click Select next to the agent attempting the restore.
      2. Click Select next to the backup image wanted.
        Note: Sometimes the most recent image is not the healthiest image to use, due to the original production machine going down, unless new images of the virtualized version of the production machine were taken.
      3. Choose either Automatic Partitioning or Advanced Partitioning.  If choosing Automatic Partitioning, skip to Reboot Now step.
      4. With the Advanced Partitioner single volumes or whole disks can be formatted/deleted.  Select the volume(s) to be deleted and click Delete.
        Note: If wanting to clear the disk, then select the disk and click Clear Disk.  Make sure to select Master Boot Record for the Partition Table and then click OK.
      5. Click Commit.
      6. Click Commit again, to verify the changes.
      7. Click OK to finish the Commit Wizard.
      8. Repeat steps 10 to 13, for each volume/disk that needs to be removed.
      9. Click Add, to add a partition to restore to.
      10. Next to Physical Disk, choose what disk to add the partition.
      11. Choose Primary Partition.
      12. Choose the size of the volume to create.
        Note:  During the restore process the source image is resized to fit inside the newly created partition on the target machine, whether the source image volume size was the same or not.
      13. If the partition being configured is the bootable partition then set it as Bootable.  If it is a data partition, then do not set it as bootable.
      14. Make sure that Format as NTFS is selected.
      15. Next to Restore Volume, select the volume image to restore from.
      16. Click Create Partition.
      17. Repeat steps 11, 12 and 13.
      18. Repeat steps 15 to 23 for each volume to be restored.
      19. Click Continue at the bottom of the Advanced Partitioner.
      20. Review the size and volume information and then click Begin Transfer.
      21. Wait for the Resize and Transfer operations finish per volume.
      22. Once the Resize and Transfer processes are finish, it is time to finalize the restored image.  Check Force checkdisk to run on first boot and Attempt to restore bootability.
        Note: A checkdisk is recommended (even if restoring to similar hardware) because it will double check the filesystem to make sure it is in a healthy state.
        Note: If Attempt to restore bootability is not checked then the partition marked as bootable will not actually be bootable.  This feature is added in case it was only necessary to restore a data partition, in which case, uncheckingAttempt to restore bootability should be done.
      23. Click Reboot Now.
      24. Make sure to set the correct drive to boot off of in the BIOS and then boot the computer.
      25. After the machine boots for the first time, it will checkdisk and then reboot again.
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