Use ASR to restore cluster disk signatures

ASR is an effective disk signature recovery option if no cluster nodes can communicate with the shared devices and all other cluster restore techniques have been exhausted.

An ASR backup of a cluster node contains a disk signature (or signatures) and volume information; the current system state, which includes the Registry, cluster quorum, boot files and the COM+ class registration database; system services; and a backup of all local disks containing operating system files, including system and boot partitions.

Currently, the only way to back up disk signatures is to create an ASR backup from the local server console using the backup utility in Windows Server 2003.

To perform an ASR backup, an ad

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ministrator needs a blank floppy disk and either a tape drive or disk drive for use as a backup device. Windows Server 2003's backup utility does not yet support recordable CD devices, so if no tape drive is available, the backup can be run to a backup file on a local or networked drive. Saving the backup file to a networked drive ensures that the media can be accessed should an ASR restore be necessary.

Note: An ASR backup will back up each local drive that contains the operating system and any applications installed. However, this requires additional storage and increases backup time.

To create an ASR backup:

About the author: Rahul Shah currently works at a software firm in India, where he is a systems administrator maintaining Windows servers. He has also worked for various software firms in testing and analytics, and also has experiences deploying client/server applications in different Windows configurations.

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