When your server crashes, you must get it back online as soon as possible. The tips listed here will help you understand the process of restoring your server to optimal performance. Now and then, every server will crash. Sometimes the problem becomes so severe that you must rebuild the server from its foundation.
Naturally, the procedure to use in such a case depends on your organization and the server’s operating system. The role of the server within the organization and the type of backups that you have also come into play. Regardless, returning your server to an operational state should take a high priority in your organization.
Assess Your Backup
They condition and nature of your backup will make a huge difference in what you do to recover your server. If you have a professional product built for enterprise servers, you should have an image of the hard drive stored as a file. Such a backup makes restoring your server from scratch easy. All you must do is fire up your backup and restore software and install the disk image onto a new hard drive. You will be up and running before you know it. Backups that do not include a full disk image will require you to and then install your restore software so you can put your files back where they originally were.
Get Your Network Ready
Before you rebuild your server, you must remove existing references to it from your network. If your organization uses Active Directory, you can get the job done by opening the users and computers console and removing the servers from the computers and the domain controller’s container. Wait until the next replication cycle completes, ensuring the release of the original computer name. Networks using alternative software will require a similar procedure.
Booting the Operating System
If you didn’t restore your server to a new hard drive using an image file, you would have to install the operating system manually on the new disk. To get the best results, you will need to give your server the same computer name and IP address that it was using when it crashed. Don’t forget to install antivirus software on the server and update your virus definitions.
Update the System
Update your operating system to ensure it has the latest patches and data security updates. If you use Windows Server, you can upgrade the system using Windows Update. If you use links or another server alternative, find out what actions you must take to update your operating system to the latest version.
Install Applications
Install server applications such as applications such as SQL Server or Exchange Server and update them. Some of these applications require specific configuration settings that you must manually set.
Data Restoration
As your last step, restore your data from your backup, after scanning it for viruses. You will have to check to ensure your restored files have appropriate permissions and that your server applications link to the data correctly.
Now that you have restored your server to optimal performance, notify everyone in your organization that they can resume their normal work activities.
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