Advice - System State Backup! How do you do it?

[mo_vigilante]

Hi all,

 

Looking for expert advice! How do you guys backup your system state backup? (Server 2008). I have it backed it up onsite to a NAS box, and also have a failover DC on another site which is replicated across.

 

I have tape backups that are taken off site but the tape backups doesn't include the system state - just the file server, apps server and mail server via Backup Exec.

 

My question is do you think I need to do a system state backup offsite rather than onsite to another NAS box? Even though I have a failover DC.

 

We have a fibre link between sites so replication performace is good - so to do a system state backup offsite wouldn't cause too much hinderance I would have thought?

 

Am I just creating duplicate work for myself?

 

Thanks.

 

;-)

[Cache]

If it was me, I'd backup the system state of any server that was being backed up, rightly or wrongly, I just think if I've got to think about trying to recover from a major problem with a DC, especially the Forest Root which holds all the roles, if I can just restore one backup without having to try and rebuild from another server then it would be so much easier.

 

I know you can commision from another servers backup of system state and doing non-authorative restores will rebuild the system state from another domain controller anyway, but having that backup to hand should the worse come it would be worth the extra little duplicate.

[mo_vigilante]

Thanks for your input,

 

At the moment I don't have the other servers system state backed up, just the DC. Something to look into I think.

 

I'm trying to look at this from all angles, so that's why I don't know whether doing a seperate system state backup to a NAS box offsite is good (disaster recovery reasons) - I agree if I got latest backup, then easier to restore than rebuild.

 

Think I'll do that. Thanks.

 

:-)