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How To Clone A Primary Server With

Windows Backup (Wbadmin) For
Deploying A Secondary Server By
Using Neverfail EMS Console
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Summary

Initial Prerequisites:

Procedure

Footnotes:

Summary
This KB article describes how to use Windows Server Backup (aka, wbadmin) in order to clone the Primary
server for completing the deployment of Engine on a Secondary or even a Tertiary server. Since Engine is
already installed on the Primary server, by performing the steps below, a new Secondary or Tertiary server
will be built/deployed.

Initial Prerequisites:

Version 9.0 or higher of Neverfail Engine Management Server (EMS) web console is available.
A supported version of Windows Server OS is installed on the Primary server.
The Windows Server Backup feature has been enabled/installed on the Primary server.
 The applications to be protected by Engine have been installed on the Primary server.
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Neverfail Engine has been deployed/installed on the Primary server.
The Windows Server installation DVD needs to be available for being inserted into the DVD drive of the
Secondary server or an ISO image of it can be mounted into the Virtual DVD unit of the iLO/iDRAC of
the Secondary server.

Procedure
1. Login into the Neverfail Engine Management Server (EMS) console and select the Primary server to be
cloned. Click the Actions button and then click the Reclone Secondary or Tertiary option in the menu. Please
be aware that this first step is essential. If this first step is omitted then we will simply end up creating a copy
of the Primary server instead of creating a secondary server.

2. Select clone type to be Assisted Cloning.

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3. We now must wait until the Primary server is reconfigured in order to be ready for cloning. This is displayed
in EMS as below. Please focus on the Operations in progress status and on the Progress Bar showing the
reconfiguration of the Primary server. When this is completed the Delete button will become available.

4. When the Primary server is ready to be cloned, please launch Windows Server Backup and select Local
Backup then click Backup Once
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5. In the Backup Once Wizard select Different options and click Next.
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6. In the next window select Custom. Be sure Not to select “Full server” as this may result in a huge backup
file. There is no need to include in the backup the data which will be replicated by Engine from Primary to
Secondary once the Secondary server is up and running.
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7. Click Next and choose Select Items for Backup. Click on Add items.
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8. In Select Items please check/enable the Bare metal recovery. This is essential. When you check this
option then other options will be automatically checked for you: System state, System reserved, and all
critical volumes which contain operating system files.
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9. Notice that other driver (like E: in this case) was not automatically selected because this volume does not
contain OS files. However there is other content on E: which might need to be included, for example if there’s
a "Program Files" folder because this contains application binaries. When done selecting items, click OK.
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10. Specify a destination type where the backup file will be saved. In this example we will backup to a
directory on a network share for convenience. The backup file created on the Primary server can be also
saved on an external disk too.
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Note: The network share or the external disk will need to be accessible during the restore on the Secondary.
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11. After completing all the steps above, please click Backup.
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The backup will take some time…

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And will report as “Completed” when finished.

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12. Click Close.

Next steps will be performed on the Secondary server.

Remember that the Windows Server Install DVD needs to be inserted into the Secondary unit so that the
Secondary machine will boot from the DVD and not from its local hard-disk. Once booted from the DVD you
will see the screen below:
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1. Click Next and choose the Repair your computer option.

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2. Click Troubleshoot.
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3. Select System Image Recovery.

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4. Windows is going to search the Secondary server for the backup file to restore, but since the backup file is
saved on a network share, click Cancel.
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5. Click Next.
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6. Click Advanced.
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7. Choose Search for a system image on the network.

8. Confirm that you want to connect to the network by clicking Yes.
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9. WinPE is bringing up the network here. You'll need a DHCP server.

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10. When the network is up, type the network folder location for the backup file and click OK.
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11. You'll probably need to type in credentials. Click OK.

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12. Select a backup location.

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13. Click Next.

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14. Click on Advanced...

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15. Uncheck/disable the Automatically check and update disk error information option, then click OK and
click Next.
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16. Click OK and click Next once more.

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17. Click Finish.

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18. Confirm that you sure you want to continue by clicking Yes.
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19. When done, the computer asks for a restart. Click Restart Now.
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20. There will be some PnP action on the pre-login screen because some new devices are discovered and
installed. Once that's completed, login in Windows by using the same administrator name and password as
the Primary.
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21. The Neverfail system tray is showing the server as Secondary (S) and Passive (-).
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22. Run an ipconfig /all command and check to make sure that one Network Adapter is configured with the
Secondary channel IP address and the other Network Adapter shows an 169.254. IP address. This 169.254
IP address is to be expected because the Secondary server is passive.
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23. At this point you can click the Delete button in EMS so that the Primary server is reverted back to its
normal settings.

24. Now the EMS should be showing the cluster up and running and replicating.
Footnotes:
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1. In this example the system disk was the same size on secondary server as primary server. We have
found that in some circumstances the system disk on the secondary needs to be larger than the system
disk on the primary. If you have these problems then this thread at Microsoft Community might contain
useful information http://answers.microsoft.com/enus/windows/forum/all/no-disk-that-can-be-used-for-
recovering-the-system/e855ee43186d-4200-a032-23d214d3d524?page=1
2. OEM installations of Windows on physical hardware often contain additional partitions specific to the
OEM. If your primary server has these partitions you should think carefully about whether or not to
backup and restore these partitions. In addition the presence of a FAT32 formatted partition has been
known to cause problems for wbadmin. This Microsoft blog article contains more information
http://blogs.technet.com/b/askcore/archive/2011/12/07/error-message-running-wbadminto-backup-
system-state-one-of-the-source-volumes-specified-has-an-invalid.aspx
3. In this example there have been significant hardware changes between primary server and secondary
server from the Windows perspective. The secondary server will need to
activate windows. The license on the primary server must provide multiple activation or you will have to
provide a new license key on the secondary server. In particular you should beware of OEM licensing
for windows on the primary server.
4. For information about possible problems accessing domain member servers during restore please see
TechNet article https://technet.microsoft.com/enus/library/cc755163.aspx
5. In case you encounter the following error when recovering an image from network: "A device attached
to the system is not functioning. (0x8007001F)" you will need to perform the recover using the
CMD. https://community.spiceworks.com/topic/2201127-recover-windows-system-image-from-network-
error-0x8007001f
1. "wpeinit" to reinitialize the network adapter
2. "wbadmin get versions -backuptarget:\\<server_name>\<share_name>", and enter your network
credentials when prompted.

This will present you with a list of available backups in that share. From the list look for which one
you want and take note of the version ID. i.e. "03/28/2019-00:42"

3. Then ran "wbadmin start sysrecovery -version:<version_ID> -backuptarget:\\<server_name>\

<share_name> -recreatedisks" and the backup started, giving a % complete output every 15
seconds or so.

Updated: 17 days ago