lab report

Creating a Scheduled Backup and Replicating System Folders Introduction

Disaster recovery (DR) and business continuity (BC) are key elements in any security program. While not the responsibility of a security practitioner, DR and BC plans should exist for all information systems in an organization, and system backups are traditionally the cornerstone of every disaster recovery plan. With the advent of virtualization, many organizations are moving away from traditional server backups and instead relying on cloning and redundancy for their backup and recovery needs. Regardless, traditional file and folder backups still play an important role.

If traditional server backups are used, they should be configured to meet the needs of defined organizational policies and data classification standards. In common practice, incremental data backups occur daily for data stored that day, while complete system backups may be scheduled weekly. In addition, the backup strategy for many organizations includes a process for moving data that has been backed up to an offsite vault for safe keeping. One popular backup strategy is nicknamed the “son- father-grandfather” backup strategy, where the “son” is the daily/nightly backup, the “father” is a weekly backup, and the “grandfather” is a monthly backup of the system. Often, the father backup is graduated to grandfather status and is kept off-site for safekeeping in case of a disaster at the main site.

The Windows Distributed File System (DFS) can be used to replicate files, folders, and data across many servers automatically. There are two main types of full server backups: bare metal and cloning. Bare metal backups allow a server to be restored on new hardware (or virtual hardware). Clones are copies of virtual servers that can be kept offline until they are needed.

There are four kinds of data backups:

· Full: Full backups backup all data, even if it has not changed.

· Incremental: Incremental backups backup only changed files.

· Differential: Differential backups backup all files that have changed since the last full backup.

· Mirror: Mirror backups copy all data from one location to another redundant location.

In this lab, you will install the Windows Distributed File System and Windows Server Backup features from the PowerShell command line. You will schedule a daily backup of the C:\ERPdocuments folder on the TargetWindows01 server and replicate this backup to the TargetWindows02 server using the DFS Replication feature.

Lab Overview

Each section of this lab is assigned at your instructor’s discretion. Please consult your instructor to confirm which sections you are required to complete for your lab assignment.

SECTION 1 of this lab has three parts, which should be completed in the order specified.

1. In the first part of the lab, you will install the Distributed File System (DFS) and configure the network shares required for data replication.

2. In the second part of the lab, you will use the DFS Management console to configure DFS to create a mirror backup of the C:\Archive folder on the TargetWindows01 server.

3. In the third part of the lab, you will install Windows Server Backup on a Windows Server 2019 machine and schedule a backup of the ERPdocuments folder and its sub-folders.

SECTION 2 of this lab allows you to apply what you learned in SECTION 1 with less guidance and different deliverables, as well as some expanded tasks and alternative methods. You will also use PowerShell commands to configure DFS and create a script that will back up the specified folders.

Finally, if assigned by your instructor, you will explore the virtual environment on your own in SECTION 3 of this lab to answer a set of questions and challenges that allow you to use the skills you learned in the lab to conduct independent, unguided work, similar to what you will encounter in a real-world situation.

Learning Objectives

Upon completing this lab, you will be able to:

1. Install Microsoft’s Distributed File System (DFS) on a Windows Server 2019 machine

2. Configure DFS to replicate data from a Windows Server 2019 machine

3. Install Windows Server Backup from PowerShell

4. Schedule a backup using Windows Server Backup on a Windows Server 2019 machine

5. Verify DFS replication on a Windows Server 2019 machine

6. Section 2: Use PowerShell to configure DFS.

7. Section 2: Schedule a backup using a robocopy script.

Topology

This lab contains the following virtual machines. Please refer to the network topology diagram below.

· TargetWindows01 (Windows Server 2019) [Domain Controller]

· TargetWindows02 (Windows Server 2019)

Tools and Software

The following software and/or utilities are required to complete this lab. Students are encouraged to explore the Internet to learn more about the products and tools used in this lab.

· Windows Distributed File System (DFS)

· Windows PowerShell

· Windows Server Backup

Deliverables

Upon completion of this lab, you are required to provide the following deliverables to your instructor:

SECTION 1:

1. Lab Report file including screen captures of the following;

· successful DFS and net share commands on TargetWindows01;

· successful DFS and net share commands on TargetWindows02;

· Review Settings and Create Namespace page;

· Confirmation page;

· Namespace entries;

· successful backup schedule on the Summary page;

· contents of the backup folder on TargetWindows01;

· contents of the backup folder on TargetWindows02;

2. Any additional information as directed by the lab:

· none;

SECTION 2:

1. Lab Report file including screen captures of the following:

· net share results on TargetWindows01;

· net share results on TargetWindows02;

· new namespace in the DFS Management console;

· completed Robocopy script;

· contents of the Section2 folder on the TargetWindows01 server;

· contents of the Section2 folder on the TargetWindows02 server;

2. Any additional information as directed by the lab:

· none.

SECTION 3:

1. Analysis and Discussion

2. Tools and Commands

3. Challenge Exercise

Section 1: Hands-On Demonstration

Part 1: Install Windows DFS and Create Network Shares

13. Make a screen capture showing the successful DFS and net share commands on TargetWindows01 and paste it into the Lab Report file.

19. Make a screen capture showing the successful DFS and net share commands on TargetWindows02 and paste it into the Lab Report file.

Part 2: Configure DFS

8. Make a screen capture showing the Review Settings and Create Namespace page and paste it into your Lab Report file.

26. Make a screen capture showing the Confirmation page and paste it into your Lab Report file.

29. Make a screen capture showing the Namespace entries and paste it into the Lab Report file.

Part 3: Install and Configure Windows System Backup

18. Make a screen capture showing the successful backup schedule on the Summary page and

paste it into the Lab Report file.

28. Make a screen capture showing the contents of the backup folder on TargetWindows01 and

paste this into your Lab Report file.

33. Make a screen capture showing the contents of the backup folder on TargetWindows02 and

paste this into your Lab Report file.

Section 2: Applied Learning

Part 1: Install Windows DFS and Create Network Shares

8. Make a screen capture showing the net share results on TargetWindows01 and paste it into the Lab Report file.

13. Make a screen capture showing the net share results on TargetWindows01 and paste it into the Lab Report file.

Part 2: Configure DFS

12. Make a screen capture showing the new namespace in the DFS Management console and

paste it into your Lab Report.

Part 3: Create and Execute a Robocopy Script

9. Make a screen capture showing the completed Robocopy script and paste it into your Lab Report file.

16. Make a screen capture showing the contents of the Section2 folder on the TargetWindows01 server and paste it into your Lab Report file.

19. Make a screen capture showing the contents of the Section2 folder on the TargetWindows02 server and paste it into your Lab Report file.

Section 3: Challenge and Analysis

Note: The following challenge questions are provided to allow independent, unguided work, similar to what you will encounter in a real situation. You should aim to improve your skills by getting the correct answer in as few steps as possible. Use screen captures in your lab document where possible to illustrate your answers.

Part 1: Analysis and Discussion

In Section 2 of this lab, you used Robocopy in the script to copy files from one remote machine to another. Robocopy was selected because it is native to Windows and is a robust tool with a variety of switches for customizing the command line. Use the Internet to research an alternative to Robocopy that could be used in the script. Explain your choice.

Answers will be unique to each student. Alternative products can be found by searching for “Robocopy alternatives”. Not all alternatives will be able to match the robust options.

Part 2: Tools and Commands

Use the Internet to research Robocopy switches and then construct a command line that will use Robocopy to copy files in restart mode from a source to a destination mirroring the folder structure and using FAT file times. The command should retry the copy in case of a failed attempt.

robocopy sourcedrive:\path destinationdrive:\path /MIR /FFT /R:3 /W:10 /Z

Part 3: Challenge Exercise

Use the Internet to research the alternative product you identified in the Analysis and Discussion question and then construct a command that would replace the Robocopy command in the script used in Section 2 of this lab.