Datto Disaster Recovery guide

Topic

This article explains recovery options, steps to take to recover from a disaster or downtime situation, and Datto resources that can assist with the disaster recovery.

Environment

  • Datto ALTO
  • Datto SIRIS
  • Datto NAS

Description

Establishing the scope of the restore effort is the first priority when in a Disaster Recovery situation. Understanding what machine(s) are down, the source of the problem, and what is needed will be important for deciding the best restore path for the situation. If ever unsure, we recommend reaching out to support for assistance in determining where to start.

Determine the source of the problem.

Unless the problem is obvious (such as a natural or physical disaster), you will need to determine why your machine is down. Here are some common things to check.

  • Has a piece of hardware failed?
  • Did the OS become corrupt through infection by viruses or malware?
  • Was there a problematic software update?
  • Have your recent screenshot verifications been successful? If not, when did the problems begin?
  • Is the outage due to a utility or ISP? Get an update from your provider regarding the length of the outage.

The answers to these questions determine the appropriate restore method, and which recovery point to use.

Rule out simple recovery methods.

Try the simple solution first. For example:

  • Is the file you are looking for in the recycle bin?
  • Do you have malware or corruption that you can easily fix?
  • Did you try a Windows repair disk?
  • It is usually quicker and easier to restore to the hardware you are already using, if possible.

Determine which restore option makes the most sense.

Once you've determined what you are trying to restore and from when, you can decide which restore option will work best. The following chart will help you choose the best restore option.

The following sections provide more detail on each of these restore options.

Local vs Offsite

The restore option chosen can be dependent on the location of the recovery point needed for the restore. When available local restores, done from the Restore tab of the Datto device GUI are faster and preferred.

If the local device is unavailable, or the recovery point is no longer on the local device, then an offsite restore may be required. This is done from the Recovery Launchpad of the partner portal. Some of the same restore types are available in both. If there is any questions on what would be best for the situation, reach out to Datto Technical Support.

File restore (Volume level restore)

You can perform a local file restore from a recovery point of a protected machine or NAS share. To do so, see the article Performing a local File Restore. If you need to restore a file from an iSCSI share, see Creating an iSCSI Restore.

If your Datto appliance is inaccessible or not functioning, you can perform a file restore from the Datto Cloud. See the article, Performing an offsite File Restore.

Direct Restore Utility (Volume level restore)

The Datto Direct Restore Utility is a Windows executable that lets you mount volume restores via iSCSI from any recovery point on the Datto appliance.

When used in conjunction with Windows Robocopy, you can:

  • retain file permissions when you transfer them from the utility back to your Windows desktop.
  • restore files touched by Windows deduplication.
  • restore files touched by Windows file encryption.

Virtualization

Virtualization lets you mount a restore point as a virtual machine so that business can continue until you can permanently restore the affected machines. You can virtualize a single machine or multiple machines with networking capability. Virtualizations are designed to be a temporary measure. You should remove the virtualization once you have fully restored the protected machine by using one of the methods outlined in the sections below.

A protected machine can be virtualized locally or offsite in the Datto cloud. For more information on these processes, please review the documentation of creating a virtualization.

Local Virtualization

Cloud Virtualization

NOTE  Datto NAS appliances do not have virtualization capability; you must do a file restore to recover data from these devices.

Whenever it is an option, we highly recommend that you virtualize locally rather than from the Cloud. Local virtualization allows you to create a Rescue Agent that will continue to take backups of your virtualization which will simplify restoring the original protected machine with the most recent data changes intact.

Do not resize any volumes of an active restore within the OS, doing so can result in backup malfunctions and possible data loss. Resizing the underlying disk size of a virtualization in the Datto's environment is not a feature and is unsupported.

Bare Metal Restore (Full Machine Restore)

A Bare Metal Restore (BMR) uses a recovery point to completely re-image a machine back to a working state. If you need to restore an entire machine from a SIRIS or ALTO, we recommend that you virtualize a recovery point before doing a BMR. Then, use that recovery point to do the BMR. There are three advantages to this course of action:

  • It allows you to get back to business in an instant.
  • It proves that the recovery point can virtualize.
  • You will discover any problems with the recovery point right away, as opposed to finding them in the middle of the BMR process.

It's important to test your recovery point before performing a Bare Metal Restore.

Tip: If you are running a virtual machine for business continuity, and you choose to back it up, use the backup points it creates to perform the restore of the production machine.

Bare Metal Restore is a multi-step process. See the following resources for detailed information on performing a BMR:

Rapid Rollback (Partial machine restore)

This option does not appear in the Datto appliance GUI, but it is available for all SIRIS and ALTO appliances via the Datto Utilities environment. Rapid Rollback allows you to restore only the files that changed on a production machine since the last backup. Use this option to undo widespread file changes, such as those caused by a ransomware infection, or to restore deleted data to its original state and location on a protected system. In some scenarios, Rapid Rollback can be a safer option than the full Bare Metal Restore.

See Rapid Rollback: Getting Started to learn more.

Export Image

Use this option to export the recovery point to vSphere Hypervisor, Microsoft Hyper-V, or another hypervisor host using: VMDK, VMDK-Linked, VHD, VHDX, or RAW image files. You can export the image to an attached USB drive or a Network Share (CIFS/Samba or NFS) hosted on the datto device. This option is available for Windows and Linux protected machines.

For instructions to export an Image, see the article Export Image.

ESXi Upload

This option uploads a restore point to a connected ESXi host via VMware Converter. Use this option if you want to use the ESXi host for computing power and as a datastore. Depending on the size of your datastore, this may take a while to transfer. Once transferred, there is no disk I/O burden on the SIRIS, nor need for adequate bandwidth between the SIRIS and the ESXi host. The datastore is thick provisioned on the ESXi host, which increases the speed of the virtualization. This option is available for Windows and Linux protected machines.

NOTE  To connect to a VMware hypervisor from a Datto appliance, you must be using a paid version of ESXi host on vSphere 5.5, or 6.0. VMware vSphere 5 Hypervisor licensing is not supported.

For more information on this option, see Performing and troubleshooting an ESXi Upload.

Microsoft Exchange data restore

SIRIS machines come with licensing for Kroll Ontrack PowerControls for Exchange and SQL(external link). This tool allows you to restore individual Exchange messages, individual Exchange mailboxes, or many Exchange mailboxes. To use this tool, refer to the article Exchange Mailbox Restore with Kroll Ontrack.

Microsoft SQL data restore

For the procedure to do a SQL data restore with Kroll Ontrack PowerControls for SQL, log into the Web UI of your Datto, and go to Advanced →Granular Restore. For step by step instructions, see the article Granular SQL Restore With Ontrack PowerControls.

Active Directory restore

We recommend that you follow Microsoft's instructions on how to restore AD. See the Microsoft TechNet article Restoring Active Directory from Backup Media (external link).

Restoring from the Datto Cloud

If you are running a virtual machine in the Datto Cloud and need to bring your data back onsite for a Bare Metal Restore or a File Restore, the following options are available:

  • If the restore is small and you have the bandwidth to receive the restore in a reasonable amount of time, Datto Technical Support can transfer your data back to your Datto device.

  • If the protected machine uses an agent based pairing and the virtualization is accessible on the local LAN, backups can continue over the VPN, prior to the full restore back into production. This will take more space on the local appliance for the initial backup in the new environments and will be reliant on the bandwith offsite to the cloud host, to complete the backup.

  • If you have a larger restore, we offer a Reverse RoundTrip drive. As the name suggests, it is the opposite of seeding your data in the Cloud, as we will reverse-seed your device back from the Cloud. See the article Reverse RoundTrip overview for more information.

Datto offers a range of backup and disaster recovery products in addition to our BCDR product line.

Datto Endpoint Backup

Endpoint Backup is our fully cloud-based backup and recovery solution for Windows Servers or PCs. You can leverage its features to restore single files or the entire backup image to a new device without any extra equipment required.

For more information, see Datto Endpoint Backup.

Datto Endpoint Backup with Disaster Recovery

Endpoint Backup for Servers is a unique business continuity and disaster recovery solution designed for managed service providers (MSPs) to protect all workloads for their organizations. It combines direct-to-cloud backup, ransomware protection, powerful DR capabilities and an easy-to-use unified management portal.

For more information, see Datto Endpoint Backup with Disaster Recovery.

Datto Backup for Microsoft Azure

Datto Backup for Microsoft Azure is a data protection solution that provides full business continuity and disaster recovery for Azure in one integrated stack.

For more information, see Datto Backup for Microsoft Azure.

Datto Endpoint Backup for PCs

Datto Endpoint Backup for PCs is our fully cloud-based backup and recovery solution for organizations on Windows computers. You can leverage its features to restore single files or the entire backup image to a new device without any extra equipment required.

For more information, see Datto Endpoint Backup for PCs.

Datto Endpoint Backup version 2

Datto Endpoint Backup Version 2 is a next-generation backup solution offering flexible configurations, seamless integrations, and scalability for businesses of all sizes.

Datto Endpoint Backup Version 2 is built to address the needs of modern data protection, offering selective backups, differential restore, policy-driven management, and deeper integrations with popular IT tools. Whether you are managing thousands of endpoints for clients or maintaining your internal IT infrastructure, Datto Endpoint Backup Version 2 provides a flexible and scalable solution.

For more information, see Overview and System Requirements

Backupify/Datto SaaS Protection

Backupify/Datto SaaS protection delivers fast recovery of Exchange, OneDrive, SharePoint Online, Calendar, Contacts, and Microsoft Teams data. Quickly restore lost data from Gmail, Calendars & Contacts, Drive, and Shared Drives. For more information see Backupify/Datto SaaS Protection: Backups

For more information on how any of these solutions can work for you, contact your Datto Sales Executive.

Datto Technical Support

Datto Technical Support is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year. Should you need help with any Datto-related solution.

The Datto Disaster Response Team

If you are in an area impacted by a natural disaster, the Datto Disaster Response Team is trained and equipped to assist you. Working both remotely and on-site, our response teams can access our entire networking and continuity product lines to assist in recovery efforts. To request their support, call the DRT hotline at 1-833-328-8637, or email drt@datto.com.