Congratulations! You ve found the SharePoint 2010 Disaster Recovery Guide s equivalent

Transcription

1 Appendix A: Chapter Review Q&A Congratulations! You ve found the SharePoint 2010 Disaster Recovery Guide s equivalent of the ace in the hole for elementary school math students everywhere: the answers at the back of the book. The good news is that you re not being graded on your ability to answer these questions successfully, but that doesn t mean you should overlook them. Use them as a barometer for measuring your comprehension of the concepts and tips within each chapter, but don t get overconfident. These questions are designed to spot-check your understanding of the contents of each chapter. They don t completely review every piece of information in them. The true test of your SharePoint disaster recovery knowledge lies before you, in the real world where you have real users, they use real data, and they pay real money for you to preserve and restore their SharePoint sites when something goes wrong. If you are able to successfully answer every question correctly, that s awesome, but you shouldn t get overconfident. Establishing an effective and successful SharePoint disaster recovery solution is far more difficult than that something we ve encountered throughout the process of writing this book and hopefully conveyed to you. Chapter 1 1. How do a disaster recovery plan and a business continuity plan differ? A disaster recovery plan details the restoration of a particular system or technical capability following the declaration of a disaster. Disaster recovery plans belong to a larger business continuity plan (BCP). BCPs are strategies that cover not only the restoration of technological capabilities, but the processes and procedures that detail how business processes and the other day-to-day operations of an organization continue in the event of a disaster. 2. What is the difference between an RPO and an RTO? A recovery point objective (RPO) defines the amount of acceptable data loss in the event of a disaster and focuses on the time leading up to the declaration of a disaster. A recovery time objective (RTO), on the other hand, identifies the maximum amount of time you can take following a disaster to restore a system to a predefined functional state. When taken together, the RPO and RTO windows for a system become significant factors in the selection of an acceptable recovery strategy. 17

2 18 SharePoint 2010 Disaster Recovery Guide 3. How does configuration data differ from business data? Configuration data is data that is required for the normal functioning of a system. This typically consists of information that internally configures the system for operation or data that allows the system to properly interface with its environment. Business data, on the other hand, is data that end users generate, share, move, and use one or more systems to process. Business data typically has a dollar value attached to it when you are discussing disaster recovery and business continuity planning. 4. Why are interface points with other systems so important to capture during initial analysis? Most SharePoint farms don t operate in a vacuum. They are tied to numerous data stores, line-of-business (LOB) systems, and other applications within their environment. Sometimes these systems depend on the SharePoint farm for data and functionality, and other times SharePoint relies on the other systems for normal operations. These interdependencies affect SharePoint recovery operations, because the restoration of SharePoint without its dependent systems (or vice versa) is typically perceived by end users as a failure of the restoration process. For this reason, it s crucial that interface points to other systems be captured during initial analysis. 5. Name some common interface points between SharePoint and other systems that require special analysis and treatment during disaster recovery documentation. n LOB systems that publish data consumed through SharePoint s Business Connectivity Services (BCS) functionality n Custom user controls and Web Parts that interface with Web services exposed by other systems n Service Applications in other farms that the target SharePoint farm consumes n InfoPath forms that include logic to write portions of submitted form data to a non- SharePoint SQL Server database n A simple Page Viewer Web Part that provides a browser-based view of a file share Chapter 2 1. What are recovery targets? They are the critical functions and data of a SharePoint environment that need to be restored following the declaration of a disaster. They identify parts of a SharePoint farm that need to be acknowledged and addressed as part of any disaster recovery plan. More specifically, they identify functions and data that must be restored or replaced as part of a successful recovery operation. 2. What are some items to consider when evaluating what components of your SharePoint environment to restore? As part of the business impact analysis (BIA), it s common for patterns of usage to evolve and requirements for the restoration of specific components to make themselves clear. When considering components for restoration, it s also important to consider the distribution of content databases, the organization of content,

3 Appendix A: Chapter Review Q&A 19 the way search is implemented and used, and any systems or interfaces that the SharePoint farm (and its exposed functionality) depend on. 3. What are some of the ways your organization s RTOs and RPOs can impact the design of your disaster recovery plan? Taken together, recovery time objectives (RTOs) and recovery point objectives (RPOs) mandate the maximum allowable outage window for a system and identify the permissible amount of data loss in the event of disaster. As RPO and RTO windows shrink, the cost of implementing a viable recovery solution to meet the mandated objectives grows dramatically. Also, the number of acceptable technological solutions and mechanisms shrinks. Extreme RTOs and RPOs (that is, near-zero data loss and instantaneous failover) can result in extremely expensive recovery strategies that span multiple SharePoint farms and geographically diverse datacenters. 4. What are some examples of resources that must be acquired or provisioned as part of your disaster recovery plan? Some examples include rack space in multiple datacenters, storage area network (SAN) storage, hardware for hosting virtualized servers, tape backup drives, licenses for software you intend to use, cloud-based storage, and copies of software you need to install as part of one or more recovery plans. 5. How do you know when your disaster recovery plan has been completely executed? All disaster recovery plans should include a coherent, concrete, agreed-upon list of criteria for successful recovery. This list often originates from the list of recovery targets for the SharePoint environment. Chapter 3 1. What are some examples of resources that can be removed from a test of your disaster recovery plan to check its effectiveness? To effectively test your disaster recovery plan, consider removing both personnel and other resources from the plan. For example, evaluate your plan in the absence of key personnel or without a required backup set to see how effective the plan is. Executing recovery plans under such conditions helps to identify hidden dependencies within the recovery plan and allow for the inclusion of mitigation strategies. 2. What are some of the expected outputs you should have once a test of your plan is completed? Assuming that observers were present during the execution of a disaster recovery test, there are numerous pieces of data that should be available at the conclusion of a disaster recovery test. First, omissions in the recovery plan for the Share- Point environment should be identified. Second, conflicts between the SharePoint farm recovery plan and other recovery plans should surface. Finally, hidden dependencies between the SharePoint farm recovery plan and the recovery of other systems should become apparent.

4 20 SharePoint 2010 Disaster Recovery Guide 3. Explain the role that independent observers play during a disaster recovery test? Independent observers look out for areas and items that need to be addressed but may have been omitted from the disaster recovery plan. They also identify areas of recovery that may conflict with one another, as well as hidden dependencies that may not have been anticipated during planning. 4. Can you describe some of the potential risks of not updating your disaster recovery plan over time? Failing to maintain a disaster recovery plan carries significant consequences. A disaster recovery plan is written to address a set of recovery targets with specific recovery point objective (RPO) and recovery time objective (RTO) windows. As systems evolve, recovery targets, RPO windows, and RTO windows change. Failing to update a disaster recovery plan as a SharePoint farm evolves places the timely and acceptable recovery of the SharePoint farm (and its recovery targets) at risk. 5. What s the difference between an As-Is and a To-Be list? An As-Is list defines the current state of a SharePoint farm, including its users, its processes, and its data. A To-Be list identifies the same qualities of the SharePoint farm in what is expected to be the farm s future state. Taken together, these two lists help to plot a direction for disaster recovery planning and activities. Chapter 4 1. How do recovery targets factor in the scope of your SharePoint disaster recovery solution? Recovery targets identify the elements of your SharePoint environment that a disaster recovery plan must address to resume an agreed-upon level of operation. Recovery targets are commonly prioritized from most important to least important, and addressing a particular recovery target within a disaster recovery plan may require that one or more dependent subsystems also be restored to completely bring the recovery target and its functions back online in the event of a disaster. 2. Is it possible to protect every aspect and component of your SharePoint environment from damage or loss in the same manner or with a single tool? In nearly all cases, the answer is no. Although disaster recovery strategies may leverage a common set of general approaches or methodologies, every environment and disaster recovery plan is unique. So too are all disaster recovery tools. Each tool has its strengths and weaknesses, and the most effective disaster recovery plans leverage a mix of tools and techniques to achieve their desired levels of protection. 3. What are some of the ways that the amount of content stored in your SharePoint environment can impact the tools in your SharePoint disaster recovery solution? All tools have points of strength and weakness, and many of these revolve around the amount of content that is targeted for backup. For example, site collection backups are an excellent tool for generating portable copies of a site collection; if your backup

5 Appendix A: Chapter Review Q&A 21 strategy is based on protecting site collection content, these backups are highly attractive. Microsoft states that site collection backups should be avoided for site collections larger than 85GB, though. If you have more than 85GB per site collection, a different tool is warranted. Before selecting your approach to disaster recovery, you need to understand both your content and the available tools. 4. What are some examples of how changes to your SharePoint environment can affect your disaster recovery solution? Disaster recovery plans are driven by a set of recovery point objectives (RPOs) and recovery time objectives (RTOs) for your SharePoint environment. Changes to the environment almost always result in changes to those RPOs and RTOs, and those in turn cascade into disaster recovery plan changes. For example, adding additional servers to your SharePoint environment often means that additional backups for the new server are required during normal backup rotations. In the event of a disaster, the additional server typically becomes one more server to restore. The restoration of the additional server may entail a lengthening of the RTO window tied to recovery. Changes in documentation procedures can also affect a disaster recovery solution. For example, manual documentation of disaster recovery plans, change procedures, and other steps rely on humans. As a result, these types of procedures (and the resultant documents) are going to be less reliable and may contain oversights that can result in longer restore times, missed recovery targets, and more. If an automated solution or solutions can be leveraged to generate documentation, the process of creating recovery plans and detailing configuration data becomes more repeatable and consistent potentially even more accurate. Automated procedures that remove the human factor are typically quicker, and this improved efficiency can alter a recovery solution. 5. How is the granularity of coverage that a tool provides going to influence your decision on whether to include it in your disaster recovery toolbox? Each tool that is tied to SharePoint content protection varies in the scope and granularity with which it can restore data. If your disaster recovery plan mandates that data be recovered at a granular level (for example, to the list item level), any tool you select must be capable of restoring content to that depth or level of granularity. A tool that isn t capable of restoring content to your desired level of depth or granularity won t be a good fit for your disaster recovery plan. Chapter 5 1. What is the SharePoint Root? The SharePoint Root resides within a SharePoint server s file system, and it is located at %COMMONPROGRAMFILES%\Microsoft Shared\Web Server Extensions\14\. A number of required SharePoint files are stored in the SharePoint Root, including.net assemblies, out-of-the-box images files, administrative pages, and more.

6 22 SharePoint 2010 Disaster Recovery Guide 2. Can the Windows Server Backup Features write backups to tape devices? No, they cannot. Despite the fact that the Windows Server 2008 operating system includes tape drive support, Windows Server Backup does not support targeting tape drives for backup operations. 3. What is the Windows RE? The Windows RE, or the Windows Recovery Environment, is a stand-alone environment that is based on the Windows Preinstallation Environment. The Windows RE includes a graphical user interface (GUI) and a set of recovery-oriented tools that greatly speed and simplify the process of system recovery. Windows RE can even be used to perform bare-metal recoveries. 4. How can you back up the IIS configuration files? The ApplicationHost.config, Administration.config, and Redirection.config files can be backed up by copying the contents of the %SYSTEMDRIVE%\inetpub\history to a desired backup location. The files can also be backed up using the appcmd.exe add backup command sequence. In both cases, caution is warranted, and Microsoft recommends manual documentation of all IIS configuration settings. 5. What is a bare metal restore? A bare metal restore is a full system restoration without the presence of even the base level Windows Server 2008 operating system. The restore process places all the required data back on the appropriate system drives. When finished, the restored system is recovered to the same state it was in when the associated backup was taken. The Windows RE is capable of carrying out a bare metal restore using backups obtained from Windows Server Backup. Chapter 6 1. Do you need to purchase a separate license for Windows NLB? No, you don t. The use of Windows Network Load Balancing (NLB) is included with a Windows Server 2008 or Windows Server 2008 R2 license. 2. What is the difference between Unicast and Multicast operating roles for NLB? Unicast mode requires a server to have two or more network cards for operation. One of the network cards on each server participating in the NLB array is assigned the same Media Access Control (MAC) address, and the card with this MAC address on each server becomes the card that traffic arrives through for load balancing. In multicast operating mode, each server participating in NLB has a single network card that is assigned multiple MAC addresses. One of the MAC addresses assigned to each adapter is the same on each participating server, and traffic for load balancing is directed to this MAC address. 3. What SharePoint server roles can be load-balanced? The web front-end (WFE) role, more specifically known as the Microsoft SharePoint Foundation Web Application service, is the one that is most commonly balanced through external software or

7 Appendix A: Chapter Review Q&A 23 hardware load-balancing. In addition, SharePoint is capable of performing its own load balancing for service applications when appropriate. 4. How does RAID 1 þ 0 differ from RAID 5? RAID 1 þ 0 requires an even number of four or more disks, and it establishes a set of two mirrors, with each containing half of the drives in the array. The data is both redundant and striped throughout the array. This results in a RAID 1 þ 0 array having a total storage capacity that is only 50 percent of the sum of each drive s capacity within the array. A RAID 1 þ 0 array can withstand the loss of up to 50 percent of its drives (assuming all lost drives are from one mirrored set) and still remain operational. A RAID 5 array, on the other hand, is fault tolerant and requires three or more drives. Parity data for the entire array is striped across all disks in the array, which results in the array s total storage capacity being one drive less than the number of drives in the array. A RAID 5 array can withstand the loss of one drive in the array and remain operational. Although a RAID 1 þ 0 array has less overall capacity than a RAID 5 array containing the same number of physical drives, the input/output (I/O) bandwidth of a RAID 1 þ 0 array is usually significantly greater. For this reason, RAID 1 þ 0 is recommended for use over RAID 5 in SharePoint sizing and capacity planning whenever disk I/O is a primary concern. 5. What new storage management features were introduced in Windows Server 2008 R2? Windows Server 2008 R2 introduces storage fault tolerance and storage configuration backups. Storage fault tolerance permits the use of multiple paths to a storage device, whereas storage configuration backups provide administrators with a mechanism to capture the configuration of their storage environment for later restore or reapplication. Chapter 7 1. What is the difference between a database backed up using the Full recovery model and one backed up with the Simple recovery model? A database that employs the Full recovery model records every transaction made in the database. This permits recovery of the database to any point in time. Databases that use the Simple recovery model, on the other hand, don t retain transaction logs. As a result, you can restore these databases only to their last full or differential backup point. 2. What types of storage media can you use to store SQL Server database backups? You can back up to either tape or the SQL Server s file system provided the desired backup location is accessible from the SQL Server. 3. What SharePoint databases should not be backed up with SQL Server? Why? Whether or not backups of the farm configuration database are recommended depends on how you intend to use them. You cannot directly restore a SharePoint farm configuration database in a recovery scenario, but it can serve as the target for a Backup-SPContentDatabase operation that is run for the express purpose of creating a

8 24 SharePoint 2010 Disaster Recovery Guide configuration-only backup for subsequent application into the new farm. Each service application is unique. Those that possess SQL Server databases may or may not be recommended for backup. Refer to the documentation associated with a service application before deciding whether to back up its SQL Server database (assuming it has one). 4. What are the performance implications for your SharePoint farm when backing up and restoring large SharePoint databases? The process of backing up and restoring Share- Point databases is memory, CPU, and disk-intensive. Best practices dictate that you conduct these operations outside of daily operational windows to prevent them from affecting the end user experience. 5. What state can a database be placed in when it is restored to a SQL Server database instance? You can place the database in one of three states. By default, the database is left in a ready state and uncommitted transactions are rolled back; this state is known as Restore with Recovery. The second state, Restore with No Recovery, is useful when restoration entails multiple discrete operations such as the application of multiple transaction logs. When you re restoring with no recovery, you can t use the database until you execute a Restore with Recovery. The final option, Restore with Standby, leaves the restored database ready for additional recovery operations but also permits read-only access to the database. Chapter 8 1. How many servers can receive a single database s transaction logs via log shipping? The Backup step of log shipping copies transaction logs to a single local or network file system location. The Copy step of the log-shipping process results in the transaction logs being copied to any number of SQL servers that are set up as secondary servers for the log-shipping operation. 2. What are the hardware requirements of database mirroring? n n 1Gigabit per second (Gbps) of network bandwidth Network latency of no greater than 1ms 3. What resources must you configure to enable automatic failover of a mirrored database? SharePoint requires High Safety with Automatic Failover to be utilized for database mirroring. This entails the use of a Witness server. With this configuration in place and a failover partner specified for a given database, automatic failover will occur in the event of an outage. 4. Can you name the editions of Windows Server 2008 that include failover clustering? Windows Server 2008 Enterprise Edition, Windows Server 2008 Datacenter Edition, Windows Server 2008 R2 Enterprise Edition, and Windows Server 2008 R2 Datacenter Edition include failover clustering.

9 Appendix A: Chapter Review Q&A What SharePoint components can you include in a database instance hosted on a failover cluster? Because a SQL Server database instance appears the same as a nonclustered instance to SharePoint, a database instance hosted on a failover cluster can host all SharePoint database components. Chapter 9 1. Which accounts require Full Control rights to your backup location to perform a full farm catastrophic backup? The SharePoint farm service account, also known as the database access account or SharePoint Timer service account, requires Full Control rights to the backup location. The SQL Server service account also requires Full Control rights to the location. 2. Site collection backups should be limited to site collections of what size and smaller? Microsoft recommends that site collections of no greater than 85GB in size be backed up using the site collection backup mechanism. 3. Which must come first: a full or a differential backup? Why? You must perform a full backup before you can perform a differential backup of the same targeted component or components. This is because a differential backup captures the changes that have been made to a protected component or components since the last full backup. Without a full backup as a point of reference for change tracking, you cannot perform a differential backup. 4. What is a recovery farm, and why is it no longer needed with SharePoint 2010? A recovery farm was commonly used in SharePoint 2007 to get around problems that would arise if a second copy of an existing content database was attached to a SharePoint farm. For granular recovery purposes, the recovery farm was used to attach a content database for the purpose of exporting a site collection, list, or some other piece of granular content. The resultant export package was then brought to a production farm for import where it was needed. With SharePoint 2010 s unattached content database recovery capability, recovery farms are no longer needed. A content database can be restored to SQL Server, and that content database can be interrogated and manipulated by SharePoint without actually attaching it to the farm. 5. What are the major drawbacks to relying on the Central Administration site as the only tool for backing up your SharePoint environment? The single largest drawback to the use of Central Administration is its lack of scheduling ability; as a result, backups can only be performed in an ad-hoc fashion. Backups that are performed through Central Administration also fail to expose some of the additional switches and capabilities (such as the use of SQL Server snapshots) that command line backup operations expose.

10 26 SharePoint 2010 Disaster Recovery Guide Chapter What are the two ways to back up a farm s configuration data independent of its content? You can use the Backup-SPFarm cmdlet to perform a configuration-only backup of the farm it is run against. You can use the Backup-SPConfigurationDatabase cmdlet, on the other hand, to generate a configuration-only backup of any configuration database it is directed to. 2. What cmdlet should you use to back up the configuration data of a farm that the server hosting the cmdlet is not attached to, and what parameters should you use to target that remote farm? The Backup-SPConfigurationDatabase cmdlet should be employed, and the DatabaseServer and DatabaseName parameters should be specified to identify the farm configuration database in the remote farm s SQL Server environment. 3. What aspects of a SharePoint 2010 farm are not included in a configuration-only backup? Any piece of configuration data that is dependent on the server environment does not get backed up. In addition, any information that is tied to Web applications and service applications is not backed up. In reality, only a limited subset of portable configuration elements is actually backed up using configuration-only backup. 4. What SharePoint 2010 cmdlet can you use to view the history of all backup and restore operations that have been executed using the files in a targeted directory? You can use the Get-SPBackupHistory cmdlet to view this. 5. What are the benefits of using the UseSQLSnapshot parameter for the Export-SPWeb cmdlet? When the UseSqlSnapshot switch is specified during an Export-SPWeb operation, SharePoint directs SQL Server to create a database snapshot of the content database housing the SharePoint elements that have been targeted for export. The export operation then proceeds using the snapshot instead of the content database. This improves the availability of the database for end users, and it maximizes the consistency of the export package that is created. Chapter Through what object are all operations involving farm-level catastrophic backup and restore operations conducted? Catastrophic backup and restore operations originate with the SPBackupRestoreConsole type in the SharePoint application programming interface (API). 2. If you intend to tap into the catastrophic backup and restore object model, what two interfaces do you need to be aware of? How do they differ? The two interfaces of interest are the IBackupRestore interface and the IBackupRestoreConfiguration interface. The former backs up content data within SharePoint components that implement the interface, whereas the latter is used strictly for configuration-only

11 Appendix A: Chapter Review Q&A 27 backup and restore operations involving truly portable configuration settings and associated data. 3. How do backups performed through the SPSiteCollection type differ from standard farm-level backups? Backups that are performed through the SPSiteCollection type are written as a single file, and they contain none of the history and logging information that is typically produced by the types residing in the Microsoft. SharePoint.Administration.Backup namespace. 4. True or false: The Content Deployment API is leveraged by both the Backup-SPFarm and Export-SPWeb PowerShell cmdlets? False. Although the Export-SPWeb cmdlet employs the Content Deployment API for its export operations, the Backup-SPFarm cmdlet operates against a SPBackupRestoreConsole singleton and uses the catastrophic backup/restore types contained in the Microsoft.SharePoint.Administration. Backup namespace. 5. What is the difference between a VSS writer and a VSS requestor? A Volume Shadow Copy Service (VSS) writer contains application-specific knowledge, and it uses that knowledge to orchestrate operations through VSS for the purposes of snapshot generation and post-restore synchronization. VSS requestors, on the other hand, are higher-level applications that typically consume VSS to create backups and perform restores. Chapter What are the maximum storage limits that are in place for the first and second stage Recycle Bins for a site collection created on a Web application with default settings? By default, Web applications do not employ quota templates. As a result, site collections that are created in a Web application have no limits placed on the growth of their first and second stage Recycle Bins. 2. How do you enable versioning on a list or library? Versioning is not enabled by default, but you can easily enable it by navigating to a list or library s Versioning Settings page and choosing the form of versioning you want. 3. What is the primary security concern associated with site and list template creation? If a user elects to include list item content within the template, none of the security that is tied to the list items is persisted into the generated template. This means that anyone with access to such templates can view their contents and inspect the list items contained within. 4. What key service must be installed and functional for client-side WebDAV access to a SharePoint list or library? The WebClient service must be installed and enabled on client computers. This service is typically installed by default with consumer operating

12 28 SharePoint 2010 Disaster Recovery Guide systems (such as Windows 7), but servers such as Windows Server 2008 require that the Desktop Experience feature be enabled before the service becomes available. 5. How do you turn off SharePoint Workspace 2010 access to a SharePoint list or document library? To an entire SharePoint site? You can block SharePoint Workspace access for a list or document library by setting the list or library s Offline Client Availability setting on the list or library s Advanced Settings page to No. To disable SharePoint Workspace for an entire SharePoint site, you can set the Offline Client Availability setting to No on the Search and Offline Availability page within the Site Administration links area for the site.