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Active Directory backup and restore on Windows Server

Active Directory database and SYSVOL backups are part of system state backup during a master or incremental backup.

To restore Domain Controller and Active Directory database, the server must be booted into Directory Service Restore Mode before a master or incremental restore.

To recover the Active Directory information, restore the last incremental or master backup to the Windows Server system.

By default, Unitrends agent performs non-authoritative restore of Active Directory database. You can proceed with authoritative restore using ntdsutil.exe command following a master or incremental restore. Follow the best practices around Active Directory Authoritative restores described in the Active Directory Domain Services Operations Guide at: https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb727048.aspx

In certain circumstances, you may wish to restore NTDS or SYSVOL files for a domain controller to an alternate location, and then Microsoft Utilities to recover from these restored files. Unitrends agent allows restoring system files into an alternate SystemState.dir location when Active Directory is running without a complete restore.