Windows Server R2 backup backup types

Question

In regards to Windows server R2 backup, what actually gets backed up on a system state backup? Would this include things like user accounts?

If I did a system state backup along with all volumes (IE. not bare metal), and then restored it onto another server would this keep the target server IP address or the backed up servers IP?

Or am I totally missing something?

Answer 1

SYSTEM STATE. A particular configuration of a system by virtue of the position or state of each switch, circuit breaker, solid-state digital device, or other multistate circuit device; or by virtue of the mechanical configuration of doors, equipment, or machines that make up the system. External states include solid-state logic outside the facility barrier, the position of external switches, and configurations of mechanical devices outside the HEMP barrier. Internal states are determined by the configurations of mechanical devices inside the HEMP barrier or by particular circuit connections realized when such things as switches, circuit breakers, thermostatic control, pressure controls, and door interlocks are in a particular on/off arrangement, and electronic states occurring within the system.

Source

And this may answer your question more specifically:

The system state contains a number of items:

System Registry
COM + Database
Certificate Services
Active Directory
SysVol
IIS Metabase

Some of these items are only included if the specified service is installed (AD, IIS, Certificates).

If you need to restore a server, you will need this state to recover the registry, or your AD Domain, or IIS sites.

You can restore system state to the same server, or another server with identical hardware. Microsoft does not support restoring system state to different hardware (see this article), however it is possible in some occasions, and with some parts of the system state, for example the IIS metabase. In that guess its really a case of try it an see, but its not a reccomended solution.

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