Recover the Arcserve Backup Database Using the ca_recoverdb Command

Each time you run a backup job, Arcserve Backup records information in its databases about the machines, directories, and files that have been backed up, and the media that was used. This allows you to locate files whenever you need to restore them. The database recovery command (ca_recoverdb) is a self-protection feature that allows you to recover the Arcserve Backup database if it is lost and was backed up by the Arcserve Backup domain that is using the database.

The ca_recoverdb utility invokes the ca_restore commands to implement the database recovery function. The ca_recoverdb utility automatically determines if the Arcserve Backup database is a SQL Server database or SQL Server 2019 Express Edition instance and provides the appropriate parameters for the ca_restore command.

Be aware of the following behavior:

• The first job that you run after you recover the Arcserve Backup database appears in the Job Status Manager with the same Job ID as the restore job for the Arcserve Backup database. Arcserve Backup demonstrates this behavior because the Job ID assigned to the Arcserve Backup database restore job is lost after you restore the Arcserve Backup database.
• When restoring the Arcserve Backup database in a disk staging environment, Arcserve Backup may attempt to purge data that was purged previously from the staging device. You will receive a warning message, however, the purge job will complete successfully.

Note: For more information about ca_recoverdb syntax and options, see Syntax and Options.

Recovering the Database in Cluster-aware Implementations

When an Arcserve Backup server is configured as cluster-aware, all critical Arcserve Backup base-related services (not agent-related services) are monitored by the applicable cluster service (MSCS or NEC CLUSTERPRO). If the Arcserve Backup base-related service fails or needs to be shut down, the cluster service automatically tries to restart it or trigger a failover if the restart attempt fails. To run this task, you must stop Arcserve Backup services. However, in a cluster-aware environment, you must first manually stop the cluster service from continuing to monitor the service and attempting an automatic restart or failover. For information about how to stop HA service monitoring by the Cluster Service, see Stop HA Service Monitoring by MSCS or Stop HA Service Monitoring by NEC CLUSTERPRO/ExpressCluster.

To recover the Arcserve Backup database using the ca_recoverdb command in a cluster-aware environment, perform the following steps:

1. Offline the following Arcserve Backup resources:
   • Arcserve ASDB
   • Arcserve HA
   • Arcserve Registry
2. Start the SQL Server service (ARCSERVE_DB).
3. Start all Arcserve Backup services using the cstart.bat batch file.
4. Note: The cstart.bat batch file is stored in the Arcserve Backup home installation directory.
4. Execute ca_recoverdb.exe.
5. Note: For more information see Syntax and Options.
5. Bring the following Arcserve Backup resources back online:
   • Arcserve ASDB
   • Arcserve HA
   • Arcserve Registry