Windows networking - ASR and system state data.

Factual Questions
1

I’m currently studying Windows networking, and preparing for the exam. I’m studying systems failure and recovery, among other things Looking through sample exam questions, they describe a particular situation, and ask how to prepare a recovery in case of system failure.

Sometimes the correct answer is “perform an ASR backup”
Sometimes the correct answer is “save systems state data”

I don’t understand the difference. While I know how to do these, I don’t know why. Under what circumstances should you use one, and when should you use the other?

2

With system state data backup, you first install Windows, and then restore the System State, which is the system files, etc, and you get your Windows configuration back to what it once was. That is, you “restore your system”. System state is easly to make, and to schedule, and you could perform a system state backup say once a week for a fairly critical system, as well as when you’re about to change the system configuration (the registry or what ever). - In corporate networks, it is common to schedule system state backups on servers, to be able to restore for instance, web server, domain controllers (and Active Directory), and so forth.

ASR is very uncommon to use, especially in corporate networks, since it is a very cumbersome way to backup data. You need a floppy disk, for instance, or a CD, or other media, which make scheduled backups unpractical.

Aside of the state of the system, the ASR also backups the disk configuration, etc. And while you with system state first install a Windows OS, and then restore the system state backup, with ASR you boot on the installation CD, and then press - I think, this is from memory - F2, when the installation programs asks you to press F2 if you want to restore or repair (or whatever it says). This is shown at the bottom of the screen for a few seconds, so you have to be alert.

When you’ve pressed the F2 and chosed to restore your system with ASR, the installation program asks you to insert the floppy or CD. If you do, you get your disk configuration, system files, and everything, like it was when you did your ASR backup.

Note that none of these restore your personal files, only system files, and (ASR) boot configuration and so forth. So then you have to restore the “user data”, and at last - if it is a file server for instance - you get all your system’s data back as it was.

If you were a beginning systems administrator (I’ve been one for nearly ten years), I would advice you not to bother with ASR, because it is simply not practical to use - not even as a home user. That’s my opinion.

If you are about to write an exam, hopefully the above, together with your other documentation, helps you draw the conclusions you need.