How To Build A Duplicate Standby File/Print Server

using Windows 2003 Server and Windows XP.

By Mark Benson Copyright 2009

Assume you have zero money budgeted but need a standby File
and Print Server.

The problem is to build a standby server using extra

hardware you may have available, like a spare workstation.

Since two same-named Windows 2003 servers cannot exist at

the same time on the network, how is it possible to create
a duplicate server and keep it on the network and updated
at the same time?

A solution to this problem is to build a dual boot Windows

2003 server.

Our "real" file server is a Dell Poweredge 2600 with 2.39

GHz Intel Xeon Processor, 1 GB RAM and a 36 GB SCSI OS
partition and a 169 GB SCSI RAID 5 file partition.

Our "duplicate" file server is a Dell Optiplex 740 desktop

2.61 GHz AMD Athlon with 64x2 Core Processor, 2 GB RAM, a
80 GB SATA drive for two OS partitions and a separate 200
GB SATA drive for the file partition.

Steps to Create the Duplicate Server

1. Install Windows 2003 Server Standard and be sure to

partition the OS drive into two partitions. I created an
NTFS C: partition that was 50 GB in size, leaving over 20
GB for what will be the second Windows Server install on
the other partition.

2. Continue installing Windows 2003 on C: partition. I

named the computer "STANDBY." DO NOT JOIN your Domain,
remain in a WorkGroup. Install all drivers needed for your
computer. It is helpful to copy the drivers to C:\Drivers
for future use.

3. Install service packs to the same level as the

"original" or "real" server on your network. DO NOT USE
Windows Update.
4. Go in to Disk Management and create a new Primary
partition. I created an NTFS E: drive. Also, since I had
installed a separate D: 200 GB SATA drive this too was
installed as a Primary NTFS partition.

5. * Now reboot your "duplicate" server with the Windows

2003 Standard install CD. Setup will find your C: drive
install of Windows 2003. It will also show you your D: and
E: drives. In my case, I selected the E: drive to install
Windows 2003 on. Since it was already formatted as NTFS
you may safely choose
"Leave the current file system intact (no changes)."
Now just continue the install. I once again named the
computer "STANDBY." DO NOT JOIN your Domain, remain in a
WorkGroup.
When your server reboots you will get a choice screen that
looks like:

1. Windows 2003 Server Standard (default)

2. Windows 2003 Server Standard

Let it continue booting the default as this is your last

installation.
Log in and edit the C:\Boot.ini file so you can tell what
is what with your choices. Here is what I used:

[boot loader]
timeout=30
default=multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(3)\WINDOWS
[operating systems]
multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(3)\WINDOWS="Standby
Windows Server 2003, Standard" /fastdetect
/NoExecute=OptOut /usepmtimer
multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(2)\WINDOWS="ISSFS01
Windows Server 2003, Standard" /fastdetect /usepmtimer

Now install all drivers needed for your computer. It is

helpful to copy the drivers to E:\Drivers for future use.
Finish by installing all service packs and Windows update.

6. Use NTBACKUP on your "real" server to back it all

including the System State) up to a .bkf file on a network
storage device or on a separate server share elsewhere on
your network. You need enough storage capacity to hold
your "real" server's .bkf file.
7. Boot your duplicate server and choose the second boot
option. This will be your first installation of Windows
2003 on the C: drive. Map a drive to where you the "real"
server .bkf file stored. Run NTBACKUP and copy over your
duplicate server using RESTORE on your backed up "real"
server .bkf file, but EXCLUDE all C:\ root boot files
including BOOT.INI as well as the
C:\Windows\System32\HAL.DLL. Choose to Restore ALL D:
drive files. Choose to overwrite all files, being sure to
select the System State as well. NTBackup will prompt you
to reboot your server. Go ahead and disconnect your network
cable from your server first.

8. Boot into your new duplicate server and log in. This
may take some time as some services may not start because
you probably lost your network card and other drivers. You
will need to reload your computer drivers again, especially
the Network card drivers. This may require more rebooting,
so keep your network cable disconnected from the server for
now to avoid a real network problem.

9. After all your drivers are installed, verify that the

system is running properly, including services. You will
note that the server's name is the same as the original,
and it now is a member of your domain. Change your NIC
card TCP/IP addressing to copy your "real" server's
settings. You may encounter other issues that necessitate
some tweaking, like registry settings, etc. I like to keep
both C: and E: installation drive lettering conventions the
same to eliminate confusion. For instance, the CD-Rom
drive should be named the same letter on both
installations.

10. Congratulations, you now have a working Windows 2003

duplicate of your "real" server running on different
hardware.

11. Reconnect your network cable. Boot into your 2nd

Windows 2003 server installation known as STANDBY. It is
helpful to install NT Reskit tools to run an update script
(robocopy) on the server D: drive (File server partition.)

Here is a copy of the script that I use:

@ECHO OFF
TITLE FileSrvCopy.bat
REM FileSrvCopy.bat - Uses Robocopy in C:\NTReskit to synch
Standby with Production File Server.
SETLOCAL

SET _source=\\filesrv01\d$

SET _dest=\\standby\d$

SET _what=
:: /COPYALL :: COPY ALL file info
:: /B :: copy files in Backup mode.
:: /SEC :: copy files with SECurity
:: /MIR :: MIRror a directory tree

SET _options=/R:0 /W:0 /XD \\filesrv01\d$\staticdata /S

:: /R:n :: number of Retries
:: /W:n :: Wait time between retries
:: /NFL :: No file logging
:: /NDL :: No dir logging

ROBOCOPY %_source% %_dest% %_what% %_options%

Of course any method you like would work, some may prefer
using a Python script or even XCOPY /D.

Use the Windows scheduler to run the script every evening

after work.

12. Keeping the C: partition in synch with the AD Network.

Every few days you will need to run an NTBACKUP Restore to
the C: drive from your original server System State backup.
Here are the steps to use:

* Working through section 5 you may choose to use Windows

XP instead of Windows 2003 Server. Windows XP can access
the NTFS C: partition as well as utilize the same NTBackup
bkf files. The savings in cost over a server license is a
consideration as well. I found this out with some
experimentation and was pleased to find that this works
just fine. When building these backup standby servers now
I always use Windows XP.
Choose Advanced

Choose Alternate location and point to the C: drive:

Replace existing files if they are older than the backup
files:
Restore security settings and preserve existing volume
mount points:

Click on Finish to run Restore: