NetPro updates tool to backup, restore Active Directory data

Tool lets an administrator recover an Active Directory site from the RestoreADmin recycle bin.

Las Vegas – NetPro Monday released RestoreADmin 3.0, which adds new backup and restore capabilities to its data restoration tool for managing Microsoft’s Active Directory.

With the new version, RestoreADmin can now backup and restore Active Directory’s Configuration Naming Context (CNC), which is the primary repository for configuration information for directory forests. The CNC is replicated to every domain controller in the forest. The new version also lets users rollback existing and deleted objects. In addition, deleted objects can be restored even when a restore operation is not allowed.

“There are objects in [CNC], such as site objects, that define the infrastructure that Active Directory is running in,” says Gil Kirkpatrick, CTO of NetPro. “If the CNC is deleted or altered in some way that can cause a complete service failure of the directory.”

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Las Vegas – NetPro Monday released RestoreADmin 3.0, which adds new backup and restore capabilities to its data restoration tool for managing Microsoft’s Active Directory.

With the new version, RestoreADmin can now backup and restore Active Directory’s Configuration Naming Context (CNC), which is the primary repository for configuration information for directory forests. The CNC is replicated to every domain controller in the forest. The new version also lets users rollback existing and deleted objects. In addition, deleted objects can be restored even when a restore operation is not allowed.

“There are objects in [CNC], such as site objects, that define the infrastructure that Active Directory is running in,” says Gil Kirkpatrick, CTO of NetPro. “If the CNC is deleted or altered in some way that can cause a complete service failure of the directory.”

With RestoreADmin users create a single store to support online recovery of CNC data. The architecture allows an administrator who might accidentally delete an Active Directory site to retrieve it from the RestoreADmin recycle bin. All the deleted objects and attributes can be returned to the production directory environment with a mouse click. In addition, site objects that may be prohibited from being restored can still be retrieved from the recycle bin.

The software also creates a backup history, conducts automatic maintenance and works with both 32-bit and 64-bit systems.

The upgrade of RestoreADmin is part of the company’s ongoing push to update its Active Directory management tools. Late last year, NetPro released SelfServiceADmin, a Web-based tool that lets users reset their own passwords, and AccessManager, which uses role-based delegation to automate and enforce who has access to resources such as files, folders, printers, and other Windows-based services. The company followed those two releases with ReportADmin, which automates compliance reporting. ReportADmin and SelfServiceADmin are the two newest tools in NetPro’s Active Directory Administration Suite, which also contains RestoreADmin.

RestoreADmin 3.0 is available now and is priced at $5 per user.