Disaster recovery in CAS

Last published : Apr 02, 2026
Use the Veritas Backup Exec Simplified Disaster Recovery (SDR) feature to protect both managed Backup Exec servers and the central administration server in a CAS environment.
See About Simplified Disaster Recovery.
Before implementing the SDR feature in a CAS environment, review the following:
  • To create recovery media for any managed Backup Exec server or central administration server, the Create Simplified Disaster Recovery Disk Wizard must be run at the central administration server. If you use a remote administration environment, connect to the central administration server.
  • If you want managed Backup Exec servers to be protected using a bootable disk image, you must run the Create Simplified Disaster Recovery Disk Wizard at each of the managed Backup Exec servers where a bootable disk device is installed.
  • You must locally back up and restore a central administration server.
Disaster recovery of a managed Backup Exec server that is managed by a failed central administration server
If communications are still active between the managed Backup Exec server and the central administration server, you can change a managed Backup Exec server to a standalone Backup Exec server by deleting it from the Storage tab. However, if the central administration server experiences a disaster, communications are lost between the managed Backup Exec server and the central administration server and the managed Backup Exec server cannot be deleted from the Storage tab. However, you can change the managed Backup Exec server to a standalone Backup Exec server by using the Windows Change Program feature.
To change a managed Backup Exec server to a standalone Backup Exec server when communications between the two servers have been lost
  1. On the managed Backup Exec server, open the Windows control panel.
  2. Select Add/Remove ProgramsorPrograms and Features , depending on the version of Windows you are using.
  3. Select Backup Execfrom the list, and then clickChange.
  4. On the Additional Options panel, click Next.
  5. On the Add Licenses panel, click Next.
  6. On the Configure Options panel, click Next.
  7. On the Choose Languages panel, click Next.
  8. On the Central Admin Server panel, select Locally managed Backup Exec server, and then clickNext.
  9. When the error message about the managed Backup Exec server being unable to contact the central administration server appears, click OK.
    Note: If an error message does not appear, then Backup Exec detected a server with the same name as the central administration server on the network. If that server is the central administration server and it is running correctly, you should be able to change it to a managed Backup Exec server from theStoragetab on the central administration server.
  10. Click Next.
  11. On the Installation Review panel, click Install.
  12. When the installation is complete, on the Backup Exec server, add any storage devices that may be needed.
    Note: You may also need to inventory and catalog the storage device, depending on which catalog method was in use when the managed Backup Exec server was joined to the central administration server.
When the central administration server is online again, you can change this standalone Backup Exec server back to a managed Backup Exec server.
See Changing a Backup Exec server to a managed Backup Exec server.