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Choose the recovery path based on what failed: the site server, the site database, or both. A successful Configuration Manager Backup Site Server task is the standard recovery input; if the database was lost, you can instead restore it separately and have Setup use that manually recovered database. The right option also depends on whether the site is a standalone primary or part of a hierarchy, and whether its database uses SQL Server Always On.
Prepare a backup that can actually support recovery
Enable and schedule the Backup Site Server task
Microsoft’s current-branch guidance identifies two supported backup inputs for site recovery: a successful Backup Site Server maintenance-task backup, or a site database backup that was recovered separately. The built-in task captures the site database, selected registry keys, specified files and folders, and CD.Latest. It is available for a central administration site (CAS) and a primary site, but not a secondary site. The task is enabled by default for a CAS; verify and enable it on each primary site where it is needed.
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Microsoft recommends running the default task at least every five days because SQL Server change-tracking retention is five days. That is a technical retention interval, not a guarantee that a backup can be restored. (Microsoft Learn, “Back up a Configuration Manager site” and maintenance-task guidance; accessed October 7, 2026.)
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Check the backup destination timestamps, the SMS_SITE_BACKUP component status, and Smsbkup.log for warnings or errors. Microsoft documents success message ID 5035; configure alerts if you want the site to notify administrators. If the task fails, Microsoft’s guidance suggests restarting the SMS_SITE_BACKUP service. A successful task status confirms completion of that run, not that a recovery has been tested.
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The next scheduled run overwrites the previous snapshot. Keep multiple archived copies: the destination can fail, a backup can be incomplete, corruption can persist unnoticed across cycles, and a failed run can leave no valid snapshot because the prior data is removed before the new backup is written. If present, AfterBackup.bat runs after a successful backup and can copy the snapshot to an archive; message ID 5040 indicates that the script started successfully. That message alone does not verify that the archive copy is complete.
Protect the destination
Configuration Manager does not encrypt backup data in its destination path. Microsoft documents local and UNC destinations and the account permissions they require; secure access to the selected location accordingly. The documentation does not require a particular storage architecture, so choose one that meets your organization’s security and retention policies.
Choose the recovery path that matches the failure
Use Setup from a copy of CD.Latest stored outside the Configuration Manager installation folder, then select Recover a site. The recovery choices are not interchangeable: restoring a task backup, rebuilding a database through hierarchy replication, using a separately restored database, and skipping database recovery each apply to different conditions.
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| Setup database choice | Use it when | Key condition or consequence |
|---|---|---|
| Recover from backup set | A valid Backup Site Server task backup is available. | A primary in a hierarchy can retrieve changes made after the backup from its CAS. A standalone primary loses changes made since its last backup. |
| Create a new database | You are recovering a supported hierarchy scenario and will rebuild through replication. | A child primary can recover by replicating from the CAS; a CAS can use a reference primary. This option is unavailable for a standalone primary or a CAS without primary sites. |
| Use a manually recovered database | The site database was restored through a separate process, such as SQL Server backup or DPM. | Restore the database first, then run Setup to complete Configuration Manager recovery. |
| Skip database recovery | The database is known to be unaffected by the incident. | Use only when the database is on a different computer from the site server being recovered. |
If the site server failed
A site-server backup is available
Run Setup from the external CD.Latest copy, choose Recover a site, and select recovery using the existing site-server backup. Then select the appropriate database recovery option based on the database’s actual state and topology; having a site-server backup does not mean every database condition should use the same choice.
No site-server backup is available
Reinstall the site and specify the original site code and site database name. Microsoft says the replacement must use the original site’s hostname and fully qualified domain name (FQDN), although it can be a new computer running a new operating-system version. If Setup detects an existing site on that server, the available recovery choices are limited.
If the site database was lost
Restore a task backup
Select recovery from a backup set if you have a valid Backup Site Server task backup. For a primary site in a hierarchy, changes made after that backup can be retrieved from the CAS. A standalone primary has no CAS from which to retrieve them and loses changes since its last backup.
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Rebuild through the hierarchy
Select Create a new database only for the supported hierarchy cases: a child primary can recover by replicating from the CAS, and a CAS can use a reference primary. Setup does not offer this as a general replacement for a lost database; it is not available for a standalone primary or a CAS with no primary sites.
Use a separately restored database
If you restored the site database outside Configuration Manager—for example, from a SQL Server backup or with DPM—select the manually recovered database option in Setup to complete site recovery. This is distinct from selecting a task backup in Setup: the database has already been restored by the external process.
Skip recovery only when the database is intact
Skipping database recovery is appropriate only if the database was unaffected and resides on a different computer from the site server being recovered. It is not a route for recovering a lost database.
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Account for SQL Server Always On
For a site database hosted in a SQL Server Always On availability group, run the Backup Site Server task for common Configuration Manager settings and files, but do not treat the MDF and LDF files it creates as the database backup. Use direct SQL Server backups for the site database.
Microsoft’s guidance says a SQL Server backup cannot be restored directly to an Always On cluster. Restore it first to a standalone server, then move it back to Always On, following the matching Configuration Manager recovery procedure for the scenario.
Protect content and reporting assets separately
Content library and package sources
The built-in task does not back up the content library or package source files. A recovered database may restore metadata about the content library, but not the library contents or package sources themselves. Protect and restore those separately; restore the content library before redistributing content.
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Customized Reporting Services assets
Plan separate protection for modified or custom Reporting Services content. That includes report source files and models, encryption keys, custom assemblies or extensions, configuration files, custom views, and stored procedures. Do not assume these assets are included in the site-server task backup.
Unattended Setup values
For unattended Setup, the database recovery choices are represented by configuration values, not additional recovery strategies. Use the value that corresponds to the same condition you would select in Setup’s recovery flow:
- 10: restore from a backup set. A backup location is required.
- 20: use a manually recovered database.
- 40: create a new database.
- 80: skip database recovery.
Confirm that the selected value is supported for the site topology and database state before running unattended recovery.
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