In general, you should use the Backup snap-in to back up and restore both a certification authority (CA) and the server at the same time. However, there may be times when you want to restore just a CA without restoring the entire server on which the CA is installed.

You must be a CA administrator or a member of the Backup Operators group, or equivalent, to complete this procedure. For more information, see Implement Role-Based Administration.

To restore a CA from a backup copy by using the Certification Authority snap-in
  1. Open the Certification Authority snap-in.

  2. In the console tree, click the name of the CA.

  3. On the Action menu, point to All Tasks, and click Restore CA.

  4. Follow the instructions in the Certification Authority Restore Wizard.

You can also complete this procedure by using the Certutil command-line tool.

You must be a CA administrator or a member of the Backup Operators group, or equivalent, to complete this procedure. For more information, see Implement Role-Based Administration.

To restore a CA from a backup copy by using Certutil
  • At a command prompt, type:

    certutil -restore <BackupDirectory>
    

    BackupDirectory specifies the path where the backup data is located.

Additional considerations

  • To open a command prompt, click Start, point to All Programs, click Accessories, and then click Command Prompt.

Additional references