Hi,   since it is a failover machine, let me throw in another option: Metadata Server Clustering http://support.sas.com/documentation/cdl/en/omaref/68021/HTML/default/viewer.htm#p1jmsj59l1lnlxn1ji5gj9l5yagt.htm Maybe it would be another option.   Going back to the great info provided in the last post, i'd like to add a bit (I hope you don't mind). Most important when setting up a failover machine is to use the exact same hostname as the prod machine you are cloning. You can use either DNS or actual host names. Also important is that you keep both systems the same at any point in time; when you upgrade production (new maintenance release, migration, system update, hot fxes, fixes etc.) you always have to do the same on the cloned machine.   The Metadata Server cluster - as one example - uses nodes for load balancing, and for keeping all machines on the same content all the time. The backups are stored in a vault location, which is accessible by all nodes.   If it is really a true clone, you could restore a back up on this new machine. Please keep in mind, this really only works if both machines are exact clones. As Juan mentioned in his post, you could then use promotion (export/import wizards) to keep the environments in sync. http://support.sas.com/documentation/cdl/en/bisag/68240/HTML/default/viewer.htm#p04l8c3fo8tpyhn103dps7pxvru2.htm   Given that you have 2 machines, maybe virtualization options might be a solution (Containers for example). This would give you the option to run your Metadata server in protable containers.   Here are some pointer http://support.sas.com/kb/55/919.html   It is also important to think about physical data or DBMSs. The config files/metadata might have to be changed if the access to these might change.   Hope this helps Thanks Anja ... View more