All administrators should have a viable Exchange data recovery procedure in place in the event of a server crash or accidentally deleted email messages. The reality is that many haven't tested the success of their recovery methods. This tip explains how to set up recovery storage groups in Exchange Server 2003 and use them to back up and restore email messages and mailboxes before it's too late.
There are two scenarios that an Exchange server administrator dreads:
Don't panic. As long as you have a solid backup strategy in place, and you've been backing up the Exchange Server regularly, there's no need to worry about either of these scenarios. You should be able to restore this data; however, statistics show that many administrators haven't actually tested recovery procedures.
Recovery storage groups let you recover data in the background, while your information store continues to service end users. Note: You must have at least Exchange Server 2003 Service Pack 1 (SPI) installed to access the recovery storage group feature.
Every administrator has a favorite backup software package. Common ones include NTBACKUP, Symantec Backup Exec, EMC Retrospect or CA ArcServe Backup. This article refers to Symantec Backup Exec 11d.
Setting up an Exchange recovery storage group
To use the recovery storage group feature:
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Figure 1. Click on the server object to create a new recovery storage group. (Click on image for enlarged view.)
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Figure 2. Add the database that you want to recover. (Click on image for enlarged view.)
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Figure 3. Select the database that you want to recover. (Click on image for enlarged view.)
Note: The mailbox store is dismounted by default, as shown in Figure 4.
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Figure 4. The mailbox store is dismounted by default in the Recovery Storage Group folder. (Click on image for enlarged view.)
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Figure 5. Mailbox store properties. (Click on image for enlarged view.)
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Figure 6. Restore job properties. (Click on image for enlarged view.)
Restoring data to the live information store
You can use either the Exchange System Manager or ExMerge to move data from the recovery storage group's mailbox store to the "live" information store. Exchange System Manager is easier to use than ExMerge, because it doesn't require any additional permissions to use it, nor do you have to deal with .PST files.
However, Exchange System Manager contains less functionality than ExMerge, which lets you filter the desired data you want to recover. No matter what application you use, you first must ensure that the user account whose data you are trying to restore exists in Active Directory. If not, you must recreate it before proceeding.
Exchange System Manager (ESM)
From within the ESM, mount the Exchange recovery storage group that you just created and populated with your mailboxes. To do so:
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Figure 7. Select Mount Store to mount the recovery group that you created. (Click on image for enlarged view.)
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Figure 8. Select the mailbox that you want to restore. (Click on image for enlarged view.)
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Figure 9. The Exchange Task Wizard will recover mailbox data. (Click on image for enlarged view.)
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Figure 10. Choose between Merge Data or Copy Data in the Exchange Task Wizard. (Click on image for enlarged view.)
ExMerge
You should be fairly familiar with ExMerge and configuring permissions. It's important to use the version of ExMerge that was included with the service pack appropriate to your version and level of Exchange Server. Failing to do so may cause a process failure.
Run ExMerge as usual, but note that during the process you will come to a screen that lists your Exchange recovery storage group mailbox store, as well as usual mailbox stores, as shown in Figure 11.
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Figure 11. ExMerge shows recovery storage group mailbox stores and regular mailbox stores. (Click on image for enlarged view.)
To run ExMerge:
About the author: Bradley Dinerman, vice president of IT at MIS Alliance, is a Microsoft MVP, possesses an MCSE and MCP+I, and is a Certified SonicWall Security Administrator (CSSA). Brad is also the founder and president of the National Information Security Group (NAISG) and the former chair of the Boston Area Exchange Server User Group. He is a frequent contributor to various online TechTips sites and gives user group/conference presentations on topics ranging from spam and security solutions to Internet development techniques. You can visit Brad's personal Web page at brad.dinerman.com.
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