EMC® NetWorker® Module for Microsoft for Exchange Server VSS Version 9.0
User Guide 302-001-753 REV 04
Copyright © 2007-2016 EMC Corporation. All rights reserved. Published in the USA. Published July 2016 EMC believes the information in this publication is accurate as of its publication date. The information is subject to change without notice. The information in this publication is provided as is. EMC Corporation makes no representations or warranties of any kind with respect to the information in this publication, and specifically disclaims implied warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose. Use, copying, and distribution of any EMC software described in this publication requires an applicable software license. EMC², EMC, and the EMC logo are registered trademarks or trademarks of EMC Corporation in the United States and other countries. All other trademarks used herein are the property of their respective owners. For the most up-to-date regulatory document for your product line, go to EMC Online Support (https://support.emc.com). EMC Corporation Hopkinton, Massachusetts 01748-9103 1-508-435-1000 In North America 1-866-464-7381 www.EMC.com
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EMC NetWorker Module for Microsoft for Exchange Server VSS 9.0 User Guide
CONTENTS
Figures
5
Tables
7
Preface
9
Chapter 1
Introduction
13
Overview....................................................................................................... 14 Stand-alone or single Exchange Servers........................................... 14 Exchange Server DAGs..................................................................... 14 High availability in Exchange Server................................................. 15 Active and passive databases.......................................................... 16 Using NMM in an Exchange Server environment............................................ 16 Exchange Server 2010 VSS Writers...................................................16 Exchange Server 2013 and 2016 VSS Writer.....................................17 Compatibility with previous Exchange backups................................ 17 Backup initiated transaction log file truncation................................ 17 Backup types and levels...................................................................18 Federated backups...........................................................................18 Recovery types................................................................................. 18 Exchange Server block based backup.............................................. 19
Chapter 2
Configuration
21
Supported Exchange server deployment scenarios and limitations................22 Supported Exchange Server versions................................................22 Single server Microsoft Exchange Server and Microsoft SharePoint Server installations.......................................................................... 22 Exchange backup prerequisites.....................................................................22 NMM Exchange Admin Configuration tool......................................................22 Configuring an Admin user............................................................... 24 Validating an existing Admin............................................................28 MAPI client and Collaboration Data Objects...................................................28 Exchange Consistency Check........................................................................ 29 Consistency check parameters for threading and throttling.............. 29
Chapter 3
Backup
31
Planning backups..........................................................................................32 Backup considerations.....................................................................32 Backups in DAG environments......................................................... 32 Configuring backups to use a remote storage node in a DAG environment.................................................................................... 32 Backing up highly available Exchange server....................................33 Shadow copy and log truncation...................................................... 33 Preferred Server Order List.............................................................................33 Configuring Exchange client resources.......................................................... 34 EMC NetWorker Module for Microsoft for Exchange Server VSS 9.0 User Guide
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CONTENTS
Creating a client resource by using the Client Backup Configuration wizard..............................................................................................35 Creating a client resource for Exchange backups by using the NetWorker Management Console..................................................... 38 Configuring Exchange backups......................................................................42 Backup configuration options.......................................................... 43 Configuring NetWorker administrator privileges................................44 Configuring a federated DAG backup................................................ 44 Complete list of Exchange Server Application Information attributes ........................................................................................................ 45 Viewing a valid application data save set......................................... 46 Circumstances that promote incremental or subsequent backups to full backup.......................................................................................48 Example of a federated backup..................................................................... 48 Verifying a backup.........................................................................................49
Chapter 4
Mail Item Recovery
51
Overview....................................................................................................... 52 Recovery types................................................................................. 52 Recovering Exchange data................................................................53 Recovering individual mailboxes, mailbox folders, and messages....54 Exchange recovery prerequisites................................................................... 58 Additional requirements for browsing mailboxes..............................58 Additional requirements for recovering databases in a DAG............. 59 Configuring Exchange Server recovery........................................................... 59 Specifying Exchange recovery options..............................................59 Configuring roll-forward recovery of an Exchange server in a DAG environment.................................................................................... 60 Recovery procedures..................................................................................... 61 Recovering NetWorker Module for Microsoft Exchange backups....... 61 Mounting the database after recovery.............................................. 62 Performing Exchange Server recovery............................................... 62 Recovering deleted Exchange Server mailboxes, public folder databases, or public folder mailboxes..............................................68 Performing a quick recovery of a deleted mailbox.............................69 Recovering Exchange Server mailbox, public folder database, or public folder mailbox files.......................................................................... 70 Best practices and recommendations............................................................72 Exchange recovery limitations.......................................................... 72
Chapter 5
Granular Level Recovery
73
Recovering Mailbox items with GLR............................................................... 74 GLR considerations.......................................................................... 74 Recovering individual mailbox items using GLR............................................. 75 Performing a GLR to an alternate mailbox...................................................... 76 Performing a GLR on an archive user mailbox................................................ 77 Performing a GLR to a PST..............................................................................78
Chapter 6
Troubleshooting
81
Troubleshooting general errors......................................................................82 Troubleshooting backups.............................................................................. 82 Troubleshooting recovery.............................................................................. 84 4
EMC NetWorker Module for Microsoft for Exchange Server VSS 9.0 User Guide
FIGURES
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21
NetWorker and NMM installation in a stand-alone or single Exchange Server environment ......................................................................................................................................14 NetWorker and NMM installation with a DAG in an Exchange Server environment.......... 15 Exchange Server DAG environment................................................................................ 16 NMM Exchange Admin Configuration tool...................................................................... 23 Configuring a user with Organization Management rights...............................................26 Configuring a user without Organization Management rights......................................... 27 Initial page of Client Backup Configuration wizard......................................................... 35 Example of an Exchange Server federated backup......................................................... 49 Recovery in a stand-alone Exchange Server environment............................................... 53 Recovery to an alternate MailboxDatabase in a stand-alone Exchange Server environment ......................................................................................................................................54 Recover using NMM granular level recovery................................................................... 56 Recover to an RDB, and then recover data from the RDB to a user mailbox..................... 57 Advanced Recovery dialog box.......................................................................................64 Exchange Recovery Summary dialog box........................................................................64 Manage RDB dialog box................................................................................................. 65 Create RDB dialog box................................................................................................... 66 Delete confirmation dialog box...................................................................................... 66 Select Database dialog box........................................................................................... 67 Select Server dialog box................................................................................................ 68 Individual mailbox databases........................................................................................75 Sample mailbox.............................................................................................................76
EMC NetWorker Module for Microsoft for Exchange Server VSS 9.0 User Guide
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FIGURES
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EMC NetWorker Module for Microsoft for Exchange Server VSS 9.0 User Guide
TABLES
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17
Revision history............................................................................................................. 10 Style conventions.......................................................................................................... 11 Writers used by NMM for Exchange Server backup and recovery.................................... 17 Permissions configured by the Exchange administrator configuration tool .................... 24 Exchange Server GLR MAPI/CDO requirements...............................................................28 Exchange application information variables for threading and throttling ....................... 29 Exchange Server name attributes .................................................................................. 34 Exchange Server 2010 save set names.......................................................................... 34 Exchange Server 2013 save set names.......................................................................... 34 Exchange Server 2016 save set names.......................................................................... 35 Exchange Application Information attribute settings...................................................... 39 Examples for application variables................................................................................ 40 Exchange Server backup options................................................................................... 43 Exchange Application Information attribute settings...................................................... 45 Commands for displaying valid application data save sets............................................ 46 Special characters and their URL-encoded values.......................................................... 47 PowerShell cmdlets for restored mailboxes....................................................................82
EMC NetWorker Module for Microsoft for Exchange Server VSS 9.0 User Guide
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TABLES
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EMC NetWorker Module for Microsoft for Exchange Server VSS 9.0 User Guide
Preface
As part of an effort to improve its product lines, EMC periodically releases revisions of its software and hardware. Therefore, some functions that are described in this document might not be supported by all versions of the software or hardware currently in use. The product release notes provide the most up-to-date information on product features. Contact your EMC technical support professional if a product does not function correctly or does not function as described in this document. Note
This document was accurate at publication time. Go to EMC Online Support (https:// support.emc.com) to ensure that you are using the latest version of this document. Purpose This guide contains information about using the EMC NetWorker Module for Microsoft (NMM) software to back up and recover Microsoft Exchange Server using the Volume Shadow Copy Service (VSS) technology. Note
The EMC NetWorker Module for Microsoft Administration Guide supplements the backup and recovery procedures described in this guide and must be referred to when performing application-specific tasks. Download a copy of the EMC NetWorker Module for Microsoft Administration Guide from EMC Online Support (https://support.emc.com) before using this guide. Audience This guide is part of the NMM documentation set, and is intended for use by system administrators during the setup and maintenance of the product. Readers should be familiar with the following technologies used in backup and recovery: l
EMC NetWorker software
l
EMC NetWorker data protection policy management
l
Microsoft Volume Shadow Copy Service (VSS) technology
EMC NetWorker Module for Microsoft for Exchange Server VSS 9.0 User Guide
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Preface
Revision history The following table presents the revision history of this document. Table 1 Revision history
Revision
Date
Description
04
July, 2016
l
l
Updated the following sections: n
Stand-alone or single Exchange Servers on page 14
n
MAPI Client and Collaboration Data Objects on page 28
n
Troubleshooting recovery on page 84
Added more information about the NMM Exchange Configuration tool to the Configuration chapter: n
Configuring an Admin user on page 24
n
Example Admin user configurations on page 26
n
Validating an existing Admin on page 28
03
December, 2015
Incorporated the technical review comments throughout the guide.
02
October, 2015
Updated the following sections: Section "Compatibility with previous Exchange backups" in the Introduction chapter. Section "Creating a client resource using the Client Backup Configuration wizard" in the Backup chapter.
01
September, 2015
First release of this document for EMC NetWorker Module for Microsoft release 9.0.
Related documentation The NMM documentation set includes the following publications:
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l
EMC NetWorker Module for Microsoft Release Notes
l
EMC NetWorker Module for Microsoft Administration Guide
l
EMC NetWorker Module for Microsoft Installation Guide
l
EMC NetWorker Module for Microsoft for SQL and SharePoint VSS User Guide
l
EMC NetWorker Module for Microsoft for SQL VDI User Guide
l
EMC NetWorker Module for Microsoft for Exchange VSS User Guide
l
EMC EMC NetWorker Module for Microsoft for Hyper-V VSS User Guide
l
EMC NetWorker Module for Microsoft for Windows Bare Metal Recovery Solution User Guide
l
EMC NetWorker Performing Backup and Recovery of SharePoint Server by using NetWorker Module for Microsoft SQL VDI solution Technical Notes
l
EMC NetWorker Performing Exchange Server Granular Recovery by using NetWorker Module for Microsoft with Ontrack PowerControls Technical Notes
l
EMC NetWorker SharePoint BLOB Backup and Recovery by using NetWorker Module for Microsoft and Metalogix StoragePoint Technical Notes
EMC NetWorker Module for Microsoft for Exchange Server VSS 9.0 User Guide
Preface
l
NetWorker documentation set
Special notice conventions that are used in this document EMC uses the following conventions for special notices: NOTICE
Addresses practices that are not related to personal injury. Note
Presents information that is important, but not hazard-related. Typographical conventions EMC uses the following type style conventions in this document: Table 2 Style conventions
Bold
Used for names of interface elements, such as names of buttons, fields, tab names, and menu paths (what the user specifically selects or clicks)
Italic
Used for full titles of publications that are referenced in text
Monospace
Used for: l
System code
l
System output, such as an error message or script
l
Pathnames, file names, prompts, and syntax
l
Commands and options
Monospace italic
Used for variables
Monospace bold
Used for user input
[]
Square brackets enclose optional values
|
Vertical bar indicates alternate selections - the bar means “or”
{}
Braces enclose content that the user must specify, such as x or y or z
...
Ellipses indicate non-essential information that is omitted from the example
Where to get help EMC support, product, and licensing information can be obtained as follows: Product information For documentation, release notes, software updates, or information about EMC products, go to EMC Online Support at https://support.emc.com. Technical support Go to EMC Online Support and click Service Center. Several options for contacting EMC Technical Support appear on the site. Note that to open a service request, you must have a valid support agreement. Contact your EMC sales representative for details about obtaining a valid support agreement or with questions about your account.
EMC NetWorker Module for Microsoft for Exchange Server VSS 9.0 User Guide
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Preface
Online communities Go to EMC Community Network at https://community.emc.com for peer contacts, conversations, and content on product support and solutions. Interactively engage online with customers, partners, and certified professionals for all EMC products. Your comments Your suggestions help to improve the accuracy, organization, and overall quality of the user publications. Send your opinions of this document to
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EMC NetWorker Module for Microsoft for Exchange Server VSS 9.0 User Guide
CHAPTER 1 Introduction
This chapter includes the following sections: l l
Overview............................................................................................................... 14 Using NMM in an Exchange Server environment.................................................... 16
Introduction
13
Introduction
Overview ®
®
The EMC NetWorker Module for Microsoft (NMM) release 9.0 software supports backup and recovery for Exchange Server 2010, 2013, and 2016 recovery databases (RDBs) in stand-alone and DAG configurations. Note
EMC recommends that you download a copy of the EMC NetWorker Online Software Compatibility Guide from EMC Online Support (http://support.emc.com). The EMC NetWorker Online Software Compatibility Guide lists the most up-to-date information about supported Windows Server versions.
Stand-alone or single Exchange Servers This section describes the relationship between the stand-alone or single Exchange Servers and NMM. In a stand-alone or single Exchange Server environment, all mailbox databases, log files, and checkpoint files exist on one server. NMM is installed on the Exchange server. The following figure illustrates the relationship between the NetWorker Server, NetWorker Management Console (NMC), and NMM client installation in a single Exchange server environment. NMM is installed on the Exchange server. Figure 1 NetWorker and NMM installation in a stand-alone or single Exchange Server environment
Exchange Server DAGs This section describes the relationship between Exchange server database availability groups (DAGs) and NMM. NMM supports DAGs for high availability of Exchange Server databases, with the following considerations:
14
l
Install the NetWorker and NMM clients on each Exchange server that has the mailbox role installed.
l
When there are multiple copies of a database, only one copy of the database is active at a time. The remaining copies are passive.
EMC NetWorker Module for Microsoft for Exchange Server VSS 9.0 User Guide
Introduction
l
You can back up active copy mailbox databases, passive copy mailbox databases, and stand-alone databases.
l
“Stand-alone” applies to an Exchange Server mailbox database that is not replicated across multiple servers, including and public folder mailboxes and public folder databases.
l
You can only restore backups of databases in a DAG environment to active database copies. The Microsoft TechNet website provides information about the Exchange DAG architecture. Figure 2 NetWorker and NMM installation with a DAG in an Exchange Server environment
The topic Configuring Exchange backups on page 42 provides information on configuring a DAG backup after you install the NetWorker and NMM clients on each Exchange server in the cluster.
High availability in Exchange Server Most larger enterprises typically deploy Exchange Server in some form of high-availability configuration. Exchange Server 2010, 2013, and 2016 typically includes the use of DAGs and mailbox database copies. You do not need to install and configure any Windows clustering before you install Exchange Server. You can add high availability to the Exchange Server environment after you deploy Exchange Server without having to uninstall Exchange Server and then reinstall in a high-availability configuration. These improvements in high availability and site resilience functionality also simplify installation and configuration of the NetWorker and NMM clients for backup and recovery. High availability in Exchange Server
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Introduction
Active and passive databases The following topic describes NMM installations with Exchange Server 2010 and later clustered environments. In a clustered environment, there are active and passive copies of the databases. The server constantly updates a copy or a replica as the passive copy, and minimizes the impact on performance of the active copy. For backups, the passive copy enables you to back up the databases without affecting the performance or data of the active copy. You must designate individual databases as either active or passive. This enables you to have a mix of active and passive databases on each node. The following figure shows an Exchange Server DAG environment with four mailbox databases (DB1, DB2, DB3, and DB4). There are active and passive copies of these databases spread over three nodes (servers MBX1, MBX2, and MBX3). Figure 3 Exchange Server DAG environment
Configuring Exchange backups on page 42 provides detailed steps for configuring the NMM client on the active node after installation of the NMM client on each Exchange Server in the cluster.
Using NMM in an Exchange Server environment This section provides information for using NMM in an Exchange Server environment, for example supported backup and recovery types, VSS writers, and compatibility with previous Exchange backups.
Exchange Server 2010 VSS Writers This topic describes the Exchange Server 2010 writers for active and passive databases. Exchange Server 2010 has two writers for active and passive databases. NMM uses these writers during backup and recovery. The following table provides details.
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EMC NetWorker Module for Microsoft for Exchange Server VSS 9.0 User Guide
Introduction
Table 3 Writers used by NMM for Exchange Server backup and recovery
Application writers
Description
Information Store Writer
This writer is built into the Exchange Information Store, is available on any mailbox server, and is responsible for backup and recovery of active databases.
Replication Service Writer
This writer is built into the Replication Service. The Replication Service Writer is available on the passive node of DAGs. The Replication Service Writer supports backup functionality for a selected database where the shadow copy is taken against the replicated instance of the database and transaction log files. You can use the Information Store Writer to restore Replication Writer backups to the active database location.
Exchange Server 2013 and 2016 VSS Writer This topic describes the Exchange Server 2013 and 2016 writer used for active and passive databases. Exchange Server 2013 and 2016 have one writer for active and passive databases: Microsoft Exchange Server Writer. NMM uses the Microsoft Exchange Server Writer during backup and recovery. This writer is used by Exchange Server-aware VSS-based applications to backup active and passive database copies, and to restore backed up database copies. Although this new writer runs in the Microsoft Exchange Replication service, it requires the Microsoft Exchange Information Store service to be running in order for the writer to be advertised. As a result, both services are required to backup or restore Exchange Server databases.
Compatibility with previous Exchange backups When you install NMM, select the Restore of NMM 8.2.x and Earlier Backups (VSS workflows) and Restore from previous NMM backups options in the NMM installer to perform recoveries later. The EMC NetWorker Module for Microsoft Installation Guide provides information. You cannot recover data from an NetWorker Module for Exchange (NME) backup by using NMM. If you have upgraded to NMM from NME, perform a full backup of Exchange to perform NMM point-in-time recovery in the future. For the recoveries to succeed after you upgrade the Exchange Server that includes service packs also, perform a full backup before the upgrade and after the upgrade.
Backup initiated transaction log file truncation This topic describes the behavior of Exchange transaction log files as part of a backup. It is the responsibility of the Exchange writer (and hence the Exchange server) to truncate transaction logs. NMM notifies the Exchange writer that a backup has completed successfully, which allows the Exchange writer to continue with log truncation. The time that the Exchange writer starts backup-initiated log file truncation differs for each backup type. l
In stand-alone configurations, the Exchange Writer truncates the transaction log files at the completion of successful full or incremental backups.
Exchange Server 2013 and 2016 VSS Writer
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Introduction
l
In DAG configurations, the Replication service delays the log truncation until all necessary log files are replayed into all other copies. The Replication service deletes the backed up log files both from the active and the passive copy log file paths after the Replication service verifies that the to-be-deleted log files have successfully been applied to the copy database and both active database and the database copies checkpoint has passed the log files to be deleted.
Backup types and levels NMM 9.0 and later supports block based full and incremental backups of stand-alone and DAG Exchange Server setups. A block based full backup backs up every selected database and all necessary log files. After the backup completes, log files older than the checkpoint that is taken at backup start time are deleted. A block based incremental backup backs up only the changed blocks of every selected database and all necessary logs. Like a block based full backup, log files older than the checkpoint are deleted once the backup completes. The EMC NetWorker Module for Microsoft Administration Guide provides details.
Federated backups NMM supports only federated backups for Exchange Server DAGs. Federated backups allow you to back up all databases in a DAG with a single save set across all Exchange Server nodes in the DAG. NMM does not require you to perform a separate backup of each node.
Recovery types This topic describes the types of Exchange recoveries supported by NMM. NMM supports the following types of recovery: l
Roll-forward recovery
l
Point-in-time recovery
l
Database recovery to Exchange RDB
l
Remote database recovery for Exchange Server DAG
l
Mailbox item level recovery from Exchange RDB databases
l
Exchange RDB mailbox browsing, mailbox, folder, and message recovery
l
Recovery to alternate mailbox database
l
Recovery to alternate Mailbox
l
Granular Level Recovery (GLR) to/from RDB or DAG
l
Granular Level Recovery (GLR) to alternate mailbox
l
Granular Lever Recovery (GLR) to PST files
Note
Exchange Server 2016 does not support GLR and RDB. The EMC NetWorker Performing Exchange Server Granular Recovery by using NetWorker Module for Microsoft with Ontrack PowerControls Technical Notes provides information about how to perform GLR of Exchange Server 2016.
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EMC NetWorker Module for Microsoft for Exchange Server VSS 9.0 User Guide
Introduction
Exchange Server block based backup The Exchange Server block based backup is the default and only method to back up an Exchange Server by using NMM 9.0 and later. The EMC NetWorker Module for Microsoft Administration Guide provides information about block based backups and recoveries.
Exchange Server block based backup
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Introduction
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EMC NetWorker Module for Microsoft for Exchange Server VSS 9.0 User Guide
CHAPTER 2 Configuration
This chapter includes the following sections: l l l l l
Supported Exchange server deployment scenarios and limitations........................22 Exchange backup prerequisites.............................................................................22 NMM Exchange Admin Configuration tool.............................................................. 22 MAPI client and Collaboration Data Objects...........................................................28 Exchange Consistency Check.................................................................................29
Configuration
21
Configuration
Supported Exchange server deployment scenarios and limitations The Microsoft Exchange Server documentation provides a complete and updated list of system requirements and supported configurations. The EMC NetWorker Online Software Compatibility Guide, available on the EMC Online Support website at http://compatibilityguide.emc.com:8080/CompGuideApp, provides the most up-to-date and accurate listing of hardware, operating system, service pack, and application versions that the NMM client supports.
Supported Exchange Server versions The latest EMC NetWorker Online Software Compatibility Guide provides the latest information about the versions of Exchange Server and Windows Server that NMM supports for stand-alone, DAG, and passive/active highly available deployments. For DAG environments, the Exchange Server documentation recommends two networks: one for public traffic and one for replication traffic. Although a DAG with a single network is a supported configuration, it is not recommended. Using only one network connection can lead to unstable operations, such as databases that fail over to other systems when they experience network connection time outs.
Single server Microsoft Exchange Server and Microsoft SharePoint Server installations Microsoft does not support the installation of Microsoft Exchange Server and Microsoft SharePoint Server on the same host. So, NMM also does not support this installation.
Exchange backup prerequisites This topic describes the required prerequisites for backup of Exchange server using NMM. Ensure that the following prerequisites are met before performing backup procedures: l
Install the .NET Framework.
l
Install the hotfixes and cumulative updates that are listed in the EMC NetWorker Module for Microsoft Installation Guide.
l
Ensure that you use the same version of Exchange Servers, Windows Servers, and service packs or cumulative updates.
l
Install the NetWorker client and NMM software on all Exchange servers that are a part of a backup.
NMM Exchange Admin Configuration tool The NMM Exchange Admin Configuration tool enables you to create or reset the permissions of an account with the necessary privileges to perform backup and recovery operation on an Exchange Server. After installing NMM, use the tool to create an account, modify, validate, and update the existing account privileges. You can use the NMM Exchange Admin Configuration tool to perform the following tasks: l
22
Configure Admin User—Perform one of the following actions:
EMC NetWorker Module for Microsoft for Exchange Server VSS 9.0 User Guide
Configuration
n
Create an NMM Exchange Admin user and configure the permissions that are required for Exchange backup and recovery (both database and GLR), and set the user account in the registry.
n
Update an existing Exchange Admin user's permissions that are required for Exchange backup and recovery (both database and GLR), and set the NMM Exchange administrator account in the registry.
n
Set an existing user as an NMM Exchange Admin account in the registry.
l
Update Admin Password—Modify the NMM Exchange administrator account password and update the registry.
l
Validate an existing Admin—Verify that an existing NMM Exchange administrator account is correctly configured.
Note
NMM uses the user account that is set in the registry by the NMM Exchange Admin Configuration tool to perform backup, database, or granular level recovery. To use NMM Exchange Admin Configuration tool, you must be logged in with Domain Administrator permissions. The NMM Exchange Admin Configuration tool runs automatically and you must configure a user directly after installing NMM. The following figure shows the Exchange administrator configuration tool landing page. Figure 4 NMM Exchange Admin Configuration tool
You can use the Exchange NMM Admin Tool to create users, configure existing users, and assign correct permissions to existing users. You can assign a user to the Organization Management role, or assign them to the EMC NMM Exchange Admin Role group. If you assign a user to the EMC NMM Exchange Admin Role group, then they are removed from the Organization Management role. Conversely, if you assign a user to the Organization Management role, they are removed from the EMC NMM Exchange Admin Role group. The EMC NMM Exchange Admin Role group is not created unless at least one user is configured using the tool without Organization Management rights. NMM Exchange Admin Configuration tool operations The NMM Exchange Admin Configuration Tool simplifies the process of configuring security group memberships by ensuring that the user has all the required Active Directory security group memberships and Powershell Management Roles. To create an NMM Exchange Administrator account, the tool performs the following steps: l
Creates an Active Directory user account.
NMM Exchange Admin Configuration tool
23
Configuration
l
Creates a custom Exchange security group.
l
Adds the user account to the groups listed in the following table. Table 4 Permissions configured by the Exchange administrator configuration tool
User group
Exchange Server role
Security group memberships on NMM Client computer
Local Administrator
Security group memberships on Domain Controller Exchange Security Group memberships
n
Backup Operators
n
Remote Desktop Users
n
Exchange Servers
n
Organization Management or EMC NMM Exchange Admin Roles
n
EMC NMM Exchange Admin Roles includes:
– Database Copies – Databases – Disaster Recovery – Mailbox Import Export – Mail Recipient Creation – Mail Recipients – View-Only Configuration – View-Only Recipients
l
Assigns the "Mailbox Import Export" management role to the user.
l
Creates an Exchange mailbox.
l
Assigns Send-As and Receive-As rights.
l
Registers the user account for backup and recovery on Exchange servers where NMM is installed.
Configuring an Admin user You can configure an Admin user with the NMM Exchange Admin Configuration tool by creating an account, or by using an existing account. Procedure 1. Click Configure Admin User on the NMM Exchange Admin Configuration window. 2. Select one of the following under Action: l
Create new admin—Create an Exchange user account for NMM backup and recovery operations.
l
Configure existing user—Use an existing Exchange user account for NMM backup and recovery operations.
3. Type the User Name and Password. 4. If you are creating an account: a. Re-type the password in the Confirm Password field. 24
EMC NetWorker Module for Microsoft for Exchange Server VSS 9.0 User Guide
Configuration
b. Select the Exchange database the user performs backup and recovery of in the Database drop-down list. 5. (Optional) Select the Assign Organization Management rights checkbox. Members of the Organization Management role group have permissions to manage Exchange objects and their properties in the Exchange organization. Members can also delegate role groups and management roles in the organization. Note
If you select Assign Organization Management rights, NMM adds the user to the Organization Management group. The tool does not create an NMM Exchange Admin Roles security group. If you do not select this option and also do not select the Skip Active Directory Authentication option, NMM will create an Active Directory security group called EMC NMM Exchange Admin Roles and add the user to that group. 6. (Optional) Select the Create ContentSubmitters security group checkbox. This option creates a ContentSubmitters Active Directory security group. This option is unavailable if a ContentSubmitters group is already created in the Active Directory. This option is only available on Exchange Server 2013 and 2016. 7. (Optional) If you are configuring an existing user, optionally select the Skip Active Directory Authentication checkbox. This option skips the Active Directory authentication and authorization operations for the user, and only sets the user as the NMM Exchange user account in the registry for backup and recovery operations. Note
This option should be selected when configuring an existing user in a parent and child domain environment. See the section Example Admin user configurations on page 26 for more information about this configuration. 8. Click Configure to start the configure operation. The output window shows the status of the operation including any warning or error messages. 9. To verify that all the configurations are correctly set, run the System Configuration Checker. Results The user is assigned permissions to perform backup and restores of the Exchange database. View the configured user in the Members tab in the Properties window of the Exchange Servers security group.
Configuring an Admin user
25
Configuration
Example Admin user configurations This section provides examples of configuring an Admin user with the NMM Exchange Admin Configuration tool. Example 1 Configuring or modifying an Admin user with Organization Management rights
The user will be a member of the Organization Management group. The user will not be a member of the EMC Exchange NMM Admin Roles group. 1. Click Configure Admin User on the NMM Exchange Admin Configuration window. 2. Complete the Configure Admin User page and select the Assign Organization Management rights checkbox. 3. Click Configure. 4. Run the System Configuration Checker to verify that all the configurations are correctly set. Figure 5 Configuring a user with Organization Management rights
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Configuration
Example 2 Configuring or modifying an Admin user without Organization Management rights
The user will be a member of the EMC Exchange NMM Admin Roles group. The user will not be a member of the Organization Management group. 1. Click Configure Admin User on the NMM Exchange Admin Configuration window. 2. Complete the Configure Admin User page. Ensure that the Assign Organization Management rights checkbox is not selected. 3. Click Configure. 4. Run the System Configuration Checker to verify that all the configurations are correctly set. Figure 6 Configuring a user without Organization Management rights
Configuring an Admin user
27
Configuration
Example 3 Configuring an existing user in a parent and child domain environment
The NMM Exchange Admin Configuration Tool fails to create a new user object or configure an existing user object in a parent and child domain configuration. You must use the following steps for this configuration. 1. Configure the user manually in Active Directory, and ensure that the user has the appropriate roles and rights, as described in NMM Exchange Admin Configuration tool on page 22. 2. Click Configure Admin User on the NMM Exchange Admin Configuration window. 3. In the Configure Admin User page, select the Configure Existing User option, enter the User Name and Password, and select the Skip Active Directory Authentication option. 4. Run the System Configuration Checker to verify that all the configurations are correctly set.
Validating an existing Admin Note
Validating an existing Admin user in a parent and child domain environment may fail because the tool may try to contact Active Directory to validate credentials from registry. Procedure 1. Click Validate an existing Admin on the NMM Exchange Admin Configuration window. 2. Type the User Name and Password. 3. Click Validate. A window opens listing the Exchange servers in your environment. 4. Select each server that the user must perform backup or recovery of and click OK. The window closes and the validate operation starts. The output window shows the status of the operation including any warning or error messages. Results The output window shows the results of the validate Admin operation.
MAPI client and Collaboration Data Objects This topic describes the Exchange Server requirements for the Microsoft Exchange Server MAPI Client and Collaboration Data Objects 1.2.1 Kit for granular level recovery. Note
MAPI and Outlook cannot be installed on the same host. Table 5 Exchange Server GLR MAPI/CDO requirements
Exchange Server version Required MAPI/CDO version Exchange Server 2010
28
MAPI/CDO 1.2.1 version 6.5.8244.0 or earlier
EMC NetWorker Module for Microsoft for Exchange Server VSS 9.0 User Guide
Configuration
Table 5 Exchange Server GLR MAPI/CDO requirements (continued)
Exchange Server version Required MAPI/CDO version Exchange Server 2013
MAPI/CDO 1.2.1 version 6.5.8320.0 or later
Exchange Server 2016
Not applicable
The Exchange Server 2010 and 2013 software does not include the MAPI client libraries and CDO. You can download these applications from Microsoft’s website. For information about downloading and installing this package, search for "Microsoft Exchange MAPI Client and Collaboration Data Objects" on the Microsoft Download Center website. The EMC NetWorker Online Software Compatibility Guide contains information about the latest version of the MAPI and CDO kit that NMM supports.
Exchange Consistency Check The following topic describes how the Exchange consistency check improves the quality of a backup. The Exchange consistency check verifies that the database and its corresponding set of transaction logs do not contain errors, and validates Exchange before performing a restore. A consistency check can be configured to check the database and log files, database files only, or log files only. While a consistency check of only the database does not ensure complete consistency of the backup, it does offer the advantage of a shorter time to perform a consistency check. Exchange automatically runs a consistency check against stand-alone databases and public folders before NMM restores the data.
Consistency check parameters for threading and throttling This topic describes the effects of the Exchange consistency check on NetWorker performance. Included is information about the Application Information attributes. The consistency check impacts Exchange backup performance. The larger the databases and associated transaction logs, the longer it takes to run a consistency check. NMM provides the option to run the consistency check on multiple databases in parallel. Set the throttle limits according to the setup. The default value is 1000 milliseconds. Running simultaneous consistency checks without correctly setting the throttle limits affects the performance of the Exchange Server. In extreme cases, you notice that the I/O bottlenecks are so severe that consistency checks fail and other system operations are adversely affected. In NMM, you can configure threading and throttling by using the corresponding -A attribute values from the following table, in the Application Information field of the NMM client. You can use these values to prevent performance issues during backup. Table 6 Exchange application information variables for threading and throttling
Attribute name
Value
NSR_ESE_UTIL_SEQUENTIAL
Set to either of the following: l
True—To run Eseutil sequentially (single threaded).
l
False—To run Eseutil in parallel against multiple storage groups (multi-threaded). Exchange Consistency Check
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Table 6 Exchange application information variables for threading and throttling (continued)
Attribute name
Value The default value is False with a value of 4 maximum parallel threads. For example: NSR_ESE_UTIL_SEQUENTIAL=False You can also specify the number of threads to use with the syntax. For example: NSR_ESE_UTIL_SEQUENTIAL=6.
NSR_ESE_UTIL_THROTTLE
Set to either of the following: l
True—To allow Eseutil throttling.
l
False—To prevent Eseutil throttling.
The default value is False. NSR_ESE_THROTTLE_IOS
Specify the number of I/Os between pauses when throttling, in the value range of 100– 10000. The default value is 100. For example: NSR_ESE_THROTTLE_IOS=500
NSR_ESE_THROTTLE_DURATION
Specify the duration of pause in milliseconds when throttling, in the value range of 1000– 60000. The default value is 1000.
NSR_ESE_CC_METHOD
Specify whether to only perform the consistency check on the database and log files, database file only, or log files only. Set to one of the following: l
DB_AND_LOGS
l
DB_ONLY
l
LOGS_ONLY
The default value is DB_AND_LOGS.
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CHAPTER 3 Backup
This chapter includes the following sections: l l l l l l
Planning backups..................................................................................................32 Preferred Server Order List.....................................................................................33 Configuring Exchange client resources.................................................................. 34 Configuring Exchange backups..............................................................................42 Example of a federated backup............................................................................. 48 Verifying a backup.................................................................................................49
Backup
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Planning backups This section contains information to help you plan an Exchange backup.
Backup considerations Consider the following information when you perform the Exchange Server backups: l
In a highly available DAG environment, schedule federated backups by using the DAG client.
l
After a backup of a data protection policy starts, you cannot interrupt or halt the backup process. For example, in Exchange backup, the nsrnmmsv.exe process on the production server and the Eseutil process on the proxy resource might continue to run after you halt the backup. Any try to stop a backup in NMC takes a long time to complete.
l
NMM only backs up mounted databases. If any databases are unmounted, NMM does not display notifications during the backup operation. The NMM log files provide details about unmounted databases.
Exchange backup prerequisites on page 22 provides details about backup prerequisites.
Backups in DAG environments When backing up active or passive database copies in the Exchange DAG environment, all DAGs use the federated backup method to best handle fail over scenarios. The federated backup method provides the following benefits: l
Allows backups of passive database copies to continue even when the passive database copies move among Exchange servers.
l
Enables you to back up all DAG members with a single save set without running a separate backup of each node. Each Exchange server for which a backup job is sent performs their backups in parallel with the other Exchange servers, resulting in faster backups.
Configuring backups to use a remote storage node in a DAG environment This topic describes the steps for configuring remote storage in an Exchange DAG environment. This procedure allows you to specify a storage node for the physical clients in the DAG, which can differ from the storage node defined in the Policy for the federated backup. To configure remote storage for an Exchange DAG environment: Procedure 1. On each mailbox server to back up, install the NetWorker client software with the Storage Node option. 2. Open the NMC and create a storage node for each client: a. On the Devices tab, right-click Storage Nodes and select New. b. Type the name of the client. For example, node1.domain.com. c. Right-click Devices, select New, and create the device for the storage node. d. Label and mount the storage node device. 3. To configure the client to use the storage node: 32
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a. Right-click Client and select Modify client. b. On the Globals (2 of 2) tab, type the storage node name in the Storage Nodes field. For example, node1.domain.com. 4. For federated backups, also do the following: a. In the application information parameters for each DAG client resource, add NSR_USE_CLIENT_SN_LIST=yes. b. Add each physical client to the same group as the DAG client, and mark each as disabled from the backup (clear the selection the Scheduled Backup checkbox). c. Add a name to the Storage Nodes field on each physical client in the DAG. d. In the data protection policy for the federated backup, ensure the selected pool contains the storage node that is used for backup. 5. Run the backups for DAG nodes and verify that NMM saves the backup to the remote storage node.
Backing up highly available Exchange server In a highly available DAG environment, you can schedule the federated backups by using the DAG name or the DAG node name as the client instance.
Shadow copy and log truncation The creation of shadow copy is separate from the notification to VSS writers that the backup is complete. NMM registers the shadow copy as a snapshot and backs it up to media successfully before the notification is sent to the VSS writers. If the backup to media fails, then that failure is reported to the Exchange VSS writer and log truncation does not occur.
Preferred Server Order List When you perform a backup through the DAG resource using NSR_EXCH_BACKUP set to Passive or Preferred, NMM selects an Exchange server to back up the passive copies of the databases. Because multiple Exchange servers can host replicas or passive copies of the same database, you can specify a preferred server order list (PSOL) to tell NMM which Exchange servers to use to back up the Exchange databases. When the backup starts, NMM backs up the passive or replica copies of each database from the Exchange Servers that the PSOL lists. You create the PSOL in the Client Configuration wizard, and the PSOL is associated with a single DAG client resource. If you choose to include stand-alone databases (including public folder databases or public folder mailboxes), the coordinating node determines whether they exist on that server and, if so, adds them to the save set list as well. The coordinating node then goes to another server in the list and repeats the check for passive and stand-alone databases. During this process, the node skips databases that are already listed. Once the coordinating node has gone through the list of servers, then it validates that there are no databases within the DAG that have been left out of the list of save sets. Then the coordinating node starts the backup on each of the servers identified.
Backing up highly available Exchange server
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Configuring Exchange client resources A client resource specifies what to include in a backup of an NMM client. To create a client resource, you can use either of the following methods from the NetWorker Management Console: l
Creating a client resource by using the Client Backup Configuration wizard on page 35
l
Creating a client resource for Exchange backups by using the NetWorker Management Console on page 38
The following table describes how to determine the name to specify for the client resource for DAG and stand-alone setups. Table 7 Exchange Server name attributes
Type of backup
Requirement
Stand-alone (including public folder databases and mailboxes)
Type one of the following:
DAG
l
The FQDN of the NetWorker client computer.
l
The hostname of the NetWorker client computer.
Type the DAG name.
The following table provides the list of Exchange Server 2010 save sets for application data. Table 8 Exchange Server 2010 save set names
Type of backup data
Save set syntax
Writer level
APPLICATIONS:\Microsoft Exchange 2010
Database name level
APPLICATIONS:\Microsoft Exchange 2010\
The following table provides the list of Exchange Server 2013 save sets for application data. Table 9 Exchange Server 2013 save set names
Type of backup data
Save set syntax
Writer level
APPLICATIONS:\Microsoft Exchange 2013
Database name level
APPLICATIONS:\Microsoft Exchange 2013\
The following table provides the list of Exchange Server 2016 save sets for application data. 34
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Table 10 Exchange Server 2016 save set names
Type of backup data
Save set syntax
Writer level
APPLICATIONS:\Microsoft Exchange 2016
Database name level
APPLICATIONS:\Microsoft Exchange 2016\
Creating a client resource by using the Client Backup Configuration wizard This section describes how to create a client resource using the Client Backup Configuration wizard. To use the Client Backup Configuration wizard option from the NetWorker Management Console, you must install the NMM client on the Exchange server. Procedure 1. In the Administration view of NMC, select the Protection tab, and then from the menu bar, right-click Clients and select New Client wizard. Figure 7 Initial page of Client Backup Configuration wizard
2. On the Specify the Client Name and Type page: a. In the Client Name field, type the name of the client where NMM is installed. l
For stand-alone configurations, type the name of the client where NMM is installed.
l
For federated backup client backup configurations, type the DAG name. Note
The DAG instance must have a cluster Administrative Access Point, that is, a static IP address. Do not specify an IP address for a backup client name. In the Client Name field, type either the short name or the FQDN that you used to create the client. Creating a client resource by using the Client Backup Configuration wizard
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Backup
b. Select the Traditional type. c. Click Next. 3. On the Select the Backup Application Type page, click the Microsoft Exchange Server listed under Available Applications and then click Next. 4. On the Specify the Client Backup Options page: a. To use the Client Direct feature, then select the Client Direct checkbox. The default setting is checked. b. Leave the Target Pool field blank. c. Select one of the following deduplication options: l
None if you have not configured data deduplication.
l
Data Domain backup if you are using a Data Domain device for data deduplication. After selecting this option, type the IP address of the Data Domain device.
d. Click Next. 5. On the Select the Exchange Server Objects page, verify that the databases to back up are selected and then click Next. By default, all the databases are selected for the entire server backup. Clear the checkbox for any items that must be excluded from the backup. 6. On the Exchange Backup Options page: a. For federated backup client backup configurations, in the Database Backup Options group, select one of the following: l
Preferred Passive Backup to back up passive or replica copies of the databases. If no replica copy is available or healthy for the database, the active copy is backed up.
l
Passive Only Backup to back up only passive copies or replicas of databases.
l
Active Only Backup to back up only active copies of databases.
Note
When you select Active Backup or Passive Backup, the backup fails if the selected type of database does not exist. Note
The Database Backup Options group is not displayed for Exchange stand-alone servers. b. For federated backup client backup configurations, in the Federated Options group: a. Select Use Preferred Server Order List to specify the order in which to backup servers. By default, the Use Preferred Server Order List is selected. b. Select a server from the Available Servers list and then click the right arrow to move it to the Preferred Server List. To adjust the order of servers: 36
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a. Select a server in the Preferred Server List. b. Click the up and down arrows to change the order. c. Select Include Standalone and Public Folder databases to back up stand-alone databases and public folder mailboxes (Exchange Server 2013 and 2016), or public folder databases (Exchange Server 2010). By default, the Include Standalone and Public Folder checkbox is selected. c. In the Consistency Check Options group, enable consistency checks by selecting the Perform a consistency check during backup option and configure the following settings: a. Select the Perform database consistency check during backup option to validate Exchange databases and logs, databases only, or logs only. In a stand-alone environment, the option is selected by default. In a DAG environment, performing the database consistency check is optional. b. Select the Sequential consistency check option to validate the Exchange files sequentially instead of in parallel. c. Select the Throttle Consistency Check option and then choose the Throttle I/O Operations and Throttle Duration options to manage the performance of the Consistency Check operation. You can configure the number of consistency check I/O operations to perform before pausing and the length of time to pause between I/O operation cycles. d. Click Next. 7. On the Select the NetWorker Client Properties page, optionally, type a comment for the client in the Client Comment field. Click Next. 8. On the Specify the NetWorker Backup Group page: a. Do one of the following: l
Select the Add to an existing group option to select an existing savegroup and choose a savegroup from the provided list. Only save groups with valid snapshot policies are available for selection.
l
Select the Create a new group option to create a savegroup and configure the new group as follows: a. In the Group Name field, type the name of the new savegroup. b. On the Client Retries menu, select 0. c. In the Scheduled Options group, in the Scheduled Backup Start Time field, type a valid 24-hour time. d. Select the Automatically start the backup at the scheduled time option to automatically start the scheduled backup at the designated time. e. In Advanced Options, select a snapshot pool from the Snapshot Pool dropdown list. f. In the Interval field, set the interval time. g. In the Restart Window field, set the restart window to 0:01.
If you choose to create a group, the Specify the NetWorker Snapshot Policy page appears in the wizard. If the setup includes a storage node, the Specify the Storage Node Options page appears in the wizard.
Creating a client resource by using the Client Backup Configuration wizard
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Note
Changing the storage node option changes the configuration for all configurations for the client. b. Click Next. 9. On the Specify the Storage Node Options page: a. In the Backup Storage Nodes group, select one of the following options: l
Automatically select the storage node and devices for the client to automatically select client storage nodes and devices.
l
Backup to the NetWorker server only when the setup does not include a NetWorker storage node.
l
Backup to the following storage nodes to select a specific NetWorker storage node. Select one of the storage nodes listed.
b. Click Next. 10. On the Backup Configuration Summary page, review the details and do one of the following: l
Click Back to revisit the previous pages.
l
Click Create to configure the client resources.
11. On the Client Configuration Results page, review the output of the Client Backup Configuration wizard and do one of the following: l
Click Back to modify the configuration data and rerun the Client Backup Configuration wizard.
l
Click Finish.
Editing a client resource that was created by using an NMM 8.2.x or earlier release Procedure 1. In the Administration window, click Protection. 2. Right-click Clients in the navigation tree or right-click the required client in the Clients table. 3. Select Modify Client Properties. 4. In the Backup Command field, delete the nsrsnap_vss_save command and type the nsrnmmsv.exe command. This change must be performed for all the existing client resources. 5. Make other changes, if required. 6. Click OK.
Creating a client resource for Exchange backups by using the NetWorker Management Console You can manually create an Exchange Server client resource by using the NetWorker Management Console. Review the considerations listed in the topic Planning DAG and stand-alone backups before performing this procedure.
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Procedure 1. In the Administration view of the NetWorker Management Console, select the Protection tab. 2. In the expanded left pane, select Clients. 3. From the File menu, select New. 4. Click the General tab. 5. In the General tab: a. In the Name attribute, type the Exchange Server name. b. In the Comment attribute, type a description. If you are creating multiple client resources for the same NetWorker client host, use this attribute to differentiate the purpose of each resource. c. Clear the Block based backup option. d. In the Save Set attribute, specify the components to be backed up. Place multiple entries on separate lines. e. Select the appropriate option in the Protection group list field. 6. Click the Apps & Modules tab and do the following: a. In the Access area, leave the Remote user and Password fields empty. b. In the Backup command attribute, type the backup command: nsrnmmsv.exe.
c. In the Application Information attribute, type the required variables and values. If you specify more than one Exchange attribute at a time, then type each entry and its value on a separate line. The following table provides the application variables and values for the Exchange Server environment. Table 11 Exchange Application Information attribute settings
Attribute name
Description Values
NSR_EXCH_CHECK=value
Specifies if yes or no consistency If you do not specify a value, NMM applies the check following default values: should be l Exchange Server DAG backup: no run or not for l Exchange Server stand-alone backups: yes databases. If the value is no, then NMM indicates that the consistency check is skipped in the backup log files.
NSR_EXCH_DAG=
Optional, to FQDN of the DAG. specify the For example, NSR_EXCH_DAG=mydag.domainname.com DAG name for a backup in a DAG environment.
Creating a client resource for Exchange backups by using the NetWorker Management Console
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Table 11 Exchange Application Information attribute settings (continued)
Attribute name
Description Values
NSR_EXCH_BACKUP= active/passive/ preferred or all NSR_EXCH2010_BACKUP== active/passive/ preferred or all
To back up active, passive, preferred, or all the database copies.
l
Active—Back up only active database copies.
l
Passive—Back up only passive database copies.
l
Preferred—Back up only passive copy or replica of each database if one is available. If no passive database exists, then the active database is backed up.
l
All—Back up both active and passive databases.
NSR_EXCLUDE_COMPONENTS Excludes =db1,db2… specified databases from backup
Type the database name to exclude it from the backup.
NSR_EXCH_INCL_SA
Type False to exclude stand-alone databases and public folder mailboxes (Exchange Server 2013 and 2016), or public folder databases (Exchange Server 2010). The default setting is True.
NSR_FEDERATED_PSOL
List of the order in which to back up the databases on each server in the DAG
Type a comma-separated list of the order in which to back up the databases on each server in the DAG. If you do not specify a list, the coordinating node distributes the backups based on an unordered list of Exchange servers in the DAG.
Table 12 Examples for application variables
Configuration Exchange Server stand-alone backups
Exchange Server DAG backups
40
Examples for application variables l
NSR_ESE_UTIL_SEQUENTIAL=
l
NSR_EXCH_CHECK=
l
NSR_ESE_UTIL_THROTTLE=
l
NSR_FEDERATED_BACKUP=
l
NSR_FEDERATED_PSOL=,, …,
l
NSR_EXCH_INCL_SA=
l
NSR_EXCH_DAG=
l
NSR_EXCH_CHECK=
l
NSR_ESE_UTIL_SEQUENTIAL=
l
NSR_ESE_UTIL_THROTTLE=
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Table 12 Examples for application variables (continued)
Configuration
Exchange Server federated DAG backups
Examples for application variables l
NSR_ESE_CC_METHOD=
l
NSR_EXCH_DAG=
l
NSR_FEDERATED_BACKUP=yes
l
NSR_FEDERATED_PSOL=
l
NSR_EXCH_INCL_SA=
l
NSR_EXCH _BACKUP or NSR_EXCH2010_BACKUP=
l
NSR_EXCLUDE_COMPONENTS=
Note
Consistency check cannot be performed for incremental backups. When performing consistency checks for Exchange logs during incremental backups, do not use the variable NSR_ESE_UTIL_DB_ONLY=yes in the Application Information field. Only use the NSR_EXCH_CHECK=yes variable. d. In the Deduplication group, configure deduplication backups in a DAG environment for a passive node: Note
Consistency check cannot be performed for incremental backups. When performing consistency checks for Exchange logs during incremental backups, do not use the variable NSR_ESE_UTIL_DB_ONLY=yes in the Application Information field. Only use the NSR_EXCH_CHECK=yes variable. l
If the pool configured for the NMM Exchange backups uses Data Domain Boost devices, select the Data Domain backups option to enable client-side Data Domain Boost deduplication backups.
l
Do not select the name of a replication node here. This step links this client with its own deduplication node.
l
If the deduplication node for this client’s backup data changes, the next backup that is done must be a level 0 (full) backup. If the deduplication node for this client’s backup data changes, the next backup that is performed must be a level 0 (full) backup.
7. Click the Globals (1 of 2) tab and complete verify that the Aliases attribute displays the NETBIOS name for the client. This name is filled in automatically. The NMM client uses the host computer NETBIOS or “short” name when connecting to the NetWorker server to browse backups. If the NETBIOS name is not found, NMM does not display backups. Creating a client resource for Exchange backups by using the NetWorker Management Console
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8. If using a NetWorker storage node, when configuring a client resource for the Mailbox server and a DAG resource, click the Globals (2 of 2) tab and type the storage node name in the Storage node name field. 9. Click OK. 10. For DAG environments, create a NetWorker client resource for the following items: l
All remaining Exchange clients that are members of the DAG.
l
The DAG name that uses the FQDN.
Note
The DAG instance must have a cluster Administrative Access Point, that is, a static IP address. Do not specify an IP address for a backup client name. In the Name field, type either the short name or the FQDN that you used to create the client. a. In the expanded left pane, select Clients. b. From the File menu, select New. c. In the Name field, type the Exchange Server name or FQDN. d. In the Comment field, type a description. Use this attribute to differentiate the purpose of each resource. e. For the Browse Policy field, select a browse policy from the list. f. For the Retention Policy field, select a retention policy from the list. g. Confirm that the Scheduled Backups field is selected. h. In the Save Set field, specify the components to be backed up. i. Clear the selection for the default group. No additional configuration is needed. The client resource only must exist.
Configuring Exchange backups To perform an Exchange Server backup, complete the following tasks: 1. Configure the backup storage resources. 2. Configure one or more client resources for each client by using either the Client Backup Configuration Wizard or the Client Properties dialog box. Configuring Exchange client resources on page 34 provides details. 3. Configure a data protection policy for scheduled backups, including a group, policy, policy workflow, and backup action. 4. Configure privileges as described in Configuring NetWorker administrator privileges on page 44. The EMC NetWorker Module for Microsoft Administration Guide and the EMC NetWorker Administration Guide provide details on how to perform these tasks.
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Backup configuration options Table 13 Exchange Server backup options
Backup configuration
Details
Only active databases backup on the server
You can back up all the active database copies residing on an Exchange Server mailbox server in a DAG environment. You can perform full and incremental backups. Active node backups include stand-alone servers, public folder mailboxes (Exchange Server 2013 and 2016), and public folder databases (Exchange Server 2010).
Only passive databases backup on the server
You can back up all the passive database copies residing on an Exchange Server mailbox server in a DAG environment. You can perform full and incremental backups, including incremental backups of public folders. Passive node backups do not include public folder mailboxes or public folder databases.
Both active and passive databases backup on the server
You can back up both active and passive databases on Exchange Server mailbox servers in the DAG environment. You can perform both full and incremental backups.
Backup to a local storage node in a stand-alone You can configure a virtual client to direct its environment backups to the storage node on the physical host on which it resides. To configure a virtual client, type curphyhost in the Storage Nodes attribute of the virtual client. This variable is not supported for DAG environments. The EMC NetWorker Administration Guide provides more information about curphyhost. Backup to a remote storage node in a DAG or non-DAG environment
You can perform Exchange Server database backups by using a remote NetWorker storage node. The Exchange server and NetWorker storage node are on different computers in the non-DAG environment. You can perform both full and incremental backups. NMM does not support server-based dedicated storage nodes in a DAG environment. Select No for the Dedicated storage node option in the Device properties dialog box when configuring the storage node in a DAG environment. Refer to Configuring backups to use a remote storage node in a DAG environment to use a remote storage node in a DAG environment. A typical storage node license is required for DAG LAN-free backups. The EMC NetWorker Administration Guide provides details.
Backup configuration options
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Backup
Configuring NetWorker administrator privileges The NMM client must be manually granted NetWorker administrator privileges to perform media database operations during snapshot deletion. NOTICE
If you set up a proxy client for the NMM client, grant the proxy client NetWorker administrator privileges. If you are setting up an NMM client in a cluster, grant NetWorker administrator privileges to each cluster node and virtual server. You must complete the required steps to manually configure privileges. Procedure 1. Open the NetWorker Administration GUI. 2. Click Server. 3. In the expanded left pane, click User Groups. 4. Right-click the Application Administrators group, and then select Properties. The Properties dialog box appears. 5. In the Users field, add the following values for the NMM client host. Place each value on a separate line: user=administrator,host=NMM_client_host user=system,host=NMM_client_host
where NMM_client_host is the DNS hostname of the NMM client. 6. If a proxy client is set up for the NMM client: l
Where a single user is granted administrator rights to perform all the NetWorker functionality for a host, add the following values: user=administrator,host=NMM_calientproxy_host user=system,host=NMM_clientproxy_host
l
Where multiple users are configured and added to an administrator group and that group is added on the NetWorker privilege list, all the users under this group have administrator rights. To perform all the NetWorker functionality for a host, add the following values: group=administrator,host=NMM_clientproxy_host group=system,host=NMM_clientproxy_host
7. If the NMM client is installed in a cluster, grant NetWorker administrator privileges to each of the following nodes: l
Cluster node (both active and passive nodes)
l
Virtual server
8. Click OK. All NMM users must have administrator level privileges.
Configuring a federated DAG backup You can configure a federated DAG environment by using the Client Configuration wizard or by manually configuring the NetWorker client resources. To manually configure the 44
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client resources, you must specify the Application Information attribute and provide a backup command for the virtual DAG name or the physical DAG nodes.
Manually configuring NetWorker client resources for a federated Exchange Server backup Verify that the NetWorker client resources of the physical DAG nodes are not part of any backup group. The physical client resources of the DAG should be in the same protection Group as the DAG client resource. The physical client resources should have the Scheduled backup checkbox cleared. Procedure 1. Create a NetWorker client resource for each physical DAG node and the virtual DAG name. 2. Specify save set and Application Information attributes and add a backup command under the virtual DAG name. 3. Assign DAG client resource to the policy.
Complete list of Exchange Server Application Information attributes The table below provides the complete list of Application Information attributes for Exchange Server client resource configurations. Table 14 Exchange Application Information attribute settings
Attribute name
Description
Values
NSR_EXCH_CHECK=value
Specifies if consistency check should be run or not for databases.
Yes or no If you do not specify a value, NMM applies the following default values: l
Exchange Server DAG backup: no
l
Exchange Server stand-alone backups: yes
If the value is no, then NMM indicates that the consistency check is skipped in the backup log files. NSR_EXCH_DAG=
Optional, to FQDN of the DAG. specify the For example, DAG name for NSR_EXCH_DAG=mydag.domainname.com a backup in a DAG environment.
NSR_EXCH_BACKUP= active/passive/ preferred or all
To back up only active database copies.
l
Active—Back up only active database copies.
l
Passive—Back up only passive database copies.
l
Preferred—Back up only passive copy or replica of each database if one is available. If no passive database exists, then the active database is backed up.
l
All—Back up both active and passive databases.
Complete list of Exchange Server Application Information attributes
45
Backup
Table 14 Exchange Application Information attribute settings (continued)
Attribute name
Description
NSR_EXCLUDE_COMPONENTS Excludes =db1,db2… specified databases from backup
Values Name of database
Viewing a valid application data save set When configuring a client resource, you must type the save sets in the Save Set attribute of the client resource. To display a list of the application data save sets that are available for backup, open a command prompt on the Exchange server and type the required command as provided in the following table. Table 15 Commands for displaying valid application data save sets
Application server
Command
Exchange Server stand-alone node
At the command prompt, type: nsrnmmsv -P Example output:
“APPLICATIONS:\Microsoft Exchange 2010” “APPLICATIONS:\Microsoft Exchange 2010\Database 1” “APPLICATIONS:\Microsoft Exchange 2010\Database 2” “APPLICATIONS:\Microsoft Exchange 2010\ Database 3” “APPLICATIONS:\Microsoft Exchange 2010\ Database 4” 68150:nsrnmmsv:nsrnmmsv: Exiting with success. This command only provides a list of databases on the Exchange server from which you run the command. To include the state of the database (verbose output), type: nsrnmmsv -P Exchange Server DAG
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At the command prompt, type the following on any node in the DAG: nsrnmmsv -A NSR_FEDERATED_BACKUP=yes -A NSR_EXCH_DAG= -P
Backup
Table 15 Commands for displaying valid application data save sets (continued)
Application server
Command Example output:
“APPLICATIONS:\Microsoft Exchange 2010” “APPLICATIONS:\Microsoft Exchange 2010\DB1” “APPLICATIONS:\Microsoft Exchange 2010\DB2” “APPLICATIONS:\Microsoft Exchange 2010\DB3” “APPLICATIONS:\Microsoft Exchange 2010\DB4” “APPLICATIONS:\Microsoft Exchange 2010\DB5” The output contains all databases in the DAG. The -v option does not apply.
Note
Remove the quotation marks when copying the save set name from the output. Note
Each line of output corresponds to a save set entry that you can add to the save set attribute of a client resource. Type each entry on a separate line.
URL encoding for Exchange save sets When specifying save set names in the save set attribute of the client resource, you must specify some special characters, such as the backward slash (\), by their URL-encoded values. The following table lists the most commonly used special characters and their URL values. Table 16 Special characters and their URL-encoded values
Special character
URL-encoded value
Special character
URL-encoded value
\
%5C
?
%3F
/
%2F
]
%5D
"
%22
[
%5B
%
%25
}
%7D
#
%23
{
%7B
&
%26
^
%5E
Viewing a valid application data save set
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Table 16 Special characters and their URL-encoded values (continued)
Special character
URL-encoded value
Special character
URL-encoded value
%3E
|
%7C
When configuring a client resource, you must type the save sets in the save set attribute of the client resource. This section describes how to find the exact name of a particular database, or Exchange Server instance and database combination that must be backed up during a scheduled backup.
Viewing volumes to back up for recovery To view the volumes that you must back up to perform an Exchange Server recovery, perform either of the following steps using the NMM GUI: l
Right-click the Exchange Writer level save set for which you want to view the required volumes, and select Required volumes. The Required NetWorker Volumes dialog box with details about the volume appears.
l
Select any of the backed up databases and click Required volumes. The Required NetWorker Volumes dialog box with details about the volume appears.
Circumstances that promote incremental or subsequent backups to full backup The incremental or subsequent backups promote to full backups during the following circumstances: l
NMM cannot find a full backup for the database within the specified save set.
l
You add a Mailbox database to an existing save set.
l
NMM detects log gaps between the last backup and the current set of logs. For example, there are gaps between highest log number retrieved from index and the lowest log number retrieved from the disk.
l
You change the database or the logs path after the last full backup.
l
You reinstall NMM.
l
You restart the backup client (Exchange Server).
l
You expand the disk size, where an Exchange MailboxDatabase exists.
Example of a federated backup The following figure illustrates an example of a federated backup of a DAG cluster with three Exchange servers: MBX1, MBX2, and MBX3. The cluster contains four Exchange databases: DB1, DB2, DB3, and DB4. Each database can only have one active copy, but can have multiple passive or replica copies. In this example, there are two passive copies of DB1: one copy is on two different Exchange servers (MBX2 and MBX3). The other databases (DB2, DB3, and DB4) only have one passive copy each in the cluster. Only one copy of each database must be backed up. The preferred server order list specifies to back up databases from the DAG in this order: MBX2, MBX3, and MBX1. The figure below illustrates an example Exchange Server federated backup.
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Figure 8 Example of an Exchange Server federated backup
Verifying a backup To verify that a backup is successful, type the following at a command prompt on the NetWorker client: mminfo -Sot -s NW server -c NMM client
where: l
NW server is the name of the NetWorker server.
l
NMM Client is the DAG name or Exchange Server mailbox server name.
Verifying a backup
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CHAPTER 4 Mail Item Recovery
This chapter includes the following sections: l l l l l
Overview............................................................................................................... 52 Exchange recovery prerequisites........................................................................... 58 Configuring Exchange Server recovery................................................................... 59 Recovery procedures............................................................................................. 61 Best practices and recommendations....................................................................72
Mail Item Recovery
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Overview An Exchange recovery can serve many different purposes. The smallest unit of granularity of a backup is an Exchange database, log files, and checkpoint files. Those backups can be used to recover entire servers, individual databases, or mailbox items. When you perform backups of a Microsoft Exchange environment with NMM, the following recovery options are available for stand-alone and high-availability environments: l
Recover to the original location on the original Exchange server
l
Recover to the Exchange Server RDB on the original Exchange server
l
Recover to an Exchange Server RDB on a different Exchange server
l
Message-level recovery using the Exchange GLR option
Note
Exchange Server 2016 does not support GLR and RDB. The EMC NetWorker Performing Exchange Server Granular Recovery by using NetWorker Module for Microsoft with Ontrack PowerControls Technical Notes provides information about how to perform GLR of Exchange Server 2016.
Recovery types NMM provides many levels of recovery, such as recovering databases or recovering individual messages in a user mailbox.
Database level recovery When you recover a database, you generally overwrite the current database unless you recover to an RDB. See Recovering Exchange Server mailbox, public folder database, or public folder mailbox files on page 70.
Message level and granular level recovery When you must retrieve individual user mailboxes, user mail folders, or messages, you can do so without overwriting entire mail databases. You can recover a database to an Exchange RDB, and then use NMM GUI to select and recover individual mailboxes, folders, or messages. Message and Granular Level Recovery on page 52 provides the recovery procedures. You can also use the PowerShell cmdlets to recover the data.
DAG recovery A DAG backup provides access to backups of all Exchange databases through one NMM client, although they came from multiple Exchange servers in the DAG. You perform the recovery to the Exchange server that is hosting the active database copy. The recovery process to recover from a DAG backup is the same as a normal DAG recovery.
Public mailbox folder and database recovery You can recover public folder mailboxes (Exchange Server 2013 and 2016) and public folder databases (Exchange Server 2010) just as you would any other mailbox database.
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Recovering Exchange data This topic provides an overview of an Exchange database recovery. In a conventional Exchange recovery, entire databases are replaced or recovered. When you recover entire databases, it overwrites the current content at that location with the recovered data. If you do not want to overwrite the current content, you can recover the databases to an alternate location on the same Exchange Server. You can recover the RDB and GLR data to a different Exchange Server. Use NMM GUI to browse mail folders and locate individual messages. The figure below illustrates a simple recovery of the Exchange databases in a stand-alone Exchange Server environment. Figure 9 Recovery in a stand-alone Exchange Server environment
In a stand-alone environment, you can recover the data to an alternate MailboxDatabase on the same Exchange Server. You can recover the RDB and GLR data to a different Exchange Server. Use NMM GUI to browse mail folders and locate individual messages.
Recovering Exchange data
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Figure 10 Recovery to an alternate MailboxDatabase in a stand-alone Exchange Server environment
Recovering individual mailboxes, mailbox folders, and messages Retrieving and restoring large backups can use much network, memory, processor, and storage resources. Depending on the topology and architecture a site or organization uses, the recovery operations might also affect production server performance, which can impact mail users. NMM provides several methods for recovering individual items within an Exchange database, such as individual user mailboxes, mailbox folders, and messages. These methods offer several advantages over full server or database recovery: l
You can recover backup data to an alternate location without overwriting the existing databases or servers.
l
You can browse and select individual items from the recovered data, and then recover the items to the individual’s mailbox.
With NMM, you can recover individual items by using one the following methods: l
54
Granular level recovery—NMM mounts the backup set to a virtual drive, where you can browse the contents of the backup without actually moving or copying the data. NMM creates this virtual drive in minutes and does not require significant disk storage space. You can browse and select the data from this virtual drive, as if you were viewing the actual database, down to the message level. Only when you send the recovery request to the NMM server are actual items copied out of the backup set to the user’s mailbox. The recovered items are placed in a new Recovered items folder in the user’s mailbox. The user can browse and select the items to keep, just like any other folder in their mailbox. Using GLR saves you the time and space that is needed to browse the actual database, and saves you time and resources by only retrieving the items that you select, not entire databases.
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l
Recover to RDB—You can also recover databases to an RDB, and then browse those databases to select mailboxes, user folders, or messages for recovery. When you restore to an RDB, you can browse the database offline, on a separate server, or from in a folder location that is separate from the online production Exchange server. While this method allows you to browse and retrieve items without overwriting the live Exchange databases or user mailbox, recovery to an RDB does require disk space, network resources, and processor resources to stage the databases in the RDB. When you recover to an RDB, it takes time to copy gigabytes or terabytes of data from one location to another. NMM recovers the backup to the RDB, then you can browse and retrieve individual items.
Compare the following figures, which illustrate: l
Recover using NMM Granular Level Recovery.
l
Recover to an RDB, and recover data from the RDB to a user mailbox.
Recovering individual mailboxes, mailbox folders, and messages
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Figure 11 Recover using NMM granular level recovery
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Figure 12 Recover to an RDB, and then recover data from the RDB to a user mailbox
Recovering individual mailboxes, mailbox folders, and messages
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NOTICE
An RDB can only be used for recovering mailbox database data. It cannot be used to recover public folders.
Exchange recovery prerequisites This topic describes the required prerequisites for a recovery of Exchange data using NMM. The following requirements must be met before you can recover Exchange Server data: l
Verify that the correct version of the Messaging API (MAPI) and Collaboration Data Objects (CDO) kit is installed. MAPI client and Collaboration Data Objects on page 28 provides details.
l
For each Exchange database to be recovered, you must select the This database can be overwritten by a restore Exchange checkbox in the Exchange Management Console. This step is a Microsoft requirement. In PowerShell, the flag is called GetMailboxDatabase -Identity |select AllowFileRestore and must be set to true. The Microsoft Exchange documentation provides more information about this checkbox.
l
When creating an RDB, do not use symbols in the folder name. RDB item level recovery fails with an error if the folder name contains a symbol. For example, the folder name that is used is “Recovered Data - sec77 04/03/2013 18:28:45”.
l
Exchange does not support restoring public folder mailboxes (Exchange Server 2013 and 2016), or public folder databases (Exchange Server 2010) to RDBs.
l
During recovery, when recovering mailbox items to a production database, ensure that the user mailbox is not full. If the allowed mailbox space is exceeded, then the item level recovery fails.
l
When you overwrite existing databases with the recovery, perform a full level backup after every recovery performed in Exchange Server. This does not apply to RDB or granular restores.
Additional requirements for browsing mailboxes The following topic describes the requirements for browsing Exchange RDB mailboxes. l
Databases must be online. NMM does not display mailboxes in offline databases.
l
For Exchange Server 2010 and 2013, the MAPI/CDO 1.21 kit must be installed.
l
Exchange System Attendant and Information Store services must be running.
l
Log in with the user you created with the NMM Exchange Admin Configuration tool. The logged in user must have a configured mailbox with at least one mail sent or received.
l
You must have backed up the writer set, database, or storage group save set: n
For Exchange Server 2010: Writer: APPLICATIONS:\Microsoft Exchange 2010 Database: APPLICATIONS:\Microsoft Exchange 2010\Database
n
58
For Exchange Server 2013: Writer: APPLICATIONS:\Microsoft Exchange 2013
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Database: APPLICATIONS:\Microsoft Exchange 2013\Database n
For Exchange Server 2016: Writer: APPLICATIONS:\Microsoft Exchange 2016 Database: APPLICATIONS:\Microsoft Exchange 2016\Database
Additional requirements for recovering databases in a DAG The following topic provides requirement details for recovering an Exchange DAG database. For DAG recovery, ensure that the database recovery node and state are correct. You must perform the recovery to the DAG member server on an active node. The restored databases must be in active state. Passive copies of the databases must be in Exchange replication suspended state. If the copies are not in suspended state, then you must manually suspend passive copies before a recovery is performed. You can suspend replication in the following three ways: l
By using the Exchange Shell command and calling SuspendMailboxDatabaseCopy cmdlet
l
For Exchange Server 2010, through the Exchange Management Console using Suspend Database Copy
l
For Exchange Server 2013 and 2016, through the Exchange Admin Center using Suspend
Resume the passive database copies after the restore. The Microsoft documentation provides details.
Configuring Exchange Server recovery This section provides the required procedures for configuring an Exchange Server recovery.
Specifying Exchange recovery options Procedure 1. Open the NMM client user interface. 2. Select the NetWorker Server on which the NMM client software was configured for backup. 3. If the NMM client is part of a cluster, select the virtual client to which you are recovering data. You can select the virtual client from the client list attribute in the application toolbar. 4. From the left pane, select Exchange 2010 Recover Session, Exchange 2013 Recover Session, or Exchange 2016 Recover Session and then select one of the following: l
Database Recover to view Exchange database backups and recover to RDB and perform either in-place recovery or alternate recovery from database backups. This is the default option for Exchange Server 2010 and 2013 and the only available option for Exchange Server 2016.
l
RDB Mailbox Recover to browse and recover mailbox items from existing RDB databases.
l
Granular Level Recover to browse and recover items from databases without first having to restore the database to an RDB. Additional requirements for recovering databases in a DAG
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5. In the Exchange Server Session toolbar, click Recover Options. 6. Select the type of recovery to perform: l
To recover data for Exchange Server and retain all existing Exchange transactions that occurred after the time of backup, select Include existing logs (Roll forward recovery).
l
To recover data for Exchange Server up to the time of backup only and to not include subsequent transactions, select Include logs only from this restore (Pointin-time recovery). After performing a point-in-time recovery, roll-forward recovery cannot be performed because the point-in-time recovery replaces the logs that were generated after the backup.
l
To mount the database after the restore, select Put database online after restore.
l
To recover the database and transaction logs from the backup without trying to replay the transaction logs, select Do not replay the transaction logs. The database also cannot be mounted after the restore. If you select this option, you must manually replay the transaction logs by running the Exchange utility eseutil.exe.
l
To specify the number of retries when trying to mount the database, select a number from the Number of attempts to try before failing on mount drop-down list.
7. Click OK to close the Exchange Recover Options dialog box. 8. From the navigation tree, expand the folder Microsoft Exchange 2010, Microsoft Exchange 2013, or Microsoft Exchange 2016. 9. Select the Exchange databases that are to be recovered. 10. From the Exchange 2010 Recover Session, Exchange 2013 Recover Session, or Exchange 2016 Recover Session toolbar, click Recover.
Configuring roll-forward recovery of an Exchange server in a DAG environment NOTICE
Perform the recovery from the node where the recovered database is active. Procedure 1. To identify the Exchange database that must be recovered, use the Exchange Management Console (EMC), the Exchange Administrative Console (EAC), or a shell script to determine the DAG member where the active copy of the database resides. The topic Additional requirements for recovering databases in a DAG on page 59 provides additional details. 2. In the Exchange Management Console or Exchange Administrative Console application, select the This database can be overwritten by a restore checkbox. 3. In the Exchange Management shell, stop replication of any passive copies of the database with the suspend-MailboxDatabaseCopy command. The topic Additional requirements for recovering databases in a DAG provides additional details. For example: Suspend-MailboxDatabaseCopy -Identity "bv-e15svr1\First Database"
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4. Open the NMM client. 5. Select the NetWorker Server on which the NMM client software was configured for backup. 6. On the main toolbar, select the Client drop-down list, and then select the client that is the Exchange DAG. 7. From the left pane, select Exchange Recover, and then select Database Recover to view Exchange database backups. 8. Click View and then click Refresh. 9. From the navigation tree, expand the Microsoft Exchange 2010 or the Microsoft Exchange 2013 folder. 10. Select the Exchange Server items that you want to restore. You can select more than one database for recovery. You can select backups of active or passive databases for recovery. 11. From the Exchange Recover Session toolbar, click Recover. The Exchange Recovery Options Summary dialog box appears. 12. Review the options: l
If you must change the options, click Recover Options. This opens the Exchange Recover Options dialog box, where you can change settings on the General, NetWorker, Security, and Exchange tabs.
l
If the summary does not show that it is a Roll-forward recovery, then click Recover Options, go to the Exchange tab, and in the Transaction Log File Replay dialog box, verify that Include existing logs (Roll-forward recovery) is selected. This is the default setting, but it might have been changed if the previous recovery was a point-in-time recovery.
l
If the options are okay, click the Start Recover button. This closes the Exchange Recover Options dialog box and starts the recovery.
13. Click Restore. 14. After the restore operation completes, restore replication between the nodes with the resume-MailboxDatabaseCopy command. For example: resume-MailboxDatabaseCopy -Identity "bv-hood-e15svr1\First Database" NOTICE
Perform a full backup after performing a roll-forward recovery.
Recovery procedures The following topics describe the procedures on methods to perform a recovery using NMM.
Recovering NetWorker Module for Microsoft Exchange backups NetWorker Module for Microsoft Exchange (NME) and NMM cannot be installed on the same client. NME and NMM use some of the same binaries for item level browsing and recovery, so running both NME and NMM on the same client causes versioning conflicts for the common binaries. Recovery procedures
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To recover NME data after migrating from NME to NMM, perform the following steps: Procedure 1. Uninstall NMM, leaving the NetWorker client software running. 2. Install NME. 3. Recover the NME data. 4. Uninstall NME. 5. Re-install NMM.
Mounting the database after recovery Certain Exchange pre- and post-restore operations enable quick access to email after recovery. Until you remount Exchange databases, email is not available for users to browse and verify. NMM provides options to automatically mount Exchange databases after restore. The Exchange administrator can decide if a restore of a particular Exchange database is required and if an automatic mounting of the database must be done after the restore is complete: l
If this option is specified, then the database is mounted after the successful restore of the Exchange Server.
l
If this option is disabled, then the administrator must manually mount the database. By default, this option is enabled in NMM.
The EMC NetWorker Module for Microsoft Administration Guide describes how to select or disable the automatic mounting option.
Performing Exchange Server recovery This section provides information on performing an Exchange Server recovery.
Performing a full recovery You can recover the contents of a backed up database to the original database by performing full recovery. Procedure 1. From the left pane, select Exchange Recover Session, and then select one of the following: l
Database Recover (default)—Select to view Exchange database backups.
l
RDB Mailbox Recover—Select to browse and recover Exchange Server items from existing RDB databases.
l
Granular Level Recover—Select to browse and recover items from databases without first having to restore the database to an RDB.
2. If no databases appear, click View > Refresh. 3. Select the database in the NMM user interface. 4. If the database is not listed, select a browse time that includes the wanted backup. The EMC NetWorker Administration Guide provides details. 5. Select Recover in the taskbar.
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NOTICE
Always perform a full backup after performing a point-in-time or roll-forward recovery.
Performing an advanced recovery In NMM, you can click Recover Session > Advanced Recover to recover a database to one of the following: l
A selected Recovery Database (RDB)—Exchange Server 2010 Service Pack 1, Rollup 6 or later, Exchange Server 2013, and Exchange Server 2016 support the ability to restore data directly to an RDB. Mounting the recovered data as an RDB allows you to restore individual mailboxes or individual items in a mailbox. Public folders cannot be recovered to an RDB.
l
An alternate database mounted on the mailbox server.
l
A remote database—In remote database recovery, a selected mailbox database is restored to a remote mailbox server, in the Exchange DAG where the active database resides. The remote database recovery option is only available for Exchange Server DAGs and not for Exchange Server stand-alone.
Alternate and remote recoveries are supported only in the same domain. Cross-domain Exchange recovery is not supported. That is, if two hosts are in different domains, alternate or remote recovery cannot be performed.
Performing a DAG database recovery Procedure 1. Identify the Exchange database that must be recovered: a. Use the Exchange Management Console (EMC), the Exchange Administrative Console (EAC), or a shell script to determine the DAG member where the active copy of the database resides. b. Log in to the Exchange member that is running the active copy of the database that is to be recovered. c. From the EMC, open the database properties and select the This database can be overwritten by a restore checkbox. 2. Suspend all passive copies of the database that are to be recovered. The topic Additional requirements for recovering databases in a DAG on page 59 provides details. 3. From the left pane, select Exchange Recover Session, and then select Database Recover (default). 4. Select the DAG name for the client on which the NMM client software was configured for backup. 5. If no databases appear, click View > Refresh. 6. Select the DAG database to be recovered. You can browse and recover individual mailboxes and mailbox items from the list on the right pane. 7. In the Exchange Recover Session toolbar, click the Advanced Recover option. The Advanced Recovery dialog box appears. The Steps group lists the three steps for recovery: Performing Exchange Server recovery
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l
Select Recovery
l
Select DB & Server
l
Summary
Figure 13 Advanced Recovery dialog box
Select Recover Options to skip the steps for Advanced Recovery and perform full recovery of the database listed in Database (Source). 8. In the Select Recovery Type group, under Recovery Type, select one of the following choices and click Next: l
Recovery Database (RDB) Recovery—The topic Recovering to a recovery database (RDB) on page 64 provides the remaining steps of the procedure.
l
Alternate Database Recovery—The topic Recovering to an alternate database on page 67 provides the remaining steps of the procedure.
l
Remote Database Recovery—The topic Recovering to a remote database on page 67 provides the remaining steps of the procedure.
9. The Exchange Recovery Summary dialog box appears. This dialog box lists the Exchange Server Recovery options, the NetWorker Recovery Options and allows you to review the details before continuing. Figure 14 Exchange Recovery Summary dialog box
To continue with recovery, click Start Recovery. Recovering to a Recovery Database (RDB) RDB recovery is possible only when Exchange 2010 Service Pack 1, Rollup 6 or later, or Exchange Server 2013 is installed. The following recovery configurations are possible: 64
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l
An RDB can be created and recovered on a DAG member server that has a passive copy of the database.
l
An RDB recovery can be done from any DAG node for any DAG Mailbox databases.
l
An RDB recovery can be performed from other mailbox server which is not part of the DAG but part of the same Exchange organization.
To browse the Exchange Server Recovery Database (RDB) for mailbox, folder, and message recovery, it is no longer necessary to install both the CAS and mailbox roles on the same server. In a multi-tenant environment, an administrator is created for each tenant. But when the user logs in as a domain administrator and performs RDB browsing, there is a conflict in names due to existence of more than one administrator. To work around this issue, create a user (for example, NMMBackupUser) and add this user as member of the Organization Management group to each of the tenants. RDB browsing fails if the user credentials that are used for the operation have an Alias in Active Directory. In this situation, you must create a user (without an Alias) and install NMM with the credentials of the new user. Provide the necessary permissions and use the user account for RDB browsing operations. Performing an RDB recovery Procedure 1. In the Exchange Recover Session toolbar, click the Advanced Recover option. 2. In the Advanced Recovery dialog box, select Recovery Database (RDB) Recovery and click Next. The Manage RDB dialog box appears, as shown in the following figure. Figure 15 Manage RDB dialog box
3. To create an RDB, click Create. The Create RDB dialog box appears.
Performing Exchange Server recovery
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Mail Item Recovery
Figure 16 Create RDB dialog box
4. In the RDB Name field, type a name for the new RDB. 5. In the EBD File Path field, browse and select the file path location for the new RDB. 6. In the Log File Path field, browse and select the location for the log file. Previously, due to a Microsoft requirement, the Exchange Server 2010 database logs path and Mailbox databases that reside on the same volume could not be stored in the same file path location. This restriction has been lifted. 7. Click Create. The new RDB is created and appears in the Recovery Database (RDB) List. 8. From the Manage RDB dialog box, you can also: l
Delete a RDB—Select the RDB from the Recovery Database (RDB) List and click Delete. Figure 17 Delete confirmation dialog box
l
Unmount a RDB—If an RDB is mounted but you are getting an error during recovery, you can unmount the RDB and then re-mount the same or another RDB for recovery. To unmount an RDB, select the RDB from the Recovery Database (RDB) list and click Unmount.
l
Mount a RDB—Select an RDB from the Recovery Database (RDB) List and click Mount. Note
Only one RDB can be mounted at a time. Ensure that the RDB is mounted on the current node of the NMM client for successful recovery. If the recovered database is not mounted on the current node or if replication is on, then the recovery fails. l
66
Overwrite a RDB—Select an RDB from the Recovery Database (RDB) List and click RDB Overwrite.
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The RDB is overwritten by the recovery operation. Ensure that the RDB is mounted before continuing to the next step. 9. Select the created RDB and click Next. Recovering to an alternate database Alternate database recovery is supported on any Mailbox server. In this type of recovery, the backed up Mailbox database is recovered to a new database other than the original Mailbox database. Alternate database recovery is supported in both Exchange Server stand-alone and DAG environments. Procedure 1. In the Advanced Recovery dialog box, select Alternate Database Recovery for recovery to an alternate database and click Next. The Select Database dialog box with a list of alternate databases appears, as shown in the following figure. Figure 18 Select Database dialog box
2. Select the database which you want to recover to and click Next. The Exchange Recovery Summary dialog box appears. This dialog box lists the Exchange Server recovery options, the NetWorker recovery options and allows you to review the details before continuing with recovery. 3. To continue with recovery, click Start Recovery. Recovering to a remote database By performing remote recovery, you can start roll-forward or PIT recovery from a mailbox server that is not actually mounted. After remote recovery is started from DAG member server where the Mailbox database is not mounted (the Mailbox database with the passive copy) the recovery service nsrsnap_vss_recover.exe is automatically started in the DAG member server on the Mailbox database with the active copy. Note
Remote database recovery is supported only in a DAG environment. You cannot perform a remote recovery to a host that is not a part of DAG. 1. In the Advanced Recovery dialog box, select Remote Database Recovery for recovery to a remote database in an Exchange DAG member and click Next. The Select Server dialog box appears with a list of remote databases.
Performing Exchange Server recovery
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Figure 19 Select Server dialog box
2. Select the database to which you want to perform the recovery and click Next. The Exchange Recovery Summary dialog box appears. This dialog box lists the Exchange Server recovery options and the NetWorker recovery options and allows you to review the details before continuing with recovery. 3. To continue with recovery, click Start Recovery.
Accessing archive mailboxes in Recovery Databases Microsoft does not support access to archive mailboxes in the RDB through MAPI. A MAPI_E_FAILONEPROVIDER (0x8004011d) error occurs when a MAPI application tries to log in. You can work around this by using the New-MailboxRestoreRequest cmdlet to restore data from the archive mailbox in the Recovery Database. Procedure 1. Get the archive mailbox GUID from the get-mailbox cmdlet for the user whose archive mailbox you want to restore. For example, in PowerShell: C:\>Get-Mailbox | Fl Name, Archive* ... ArchiveGuid :
2. Run the New-MailboxRestoreRequest cmdlet. For example, in PowerShell: C:\>New-MailboxRestoreRequest -RecoveryDatabase -RecoveryMailbox -TargetFolder Identity
Results This restores the mailbox data back to a live mailbox, where the user can work with it. The Microsoft TechNet article “Restore-Mailbox” available at http:// technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb125218.aspx provides more information about using this command.
Recovering deleted Exchange Server mailboxes, public folder databases, or public folder mailboxes NMM supports recovering the following Exchange Server databases outside of the Exchange VSS process: l
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Exchange Server mailbox databases
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l
Exchange Server public folder mailboxes (Exchange Server 2013 and 2016) and public folder databases (Exchange Server 2010)
This capability allows you to recover mailbox databases and mailboxes that have been removed from the Exchange server and the Active Directory. You can also recover these items so that you can perform data mining for Exchange public folder mailboxes or public folder databases with third-party tools. Procedure 1. In the NMM user interface, select the NMM client and then use the Recover > Exchange Recover Session > Database Recover option to recover the deleted database. If the database is not listed, select a browse time that includes the wanted backup. The EMC NetWorker Administration Guide provides details. Although the job summary does not note that the recovery is to a Windows file system, if the database itself is online, there is no danger of over-writing the live database. 2. Select the mailbox database that you want to recover and click Recover Options. 3. Click the Exchange tab and click Select Destination. 4. Select the Restore Deleted Database Files on File System checkbox. 5. Browse to the target location where NMM recovers the mailbox database files. 6. Click OK. 7. Recover the deleted Exchange databases. Microsoft documentation provides information. 8. Perform data mining by using the third-party tools such as, Kroll Ontrack PowerControls. EMC NetWorker Performing Exchange Server Granular Recovery by using NetWorker Module for Microsoft with Ontrack PowerControls Technical Notes provides information.
Performing a quick recovery of a deleted mailbox The procedure to recover a deleted mailbox is performed independent of NMM backup or recovery operations. If a user mailbox is deleted, you can quickly recover the mailbox through the Exchange Management Console. Procedure 1. In the Exchange Management Console, ensure that deleted user mailbox entry appears under Disconnected mailbox under Recipient management. 2. Re-create the user mailbox with same name. 3. Disable the re-created user mailbox. 4. Open the Disconnected mailbox under Recipient management and then select the user mailbox which was accidentally deleted. 5. Right-click the user mailbox and then select Connect. 6. Select the User mailbox radio button, and then click Next. 7. Select Matching user > User mailbox, and then click Next. The deleted user mailbox is then re-created under Recipient management > Mailbox. Performing a quick recovery of a deleted mailbox
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Mail Item Recovery
NOTICE
Re-created deleted mailboxes are not always immediately visible. It might take from 15 minutes to an hour before the mailbox is visible and accessible through Outlook.
Recovering Exchange Server mailbox, public folder database, or public folder mailbox files You can use NMM and third-party software, such as Ontrack PowerControls, to perform a granular recovery of Exchange Server mailbox or public folder databases or mailbox database items. The procedure varies depending on the method you use. The recovery process is the same for all supported versions of Exchange Server, although the backup save sets and application information vary depending on the version Exchange Server you use. Procedure 1. Use NMM to back up the database. 2. Use NMM to perform a flat file recovery of the database by performing one of the following procedures: l
To recover files from a network location: Recovering Exchange Server mailboxes, public folder databases, or public folder mailboxes from a network location on page 70.
l
To recover files to a remote computer: Recovering Exchange Server mailboxes, public folder databases, or public folder mailboxes to a remote computer on page 71.
3. Use third-party software, such as Ontrack PowerControls, to perform a granular recovery of the Exchange flat files. The third-party tool documentation provides information about Exchange flat files.
Recovering Exchange Server mailboxes, public folder databases, or public folder mailboxes from a network location With a third-party tool, such as Ontrack PowerControls, you can use the files in these folders to perform an item-level recovery to a target user mailbox that is in production. Procedure 1. Log in to the DAG node client where you performed the backup. 2. In the NMM user interface, start a recovery session. 3. On the main toolbar, select the Client drop-down list, and then select the DAG client where you performed the backup. 4. Click View and then click Refresh. 5. Click Recover > Exchange Recover Session > Database Recover. The NMM user interface shows the mailbox databases that are available for recovery. 6. Select the mailbox database that you want to recover and click Recover Options. 7. Click the Exchange tab. 8. Select the Restore Deleted Database Files on File System checkbox. 9. Browse to the target location where NMM recovers the mailbox database files. 70
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10. Click OK. 11. Start the flat file recovery of the database by selecting the mailbox, public folder, public folder mailbox, or public folder database you want to recover. 12. From the Exchange Recover toolbar, click Recover. 13. After the flat file recovery completes, verify that the logs and .edb files recovered as expected in the mapped network drive.
Recovering Exchange Server mailboxes, public folder databases, or public folder mailboxes to a remote computer To recover the Exchange Server mailboxes, public folder database, or public folder mailbox flat file to a remote computer, you must map a network drive and specify that network drive path as the value for a new registry entry named ExchangeDataFilePath. With a third-party tool, such as Ontrack PowerControls, you can use the files in these folders to perform item-level recovery to a target user mailbox that is in production. Procedure 1. On the remote computer that you will recover the database to, create a folder. For example: E:\folder. 2. On the DAG node where you performed the backup, map a network drive to the folder you created on the remote computer. For example, Z:\ is a mapped network drive on the DAG node, and Z:\ points to E:\folder on the remote computer. 3. On the remote computer, open the NMM client user interface. 4. On the main toolbar, click Options > Configure Options. 5. In the Configuration Options dialog box, next to the Client name field, click the Refresh button. 6. In the Select Viewable Clients dialog box, click the client where you performed the backup and then click Add. 7. Click OK. 8. On the main toolbar, select the Client drop-down list, and then select the DAG client where you performed the backup. 9. From the left pane, select Recover, select Exchange 2010 Recover Session, Exchange 2013 Recover Session, or Exchange 2016 Recover Session and then select Database Recover. The NMM user interface shows the mailboxes, public folder databases, or public folder mailboxes that are available for recovery. 10. Select the mailboxes, public folder databases, or public folder mailboxes you want to recover and click Recover Options. 11. Click the Exchange tab. 12. Select the Restore Deleted Database Files on File System checkbox. 13. Browse to the target location where NMM recovers the files. 14. Click OK. 15. After the flat file recovery completes, verify that NMM recovered the logs and .edb files to the folder you created.
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Best practices and recommendations Review the following best practices for Exchange backup and recovery. l
Also, as well as scheduled full backups, you should perform a full backup of Exchange Server after: n
Every successful recovery.
n
Upgrading to NMM from previous releases of NetWorker clients.
n
Upgrading to a new Exchange version or Service Pack.
n
You change the database directory path or the Log Path or System Path.
l
Ensure that you have mounted all databases before backing up the Exchange Servers. Unmounted databases are not backed up.
l
If a mailbox server is added to a DAG and one of the databases is then backed up, either refresh the NMM user interface, or close the NMM user interface and then reopen it.
l
If you delete Exchange objects like storage groups and databases in Exchange Server, you cannot recover these objects until you perform disaster recovery. Objects from the Exchange Server should not be deleted unless they no longer must be recovered.
l
After upgrading to the NMM client from the NetWorker Module for Exchange (NME), you cannot recover Exchange backups that were performed with NME. To ensure that you can recover all Exchange data to the point-in-time of the upgrade, perform a full backup of Exchange data immediately after upgrading to the NMM client.
l
Save sets and backup groups that include the Exchange writer cannot include any other volumes, applications, or non-Exchange items in the save set.
Exchange recovery limitations Review the following limitation when backing up and restoring Exchange objects with NMM. Roll-forward recovery is not possible after point-in-time restore. After you complete a successful point-in-time restore, perform a full backup of the Exchange Server so that you can perform roll-forward recovers.
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CHAPTER 5 Granular Level Recovery
This chapter includes the following sections: l l l l l
Recovering Mailbox items with GLR....................................................................... 74 Recovering individual mailbox items using GLR..................................................... 75 Performing a GLR to an alternate mailbox.............................................................. 76 Performing a GLR on an archive user mailbox........................................................ 77 Performing a GLR to a PST......................................................................................78
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Recovering Mailbox items with GLR In a conventional Exchange database restore, entire databases are replaced or restored. Retrieving large backups and restoring them can use significant network, memory, processor, and storage resources and might also affect production server performance. NMM supports Granular Level Recovery (GLR) so that you can restore individual items within an Exchange database, such as individual user mailboxes, mailbox folders, and messages. Individual folders can be browsed and selected from the restored data, and then restored to the individual’s mailbox. NMM mounts the backup set to a virtual drive, where you can browse the contents of the backup without actually moving or copying the data. During the mount process, NMM copies required log files from the server. The virtual drive is created quickly and does not require any significant amount of disk storage space. You can browse and select the recovered data from this virtual drive as if you were viewing an actual recovery database, down to the folder level. Only when you send the restore request are actual items copied out of the backup set to the user’s mailbox. The items are placed in a folder in the user’s mailbox that is called Restored Items, where the user can browse and select the items to keep - just like any other folder in their mailbox. Using GLR saves you the time and resources that are needed to browse the actual database and retrieves only the items you selected. You can restore to an Exchange Server RDB without disrupting the active production databases and servers. After you restore to the RDB, you can browse and select individual mailboxes to restore to the production server while it is online. After a successful GLR, until you perform another GLR or a different type of a restore operation, the GLR RDB remains mounted and maintains a Read connection with the original device. You must delete the GLR RDB before you can perform a Stage operation. Closing the NMM GUI should remove the GLR RDB. The NetWorker Module for Microsoft Administration Guide provides more information about GLR.
GLR considerations The following requirements must be met to recover granular Exchange data through GLR. l
NMM does not support GLR for Exchange Server 2016 backups.
l
NetWorker Server 9.0 must be installed on the NetWorker server.
l
You must have backed up the writer set or the database or storage group save set with a GLR-compatible version of NMM 9.0 or later: n
For Exchange Server 2010 writer: APPLICATIONS:\Microsoft Exchange 2010
n
For Exchange Server 2010 database: APPLICATIONS:\Microsoft Exchange 2010\Database
n
For Exchange Server 2013 writer: APPLICATIONS:\Microsoft Exchange 2013
n
For Exchange Server 2013 database: APPLICATIONS:\Microsoft Exchange 2013\Database The EMC NetWorker Module for Microsoft Administration Guide provides more information about backups.
l
74
The backup must be a full backup. Incremental backups are incompatible with Exchange GLR.
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l
Public folders or objects cannot be recovered using GLR. For this reason, they are not displayed in the list of folders available for GLR. The GLR can be performed on backups residing on GLR-compatible devices, such as AFTD or Data Domain devices.
l
When browsing folders with more than 10,000 items, NMM might take a significant amount of time to display these items. In this case, do one of the following:
l
n
Restore the entire folder using Exchange GLR without browsing into it.
n
Restore the database to the RDB and then browse from there.
In firewall-enabled environments, you must provide firewall exceptions for the Windows Remote Management services: 1. Click Start, point to Administrative Tools, click Windows Firewall with Advanced Security, and then click Inbound Rules. 2. On the Inbound Rules dialog box, right-click Windows Remote Management Compatibility Mode (HTTP-In) and then click Disable Rule. 3. Right-click Windows Remote Management (HTTP-In) and then click Disable Rule.
Recovering individual mailbox items using GLR The items are placed in a new Restored Items folder in the user’s mailbox. You can mount only one virtual drive at a time and browse one RDB at a time. To recover a different version of the selected database, repeat step 5 on page 75 through step 11 on page 106 on page 76. Changing to a different version dismounts the currently mounted virtual drive. NMM creates a virtual drive with data from the newly selected database. Procedure 1. Open the NMM client user interface. 2. In the host menu, select the NetWorker client on which the NMM client software was configured for backup. 3. If the NMM client is part of a DAG, select the virtual client name of the DAG to which you are recovering data. You can select the virtual client from the client list attribute in the application toolbar. 4. From the left pane, select Recover, select Exchange Recover Session, and then select Granular Recover. 5. Select the mailbox database to recover. Figure 20 Individual mailbox databases
Only full backups are compatible with GLR. 6. In the Exchange Server Session toolbar, click Recover. l
If the backup is GLR-compatible, the recovery continues.
l
If the backup is not GLR-compatible, you are prompted to select a version of the save set that is GLR-compatible. To select a GLR-compatible save set: Recovering individual mailbox items using GLR
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Granular Level Recovery
a. Click Yes. b. Select a backup from the list of backups. c. Check the Use selected item backup time as new browse time checkbox and then click OK. NMM creates an RDB and performs the recovery. 7. In the Exchange Recovery Summary dialog box, click Start Recover. 8. Click OK to clear the Recovered RDB Mailbox Items dialog box. 9. Expand the database to find user mailboxes and folders. Stop here if you want to restore items to an alternate mailbox, and follow the instructions in the topic Performing a GLR to an alternate mailbox. For example, if you want to restore items from Steve’s mailbox to John’s mailbox. Figure 21 Sample mailbox
10. Click Recover and then Start Recover to recover the selected folders.
Performing a GLR to an alternate mailbox You can recover of individual mailbox items, including folders, from any number of active users to any other active user in the Exchange organization. Recovery is not supported for deleted users. Note
Folder names containing / and \ are not recovered. When you recover to an alternate mailbox, NMM creates a Recovered Items folder under the root of the alternate mailbox. Inside this Recovered Items folder, NMM creates sub folders that contain the contents of each user’s recovered mailbox items. For example, you want to recover some of UserYY and UserZZ’s mail items to UserA’s mailbox. NMM creates a folder in UserA’s mailbox called Recovered Items YYYY-MM-DD hh:mm:ss, where YYYY-MM-DDD hh:mm:ss indicate the date and time of the recovery. Inside that folder, NMM creates sub-folders for each user, for example UserYY and UserZZ, and re-creates each user’s respective folder structure and mail items. Procedure 1. Mount the backup to a virtual drive. 76
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Note
Do not click Recover in the last step. 2. In the Advanced Recovery dialog box, select Alternate Mailbox User. 3. Select the user account for the mailbox. l
To search for a specific user: a. In the Name dialog box, type a name. b. Click Search. c. Confirm the user.
l
To list all users in the Exchange organization: a. Click List All Users. b. Select the user from the list that appears.
4. Click Next. The recovery starts.
Performing a GLR on an archive user mailbox The NMM software does not support the Exchange Server archive mailbox feature. To perform an item level recovery of an archive user mailbox, use the NewMailboxRestoreRequest command to recover personal PST information from an RDB, which is recovered by NMM. Procedure 1. Create an archive mailbox with a folder, and add a few email messages in to the folder. 2. Back up the mailbox database that contains the archive mailbox. 3. Perform RDB recovery. 4. Run the following command to retrieve the ArchiveGuid for the archive mailbox using Exchange Management Shell: [>] C:\Windows\system32>get-mailbox arch2 | Fl Name, Archive* Name : arch2 ArchiveDatabase : ArchiveDB2 ArchiveGuid : 3daa752d-a77c-47b7-ad6e-5a2aa6ee2579 ArchiveName : {Personal Archive - arch2} ArchiveQuota : 50 GB (53,687,091,200 bytes) ArchiveWarningQuota : 45 GB (48,318,382,080 bytes) ArchiveDomain : ArchiveStatus : None
5. Run the following command to recover Archive PST information using Exchange Management Shell: [>] C:\Windows\system32>New-MailboxRestoreRequest -RecoveryDatabase RDB-arch -RecoveryMailbox 3daa752d-a77c-47b7-ad6e-5a2aa6ee2579 TargetFolder arch-folder -Identity arch2
6. Confirm that you want to perform the recovery. Performing a GLR on an archive user mailbox
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Performing a GLR to a PST You can recover a user mailbox from any active user in the Exchange organization and place the recovered mailbox items in a PST. Recovery is not supported for deleted users. Before you begin The PST role is not available by default. To configure the role, run the following PowerShell cmdlet: New-ManagementRoleAssignment –Role "Mailbox Import Export" –
where is the Exchange administrator username. Procedure 1. Open the NMM client user interface. 2. From the left pane, select Exchange Recover Session, and then select one of the following: Option
Description
RDB Mailbox Recover (default)
Browse and recover Exchange 2010 and 2013 items from an existing RDB database. Select this option to perform a PST export from an existing RDB.
Granular Level Recover
Browse and recover items from databases without first having to restore the database to an RDB. Select this option if no RDB currently exists.
Note
Database Recover overwrites existing production mailboxes, which does not produce the correct results. 3. If no databases appear, click View > Refresh. 4. Select the database in the NMM user interface. If the database is not listed, select a browse time that includes the wanted backup. The EMC NetWorker Administration Guide provides details. 5. Select Recover in the taskbar. 6. In the Recover Options dialog box, select the Exchange tab. 7. In the PST Target field, type a UNC filespec for the target PST file. The UNC filespec should include a path and file name ending in .PST. The PST file does not have to exist, but the NMM GUI must be able to write to the target location. 8. Click OK. 9. Click Start Recover from the Recover dialog box. 10. To recover items to a PST file, select the location and name of the PST file in the Exchange Recover Options dialog box. Due to a Microsoft restriction, NMM does not support PST recovery for a single mail item. 78
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If no PST file is specified, then the items that are selected for recovery are recovered to the production server. Once a recover to the PST file has completed, the field containing the location and name of the PST file is cleared.
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CHAPTER 6 Troubleshooting
This chapter includes the following sections: l l l
Troubleshooting general errors..............................................................................82 Troubleshooting backups...................................................................................... 82 Troubleshooting recovery...................................................................................... 84
Troubleshooting
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Troubleshooting general errors This section explain how to resolve general issues you might encounter while using NMM with Exchange Server. PST export operations become stalled Some versions of Exchange Server 2013 do not create all the necessary Exchange Security Groups in Active Directory, which can cause PST export operations to stall in either the Queued or InProgress state. Solution Run the Exchange administrator configuration tool to update the administrator account. If the PST export operation remains stalled, perform the following steps: 1. Stop the Exchange Search and Exchange Search Host Controller services. 2. Dismount the database that contains the NMM Backup User's mailbox. 3. Delete the Content Index folder from the database. This folder is located in the same folder as the database, and its name will be the GUID assigned to the database. For verification, obtain the GUID by using this PowerShell cmdlet: Get-MailboxDatabase [database name] -status | fl guid
4. Restart the Exchange Search and Exchange Search Host Controller services. 5. Wait for the content indexing status to become Healthy or Crawling. View the content indexing status by using the following PowerShell cmdlet: Get-MailboxDatabaseCopyStatus [database name]\[server name] | fl ContentIndexState
6. Retry the PST export.
Troubleshooting backups The following topics explain issues that might occur during the backup process for an Exchange environment, as well as steps to resolve or work around the issues. Unable to browse mailbox items from a recovered database If you are unable to browse mailbox items from a recovered database, you must restore the original (source) mailbox to an alternate (target) mailbox by running the NewMaiboxRestoreRequest or Restore-Mailbox PowerShell cmdlet. Microsoft provides a full list of syntax and parameters for these cmdlets. Solution Table 17 PowerShell cmdlets for restored mailboxes
Exchange version
82
l
Exchange Server 2010 SP1 or later
l
Exchange Server 2013 CU1 or later
l
Exchange Server 2016
PowerShell cmdlet
Microsoft website
NewMailboxRestoreRequest
http:// technet.microsoft.com/en-us/ library/ff829875.aspx
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Table 17 PowerShell cmdlets for restored mailboxes (continued)
Exchange version
PowerShell cmdlet
Microsoft website
Exchange Server 2010
Restore-Mailbox
https:// technet.microsoft.com/en-us/ library/bb125218.aspx
The following examples show the New-MaiboxRestoreRequest and RestoreMailbox cmdlets with sample parameters: l
Exchange Server 2010 SP1 or later and Exchange Server 2013 CU1 or later and Exchange Server 2016: New-MaiboxRestoreRequest -SourceDatabase SourceStoreMailbox TargetMailbox -Targetrootfolder allowlegacydnmismatch $true
l
Exchange Server 2010: Restore-Mailbox -Identity RecoveryDatabase GLR20120320131224 -RecoveryMailbox -IncludeFolders \Inbox -TargetFolder RECOVERY
Unmounted or offline databases are skipped If a database is unmounted or offline when a backup is performed, the backup process skips that database. Generally, this is not an issue because databases that are not mounted are not in production. Event log error: Microsoft Exchange Replication service VSS Writer failed A failed or canceled backup of a passive copy might produce an error in the Event log that the Microsoft Exchange Replication service VSS Writer failed. However, this condition might be temporary. If this backup failure and error occur, there are two solutions. Solution l
If you must perform an immediate backup, stop and then restart the Microsoft Exchange Replication Service writer.
l
If you wait about 15 minutes, the Exchange server automatically corrects this condition.
NTFS softlinks are skipped by default in Windows VSS backups NMM Windows File System backups using the NMM Windows VSS client skips NTFS softlinks (also known as symbolic links or symlinks). Also, if an Exchange Server is configured to save either database files or log files to a softlink path, backups fail. EMC plans to fix this in a future release. MAPI browsing fails in Client Access Server (CAS) array or Network Load Balancing (NLB) setup Sometimes MAPI browsing fails in Client Access Server (CAS) array or Network Load Balancing (NLB) setup where the CAS server is set to a CAS array or NLB in the NMM user interface. The failure might be due to the NLB configuration, NLB type, firewall setup, or other error. Solution Set up the individual CAS servers to directly communicate with CAS server in such setups, instead of creating a CAS Array or NLB through the NMM user interface. Troubleshooting backups
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Unhandled exception occurs during item-level recovery for Exchange Server 2010 GLR RDB When performing item-level recovery to an alternate user mailbox for Exchange Server 2010 GLR, an unhandled exception might occur. Solution Perform the following steps: 1. Close and reopen the NMM UI. 2. Perform GLR. 3. Perform item-level recovery.
Troubleshooting recovery The following topics explain issues that might occur while performing an Exchange recovery, as well as steps to resolve or work around the issues. Exchange Server GLR failing due to error with registry keys If you try to perform GLR after upgrading to a newer version of NMM, the operation may fail. To resolve this issue, delete the following MAPI profile registry keys in the following order: 1. HKEY_LOCALMACHINE\Software\Legato\NetWorker\RecoverOptions \MapiProfile 2. HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows NT \CurrentVersion\Windows Messaging Subsystem\Profiles\Legato NetWorker After deleting these registry keys, GLR operations should complete successfully. Exchange Server 2010 RDB alternate mailbox item-level recovery is failing with error Alternate mailbox item-level recovery for Exchange Server 2010 RDB is failing with error: An unspecified error has occurred. 1 0 19 E_FAIL. Solution The target user must log in to the mailbox through the Outlook Web Application and send a few test mails, and then perform item-level recovery to target user mailbox. Unhandled exception occurs during item-level recovery for Exchange Server 2010 GLR RDB When performing item-level recovery to an alternate user mailbox for Exchange Server 2010 GLR, an unhandled exception might occur. Solution Perform the following steps: 1. Close and reopen the NMM UI. 2. Perform GLR. 3. Perform item-level recovery. In Exchange Server 2010, unhandled exception occurs when mounting RDB after failed recovery Sometimes, after an RDB recovery failure, when the RDB is dismounted and the NMM user interface is left open for a few days without use, and the RDB is then remounted, unhandled exception occurs. Solution Close and reopen the NMM user interface. 84
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In Exchange Server 2010, RDB item level recovery fails with “insufficient permissions to access mailbox” error If the mailbox database where the currently logged in user mailbox resides is notmounted, then an RDB item-level recovery might fail with the following error message: Insufficient permissions to access mailbox Solution To browse the contents in RBD, ensure that the mailbox database where the currently logged in user mailbox resides is mounted. MAPI communicates with the RDB mailbox through the currently logged in user mailbox. For example, if the user is logged in as Administrator, the mailbox database that contains the Administrator mailbox should be mounted. Cannot browse Exchange Server 2010 RDB on a stand-alone server Exchange Server 2010 must have an administrative mailbox to browse an RDB with NMM. This mailbox is created by default. Sometimes, the Active Directory entry for this mailbox becomes corrupt and leads Exchange to believe the following: l
The mailbox does not exist.
l
The user (administrator) already has a mailbox and does not let you create a mailbox.
Solution Perform the following steps: 1. Manually remove all Exchange Active Directory entries for the administrator by using ADSI edit. The administrator is visible. 2. Re-create a mailbox for the administrator. After the new mailbox is created, you can browse the RDB. Recovery fails if new mailbox database is created After backing up a storage group, if you create a mailbox database in the same storage group and then try to recover the storage group, the recovery fails. Solution Dismount the newly created database, back up the storage group, and then recover the backup. Alternate storage group directed recovery with different Exchange versions displays error message while mounting the database You must use the same version of Exchange Server for both backup and recovery. If you back up an Exchange database from one version of Exchange Server (for example, a database from Exchange Server 2010), but perform recovery of the same database from another Exchange Server version (for example, using Exchange Server 2013), the recovery is successful. However, while mounting the database, the following error message is displayed: Database "" is too new to be upgraded. Solution Ensure that the same version of Exchange database is used for both backup and recovery.
Troubleshooting recovery
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