Install, Configure, and Manage

the Mailbox Role: Develop Backup and Recovery Solutions for the Mailbox Role and Public Folders

Develop backup and recovery solutions for the Mailbox role and public folders

This objective may include but is not limited to:

– Manage lagged copies

– Determine most appropriate backup solution/strategy

– Perform a dial tone restore

– Perform item-level recovery

– Recover the public folder hierarchy

– Recover a mailbox server role

•Company: LAN-Slide Tech – A first response network agency that

happens to have its headquarters right on the San Andreas fault in California

•Problem: – In the off chance they have a major disaster

come their way (considering their location) how would they recover their data (fast!)

•Goal: – Map out options available for DR beyond

high availability (they are currently using a single site DAG)

Scenario: Not Our Fault

Activating lagged copies can go one of two ways: – Activate database and replay all log files to bring the database

current

– Activate database and reply up to a point in time (requires ESEUTIL)

The process is done through the EMS – Suspend-MailboxDatabaseCopy

– Use vssadmin (takes a VSS snapshot of volumes containing copy)

– Procedure varies depending on if you want to:

• Activate to a specific point in time

• Activate by replaying all uncommitted log files

• Activate using SafetyNet recovery

Managing Lagged Copies

Before you can worry about restoration, you need to know what can be lost:

– Items

– Mailboxes

– Databases

– Servers

Based on RTO and RPO you can design your backup/recovery strategies

– DAG can assist with both RTO and RPO for your SLA

– You can use built-in Windows Backup

– You can use System Center Data Protection Manager (DPM)

– You can use a third-party backup/recovery solution

Backup Solutions and Strategies

There are pros and cons to Windows Backup – It’s free (and logically supports VSS backups for Exchange)

– Runs locally

– Backs up to local disk or a network share (but not tape)

– Restores full databases (no item level recovery, must use recovery database for mailboxes and/or items)

– Cannot backup passive DAG copies

Data Protection Manager – Not free (but not killer expensive either)

– Requires agents on the Exchange servers (centralized management)

– Can restore databases and/or mailboxes

– Can backup passive database DAG copies

Backup Software

Third-party Solutions – More expensive solution (although price varies depending on the type

you choose and the feature-set)

– Some solutions can perform item level restore (right back into a users mailboxes)

Backup Software (Third-Party)

DAG can assist with immediate availability but it is not helpful with historical data nor can it serve as an archive

– Note: Although backups may meet archive requirements, modern archive solutions may suit your needs better

You need a backup if you want to – recover a hard-deleted item (when single-item recovery is not

enabled) or an item that has gone past deleted item retention

– recover a database that isn’t part of a DAG

– recover a database on a MB server that IS part of a DAG but perhaps that database doesn’t have a passive copy for some reason

– You need to recover a lost server (that requires backed up information like databases in the event you are using a DAG)

When and Why Use Backup Solutions

Obviously we always think the databases are the most important parts to a backup (and they are really thanks to database portability)

However you want to remember the following: – Message-tracking logs

– UM custom audio prompts

– Server certificates (CAS)

– IIS configuration (CAS)

What to Backup

You can restore a server role faster than restoring the whole server

If recovering a lost server you need to do the following:

– Reset the computer account for the lost server

– Set up new server (or new virtualized server) (try and make it exactly the same) and with the same computer name

– Join the server to the domain

– Install all the prerequisites

– Run: setup /m:RecoverServer /IAcceptExchangeServerLicenseTerms

Server Recovery

With items (default is 14 days) and mailboxes (default is 30 days) you can use the deleted item retention times to mitigate loss (and restoration frustrations) Recoverable Items Folder: Located in the non-IPM subtree of each mailbox and includes the following subfolders: Deletions, Versions, Purges, DiscoveryHolds, Audits and Calendar Logging Single Item Recovery: If a mailbox has single item recovery enabled the Managed Folder Assistant will not purge deleted items

Item Recovery Built-in

You can use a recovery database to perform: – Same or alternate dial tone recovery

– Mailbox recovery

– Item recovery

Recovery databases are created through the EMS – New-MailboxDatabase –Recovery –Name –Server

Recover data using the New-MailboxRestoreRequest cmdlet

Working with the Recovery Database

If you need to get your people up and running fast with the ability to email and their data can wait, the dial-tone restore is your answer

You crate an empty database and change the database quickly for users (for example)

– New-MailboxDatabase –Name DTDB –EDBFilePath

– Get-Mailbox –Database DB1 | Set-Mailbox –Database DTDB

– Mount-Database –Identity DTDB

– Create a recovery database RDB.edb and restore or copy the backed up data to it (mount, dismount and copy the data to safe place)

– Dismount your dial tone database and move files to RDB and mount it

– Move recovered database and files into the dial tone folder and mount it

– Use Get-Mailbox –Database DTDB | New-MailboxRestoreRequest –TargetMailbox RDB

– Dismount and remove the RDB database

Dial-tone Recovery

Because Public Folders are in mailboxes, when you delete items they go in the dumpster (for 14 days by default) so they can be restored from Recovery Deleted Items You can make Public Folders more highly available through a DAG and can recover them with the database (same as other mailboxes) To recreate the public folder master hierarchy is a bit of a nightmare

– One Exchange admin says it’s a do-over move http://careexchange.in/how-to-recreate-public-folder-master-hierarchy-in-exchange-2013/

Recovering Public Folder Information

We’re going to encourage them to use Windows Backup (considering the cost) because they already have a DAG in place

We would recommend a hosted archive solution as well to ensure compliance and also complete mail recovery

We recommend they have a documented set of instructions for their environment so they can perform DR under various circumstances

Scenario: LAN-Slide

Additional Research

•Activate a Lagged Mailbox Copy • http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/dd979786(v=exchg.150).aspx

•Perform Single Item Recovery • http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ff660637(v=exchg.150).aspx

•Demystifying The Exchange Dial-tone Restore Method by Henrik Walther

• http://www.msexchange.org/articles-tutorials/exchange-server-2003/high-availability-recovery/Exchange-Dial-tone-Restore-Method-Part1.html

•Recovery Database in Exchange Server 2013 • http://msexchangeteam.in/recovery-database-in-exchange-server-2013/