Section 15 - Backup / Restore Microsoft Exchange Server

This section describes in details how to backup and restore Microsoft Exchange Server with OBM.

15.10 Backup Microsoft Exchange Server 2013 with database availability group (DAG)

Table of contents




• 15.10.1 Requirements and recommendations
• 15.10.2 Overview
• 15.10.3 License requirement to backup all Exchange Server 2013 in DAG environment

15.10.1 Requirements and recommendations

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Please ensure that the following requirements are met by the MS Exchange server:




• OBM version 6.13.0.0 or above is installed on all Exchange node with Mailbox role.
• If you are using Exchange server 2013 on Windows server 2012, please install ".Net Framework 3.5 Features" under Server Manager > Dashboard > Add Roles and Features Wizard > Feature Page




• Since 6.13.0.0, the Exchange server 2013 backup will no longer require to spool the database to the hard disk, however the VSS Exchange backup still requires certain amount of disk space to operate. Microsoft suggested that some shadow copy mechanism may require to reserve 100% of the original database.



Reference: http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/exchange/aa579091%28v=exchg.140%29.aspx




• It is recommended that the temporary directory be configured on a local drive.
• For domain controller with Active Directory installed, a System State backup must be performed regularly with the MS Exchange servers (DAG) backup.
• Scheduled backup is required, as all the OBM on different Exchange servers will base on the scheduled backup time to activate all the backups at the same time, even all these Exchange servers are located at different timezones. When the backup on all Exchange servers are finished, a single email report will be generated.



The scheduler would refers to the timezone setting of the corresponding OBM account.s profile (instead of the system clock on the client machine for stand-alone Exchange server backup).

Manual / Local Copy and seed load are not considered as a complete Exchange DAG backup, as the job ran on individual Exchange DAG member, passive database copy(s) were skipped.



• The backup module protects the Exchange database level, if full system backup is required, please run the full system backup on each Exchange server within the DAG.
• To backup mailbox database within an Exchange DAG, OBM is required to be installed on each DAG member with Mailbox Role (e.g. servers that are hosting the mailbox databases). It is not necessary to install OBM on Exchange server with CAS (Client Access Server) Role only.

15.10.2 Overview

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For a complete Exchange database backup with DAG, backup the following components must be performed:



Windows System State

For the domain controller with Active Directory installed, as part of the restore, the system state must also be restored.

Running regular system state backups of the domain controller is therefore crucial, as it ensures that the system state data is synchronized with the Exchange database data.



Microsoft Information Store (Exchange 2013 with DAG)

The Information Store on all the Exchange 2013 servers within the same DAG contains the data, data definitions, indexes, checksums, flags, and other information that comprise mailboxes in Exchange. Even one of the Exchange servers is down, as long as the active databases on that machine had replicated to other Exchange servers within the DAG, one of the Exchange servers within the DAG will turn the replicated database (passive database) to active database and users can still access to the Exchange mailboxes. Therefore the backup of the database is more important, and our module can help to protect the Exchange database to avoid database corruption. In case you need to do a full protection on all the Exchange servers within the DAG, a full system backup on each Exchange 2013 server within the DAG is required.

In addition, the active mailbox databases hold data that's private to an individual user and contain mailbox folders generated when a mailbox is created for that user. A mailbox database is stored as an Exchange database .edb file. These active mailbox databases are required to backup, and it can be restore and replace the active mailbox databases when required.

In Exchange Server 2013, public folders are an optional feature. Public folder database contains the data, their definitions, indexes, checksums, flags, and other information that comprise any public folders in your Exchange organization. These public folders can be backup, however, due to the Exchange limitation, ie one public folders database can be mounted, it should only restore to an Exchange with no public folder setup or restore to the original machine.



Note:
OBM is required to install on each DAG member with Mailbox Role, and it will backup all the active database on the same host, passive database will not be backup.





Suggestions:
If one of your Exchange Server within the DAG was down and you need to add a new Exchange Server to the DAG, you may refer to the Microsoft Technet to

http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/dd351278.aspx


You will need to install OBM, configure and run the schedule backup of the active database(s) on the new Exchange server.

15.10.3 License requirement to backup all Exchange Server 2013 in DAG environment

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One OBM license CAL with one Exchange Server Add-on Module is deducted from each installation of the OBM on the DAG environment.

Please check with your backup service provider if more OBM Exchange backup licenses are required.





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