The backup job will complete with warnings if a Selection Set is not used for Differential and Incremental Backups. Because the Exchange Server APM uses Selection Sets to ensure Incremental Backups are restored in order, failing to use selection sets will prevent the APM from being able to perform this
validation.
Creating a Selection Set
To create a Selection Set, do the following:
1. With the desired items selected, click the Save As button in the Backup Selection Set frame at the bottom of the Selections window.
2. In the Save Backup Selection Set window that appears, enter a unique name for the Selection Set.
3. Click OK.
Loading a Selection Set
To use a Selection Set, follow the steps below:
1. Click the Load button in the Backup Selection Set frame at the bottom of the Selections window.
2. In the Load Backup Selection Set window that appears, select the required set.
3. Click OK.
Selection Sets are not unique to the Exchange Server APM. For details on their creation and use, refer to the NetVault: Backup Administrator’s Guide.
6.1.2 Setting Backup Options
The next phase in the backup procedure involves the following tasks:
Selecting Backup Method
Specifying Backup Type
Setting Advanced Options
Specifying VSS Backup Options
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Figure 6-2:
Options available in the Backup Options tab for Exchange Server
6.1.2.a Selecting Backup Method
The Exchange Server APM supports the following types of backup methods:
Extensible Storage Engine (ESE)
Volume Shadow Copy Service (VSS)
The Backup Method will default to the Default Backup Method selected in the Exchange Server APM Configuration window.
The Exchange Server APM supports implementing an ESE or a pure VSS backup strategy; that is, your backup strategy should include either ESE backups or VSS backups, not a combination of the two. Refer to the chapter Strategy on page 11 for more details on selecting the backup method for your Exchange Server backup strategy.
6.1.2.b Specifying Backup Type
The Exchange Server APM provides the following types of backups for use with Exchange Server. Refer to the section Backup Types on page 14 for more information on each supported backup type.
Full – A Full Backup performs a complete backup of the set of items that have been selected. A Full Backup does not depend on any other backup and can be restored in a single step. A Full Backup includes all files and performs transaction log file truncation.
Copy – A Copy Backup backs up the set of items that have been selected without performing a transaction log file truncation. This provides a snapshot
be used to perform a fast, non-intrusive complete backup of an Exchange Server and is commonly used for offline scaling and migration scenarios.
Incremental – Incremental Backups perform backups of the transaction log files of the set of items that have been selected since the most recent Full Backup or Incremental Backup. After the backup is complete, the transaction logs will be truncated. This helps maintain the operating health of the
Exchange Server.
Differential – A Differential Backup performs backups of the transaction log files of the set of items that have been selected since the most recent Full Backup or Incremental Backup. Differential Backups do not perform
transaction log truncation, and therefore do not maintain the operating health of the Exchange Server.
6.1.2.c Setting Advanced Options
The Exchange Server APM allows you to set certain additional options for the backup job, such as specifying the number of parallel streams to be used in a backup and whether to mount any unmounted databases before attempting to backup the database. You can set these options from the Advanced Options frame. This frame contains the following options:
Maximum Number of Parallel Streams – To enable the fastest backups possible, the Exchange Server APM uses parallel streams to backup the Storage Groups simultaneously. This option allows you to specify the maximum number of parallel streams to use during a backup. The maximum number of parallel streams must meet both of the following conditions:
Less than or equal (<=) to the number of drives for the backup devices specified in the Target window.
Less than Maximum number of Storage Groups that can be created. The following table details the maximum number of Storage Groups allowed by each Exchange Server version/edition:
For example, if you are targeting a Virtual Tape Library configured with 2 drives and you have 20 Storage Groups, the Maximum Number of Parallel Streams should be 2 or less.
Exchange Server Method Server Edition Maximum Number of Storage Groups
Exchange Server 2000/2003 Standard 1
Enterprise 4
Exchange Server 2007 Standard 5
Enterprise 50
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Mount Unmounted Databases Before Backup – This option will mount any unmounted databases before attempting to backup the database.
Incomplete Backup of ALL Items Selected – When multiple items are included in a backup, and the APM is unable to successfully backup all the items selected, the Exchange Server APM lets you specify what action the backup should take.
For example, if a job includes multiple Storage Groups selected and the backup of all but one of the Storage Groups selected is successful, then you specify what action the backup job should take in this situation. The action for the backup job can be set by selecting one of the following four settings from the drop-list.
Complete with Warnings - Saveset Retained – This backup job status is set to Backup Completed with Warnings. The backup of the items which were successfully completed is retained as a saveset.
Complete without Warnings - Saveset Retained – This backup job status is set to Backup Completed. The backup of the items which were
successfully completed is retained as a saveset.
Fail - Saveset Retained - This backup job status is set to Backup Failed.
The backup of the items which were successfully completed is retained as a saveset.
Fail - No Saveset Retained - This backup job status is set to Backup Failed.
The backup of the items which were successfully completed is not retained as a saveset.
6.1.2.d Setting VSS Backup Options
When performing VSS based backups in an LCR or CCR environment, the Exchange Server APM is able to perform backups on either the active copy or passive copy of the Exchange Server data. By enabling backups of the passive copy, the load on the active node is reduced. This frame contains the following options:
Active Copy – Select this option to backup the active copy of all Storage Groups. This is the default option for Standalone deployments, and the only option available for SCC/Failover Cluster deployments or deployments that have Standby Continuous Replication (SCR) enabled for any of the Storage Groups.
Passive Copy – Select this option to backup the passive copy of all Storage Groups. While available for both CCR and LCR deployments, this option is the default option for CCR deployments and has the following restrictions:
If selecting this option for LCR deployments, backups will be performed only for Storage Groups that have LCR enabled. Storage Groups that do not have LCR enabled will not be backed up.
If Standby Continuous Replication (SCR) is enabled for any of the Storage Groups (even in a CCR and LCR deployment), selecting this option will
passive copy.
When performing backups of passive data, it is important to ensure that the passive copies in CCR and LCR environments have a state of Healthy in the Exchange Management Console. If the passive copy has a status of Failed, the backup will fail. The Failed passive copy can be returned to a Healthy state by deleting it and updating it with the StorageGroupCopy command. For more information on the Update-StorageGroupCopy command refer to:
http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/aa998853.aspx
Mixed (Available only for LCR deployments) – Selecting this option will backup the passive copies of all Storage Groups along with active copy Storage Groups that are not LCR enabled. This is the default and the recommended option for LCR deployments that do not have Standby Continuous Replication (SCR) enabled, and has the following restriction:
If SCR is enabled for any of the Storage Groups, selecting this option will cause the backups to fail. The Active Copy option should be selected for environments where LCR and SCR are simultaneously deployed.
6.1.3 Finalizing and Submitting the Job
With the desired data items selected and the necessary Backup Options set, follow the steps below to finalize the backup job and submit it:
1. Set the additional options that are available in the Schedule, Target, and Advanced Options, as required. These options are not unique to the Exchange Server APM. For information on these tabs and the options within, refer to the NetVault: Backup Administrator’s Guide.
2. Enter a suitable name for the job in the Job Title field. Specify a detailed