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 on 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 57 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.
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The Advanced Recovery dialog box appears. The Steps group lists the three steps for recovery:
l Select Recovery
l Select DB & Server
l Summary
Figure 11 Advanced Recovery dialog
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 — Recovering to a recovery database (RDB) on page 63 provides the remaining steps of the procedure.
l Alternate Database Recovery — Recovering to an alternate database on page 65 provides the remaining steps of the procedure.
l Remote Database Recovery — Recovering to a remote database on page 65 provides the remaining steps of the procedure.
9. The Exchange Recovery Summary dialog box appears. This dialog lists the Exchange Server Recovery options, the NetWorker Recovery Options and allows you to review the details before proceeding.
Figure 12 Exchange Recovery Summary dialog
To proceed 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, Exchange Server 2013, or Exchange Server 2013 is installed. The following recovery configurations are possible:
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 new 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 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, select Recovery Database (RDB) Recovery and click Next.
The Manage RDB dialog appears, as shown in the figure below.
Figure 13 Manage RDB dialog
3. To create an RDB, click Create.
The Create RDB dialog box appears.
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Figure 14 Create RDB dialog
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, you can also:
l Delete a RDB — Select the RDB from the Recovery Database (RDB) List and click Delete.
Figure 15 Delete confirmation dialog box
l Unmount a RDB — If a 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 a 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 Overwrite a RDB — Select an RDB from the Recovery Database (RDB) List and click RDB Overwrite.
The RDB is overwritten by the recovery operation.
Ensure that the RDB is mounted before proceeding 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, select Alternate Database Recovery for recovery to an alternate database and click Next.
The Select Database dialog with a list of alternate databases appears, as shown below.
Figure 16 Select Database dialog box
2. Select the database which you want to recover to and click Next.
The Exchange Recovery Summary dialog appears. This dialog lists the Exchange Server recovery options, the NetWorker recovery options and allows you to review the details before proceeding with recovery.
3. To proceed 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, select Remote Database Recovery for recovery to an remote database in an Exchange DAG member and click Next.
The Select Server dialog appears with a list of remote databases.
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Figure 17 Select Server dialog
2. Select the database to which you want to perform the recovery and click Next.
The Exchange Recovery Summary dialog appears. This dialog lists the Exchange Server recovery options and the NetWorker recovery options and allows you to review the details before proceeding with recovery.
3. To proceed with recovery, click Start Recovery.