EMC NetWorker Module for Microsoft for Exchange Server VSS

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EMC

®

NetWorker

®

Module for

Microsoft for Exchange Server

VSS

Version 8.2 Service Pack 1

User Guide

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Published January, 2015

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

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7 9 11

Introduction 15

Overview... 16

Microsoft Exchange Server environments... 16

Stand-alone and single Exchange Servers... 16

Exchange Server 2007 clusters...17

Exchange Server 2010 and 2013 DAGs...18

Supported high availability configurations... 19

Using NMM in an Exchange Server environment... 24

Exchange Server 2007 and Exchange Server 2010 VSS Writers...24

Exchange Server 2013 VSS Writer... 25

Compatibility with previous Exchange backups... 25

Backup initiated transaction log file truncation... 26

Backup types and levels...26

Federated backup... 27

Recovery types... 27

Configuration 29 Supported Exchange server deployment scenarios and limitations...30

Supported Exchange server versions...30

Supported high-availability deployments... 30

Windows Small Business Server...31

Single server Microsoft Exchange Server and Microsoft SharePoint Server installations... 31

Exchange Server 2007 storage groups...31

Delivery status notifications (DSNs) for Exchange server DAG environments...32

Backup and recover limitation to standalone mailbox server in a DAG ... 32

NMM prerequisites...32

Exchange server hardware requirements... 32

Required permissions... 33

MAPI client and Collaboration Data Objects... 34

Exchange backup prerequisites...34

Exchange recovery prerequisites... 35

Exchange Server 2007 CCR requirements... 36

Additional requirements for recovering databases in a DAG... 36

Additional requirements for browsing mailboxes...37

Exchange Consistency Check... 37

Configuring a DSN for Exchange Server...39

Figures Tables Preface Chapter 1 Chapter 2

FIGURES

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Revision history... 12

Exchange Server Storage types... 16

Writers used by NMM for Exchange Server backup and recovery... 24

Exchange Server 2013 VSS writer... 25

Exchange Server backup levels...26

Supported Microsoft Exchange server versions and operating systems ... 30

NMM support for highly available Exchange server... 30

Exchange server hardware requirements ... 32

Permissions for Exchange Backup and Recovery... 33

Exchange application information variables for threading and throttling ... 38

Considerations required for backup in a non-DAG and DAG environment... 43

Configuration Tasks for an Exchange Server backup ...48

Backup options for Exchange Server 2010 and Exchange Server 2013 ... 50

Considerations for NMM client backup schedules...53

Procedures for backing up Exchange Server 2010 and 2013 DAGs...56

Procedures for backing up Exchange 2007databases... 56

Exchange Server name attributes ...58

Exchange Server 2007 save set names ... 58

Exchange 2010 save set names... 59

Exchange 2013 save set names... 59

Application Information attributes for Exchange Server ... 59

Exchange Application Information attribute settings... 73

Commands for displaying valid application data save sets... 77

Special characters and their URL-encoded values... 79

PowerShell cmdlets for restored mailboxes...131 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25

TABLES

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Preface

As part of an effort to improve its product lines, EMC periodically releases revisions of its software and hardware. Therefore, some functions 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 properly 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 NetWorker Module for Microsoft (NMM) software to back up and recover Microsoft Exchange Server using the Volume Shadow Copy Service (VSS) technology.

Note

The 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. Ensure to download a copy of the 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 NetWorker Module for Microsoft 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 snapshot management

l Microsoft Volume Shadow Copy Service (VSS) technology

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Revision history

The following table presents the revision history of this document.

Table 1 Revision history

Revision Date Description

01 January 2015 First release of this document for EMC NetWorker Module for Microsoft release 8.2 SP1

CHAPTER 1 Introduction

This chapter includes the following sections:

l Overview... 16 l Microsoft Exchange Server environments... 16 l Using NMM in an Exchange Server environment... 24

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Overview

This topic summarizes the NMM support for Exchange server.

The EMC®_NetWorker®_{Module for Microsoft (NMM) version 8.2 SP1 software supports}

several types of Microsoft Exchange Server environments and versions of Exchange Server. Though Exchange Server 2007, Exchange Server 2010, and Exchange Server 2013 are similar, they also differ in many ways such as clustering, high availability, recovery databases, and storage groups. These differences affect how you configure and run NMM backup and restore operations.

NOTICE

You are recommended to 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.

This guide provides combined procedures for NMM features that are the same across Exchange Server 2007, Exchange Server 2010, and Exchange Server 2013, except where noted.

Microsoft Exchange Server environments

This topic describes the Exchange server support for recovery storage groups (RSG) and recovery databases (RDB).

Exchange Server 2007 supports recovery storage groups (RSG) and Exchange Server 2010 and Exchange Server 2013 support recovery databases (RDB) as noted in the table.

Table 2 Exchange Server Storage types

Exchange Server Version Recovery Storage Groups

(RSG) Recovery Databases (RDB)

2007 supported

--2010 -- supported

2013 -- supported

Exchange Server 2007, Exchange Server 2010, and Exchange Server 2013 support stand-alone and clustered configurations.

NMM supports backup and recovery for all of these configurations.

Stand-alone and single Exchange Servers

This topic describes the relationship between Stand-alone and single Exchange Servers to NMM.

In a stand-alone or single Exchange Server environment, all mailbox databases, log files, and checkpoint files reside on one server such as:

l Exchange Server 2007 stand-alone

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l Exchange Server 2013 stand-alone

The following figure illustrates the relationship between the NetWorker Server, NetWorker Management Console (NMC), and NMM client installation in a single Exchange server environment. Install the Exchange Granular Level Recovery (GLR) option when you install the NMM client.

Figure 1 NetWorker and NMM installation in a single Exchange Server environment

Exchange Server 2007 clusters

This topic describes the relationship of NMM to an Exchange Server cluster.

For an Exchange Server 2007 cluster, install the NMM client on each Exchange Server that has the mailbox role installed.

The following figure illustrates an NMM client installation in an Exchange Server 2007 cluster environments such as:

l Cluster continuous replication (CCR) l Standby continuous replication (SCR) l Single copy cluster (SCC)

Introduction

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Figure 2 NetWorker and NMM installation in an Exchange Server 2007 cluster environment

Configuring Exchange backup on page 48, provides detailed steps for configuring a cluster backup after you install the NMM client on each Exchange Server in the cluster.

Exchange Server 2010 and 2013 DAGs

This topic describes the relationship between Exchange server Database Availability Groups (DAG) and NMM.

NMM supports Database Availability Groups (DAG) for high availability of Exchange Server 2010 and 2013 databases, with the following considerations:

l Install the NMM client on each Exchange server that has the mailbox role installed. l You can replicate each Exchange database to multiple Exchange servers, with a

maximum of 16 copies.

l For Client Direct file access (DFA) backups, each client resource that you create on the

NetWorker server for the Exchange client can contain a maximum of ten mailbox databases. For example, an Exchange server that contains 20 databases requires two client resources that contain ten databases each.

The NetWorker Module for Microsoft Administration Guide provides additional information about DFA.

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.

l You can back up active databases, passive databases, or both.

l You can only restore backups of databases in a DAG environment to active database

copies.

Information about Exchange DAG architecture is available on the Microsoft TechNet website at http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/dd979799.aspx.

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information about this limitation: http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ dd979802.aspx.

The Exchange Server 2010 equivalent for this limitation is available on the Microsoft TechNet website at http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/dd979799(v=exchg. 141).aspx.

Figure 3 NetWorker and NMM installation with a DAG in Exchange Server 2010 or 2013 environment

l For Exchange Server 2010 and Exchange Server 2013, “stand-alone” applies to an

Exchange Server 2010 or 2013 mailbox server where one server hosts all the databases and you have not configured a DAG.

Configuring Exchange backup on page 48, provides information on configuring a DAG backup after you install the NMM client on each Exchange server in the cluster.

Supported high availability configurations

Most larger enterprises typically deploy Exchange Server in some form of high-availability configuration. Exchange Server 2007 typically includes the use of Windows clusters, Exchange Server 2007 replication, or both. Exchange Server 2010 and Exchange Server 2013 typically includes the use of DAGs.

Introduction

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High availability and clustering in Exchange Server 2007

To create an Exchange Server 2007 cluster, install and configure Windows failover clustering before installing Exchange Server. Exchange Server 2007 typically includes the use of Windows clusters, Exchange Server 2007 replication, or both.

For Exchange Server 2007 clustered environments such as CCR and Windows clusters, configure the NMM client on each node of the server. The NMM client allows you to configure backup for all passive nodes in the cluster.

Exchange Server 2007 replication

Exchange Server 2007 includes built-in data features that enable replication of Exchange data from one Exchange server to another.

Exchange Server 2007 offers three levels of data replication, as described in the following topics.

Local Continuous Replication (LCR)

This topic describes Exchange Server Local Continuous Replication (LCR)

LCR is a single-server solution that uses built-in asynchronous log shipping and log replay technology to create and maintain a copy of a storage group on a second set of disks that are connected to the same server as the production storage group. The production storage group is referred to as the active copy, and the copy of the storage group maintained on a separate set of disks is referred to as the passive copy. The following figure illustrates a typical LCR deployment.

Figure 4 A typical LCR deployment

An LCR deployment does not require any special NMM setup or configuration. Install the NMM client on the active storage group using the normal (non-cluster) installation procedure.

Cluster Continuous Replication (CCR)

This topic describes Exchange Server Cluster Continuous Replication (CCR).

CCR combines the asynchronous log shipping and replay technology built in to Exchange Server 2007 with the failover and management features provided by the Windows Cluster Service. CCR provides an Exchange Server 2007 high availability solution that:

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l Has no special hardware requirements. l Has minimal shared storage requirements.

l You can deploy in one or two data center configurations.

CCR uses the database failure recovery functionality in Exchange Server 2007 to update asynchronously a second copy of a database with the changes made to the active copy of the database. When you install a passive node in a CCR environment, each storage group and its database is copied from the active node to the passive node. This operation is called seeding, and it provides a baseline of the database for replication. After the initial seeding is performed, the CCR log continuously copies and replays the logs.

CCR integrates the replication capabilities with the Cluster Service to deliver a high-availability solution. In addition to providing data and service high-availability, CCR also provides scheduled outages. When you install updates or perform maintenance, you can manually move a clustered mailbox server to a passive node. After the move operation is complete, you can perform the needed maintenance.

The following figure illustrates a typical Exchange CCR configuration.

Figure 5 CCR deployment

Standby Continuous Replication (SCR)

This topic describes the deployment of Exchange server Cluster Continuous Replication (CCR) with Standby Continuous Replication (SCR).

You can combine CCR with SCR to replicate storage groups locally in a primary data center (using CCR for high availability) and remotely in a secondary or backup data center (using SCR for site resilience). The secondary data center could contain a passive node in a failover cluster that hosts the SCR targets. This type of cluster is called a standby cluster because it does not contain any clustered mailbox servers, but you can quickly provision it with a replacement clustered mailbox server in a recovery scenario. If the primary data center fails or is otherwise lost, you can quickly activate the SCR targets hosted in this standby cluster on the standby cluster.

The following figure illustrates a CCR combined with SCR.

Introduction

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Figure 6 CCR combined with SCR deployment

Single Copy Cluster (SCC)

This topic describes the deployment of Exchange server Single Copy Cluster (SCC). SCC is a more typical Windows cluster configuration. Exchange stores the databases and logs on one disk that both nodes of the cluster share. In the example deployment illustrated in the figure below, Exchange servers MBX-01 and MBX-02 share Exchange databases and logs on external storage.

Figure 7 Windows cluster (Exchange SCC) deployment

High availability in Exchange Server 2010 and 2013

This topic describes the advantages of using Exchange Server 2010 and 2013 for high availability.

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These improvements in high availability and site resilience functionality also simplify installation and configuration of the NMM client for backup and recovery.

Active and passive nodes and databases

The following topic describes NMM installations with Exchange server clustered environments.

In a clustered environment, there are active and passive copies of the databases. This allows the server to constantly update a copy, or replica, as the passive copy, and minimize the impact on performance of the active copy. For backups, the passive copy allows you to back up the databases without affecting the performance or data of the active copy. With Exchange Server 2007, a node is either all active or all passive, as described in the Cluster Continuous Replication (CCR) topic. With Exchange Server 2010 and 2013, you designate individual databases, not nodes, as active or passive. This allows you to have a mix of active and passive databases on each node.

The following figure shows an Exchange Server 2010 or 2013 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 8 Exchange Server DAG environment

The following figure illustrates an NMM installation in Exchange Server 2007 cluster environments such as:

l Cluster continuous replication (CCR) l Standby continuous replication (SCR) l Single copy cluster (SCC)

Introduction

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Figure 9 NMM installation in an Exchange Server 2007 cluster

Configuring Exchange backups on page 48 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

The following section contains information you should be aware of when using NMM in an Exchange Server environment.

Exchange Server 2007 and Exchange Server 2010 VSS Writers

This topic describes the Exchange server writers for active and passive databases. Exchange Server 2007 and Exchange Server 2010 have two writers for active and passive databases. NMM uses these writers during backup. The following table provides details.

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 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 and CCR clusters and on any mailbox server that has at least one storage group configured with LCR.

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Table 3 Writers used by NMM for Exchange Server backup and recovery (continued)

Application writers Description

You can use the Information Store Writer to restore Replication Writer backups to the active database location.

Exchange Server 2013 VSS Writer

This topic describes the Exchange Server 2013 writer used for active and passive databases.

Exchange Server 2013 has one writer for active and passive databases. NMM uses this writer during backup. The following table provides details.

Table 4 Exchange Server 2013 VSS writer

Application writer Description

Microsoft Exchange Server Writer

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 the 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 in order to backup or restore Exchange Server databases.

Compatibility with previous Exchange backups

This topic describes the version support for backups created with earlier versions of NMM.

You can use NMM to recover Exchange databases and logs that were backed up by using NMM 2.3 or later.

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.

The NetWorker Module for Microsoft Installation Guide and the NetWorker Module for Microsoft Administration Guide provide details.

If you want to upgrade the Exchange server version you are currently using, including Exchange Service Pack upgrades, perform a full backup before the upgrade. You must do a full backup after upgrading. You cannot recover data from a previous Exchange service pack to an Exchange server that runs a later service pack version.

For example, if you have Exchange Server 2007 SP2 Rollup 4 installed on a Windows Server 2008 SP2 (x64) CCR environment and you want to upgrade to Exchange Server 2007 SP3 Rollup1:

1. Perform a full backup on Exchange Server 2007 SP2 Rollup 4 2. Upgrade to Exchange Server 2007 SP3 Rollup1.

3. Perform a full backup on Exchange Server 2007 SP3 Rollup1.

4. Verify that you are able to perform a recovery by restoring data to the RSG.

Introduction

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Backup initiated transaction log file truncation

This topic describes the behavior of Exchange transaction log files as part of a backup. The time that the Exchange writer starts backup-initiated log file truncation differs for each backup type.

l In non-DAG configurations, the Exchange Writer truncates the transaction log files at

the completion of successful full or incremental backups.

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

This topic describes the types of Exchange server backups that NMM supports using Microsoft Volume Shadow Copy Service (VSS).

You can use the Microsoft Volume Shadow Copy Service (VSS) with NMM to perform full and incremental backups for stand-alone and clustered databases. Ensure that the user account for the Replication Manager Exchange Interface service is a member of the Organization Management Exchange security group.

NMM supports the following backup types when you use the Microsoft VSS software provider:

l Point-in-time snapshot backup for FULL Level backups, with the Snapshot Policy

Backup Snapshot option set to ALL

l Single server backup l Virtual server cluster backup l SCC backup

l LCR backup of the production data, but not of the replicated data l CCR active node and passive node backup

l DAG

NOTICE

You can use data deduplication for an Exchange Server 2007 backup in a CCR environment.

The NetWorker Module for Microsoft Administration Guide provides in-depth information about data deduplication.

The following table describes the backup levels that NMM supports.

Table 5 Exchange Server backup levels

Level of backup Description

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Table 5 Exchange Server backup levels (continued)

Level of backup Description

you perform a full backup on a daily basis, you can prevent log files from consuming space on the hard disk.

You can perform a full backup of Exchange Server 2007, 2010, and 2013 databases in both clustered and non-clustered environments. A full backup includes both database files and logs files.

Incremental An incremental backup backs up only selected data, and therefore improves backup performance by reducing the amount of data that NMM processes. However, recovery might take longer because NMM recovers the last full backup plus each incremental backup that was performed after the full backup.

You can perform incremental backups of Exchange Server 2007, 2010, and 2013 databases in both clustered and non-clustered environments. Unlike a full backup in which NMM backs up both database files and logs files, an incremental backup only backs up logs files. You can include public folders in incremental backups.

In a clustered or DAG environment, you can perform an incremental backup of a passive copy of a database after you perform a full backup of the active copy on another Mailbox server, and vice versa. If a full backup is not found on the Mailbox server, you must manually perform a full backup of the active copy of the database on the Mailbox server with the same save set that you used the first time you performed a backup.

Federated backup

This topic describes NMM support of Federated Exchange server deployments.

NMM supports Federated backups for Exchange Server 2010 and 2013 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 RSG or RDB

l Remote database recovery for Exchange Server 2010 and 2013 DAG l Mailbox item level recovery from Exchange RSG or RDB databases

l Exchange RSG or RDB mailbox browsing, mailbox, folder, and message recovery l Recovery to alternate storage group or alternate mailbox database

l Recovery to alternate Mailbox

l Granular Level Recovery (GLR) to an alternate Mailbox l Granular Level Recovery (GLR) of an archive Mailbox

Introduction

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CHAPTER 2 Configuration

l Supported Exchange server deployment scenarios and limitations...30 l NMM prerequisites...32

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Supported Exchange server deployment scenarios and

limitations

The following section describes supported and unsupported Exchange server deployment scenarios.

Note

The NetWorker Online Software Compatibility Guide, available on the EMC online support website at http://compatibilityguide.emc.com:8080/CompGuideApp/Networker8.2.jsp, 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

This topic describes the versions of Exchange server that are supported by NMM.

Table 6 Supported Microsoft Exchange server versions and operating systems

Exchange Server version Supported Operating systems

2013 SP1 l _{Windows 2012 R2}

2013 CU2 and later l Windows Server 2008 x64 R2 SP1 l _{Windows Server 2012}

2010 SP3 l Windows Server 2008 x64 R2 SP1 l _{Windows Server 2012}

2010 SP2 Rollup 4 and later l Windows Server 2008 x64 SP2 l _{Windows Server 2008 x64 R2 SP1}

2007 SP3 l _{Windows Server 2008 x64 SP2}

l _{Windows Server 2008 x64 R2 SP1}

Supported high-availability deployments

This topic describes the operating system requirements needed for a highly available Exchange server deployment that is supported by NMM.

Table 7 NMM support for highly available Exchange server

Exchange Server

version Operating system Supported highavailability deployment

2007 SP3 l _{Windows Server 2008 x64 R2}

l Windows Server 2008 x64 SP2 Enterprise/ DC Edition

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Table 7 NMM support for highly available Exchange server (continued)

Exchange Server

version Operating system Supported highavailability deployment

l _CCR l _SCR 2010 SP1 DAG l _{Windows Server 2008 x64 SP2}

l Windows Server 2008 x64 R2 SP1

l _DAGs

l Passive and active 2010 SP3 l _{Windows Server 2012}

l Windows Server 2012 R2

l _DAGs

l Passive and active 2013 CU2 l _{Windows Server 2012}

l Windows Server 2008 x64 R2 SP1

l _DAGs

l Passive and active

2013 l _{Windows Server 2012 R2} l _DAGs

l _{Passive and active}

The Exchange Server 2010 and 2013 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.

Windows Small Business Server

NMM does not support backup and recovery of Windows Small Business Server.

Single server Microsoft Exchange Server and Microsoft SharePoint Server

installations

NMM does not support Microsoft Exchange Server and Microsoft SharePoint Server installed on the same computer. Microsoft does not support this configuration. Instead, Microsoft best practices recommend that you install these server products on separate computers.

Exchange Server 2007 storage groups

This topic describes the recommended limitations to Exchange Server 2007 storage groups.

EMC recommends that you configure no more than 10 Exchange concurrent storage groups for scheduled backups, particularly when you enable parallel consistency checking. Grouping more than 10 storage groups consumes the available resources of the CPU, I/O, and memory, and can lead to backup failures. Set the

NSR_EXCHANGE_LIMIT_SG attribute to yes to set the number of storage groups to 10. For a workaround for Exchange servers with more than 10 storage groups, refer to the topic Configuring_Exchange_2007_storage_groups on page 71.

Configuration

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Delivery status notifications (DSNs) for Exchange server DAG environments

NMM does not support delivery status notifications (DSNs) for Exchange Server 2010 or Exchange Server 2013 DAG environments.

For a workaround to perform DSN backups for Exchange Server 2010 or Exchange Server 2013 DAG environments, refer to Planning DAG and non-DAG backups in the NetWorker Module for Exchange User Guide.

Backup and recover limitation to standalone mailbox server in a DAG

When you join a standalone Exchange 2010 or 2013 mailbox server to a DAG configuration, you cannot browse and recover data from the standalone backups.

NMM prerequisites

The following section describes the system and configuration prerequisites for NMM. Ensure that the following prerequisites are met before performing backup and recovery procedures.

Exchange server hardware requirements

This topic describes the additional hardware and system resources required for Exchange server.

Exchange places additional demands on computer hardware and resources beyond the base requirements for NMM. Ensure that the computer running Exchange server meets or exceeds Microsoft hardware recommendations.

The table below describes the recommended hardware requirements for Exchange server.

Table 8 Exchange server hardware requirements

Requirement Description

Memory (RAM) Exchange server requires additional memory (RAM). Start with 8 GB of RAM. The amount of additional or total memory required depends on current system performance with existing memory:

l _{If the memory resources are strained and performance is slow with} regular operations of NMM, then add significantly more memory to support Exchange operations.

l _{If the memory performance is adequate with regular operations of} NMM, then additional memory might not be required to support Exchange operations.

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Required permissions

This topic describes the minimum user account permissions required to perform backup and recovery with NMM.

To perform backup and recovery, the administrative account must have the following permissions:

Table 9 Permissions for Exchange Backup and Recovery

Exchange 2007 Exchange 2010 Exchange 2013

Security group memberships on NMM Client computer

Local Administrator Local Administrator Local Administrator

Security group memberships on Domain Controller

Backup Operators Remote Desktop Users

If the Exchange server is also a Domain Controller

Add the administrative account to the Exchange Organization

Administrators group.

Add the administrative account to the

Organization Management group.

Add the administrative account to the Organization Management group. Exchange Security Group memberships Exchange Servers Exchange Organization Administrators Exchange View-Only Administrators Exchange Servers Organization Management View-Only Organization Management Exchange Servers Organization Management View-Only Organization Management Minimum Exchange Security Group memberships (As an alternative to using the Organization Management Security Group membership)

n/a Exchange Roles:

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Table 9 Permissions for Exchange Backup and Recovery (continued)

Exchange 2007 Exchange 2010 Exchange 2013

> Configuration

> Users Note

If the Exchange Server hosts a DAG then add above permission to all DAG nodes and DAG clients.

Note

If the Exchange Server hosts a DAG then add above permission to all DAG nodes and DAG clients.

In order to export to PST files in GLR or RDB recoveries, the administrative account must be a member of the Organization Management group and have the following privileges:

l By user:

New-ManagementRoleAssignment -user <administrative account name> -role "Mailbox Import Export"

l By group:

New-ManagementRoleAssignment -SecurityGroup <group name> -role "Mailbox Import Export"

Note

The NetWorker Module for Microsoft Installation Guide provides additional information about configuring required permissions.

MAPI client and Collaboration Data Objects

This topic describes the Exchange server requirements for the Messaging API (MAPI) and Collaboration Data Objects (CDO) kits.

Access to Exchange messaging stores utilized by NMM mailbox backups requires the MAPI and CDO kit. The Exchange Server software does not include the MAPI client libraries and CDO. You can download these applications from Microsoft’s website. Exchange Server 2007 requires the Messaging API (MAPI) and Collaboration Data Objects (CDO) kit for RSG support. Exchange Server 2010 and 2013 require the MAPI/CDO kit for RDB support.

For information on downloading and installing this package, search for “Microsoft Exchange MAPI Client and Collaboration Data Objects” on the Microsoft Download Center website. Exchange Server 2010 and 2007 require version 6.5.8244.0 or later. Exchange Server 2013 requires version 6.5.8320.0 or later.

NOTICE

The NetWorker Online Software Compatibility Guide contains information about the latest version of the MAPI and CDO kit that NMM supports.

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 NMM does not support DAGs configured without a cluster Administrative Access

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l Verify that the correct version of the Messaging API (MAPI) and Collaboration Data

Objects (CDO) kit is installed. Exchange Server 2010 and 2007 requires 6.5.8244.0 or later. Exchange Server 2013 requires version 6.5.8320.0 or later.

l Install .NET Framework 4.0.

l Install the hotfixes and cumulative updates listed in the NetWorker Module for Microsoft Installation Guide.

l Verify that all servers use the same version of Exchange Server.

l Install the NetWorker client and NMM software on all Exchange servers that are a part

of a backup. Select the GLR option if you want to perform GLR.

l For Exchange Server 2007 backups:

n Consider the requirement that you configure no more than 10 Exchange storage

groups for a scheduled backup.

n Verify that the mailbox log file and system files are located on different volumes

than the database. Beginning with NMM 3.0, Exchange Server 2010 and 2013 database and log files can reside on the same volume and in the same folder.

l For CCR or DAG environments:

n Create a client resource for all Exchange clients that are members of the CCR or

DAG.

n Create a NetWorker client resource for the CCR or DAG name using the FQDN. n For Federated backups, add the NSR_FEDERATED_BACKUP Application Information

attribute and specify “yes” as the value.

l Run the System Configuration Checker.

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 2007, Exchange Server 2010, or Exchange Server 2013 data:

l For each Exchange database to be recovered, you must select the Exchange check

box titled “This database can be overwritten by a restore” in the Exchange Management Console.

This is a Microsoft requirement. In PowerShell, the flag is called AllowFileRestore and must be set to true. The Microsoft Exchange documentation provides more

information about this checkbox.

l If you are recovering Exchange data that was backed up from a legacy NetWorker

client by using the save set VSS USER DATA:\ in an NMM File System Recovery Session:

1. While performing recovery by using the NMM client, Exchange databases are automatically dismounted.

2. After a successful recovery, the Exchange databases are mounted automatically.

l Exchange does not support restoring a public folder database to RSGs or RDBs. l To perform an Exchange database recovery as a non-administrative user, open the

NMM user interface using Run as administrator.

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.

Configuration

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l When you overwrite an existing databases with the recovery, perform a full level

backup after every recovery performed in Exchange Server 2010 and Exchange Server2013. This does not apply to RSG, RDB or granular restores.

Exchange Server 2007 CCR requirements

This topic provides information on how to configure the Windows cluster for Exchange Server 2007 with the CCR high-availability feature.

If you intend to use Exchange Server 2007 with the CCR high-availability feature, you must configure the Windows cluster in accordance with the information presented in the following articles:

l “Installing Cluster Continuous Replication on Windows Server 2008,” which is

available on the Microsoft TechNet website at the following URL:

http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb629714.aspx

l “Using Backup to Back Up and Restore Exchange Data,” which is available on the

Microsoft TechNet website at the following URL:

http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/aa998870.aspx

This article discusses the exact conditions under which log files are removed, since log truncation with Exchange Server 2007 CCR depends on the state of the

replication.

l “Event ID 214 is logged when you run a backup operation on a passive node after you

install Exchange Server 2007 SP3 in an Exchange Server 2007 CCR environment”, which is available on the Microsoft Support website at the following URL:

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2297394

l To resolve the issue described in the article, install Exchange Server 2007 SP3

Update Rollup 1 on all affected servers. You can download the update rollup at the following URL:

http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=ae45d06e-dcb7-43d8-b1ff-d3953836425b

Ensure that the server nodes are in the correct state. You must perform the recovery of the CCR server to 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.

In addition, the account that you use to browse and select items for backup in an Exchange Server 2007 CCR environment requires the following user account permissions on the passive nodes:

l Administrator

l Domain Administrator l Domain User

l Exchange Install Domain Servers

Additional requirements for recovering databases in a DAG

The following topic provides requirement details for recovering an Exchange DAG database.

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suspended state, then you must manually suspend passive copies before a recovery is performed.

You can suspend replication in three ways:

l By using the Exchange Shell command and calling Suspend-MailboxDatabaseCopy

cmdlet

l For Exchange Server 2010, through the Exchange Management Console using

Suspend Database Copy

l For Exchange Server 2013, through the Exchange Admin Center using Suspend

Resume the passive database copies after the restore. The Microsoft documentation provides details.

Additional requirements for browsing mailboxes

The following topic describes the requirements for browsing Exchange RSG and RDB mailboxes.

l Databases must be online. NMM does not display mailboxes in offline databases. l The MAPI/CDO kit must be installed.

l Exchange System Attendant and Information Store services must be running. l The logged in user must have a configured mailbox with at least one mail sent or

received.

l The user defined to be logged in for the Replication Manager Interface for Exchange

service must be a member of the Organization Management Exchange security group.

l You must have backed up the writer set, database or storage group save set: n For Exchange Server 2007 writer:

APPLICATIONS:\Microsoft Exchange 2007

n For Exchange Server 2007 storage group:

APPLICATIONS:\Microsoft Exchange 2007\second_group

n For Exchange Server 2010 writer:

n For Exchange Server 2010 database:

APPLICATIONS:\Microsoft Exchange 2010\Database

n For Exchange Server 2013 writer:

n For Exchange Server 2013 database:

APPLICATIONS:\Microsoft Exchange 2013\Database

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 done on the database only, without the transaction logs. 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.

Configuration

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Consistency check parameters for threading and throttling

The topic describes the effects of 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 storage groups in parallel. If you run multiple consistency checks in parallel without setting the proper throttle limits, performance problems might appear on the proxy system. In extreme cases, this can cause I/O bottlenecks so severe that consistency checks fail and other system operations are adversely affected.

In NMM, you can configure threading and throttling by using the -A attribute values in the Application Information attribute of the NMM client. You can use these values to prevent performance issues during backup.

The table below lists the Application Information attributes that you can specify in the client resource to set threading and throttling.

Table 10 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).

Or

l _{False — To run eseutil in parallel against} multiple storage groups (multi-threaded). The default value is True.

For example,

A NSR_ESE_UTIL_SEQUENTIAL=False -A NSR_ESE_UTIL_THROTTLE=True NSR_ESE_UTIL_THROTTLE Set to either of the following:

l _{True — To allow eseutil throttling.} Or

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,

A NSR_ESE_THROTTLE_IOS=500 -A NSR_ESE_THROTTLE_DURATION=5000 NSR_ESE_THROTTLE_DURATION Specify the duration of pause in milliseconds

when throttling, in the value range of 1000– 60000.

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Table 10 Exchange application information variables for threading and throttling (continued)

Attribute name Value

NSR_ESE_UTIL_DB_ONLY Specify wether to only perform the consistency check on the database and skip the transaction logs.

The default value is False.

Configuring a DSN for Exchange Server

This topic describes how to configure a DSN.

The following procedure applies only to Exchange Server 2007, 2010, and 2013 stand-alone environments. Before performing the steps in this section, review the NetWorker Module for Microsoft Installation Guide for details on setting up a DSN.

Procedure

1. Install a NetWorker server 7.6 SP2 or later, or NetWorker storage node 8.0 SP2 or later.

NOTICE

This step is required before installing the NMM software. 2. For a DSN, install the NMM software on the same host.

3. Create a remote backup device on the NetWorker server and on the Device Properties, Configuration tab, set the Dedicated Storage Node attribute to Yes.

Configuration

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CHAPTER 3 Backup

l Planning backups...42 l Configuring Exchange backups...48 l Performing an Exchange Server scheduled backup...81 l Verifying a backup...84

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Planning backups

This section contains information to help you plan an Exchange backup.

Backup requirements

When performing Exchange server backups, keep the following requirements in mind:

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 used is “Recovered Data - sec77 - 04/03/2013 18:28:45”.

l When browsing an RDB, the log-in user mailbox or the user mailbox that you provided

during NMM installation should reside on the mailbox server you are browsing. Otherwise, you might encounter browsing errors.

l Transaction logs cannot be located at the root level of a mount point. This results in

transactions logs that are not backed up at all. Exchange server version specific requirements:

l For Exchange 2007 backups, store the logs and system path files in the same folder

on a single volume. Store mailbox database files in a different volume. For example:

E:\<LogsPath_SystemPath>

Where E:\ is the dedicated drive letter for logs and system files.

F:\<MailboxDatabase files>

Where F:\ is the dedicated drive letter for mailbox database files.

Note

Beginning with NMM 3.0, the Exchange Server 2010 and Exchange Server 2013 database and log files can reside on the same volume and in the same folder.

l For backups of Exchange Server 2007 database and log files residing on different

mount points under the same volume, add NSR_E2K7_VOL_CHECK=NO to the Application Information field on the Apps & Modules tab of the Client Properties dialog.

This attribute is required for successful backups.

You should only use the parameter when the database and log files reside under different volumes but different mount points located on the same volume point to them.

When you set NSR_E2K7_VOL_CHECK to YES, NMM checks the Exchange Server 2007 data and volume locations. By default, NSR_E2K7_VOL_CHECK is set to YES.

When you set NSR_E2K7_VOL_CHECK to NO, NMM does not check Exchange Server 2007 data and volume locations.

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l After a snapshot of a save group starts, you cannot interrupt or halt the snapshot

process.

For example, in Exchange backup, the process on the production server and the process on the proxy resource might continue to run after you halt the snapshot. Any attempt to stop a save group in NMC takes a long time to complete.

l NMM only backs up mounted databases.

NMM does not display during the backup operation to indicate if any databases are unmounted. The NMM log files provide details about unmounted databases.

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.

Planning DAG and non-DAG backups

DAG and non-DAG environments require certain settings and considerations are described in the following sections.

Backup in non-DAG and DAG environments

The following table provides information on creating backups of non-DAG and DAG environments.

Table 11 Considerations required for backup in a non-DAG and DAG environment

Type of environment Considerations

For stand-alone Exchange Server 2010 or 2013

Use the save set APPLICATIONS:\Microsoft Exchange 2010 or APPLICATIONS:\Microsoft Exchange 2013.

For non-Federated DAG Exchange Server 2010 and 2013

Install NMM on only those DAG members that are part of the backup. It is not necessary to install the NMM client on all DAG members to create the client resource.

Do not modify dummy client resources that are created: l _{The Client Configuration wizard creates a client resource for}

one node of the DAG. For this client resource, you must type the name of the node from which backups are performed. The Client Configuration wizard then creates client resources for all the other nodes of the DAG, and the DAG name. However, these client resources are dummy client resources. If you want to perform a backup from a different node in the DAG other than the one that was previously used, use the Client Configuration wizard to configure a client resource for this backup node. Do not modify the dummy client resource that is created by the Client Configuration wizard for this node in the previous instance. For example:

An Exchange Server 2010 DAG consists of four Exchange Server 2010 servers: exch2010a, exch2010b, exch2010c, exch2010d, and a Mailbox database myMailBoxABD. The Mailbox database myMailBoxABD is active on exch2010a but passive on exch2010b and exch2010d. The Mailbox database myMailBoxABD is not present on exch2010c. In a DAG environment, because the Client Configuration wizard can configure a client resource for only one node of the

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Table 11 Considerations required for backup in a non-DAG and DAG environment (continued)

Type of environment Considerations

DAG, you must select Exchange Server from which to back up myMailBoxABD.

If you want to back up myMailBoxABD from only one of the passive server exch2010b and not from exch2010d or exch2010a, you must use the Client Configuration wizard to create a client resource for exch2010b and dummy client resources for exch2010d or exch2010a. If you now decide to back up myMailBoxABD from exch2010d, restart the Client Configuration wizard to create a client resource for exch2010d. Do not modify the dummy client resource that was created when myMailBoxABD was backed up from exch2010b.

l _{When creating client resources manually, create a client} resource for the node from which backups are performed, and create dummy client resources for the other

participating nodes in the DAG and the DAG name. Create dummy client resources by using the save set ALL, but do not assign them to a group, because without the dummy clients the backup will not be scheduled correctly. For the DAG members, provide the following attributes: For NetWorker Server 8.1 and newer:

NSR_EXCH_DAG=<DAG FQDN>

NSR_EXCH_BACKUP = all/active/passive

For backups of Exchange Server 2010 and 2013 databases using older versions of NetWorker Server:

NSR_EXCH2010_DAG=<DAG FQDN>

A DAG resource is required for DAG backups because the data that is backed up is indexed on the DAG name. The DAG member databases that are backed up must be in a healthy and mounted state before running the backup.

Federated backups in DAG environments

A Federated backup allows you to back up all DAG members with a single save set without running a separate backup of each node. Running a Federated DAG backup is similar to a standard backup, except for a few key differences:

l Before you perform a Federated DAG backup, you must configure the client resource. l When you select which client to back up, you select the cluster client resource, not

individual servers in the DAG, for backup.

To configure a client resource for a Federated DAG backup, you must do the following:

l Select the client resource for the DAG name and not individual servers in the DAG. l Specify the parameters for the client resource. The topic on Configuring Exchange

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l When you configure the backup, you can specify a preferred server order list (PSOL),

which tells NMM the order to poll each server in the DAG to back up. The topic on Preferred Server Order List found in this chapter provides more information. The topic on Using federated DAG backups on Exchange Server 2010 and Exchange Server 2013 provides more information about Federated 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.

You can configure remote storage for an Exchange DAG environment where:

l The data goes to the respective storage nodes.

l The dummy save sets for the mailbox servers go to their respective storage nodes. l The VSS save sets go to the storage node specified in the DAG client resource.

For example:

For a 2-node DAG with four databases... 2957375603 1413871552 vF full 10/20/2014 11:05:52 PM 4 APPLICATIONS:\Microsoft Exchange 2013 belrednode1.e2013dev.com 2940598388 1413871553 vF full 10/20/2014 11:05:53 PM 4 APPLICATIONS:\Microsoft Exchange 2013 belrednode2.e2013dev.com2923821173 1413871555 vF full 10/20/2014 11:05:55 PM 4 APPLICATIONS:\Microsoft Exchange 2013 belrednode1.e2013dev.com2907043957 1413871556 vF full 10/20/2014 11:05:56 PM 4 APPLICATIONS:\Microsoft Exchange 2013 belrednode2.e2013dev.com 3158702053 1413871582 vKF full 10/20/2014 11:06:22 PM 500 APPLICATIONS:\Microsoft Exchange 2013 belreddag.e2013dev.com 3141924838 1413871585 vKF full 10/20/2014 11:06:25 PM 500 APPLICATIONS:\Microsoft Exchange 2013 belreddag.e2013dev.com 3125147625 1413871592 vF incr 10/20/2014 11:06:32 PM 198297208 APPLICATIONS: \Microsoft Exchange 2013 belreddag.e2013dev.com3108370410 1413871593 vF incr 10/20/2014 11:06:33 PM 171018304

APPLICATIONS:\Microsoft Exchange 2013 belreddag.e2013dev.com 3091593205 1413871603 vKF full 10/20/2014 11:06:43 PM 428 APPLICATIONS:\Microsoft Exchange 2013 belreddag.e2013dev.com 3074815993 1413871608 vF incr 10/20/2014 11:06:48 PM 156317988 APPLICATIONS:\Microsoft Exchange 2013 belreddag.e2013dev.com 3058038780 1413871610 vKF full 10/20/2014 11:06:50 PM 432 APPLICATIONS:\Microsoft Exchange 2013 belreddag.e2013dev.com3041261568 1413871615 vF incr 10/20/2014 11:06:55 PM 171006524 APPLICATIONS:\Microsoft Exchange 2013 belreddag.e2013dev.com 3024484397 1413871661 vF full 10/20/2014 11:07:41 PM 1941324 C:\ProgramData\EMC \NetWorker\LG_VSS_CLIENT2023337192.xml belreddag.e2013dev.com 3007707188 1413871668 vF full 10/20/2014 11:07:48 PM 1871876 C:\ProgramData\EMC\NetWorker \LG_VSS_CLIENT2023332922.xml belreddag.e2013dev.com 2990929978 1413871673 vKF full 10/20/2014 11:07:53 PM 9384 VSS:/ belreddag.e2013dev.com 2974152770 1413871679 vKF full 10/20/2014 11:07:59 PM 9392 VSS:/ belreddag.e2013dev.com Procedure

1. On each mailbox server to back up, install a NetWorker storage node followed by the NMM client software.

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2. In the DAG client resource properties field, define the storage node as nsrserverhost. 3. In each of the client node resource property fields, provide the storage node name as

their respective host names.

4. Create a backup pool and select the proper backup groups and devices under the pool properties.

5. Configure a device for each node separately in NetWorker server and label this device with the newly created pool.

6. Create one local device on the NetWorker server and label this device with the newly created pool.

NMM does not support DSNs. Do not select the DSN device property.

7. Run the backups for DAG nodes and verify that NMM saves the backup to the remote storage node.

Exchange Information Store backup

The Exchange data is stored in the Information Store. The Information Store contains the following data:

l The Exchange database (.edb) files include mailbox databases and public folder

databases.

l The Transaction log (.log) files store database operations such as creating or

modifying a message. When the operations are committed, they are written to the .edb file.

l The Checkpoint (.chk) files store information about successful operations when they

are saved to the database on the hard disk.

When you select a storage group (Exchange 2007) or database (Exchange 2010 and 2013) for backup, NMM backs up the database file and accompanying .log and .chk files. As part of your backup strategy for a Microsoft Exchange environment, make sure to back up the following components with NMM:

Microsoft Exchange Server 2010 and 2013 environments

l Stand-alone (non-DAG) databases

l Active or passive databases in a DAG environment

Microsoft Exchange Server 2007 environments

l Storage groups on the active or passive nodes in a CCR or SCR environment l Storage groups on stand-alone (non-CCR) Exchange servers

Perform these backups regularly on either an on-demand or scheduled basis.

Backing up highly available Exchange server

In a high-availability environment, such as Exchange Server 2007 cluster continuous replication (CCR), standby continuous replication (SCR), or single copy cluster (SCC), you must schedule one of the following:

l Active node backup l Passive node backup

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In an Exchange Server 2010 or Exchange Server 2013 DAG environment, you can schedule Federated backups using the DAG client and non-Federated backup using the DAG node client

Backing up circular logging-enabled databases

You can use circular logging to limit the transaction logs stored on the system. However, incremental backups are not supported with circular logging enabled. When there are circular logging enabled databases, only full backups are valid.

To enable circular logging, add the CIRCULAR_PROMOTION_POLICY parameter to the Application Information field in the Apps & Modules tab of the Client Properties dialog for each client resource. This parameter indicates one of three directives to follow when backing up circular logging enabled databases or storage groups.

The CIRCULAR_PROMOTION_POLICY parameter directives are:

l Promote: Back up all databases, promoting incremental backups to full backups if

any database in the save set has circular logging enabled. Selecting this option backs up all databases whether they have circular logging enabled or not. If one or more databases have circular logging enabled, all databases in the save set have all incremental backups promoted to a full backup. If the flag is not specified, all databases in the save set have all incremental backups promoted to a full backup.

l Circular: Back up only those databases with circular logging enabled, promoting them

to full. Selecting this option promotes all incremental backups of all databases with circular logging enabled to a full backup and skip any databases that do not have circular logging enabled.

l Skip: Skip backup of databases with circular logging enabled, allowing incremental

backups. Selecting this option performs an incremental backup (depending on what has been specified) of all databases that have circular logging disabled and skip any database that has circular logging enabled.

You can use the Promote directive by itself. Circular and Skip are mutually exclusive, and you must create a separate client resource for each directive.

If you switch a database from circular logging to noncircular logging, you must run a full backup. Incremental backups that have occurred since the database has been switched to noncircular logging are not recoverable until you perform a new full backup.

Achieving the maximum number of save sessions

To achieve the maximum number of save sessions for Exchange backups, you can configure backups using the following recommendations:

l Perform database level backups by specifying individual database level save sets

instead of the writer level save set.

l Store mailbox database log files and databases on different volumes.

l When using a single backup device, determine the correct Target session and Max

session values. The Target session value is the number of simultaneous streams that a device will accept before the NetWorker server looks for another device. For more information on Target session and Max session, refer to the EMC NetWorker

Administration Guide.

l When using multiple backup devices, it is best to have an equal number of backup

devices and snapshots for the backups.

Backup

EMC NetWorker Module for Microsoft for Exchange Server VSS

EMC

®

NetWorker

®

Module for

Microsoft for Exchange Server

VSS

User Guide

CONTENTS

FIGURES

TABLES

Preface

CHAPTER 1

Introduction

Overview

Microsoft Exchange Server environments

Stand-alone and single Exchange Servers

Exchange Server 2007 clusters

Exchange Server 2010 and 2013 DAGs

Supported high availability configurations

High availability and clustering in Exchange Server 2007

Exchange Server 2007 replication

Single Copy Cluster (SCC)

High availability in Exchange Server 2010 and 2013

Active and passive nodes and databases

Using NMM in an Exchange Server environment

Exchange Server 2007 and Exchange Server 2010 VSS Writers

Exchange Server 2013 VSS Writer

Compatibility with previous Exchange backups

Backup initiated transaction log file truncation

Backup types and levels

Federated backup

Recovery types

CHAPTER 2

Configuration

Supported Exchange server deployment scenarios and

limitations

Supported Exchange server versions

Supported high-availability deployments

Windows Small Business Server

Single server Microsoft Exchange Server and Microsoft SharePoint Server

installations

Exchange Server 2007 storage groups

Delivery status notifications (DSNs) for Exchange server DAG environments

Backup and recover limitation to standalone mailbox server in a DAG

NMM prerequisites

Exchange server hardware requirements

Required permissions

MAPI client and Collaboration Data Objects

Exchange backup prerequisites

Exchange recovery prerequisites

Exchange Server 2007 CCR requirements

Additional requirements for recovering databases in a DAG

Additional requirements for browsing mailboxes

Exchange Consistency Check

Consistency check parameters for threading and throttling

Configuring a DSN for Exchange Server

CHAPTER 3

Backup

Planning backups

Backup requirements

Backup considerations

Planning DAG and non-DAG backups

Backup in non-DAG and DAG environments

Federated backups in DAG environments

Configuring backups to use a remote storage node in a DAG environment

Exchange Information Store backup

Backing up highly available Exchange server

Backing up circular logging-enabled databases

Achieving the maximum number of save sessions