The Exchange Offline Mining Tool is a stand-alone console which allow end-users and administrators to browse and search an offline copy of the Exchange Database in order to locate and restore e-mail messages.
The tool requires an offline copy of the Exchange Database to be available, which can be staged
in one of two ways:
by manually copying the Exchange database.
by performing an out-of-place restore of the Exchange Database from a
regular backup.
by replicating the Exchange Database using ContinuousDataReplicator.
by performing an out-of-place restore of the Exchange Database from a
SnapProtect backup.
The Exchange Offline Mining Tool can be run locally or on a network
share. Message-level recoveries and recoveries to a PST file can be
performed using this tool.
The Exchange Offline Mining Tool is tailored to meet the needs of both End
Users and Administrators. The following sections describe the capabilities
available for each type of user:
End-users often need to locate and restore an e-mail message from backup media, but usually do not have access to the CommCell Console. To address this business critical need, the Exchange Offline Mining Tool offers End-Users the ability to browse and search through messages in their mailboxes from an offline copy of the Exchange Database. Once the desired messages have been located using the tool, End-Users can right-click the messages and restore them as MSG files or PST files.
Administrators are often tasked with locating data across mailboxes in order to comply with the legal or business regulations, but may not have access to the CommCell Console. To address this business critical need, the Exchange Offline Mining Tool offers the ability to browse and search through messages in all mailboxes from an offline copy of the Exchange Database. Once the desired messages have been located using the tool, Administrators can right-click the messages and restore them as MSG files or PST files.
Plan a recovery strategy by identifying which Exchange Database Files (*.edb) that you would like to perform a data mining operation on, and the time range (latest data or point-in-time) for the image of the database to be restored to an offline copy.
The client computer from which the Exchange Offline Mining Tool is being
accessed must be a part of a domain in order for the Exchange Offline Mining
Tool to query the Active Directory schema. See
Configuring
Administrator and End-User Capabilities for more information on how the
Exchange Offline Mining Tool interacts with Active Directory.
This feature requires a Feature License to be available in the CommServe.
Review general license requirements included in the License Administration section of Books Online. Also, for step-by-step instructions on how to view the license information, see
License Administration.
The Exchange Offline Mining Tool require the Offline Mining Exchange Tool
license for the Exchange Database
iDataAgent. This license is consumed during the installation of the software and each installed instance uses a license.
The Exchange Offline Mining Tool supports the following Microsoft Exchange
Server databases:
Microsoft Exchange Server 2003
Microsoft Exchange Server 2007
Microsoft Exchange Server 2010
Out-of-place restores are not supported for VSS backups of Exchange
Exchange 2003 databases. If the database you want to use as the offline copy was
backed up using VSS, you must perform an additional non-VSS backup of the
database in order to perform the required out-of-place restore operation.
Upon opening, the Exchange Offline Mining Tool will automatically query the
Active Directory database to determine the permissions and capabilities provided
for the given user. Thus, it is important that each user be given the proper
permissions and capabilities within Active Directory in order to ensure only the
operations permitted for each user can be performed. (For example, an end-user
should only see his or her mailbox, whereas an administrator should have access
to all mailboxes.)
To configure users with the proper permissions and capabilities for Exchange
Offline Mining, perform the following steps:
Create a new user group in Active Directory called
exchangedbmineadmins.
Assign all users and/or user groups who are to have administrative privileges to the
exchangedbmineadmins group.
Once this configuration is complete, only users in the
exchangedbmineadmins group will have administrative privileges for Exchange
Offline Mining. All other users and/or user groups will retain end-user privileges only.
After installing the CommServe and MediaAgent, the offline mining tool can be installed.
The following additional software packages must be installed on the same computer where the Exchange Offline Mining Tool
is installed, if they are not already present on the computer:
.NET Framework 2.0 (will be automatically installed during Offline Mining Tool installation, if needed)
Microsoft Outlook 2003 (or later)
For Exchange Server 2010 Editions, the Exchange
Offline Mining Tool is supported only with 32-bit versions of
Outlook.
Note the following installation requirements when using replication for
creating offline database copies:
The ContinuousDataReplicator software must be installed on the computer
hosting the Exchange database.
If you intend to use the Exchange Offline
Mining Tool with Exchange 2007 databases, the tool must be installed on an
x64 computer. Similarly, if you intend to use the Exchange Offline Mining Tool
with Exchange 2003 databases, the tool must be installed on a 32-bit or x64
computer providing both the source and destination computer processors are
identical.
If the source computer is running Windows Server 2008, the destination
computer must also be running on Windows Server 2008. Similarly, if the
source computer is running Windows Server 2003, the destination computer
must also be running Windows Server 2003.
If the CDR source computer is running a 32-bit operating system, the CDR
destination computer must also be running a 32-bit operating system.
Similarly, if the CDR source computer is running an x64 operating system,
the CDR destination computer must also be running an x64 operating system.
For exchange 2010 databases, the
Exchange Offline Mining tool must be
installed in x64bit Windows 2008 computers only. The exchange 2010 databases
cannot be registered on 32bit computers.
The following section provides the high-level steps for configuring the Exchange Offline Mining
Tool.
Review the Important Considerations
section prior to configuring the Exchange Offline Mining Tool.
To run the Exchange Offline Mining Tool from a remote location,
permissions must be set on the computer from which the Exchange Offline
Mining Tool is launched.
This can be accomplished separately on each individual computer or pushed to
multiple computers simultaneously. Both methods provide the capability to remotely execute binaries that
have a .Net dependency.
Note that caspol.exe resides in .NET Framework's
version directory. (For example,
C:\WINDOWS\Microsoft.NET\Framework\<version_number>).
Additionally, note that all commands are case-sensitive.
To set permissions on an individual computer, the following command
can be run:
caspol -m -addgroup "LocalIntranet_Zone" -allcode FullTrust -n "DB Mining Tool Policy" -d "This policy is used to run DBMining Tool"
To push permission settings to multiple computers simultaneously,
perform the following steps:
In the login script, change the folder location to the .NET
Framework's version directory. (For example,
C:\WINDOWS\Microsoft.NET\Framework\<version_number>)
Run the following command to establish trust with the source
computer:
CasPol.exe -pp off -m -ag
1.2 -url //<computer_name>/ FullTrust
Copy the security configuration file (config\security.config)
and append the new copy with the .default
extension (For example, config\security.config.default).
This establishes a default security configuration file.
Once the above one-time setup tasks have been completed, the Administrator will need to prepare the
driver files for the respective Exchange application version
along with the respective Exchange database by performing the following tasks:
The above .dll files must be placed in the location where the
database resides.
Configure the location of the offline database copy by registering
the database. For step-by-step instructions, see
Register a Database.
If you are
registering a database on a computer with the intention of importing the
configuration file on another computer, the database must be registered using a
shared UNC path accessible by
both computers.
Export the database configuration file to be used by the Exchange Offline Mining Tool. For step-by-step instructions, see
Export the Database Configuration File.
Use this method if you will be copying the Exchange database from the source
computer to the destination computer by way of an out-of-pace restore of a
conventional database backup.
From the CommCell Console, perform a backup of the Exchange
database. This backup operation will backup the driver files along
with the respective Exchange database.
From the CommCell Console, perform an out-of-place restore of the Exchange Database.
This restore operation will restore the driver files along with the
respective Exchange database. (For more information, see Out-of-Place Restore in
Books Online.)
Once the restore operation is complete, the
restored Exchange database will serve as the offline database copy.
Configure the location of the offline database copy by registering
the database. For step-by-step instructions, see
Register a Database.
If you are
registering a database on a computer with the intention of importing the
configuration file on another computer, the database must be registered using a
shared UNC path accessible by
both computers.
Export the database configuration file to be used by the Exchange Offline Mining Tool. For step-by-step instructions, see
Export the Database Configuration File.
Once the replication operation is complete, you must create
Consistent Recovery Points with the Exchange Mining option
enabled for the replication set. See
Configure CDR Recovery
Points for step-by-step instructions.
On NetApp file servers, the snapshots created by the Recovery Points must be
shared to make them accessible to the application. See
Share a Snapshot for Offline Mining on ONTAP for step-by-step instructions.
Configure the location of the offline database copy by registering
the database. For step-by-step instructions, see
Register a Database.
If you are
registering a database on a computer with the intention of importing the
configuration file on another computer, the database must be registered using a
shared UNC path accessible by
both computers.
Export the database configuration file to be used by the Exchange Offline Mining Tool. For step-by-step instructions, see
Export the Database Configuration File.
Use this method if you will be copying the Exchange database from the source
computer to the destination computer by way of an out-of-pace restore of a
SnapProtect backup.
For Exchange Server 2007, perform an out-of-place restore of the Exchange Database.
This restore operation will restore the driver files along with the
respective Exchange database. (For more information, see Out-of-Place Restore in
Books Online.)
Once the restore operation is complete, the
restored Exchange database will serve as the offline database copy.
For Exchange Server 2003, the snapshot must be mounted through the
CommCell Console. (See
Mount Snapshots
for step-by-step instructions.) Once the snapshot is mounted in the
CommCell Console, the database files, log files, and Exchange
.dll files must be copied to the
location from which the Exchange Offline Mining Tool will register the
database.
Configure the location of the offline database copy by registering
the database. For step-by-step instructions, see
Register a Database.
If you are
registering a database on a computer with the intention of importing the
configuration file on another computer, the database must be registered using a
shared UNC path accessible by
both computers.
Export the database configuration file to be used by the Exchange Offline Mining Tool. For step-by-step instructions, see
Export the Database Configuration File.
End-Users must import the database configuration file, which was exported by the Administrator in the preceding step. For step-by-step instructions, see
Import the Database Configuration File.
Ensure that the one-time setup tasks in the
Configuration section have been completed.
This procedure can only be performed by a user with administrative
privileges.
Required Capability: None.
To export the database configuration file:
Launch the Exchange Offline Mining Tool from the Start | All Programs menu.
From the Exchange menu, click Save. The Choose Location dialog will appear.
From the Choose Location dialog, type in or browse to the location of the Configuration File to be exported. After specifying the location of the Configuration File, click OK.
Ensure that the one-time setup tasks in the
Configuration section have been completed.
Required Capability: None.
To import the database configuration file:
Launch the Exchange Offline Mining Tool from the Start | All Programs menu.
From the Exchange menu, click Open. The Import Config File Dialog will appear.
From the Import Config File Dialog, type in or browse to the location of the Configuration File to be imported. After specifying the location of the Configuration File, click OK.
The database and associated mailbox data will be loaded into the tool interface for mining.
Ensure that all tasks in the Configuration section have been completed.
Required Capability: Agent Management
To configure the location of the Exchange Offline Mining Tool:
From the CommCell Browser, right-click the client icon associated with the Exchange Mailbox Archiver Agent for which you want to configure the location of the Exchange Offline Mining Tool, and then click Properties.
From the Advanced tab of the client Properties dialog box, type in the fully qualified path where the Exchange Offline Mining Tool resides in the Path to Exchange mining tool entry space. This setting, along with the
UIOptions registry key setting, will enable the display of a toolbar button to launch the respective Exchange Offline Mining Tool from the DataArchiver Outlook Add-In interface.
Note that the path specified must be a UNC path in order for the Exchange
Offline Mining Tool to be launched from Outlook.
Additionally, all users accessing the Exchange Offline Mining Tool must have
read and execute permissions for the chosen UNC path.
Ensure that all tasks in the Configuration section have been completed.
Required Capability: None.
To browse and restore messages using the Exchange Offline Mining Tools:
Launch the Exchange Offline Mining Tool from the Start | All Programs menu.
From the left pane, expand the Database node, then expand the Mailbox(es) node(s) and expand the desired mailbox folders then locate the desired messages.
Once you have located the message(s) to be restored, right-click the message or range of selected messages and select one of the following options as appropriate:
Restore As Msg - select this option to restore the message as an MSG file.
Restore To Pst... - select this option to restore the message to a PST file.
The Browse Restore Location Dialog will appear.
From the Browse Restore Location Dialog, type in or browse to the location where you would like to restore the message(s). After specifying the restore location, click OK.
To view the restored message(s), double-click the MSG file to open in Outlook, or import the PST file from Outlook.
Ensure that all tasks in the Configuration section have been completed.
Required Capability: None.
To search and restore messages using the Exchange Offline Mining Tools:
Launch the Exchange Offline Mining Tool from the Start | All Programs menu.
From the left pane, expand the Database node then right-click the desired folder and select
Find. From the Find dialog, specify the pattern you are searching for in the From, To and/or Subject fields then click OK.
Once you have located the message(s) to be restored, right-click the message or range of selected messages and select one of the following options as appropriate:
Restore As Msg - select this option to restore the message as an MSG file.
Restore To Pst... - select this option to restore the message to a PST file.
The Browse Restore Location Dialog will appear.
From the Browse Restore Location Dialog, type in or browse to the location where you would like to restore the message(s). After specifying the restore location, click OK.
To view the restored message(s), double-click the MSG file to open in Outlook, or import the PST file from Outlook.
Certain configuration tasks are required before you can access and use the Exchange Offline Mining Tool in Outlook. For more information, see
Configuration.
Note that this functionality is supported with Exchange 2003 databases
only.
Required Capability: See Capabilities and Permitted Actions in Books Online.
To access and use the Exchange Offline Mining Tool in Outlook:
Log on to your mailbox in Outlook. The Outlook window appears.
From Outlook toolbar, click the following button to launch the Exchange Offline Mining Tool:
DB Mining Tool
From the left pane of the Exchange Offline Mining Tool console, expand the Database node, then expand the Mailbox(es) node(s) and expand the desired mailbox folders then locate the desired messages by performing one of the following tasks:
Manually browse the data.
Right-click the desired grouping in the left pane, then click Search. From the search dialog, specify the pattern you are searching for in the From, To and/or Subject fields then click OK.
Once you have located the message(s) to be restored, right-click the message or range of selected messages and select one of the following options as appropriate:
Restore As Msg - select this option to restore the message as an MSG file.
Restore To Pst... - select this option to restore the message to a PST file.
The Browse Restore Location Dialog will appear.
From the Browse Restore Location Dialog, type in or browse to the location where you would like to restore the message(s). After specifying the restore location, click OK.
To view the restored message(s), double-click the MSG file to open in Outlook, or import the PST file from Outlook.
Do not use the offline mining tool on a live production database. This
tool should only be used with offline copies of the database.
After completing a data mining operation with an Exchange Offline Mining Tool, it is recommended to
close the database(s) to free up resources. Closing the database will remove it from the configuration file and any clean up any associated cache files in the temp folder. For step-by-step instructions, see
Close a Database.
Consider the following prior to configuring and using this feature:
If the Exchange database contains more than one storage group, separate
replication sets must be created for each storage group.
If backups are performed for a storage group that contains more than one
Exchange database, each database within the storage group must be restored
to a unique location in order to perform offline mining of the databases.
Exchange offline mining using the Replication method is not supported
for Exchange storage groups with circular logging enabled. To perform
offline mining using the Replication method, ensure that circular logging is
disabled for the appropriate storage group.
When preparing an offline mining environment, the mining tool should be
run from a computer from a non-Exchange Server computer with Outlook
installed. This setup ensure the body of MIME messages are preserved.
Offline data is always mined from a copy of the Exchange Database (*.edb) file which must be made available to the tool through an Out-of-Place Restore.
One particular database can be registered in separate instances of the tool.
A cache file is created in the temp folder of a user for all messages in a particular folder. This file is unique for any folder in any database. The cache file remains persistent until the database is removed from the configuration file.
Message enumeration for a folder greater than 100 messages displays a progress bar. The enumeration can be aborted by clicking Cancel, in which case no cache file will be created.
The Exchange Offline Mining Tool creates three log files in the logged on user's temp directory which can helpful for troubleshooting purposes: JetExchLib.log, JetLogReplay.log and JetMapiHelper.log.
Exchange 2007 and pre-Exchange 2007 databases should be opened in different instances of the tool.
If the end-user intend to access an offline copy of an Exchange 2007 database
(such as through Microsoft Outlook), the end-user’s client computer must be
running a Windows x64 platform.
The Body view does not show attachments. To view an attachment to a message, restore the message containing the attachment.
If the Exchange database is in Dirty Shutdown mode, the tool will ask for the log file location to replay log files on the database to get it into the Clean Shutdown mode. When the Exchange Database is in Dirty Shutdown mode, it cannot be opened directly unless the logs are replayed. In the event that logs cannot be replayed, or are corrupt, the tool will perform a hard repair on the database.
The Exchange Offline Mining Tool is supported in a variety of different
languages. See Languages -
Support for information on languages supported by the software.
If the Exchange Offline Mining Tool is opened on the computer to which it is
installed, the tool will automatically use the regional language settings
configured on the computer provided the language is supported by the software.
If the Exchange Offline Mining Tool is opened remotely (for example, from
Outlook Add-In), the EvMgrCHost file must be configured to display the tool in
the desired language. This file is located in the DBMiningTool directory on the
computer to which the Exchange Offline Mining Tool was installed. To configure this file for the
desired language, add the following:
To register a database: