Exchange Offline Mining Tool

Topics | How To

Overview

User Capabilities

• End-User Capabilities
• Administrator Capabilities
• Differences Between End-User and Administrator Capabilities
• Configuring Administrator and End-User Capabilities

Prerequisites

• Planning
• License Requirements

Installation

Configuration

• Manual Copy Method
• Out-of-Place Restore Method
• Replication Method

Operations

Best Practices

Important Considerations

Language Support

Overview

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.

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.

User Capabilities

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-User Capabilities

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.

Administrator Capabilities

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.

Differences Between End-User and Administrator Capabilities

The following table outlines how the capabilities of the Exchange Offline Mining Tool differ between end-users and administrators:

Prerequisites

The following are prerequisites to using this feature:

Planning

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.

License Requirements

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.

Supported Exchange Databases

The Exchange Offline Mining Tool supports the following Microsoft Exchange Server databases:

• Microsoft Exchange Server 2003
• Microsoft Exchange Server 2007

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.

Configuring Administrator and End-User Capabilities

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:

1. Create a new user group in Active Directory called exchangedbmineadmins.
2. 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.

Installation

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)

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 may 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 step-by-step installation instructions, see Deployment - Exchange Server iDataAgents.

Configuration

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.

1. 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:
     1. In the login script, change the folder location to the .NET Framework's version directory. (For example, C:\WINDOWS\Microsoft.NET\Framework\<version_number>)
     2. Run the following command to establish trust with the source computer:

        CasPol.exe -pp off -m -ag 1.2 -url //<computer_name>/ FullTrust

     3. 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.
2. Optionally, you can configure an Outlook toolbar button to launch the Exchange Offline Mining Tool from the DataArchiver Outlook Add-In. For step-by-step instructions, see Configure the Location of the Exchange Offline Mining Tool.
3. 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:

   Manual Copy Method:

   Use this method if you will be manually copying the Exchange database from the source computer to the destination computer.

   • Copy the Exchange database from the source computer to the destination computer on which the offline database copy will reside.
   • Copy the following .dll files from the source computer to the destination computer on which the offline database copy will reside:
     • Exchange 2003: ese.dll, exchmem.dll, exosal.dll, ifsproxy.dll, jcb.dll
     • Exchange 2007: ese.dll, exchmem.dll, jcb.dll

     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.

   Out-of-Place Restore Method:

   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.

   Replication Method:

   Use this method if you will be copying the Exchange database from the source computer to the destination computer by way of data replication.

   • Replicate the Exchange database using ContinuousDataReplicator. See Using ContinuousDataReplicator with Microsoft Exchange for more information.
   • 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.
   • 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.
4. 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.

Operations

After installing and configuring the required components, data is ready for mining and recovery. The following operations can be performed:

• Register a Database
• Export the Database Configuration File
• Import the Database Configuration File
• Configure the View Settings
• Configure the Location of the Exchange Offline Mining Tool

• Browse and Restore Messages using the Exchange Offline Mining Tool
• Search and Restore Messages using the Exchange Offline Mining Tool
• Close a Database
• Access and Use the Exchange Offline Mining Tool from Outlook (Exchange 2003 databases only)

Best Practices

Best practice guidelines include the following:

• 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.

Important Considerations

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.

Language Support

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:

lang=<language_code>

where language_code is one of the following:

fr-fr (French - France)

fr-ca (French - Canada)

es-es (Spanish - Spain)

es-mx (Spanish - Mexico)

de-de (German - Standard)

it-it (Italian)

ja-jp (Japanese)

ru-ru (Russian)

zh-cn (Chinese - Simplified)

en-us (English - United States)

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