Topics | How To | Full System Restore | Related Topics
Restore Considerations for these Agents
The following page describes the agent-specific restore options. Additional restore options are accessible from the Related Topics menu.
The Exchange iDataAgents support the following types of restores:
Additionally, the Exchange Database iDataAgents support:
All restores can be performed in-place, out-of-place or cross-application. (See Restore Destinations below for comprehensive information.)
For the Exchange iDataAgents restore operations can be performed from the client, iDataAgent, and backup set levels in the CommCell Browser.
When there is a problem with the Exchange Server or the operating system of the client computer full system restores may be required. See Restore Data - Exchange Server - Full System Restore for more information.
The section provides agent-specific restore-related information applicable for the Exchange Database iDataAgents.
The Exchange Database backup data is divided into two parts: the database or stores (.edb and .stm files) and the transaction logs. To restore, Exchange needs the database or store files and a sequential list of transaction logs associated with a particular database or store.
After a restore operation has been performed, if the No Loss Restore option on the Restore Options dialog was selected, the log files that have been created since the last backup will be appended to the restored data. This will bring the database to the most current possible state.
Keep in mind that a No Loss Restore will only complete successfully if the sequence of the transaction logs is not broken and no corruption has taken place. If there is a break in the sequence of the logs or they are corrupted then the restore may not be successful and databases/ stores may not be able to be mounted. Also, keep in mind that No Loss Restore can only be attempted from the most recent backup.
| If the data browsed is not the most recent backup data then the no loss restore option will be disabled. |
The One-pass Restore feature for the Exchange Database iDataAgent provides a performance-enhancing solution for conducting non-VSS restores of data from backups on tape. Restoring data from tapes is generally less efficient and more time consuming to accomplish than restoring data from other types of media. This is primarily due to the limitations inherent in sequential access of data offered by tape media. If backup data is multiplexed onto tape, it can further hinder the restore performance. With this feature, only one-pass through the media is required to gather all the information on the data to be restored and then execute the restore.
Keep in mind the following considerations when performing one-pass restores:
For step-by-step instructions, see Perform a Browse and One-pass Restore.
See also: Browse for One-pass Restore.
The section provides agent-specific restore-related information applicable for the Exchange Mailbox/Public/Web Folder iDataAgents.
The system offers a variety of options for restoring selected items, which are available in the Exchange Mailbox/Public/Web Folder iDataAgent’s Restore Options dialog box in the CommCell Console. These options and their descriptions are as follows:
In situations where a Public Folder created in a user’s mailbox (not the Administrator’s mailbox) is backed up and then deleted before it’s restored, the user won’t see the folder after the restore due to a change in ownership. For security reasons, the system assigns the ownership of the restored folder to the Administrator. Therefore, the user won’t see the restored folder unless the Administrator changes the permission back to the user. The Event Viewer will issue the following message to notify you of this condition:
"Warning: Please manually set folder [...] permission."
If you want the user to be able to view that folder after the restore, which would normally be the case, then the Administrator must manually set the folder permission back to the ownership of the user.
The Outlook Add-In, when used in conjunction with the Exchange Mailbox iDataAgent, provides end-users with the capability of browsing, searching and restoring or erasing messages from Outlook on their workstations; or, if Outlook is not available on the client, then the CommCell Console (as a Java applet) can be used for browsing or searching messages. Searches can be performed on message properties such as Subject, From and To. Messages or items that match the search criteria can then be restored or erased. Additionally, if Content Indexing is configured for your site, you can take advantage of advanced search capabilities such as finding a string in the content of messages, as well as searching keywords or exact phrases in the Cc, Bcc fields or in the attachment name.
For more information on these advanced search features, see Content Indexing.
For step-by-step instructions, see Find and Restore Messages in Outlook.
The Exchange Mailbox Archiver Agent and the Exchange Mailbox iDataAgent provide an option to recover all archived or backed up e-mail messages for specified mailboxes or folders on active indexes (i.e., data that has not been aged). This feature is useful for recovering all protected data from deleted mailboxes or folders in a single recovery operation, without having to perform a separate recovery operation for each index cycle. Data can be recovered from the latest index, or a point-in-time, all the way back to the least recent index that has not been aged.
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For step-by-step instructions, see Recover All Protected Mail.
Before performing any restore procedures for these agents, review the following information.
Removal of MAPI32.dll
If you previously added the MAPI32.dll file to the <Software Installation Path>/Base installation directory on the Client to support PST archiving or recoveries to PST, then you will need to remove that file prior to performing a non-PST restore, recover, or retrieve operation for Exchange. Otherwise, such jobs may go into a pending state.After performing a restore operation on the Exchange Database, a full backup is required before a scheduled pre-selected backup (incremental or differential) can successfully occur.
If you are restoring storage groups/stores that contain a plus sign "+" in their names, then you will need to manually dismount those storage groups/stores prior to the restore, and then manually mount them after the restore has completed. The restore options to automatically Dismount Database During Restore and Mount database after restore do not apply in this scenario.
During the restore process, transaction logs are temporarily placed in the Job Results directory, therefore you must ensure that the Job Results directory has enough free space to hold all the transaction logs for the restore job or the restore will fail.
Do not mount mailbox stores in the RSG before the restore. Keep in mind that live production stores must not be dismounted at any time during this operation. Also, the restore option to Mount database after restore only applies to Exchange Server 2003 in this scenario.
If you are restoring the Key Management Service (KMS) database, verify that the Key Management Server data directory is empty (typically \Program Files\Exchsrvr\KMSDATA), and make sure that the Microsoft Exchange Key Management Service is started.
After successfully restoring the KMS database, make sure that you stop and then re-start the Microsoft Exchange Key Management Service.
If you are restoring the Site Replication Service (SRS) database, verify that there are no *.edb, *.log or *.chk files in the Exchsrvr\srsdata folder, and make sure that the Microsoft Exchange Site Replication Service is started.
After successfully restoring the SRS database, make sure that you stop and then re-start the Microsoft Exchange Site Replication Service.
The Exchange 2003/2007 Database iDataAgent on a Windows Server 2003 platform provides the capability of restoring data from a Volume Shadow Services (VSS) shadow copy backup. Consider the following before restoring data from VSS enabled backups:
For example, if Storage Group SG1 has two stores in it, called DB1 and DB2, and the user has browsed and selected only DB1 for restore, then the user should have dismounted both DB1 and DB2 before beginning this type of restore. After all stores within the Storage Group have been dismounted, follow the normal restore procedures.
| When restoring Exchange 2003/2007 Database data from a VSS-enabled backup, the restore options to Mount Database After Restore and No Loss Restore do not apply. |
If the database is installed on the system drive, non-system databases will need to be manually brought back online after the restore.
Out-of-Place restores from VSS-enabled backups for the Exchange 2007 Database iDataAgent allow the database stores to be restored to a different storage group (including Recovery Storage Groups) on the same Exchange Server, or to a different Exchange Server within the same Exchange organization, or to a physically different location on disk (i.e., non-Exchange location) with a choice of whether or not to replay the logs. For step-by-step instructions, see Restore Out-of-Place or Cross-Application.
The Exchange Database iDataAgent provides several advanced restore destination options for logs backed up without VSS enabled. These options are available when the Restore Destination (Only valid for non-VSS restores) option is checked in the Exchange Options tab of the Advanced Restore Options dialog box. These options include:
Disabling Storage Limits
Before performing a mailbox, mailbox folder, or mailbox message restore, ensure that the storage limits are disabled. Otherwise the storage limit may prevent the entire list of items from being restored, even though the restore job may report success.
Follow the steps below to remove or disable any storage limit before performing a restore operation:
Storage limits can be set from an individual mailbox, or to use the value taken from the Private Information Store Properties box. If any individual mailboxes have set storage limits, disable them as well.
Large Restores of Data
If you are trying to restore a large amount of data (for example, if the restore operation time exceeds the time allowed in the operation window for the client), we recommend that you either break up the restore into many smaller restores, or perform an Exchange Server Database restore.
Special Characters
The use of the characters "/", "\" and "" in the message subject line, mailbox name, alias, or SMTP address may be rendered inconsistently when performing a restore browse operation. For example, a slash or backslash in the subject header may be displayed as a pipe character. Also, when the slash or backslash is used in the mailbox or display name, the entry may appear blank in the restore browse screen, and may not be a valid backup. We recommend avoiding the use of these characters in the mailbox name, display name and subject header, where possible.
Restore Failure Housekeeping
If a restore job fails in progress and there are entries in the restore list, there may be leftover items in the MailboxAdmin mailbox (which is associated with the MailboxAdmin profile that is required on the Exchange Server for this product). If so, open the MailboxAdmin mailbox and remove any mailboxes, folders, or messages left over. Be sure that there are no restores in progress or scheduled during this procedure.
Alias Name Browse/Search
Out-of-Place Restores to the Recovered Items Folder
If you perform a restore/recovery/retrieve operation using the CommCell Console and the restore/recovery/retrieve destination path is \recovered items, then the Overwrite and Skip restore options will be ignored. Instead, the messages will be appended.
There are no special pre-restore considerations for these agents.
By default, the Exchange iDataAgents restore data to the client computer from which it originated; this is referred to as an in-place restore. You can also restore the data to another Client computer in the CommCell. Keep in mind the following considerations when performing such restores:
The following section enumerates the types of restore destinations that are supported by the Exchange iDataAgents. See Restore/Recover/Retrieve Destinations - Support for a list of Agents supporting each restore destination type.
| If an Exchange database has been moved to a different location since the last backup, an in-place restore cannot be performed. Instead, an Out-of-Place Restore must be performed. |
Keep in mind the following considerations when performing out-of-place restore operations:
Out-of-Place restores from VSS-enabled backups for the Exchange 2007 Database iDataAgent allow the database stores to be restored to a different storage group (including Recovery Storage Groups) on the same Exchange Server, or to a different Exchange Server within the same Exchange organization, or to a physically different location on disk (i.e., non-Exchange location) with a choice of whether or not to replay the logs. For step-by-step instructions, see Restore Out-of-Place or Cross-Application.
Support for restoring/recovering/retrieving data from one application version to another generally follows the same compatibility support provided by the associated third-party application vendor, unless otherwise noted.