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NetVault Plug-in for Exchange 12.1 - User Guide

Introducing NetVault Backup Plug-in for Exchange Defining an Exchange data protection strategy Planning your Exchange Server deployment Installing and removing the plug-in Configuring the plug-in Backing up data Restoring data Troubleshooting

Reviewing the Phases of the Restore Sequence

Each Exchange Server restore scenario has two distinct phases: the Restore Phase and the Recovery Phase.

Restore phase

The Restore Phase is used to transfer all the files included in a backup from storage to the local disk. This process can be done using one of the Restore Methods defined in Reviewing the available restore methods.

When performing restore sequences that include Incremental or Differential Backups, the Restore Phase is performed for each backup that is restored.

Ensure that adequate disk space is available on the volume or volumes where the databases are stored during a restore. If disk space is exhausted during the Restore Phase, the restore job fails.

Recovery phase

In the Recovery Phase, changes that were logged in the transaction log files are reapplied to the corresponding databases to bring the Exchange Server forward in time. This phase is only available when using the VSS Restore Method.

When restoring sequences of backups (if there are Incremental or Differential Backups),  the Recovery Phase is performed one time as the final step in the restore sequence. Recovery is only performed once, regardless of the number of backups included in the restore sequence.

Restoring data using the plug-in

A standard restore procedure includes the steps outlined in the following topics:

•
Selecting data for a restore
•
Setting restore and recovery options
•
Setting security options
•
Finalizing and submitting the restore job

Selecting data for a restore

1
On the Navigation pane, click Create Restore Job.
2
On the Create Restore Job — Choose Saveset page, select Plug‑in for Exchange from the Plugin Type list.
3
To filter the items displayed in the saveset table further, use the Client, Date, and Job ID lists.
The table displays the saveset name (job title and saveset ID), creation date and time, and size. By default, the list is sorted by creation date.
The following table outlines the backup-type identifiers for VSS:
 
Backup type
Backup type identifier

Full

VSS FULL

Copy

VSS COPY

Incremental

VSS INCREMENTAL

Differential

VSS DIFFERENTIAL

4
In the saveset table, select the applicable item.
When you select a saveset, the following details are displayed in the Saveset Information area: Job ID, job title, server name, client name, plug-in name, saveset date and time, retirement setting, Incremental Backup or not, Archive or not, saveset size, and snapshot-based backup or not.
5
Click Next.
6
On the Create Selection Set page, select the data that you want to restore.
NetVault Backup lets you select from the following items for inclusion in a restore job, depending on what version of Exchange you are using:
•
Entire Information Store
•
Individual Databases — including Mailbox Databases and Public Folder Databases
•
Sets of Databases
7
If you are restoring data from a persistent snapshot, review the following:
•
If your backup target was NetVault Backup media, skip to Finalizing and submitting the restore job.
To restore data from a persistent snapshot, no additional steps are required before you submit the job. After you submit the job, the plug-in automatically obtains the snapshot information from the backup index. If the snapshot is available, the plug-in mounts it locally and restores the selected files from the snapshot. If the snapshot is unavailable, the plug-in restores the file data from the storage media.
•
If your backup target was non-NetVault Backup media, such as a disk array, review the following information before you skip to Finalizing and submitting the restore job.
If you restore an Exchange database to a DAG and do not specify a Target Client, the plug-in restores the database to the node that hosts the active copy. If you restore the database from a persistent snapshot, the plug-in maps the volume in the client that took the snapshot during the backup process. Because of these conditions, restoring from a persistent snapshot to a DAG, that is, where the Target Client is a NetVault Backup Virtual Client, requires that the active copy of the database is hosted on the node that takes the snapshots during the backup process. For more information, see Understanding snapshot-based backups and restores.

Setting restore and recovery options

On the Create Selection Set page, click Edit Plugin Options, and configure the following parameters on the Restore and Recovery Options tab:

•
Restore Method: Select one of the following:
•
Volume Shadow Copy Service (VSS): To perform the restore of selected data using the VSS method, which allows for the recovery of Full, Differential, and Incremental Backup types, select this option. For more information, see Reviewing the Volume Shadow Copy Service (VSS) backup method.
•
Copy Files to Target Directory Only: Select this option if you want to restore the raw files from storage to a specific target directory. When choosing this method, database recovery is not available. When restoring using this method, you do not have to dismount databases from the Exchange Server before the start of the restore job.
•
Restore Options: Select the applicable options:
•
Target Directory: If you selected the Copy Files to Target Directory Only option, update the path for the target if you do not want to use the default.
 
* 
IMPORTANT: Ensure that the temporary directory is empty. Failing to do so can cause restore jobs to fail with “Restore Environment Information Corrupted” errors.
•
Maximum Number of Parallel Streams: Specify the maximum number of parallel restore streams to use during the restore. By default, this field displays the maximum number that is allowed based on the version and edition of Exchange Server that was used to generate the backup.
•
Do Not overwrite existing Files: The option, which is selected by default, applies to the physical files that an Exchange Server database consists of, including database files, transaction logs, and partial transaction logs. This option works with both of the preceding Restore Method options.
•
To complete a soft recovery, leave this option selected to ensure that the plug-in does not overwrite a file of the same name in the specified target directory. For example, if you are restoring files to a database directory in which there are transaction logs and partial transaction logs that were created since the last backup was completed, selecting this option retains the existing logs and recovery includes the existing logs as well as additional transaction logs that were restored from the backup.
•
To complete a hard recovery, clear this option to stop the plug-in from checking whether files of the same name exist in the specified target directory. For example, if you are restoring files to an empty database directory or you want to recover files up to the time that the last backup was completed, clearing this option ensures that the files from the last backup are recovered.
 
* 
IMPORTANT: If you are restoring a sequence of Full and Incremental or Differential Backups, use the same setting for the Do Not overwrite existing Files option for each step in the sequence. For example, if you select the option when you restore the base Full Backup, make sure that you select the option for every subsequent Incremental or Differential Backup as well.
•
Dismount Databases before Restore: To dismount the databases that have been selected for restore automatically before actually performing the restore, select this option. All databases in selected Mailbox Databases are dismounted when restoring VSS-based backups. Also, databases in RSGs are not dismounted when this option is selected.
•
Set ‘This database can be overwritten by a restore’ Flag for Databases: To restore all databases involved in the restore operation automatically and eliminate the requirement to use an Exchange utility for this operation, select this option. If you do not select this option, Quest recommends that you use the Exchange Management Console, Exchange System Manager, or Exchange Management Shell to set the Overwrite Permissions to ensure a successful restore.
 
* 
IMPORTANT: Selecting This database can be overwritten by a restore has the following limitations:
•
When an RDB is configured for a database, the overwrite permission is not set for the databases in the RDB. Quest recommends that you do not select this option if the restore location is redirected to an RDB.
•
When you rename a Mailbox Database, the overwrite permissions are set for all databases in the target Mailbox Database.
•
When you rename databases, the overwrite permissions are set for the target databases.
•
Suspend database Replication before Restore: (only available for DAG deployments) Select this option to disable database copying automatically for all Mailbox Databases that have DatabaseCopy enabled for DAG.
•
Update database Replication after Recovery (Deletes Existing Files and Resumes Replication): (only available for DAG deployments) Select this option to update database copying for DAG automatically. After the existing files of the database copy have been deleted, the database copy is updated by copying the new database and log files. This step deletes the existing database copy and log files. After the restore job has been completed with this option, the status in the Exchange Management Console should be Healthy. Updating a database copy might take a significant amount of time depending on the size of the database and the network bandwidth and latency.
 
* 
NOTE: After the Update Database Replication after Recovery has completed successfully, the Mailbox Database Copy Status restored in the Exchange Management Console might show Initializing instead of Healthy. However, this status is not a problem because the Copy Status will change to Healthy after a new log file is generated for the active Mailbox Database.
•
Recovery Options: Select the applicable options:
•
Perform Recovery (Enable only on Last Step in Restore Sequence): Select this option when performing the last job of a restore sequence. If the restore sequence only includes a Full Backup, select this option for the Full Backup. If the restore sequence includes Incremental or Differential Restores, select this option when restoring the last backup in the restore sequence. This option finalizes the restore process after completion of the restore job for which it was selected, that is, the Exchange Server is then alerted to perform any necessary recovery tasks. All other options in the Recovery Options section are disabled unless this option is selected.
 
* 
IMPORTANT: When restoring VSS-based backups, current logs are automatically replayed. If you want to restore up to the point of the last backup, delete the current logs before the VSS Restore is performed.
•
Mount Databases after Recovery: (selected by default) This option can be selected to mount the dismounted databases within the databases automatically after the restore completes. Quest recommends that you leave this option selected; otherwise, manually mount the databases after completion of the restore to bring it back online.
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