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Monday, January 10, 2011
Backup Exchange 2010: Backup Exchange 2010 Information Store using Windo...
Backup Exchange 2010: Backup Exchange 2010 Information Store using Windo...: "There seems to be quite a lot of confusion around the ability to backup Exchange 2010 using the built in Windows Backup feature. This..."
Backing up Exchange 2010 and Exchange 2007 SP2 using Windows Server Backup
Now, on to the main article:
In both Exchange 2007 SP2 on Windows 2008 and Exchange 2010, Microsoft has enabled Windows Server Backup to allow VSS backups of the Exchange database. I hope to shed some light on how to configure these backups, for both one off backups as well as scheduled daily backups.
First off - how to take a ONE off backup.
Launch Windows Server Backup on your mailbox role, and click the "Backup Once…" action.
Not having a schedule at this point, only "Different Options" is a choice
Only full server or custom is a choice. I am OK with Full server, but I will go with Custom for this.
Now, we can see that there is not much granularity to selections. Since this is VSS based, it has to be by disk. You can also see there is no "Information Store" to choose. Select ALL volumes that host Exchange (this is why I am OK with Full Server above)
For location - if I choose local drive, I will have only the DVD as an option. You cannot back up a drive to a drive that it is backing up. (this is the one down side of VSS in my opinion. It was nice to exclude e:\backups and save them there)
Specify location:
If you specify a location already used, you will receive this message.
This is nice because unlike old scheduled ntbackup.exe BKF files, we won't have an ever-growing backup set that is not being watched.
Not having a schedule at this point, only "Different Options" is a choice
Only full server or custom is a choice. I am OK with Full server, but I will go with Custom for this.
Now, we can see that there is not much granularity to selections. Since this is VSS based, it has to be by disk. You can also see there is no "Information Store" to choose. Select ALL volumes that host Exchange (this is why I am OK with Full Server above)
For location - if I choose local drive, I will have only the DVD as an option. You cannot back up a drive to a drive that it is backing up. (this is the one down side of VSS in my opinion. It was nice to exclude e:\backups and save them there)
Specify location:
If you specify a location already used, you will receive this message.
This is nice because unlike old scheduled ntbackup.exe BKF files, we won't have an ever-growing backup set that is not being watched.
Something to note here - when you do this as a scheduled job, it needs to be a local disk. A network share will not suffice. I have used an iSCSI SAN device
This is an IMPORTANT step. If you choose copy, your tlogs won't be flushed, and your databases will not register as backed up.
Confirm the settings (not pictured screen) and then click BACKUP and you can watch progress of the VSS backup. Here the shadow copy is produced.
Exchange 2010 consistency check being run:
This is an IMPORTANT step. If you choose copy, your tlogs won't be flushed, and your databases will not register as backed up.
Confirm the settings (not pictured screen) and then click BACKUP and you can watch progress of the VSS backup. Here the shadow copy is produced.
Exchange 2010 consistency check being run:
This backup process flushed transaction logs in Exchange 2010, marked the databases housed on Exchange 2010 as backed up. The backup set is larger than my actual Exchange data would be since I am backing up all the binaries on C every time.
This is a GREAT tool and I am very glad Microsoft listened to the need for an included backup utility.
Backup Exchange 2010 Information Store using Windows Backup
There seems to be quite a lot of confusion around the ability to backup Exchange 2010 using the built in Windows Backup feature. This stems from the omission of this feature prior to Exchange 2007 service Pack 2
Exchange 2010 includes a plug-in for Windows Server Backup that allows you to perform a backup of the Exchange data using the Volume Shadow Copy Service.
Preparation Tasks
With Windows 2008 R2 and Windows 2008 the Windows Backup feature is not installed by default so we first need to add this feature. To do this launch Server Manager, under Features select Add Feature. Locate the Windows Server Backup Features and put a check box in both options.
Now that the features are installed the plugin needs to be enabled. In the services snapin (start > Run > Services.msc) locate the “Microsoft Exchange Server Extension for Windows Server Backup” set the service to automatic and start it.
Backup the store
From Start > All Programs > Accessories > System Tools select Windows Server Backup
In the task pane select Backup Schedule. When the wizard opens click Next on the first screen and then select either Full Backup if you want to perform a full system backup or Custom if you just want to select the items to be backed up. So if you just want to backup the information store then select Custom. Click Next.
On the following screen click Add Items and browse to the folder your information store files are stored in. By default with Exchange 2010 this is C:\Program Files\Microsoft\Exchange Server\V14\Mailbox there will then be a folder for each store called Mailbox Database (Database reference number)
Once you have selected the Mailbox Databases and have returned to the wizard screen click the Advanced Settings button and under VSS Settings select VSS Full Backup
Configure your schedule and set the destination on the following two screens and select Finish. This will backup your Exchange databases and flush the logs.
Exchange 2010 includes a plug-in for Windows Server Backup that allows you to perform a backup of the Exchange data using the Volume Shadow Copy Service.
Preparation Tasks
With Windows 2008 R2 and Windows 2008 the Windows Backup feature is not installed by default so we first need to add this feature. To do this launch Server Manager, under Features select Add Feature. Locate the Windows Server Backup Features and put a check box in both options.
Now that the features are installed the plugin needs to be enabled. In the services snapin (start > Run > Services.msc) locate the “Microsoft Exchange Server Extension for Windows Server Backup” set the service to automatic and start it.
Backup the store
From Start > All Programs > Accessories > System Tools select Windows Server Backup
In the task pane select Backup Schedule. When the wizard opens click Next on the first screen and then select either Full Backup if you want to perform a full system backup or Custom if you just want to select the items to be backed up. So if you just want to backup the information store then select Custom. Click Next.
On the following screen click Add Items and browse to the folder your information store files are stored in. By default with Exchange 2010 this is C:\Program Files\Microsoft\Exchange Server\V14\Mailbox there will then be a folder for each store called Mailbox Database (Database reference number)
Once you have selected the Mailbox Databases and have returned to the wizard screen click the Advanced Settings button and under VSS Settings select VSS Full Backup
Configure your schedule and set the destination on the following two screens and select Finish. This will backup your Exchange databases and flush the logs.
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Have you followed the instructions exactly in the article?
You can select individual files/folders if you follow the instructions in my article.
When I write an article I test each individual step in my lab before I submitt it to EE for publishing.
I have attached screen shots of my server with an individual folder selection and an individual file selection using Windows Backup