Backing Up a Server

You can back up a server to any tape device compatible with Windows NT Server. The tape drive must be directly connected to the computer running the Backup program, but the server you are backing up can be anywhere on the network.

Note   To back up configuration settings that may not be recorded in the directory, you can use the Backup program to back up the registry on the Microsoft Exchange Server computer. For more information, see your Windows NT documentation.

Starting an Online Backup

You can perform an online or offline backup of Microsoft Exchange Server directory and information store databases. However, it is recommended that you perform only online backups to minimize system downtime.

1. From the Start menu, choose Programs, and then choose Administrative Tools.
2. Choose Backup.
3. If your Microsoft Exchange Server organization and server are not displayed, from the Operations menu, choose Microsoft Exchange, and then type the name of any Microsoft Exchange Server computer in the organization.
4. Choose Connect to Organization, and then choose OK.



5. Select the sites you want to back up.
If the site or server is not displayed in the Backup window, double-click the organization and site containers and display their contents.
6. In each site container, select the servers you want to back up.
7. In each server container, select the component to back up.
8. Choose Backup to start the backup.

Performing an Offline Backup

To perform an offline backup of a Microsoft Exchange Server database, you must stop the service you're backing up and then back up individual databases.

The following table shows the Microsoft Exchange Server database files and default directories.

Component	File	Directory
Directory	Dir.edb	Exchsrvr\Dsadata
Private information store	Priv.edb	Exchsrvr\Mdbdata
Public information store	Pub.edb	Exchsrvr\Mdbdata
Microsoft Mail directory synchronization	Xdir.edb	Exchsvr\Dxadata
KM Server	Kmsmdb.edb	Exchsrvr\Kmsdata

Note   The directory and information store database directories on your server may be different from those listed in the preceding section if you changed them using Performance Optimizer or using the Database Paths property page on the server object.

Automating a Backup

You can use the At.exe utility provided with Windows NT to schedule times when backups are automatically performed. This utility can also be used to schedule a backup on another Microsoft Exchange Server computer.

Using Command-line Batch Files

You can create a command-line batch file to back up Microsoft Exchange Server components. For more information, see your Windows NT documentation.

The following parameter enables command-line backups of the Microsoft Exchange Server databases:

path

If you are backing up Microsoft Exchange Server components, specifies the component and the server using the following format:

{DS server | IS server}

Where server is the name of the server you are backing up preceded by two backslashes (for example, \\berkeley). DS indicates that you are backing up the directory, and IS indicates that you are backing up the information store. For example, to back up the information store, use IS \\berkeley.

The following example would back up the directory and information store on Server_A and the directory on Server_B, validate the backup (/v), using a normal backup type (\t:normal).

Ntbackup backup DS \\Server_A IS \\Server_A DS \\Server_B /v \t:normal

Validating an Information Store Backup

To ensure that your information store is being backed up correctly and no information is lost, restore a server from tape backup to another nonproduction server and verify that you can log on to mailboxes and public folders on the restored server.

1. Restore the information store from tape backup to a nonproduction Microsoft Exchange Server computer as described in "Restoring a Server" later in this chapter.
2. In the Administrator program, select a mailbox account to view mail, and give yourself Mailbox Owner permission on that account.
3. Create a client profile and log on to the mailbox. Check to see that mail is there, and send a message to yourself to verify delivery.
4. In the Administrator program, view the Mailbox Resources property page on the private information store object to verify the total kilobytes per user.