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Restoring a Server

Once you have backed up your Microsoft Exchange Server computer, you can restore it in the event of lost data or a catastrophe or to validate your backup. When restoring information, Microsoft Exchange Server services stop, and users cannot use them until the server is restored.

Restoring an Information Store to the Same Server

Use the following procedure to restore an information store on the same server it was backed up from.

  1. From the Start menu, choose Programs, and then choose Administrative Tools.
  2. Choose Backup.
  3. In the Tapes window, select the sets that you want to restore.
  4. Choose Restore.

Option Description
Erase all existing data Erases all data on the server pertaining to the database being restored. This option must be selected when you want to delete database information currently on the hard disk.
Private You must select both Private and Public, even if the backup contains only one of these databases.
Public You must select both Private and Public, even if the backup contains only one of these databases.
Start Service After Restore Starts the directory or information store service after the restore is finished.
Verify After Restore Verifies the contents of the files restored to disk from the files on tape, and logs any exceptions.
Destination Server The server that the backup will be restored to.

Restoring an Information Store to a Different Server

You can restore an information store to a Microsoft Exchange Server computer that is different from the one you backed up. This enables you to recover individual items (messages or folders) from a backup without restoring over a server that is in use. This is a last-resort method for retrieving items from individual mailboxes or public folders. It requires an additional computer that has enough hard drive disk space to restore the entire backup and that meets the hardware requirements to run a Microsoft Exchange Server computer. The alternate server cannot replicate its directory with the existing organization.

Warning   If you type your production server name as the destination server name in the Restore Information dialog box, you will restore over your production server.

  1. Set up Microsoft Exchange Server on the alternate server with the same organization and site name as the tape being restored, but do not add this server to an existing site during Setup.
  2. Using Windows NT Backup, restore the information store, and type the alternate server name for the destination server in the Restore Information dialog box.
  3. Select the following check boxes.
    4.  
  4. Start the services on the alternate server. This can be done automatically by selecting Start Service after Restore in step 2.
  5. In the Administrator window, locate the DS/IS consistency adjustment in the Advanced property page of the server object. Choose All Inconsistencies, and then choose Adjust.

Restoring Data for a User

If you've set a deleted item retention period on a mailbox or private information store, users can easily restore messages after they've been deleted from their mailbox. For more information about setting a deleted item retention period on a user's mailbox, see Microsoft Exchange Server Getting Started.

If you haven't set a deleted item retention period, you can recover deleted messages by restoring the information store from tape backup to an alternate server and performing the following steps.

  1. Select a mailbox account to view mail, and then give yourself Mailbox Owner permission for that account.
  2. Log on to the client, and then move the data to a personal folder (.pst) file. Give the .pst file to the user.

Restoring from an Offline Backup

To restore a directory or information store from a backup that was performed while the server was offline, you must first stop the Microsoft Exchange Server services on the server being restored.

Note   After you restore an information store from an offline backup, run ISINTEG using the -patch switch, restart the services, and then run the DS/IS consistency adjustment tool.

Restoring Information After a Catastrophe

If a server is catastrophically destroyed, the information must be restored from a backup.

  1. Install Windows NT on the new or repaired server. It may be necessary to delete the Windows NT computer account for the server and re-create it by using Windows NT Server Manager.
  2. Install Microsoft Exchange Server on the new or repaired server by running Setup /r. Do not replicate it with the existing organization. Give the server its original organization and site name.
  3. Restore the directory from the last backup for that server.
  4. Restore the private/public information store from the last backups for that server.
  5. Run the DS/IS consistency adjustment tool. For more information, see Microsoft Exchange Server Getting Started.