E-MAIL BACKUPS

[Nightcheck]

We have a small office with 7 workstations running on SBS 2003 and using Exchange Server 2003.

We know that on standalone PC's - the .pst file is the Outlook e-mail file which needs to be backed up.
However, we are a bit confused when networked and using Exchange Server. Are there .pst files on the Server? If so, where? Our previous IT guy said there is no particular file which holds the outlook e-mail files (including contacts, etc.) - He said the only way to backup the e-mail - was to
backup the entire Exchange program directory including the exe file for Exchange, This doesn't sound right.
Are there separate files for each user or just a single file encompassing all users. Bottom line is - What file or files do I backup nightly (and where are they)to insure all outlook e-mail, contacts, etc. are saved and backed up.

Thanks so much in advance..

Rick

 

[Davetoo]

Emails that are kept on the Exchange server mailboxes are in the Exchange Information Stores. These are files on the server. You need an Exchange aware backup program to properly backup an Exchange server because you'll need it to flush the transaction logs on a regular basis.

When you install or use an Exchange aware backup program, like NTBackup or Symantec Backup Exec, you'll see the Information Stores listed as items to backup.

I'm Certifiable, not cert-ified.
It just means my answers are from experience, not a book.

There are no more PDC's! There are DC's with FSMO roles!

 

[cckens]

EXMERGE will do the trick for individual mailboxes, but the stores are databased into one big file. If you have the rights, you can EXMERGE an individual mailbox to a .pst file.
But like Davetoo says, if you are backing up the stores, there really in no need to backup individual files.

cckens

"Not always my best shot, but I hit the target now and then"
-me

 

[58sniper]

And using exmerge doesn't protect if you need to do a full restore.

Pat Richard MVP
Plan for performance, and capacity takes care of itself. Plan for capacity, and suffer poor performance.

http://www.ucblogs.net/blogs/exchange/

 

[Davetoo]

Plus, PST files are evil...

I'm Certifiable, not cert-ified.
It just means my answers are from experience, not a book.

There are no more PDC's! There are DC's with FSMO roles!

 

[58sniper]

The scourge of the earth

Pat Richard MVP
Plan for performance, and capacity takes care of itself. Plan for capacity, and suffer poor performance.

http://www.ucblogs.net/blogs/exchange/

 

[cckens]

You guys...
I was just positing situations... and if PSTs are evil, then I MUST be devil incarnate (or at least a pseudo-devil).

BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

cckens

"Not always my best shot, but I hit the target now and then"
-me

 

[Nightcheck]

First I want to thank everyone for their responses -

Second - I just wanted to clarify something - DAVETOO
mentioned: "Emails that are kept on the Exchange server mailboxes are in the Exchange Information Stores."

Would these files be in the \Exchange\MDBDATA directory?
I see in there a Priv1.edb file (about 17GB), Priv1.stm (about 3GB) and probably a thousand or so log files (about 75 each day) going back to May 2008 (totaling about 10GB).
The total size therefore is about 30GB - should the entire
MDBDATA directory (30GB) be backed up?

Thanks again..

Rick

 

[58sniper]

The total size of the database is 20GB (.edb + .stm). You'll need to back up the transaction logs as well, so that you can do a point in time recovery. Once that's done (using an Exchange aware backup solution), the backup program will flush those committed log files.

Pat Richard MVP
Plan for performance, and capacity takes care of itself. Plan for capacity, and suffer poor performance.

http://www.ucblogs.net/blogs/exchange/

 

[Nightcheck]

Our IT Company recommends Acronis Backup Software. Would this handle the Exchange backups - if so, for a small (7 workstation) network - would this be the most cost effective software - or would NTBackup or Symantec BackupExec (as mentioned by DAVETOO) be preferable..

I have heard Veritas is good (and we have a copy but is not being used)- Would this do the trick? Our IT Company likes
Acronis because it evidently can take "image" copies of the backup. How does this type of backup compare with a regular file backup?

 

[scottew]

If you already own it, you might as well use it. You just need to be sure that you have a license for the Exchange Agent which needs to be installed. I would also recommend having the Advanced Open File Agent for backing up other files.

Scott

 

[58sniper]

You shouldn't really need the AOF agent for an Exchange box, but definitely the Exchange agent.

Pat Richard MVP
Plan for performance, and capacity takes care of itself. Plan for capacity, and suffer poor performance.

http://www.ucblogs.net/blogs/exchange/

 

[Nightcheck]

Is Exchange Agent Needed for any Backup software?

How do I tell if we have it installed on our Server, and if we do, how do I insure it is licensed?

 

[58sniper]

Generally, yes. YMMV, but it's generally an add-on for most of the commercial products.

Pat Richard MVP
Plan for performance, and capacity takes care of itself. Plan for capacity, and suffer poor performance.

http://www.ucblogs.net/blogs/exchange/