Restoring Exchange Databases

[klesck]

Guys I need your help,

I'm running an exchange server here and I think I have a major problem...
Our server crashed from a hard disk problem like 2 or 3 months ago, thank god my exchange databases were on a mirrored disk, but the problem is that whenever I try to recover it (i know that MS procedures Isinteg, eseutil etc) all the messages from the public folders come back with no attachments, wich in our case here is pointless. Does anyone out there know somehow to work this out??? I'm really having a hard time here with my boss standing by my side asking for his messages all the time...


By the way I know that some of you guys is going to come up with the 'restore it from the backup' line but unfortunately I don't have one... at least a good one...

(just a remark... my boss insisted that I made this public confession)


So be it... PLEASE SOMEONE HELP ME OUT!!!

 

[Xybertron]

What is the status of the pub.edb?

eseutil /mh

If State is Inconsistent you have to run eseutil /p to fix it then isinteg -fix -test alltests

Let us know more about the database at this point. All attachments missing from a broke mirror is pretty rare. Dan
Microsoft Exchange Support @ Microsoft

 

[klesck]

I've found that pretty strange as well, but the state gets back to consistent after running the eseutil /p, the problem is exactly there, the database gets accessible but the attachments are ALL missing, any other ideas??? All the MS processes for that have been done... is there any 3rd party software to solve that??

 

[Caustic]

I assume you ran the IS/DS consistency adjuster from within the exchange admin program?

 

[Xybertron]

DS/IS only adds directory objects.

If you have ran isinteg then it sounds like the /p destroyed the attachment table. If so your done and no hope of getting the attachments. Dan
Microsoft Exchange Support @ Microsoft

 

[klesck]

No hope??? It's very good to hear that... specially from you Dan... tks anyway... I've already thought that the answer was "get better backups" but anyways... just taking the chance... I'm also having some problems running NAV MSE and arcserve togheter... the brick level fails to go on... I've read the material from CA but they're not specific about conflicts with NAV... just ponints to MS that say it is something with AVAPI... not very clear... any ideas??

 

[AlexIT]

Make sure you are excluding the exchange server directory(s) from the on-access scan in NAV. I understand you should also only backup these folders with the Exchange agent, excluding them in the regular (whole hard drive) backup. This should keep Arcserve running.

Alex

 

[ChrisHirst]

Hi klesck & Dan
It can't be that rare to lose the attachment table (ISprivate) I had the same problem with a failing HD, mirrored and backed up every day. Took a weeks leave and left an IT Tech to check the server every day, When I get back to the office I am informed that e-mail went down on Friday and what can you do. When we check, both mirrored copies have the same problems and none of the backups for the past week are viable. Setup replacement server and restore 12 day old backup to get up and running again. The 90% recovery of the old database lost all attachments and a lot of calendar items and I still get grief about it 6 months on.
As for the Backup\AV problems as Alex says use the agent to backup online and exclude the Database, Logging, MTA & IMC folders from AV scan and Backup routines. Couple of times a month you can run a full (Exchange offline) backup of every drive in your server and keep these tapes separate for a worst case scenario

Chris

 

[klesck]

There's a setting on it to change from MAPI+VAPI to only MAPI, seems that the VAPI (AVAPI according to MS) bit is the problem, i'm still doing some research on what the problem is with this AVAPI or VAPI thing, but tonight I've set it only to the MAPI only setting and it worked fine, just don't know if it is major risk yet... hope not... the agent is being used and just for the sake of it (and as it is not a very big server...) i'm running a brick level backup togheter, seems to be fine, but again I don't know what the risk is on having the mapi only mode running...