Unable to back up Exchange 2007 Mailboxes

but the thing that struck me was the phrase "...fails...for a limited number of reasons." and the aspect of "hidden mailboxes" further down

"...
Status Code 69 or Status Code 71:
Mailbox backups fail with a status code 69 or 71 because of a limited number of reasons:

• 
  The user has incorrectly specified the files list. The files list Microsoft Exchange Mailboxes:\ allows the backup to capture all mailboxes. Wildcard options such as Microsoft Exchange Mailboxes:\[a-m]* and Microsoft Exchange Mailboxes:\[n-z]* allow the backup of different subsets of the mailboxes. Please refer to the NetBackup Exchange System Administrator's Guide for more information on the use of wildcards.  
• If the backups have never worked, it is possible the mailbox created for mailbox backups was not properly initialized. To initialize the mailbox, please send the mailbox an email, and retry the backup.
• If the mailbox backups had previously worked, but recently stopped, confirm the mailbox used by NetBackup is not hidden. If the mailbox used by NetBackup is hidden, backups fail with a status 69 or 71.
• The mailbox needs to be defined on the Exchange server as the mailbox being used for backups. Confirm this in the registry. Go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\VERITAS\NetBackup\CurrentVersion\Config, and find the EXCHANGE_MAILBOX value. Confirm that is the display name of the mailbox being used for backups.  

Finally, if multiple servers are in the environment, and are using the mailbox backup feature, be careful in selecting the names for the mailboxes on the various servers. If the first server uses "Veritas" and the second server attempts to use "Veritas2," backups on the first server fail, because the name is no longer unique. The names would need to be "Veritas1" and "Veritas2".
..."

Taken from http://seer.entsupport.symantec.com/docs/276763.htm

You did not mention your NBU version?
Have a look at requirements in TN: ftp://exftpp.symantec.com/pub/support/products/NetBackup_Enterprise_Server/292587.pdf

Double check required Exchange admin rights that are listed on page 2 of this doc.
The fact that you cannot browse mailboxes via BAR on Exchange server says that there's something missing as far as permissions are concerned.

Andy:

- I'm not using any wildcards. I am just specifying Microsoft Exchange Mailboxes:\.

- The mailbox is already initialized, as I had already send mails from it and to it.

- Mailbox is not hidden.

- Registry is with correct info about mailbox.

I'm backing up just a single exchange server, although this server is part of an organizational unit with more mail servers to which we do not have access to...


Marianne:

My NBU version is 7.0.

As far as permissions are required, as I mentioned already in my first post:

"The user I'm using is a Domain Admin, Exchange Server Admin, has a mailbox created and initiated, the NBU Client is being started with that user."

So, it should have all the permissions it needs...

Any other ideas?

NBU Master and Cient verison is not mentioned. It should be NBU 6.5.3 above to perform the backup of the GRT Enabled Information Store Backups.  Is this Brick level Mailbox backup or a GRT Enabled Information Store backup...

Have the backups worked before...

If this is a GRT Enabled Information Store backup the we will have to install the Server for NFS service on the Media server / Sever for NFS should be disabled and the port map should be started and Client for NFS should be installed on the NBU Excchange Client.

If the Service account and all the configurations are set properly.
Check this ........

Open the NBu MS-Exchange Policy \ got to the Selections and with in the slections try to browse the Informations Store.. Check if you can browse that through path not from the MS-Information Store directive ...

if not 

Update the HOST files on the Master Media and Client
IPaddress    HOST name      FQDN
192.x.x.1        Master                master.nbu.domain
192.x.x.2        Media                 media.nbu.domain
192.x.x.3        Exchange          Exchange.nbu.domain

Regards ...

The issue might be the reverse look up is not being resolved.

I have seen this working many times....

Marianne,

MAPI is installed, all admin rights are correct, mailbox is unique... I had already looked at that thread, and gone through every step...

The only thing i'm not sure about, and to which i do not find any documentation, is the way the mailboxes are listed in our type of environment. As I explained before, in Exchange there is a Organizational Unit configured with several separated farm for each exchange server. We have only access to the server at our site and level, and not to the other sites. But that shouldn't be a problem because we only want to assure the backups at our site.
My doubt is, if Netbackup just needs Exchange Server admin rights at the server at our site (this is what makes more sense to me, and this is what we have configured), or if it goes higher in the O.U. to make the search for the database, and needs permissions at a higher level (this doesn't make sense to me, due to security restrictions...).


Sameer,

It seems you haven't read all the post...

It has already been answered that this is a fresh installation of NBU 7.0, and that it never worked before.
For now, i'm still just configuring a normal mailbox backup, without GRT.
Name resolution is fine, and able to recognize dns both ways between server and client.
As I also stated before, I'm able to browse the Information Store and see it's databases on the gui, but I cannot expand and browse mailboxes...

You are right  -  I cannot seem to find any document that says 'you need the following for Exchange 2007'.
If I combine all available docs and TechNotes:

ftp://exftpp.symantec.com/pub/support/products/NetBackup_Enterprise_Server/292587.pdf
Lists the following:
Exchange 2007 has these predefined groups that manage Exchange configuration data:
■ Exchange Organization Administrators
■ Exchange Recipient Administrators
■ Exchange View-Only Administrators
■ Exchange Server Administrators

I guess it is implied that you need all of them.

The following TechNote lists permissions required for Public Folders, which are normally the same as for mailboxes (except for Public Folder Admin) and seems to confirm my assumption of the above:
http://seer.entsupport.symantec.com/docs/336177.htm
Note: To perform the following Exchange Administrative functions, it may be necessary to logon to the Exchange server with an account that already has FULL Exchange Administrator permissions.

2) Grant the user account "domain\symantec" the Exchange Administrative Roles required to backup Exchange 2007 Public Folders
* Open the Exchange Management Console.
* In the Exchange Management Console, select Organization Configuration.
* Right-click on Organization Configuration and click Add Exchange Administrator.
* On the Add Exchange Administrator page, click Browse and selected the account "domain\symantec"
* Select following Exchange Administrator roles

-- Exchange Organization Administrators
-- Exchange Recipient Administrators
-- Exchange Public Folder Administrators (important role for Public Folder backups)
-- Exchange Servers
-- Exchange View-Only Administrators

* On the Add Exchange Administrator page, Select the server(s) to which this role has access, click Add.
* Select the servers where the public folders are located and click OK.
* Click Add.
* On the Completion page, verify that the delegation was successful and clicked Finish.


I agree it does not really makes sense if you only need to backup your Exchange server. Maybe log a call with Symantec Support for clarity?

Thanks Zigoze ...
Adding to Marrianne's suggestions.

Exchange 2007 has these predefined groups that manage Exchange configuration data:
■ Exchange Organization Administrators
■ Exchange Recipient Administrators
■ Exchange View-Only Administrators
■ Exchange Server Administrators

Only configure the "Exchange Server Administrators" role for the Netbackup Exchange 2007 Service Account.

You do not need to configure all of them..
Just want to be sure that the Netbackup Exchange Account is activated...

Please go through this link :
http://www.msexchange.org/articles_tutorials/exchange-server-2007/management-administration/exchange-2007-permissions-and-roles-part2.html

If this does not wrks , try to create a case with Symantec Netbackup Support Team...

Regards

In fact, I believe it was a problem with permissions or with the agent installation... as I stated from the start, my user was domain admin. It seems that for Exchange 2007 the user should not be domain admin, but Local Admin. But as I also had to reinstall the agent, and only after both actions had been taken, I'm not 100% sure if it was one of these to solve the problem, or both...

Thank you all for your help.

I actually asked the question 10 days ago: https://www-secure.symantec.com/connect/comment/edit/4026851

"Local Admin rights? "