How to restore an Exchange 2007 Mailbox Store from tape using Backup Exec 12

What is the best practice for setting up a exchange server.  I am new to managing an exchange server and have never backed up emails on an exchange server.  I see there is a first storage area where all email boxes are create, I just wanted to make sure I setup the initial backup correctly.

Thanks

exchange 2007
Server 2008

Exchange Agent How to: Configuration requirements to backup Exchange 2007 and to perform Exchange GRT (Granular Recovery Technology) backups with Backup Exec for Windows Servers (BEWS)
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Details:
In Exchange 2003, the following security roles were available through the Delegation Wizard in Exchange System Manager:

Exchange Full Administrator
Exchange Administrator
Exchange View Only Administrator

Exchange 2007 has the following predefined groups that manage Exchange configuration data:

Exchange Organization Administrators
Exchange Recipient Administrators
Exchange View-Only Administrators
Exchange Server Administrators

The following tasks should be performed in order to connect to and back up the Exchange 2007 Information Store Databases using Backup Exec:

If the Exchange server is not locally installed on the Backup Exec media server, confirm the following:


The Backup Exec Remote Agent for Windows Servers is installed on the Exchange 2007 server.
The Microsoft Exchange 2007 Management Tools are installed on the Backup Exec media server.
32 bit - http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?familyid=6be38633-7248-4532-929b-76e9c677e802&displaylang=en
64 bit - To download the 64-bit version of the management tools, use the same media or download that is used to install Exchange 2007
Confirm that the Microsoft Exchange Server MAPI Client and Collaboration Data Objects are installed on the Exchange 2007 Server.
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=e17e7f31-079a-43a9-bff2-0a110307611e&DisplayLang=en

Ensure the Backup Exec "Logon Account" (System Logon Account by default at Network > Logon Account in the Backup Exec Interface) being used to backup Exchange is:
A member of Domain Administrators
Is an explicit member of the Local Administrators group of the Exchange 2007 server (implied membership via Domain Admins for example may not be sufficient)

For further details on creating a new account with the proper permissions, refer to the following instructions:

1. Go to Active Directory Users and Computers and go to the Users directory. Right-click on the Administrator account and select copy (Figure 1) and create an account for BACKUP EXEC.
Figure 1


2. Go to Network, Logon Accounts within the Backup Exec console. Click New... and enter the details of the account created in #1.
Figure 2


3. Open the Exchange Management Console.

4. In the Exchange Management Console, select Organization Configuration. (Figure 3)
Figure 3


5. Right click on Organization Configuration and select Add Exchange Administrator. (Figure 4)
Figure 4


6. On the Add Exchange Administrator page, click Browse and select the user that you want to delegate control to.

7. Select the Exchange Server Administrator Role radial button. (Figure 5)
Figure 5


8. Click Add and under Select the server(s) to which this role has access select the servers to which to delegate control.(Figure 6)
Figure 6

9. Click OK. Click Add.
10. On the Completion page verify that the delegation was successful and click Finish.
11. Define the jobs in Backup Exec by using the Resource Credentials pane to use the newly created "Logon Account".

Note: The requirements listed above only pertain to the basic configuration required to connect to and backup the Exchange 2007 Information Store databases, storage groups, etc... for the purpose of restoring these items in their entirety. To fully utilize the functionality of Exchange 2007 and prior GRT (Granular Recovery Technology) backups and restores, the following must be configured/confirmed:


The Exchange Administrator Account Backup Exec uses to attach to the Exchange Server must have a uniquely named mailbox within the Exchange organization that is not disabled or hidden from the Global Address List. For more information on this, review the following document:

How to confirm that an Exchange mailbox name is unique within the Exchange organization when configuring Backup Exec to backup mailboxes or if a GRT (Granular Restore Technology) based backup does not display individual mailboxes for restore http://support.veritas.com/docs/256537

How to remove the "Hidden" attribute from Exchange 2000 and Exchange 2003 mailboxes so that the mailboxes will be available to the Global Address List for backup purposes
http://support.veritas.com/docs/243328


Exchange 2007 and Outlook 2007 can not be installed on the same Windows 2003 Server.
For GRT Backups to tape, mailbox users must reside in the same domain as the Exchange Server. For more information, review the following:

Exchange Granular Recovery Technology (GRT) backup to tape does not display the mailboxes in the restore selections for users that reside in a domain other than the Exchange server(s) domain. http://support.veritas.com/docs/295627


For GRT Backups to disk (B2D), the Backup to Disk Test Tool - B2Dtest.exe should be run on the target disk first to ensure the basic file level functionality requirements are met. For more information, review and download the following:

Information regarding the Backup Exec Backup to Disk Test Tool - B2Dtest.exe
http://support.veritas.com/docs/321584

Note: If any of the above requirements cannot be confirmed, configured, etc... and there are any job failures or other issues, it is recommended to run at least one full test backup of Exchange with the Granular Recovery Option deselected prior to running another GRT Backup or opening a case with Symantec Technical Support.

Thanks

So you are saying that if teh restore to RSG is succesful this means that the backup strategy is also succesful? Is it possible to restore a corrupted database to a RSG?
I just want to make sure that the database that works for RSG will work for a live restore also.
Right now I am able to perform restores to RSG but I need to make sure that the database will work in a live restore.
Thank you

Hey Adrian,
   Well, basically, the backup strategy isn't successful unless you can successfully restore the database to the RSG and then mount it.    I imagine that you could restore a corrupted database to the RSG, but then you'd need to mount it and use exchange recovery tools to fix the database.

I would say in general though, that if you're able to restore a database to an Exchange RSG, that it's pretty likely that your database is in good shape and you can consider the restore process a successful one that should also work in a live environment.    Just make sure that you're familiar with the rest of the process required to recover all of your mailboxes and settings.

- Scott

Sounds good
Thank you.

Hi guys, can you please tell me how to get around the following:

We had our physical exchange server die on us so we built a new virtual machine, naming it the same name as before. We have performed "setup /m:recoverserver" and this brought down all of our settings from the old server, perfect!! We then restored the storage groups as per this page and the restore from Backup Exec works exactly as it should, HOWEVER, when we attempt to mount the RSG and then MERGE it we get the following error:

"no mailboxes match the matching criteria"

I know this is more of an Exchange 2007 question, but since it pertains to restores I thought I would take a shot and see if anyone from the Symantec side had any ideas.

Thanks.

I have followed the guide in this article which appears to be the most comprehensive instructions on how to restore an item (in my case 1 users Mailbox) but am still unable to restore.  My understanding is that there are 2 methods that can be used:-

1. restore of mailbox database to a Recovery Storage Group on the exchange server

2. restore of mailbox using GRT

 

Initially I tried 2. which failed with error: e000fe30 - A communications failure has occurred, refer to symantec backup exec link V-79-57344-65072

Restore - \\EXCHANGESERVER\Microsoft Information Store\Third Storage Group

V-79-57344-65072 - The Exchange Store service is not responding.  Backup set canceled.

Exceptions showed as

Item EXCHANGESERVER\hidden\Mailbox Database 02\USER [user]\

No Subject

 was skipped by the user

for hundreds of files, possibly all.

 

Method 1 gave the same results after showing on backup exec that over 30 gb (ie full mailstore database) had been restored just as method 2 had done.  The datastore does not appear in it's entirety in either the temp GRT location ( \\BACKUPSERVER\mbtemp share on D:) or in the database recovery storage group create on \\EXCHANGESERVER\ following instructions from http://www.symantec.com/connect/articles/how-restore-exchange-2007-mailbox-store-tape-using-backup-exec-12

 

To save time in the next steps.  I can confirm the following:-

a) Messaging API and Collatoration Data objects 1.2.1 is installed on the exchange server EXCHANGESERVER

b) Symantec Backup Exec Remote Agent Utility of windows systems V12.5 is running on EXCHANGESERVER

c) the system account being used is 'backupadmin' and is an Exchange Server Administrator on Exchange Management Console for the scope EXCHANGESERVER and is an Exchange Organization Administrator, it is also a domain administrator, has an active mailbox which isn't hidden.

d) when creating a restore job and testing the resource crudentials, in order to work successfully, it has been necessary to reboot BACKUPSERVER on several occasions.  As yet EXCHANGESERVER has not been rebooted although it has been recommended by a colleague

 

Any assistance would be gratefully recieved.

Kind regards,

Steven G

Thank you for useful post.

I had setup BE12.0 for Exchange 2007 Sp3.

Now, I am facing a problem that is very similar as following.

https://www-secure.symantec.com/connect/forums/access-denied-when-using-grt-restore-some-exchange-2007-mailboxes

The error message and behaviour is same.

Regarding my environment, we have 2 Active directory (DomainA and DomainB).
Threre are conecting forest root domain directly and the two domains are same level in forest tree.

The exchange server is in DomainA. And DomainA has an ExchangeAdministrator which is a member of DomainAdmins of DomainA and DomainB.
And this ExchangeAdministrator is a system logon account of BackupExec.
BackupExec server is a member server of DomainA.

I created MailboxDB for each Domain (MboxA for DomainA User, MboxB for DomainB User)

About Backup and Restoration:
I use GRT restoration.

Backup OK : MboxA, MboxB
Backup Failure : None
Restore OK : MboxA,
Restore Failure : MboxB  (Restore Test is OK, but actual restoration has failure)

I already took DebugLog of remote exchange agent. However it is too big for pasting.
What infromation should i show for your more understanding?
 

Thanks for your helpful opinion.
HMoro