Applied SP3, but mailbox backup still hangs on last mailbox

[Richard_Kokoszk]

I have applied SP3 to our Backup Exec server, then uninstalled the pre-SP3 agent from the Exchange server. Pushing the agent out was not an option, so I copied the RANT32 directpry from the Backup Exec server that had SP3 installed to the Exchange server.
I then did a local install of the agent and the AFO. When this was complete, I rebooted the exchange server.

Nothing has changed, the mailbox backup hangs on the last mailbox.

[Ashutosh_Tamhan]

Have these files changed on the remote server?

File NameDateTimeVersionSize
beclass.dll6/3/20053:07:56 PM9.1.4691.49399,504
bedscomn.dll2/21/20054:17:20 PM9.1.4691.4752,880
bedsmbox.dll3/1/20059:43:24 PM9.1.4691.47269,456
bedsnt5.dll4/22/20053:13:36 PM9.1.4691.50653,968
bedsshadow.dll1/25/20054:11:08 PM9.1.4691.45481,936
beremote.exe6/3/20053:14:18 PM9.1.4691.49320,656
ndmpcomm.dll6/3/20053:14:14 PM9.1.4691.4965,680
ndmpsrvr.dll6/3/20053:16:16 PM9.1.4691.49873,616

http://seer.support.veritas.com/docs/278302.htm


Regards,
Ashutosh

NOTE : If we do not receive your reply within two business days, this post would be marked assumed answered and would be moved to answered questions pool.

[Richard_Kokoszk]

I checked this. On the SP2 page , it gives installation instructions and file info.
First thing I noticed was that the file dates had not changed.
But, when I put the pointer over the file, it gave the version and which was correct. But the file size is not.

I checked the files on the media server and on the remote server

On both the media & remote server, the file name, version & modified date are as per the chart, but the file size is not.

[priya_khire]

Hello,

Is your Exchange in a cluster? Follow the steps given below:


Check the following key:

HKey_Local_Machine > Software > VERITAS > Backup Exec > Engine > Exchange > Bypass MBox properties

1. Open regedt32 on the Exchange Server.
2. Browse to the registry key named above.
3. Change the above key's value to 1. This will disable the auto creation of Exchange mailboxes during a mailbox restore.
4. Recreate the backup job and test the results.

Revert if the issue persists.

Note : If we do not receive your reply within two business days, this post would be marked ‘assumed answered’ and would be moved to ‘answered questions’ pool.

Regards.

[Richard_Kokoszk]

No I do not believe it is clustered, We have our main exchange server in NY and a smaller one at a satellite office. I will have to check with the exchange admin to see how it is set up.

I do not think this is the problem, as the satellite office exchange server was set up in early July 2005 and this problem did not start until early September 2005.

If the registry change is made, does the exchange server need to be restarted?

[Richard_Kokoszk]

My Manager, Kevin Lewis is taking over management of this problem. We have called Symantec Technical Support on this issue and they have given it a Case ID 290-091-985

[Kevin_lEWIS]

Our environment does not use Exchange cluster and the server has sp3 so the steps recommended by you were checked and verified. Is ther anything else we can do. I have seen over your site other people with the same problems is this a larger issue?

[Peter_Kim_3]

i am having the same problem. with the recomendation from veritas tech support, installed SP4. supposely it has a fix for the problem. but wasn't SP2 ans SP3 suppse have a fix for it!?

even with SP4 oour last mailbox doesn't get backed up and the backup job freezes!

is Veritas release buggy SPs? I don;t remember having this problem with SP1! only after SP3 i am having this problem. thinking about uninstalling Backup Exec and reinstalling it from scratch and not applying any SPs!

do veritas go through some kind of QA testing before releaseing their SPs?

[Peter_Kim_3]

for those you still having this problem, try this it seems to be working for me::

create a seperate backup job for the ALL mailboxes only.
if that fails, try creating a backup job that backs up only 5, 10, or any small # of mail boxes at one time.

for example, if you have 10 mailboxs then create a backup job to backup 5 and test. if completes, then create another backup job to backup remaining 5 mailboxes. most likey it will complete. so you will have the following backup jobs:

Job#1: FullBackup of FIles, INformation Store, System State
Job#2: Fullbackup of Mailbox # 1-5
Job#3: Fullbackup of Mailbox # 6-10

this way at least you can backup some of the mailboxes which is better than nothing at all.

this may seem like a temporary fix but at least you will be acble to backup your mailboxes until Veritas can find a fix for it.

it appears when Backup Exec tries to backup all of our mailboxes at one time it seems to hang on the last mailbox.

tried applying SP2, SP3, SP4 and it doesn't hlep. reinstalled BackupExec and reapplied SPs and nothing. spent amlomst 3 weeks with Veritas support to fix the problem. and nothing! Ended up trying to fix it with an "advanced engineer" and no success. he was suggesting our information store was fragmented or corrupt. I don't really agree with them. Before messing with our exchange server and cause problems on our exchange srever i want to try other options first.

hope this helps.

[Richard_Kokoszk]

Well, we were just advised from Veritas to apply SP4 & hotfix #47

SP4 installed nicely, but when you try to install the hotfix you get the message 'SP2 must be applied first'. What? The SP's are supposed to be culumative.

At Veritas's suggestion, we have 3 jobs backing up our exchange server
1) This just backup the files & uses OFA
2) Public folder & Mailboxes, using exchange agent only
3) Information Store only, using exchange agent only
Jobs 1 & 3 run fine, but #2 hangs at the last item.

Pete, when this first started, I took a couple MB off the end & backed them up seperately, to see if the problem was MB corruption & they backed up fine, so your suggestion has been in mind for a while, but we have over 250 mailboxes, so it's a 'last ditch' idea.

What I think should happen is that Veritas & Microsoft should get together on this, as it might be a patch the was required by MS for or something. But as Veritas has been bought by Symantec and they have competing products, I don't see it happening.

[Brian_N_rvig]

I have done excatly the same, with the same problem.

This seems to be a bigger problem than I first thought, many people experience the same issue.

[Richard_Kokoszk]

Well, sinec we only do a full backup on weekends, it took a while, but for this weekends full mailbox backup, I split the job into groups of 20 mailboxes. I have split the incremental backup into groups of 50, and it works. But at the end of the second group, the backup hung again.

Since we have over 200 mailboxes, I can't really make the groups any smaller

I think the problem may not be with the information store itself, but with the way backup exec backs up the mailboxes, since the backup seems to run OK, it is just not stopping. But nobody's saying anything.

Anyone have any ideas?

[Richard_Kokoszk]

I have further reduced the size of the groups to 10 mailboxes at a time - this has no effect. In fact, this week, it hung on a mailbox that backed up last week without errors.