BE2010 Exchange 2010 to Server 2003 x86

[Balthaer]

I seem to encounter a lot of odd problems that fly in the face of best practices.

We have a server 2008 r2 exchange 2010 machine that, for reasons best not investigating, can't back up to the tape drive. There is an installation of BE2010r3 present.

We have a server 2003 machine with BE2010r3 installed with an attached LTO5 tape drive present.

This is obviously not ideal but I can't change the setup.

At present the 2008 machine is set to backup to disk and the 2003 machine then backs up this b2d folder treating it as data. This is by no means ideal and I have a few concerns about the arrangement.

Firstly, is that there is no relationship between the jobs so if one overruns, the other will not complete the backup that evening.

Secondly, I believe there may be an issue with catalogues and attempting to restore any data backed up from the 2008 machine

Thirdly, the b2d folder is filling up with IMG files, despite their overwrite period being set appropriately. I believe this will continue until all space is used on the drive before it then attemps to re-write.

Overall, this is a messy setup that I would like to bring some semblence of order to. Is there a way I can get the server 2003 BE to duplicate the 2008 BE's backup, or somehow control what the 2008 BE is doing? Or am I just living in a dream world there.

Any help would be appreciated

[CraigV]

Hi,

If you've got 2 media servers, you should investigate CASO (Central Admin Storage Option) which is a licensed application.

Essentially this is going to allow you to duplicate your Exchange server's B2D backup to tape on the Win2K3 server, and not mess up catalogs etc.

Check the TNs below for more information on CASO:

http://www.symantec.com/business/support/index?page=content&id=HOWTO11931

http://www.symantec.com/business/support/index?page=content&id=TECH60559

http://www.symantec.com/business/support/index?page=content&id=HOWTO12279

http://www.symantec.com/business/support/index?page=content&id=TECH43297

http://www.symantec.com/business/support/index?page=content&id=HOWTO11911

http://www.symantec.com/business/support/index?page=content&id=HOWTO11928

Thanks!

[Balthaer]

Hi Craig,

Thanks for the reply.

From what I understand I should install the CASO role on the server 2003 BE.

Install the MMS agent on the 2008 BE

From the 2003 machine, run a backup to tape job from the 2008 agent?

Or am I missing a step there?

[CraigV]

Hi there,

No agent to install...invoke the CASO option (licensed!) on your server with the tape drive, and then use BEutility.exe on the other server to point this server to the CASO. Check the TN around where catalogs/job information must be located (should be Centralised) in order to ensure the CASO can delegate the job duplication.

Thanks!

[Colin_Weaver · Accepted solution]

Sorry but Exchange 2010 needs a 64 bit media server

if you media server stays on x86 (which I assume means 32 bit) you will have problems

As such best practice - is certainly going be upgrade your media server. Especially as for GRT to work  you do need disk space (and the 64bit server)

So put in a newer/larger media server with the tape device hanging off it, do backup to disk on this media server with duplicate to tape. Then remove the media server installation form your Exchange server and install the Agent instead.

BTW your flat file backup of B2D data in the server in question is really, really not recommended because of :

http://www.symantec.com/docs/TECH176061

[CraigV]

Hi Colin,

The Exchange server is already on Windows Server 2008 R2 so that requirement is met.

Surely to duplicate the backup set from the Win2K8 R2 server to the tape drive on the Win2K3 server you wouldn't need to upgrade that OS? It's flat-files at the end of the day being duplicated after being backed up on the Exchange server.

Thanks!

[Balthaer]

Hi Craig,

I've been doing some reading up and I can't seem to figure out how to set this up properly.

I have licensed CASO on the 2003 server.

I have added the 2008 server as an MMS.

I'm not sure how  to create the job.

Is there a way I can create a policy to back up the exchange store directly to the tape drive (unlikely) through shared devices? If so, I can't seem to figure out how to set it up.

If not, do I create a policy to get the MMS to backup to disk on the CASO  then a template to duplicate this to tape after? If so, I can't see a way of setting this up.

I generally do not understand what the purpose of the CASO is in this arrangement. Is it the CASO that creates and delegates the job out to the MMS, keeping the catalogues on the CASO?

Essentially I could do with a basic step by step instruction on how to do a basic backup from an MMS to the tape drive on the CASO.

Sorry to be a pain about this!

[Colin_Weaver]

Hi Craig - Because of content of TECH176061 the OP really, really needs to avoid doing flat file backups of the file system of his disk storage device.

The CASO configuration might give him an option (although to be honest the option I am thinking of would also needa a 64bit server as it involves using Deduplication)

As such best recommendation to achieve GRT capability and Exchange backups on tape is to have the media server with the attached tape drive running a 64 bit installation (Hardware, Operating System BE etc all on 64 bit)  Then use disk stlorage for efficient GRT and duplicate to tape  as a linked duplicate with the Exchange backup definition and NOT as a flat file backup.

As far as I can tell OP has now made the Backup Exec installation in his Exchange server into a MMS but the tape drive is still hanging off his 32bit CASO. The sharing option he is trying to use between CASO and MMS is almost certainly not designed to do backup on MMS and the duplicate to tape on CASO (unless the tape drive is also connected to the MMS)

If Dedup is involved (on both CASO and MMS so all on 64 bit) then it might be possible to achive something  using a private cloud configuration.

And I don't have the details for this but a colleague has been looking into the capability of having the MMS run the job but write to a Disk Storage device actually shared from the CASO and then duplicate to tape on the CASO.  However Because Exchange 2010 is involved if this works I think the CASO would still need to be 64bit.  (EDIT - just against this paragraph - colleague has confirmed that this would need a 64bit media server where the tape drive is connected as well as the server running Exchange itself)

Basically the limitation here is really whether or not the tape device is attached to ONLY a 32bit media server. It appear that this is the case and that the OP is trying to work around the limitations that this imposes.

[Balthaer]

Here's the sequence of events for a bit of clarity:

Backups were running fine in a 2003 environment.

Server 2008r2 installed with exchange 2010

Exchange was being backed up locally to disk (not ideal or even barely worthwhile) because of 64 bit issue.

LTO3 Tape drive on 2003 failed.

LTO 5 Tape drive was purchased but a failing of someone did not note there was not a free expansion slot for the SCSI controller for the tape drive on the exchange server.

The intention (before the mess up) was to have backups running from the exchange server (64 bit environment) and avoid any and all of these headaches.

The 2003 server is the DC and upgrading it is a difficult option.

What I am trying to achieve is a cost-effective solution to what is a messy situation

================

The backups are set up (not by me) to run as follows:

Server 2008 R2 backs up to a disk on the server 2003 machine. GRT, exchange only.

server 2003 runs a backup after the 2008 including the b2d folder as a selection.

Now, i've been told "the catalogues are backed up from the b2d folder so we just have to restore the backup to the b2d folder and then restore the backup from the server 2008 server" which sounds very wrong to me and I do not believe it would be even remotely that simple if it even worked at all.

So my aim is to try and find a solution that lets me backup the exchange 2010 to tape in as simple a way as possible in mind of the snafu that has occurred.

[CraigV]

mmm...you never just backup the B2D folder, it has to be duplicated to tape otherwise it will end up messing up catalogs. Restores then become a mess.

My honest opinion would be to purchase a riser card (if available) for that server along with a supported SCSI card. Move the library to the Exchange server, and run your backups like that.

Then just uninstall BE from the DC and install the RAWS agent via push-install.

Thanks!