Exceptions - Exchange 2007 files skipped.

[GNS_2]

Hello,

I noticed that someone else posted that they have several Exchange files always skipped now that they have Backup Exec 11d successfully backing up Exchange 2007, and that they "assume" that these files are supposed to be skipped.  I also now have Exchange 2007 backing up successfully and I am getting the same exceptions on every backup, listed below:

"C:\Program Files\Microsoft\Exchange Server\TransportRoles\data\IpFilter\
IpFiltering.edb
tmp.edb
trn.log

C:\Program Files\Microsoft\Exchange Server\TransportRoles\data\Queue\
mail.que
tmp.edb
trn.log
trntmp.log"

Can anyone please verify that these files are definitely supposed to be skipped?

I also noticed some other documents that seem to indicate that the data related to these files is being backed up separately by the Exchange agent (because they are constantly in use) and so these files should be manually excluded from being backed up from the volume where they physically reside.  But I was not completely sure that these articles applied specifically to Backup Exec 11d and Exchange 2007.  Can anyone verify that this would be the correct action to take to avoid these Exception messages without compromising the backup of all the exchange mailboxes?

Thank you very much!

Message Edited by GNS on 11-28-2007 01:01 PM

[ewadmin]

It sounds like you are only doing a file-level backup of the C: drive of your Exchange servers, in which case you are not backing up your Mail Stores.  To backup Exchange mail data, you must select the Exchange server's Microsoft Information Store in the selection list for your backup job, not the server's drive letters.

[GNS_2]

Thank you for the response.  We are actually backing up the Microsoft Information Store, and if I am reading everything correctly, this portion of the backup is completing successfully with no errors or exceptions.  We are also backing up the entire C: drive, which is why I suspect that maybe these files are being excluded from the C: drive backup because they are "in use" or because only the Microsoft Information Store selection can successfully back them up.  I would just like to be completely sure that this is the case and that these exclusions are not a problem.

Thank you.

[Ken_Putnam]

As of v9.0, BackupExec uses a technology called "Active File Exclusion" that will NOT even attempt to backup Exchange, MSSQL, Notes and Sharepoint database files.  This was to get rid of the mis-leading "Skipped - In Use" messages for those files

If you ever want to do a flat file/offline backup of any of those systems see http://seer.entsupport.symantec.com/docs/259152.htm to turn AFE off

[ewadmin]

I'll assume you have configured the options correctly on the Exchange page in the backup job.  There is a lot of documentation available describing how-to's and best practices for backing up Exchange.  One of those is to configure your Exchange backups as a separate job - do not backup other files, folders, servers, etc., along with the Information Store on your Exchange server(s).

The Information Store only holds your Exchange Storage Groups; if you expand it in the selection list, you will see the Storage Groups listed.  The Information Store does not contain your Exchange configuration files, SystemState, or any other files on that server.  It is important to back those up separately, especially the SystemState, otherwise it will be impossible to recover your Exchange configuration from a server crash.  Also, if Exchange is part of an Active Directory domain, make sure the SystemState of all your DCs is backed up regularly.  Much of the Exchange configuration is housed there.

To verify whether Exchange is truly being backed up, attempt a test restore.  Go to one of your StorageGroups in the restore selection list, and you should be able to choose individual mailboxes and even messages.  If not, either your BE patch level is behind, or you are not properly configuring your backup jobs for Exchange.

It is also important to backup certain folders on your Exchange CAS, Hub, and Edge servers.  Most of the files and folders that must be backed up are clearly listed in the course work for Microsoft course # 5050A, but there are also guidelines in the Backup Exec 11d Admin Guide, and I'm sure you can find it on-line or in the Exchange documentation, as well.

Hope this helps