Recovery

[Jeff_Williams]

Hi.

Does anyone know how to recover KVS and configure it to point to a different Exchange server name? For example, say in prod the mailboxes are on an
Exchange server named "Exch 1". I'm going to recover KVS and Exchange to another environment. In that environment Exchange is named "Exch 2". KVS
doesn't seem to like that and wants the Exchange server to be named the same, but I prefer to not do that for other reasons. Thx.

[David_Messeng1]

Hi Jeff,

better forum isn't it ;)

Don't know how much you know about Exchange but if your second server is in a different Exchange Organisation than the first then all the DNs in the KVS database are going to be wrong.

If it's in the same Org as your live server then this would worry me even more.

Not sure what you are trying to achieve but if you want to recover the whole of your email system to prove than you can do it you should probably consider an isolated LAN. You're going to have to bring back AD, Exc and KVS so it's not trivial.

AD is easy as you can orphan a DC and then promote it.

Exchange has about 50 different ways to do it. :) mbconn might be one to think about.

KVS needs a SQL recovery as well.

The way we proved DR was to actually recover the Live server before we put any real users on it.

I've probably created many more questions than I've answered here... please shout at me if I've got the wrong end of the stick (like wot I usually do...)


David
www.UDStech.com

[Jeff_Williams]

Hi David.

We're good on Exchange/AD and recovering those technologies. The issue we're facing is recovering KVS (app and database) and getting it to come up and connect to the mailboxes (which are on a differently named Exchange server) so that archived data can be retreived, pointing to a secondary Centera replicated from the primary. We're also good on KVS seeing the backup Centera, just can't get it to connect the the newly-recovered, differently named Exchange server. Thx.

[David_Messeng1]

Don't see the problem. Create new Archive and Retireval services for the 2nd server....

[Jeff_Williams]

Perhaps I'm missing something.

When we restore KVS the previous configs -- pointing to the old Exchange server names -- are restored along with it. I presume they are stored in SQL and perhaps other areas of KVS. The issue is getting all those old references changed to the new Exchange server name. If you look at the DR guide there is information about changing the KVS server names and whatnot but nowhere is there information about changng the restored KVS environment to point to a different Exchange server name.

[David_Messeng1]

I'd get shot and create new ones but you can change the names in SQL and (maybe) run "Update Server Locations". Try hving a look in the admin guide & help under that phrase.

[Tremaine · Accepted solution]

Why don't you just create a new Archive and Retrieval Service for the 'new' exchange server. As long as the mbx LegacyDN and display names are still the same then EV should just see these as having been 'moved' to a new server, sync them up and work.

Once you have created the new service and sync'ed the mailboxes you will want to make absolutely sure that you do not have duplicate entries in the exchangemailboxentry table in the EnterpriseVaultdirectory database.

It would also be nice to know how you went about restoring the mbx's. If you just remounted the information stores or exmerge'ed etc. EV relies heavily on its Filter message in the mailbox to get the vaultid's and then falls back on legacyDN, displayname if that is missing.

[__Drache__]

Just to add to Ghost's recommendations, you might want to go into the ExchangeMailboxEntry table on the EnterpriseVaultDirectory database and update the ExchangeComputer entry from the old Exchange server name to the new one. That right there should prevent duplicate entries from occuring in the ExchangeMailboxEntry table when the new archiving service does its synchronizations.

[David_Messeng1]

Have we mentioned the indexes? Maybe we have. I'm too confused.

[Tremaine]

The indexes are tied to the archive, not the mailbox. So as long as all the index locations are still there and mapped correctly in the Database there should not be any problems.

If they are not there then you will end up with them being recreated --- Loads of work for EV that you just want to avoid at all costs if possible. Especially if you are talking thousands and thousands or TeraBytes.