Restoring Exchange 2003 environment

[Akshaya]

Hi All:

Looking for some help here. Following is the environment..

1st Server - DC with Backup Exec 12.5 - Win 2k3 server

2nd Server - Exchange and file server - Win 2k3 server along with Exch 2k3 server

Image of 2nd server taken daily on the 1st server and are mostly being retained. Further to that we take a full backup of both the servers daily.

Recently the 2nd server got toasted and in all probability we will be getting a replacement server, which is not the same as that of the one that got toasted.

We have a task of recreating the 2nd Server environment as is where is. As we are small, users are working on public mail portals till the exchange environment comes back and hence even if we were able to recreate the environment, the users can continue from there on.

My question is, which is the fastest way to recreate the environment and how do we go about doing it. Is there a standard documentation available for the same.

-- can we recreate the environment on an as is where is basis with the image that is being retained? If yes, how do we go about doing it.

-- Do we have to first recreate the Win 2k3 + Exchange 2k3 environment and then go with the restore of backup.

Can some one help on how do we proceed further. We are having a lone IT team and dont think we can invest to take outside help in recreating the environment.

Regards,

Akshaya

[marcogsp]

I use my BESR images to recreate my Exchange 2003 set up in the lab at least once per month.  My DCs and Exchange servers are the same OS and versions as yours.  I haven't experienced too much difficulty in reproducing the environment.  However, I'm doing this with workstation class (Dell Optiplex) systems in the lab, and my servers are Dell PowerEdge.  During the process, I elect to have the recovered Exchange server join the domain later so that any driver issues can be resolved.  You will definitely see stoppage of Exchange services if the NIC drivers are not correct.  After all the driver issues are resolved and recovered unit is joined to the domain, mail services should be operational

If I were in your shoes, I would do this:

After assuring that the old server is truly offline, restore the Exchange server to a powerful Workstation class machine, to avoid a lot of driver issues.  BESR version 8 and higher are better at keeping the IP addresses the same as the old server, but have that info handy just in case.  On the new server hardware,  build your new server with a fresh OS and Exchange installation.  Put the new Exchange installation in the same organization as your old server.  Afterward replicate any public folders and move the mailboxes to the new server.  Leave both servers operational until you are sure that all data has been transferred.  That done, you can then decommission the old Exchange server.  The processes are well documented by Microsoft, so search for those to get more explicit details.

On occasion, I have had to do some manual fixes with the Exchange utilities, ESEUTIL and ISINTEG with restored Exchange databases.  These utilities are not for the faint of heart.  If you can test this scenario in a lab setup first, I would advise it.  It is better to become familiar with ESEUTIL and ISINTEG in a lab situation than in a production environment with mail services down.

Best of Luck!!!