Microsoft Exchange Server 5.5:  Restoring the Information Store to a Different Physical Server

Use the following procedure as a guideline for restoring Microsoft Exchange 5.5 after a data corruption event.

This procedure is appropriate if the following are all true:

• You have backed up the Exchange data

• You had an Exchange data corruption event

• You want to restore either the most current or a historic backed up version of the Information Store

• You want to restore the entire Information Store

• You are restoring to a different physical server (not the original Exchange Server) on which you have installed Exchange. This server is referred to as the "recovery server".

• From the restored Information Store on the recovery server, you want to recover particular mailboxes, or data from particular mailboxes.

Otherwise, see Microsoft Exchange 5.5 Restore for other procedures for restoring Exchange 5.5.

Note: There is a known issue with single-mailbox recovery to a system running a different service pack or operating system level than the original system. In this case, the Information Store may fail to start. For more information, see Microsoft Article Q224977.

If you have lost the Exchange Server,  you may need to recover the entire server. This is a disaster recovery and requires that you follow the disaster recovery procedures; see Restoring an Entire Computer.

This procedure should only be implemented by personnel who are trained and experienced in Windows and Exchange Server.

Important: If you are running Agent version 3.3.1 or earlier, the restore option Restore my Microsoft Exchange data is not available. Instead, to restore your Exchange data:

• Choose the restore option Restore files & directories, or databases

• Manually select your Exchange data to be restored (based on your Exchange backup configuration file selections, or by running the Exchange optimizing program to identify the files/directories)

• Contact Customer Service for assistance.

Recovery server specifications

The recovery server:

• Must have a different name than the original Exchange Server.

• Must have an installed Windows operating system and the appropriate Windows service pack.

• Can be a Windows PDC, BDC, or member server.

• Can be in either in the same Windows domain or a different domain.

• Must have enough disk space to hold the entire restored Information Store.

• Should have the same drive and directory structure as the original Exchange Server.

  If it does not, you can still restore the Information Store; however, the procedure becomes more complicated. In this case, contact Customer Service for assistance.

• Must not be a part of your production Exchange site.

To restore the Information Store

You must perform the following procedures, in order.

A. To set up the recovery server

1. Install Exchange on the recovery server.

   During Exchange setup, ensure that you do the following:

   • Choose Create a New Site and use the same site and organization names as those on the original Exchange Server.

     You must use the same site and organization names as those on the original server, or else starting Exchange on the recovery server will report corruption.

     Do not join the original Exchange site. The recovery server should not be part of your Exchange production site.

   • Specify the same drives and directories that exist on the original Exchange Server for storing the Exchange logs and databases.

     For example, if the Information Store database is on the E: drive but the logs are on the C: drive, then specify the same drives on the recovery server. To confirm the data locations on the original Exchange Server, use the Exchange optimizing program. Then run the optimizing program on the recovery server and specify the same locations.

2. Install the same Exchange service pack that is running on the original Exchange Server.

   For example, if Service Pack 1 is running on the original Exchange Server, then install Service Pack 1 on the recovery server.

3. Stop the Exchange services on the recovery server.

4. Move or delete the newly created Information Store databases and logs from the \MDBDATA directories.

   For example, if on the recovery server the private and public databases PRIV.EDB and PUB.EDB are stored in E:\EXCHSRVR\MDBDATA and if the logs are in C:\EXCHSRVR\MDBDATA, either delete or move all files from these directories.

B. To restore the Information Store

1. On the MyLiveVault Home page, the All Computers form lists all the computers on your company account. Click Backup/Restore in the Action column for the Exchange server that originally had the data that you are restoring.

2. On the Computer Information form, click the Restore tab.

3. In the New Restore section, click Restore my Microsoft Exchange data.

4. Click Restore.

5. Review the information on the Microsoft Exchange Restore page. If you are restoring only Exchange data, click Next to continue. Otherwise, follow the instructions in the page.

6. On the Computer Restore form, the automatically assigned restore job name is displayed in the Name of restore box (for example, Exchange 5.5 Data Restore).

7. In the Files to Restore tab on the Computer Restore form, specify the data that you want to restore:

   1. Specify the file version that you want to restore, either current or historic. The current version is selected by default.

      Note: LiveVault Online Backup Service guarantees the current version and one historic version per day will be backed up and available for restore. However, you may have more historic versions available.

   2. Specify whether you want to view, select and restore deleted files.

   3. The files and directories that are selected for backup on your current Exchange backup configuration are automatically selected for the restore. You can:

      • Click View Files to Restore to review the automatic restore file selections. The selected files are selected in the tree view, and the associated rules are shown in the rules list.

      • Click Edit Files to Restore to modify the restore file selections. The Files to Restore tab refreshes to enable modification. You can use either of these methods to specify the files:

        • Browse and select the files from a tree view of your computer's backed up file structure.

        • Manually define the file selection rules.

        From the directory tree, select the Exchange directories that contain the Information Store databases and logs (\EXCHSRVR\MDBDATA\), from the Directory Tree.

        Important: Do not restore the Directory Service databases and logs (usually located in \EXCHSRVR\DSADATA\). The backed up Directory Service is tied to the NetBIOS name of the original Exchange Server. If you restore the Directory Service to the recovery server and try to start the Directory Service, Exchange will log an error in the Windows Application Log stating that the local Windows server name is not the same and Exchange will not start. In this case, you would have to again reinstall Exchange on the recovery server and start the Information Store restore process again.

        Note: To confirm the data locations, use the Exchange optimizing program to verify where the Exchange Information Store databases and logs were stored on the original Exchange Server. The Exchange optimizing program may have placed them in different directories and different volumes.

8. In the Delivery tab on the Computer Restore form, click Media to restore the Exchange data on media and provide shipping information and configure the media options.

9. When you are done configuring your restore request, click Save.

10. Review the information in the Computer Restore form's Properties and Specifications columns.

11. Do one of the following:

    • Click Submit to accept the restore request and start the restore process.

    • Click Back to make changes to the restore request.

    • Click Cancel if you do not want to submit the restore request.

12. Note the identification number assigned to this request, and click Done. This number is used in MyLiveVault with the restore job name you specified to uniquely identify this restore job.

13. Processing of the restore request starts automatically. You can track its progress in MyLiveVault. Processing of a Media delivered restore starts immediately. We will send an e-mail to the user who requested the restore notifying the requestor that the data has been restored to media and the media has been shipped.

14. When you receive the media with your restored Exchange data, refer to the media restore steps to restore the data from the media to the recovery server. During the media restore you need to set the following restore options:

    • Choose the Auto rename the existing file option.

    • Choose the Restore the original NTFS security descriptors option.

15. After the restore is complete, do the following on the recovery server:

    1. Start the Exchange Directory Service.

    2. Go to a command prompt, change to the EXCHSRVR\BIN directory and execute the following command:

       ISINTEG -patch

       This will reset the GUID on the Information Store on the recovery server to match the GUID of the original Exchange Server and update the log files.

    3. When ISINTEG -patch completes, stop the Exchange Directory Service and the System Attendant.

    Important: This step is mandatory. If you do not perform this step, you may not be able to start the Exchange services.

16. Start the Exchange Information Store Service on the recovery server.

    Depending on your environment, you may also need to start other Exchange services, such as the Exchange Event service. Consult your Exchange Server documentation for additional information.

17. Load the Exchange Administrator and if prompted, connect to the recovery server.

18. Run the DS\IS Consistency Adjuster:

    1. In the Exchange Administrator, select the recovery server.

    2. On the File menu, click Properties.

    3. Click the Advanced tab.

    4. Click the Consistency Adjuster button.

    5. Select all of the options for public and private stores, and select All inconsistencies. Then click OK.

19. The Information Store and its mail contents are now available to the Exchange client.

20. Verify that the restore was successful. If the restore was successful, go to the next step. If you need to restore a different version, perform this procedure again choosing an older version.

21. You may need to publish the contents of the public folders. Refer to Microsoft Exchange 5.5: Publishing the Contents of the Public Folder for further instructions.

Related Information

Microsoft Exchange 5.5 Restore
Restoring Microsoft Exchange: An Overview
Microsoft Exchange 5.5: Publishing the Contents of the Public Folder
Restoring the System State/Registry: An Overview
Restoring an Entire Computer
Restoring Your Data: An Overview
Monitoring and Managing Restores: An Overview
Accessing Restored Files
Canceling a Restore Job
Changing the Media Restore Shipping Information