Exchange 2003 mailbox restore

[Guest2]

Without reading hundreds/thousands of pages on installing Exchange 2003 could i get a bit of quick help here instead. Please correct me if im wrong with any of this as its all new to me

Ive got a test server, at the moment its just got 2003 server and backup exec 9.1 on it as we need a few mailboxes restoring from some old tapes that do not work in the new tape drive.

The server finds the tape drive and info on the tape but we can only restore data from the file server (no exchange data) SQL and the public folder store and mailbox store from the exchange server backup.

To restore the mailbox store it would need Exchange server either installing on the server or connecting to the domain and our current Exchange server. If we do that latter then it will almost certainly conflict with our current live working server which is not an option. If we leave the domain and unplug the network cable then install the services needed and Exchange then it would need linking up with active directory to restore the mailbox. (this bit im clueless about, but my boss said it needs linking to AD)

If it was connected our domain, we would need to use the account wizard and enter the account credentials from when the mailbox store was originally backed up. If not connected and it was a standalone server then could a new user be created without using the older account info?

Is there a way around this problem, either by somehow extracting info from the mailbox store using another program? We do not have the raw priv1.edb and priv1.stm files to hand

 

[Guest2]

bump. still trying to figure out a way to do this

 

[paradigm]

Set up stand-alone "test" server as a domain controller, and configure it as per your production domain. Install Exchange 2003 on the same server. Restore mailboxes from tape. Exmerge them to PST's, then exmerge them back in on the production server.

Done.

 

[HarryPainful]

You can set up a recovery info store on 2003, on 2000 you had to build a server that was 100% the same as the server you were trying to restore the info store from.

You can create the recovery storage group.

Put your tape in, restore the databases then copy them to the original server, mount them in the recovery group and do what you need to do.

Pretty simple really.

this might help http://support.microsoft.com/kb/824126

If you are not already, do brick level back ups of mailboxes within your backup software, uses up more space and takes longer but its worth it in the long run.

 

[mcast123]

Set up stand-alone "test" server as a domain controller, and configure it as per your production domain. Install Exchange 2003 on the same server. Restore mailboxes from tape. Exmerge them to PST's, then exmerge them back in on the production server.

Done.

this.

If memory serves you just need the AD name/mailbox to be right. Your boss told you to connect to the live AD as he thought you'd need the users SID, he\she is wrong.

 

[Guest2]

Thanks. It can't be configured as our current production domain is setup. We currently use backup exec 12 where we were using 9 on the old server with the old tape drive.
Wouldnt we also need the username and password of the account used in backup exec originally? (which we dont have) So, these steps

Install Server 2003
Set it up as domain controller (thought it does this anyway doesnt it?)
Install Exchange 2003
Install backup exec 9 (needs username and password when originally setup?)
Restore from tape
Exmerge to PST

Im unsure on this part -Exmerge back in on production server.
We couldnt want to have 2 domain controllers online at the same time with 2 versions of exchange. So could the PSTs be saved to memory stick, cd or something then copied to the new server without connecting the 2 servers.

Could you setup a test server with exchange on without it being connected to a network?

 

[paradigm]

Im unsure on this part -Exmerge back in on production server. We couldnt want to have 2 domain controllers online at the same time with 2 versions of exchange. So could the PSTs be saved to memory stick, cd or something then copied to the new server without connecting the 2 servers.

Correct, copy it via removable storage.

Could you setup a test server with exchange on without it being connected to a network?

Of course, whilst you'd need a network connection in order to have client machines connect, and to send/recieve any messaging, you can set up an exchange server in any environment in which it can see DNS resolution for the domain it will be authorative for. In this case, the test DC will need a DNS server configuring on it for this purpose. Given therefore that it has its own DNS server locally, all the prerequisites for exchange 2003 installation can be met on a standalone machine.

 

[Guest2]

Thanks for the info. Sounds a bit risky for me to carry out, being that ive only been in my role at this company for 3 months and never even installed Server 2003 (before last week)
Ill pass info onto my boss and have a go at doing it next week probably


Cheers

 

[paradigm]

Risky?

You're installing a standalone server that is connected to nothing of significance, what's the worst that can happen, you get the DNS, DC, or Exchange configuration wrong and have to start again?

Best to learn on a test environment anyway, just have a crack at it

 

[Guest2]

You can set up a recovery info store on 2003, on 2000 you had to build a server that was 100% the same as the server you were trying to restore the info store from.

You can create the recovery storage group.

Put your tape in, restore the databases then copy them to the original server, mount them in the recovery group and do what you need to do.

Does it allow you so save PST then transfer via removeable media?

'To use a Recovery Storage Group, the Active Directory topology of the Exchange Server 2003 computer must be intact and must be in the same state as when the copy of the database was made.'

I dont think it will be unfortunately

 

[Sin_Chase]

this.

If memory serves you just need the AD name/mailbox to be right. Your boss told you to connect to the live AD as he thought you'd need the users SID, he\she is wrong.

You need the same:

Server Name
Domain Name
Storage Group Name
Patch Levels

Once restored you can reconnect any of the restored mailboxes to whatever AD account you want. Log into that Test AD account, export it with Outlook or exmerge it.

Note, anything over 2gb will not exmerge, its a limitation of ANSI encoding. Use Outlook 2003 and Unicode PSTs if you need to shift more than 2gb.

I have never used RSGs, I do not particularly like them nor trust them in a production environment.

There are products that will read from an Exchange EDB directly and export into a PST. They are not free.

 

[Guest2]

We dont have the EDB file or we would try a converter. paradigm - Even if i get everything setup on the standalone test server, wouldnt i still need the account credentials for backup exec?

 

[Knubje]

We dont have the EDB file or we would try a converter. paradigm - Even if i get everything setup on the standalone test server, wouldnt i still need the account credentials for backup exec?

The domain admin/exchange admin password can be the same on the test environment as the production environement though.

Or, you can replicate the BE user by creating a new user in test environment and make it a member of every administrator group you have to cover all bases. This will be able to do the job for you.

BE also restores AD states as well as Exchange (If you have the licensing) so if you are lucky you can do a full restore of AD and Exchange onto the test DC and everything should work fine.

 

[Vince]

the best way I have found to do this is restore the database files for exchange and then use a tool called power controls to restore the mailbox back to a pst.

A single typical 1gb mailbox should take around 10-15 mins

BTW this requires no extra server setups or alike just a machine with outlook on and the exchange database files.

EDIT: My bad should have read the whole thing before replying... sorry