Using the Recovery Storage Group in Exchange Server 2003

Using the Recovery Storage Group in Exchange Server 2003

When an administrator wants to recover a mail message, a Calendar appointment, a contact, a folder, or entire user mailboxes, Exchange Server 2003 has a Recovery Storage Group function that provides a recovery mechanism. In the past, if an administrator wanted to recover a mailbox or information, the administrator would have to build a brand-new Exchange Server with the exact same server name in the lab and then restore a database to the lab server. After the restore, the administrator could run the ExMerge utility to export the desired mailbox or information, and then transfer the information to the production server and ExMerge the information back into the production server.

The recovery storage group in Exchange Server 2003 facilitates the restore of any database, including an Exchange 2000 SP3 or higher database from any server within an Administrative Group. So, an Exchange database can be restored to the recovery storage group, and then information can be extracted without ever having to bring up another server or shut down the production server.

Creating a Recovery Storage Group

A recovery storage group is created on any Exchange Server 2003 system in an Administrative Group where the original database resides. To create a recovery storage group, do the following:

1. Launch the Exchange System Manager utility.

2. Traverse the tree past the Administrative Group and past the servers. Right-click on the name of the server that will host the recovery storage group and select New, Recovery Storage Group, as shown in Figure 32.7.

   Figure 32.7. Adding a recovery storage group to Exchange Server 2003.

   

   NOTE

   The server that will host the recovery storage group must have enough disk space to allow for the full restore of the database that will be hosted on the system.

3. Specify the name of the recovery storage group as well as the location of the database and logs, or just select the defaults and click OK to continue. A recovery storage group container is added to the server.

4. Right-click on the recovery storage group container and select Add Database to Recover. Select the mailbox store you want to recover, and click OK.

5. Launch your tape software and restore the database you want to recover to a temporary subdirectory.

6. When the restore is complete, right-click on the mailbox store in the recovery storage group and select Mount Store.

7. Use the ExMerge utility covered in the section "Extracting Mail from a Corrupt Mailbox," earlier in this chapter.