MS Exchange Backup

You can protect MS Exchange against data loss using the Online Backup Client. The feature is available on Windows. The following MS Exchange versions are supported:

• MS Exchange 2010
• MS Exchange 2013
• MS Exchange 2016

The minimal backup unit is a database.

Prepare the system for backup

Before you start backing up MS Exchange, please make sure your system is properly configured (this is done only once unless the settings get reset in the future).

1. Disable circular logging

Disable circular logging before you start backing up MS Exchange. This is necessary to keep the database consistent and prevent the loss of recent messages.

1. Start your Exchange management utility:
   • Exchange Management Console for Exchange 2010
   • Exchange Admin Center (EAC) for Exchange 2013
2. In the console tree, expand the server object you need:
   • Exchange 2010: Organization Configuration > Mailbox.
   • Exchange 2013: Servers > Databases.
3. Open the properties of the storage group you are going to backup:
   • In the Exchange Management Console, right-click the storage group and choose Properties from the context menu.
   • In the Exchange Admin Center, click the storage group and then click the Edit icon above.

4. Unselect the Enable circular logging check box (if it is selected). Click to apply the changes.

2. Check vssadmin list writers

1. Open the Start menu. Run Command Prompt (cmd.exe).
2. Execute the following command:

      vssadmin list writers

3. When the list of writers is ready, find the "Microsoft Exchange Writer" entry. Make sure its State is "Stable" and "Last error" is set to "No error".

3. Make sure the databases are mounted

1. Start your Exchange management utility.
2. In the console tree, expand the server object you need:
   • Exchange 2010: Organization Configuration > Mailbox.
   • Exchange 2013: Servers > Databases.
3. In the work pane, check if the status of the databases from this mailbox server is "Mounted".

Configure settings for Exchange replication database backup (if applicable)

By default, the Online Backup Client offers the primary Exchange server for backup. If you use Exchange server replication and want to protect the replica server instead, you need to specify it before editing your backup selection. Use the ProcessReplicationStores=1 parameter for this purpose.

When the setting is enabled, the primary Exchange server is unavailable for selection.

Note: Online Backup (Datashield) is a legacy product only available to older Atera accounts. For newer backup solutions, check this page.