You should always back up your servers so that you can restore
them with minimum downtime if a server is destroyed or if data is
accidentally deleted. Use Backup to back up Information Store,
databases, your System State, Active Directory, Site Replication
Service (SRS), and Key Management Service (KMS). System state is a
new type of backup that archives the registry, IIS metabase, and
COM+ registrations. In addition, keep records of critical Windows
2000 settings, such as the IP address and computer name.
The type of backup you should use varies depending on the
importance of the data being stored. Each type of backup has
advantages and disadvantages in terms of data storage, performance,
and time requirements. When you plan your backup process, make sure
you have sufficient space on your storage media to store all of the
files you are backing up. After you have a planned the backup
process, you should implement a program to practice your recovery
plans. This program should also contain periodic drills simulating
disaster recovery scenarios.
You can choose from the following types of backups:
Normal. A normal backup, also called a full backup,
archives every selected database and all necessary log files. If
you perform a full backup daily, you prevent log files from
monopolizing space on the hard disk. This is the recommended method
for backups.
Copy. A copy backup, also called a Daily backup, is the
same as a full backup except that log files are not deleted. You
can create a copy backup if you want to take a snapshot of the
database at a certain time. Copy backups are recommended if you are
planning to install new software or implement a system change.
Differential. A differential backup only archives the
transaction log files that have changed since the last full backup.
Transaction logs are not deleted. To restore data from a
differential backup, you must have the last full backup and the
most recent differential backup. This is the second fastest restore
process after a full backup.
Incremental. An incremental backup only archives the
transaction log files since the last full or incremental backup.
You cannot use this type of backup when circular logging is
enabled. To restore data from an incremental backup, you must have
the last full backup and each subsequent incremental backup. Once
the restore process is complete, the transaction logs are applied
to the Exchange database that you restored with the full
backup.