There are several situations where the /m:RecoverServer switch can be of help to the Exchange administrator. Some of these situations are as follows:

• When your server is no longer available, and you must prepare a new or existing computer to replace the failed Exchange server. This could be situations where:
  
  
  • Your hardware has failed.
    
    
  • You are performing a dial-tone recovery, where Active Directory is intact.
    
    
  • You are performing a site recovery, where Active Directory is intact.
    
    
• When migrating a Client Access server, Hub Transport server, Unified Messaging server, or Mailbox server to new hardware.
  
  

  Note:
  Setup /m:RecoverServer will only migrate setting information stored in Active Directory. Any local customizations or databases are not migrated with this method. For information about where Exchange stores data outside of Active Directory, see What Needs to Be Protected in an Exchange Environment.

  Note:
  If the virtual directories in Internet Information Services (IIS) have been modified, there are additional steps to migrate a Client Access server to new hardware. For more information about what needs to be backed up on a Client Access server, see Client Access Server Data.

There are situations where it is not possible, or not a good idea, to run Setup /m:RecoverServer. Some of these situations are as follows:

• The Edge Transport server is not a supported role for the /m:RecoverServer switch. The Edge Transport server does not use Active Directory, so there is no setting information to be applied to the server from Active Directory. Instead of running /m:RecoverServer, you can install a new Edge Transport server and restore settings from backup.
  
  

  Note:
  The Edge Transport server includes a backup and recovery script to capture Edge Transport server configuration data. For more information about this script, see Using Cloned Configuration Tasks for Edge Transport Server Disaster Recovery.

• When the server information is no longer in Active Directory. If the server object is missing from Active Directory, there is no information that can be applied to the server.
  
  
• When a server with the same name as the server you are trying to recover still exists on the network.
  
  
• To repair a failed install. The Setup /m:RecoverServer option assumes a consistent configuration in Active Directory for the server. If Setup failed, the information in Active Directory might not have been fully written. In this situation, you should run Setup again.
  
  
• To change the availability configuration of your Mailbox server. You cannot run /m:RecoverServer to convert any of the following:
  
  
  • A non-clustered Mailbox server into a clustered mailbox server, or vice versa.
    
    
  • A single copy cluster into a cluster continuous replication Mailbox server or a non-clustered Mailbox server, or vice versa.
    
    

Setup /m:RecoverServer restores the Exchange server configuration data from Active Directory, copies the Exchange files to the server, and sets default settings when alternate settings are not found in Active Directory. It does not restore customized settings that were stored on the server or end-user data stored in the Exchange databases on the server.

Each server role requires different post-recovery steps to bring it into a pre-recovery state. For a detailed list of items that need to be restored per server role, see What Needs to Be Protected in an Exchange Environment and read the topics that apply to each server role. In general, the following items must be restored:

• The mailbox and public folder databases on a Mailbox server. If the public folders on the server are all replicated on another server, you could create a new empty public folder database and backfill it from other replicas.
  
  
• Unified Messaging prompts and custom audio files on a Unified Messaging server, if the server was the prompt publishing point for a dial plan. Otherwise, the files are restored from the prompt publishing point server.
  
  
• If the database is not restored and a dial tone database is used, Unified Messaging users will need the following:
  
  
  • A new personal identification number (PIN) must be issued.
    
    
  • A new greeting must be recorded.
    
    

    Note:
    The audio recording of the user's name is stored in Active Directory. As long as Active Directory is intact, the recorded name will still be there.

• Any custom Office Outlook Web Access files or virtual directories on a Client Access server must be re-created.
  
  
• After you recover a Hub Transport server, there may be additional steps to perform such as:
  
  
  • Restoring a saved queue database
    
    
  • Enabling agents
    
    
  • Configuring send connectors
    
    
  If you are performing one or more of these tasks, the Hub Transport server should be stopped after a server recovery by default. Otherwise, the Hub Transport server will start with settings and agents in a backed-up state. The backed-up state might not represent what you had configured on the server right before the issue occurred that required the restore. Also, if you are restoring a saved queued database, you will need to place the database in the correct folder while the transport service is stopped. We recommend that you use the /DoNotStartTransport switch when restoring a Hub Transport server. The syntax for the command is as follows:
  
  

  	Copy Code
  Setup /m:RecoverServer /DoNotStartTransport

• Any custom registry settings that were configured on the servers must be re-configured.
  
  

For more information about working with the queue database, see Working with the Queue Database on Transport Servers.