Applies to: Exchange Server 2007 SP3, Exchange Server
2007 SP2, Exchange Server 2007 SP1, Exchange Server 2007
Topic Last Modified: 2006-12-06
This topic discusses server recovery options that you can use with Microsoft Exchange Server 2007. Server recovery assumes that your server is not available due to one of the following reasons:
- Hardware failure Even with highly
redundant and highly available hardware configurations, loss of an
Exchange server is still possible.
- Loss of a site In a site loss recovery
scenario, the assumption is made that all or most of the servers at
a specified site are no longer accessible and must be recovered.
These servers could be missing due to the site being damaged or
lost, hardware being stolen, or some other reason.
- Software corruption Corruption of the
operating system, Exchange program files, or file
system; software misconfiguration; or server infection could
cause the loss or damage to the
Microsoft Windows registry or other files essential to
Exchange operations.
Note:Losing a node in a failover cluster is not considered a server loss because a fresh node can be added to the existing cluster as long as at least one node is available. For more information about clustering, see Cluster Continuous Replication and Single Copy Clusters.
Recovery Options
Exchange 2007 supports two methods for server recovery. One method uses the Exchange 2007 setup options, and the other method uses System State backup and a backup that includes all of the Exchange installation files. Following are more details about the recovery options:
- Exchange setup options There are two
options for recovering an Exchange 2007 server, based on the
server's role. Use Setup /m:RecoverServer to recover
non-clustered servers, except for Edge Transport servers. The
Edge Transport server role uses
Active Directory Application Mode (ADAM) to store
configuration information. This means that you cannot recover an
Edge Transport server by running the Setup /m:RecoverServer
command. Recovering an Edge Transport server requires the use of
cloned configuration tasks to export and import configuration
information. For information about Edge Transport server recovery,
see Using Cloned
Configuration Tasks for Edge Transport Server Disaster
Recovery.
Use Setup /RecoverCMS to recover clustered mailbox servers. For more information about Setup /m:RecoverServer, see Understanding Setup /M:RecoverServer. For more information about Setup /RecoverCMS, see How to Use RecoverCMS to Recover a Clustered Mailbox Server.
Note:You can use Setup /m:RecoverServer only for server recovery. It cannot be used as a repair tool, to recover from a failed installation or uninstallation, or to reconfigure a server. - System State backup Another method you
can use to recover a lost server is to use a backup of the System
State and critical Exchange files. The System State Backup recovery
method requires that the same hardware is used for server
restoration. At a minimum, your backup must include both the
System State data and the Exchange files installed by
Exchange. You will need the Exchange installed files
because you will not be able to run Setup options to recover your
Exchange configuration if Exchange Setup detects
the partial Exchange 2007 existence on the server.
For more information about how to back up an
Exchange 2007 server, see How to Back Up the
System State and the Exchange Program Files.
For More Information
- For information about protecting critical data, see What Needs to Be
Protected in an Exchange Environment.
- For information about minimizing the impact of a disaster, see
Best Practices
for Minimizing the Impact of a Disaster.
- For information how to perform server recovery in different
scenarios, see How to Recover a Lost
Exchange Server.