Backing Up Exchange Server 2007

Even if no backup is available, you can usually restore a Hub Transport server to a functional state after a crash by running this command:

Setup /m:RecoverServer 

This command will use information contained in AD to rebuild the server and restore it to a functional state. You can read more about this command in the Microsoft article "Understanding Setup /M:RecoverServer" (http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ aa998656.aspx).

The Edge Transport Server Role
Edge Transport servers are different from any other server in your Exchange organization because they are designed to be isolated from AD, whereas other Exchange servers depend on AD. More precisely, the Edge Transport role can't be a domain member, and it uses Active Directory Application Mode (ADAM) to give it a local directory replica.

Aside from that difference, an Edge Transport server functions similarly to a Hub Transport server. In fact, Edge Transport servers and Hub Transport servers have many of the same components. Both types of servers have message queues, tracking and protocol logs, and basic server configuration data. Because of the similarities, many of the rules that apply to backing up and recovering Hub Transport servers also apply to Edge Transport servers.

As with a Hub Transport server, the message queues on an Edge Transport server are based on an ESE database. And as is the case with Hub Transport servers, it isn't practical to back up the message queue database because of the transient nature of the data and the fact that the server uses circular logging.

You can back up message-tracking and protocol logs on an Edge Transport server by performing a file-level backup. The message tracking and protocol logs are located by default in the \Program Files\Microsoft\Exchange Server\TransportRoles\Logs folder.

Where Edge Transport servers really differ from Hub Transport servers is in the way that they store configuration data. As I mentioned earlier, Edge Transport servers don't store data in AD. Instead, it's stored in an Active Directory Application Mode (ADAM) database. This data is derived by replication from the AD database.

An Edge Transport server's primary job is to filter messages entering the organization from the Internet. Content-filtering data is stored in an ESE database similar to the one used by the message queue.

What makes the configuration data on an Edge Transport server interesting is that you typically don't need to back it up. That's because most settings on an Edge Transport server are set by default. The data contained in the ADAM database is replicated from the AD database, which you should already be backing up. The content-filtering database is updated automatically over the Internet as new antispam data becomes available. Consequently, Microsoft says that it isn't necessary to back up configuration data on an Edge Transport server unless you've implemented custom settings.

If your Edge Transport server does contain custom settings, you'll need to use a cloning technique to back up those settings. The easiest way to accomplish this task is to use the Exchange Management Shell to run two predefined scripts: ExportEdgeConfig.ps1 and ImportEdgeConfig.ps1. You use the ExportEdgeConfig.ps1 scripts to export configuration data to an XML file, then if you ever need to restore the server's configuration, you use the ImportEdgeConfig.ps1 script to import the XML file. Both scripts are located in the \Program Files\Microsoft\Exchange Server\Scripts folder.

Client Access Servers
In Exchange 2007, servers that host the Client Access server role provide OutlookWeb Access (OWA) to users. What makes recovering Client Access servers tricky is that they contain data that resides outside of Exchange Server. For example, configuration data is stored in the local file system, AD, and in the Microsoft IIS metabase. This external data complicates recovery efforts in the event of a crash.

As with some of the other server roles that I've discussed, there's a command that you can enter to return the server to a functional state. For a Client Access server, the command is:

Setup /mode:RecoverServer 

The most important thing to know about this command is that it returns your server to the default installation state, and therefore any customizations that you've made will be lost. These customizations include nondefault virtual directories, any customizations that you've made to the default virtual directory, and any certificates you've added.

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