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Being an Exchange Server Administrator is challenging for a person as threats are always looming over the Exchange server environment. Exchange database consists of all the user mailboxes of the organization, and that is why it becomes so vital to have a disaster recovery plan in case the Exchange Server faces any problem. Identifying the common threats and rectifying them is the core of a disaster recovery plan; it also includes the restoration of deleted or corrupt mailboxes.
When an Exchange Server crashes, the immediate action any Exchange Administrator takes is retrieving the data from the backup. But backup may not always have the complete data and the process of making mailboxes accessible can also be time consuming. That is why the first step after encountering a server breakdown should be to restore the mail flow.
How to execute Exchange Server disaster recovery plan?
Here are some practices for Exchange Server 2019, 2016, 2013, & 2010 which we should follow in case of Exchange disaster to recover deleted mailboxes with complete data integrity:
Plan a backup strategy
Data backup is also a smart way of preserving crucial business data. Choosing the right backup strategy for your Exchange server environment is substantial. According to the amount of data you need to backup and your Exchange environment, you can either go with Full backup, Incremental backup, or Differential backup.
Use 3-2-1 backup plan to store backup of your Exchange Server according to which you should create 3 backups at minimum on 2 different storage devices and keep one copy of backup offsite at another branch or data center.
Check for the consistency of the Exchange database
Before committing changes to the database, they are written to the transaction log file which is a sequential set of logs. When all the logs are committed to a database, the database is in a consistent state and ready to be mounted on the Exchange Server. A database should be in a consistent state if you want to mount it on the server.
But when all the changes are not committed, the database is in an inconsistent state. Such a database cannot be mounted and you’ll need to bring it back to a consistent state.
Upgrade your hardware
Most of the time, the Exchange server crashes due to hardware failures like abrupt shutdowns, frequent power failures, hard drive corruption, or any physical damage to the components of the server. So, the Exchange administrator should update the hardware routinely. Here are some common hardware components which can be changed periodically:
- Power supply cables
- Memory
- Processor
- RAID controllers
- NIC (Network Interface Controller)
Adjust the Exchange Server settings
There are several settings which the Exchange server administrator can configure to stabilize the Exchange environment. This will help with Exchange disaster management by eliminating chances of losing data in unfavorable circumstances.
- Save the transaction log files in RAID volume.
- Increase the retention settings under the data retention policy.
- Increase the deleted mailbox retention under data retention policy.
Run a mock drill of Exchange Server disaster recovery
Running a mock drill of an Exchange server disaster will help you earn some valuable inputs and prepare for an actual emergency. You can also get to know whether your recovery methods are efficient enough to recover the data.
Use Exchange recovery utilities
There are some inbuilt features in Exchange Server 2019, 2016, 2013, 2010 & other previous versions that help you repair a corrupt database. You can use these tools in case of severe issues with the Exchange environment. The most popular one is ESEUTIL, which is a command-line tool that uses the transaction log files to recover the data and restore it to its previous state.
How to use ESEUTIL tool?
You can find the ESEUTIL tool at the following location:
C:\Program Files\Microsoft\Exchange Server\V15\Bin
The ESEUTIL for Exchange repair has multiple switches which the administrator can use as per the corruption level in the database file. Some of the switches used in Exchange Server recovery include /mh, /p, /r, and many others. You can perform the repair process one by one using these commands and regain access to your mailboxes. However, it is important to have a backup of the Exchange database before you start with these switches.
Although ESEUTIL is quite famous among Exchange Administrators, it is not always successful in repairing the database completely, and there is no way to recover the deleted mailbox data. To get the complete data in the proper structure and format as that of initial mailbox, you can take the help of a professional tool and recover lost/inaccessible/deleted data.
Use Kernel for Exchange Server
Kernel for Exchange Server recovery allows you to recover and restore lost data from the Exchange database. As an Exchange EDB Recovery tool it eliminates corruption from the Exchange database (.edb) and restores the complete data in its original form preserving the same hierarchy. This tool is one of the most practical solutions that allows recovering Exchange Server data in a few simple steps even if you are not technically skilled. Apart from retrieving the lost data, it also helps to migrate data from EDB to PST, Office 365, Outlook, and Live Exchange.
Conclusion
After learning about Exchange Server corruption and various recovery methods, you can choose a proper method in case of Exchange Server disaster for any version of Exchange Server 2019, 2016, 2013, 2010 & others. But if you want to get your data back in the minimum time and with complete health, then you should go for Kernel for Exchange Server. It accepts EDB file as the source and saves the recovered mailboxes from EDB to PST files, live Exchange, Outlook, Office 365, and Public Folder.