Dear Sirs I had a Disaster Recently in My Exchange Server 2003 SP2, and I realized that my backup strategy needs some development I know now that there are two ways of backup and restore, one of them is by backup the edb and stm files and then restore them, and the other is by backup the storage groups and restore using RSG. Can anybody tell me what is the best practice of backup and restore and which of these methods is better or some other way?

Hi, Taking one full and two incrimental once in day is good practise for exchange backup. RSG can be use if you want to recover single mailbox or some items as you can use exmerge in exchange 2003, Also you can swap complete DB uif neded thru RSG. BUT RSG could not use for PF DB restore. For restoring multiple DB you can retore directly using BACKUP agent. Please visit belo link for more info Using Recovery Storage Groups in Exchange Server 2003 http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/aa998782(EXCHG.65).aspx Backing up Exchange Server 2003" http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/aa997165(EXCHG.65).aspx Anil

Full, online backups of the information store is probably the best way to go. It clears the transaction logs and allows for point-in-time restores. There is no need to backup the edb and stm files at the file level. That really does nothing for you and requires down time since you would need to stop the IS service to back those files up- though its a supported method. Overview of Exchange Server Backup Methods http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/aa996125(EXCHG.65).aspx

What software are you using to backup Exchange? Also, what is your current backup strategy? Here are some good reference methods: Using Windows Backup http://support.microsoft.com/kb/258243 http://www.msexchange.org/tutorials/Exchange-2003-Backup-Restore-NTBACKUP.html http://support.microsoft.com/kb/296788 Using Recovery Storage Group Using the recovery storage group feature in Microsoft® Exchange Server 2003, you can mount a second copy of an Exchange mailbox database on the same server as the original database, or on any other Exchange server in the same Exchange administrative group. You can do this while the original database is still running and serving clients. The recovery storage group can also be useful in disaster recovery scenarios. This guide provides information on how to determine if a recovery storage group is useful in your deployment, how to set up a recovery storage group, and how to troubleshoot common problems http://support.microsoft.com/kb/824126 http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb124961(EXCHG.65).aspx Also, take a look at Microsoft DPM (data protection Manger) software. http://www.microsoft.com/systemcenter/en/us/data-protection-manager/dpm-protect-exchange.aspxSanthosh Sivarajan | MCTS, MCSE (W2K3/W2K/NT4), MCSA (W2K3/W2K/MSG), CCNA, Network+ Houston, TX http://blogs.sivarajan.com/ http://publications.sivarajan.com/ This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties, and confers no rights.

Alaaay, Would you mind sharing your Exchange Disaster Story with us. I collect those... Also, if you are still looking at solutions please check out: http://mymanagedbackup.com/index.php/exchange-backup It's a fully managed service for Exchange backup and disaster recovery Granular object restore, instant server disaster recovery, more. Eric eric at mymanagedbackup.com

First, you do not backup the storage groups. You backup the contents in it. Secondly, full daily backups would be sufficient. It commits transaction logs to the DBs in that manner. How big is your Exchange environment?

On Wed, 29 Dec 2010 15:54:25 +0000, Jose Rebellon, MCP, MCTS wrote: > > >First, you do not backup the storage groups. You backup the contents in it. > >Secondly, full daily backups would be sufficient. It commits transaction logs to the DBs in that manner. Backup doesn't commit transaction logs, it just removes the transaction log files that are no longer necessary to recover the database to a working state. --- Rich Matheisen MCSE+I, Exchange MVP --- Rich Matheisen MCSE+I, Exchange MVP

First, you do not backup the storage groups. You backup the contents in it. Secondly, full daily backups would be sufficient. It commits transaction logs to the DBs in that manner. How big is your Exchange environment?