How to restore an information store database in a clustered Exchange environment

This article describes the procedures to restore a Microsoft Exchange information store database on a cluster server.

Microsoft Exchange Server 2003

To restore a database on an Exchange 2003 Server computer that is installed on a cluster, use the same procedure that you use on a non-clustered server. To restore a database on an Exchange 2003 server, dismount the database that you want to restore, and then restore from backup. For additional information about how to restore an Exchange database from backup, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base: For additional information about how to back up and restore an Exchange 2003 Server computer, click the following article numbers to view the articles in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

Microsoft Exchange 2000 Server

You use the same procedure to restore a database on an Exchange 2000 Server computer that is installed on a cluster as you use on a non-clustered server. To restore an Exchange 2000 server, dismount the database that you want to restore, and then restore from backup.

For additional information about how to back up and restore an Exchange 2000 Server computer, click the following article numbers to view the articles in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

Microsoft Exchange Server 5.5

Restore from an offline backup

There are two methods for performing an offline restore on an Exchange 5.5 cluster. This article describes a point-in-time restoration. In this scenario, no log files are "replayed" into the database. All of the data created after the backup is performed is lost.



Method 1

1. Start the Cluster Administrator program, click Groups, and then click Exchange Cluster.
2. In the right pane, right-click Microsoft Exchange Information Store, and then click Take Offline. Do not stop the services by using the Services tool in Control Panel or by using the command line.
3. Quit the Cluster Administrator program.
4. Perform an offline backup of your current database files (Mdbdata folders).
5. Move the contents of the Mdbdata folders to another location.
6. Restore the backed-up database files (Priv.edb and Pub.edb) to the correct database folder. Do not restore any Edb*.log files.
   
   At this point, the Priv.edb and Pub.edb files will be the only files in the database folders.
7. Set the _CLUSTER_NETWORK_NAME_ environment variable to the network name used by Exchange. To do this, type the following command, where EXCLUSTER is the Exchange network name:
   SET _CLUSTER_NETWORK_NAME_=EXCLUSTER
   Note: The network name is case-sensitive. To determine the network name:
   1. Start the Cluster Administrator.
   2. Expand the Exchange resource group, right-click the Exchange Network Name resource, and then click Properties.
   3. Click the Parameters tab, and then view the entry in the Name box.
8. From the Exchsrvr\bin directory, run the isinteg -patch command. If the _CLUSTER_NETWORK_NAME_ environment variable is not set correctly, ISINTEG -PATCH will report the following error message:
   The private store could not be updated. Reason: JET_errKeyDuplicate.
9. Start the Exchange information store service by using the Services tool in Control Panel. When Exchange Server is completely online, verify that mail delivery is functioning correctly.
10. Stop the Exchange information store service by using the Services tool in Control Panel.
11. Start the Cluster Administrator, and then bring the Store resource back online.
12. After all of the services start, test the failover of the Exchange server. To do this, right-click the cluster resource group that contains the Exchange Resources, and then use the Move Group option.

Method 2

1. Start the Cluster Administrator program, click Groups, and then click Exchange Cluster.
2. In the right pane, right-click Microsoft Exchange Information Store, and then click Take Offline. Do not stop the services by using the Services tool in Control Panel or by using the command line.
3. Quit the Cluster Administrator program.
4. Perform an offline backup of your current databases (the Mdbdata folders).
5. Move the contents of the Mdbdata folders to another location.
6. Restore the backed-up database files (Priv.edb and Pub.edb) to the correct database folder. Do not restore any Edb*.log files.
   
   At this point, the Priv.edb and Pub.edb files will be the only files in the database folders.
7. Set the _CLUSTER_NETWORK_NAME_ environment variable to the network name used by Exchange. To do this, type the following command, where EXCLUSTER is the Exchange network name:
   SET _CLUSTER_NETWORK_NAME_=EXCLUSTER
   Note: The network name is case-sensitive. To determine the network name:
   1. Start the Cluster Administrator.
   2. Expand the Exchange resource group, right-click the Exchange Network Name resource, and then click Properties.
   3. Click the Parameters tab, and then view the entry in the Name box.
8. From the Exchsrvr\bin directory, run the isinteg -patch command. If the _CLUSTER_NETWORK_NAME_ environment variable is not set correctly, ISINTEG -PATCH will report the following error message:
   The private store could not be updated. Reason: JET_errKeyDuplicate.
9. Reset the registry checkpoint for the Store resource. For information about how to do this, see the Resetting the Registry Checkpoint section of this article.
10. Start the Cluster Administrator program, and then bring the Store resource back online. Do not use the Services tool in Control Panel or the command line to start the service.

Restore from an online backup

Note The steps to restore the Exchange information store database may differ depending upon the backup program that you use.

1. Make sure that the System Attendant cluster resource is online.
2. Start the Cluster Administrator program, click Groups, and then click Exchange Cluster .
3. In the right pane, right-click Microsoft Exchange Information Store, and then click Take Offline. Do not stop the services by using the Services tool in Control Panel or from a command line.
4. Perform an offline backup of the current database files (the Mdbdata folders), even if there is corruption in the database.
5. Start your backup program, and then select the information store that you want to restore.
6. Click Restore, and then select the virtual server name of the Exchange Cluster Server as the destination.
7. If you are restoring to a recovery server or to a reinstalled Exchange Server computer, click to select the Erase All Existing Data check box, and then click OK.
8. Make sure that the Start services after restore check box is not selected.
9. After the restore operation is complete, start the Cluster Administrator and make sure that the Exchange IP address and the Exchange Network Name resources are online.
10. Reset the registry checkpoint for the Store resource. For information about how to do this, see the Resetting the Registry Checkpoint section of this article.
11. Start the Cluster Administrator program, and then bring the Store resource back online. Do not use the Services tool in Control Panel or the command line to start the service.

Resetting the registry checkpoint

To reset the registry checkpoint for a cluster resource, follow these steps.

1. Start the Cluster Administrator program, and then select the correct service resource.
2. On the File menu, click Properties, and then click the Registry Replication tab.
3. Select the Root Registry key, and then click Modify.
4. In the Edit dialog box, select the whole registry key, and then press CTRL+C to copy it.
5. Click Cancel to close the Edit dialog box.
6. Click Remove to delete the registry key, and then click Apply to save the changes.
7. Click Add to re-add the key, and then press CTRL+V to paste the saved registry key.
8. Click OK two times.

For additional information, click the following article numbers to view the articles in the Microsoft Knowledge Base: For additional information about Exchange 2000 Server disaster recovery, visit the following Microsoft Web site: