Restore to Recovery Area is restricted only to Exchange 2013/2010 (a recovery database) and Exchange 2007 (an RSG, or recovery storage group). It is not supported for Exchange 2003 or earlier versions. In addition, it is only available if there is a recovery database or recovery storage group available in the backup.
The following conditions must be met in order to perform a successful restore to recovery database or recovery storage group:
Condition |
Explanation |
---|---|
Exchange 2013/2010 recovery database or Exchange 2007 RSG |
Exchange 2003 or earlier versions are not supported. |
Databases must be dismounted |
For Exchange 2007, this includes all databases contained in the storage group. For Exchange 2013 and 2010, the recovery databases must be dismounted. |
Database must be in a Clean Shutdown state |
If the database is in a Dirty Shutdown state, you can restore the backup but need to bring the database into a Clean Shutdown state to mount the database. After restoring, if you cannot mount the database, see this Microsoft article to determine whether this is the problem: Exchange Database Is in a Dirty Shutdown State. |
Databases must be marked as overwrite allowed on restore |
All databases must have the overwrite allowed on restore flag set. This task can be performed using the Exchange Server administrative console or the appropriate Exchange Server command line utility. If this is not the case, the restore will fail. |
Remove all existing database and transaction log files |
It is recommended that all database and transaction log files be removed from the restore location. Restoring a differential, incremental, or a full backup restores the server to a specific point-in-time state. To ensure that the storage group or database can be remounted without integrity errors, any existing database and transaction log files should be removed before performing the restore. |
[Exchange 2007 only] The RSG must contain the same number of mailbox databases and public folder databases as the original storage group |
Each database filename (e.g., mailbox1.edb, publicfolder.edb) created in the recovery storage group must match the corresponding database file name in the original storage group that is being restored. Creating recovery storage groups using the Exchange 2007 Administrative Console enforces this rule. |
1 Verify all prerequisites have been met, as described in Restoring to a recovery area.
2 Select the Exchange client in the Navigation pane and click Restore.
3 Select a Recovery Point Day from which the backup will be restored by clicking on the calendar. Available days display in bold.
4 Specify a Recovery Point Time by selecting a backup in the list, then click Next (Select Options).
• To locate the desired database or storage group, hover over the backups in the list. When you hover, the database or storage group displays.
• Restoring a backup restores the database or storage group to a specific point-in-time state. So selecting a differential or incremental backup also restores the associated full backup.
Note: Restore Items performs an individual item restore directly from the Exchange backup and not a complete Exchange restore. For more information concerning restoring individual items, see Restoring Exchange items .
5 On the Restore from Backup of Client page, verify the backup and database/storage group displayed are the ones you wish to restore. If not, click Cancel and choose another backup.
6 Select Restore to Recovery Area and the desired Exchange server from the Available Exchange Servers list.
7 If desired, run pre- or post- restore commands by selecting Show Advanced Execution Options. Specify the client-side commands to run by entering any system command or user script in the Client Pre-Restore Commands or Client Post-Restore Commands fields. For details, see About backup options.
8 Click Restore.
All database and transaction log files are restored to the recovery area.
9 Re-mount any databases you dismounted for the restore.