11 Myths about Microsoft Exchange Backup and Recovery

I will be able to recover from my backups
REALITY: According to research conducted by Microsoft, 42% of all Exchange Server recoveries conducted from tape will fail. Each year companies of all sizes spend thousands of dollars on the latest and greatest hardware and software backup solutions. These new technologies give us a false sense of security because they only address the issue of moving Exchange data from Point A (the Exchange Server) to Point B (the backup media). But Exchange is a dynamic and complex application.
Special care needs to be taken to ensure all key components have been protected, not just the data. STM and LOG files, registry settings, AD configurations and O/S configurations all play an important role in maintaining an operational Exchange environment. And, if your Exchange Server is in an abnormal state when it’s being backed up, your processes may be fruitless, as you’re backing up information that will not lead to a successful restore. The primary reasons Exchange Servers fail to recover from backups are corrupted log files and even worse, a corrupted EDB. The smallest issue may corrupt a data store or log file in such a way that when recovered from tape, the EDB fails to mount. At that point you call Microsoft and start running ESEUTIL to try and repair your database so it will mount, all at the expense of precious time and potential data loss.
Implement continuous application protection (CAP) by switching to an application-specific backup process. This will ensure that you are not just backing up the data but also the state of the application, ensuring a full recovery when needed.
Replay from AppAssure Software guarantees your recoveries will be successful, by continuously monitoring and checking the health of your Exchange data stores and log files. Replay notifies you in near-real-time if the data stores are not mountable or the logs are corrupt, so you can correct the issue(s) before it is too late. Should you have a corruption issue, Replay’s utilities can even open and help you restore them. Replay gets you back up and running in minutes, not days.

I must perform brick-level backups to restore individual messages
REALITY: Most backup solutions require a separate MAPI-level backup known as “bricklevel backups”, in order to enable the restoring of individual messages. But, Exchange administrators don’t have enough time in the day to spend time on restoring individual messages for the CEO who accidentally deleted an important memo. So these types of requests can often go unfulfilled.
Eliminate the need for performing brick-level backups by implementing an EDB-browsing utility. You’ll save time by not having to perform a second MAPI-level backup and you’ll be able to fulfill those requests for missing e-mails.
Replay eliminates the need to perform bricklevel backups. Replay’s “built-in” EDB browser can open any un-mounted EDB and restore individual messages with a search and click. Using the browser you can open any EDB (even many that are corrupted) from Exchange 2003 or 2007 and recovery messages back to a live Exchange Server or even export messages to PST files.

I can’t detect data store corruption in a backup
REALITY: Traditionally, the only way to test for data store corruption in Exchange backups was to test the entire restore process (copy data back from tape to another Exchange Server and perform a restore via the “recovery storage groups” utility. Exchange administrators just don’t have the time to devote to this cumbersome process, especially on a regular basis. And what if it fails? Do you have to refactor your process or just try again and hope it works?

Proactively validate the health of your Exchange Server so that you prevent corrupted data from permeating into your backups.
Replay 2007 continuously checks and validates the Exchange Server application and proactively alerts you at the first sign of data store corruption. Each recovery point is guaranteed to be mountable, because the process mounts and tests it off the host-server. Guaranteed recovery when you need it most!