What data items can be backed up and what backup types are used?

While creating a backup plan, you can select either the Microsoft Exchange Information Store or the Microsoft Exchange Mailboxes data type.

Microsoft Exchange Information store

When you select this data type, the software will perform a database backup.

You can select the following items to back up:

• The entire information store.
• Individual databases (for Exchange 2010/2013).
• Individual storage groups (for Exchange 2003/2007).

The database backups are the basis for disaster recovery scenarios when it is necessary to recover lost or corrupted databases, storage groups, or entire information store. Granular recovery from database backups allows for restoring mailboxes, public folders, e-mails, contacts, calendar events, journal entries, notes, and more.

Why some databases are not backed up

The dismounted databases are skipped during backup. The backup task gets the "Succeeded with warning" result, if the task backed up at least one database but skipped others because they were dismounted. The backup task gets the "Failed" result, if the task was completed but skipped all of the databases because they were all dismounted.

During database backups, Agent for Exchange automatically performs consistency check of database files. It verifies the page-level integrity of the databases being backed up and validates the checksums of all database pages and log files. Databases with a checksum mismatch or file header damage are skipped during the backup.

Database backup types

• Full. A regular full database backup stores the selected storage groups or databases along with transaction log files and Exchange-related information from Active Directory. After a full backup is created, transaction log files are truncated. A full backup is self-sufficient; that is, you do not need access to any other backup to recover the data from a full backup.

  Additionally, full backups can be created by using one of the following methods:

  • Express full backup. This method allows creating creating full database backups in deduplicating vaults. Although regular data deduplication can be used full database backups, we recommend using the Express full backup method to achieve maximum deduplication effect.
  • Copy-only backup. This method allows creating full database backups without truncating the transaction log files.
• Transaction log. A transaction log backup stores the transaction log files along with checkpoint files and other files required for recovery. After a backup is created, transaction log files are truncated. At first, a regular full backup is created. By having full and transaction log backups, you can recover the data to a custom point in time. From a recovery perspective, transaction log backups are similar to incremental backups. To recover from a transaction log backup, each transaction log backup since the last full backup and the full backup is required. A long chain of transaction log files may significantly increase recovery time.

  Note: To back up transaction log files, disable circular logging in Exchange. When circular logging is enabled, Exchange overwrites the first log file after its data has been written to the database. This in turn, breaks the transaction log chain preventing Acronis Backup from doing transaction log backups. If you enable circular logging after a backup plan creation, the backups will fail.

Microsoft Exchange mailboxes

Not available when backing up Exchange 2013 data.

When you select this data type, the software will perform a mailbox backup.

You can select the following items to back up:

• Mailboxes or mailbox folders
• Public folders

By using the exclusion filters, you can specify items to be skipped during a mailbox backup.

After a mailbox backup, transaction log files are not truncated.

How to use a mailbox backup

A mailbox backup gives you the additional flexibility to back up individual mailboxes or public folders without backing up the entire database. We recommend that you use a mailbox backup to protect the most important mailboxes or if you need to back up less than 15 GB of data. For larger volumes of data, a database backup is more effective. It will take less time and you can recover individual mailboxes, e-mails, or other data items, as well as the entire database.

Limitations of a mailbox backup

• Though you can select archived mailboxes, they will not be backed up.
• Unlike full database backups, mailbox backups cannot be deduplicated.

Mailbox backup types

• Full backup. A full mailbox-level backup stores the contents and folder structure of the mailboxes or public folders selected for backup.
• Incremental backup. An incremental mailbox backup stores changes to the data against the last backup. At first, a full mailbox backup is created. You need to access other backups from the same archive to recover data from an incremental backup.