Exchange Server backup

If you are not using Microsoft Exchange Server 2010 SP2 or later, it is recommended that you periodically check the consistency of the Exchange database files.

In Exchange, consistency check is performed by running Eseutil /K. It verifies the page-level integrity of all Exchange databases and checksums of all database pages and log files. The process of verification can be time consuming. For information about using Eseutil /K, see: http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb123956(v=exchg.80).

You can perform the consistency check before or after a backup.

• Before a backup. This ensures that you do not back up the damaged Exchange database files.
  1. Dismount the databases.
  2. Run Eseutil /K and review the verification results.
  3. If the databases are consistent, mount them again and run the backup. Otherwise, repair the damaged databases.

  Refer to the "Transaction log truncation for Exchange Server" section for more information about mounting and dismounting databases.

• After a backup. The advantage of this method is that you do not have to dismount the databases that are in constant use. However, the consistency check in the backup is much slower than the consistency check of the on-disk databases.

  Mount volumes (containing the required database files) from the disk backup in the "Read only" mode and run Eseutil /K.

  If a checksum mismatch or file header damage is detected, repair the damaged databases and then perform the backup again.

Tip. Acronis offers a dedicated product for backing up Microsoft Exchange – Acronis Backup Advanced for Exchange. When you use this product, Agent for Exchange automatically checks consistency of the databases being backed up and skips the databases with a checksum mismatch or file header damage. As opposed to this agent, Eseutil /K verifies the pages of all Exchange databases that are present on the server.