Storage Foundation 8.0 Quick Recovery Solutions Guide for Microsoft Exchange - Windows
- Introducing Quick Recovery for Microsoft Exchange
- Planning a Quick Recovery snapshot solution for Exchange
- System requirements
- Methods of implementing Quick Recovery snapshots
- Planning your Quick Recovery solution
- Backup types for snapshot sets
- About logs
- Recommendations and best practices
- Configuring Exchange for Quick Recovery snapshots
- Implementing Exchange snapshot sets with the configuration wizard
- About the Quick Recovery Configuration Wizard
- Tasks for implementing snapshot sets with the configuration wizard
- Reviewing the prerequisites
- Scheduling Exchange snapshot sets
- System Selection panel details
- Instance Selection panel details
- Mount Details panel details
- Synchronizing Schedules panel details
- Template Selection panel details
- Number of Snapshot Sets panel details
- Snapshot Volume Assignment panel details
- Snapshot Schedule panel details
- Specifying snapshot schedule details
- Summary panel details
- Template Implementation panel
- Administering or troubleshooting scheduled snapshots
- Scheduling or creating an individual snapshot set for Exchange
- Maintaining or troubleshooting snapshots
- Recovering Exchange mailbox databases
- About recovery using Quick Recovery snapshots
- Tasks for recovery using Quick Recovery snapshots
- Prerequisites for recovery
- Recovery using an Exchange 2010 passive copy snapshot in a Database Availability Group (DAG)
- Recovery for Exchange 2010 using the VSS Restore Wizard
- Recovery for Exchange 2010 using the vxsnap utility
- Post-recovery steps
- Recovering after hardware failure
- About recovery after hardware failure
- Tasks for recovering after hardware failure
- Reviewing the prerequisites
- Reviewing the sample configuration for Exchange 2010
- Scenario I: Database and transaction logs volumes are missing
- Identifying the missing volumes (Scenario I)
- Deleting missing volumes from Storage Foundation
- Replacing hardware and adding disks to the dynamic disk group
- Changing the drive letter or mount points of the snapshot volumes
- Restoring the Exchange 2010 mailbox database to the point in time
- Refreshing the snapshot set (Scenario I)
- Scenario II: Database volumes missing, transaction logs are available
- Identifying the missing volumes (Scenario II)
- Deleting missing volumes from Storage Foundation
- Replacing hardware and adding disks to the dynamic disk group
- Changing the drive letter or mount points of the snapshot volumes
- Restoring the Exchange 2010 mailbox database to the point in time
- Recovering the Exchange 2010 mailbox database to the point of failure
- Refreshing the snapshot set (Scenario II)
- Refreshing the snapshot set
- Refreshing the snapshot set on the current disks
- Moving the production volumes to different disks and refreshing the snapshot set
- Reattaching healthy snapshot volumes
- Clearing the snapshot association for volumes whose drive letters or mount points were reassigned
- Adding mirrors to volumes whose drive letters or mount points were reassigned
- Creating snapshot mirrors of volumes whose drive letters or mount points were reassigned
- Creating the new snapshot set
- Vxsnap utility command line reference for Exchange
Reattaching healthy snapshot volumes
If you recovered using a roll-forward recovery to the Point of Failure (POF), you must snap back the snapshot transaction logs volume using the option.
Additionally, snap back the snapshot volumes of any databases that were not affected by the disk failure (and thus still have snapshot volumes associated with them).
The VSS Snapback wizard reattaches and resynchronizes an existing snapshot snapshot set so that it matches the current state of its original Exchange mailbox database.
For the complete syntax of the vxassist snapback command, see Storage Foundation Administrator's Guide.
To snapback a snapshot set
- Close the database application GUI and all Explorer windows, applications, consoles (except the VEA console), or third-party system management tools that may be accessing the snapshot set.
- From the VEA console URL bar, select the <host name> which is the system where the production volumes and snapshot mirrors are located, as the active host.
- Expand the system node, the Storage Agent node, and the Applications node.
- Right-click on the node of the application and click VSS Snapback.
- Review the Welcome page and click Next.
- Select the snapshot set you want to snapback and click Next.
The XML metadata file contains all required information needed to snapback the snapshot set, including the names of the database and transaction logs volumes. Click the appropriate header to sort the list of available files by File Name or Creation Time. This file is deleted after the snapback operation has completed successfully.
- If a message appears that indicates some volumes have open handles, confirm that all open handles are closed and then click Yes to proceed.
- Verify that the snapback specifications are correct and click Finish.
To reattach the split-mirror snapshots to the original volumes from the command line
- Close all open handles on the snapshot volumes.
- Type the following command, replacing the example values:
> vxassist -gExch-DG1 snapback DB1-tlogssnap
If there is an open handle on the volume you will get the following error message "One of the volumes of this dynamic disk group is currently in use. Please close applications and try again."
- Repeat the command for any other snapshot volumes in the mailbox database that were not affected by the disk failure.