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Microsoft Exchange Server 2016 Mail-Level Backup Module (CloudBacko Pro)


CloudBacko Pro backup software allows you to back up individual mailboxes in your Microsoft Exchange Server 2016 with the MS Exchange Mail Level Backup Module. This module provides a set of tools to protect your mailboxes and public folders on Microsoft Exchange Server 2016. This includes backup and recovery of individual emails, contacts, calendars and other mail items in your mailboxes and public folders, with snapshots / versioning, and retention policy to protect even email that you may have accidentally deleted from your Exchange 2016 mailboxes or public folders.

Mail Level Backup must be utilized in conjunction with full Information Store Backup as Mail Level backup for Microsoft Exchange Server is not designed to fully protect an Exchange Server, but to facilitate easy backup and fast restoration of individual emails, contacts, calendars or public folder, etc.

CloudBacko Pro supports standalone backup option and Database Availability Group (DAG) backup option for Exchange server Mail Level backup.

Exchange Server 2016 Mail Level backup and restore can be performed by installing CloudBacko Pro either on the Exchange server 2016 hosting the database or on a remote backup machine.


System Architecture


Below is the system architecture diagram illustrating the major elements involved in the backup and restore process among the Microsoft Exchange Server 2016 and CloudBacko Pro.

CloudBacko Pro installed on Exchange Server 2016


Standalone: The latest version of CloudBacko Pro is installed on the Exchange Server which is connected to the Internet.

Database Availability Group (DAG): The latest version of CloudBacko Pro is installed on all the DAG members on Exchange server which is connected to the Internet, and all the DAG members share the same backup set.

CloudBacko Pro installed on Remote Backup Machine


Standalone: The latest version of CloudBacko Pro is installed on the remote backup machine which is connected to the Internet.

Database Availability Group (DAG): The latest version of CloudBacko Pro is installed on the remote backup machine which is connected to the Internet, and all the DAG members share the same backup set.


Why using CloudBacko Pro to back up my Mailboxes and Public Folders?


We are committed to bringing you a comprehensive Exchange 2016 Mail Level backup solution with CloudBacko Pro. Below are some key areas that we can help to make your backup experience a better one.

Fast and Efficient Restore


We understand that restore could be a time and resources consuming process, which is why CloudBacko Pro is designed with advanced technologies to make restore a fast and efficient process by restoring individual mail items without the need to restore the whole Exchange server database.

CloudBacko Pro supports recovery directly to a live production MS Exchange server, so there is no service interruption or downtime incurred, and also the user mailboxes do not have to be disabled and can function normally during the recovery procedure.

Backup of Selected Mailboxes & Mailbox Items


The backup resources can be mailbox level, folder level and even item level.

  • Flexible backup options:
    • Only select the required mailboxes, specific folders or items for backup.
  • Flexible restore options:
    • Restore the whole mailbox contents or just one email.
    • Restore mail items to the original mailbox or an alternate mailbox
    • Restore mail items to an alternate mailbox on another email domain

Unlimited Versioning


CloudBacko Pro provides backup and restore option for different version of exchange server to fulfill your requirement.

Flexible Scheduling


You may wish to run backup at a specified time interval of your choice, that’s why we also allow you to set your own backup schedules so that you can take full control of the time when to perform backup.

  • Block Level Incremental Backup–this technology breaks down the backup files into multiple blocks and only the changed blocks will be backed up each time

High Level of Security with AES 256-bit Encryption


We understand your Exchange mail objects may contain sensitive information that requires to be protected, that is why your backup data will be encrypted with the highest level of security measure.

  • Un-hackable Encryption Key – to provide the best protection to your backup data, you can turn on the encryption feature which will default encrypt the backup data locally with AES 256-bit truly randomized encryption key.

Better Performance


Multi-thread Backup


The technology utilizes the computing power of multiple CPU cores for creating multiple backup and restore threads to produce fast backup and restore performance.

The default setting for MS Exchange 2016 mail level backup sets supports:

  • Backup of 4 mailboxes concurrently (4 threads)
  • For each of the 4 mailboxes, now supports a maximum 4 mail items concurrently (4 threads).

    As shown the technology translate into a total of 16 concurrent threads compared with a total 4 concurrent backup threads for Exchange 2007/ 2010/ 2013 mail level backup.

Improved Index File Structure


The index file structure has been re-designed to improve the backup and restore performance. Each Exchange 2016 mailbox will have its own individual index file instead of a single index file for all mailboxes within the backup set.

This new design eliminates any potential I/O performance bottlenecks when the index file is updated during each backup job, which can occur when using single index file structure for multi-thread concurrent backup.

High Reliability


The implementation of one index file per mailbox can significantly improve the overall resilience of backup and restore from index related issues.

For example, if a single index file is corrupted, it will only affect the corresponding mailbox, while other mailboxes selected for backup are unaffected.

Cloud Destination Backup


To offer you with the highest flexibility of backup destination, you can now back up mail objects to a wide range of cloud storage destinations. Utilizing cloud destination backup gives you an extra layer of protection in the event of a local drive corruption, where you will still be able to retrieve data from the cloud destination. The list of supported destination can be found here: supported cloud destinations

Flexible Deployment Options


CloudBacko Pro supports Mail Level backup and restore of Exchange Server 2016 by installing the client agent either on the Exchange server hosting the database, or on a remote backup machine.

Below is a comparison table on the differences on backup and restore with CloudBacko Pro installation on an Exchange server and on a remote backup machine.

On Server Backup Remote Backup
Backup * Backup jobs will utilize the Exchange server’s resources, so it may impact the server performance. If the load on Exchange server is already high, this can impact the backup performance.

* There is minimal performance issue with the transfer of mail items from the Exchange mail store to CloudBacko Pro.
* Backup jobs will utilize the remote backup machine’s resources, therefore, there is minimal impact on the Exchange server performance.

* Backup performance can be affected by the network connection speed between the Exchange server and the remote backup machine, especially for connection over the Internet.

* General backup performance issues can be easily resolved by installing CloudBacko Pro on a more powerful backup machine.
Large Number of MailboxesLarge Number of Mailboxes * Backup of a large number of mailboxes can take more time to complete.

For example, it may not be possible to run multiple mail level backup sets concurrently on the Exchange server for 1000 user mailboxes, as it may affect the server performance, so administrator may be limited to start one backup set at a time.

1 backup set can only have a total of 16 concurrent threads by default.
* Backup of a large number of mailboxes can take less time to complete.

For example, 1000 user mailboxes can be divided into 5 separate backup sets of 200 mailboxes each. The 5 backup sets can be started concurrently on 1 machine or started by multiple machines.

5 backup sets * 16 concurrent threads = 80 concurrent threads
Backup Scheduling * For environment with limited backup window, there may not be sufficient time to complete both database and mail level backup jobs on a daily basis. * For environment with limited backup window, remote backup may be a good option as the mail level backup can be completed remotely, while the database backup can be completed on the Exchange server at the same time period.

* Continuous backup can be enabled without significant impact on the Exchange server performance, as backup jobs will utilize the resources of the remote backup machine.
Restore * The restore of mailbox items to another (standby) MS Exchange server, requires installation of CloudBacko Pro on the new MS Exchange server. * Easily restore mailbox items to another (standby) MS Exchange server, without the need to reinstall CloudBacko Pro.

* Restore mailbox items without direct / physical access to the MS Exchange server.

* Restore performance can be affected by any network connection issue between the Exchange server and the remote backup machine, especially if the connection is over the Internet.

Requirements


You are strongly recommended to configure or check all the settings below to confirm all the requirements are met before you proceed with the Exchange Mail Level backup and restoration.

CloudBacko Pro Installation


Latest CloudBacko Pro must be installed either on the Exchange Server 2016 hosting the database or on the remote backup machine.

Microsoft Exchange Add-On Module


One Microsoft Exchange Add-on Module is required for the backup of all user mailboxes. No license is required for public folder.

Java Heap Size


The default Java heap size setting on CloudBacko Pro is 2048MB. For Exchange 2016 mail level backup, it is highly recommended to increase the Java heap size setting to be at least 4096MB to improve backup and restore performance. The actual heap size is dependent on amount of free memory available on your Exchange 2016 server.

Temporary Directory Folder


Temporary Directory folder is used by CloudBacko Pro for storing backup set index files and any incremental or differential delta files generated during a backup job. To ensure optimal backup/restoration performance, it is recommended that the temporary directory folder is located on a local drive with sufficient free disk space.

Scheduled Backup for Exchange Server in Data Availability Group (DAG)


Scheduled backup is required if you choose to back up in DAG option on Exchange server as CloudBacko Pro on all DAG members will base on the scheduled backup time to start backup on all the individual DAG member at the same time.

  • A DAG backup cycle is considered complete only when scheduled backup on all DAG members have been carried out. An email report will be generated when a complete DAG backup cycle has taken place.
  • Please keep in mind that manual backup will only be considered as individual Mail Level backup, and therefore will not be counted as part of the DAG backup cycle. However, for backup and restore on a remote backup machine, as the operation for single node can be done either manually or automatically, a scheduled backup is not required.

Mailbox Role


Ensure all nodes have mailbox role. This can be checked by accessing the Exchange admin center (EAC).

Operating System


  • For CloudBacko Pro installed on the Exchange Server 2016, the operating system must be Windows Server 2012/ 2012 R2/ 2016 or above.
  • For CloudBacko Pro installed on the remote backup machine, the operating system must be Windows 7/ 8/ 8.1/ 10 or Windows Server 2008/ 2008 R2/ 2012/ 2012 R2/ 2016 or above.

Supported Exchange Server 2016 Version


MS Exchange Server 2016 Cumulative Update 4 (CU4) or above is supported.

Windows User Account Permission


The Windows user account used for the backup must be a member of the following security groups.

  • Discovery Management (including ApplicationImpersonation and Mailbox Search)
  • Organization Management
  • Public Folder Management

Login to the Exchange admin center, under permissions, admin roles. Assign the user to be running the backup as member of the following admin roles:

  • Discovery Management (including the following Roles):
    • ApplicationImpersonation
    • Mailbox Search
  • Organization Management
  • Public Folder Management

Enabling Mailbox


The Windows user account must have an Exchange Server mailbox. Refer to the URL below for more information.

Refer to the following article from Microsoft for more details on how to check if an account is mailbox enabled and how to enable it: https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/Exchange/recipients/create-user-mailboxes?view=exchserver-2019

Backup Source Requirement


Ensure that the “Hide from address lists” option is unchecked for all mailboxes to be selected for backup. Mailbox hidden from the address list will not be shown in the backup source selection menu.

Port Configuration


As Exchange 2016 mail level backup and restore is implemented using Microsoft EWS API (Exchange Web Services), which enables CloudBacko Pro to access mailbox items such as email message, meetings, notes, calendar, contact, etc, without any additional installation or complicated setup required on the Exchange 2016 Server or remote backup machine, only port 443 must be configured to allow communication between CloudBacko Pro and Exchange server.


Ensure all MS Exchange related services have been started, particularly the MS Exchange Information Store.

To verify this setting, launch the Services menu by clicking Start then typing “Services” in the search box. All Exchange related services should be started by default, in case it is not, turn it on by right clicking the item and then select Start.

MS Exchange Databases


Ensure the MS Exchange Mailbox and Public Folder databases are mounted. This can be verified by Exchange Management Shell or Exchange Admin Center (EAC).

  • Type the following command in the Exchange Management Shell.
    Get-MailboxDatabase

  • Exchange Admin Center (EAC)

Windows PowerShell 5.1 Engine


Ensure that Windows PowerShell 5.1 Engine is installed. To install the feature:

  1. Navigate to Server Manager > Manage, then select Add Roles and Features.
  2. On the Select installation type screen, select Role-based or feature-based installation.
  3. Select the target server.
  4. On the Select features screen, go to the Features option, check the box next to Windows PowerShell 5.1 Engine.

.Net Framework 4.6.2 Features


Ensure .Net Framework 4.6.2 Features is installed. Please refer to the following URL for detailed information: https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/Exchange/plan-and-deploy/system-requirements?view=exchserver-2016

This feature can be enabled by accessing Server Manager > Dashboard > Manage > Add Roles and Features Wizard > Feature Page.


Supported Source


Mailbox Level


Below are the supported mailbox types of Exchange Server 2016 Mail Level backup.

Type Supported?
User mailbox
Room Mailbox
Equipment Mailbox
Public Folder
Public Folder Mailbox
Shared Mailbox

Folder Level


Below are the items that you can backup or restore from an Exchange Server 2016 Mail Level backup set.

Folder Supported?
Inbox
RSS Feeds
Drafts
Junk Email
Sent Items
Tasks
Deleted Items
Calendar
Contacts
Notes
Archive


public/module/microsoft_exchange_mail_level_2016/home.1568884221.txt.gz · Last modified: 2019/09/19 17:10 by ronnie.chan