Backup and Recovery

This article gives information about backing up the Blackberry data and also restoration. As we know the BES and exchange are tightly integrated, the real email data’s are stored in the email servers only. In BES server level, the following needs to be backed up

* BES Database of SQL 2005 i.e., BESMgmt Database

* BES User details and Configuration details.

1. BES Database Backup and Restore:

For Blackberry, as we know the database is hosted in the SQL Server. Henceforth can make use of the backup and restore option in the SQL Server itself.

Open the backup console from the SQL 2005 studio express console,

• Go to the concern Database in the console -- right click and select Task -- Backup

• Enter the backup file name and location in the general window.

• Select the options for media writing as required to complete the backup in the option window.

For the restoration same process, select the restore option from the console.

• Select the destination of the latest backup file in the General window.

• Select the appropriate write option to complete the restoration in the option window.

2. Blackberry User Information Backup and restore

The BB user details and Configuration details can be backed up by using the built-in tool called BlackberryBackup.exe. The below is the location of the file,

C:\Program Files\Research In Motion\BlackBerry Enterprise Server\Utility

Note : Here C:\ is the source installed drive.

Backup

### To take the backup of the user information

BlackBerryBackup.exe -b -o C:\BB_Bkp\bb_user.txt -n dxb-bbs-01

### To take the backup of the BES configuration information

BlackBerryBackup.exe -r -o C:\BB_Bkp\bes_conf.txt -n dxb-bbs-01

Note:

-b –o -- Backup (-b) of BB user details to the output file (-o) C:\BB_Bkp\bb_user.txt

-n -- Blackberry servername

-r –o -- Backup (-r) of BB configuration details to the output file (-o) C:\BB_Bkp\bb_conf.txt

Restore

### To restore the user information from the file using the option "-i"

BlackBerryBackup.exe -b -i C:\BB_Bkp\bb_user.txt -n dxb-bbs-01

### To restore the configuration information from the file using the option "-i"

BlackBerryBackup.exe -r -i C:\BB_Bkp\bes_conf.txt -n dxb-bbs-01

Note:

-b –i -- Restore (-b) the BB user details from the input file (-i) C:\BB_Bkp\bb_user.txt

-n -- Blackberry servername

-r –i -- Restore (-r) the BB configuration details from the input file (-i) C:\BB_Bkp\bb_conf.txt

Thanks

Logan

Logu_microsoft@hotmail.com

Exchange Backup - Online vs Offline

Hi friends,

This article explains the two different strtegy available in the exchange 2000 and 2003 server. The Netbackup is the backup tool used for backup and restore in the windows environment with excellent features.

Backup exchange 2000/2003 in 2 ways: Online backup and Offline backup.

Online Backup:

An Online backup is performed while the Information Store is still mounted and the Exchange server is operational. The Exchange is Online and available for transactions, therefore it still allows users to work without interruption. Online backups also automatically clear the database logs upon completion.

Another major advantage of the Online backup method is the fact that the Exchange store is checked for corruption at the file-system level. This check is done by verifying the checksums on each 4 KB (Kilobyte) block or page in the database. If there is a checksum failure, backup will terminate. Exchange will not allow you to back up an Exchange store with a wrong checksum in it.

Therefore, after an online backup is complete, you should check the Event Viewer to find out whether your Exchange store is corrupted. If you see a failed backup with a page read error event in Event Viewer, this may be an early indication of a problem in the database.

Offline Backup:

Offline backup is performed by shutting down the Exchange Information Store service and performing COPY procedures on the Exchange databases (Public Folder or Mailbox stores). Using an Offline Backup provides a method to restore the Exchange system to its last known state or specific "point in time", and is usually considered to be less attractive than the Online backup.

However, you may need to perform an Offline backup in the following situations:

* Your Online backup failed. You can complete an Offline backup in situations where an Online backup might fail (for example, due to an error such as a checksum1018 JET_errReadVerifyFailure).
* Your backup software does not support Exchange Online backup APIs, requiring you to dismount the Exchange 2000/2003 mailbox and public folder stores before you backup the server.

Some disadvantages to performing an Offline backup include:

* You must stop IS services (You do not need to stop the IS if you only want to backup the store, for that you can simply just dismount it. However if you want to backup the log files you do need to stop the IS service).
* Users will not be able to access their mailboxes during the offline backup.
* Log files that contain transactions already written to the database files will not be purged after the completion of the backup.
* The database is not checked for corruption during an Offline backup. You might have a corrupt database and backup sets that cannot be used to restore your server to full functionality.
* An increased chance of data loss due to files being copied to and from a backup location.

Thanks
Logu
logu_microsoft@hotmail.com
91-9841499143

Types of Windows Backup:

Hi friends,

This article explains different types of backup available in windows (ntbackup.exe). The Backup utility supports five methods of backing up data on your computer or network. The analogy behind this different types of backups is the archive attribute.

Copy backup
A copy backup copies all selected files but does not mark each file as having been backed up (in other words, the archive attribute is not cleared). Copying is useful if you want to back up files between normal and incremental backups because copying does not affect these other backup operations.

Daily backup
A daily backup copies all selected files that have been modified the day the daily backup is performed. The backed-up files are not marked as having been backed up (in other words, the archive attribute is not cleared).

Differential backup
A differential backup copies files created or changed since the last normal or incremental backup. It does not mark files as having been backed up (in other words, the archive attribute is not cleared). If you are performing a combination of normal and differential backups, restoring files and folders requires that you have the last normal as well as the last differential backup.

Incremental backup
An incremental backup backs up only those files created or changed since the last normal or incremental backup. It marks files as having been backed up (in other words, the archive attribute is cleared). If you use a combination of normal and incremental backups, you will need to have the last normal backup set as well as all incremental backup sets in order to restore your data.

Normal backup
A normal backup copies all selected files and marks each file as having been backed up (in other words, the archive attribute is cleared). With normal backups, you need only the most recent copy of the backup file or tape to restore all of the files. You usually perform a normal backup the first time you create a backup set.

Strategy : Normal + Incremental
Backing up your data using a combination of normal backups and incremental backups requires the least amount of storage space and is the quickest backup method. However, recovering files can be time-consuming and difficult because the backup set can be stored on several disks or tapes.

Strategy : Normal + Differential
Backing up your data using a combination of normal backups and differential backups is more time-consuming, especially if your data changes frequently, but it is easier to restore the data because the backup set is usually stored on only a few disks or tapes.

I guess now you people know what are this different backup does.

Thanks
Logu
logu_microsoft@hotmail.com
91-9841499143