Subscribe to Windows IT Pro

 

Get Newsletters

  • Get the Latest News
  • Product Updates
  • Helpful Tricks
  • Productivity Tips

Subscribe Now!

March 18, 2008 12:00 AM

Backup Options for Large Exchange Database

Windows IT Pro
InstantDoc ID #98163
Rating: (1)

If you plan on allowing large mailboxes, you must also plan how you're going to manage your backups. If you have many mailboxes and high quotas, you could be required to back up gigabytes or terabytes of data every night, and there might not be enough time for your system to back up all the data each night.

One way to get around the problem might be to split the store into several pieces, each on its own volume. Assuming that your server could deliver the necessary throughput, you could perform concurrent backups of each store to separate tape drives.

Another option would be to implement local continuous replication (LCR). LCR works by maintaining a copy of the store on a separate Exchange server. As soon as a transaction log is full, a copy of the log is sent to the replica server using a process known as log shipping. The replica server plays the log, and thus updates its copy of the database. You can then configure your backup software to run a backup against the replica server rather than the production server. Since no users are connected to the replica server, this would let you back up your data without having to worry about exceeding a backup window or disrupting users.

Although LCR maintains a backup copy of the information store, it is not a substitute for backups. If the data center were to burn down, you'd lose the replica server along with the production server. Likewise, a corrupt transaction log could trash the replica database, just as it could the production database. If you implement LCR, you should not rely on it as the sole means of backing up your server.

Related Content:

ARTICLE TOOLS

Comments
  • Dimitrios
    3 years ago
    Oct 24, 2009

    The sentence
    "LCR works by maintaining a copy of the store on a separate Exchange server"
    is incorrect.
    The author surely meant to write CCR or SCR.

    http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb125195.aspx
    "Local continuous replication (LCR) is a single-server solution that uses built-in asynchronous log shipping and log replay technology to create and maintain a copy of a storage group on a second set of disks that are connected to the same server as the production storage group."

You must log on before posting a comment.

Are you a new visitor? Register Here

advertisement

advertisement

White Papers

Get your Windows 7 deployment off to the right start by implementing PC lockdown. A locked-down environment is easier and cheaper to support since users are less likely to make unnecessary changes to the core system configuration - read more here!

Essential Guides

Is your iSCSI "lossy"? The reality is that most off-the-shelf Ethernet hardware deployed for iSCSI can lose packets, resulting in slow performance or application downtime. Learn how to assess your current iSCSI infrastructure and engineer an advanced iSCSI SAN infrastructure.

Web Seminars

What's the best way to keep your network safe from malware? In this web seminar, security expert Greg Shields suggests an alternative method to the traditional blacklisting approach that is common with anti-virus and anti-malware solutions.

eLearning Series

We bring the experts direct to you to share their real-world perspective and expertise. During each event, three sessions stream in real time, so you can learn, ask questions, and get solutions.
Upcoming event: Getting the Most with Exchange 2010 with Paul Robichaux

Subscribe to Windows IT Pro!

Windows is a trademark of the Microsoft group of companies. Windows IT Pro is used by Penton Media Inc. under license from owner.