After a Windows computer with the Exchange Plug-in is added in Portal, you can create a backup job for one or more Microsoft Exchange databases. The backup job specifies which databases (Exchange 2010, 2013 and 2016) or storage groups (Exchange 2007) to back up, and where to save the backup data.
When running or scheduling an Exchange backup job, you can specify whether to run a Full or Incremental backup and whether to validate the Exchange data. See Run and schedule backups, synchronizations and custom commands and Plan Full and Incremental Exchange backups.
After an Exchange backup job runs successfully, transaction logs for databases in the job are truncated so that the logs only contain changes that occurred after the backup.
When an Exchange server has multiple databases (Exchange 2010, 2013 and 2016) or storage groups (Exchange 2007), you can put the databases and storage groups into separate jobs and run the jobs simultaneously. Do not create parallel jobs for the same database (Exchange 2010, 2013 and 2016) or storage group (Exchange 2007) or conflicts could prevent the jobs from completing successfully. Conflicts could also occur if you create backups using third-party applications or Agents on other Database Availability Group members.
With Exchange 2007, your high-availability solution can affect the backup strategy. When Cluster Continuous Replication (CCR) is used, a backup only succeeds if there is only one database in the storage group in the backup job. You can run backups on either the Active or Passive node, but running backups on the Passive node is recommended. When Local Continuous Replication (LCR) is used, you can specify whether to back up data on the active copy of each storage group or on the replica copy. The replica copy can only be used for a backup if LCR is enabled for all storage groups in the job. If LCR is not enabled for all storage groups, the active copy is used for the backup.
When an Exchange backup job runs, databases in the job that are mounted or healthy are backed up. Other databases are skipped. If a database is skipped when a job runs but is mounted or healthy for the following run, the database backup does not reseed during the following run. However, if a database is skipped in two or more consecutive runs, the database backup reseeds during the next backup when the database is mounted or healthy. If no databases in a backup job are mounted or healthy when the job runs, the backup fails.
To add an Exchange backup job:
1. On the navigation bar, click Computers.
The Computers page shows registered computers.
2. Find a Windows computer with the Exchange Plug-in, and expand its view by clicking the computer row.
3. Click the Jobs tab.
If a valid vault connection is not available for the computer, you cannot access the Jobs tab. See Add vault settings.
4. In the Select Job Task menu, click Create New Exchange Server Job.
5. In the Create New Job dialog box, specify the following information:
•In the Name box, type a name for the backup job.
•In the Description box, optionally type a description for the backup job.
•In the Destination list, select the vault where you want to save the backup data.
A vault only appears in the list if it assigned to the user, or if the user added it on the computer’s Vault Settings tab.
•In the Log File Options list, select the level of detail for job logging. For more information, see Log file options|tag=Log file options.
•For new backup jobs, the encryption method is AES 256 bit. Existing jobs can have other encryption methods. See Encryption settings|tag=Encryption settings.
•In the Password and Confirm Password boxes, enter an encryption password. You can also enter a password hint in the Password Hint box.
6. In the Include in Backup box, do one of the following:
•To add specific Exchange databases or storage groups to the backup job, select the check box for each database or storage group, and then click Include.
•To back up Exchange databases or storage groups that match a filter when the job runs, select the check box for the server, and then click Include. An inclusion record appears in the Backup Set box.
In the Filter box, enter the names of databases or storage groups to back up. Separate multiple names with commas, and use asterisks (*) and question marks (?) as wildcard characters. For example, to back up databases with names that end with “Management” or include the word “database” followed by a single character, enter the following filter: *management, database?
Note: Available items depend on the Microsoft Exchange version. You can select databases for Exchange 2010, 2013 and 2016. You can select storage groups for Exchange 2007.
Note: Filters in a backup job are applied when the job runs. New databases or storage groups that match the filters are automatically backed up when the job runs.
7. To back up data on an Exchange 2007 server where local continuous replication (LCR) is enabled, do one of the following:
•To only back up data from the active copy of each storage group, select Only back up active instance.
•To back up data from the replica copy of each storage group, clear Only back up active instance.
Note: The replica copy can only be used for a backup if LCR is enabled for all storage groups in the job. If LCR is not enabled for all selected storage groups, the active copy of each storage group is used for the backup.
8. Click Create Job.
The job is created, and the View/Add Schedule dialog box appears. You can now create a schedule for running the backup. Click Cancel if you do not want to create a schedule at this time.
For information about how to run and schedule the backup job, see Run and schedule backups, synchronizations and custom commands.