You can restore a Microsoft Exchange database to its original location or to an alternate Exchange database (e.g., a recovery database in Exchange 2010, 2013 or 2016). To overwrite an existing database, the database must be unmounted and marked for overwrite.
When restoring an Exchange database, you can specify whether or not to replay transaction logs into the database and mount the database in Exchange. If this option is selected, the logs are rolled forward if they are in the original directory and no log files are missing or corrupt. If this option is not selected, transaction logs are restored to the system but are not replayed into the restored database. The Administrator must review the restored files and manually mount the database.
The process of restoring the database files to the system is recorded in the job logs. The process of replaying transaction logs into the database is recorded in the Windows Event Viewer.
For more information about Exchange restore strategies, see Restore Exchange 2010, 2013 and 2016 databases, Restore Exchange 2007 databases and documentation from Microsoft.
To restore Exchange databases to flat files, see Restore Exchange databases to flat files.
To restore an Exchange database:
1. On the navigation bar, click Computers.
A grid lists available computers.
2. Find the computer with the Exchange database you want to restore, and expand its view by clicking the computer row.
3. Click the Jobs tab.
4. Find the job whose Exchange database you want to restore, and click Restore in the Select Action menu for the job.
5. In the Choose What You Want to Restore dialog box, select Exchange Databases, and click Okay.
The Restore dialog box shows the most recent safeset for the job.
6. To restore data from an older safeset or from SSI (safeset image) files, do one of the following:
• To restore data from an older safeset, click the calendar button. In the calendar that appears, click the
date of the safeset from which you want to restore. To the right of the
calendar, click the specific safeset that you want to use.
• To restore data from SSI (safeset image) files on disk, select
Directory on disk from the Source Device list. Click the folder
button. In the Select Folder
dialog box, select the directory where the files are located, and click
Okay.
SSI files are full backups exported from the vault or backed up to disk instead of to a vault. It can be quicker to save backup files on physical media and transport them to a location for a restore, than to restore data from a vault in a remote datacenter.
Note: If SSI files were created by a backup to a directory on disk, you cannot restore from the SSI files until they have been imported into the vault and you have synchronized the Agent with the vault.
7. In the Items to Restore box, select the check box for each database that you want to restore.
8. Select a Restore Destination option:
• To restore data to the location where it was backed up, select Restore files to their original location.
• To restore to an alternate Exchange database, select Restore to an alternate Exchange database. In the Current Chosen Destination box, click Browse. In the Select Folder dialog box, select the location where you want to restore, and click Okay.
9. In the
Encryption Password box, enter the data encryption password. To view the
password hint, click the Hint button.
10. To change the log detail level, bandwidth throttling setting or hard recovery option, click Advanced Restore Options. In the dialog box, do one or more of the following:
• In the Log Level Detail list, select the level of detail for job logging. See Advanced restore options.
• Select or clear the Use all available bandwidth option. See Advanced restore options.
• Select or clear the Start Hard Recovery option.
If the Start Hard Recovery option is selected, transaction logs are replayed after the database is restored and the restored database is mounted by Exchange. Logs are also rolled forward if they are in the original directory and no log files are missing or corrupt.
If the Start Hard Recovery option is not selected, transaction logs are restored to the system but are not replayed after the database is restored. The restored database is not mounted by Exchange. The Administrator must review the restored Exchange files and manually mount the database.
Click Okay.
11. Click Run Restore.
The Process Details dialog box shows the restore progress and indicates when the restore is completed. Other recent job processes might also be listed in the dialog box. See View current process information for a job.
To close the Process Details dialog box, click Close. If the restore is running, it will continue to run.