exchange 2010 backup

[kornelg]

hello,
i want to backup exchange vm.
should i add in veeam hyper v quiscence?is there a big differenece without it?
and should i enable also vss in the disks i want to backup in the exchange vm?
thanks a lot!

[veremin]

Hi, John.

Should i add in veeam hyper v quiscence?is there a big differenece without it?

Application Aware Image Processing is an ad-hoc mechanism, which allows VB&R to create transactionally consistent backup of a VM running VSS-aware applications (such as Active Directory, Microsoft SQL, Microsoft Exchange, Sharepoint) without powering them off. Furthermore, it ensures successful VM recovery, as well as proper recovery of all applications installed on the VM without any data loss and also it notifies applications about them being backed up.

So, this option (AAIP) should be definitely enabled in the backup job settings.

Should I enable also vss in the disks I want to backup in the exchange vm?

Having abovementioned option (Hyper-V guest quiecsense) enabled would be enough for guaranteeing application consistent backup of your Exchange server.

Additionally, don’t forget to enable log truncation. VB&R provides advanced options for controlling truncation of transaction logs so that you can ensure correct backup of applications that use transaction logs. The logs can be truncated after every backup job, every successful backup or not truncated at all.

Moreover, it might be worth utilizing Veeam Explorer for Microsoft Exchange 2010 which provides instant visibility into Exchange Backups. In a nutshell, this utility will allow fairly quick recover of old deleted folders and/or email messages. This kind of utility is great for doing granular level restores of emails, and can be applicable in a multitude of environments.

Hope this helps.
Thanks.

[kornelg]

Ok, in exchange vm i have a disk which has the DB.

So, should I enable shadow copy at this one or also at boot c of exchange and then I can enable hyper v quiscence and VSS in veeam?

Exchange is in a Hyper-V host and the VHD is in a vdisk in the host. Vdisk is from datacore san symphony(from a pool of disks). Free space for this vdisk is only 10gb(orignal space 50gb), but in veeam I have seen a warning that it may run out of disk due to open snapshots! What does it mean?

I have no snapshots in exchange!

[Vitaliy S.]

Hi John,

So, should I enable shadow copy at this one or also at boot c of exchange and then I can enable hyper v quiscence and VSS in veeam?

No, you do not need to do with Guest OS settings, also since you're going to use "Application aware image processing" there is no need to enable Hyper-v Guest quiescence either.

Free space for this vdisk is only 10gb(orignal space 50gb), but in veeam I have seen a warning that it may run out of disk due to open snapshots! What does it mean?

This warning refers to the datastore where your Exchange VM is stored, not to the VM virtual disk. Generally, 10% of free space is enough to keep changes that VM produces while running backup/replication jobs, but to be on the safe side it's better to have more than 10%.

Thanks!

[veremin]

Just for your information - typically, it is recommended to use Veeam's application-aware image processing; Hyper-V guest quiescence should be selected, if AAIP cannot be utilized for some reason, in case of a Linux VM, for instance.

Additionally, If you want to enable both features together at the same time within one job (in case of you backing Linux VMs along with Windows ones), you can Enable Hyper-V guest quiescence and select application-aware image processing for specific VMs.

Hope this helps.
Thanks.

[kornelg]

This warning refers to the datastore where your Exchange VM is stored, not to the VM virtual disk. Generally, 10% of free space is enough to keep changes that VM produces while running backup/replication jobs, but to be on the safe side it's better to have more than 10%.

so ineed more space.i must change the capacity from the lun.
but what means that it makes a snapshot at this lun?is that as swap?when the backup starts what happens at this lun?it makes a virtual snapshot as swap and then delete that?

[Vitaliy S.]

but what means that it makes a snapshot at this lun?

Yes.

is that as swap?

No, it's a VSS snapshot of the volume where you store your VMs.

when the backup starts what happens at this lun?

Please take a look at our User Guide (page 24) for the detailed description of the backup process.

it makes a virtual snapshot as swap and then delete that?

Yes.

[kornelg]

i m trying to backup exchange 2010 but now i receive a warning no hardware vss provided installed in offhost backup.
what i have done is to make larger the vdisk from datacore where exchange vhd exist.i have made again a vm then with same vhd.exchange is ok it runs but now backup dont start.i have added again the hosts where exchange is with the new hard disk capacity.
what should i do?

[Vitaliy S.]

In order to use off-host proxy server you need to install hardware VSS provider on the proxy machine. If you do not have it, then you need to use on-host proxy server which is deployed on your Hyper-V host and use this proxy to backup your Exchange VM.

For more details on off-host/on-host proxy setup, please refer to our User Guide.

what i have done is to make larger the vdisk from datacore where exchange vhd exist.i have made again a vm then with same vhd.exchange is ok it runs but now backup dont start.i have added again the hosts where exchange is with the new hard disk capacity.

Can you please clarify what do you mean by saying - "backup don't start"? Be aware that you can always ask for assistance of our support engineer if you experience technical issues with the product.

[kornelg]

ok i have on host backup.but i cant understand why offhost backup dont work.that happened when i have shuted down the exchnage 1 in host 1 and then when it came up again the exchange 1 the host 2 offhost backup dont recognize the vss.
but ok.i have made with onhost backup.
In veeam for exchange explorer i cant find the transaction log.my .edb dont open without it.in which directory is that?

[Vitaliy S.]

but i cant understand why offhost backup dont work.

To use offhost backup proxy you need to make sure you meet these requirements:
1. enable Hyper-V role on the proxy machine
2. install hardware VSS provider
3. present LUNs where you store your VMs to the backup proxy

Have you performed all these steps?

In veeam for exchange explorer i cant find the transaction log.my .edb dont open without it.in which directory is that?

It should be in the directory where your Exchange stores it. What kind of error do you receive while browsing to your edb file? Have you opened a support case on this already?

[kornelg]

ok i have found it.it was at the other disk where exchange logs are!
thanks a lot!