Restore from the Granular Exchange Recovery into a live Exchange server
The following steps are required to restore Exchange from the Granular Exchange Recovery into a live exchange server:
For Exchange 2010
1. Run Exchange Management Shell (EMS) as Administrator and type the following command:
New-ManagementRoleAssignment –Name:MailboxBackup –Role:ApplicationImpersonation –User:axcientbackupadmin
2. Copy text and paste to EMS.
For Exchange 2007
The following prerequisites are required to configure Exchange Impersonation:
- Administrative credentials for the computer that is running Exchange 2007 with the Client Access server role installed
- Domain Administrator credentials
Important:
The local computer account for the Client Access server must be a member of the Windows Authorization Access Group for Exchange Impersonation to work. Once the user has confirmed the user account, do the following:
1. Run Exchange Management Shell as Administrator and type the following command:
Get-ExchangeServer | where {$_.IsClientAccessServer -eq $TRUE} | ForEach-Object {Add-ADPermission -Identity $_.distinguishedname -User (Get-User -Identity axcientbackupadmin | select-object).identity -extendedRight ms-Exch-EPI-Impersonation}2. Copy text and paste to EMS.
For Exchange 2003
DirectRestore cannot connect to a live exchange server with Exchange 2003 because they are not compatible.
How to recover public folder data
Problem: Customer cannot locate items within a public folder mailbox
Public folders are designed for shared access. They provide an easy and effective way to collect, organize, and share information with other people in a work group or organization.
However, an "incorrect" reading of public folder mailboxes can leave customers unable to find items in the expected place within a public folder.
This article offers instructions on how to correctly locate public folder content for recovery.
Public Folder Mailbox Mechanics
There are two types of public folder mailboxes: The primary hierarchy mailbox and secondary hierarchy mailboxes.
- Primary hierarchy mailbox: The primary hierarchy mailbox is the one writable copy of the public folder hierarchy. The public folder hierarchy is copied to all other public folder mailboxes, but these copies will be read-only.
- Secondary hierarchy mailboxes: Secondary hierarchy mailboxes contain public folder content as well and a read-only copy of the public folder hierarchy.
Recovering Public Folder Data
When using Axcient DirectRestore to recover public folder information, it is important to know that:
- the structure of public folders is present within all of your Microsoft Exchange Message Stores
but
- the contents of the public folders is only present within the specific Message Store containing the relevant Public Folder Mailbox.
When you open a Message Store that does not contain the relevant mailbox, you will be presented with only an empty folder structure, with none of the actual data content present. If no public folder mailbox exists within the selected Exchange Message Store, no public folder structure will be displayed at all.
Use Exchange PowerShell cmdlets to get info about public folder structure
Get list of all Public Folder mailboxes. (Check if all Public Folder mailboxes are read by product):
Get-Mailbox -PublicFolder | fl name, alias, database, servername
Get item count for Public Folder mailbox (check if all items from mailbox are read by product):
Get-MailboxStatistics -identity <identity>
Get item count for Public Folder (returns count of items in every public folder, and may be used to find mailbox in which items are stored in fact):
Get-PublicFolder "\" -Recurse | Get-PublicFolderStatistics | Select FolderPath, ItemCount, Identity | fl
So we can see that item from folder Main Public Folder/Custom sub-folder #2 is located in Secondary hierarchy mailbox #2.
To recover Public Folder content, open the correct Exchange Message Store and select the Public Folder Mailbox containing the data you are looking for.
If the content that you are trying to recover has been deleted from the live Exchange system and you cannot determine which mailbox your data resides within, it may be necessary to open each Microsoft Exchange Message Store in turn and examine all Public Folder Mailboxes until you are able to locate the data you wish to restore.
Distributed Public Folders
During public folder mailbox creation, you can specify the database to be used for storage:
New-Mailbox -PublicFolder -Name <name> -Database <database> |
During public folder creation, the mailbox and path of the new folder can be specified, e.g. to create a new folder inside of an existing public folder tree:
New-PublicFolder -Name <name> -Mailbox <mailbox> -Path <path in \> |
Existing public folder contents can also be moved between public folder mailboxes:
New-PublicFolderMoveRequest -Folders <path in \> -TargetMailbox <mailbox> |
Using these commands, a public folder tree can be created where items are stored in multiple mailboxes and in multiple databases but, from user the perspective, all of them are located in one root public folder.
For example:
Let's check Main Public Folder:
Main Public Folder is located in the Primary hierarchy mailbox, but all subfolders are stored in different mailboxes.
Because DirectRestore uses mailboxes as the structure for displaying database content, in this case the customer may be confused as to where their data is located when trying to perform recovery.
In the current release, the right answer is "in the appropriate mailbox".
To perform recovery on the contents of Public Folders, use the example powershell commands shown above to identify the Public Folder mailbox(s) and database(s) where the content is stored and then use DirectRestore to access the appropriate mailbox content for recovery.
Additional links
- https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/Exchange/collaboration/public-folders/public-folders
- https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/t5/Exchange-Team-Blog/Modern-public-folder-deployment-best-practices/ba-p/606172
Cannot see mount point when restoring email
Problem: After installing the Axcient DirectRestore application on a device, attempts to restore an email results in mount points unavailable.
Cause: The most likely cause is the DirectRestore application installed on a workstation which does not have access to the same network as the Axcient Appliance and Exchange Server.
Solution: Confirm that the device where the DirectRestore application is installed can access the same network or use VPN and connect into the network where the target device is located.
Note: Axcient recommends installing the DirectRestore application on a device located at the end client side, rather than a workstation that is not on the same network as the target device.
Mailbox could not be matched to destination mailbox
Problem: A user sees the a mailbox could not be matched error when using the Export into original Exchange mailbox button in the Axcient DirectRestore application.
This issue is typically seen when operating in DirectRestore’s Standard Mode:
Cause: This is error typically occurs when the current logged-in user is not part of the domain of the target Exchange Server.
Solution: In order to resolve this issue, log into a user account in the Active Directory domain of the target Exchange server. Then run the Axcient DirectRestore application.
How to open a restored file corrupted in Outlook 2013
Problem: Restored PST file cannot be opened in Outlook 2013.
Cause: For whatever reason, the selected file has become corrupt or damaged.
Solution: Take the following steps to repair the damaged file:
NOTE: No data in messages, calendars and other Outlook items will be lost or corrupted during the following steps.
1. Start the tool scanpst.exe. The default tool location is C:\Program Files(x86)\Microsoft Office\Office15\.
2. Click Browse and select the problem file. Click Start and the scanning process will begin.
3. Wait until the scanning process is complete.
4. View the general report. Click Details (1) to view detailed scan report.
Make a backup of the scanned file before repairing.
5. Select a file by clicking Browse or enter the full file path manually.
- Click Repair.6.
- A message appears when the process is complete.
6. Now the file can be opened in Outlook 2013 without any errors.
How to work around stalled tree view when opening an EDB file
Problem: When attempting to open an EDB file in the Axcient DirectRestore application, the tree view hangs up.
Cause: This is most likely caused by the mailbox exceeding 100,000 items.
Solution: This is a known limitation that will be resolved in a future release.