Enterprise Vault backup mode

Enterprise Vault lets you place vault stores and index locations in backup mode for the duration of a data backup. Enterprise Vault does not write any data into vault store partitions or index locations while they are in backup mode. However, services to users are maintained while vault stores and index locations are in backup mode. Users can continue to search, and retrieve items from their archives.

You can set backup mode on vault stores and index locations in the Enterprise Vault administration console. You can also use PowerShell cmdlets in the Enterprise Vault Management Shell to set, clear, and report on vault store and index location backup mode.

See Backup mode cmdlets.

To manage backup mode on vault stores, your user account must be assigned the storage administrator role. To manage backup mode on index locations, your user account must be assigned the power administrator role.

See Roles-based administration.

In the administration console, you can set and clear vault store backup mode in the following places:

The context menu on the Enterprise Vault site
The context menu on any vault store group
The context menu on any vault store

You can set and clear index location backup mode in the following places:

The context menu on the Enterprise Vault site
The context menu on any Enterprise Vault server
The index service properties page

When you set and clear backup mode on index locations and vault stores, events are written to the Enterprise Vault event log. The indexing service also writes an event when it starts, if any indexing locations are in backup mode. This event lists all the indexing locations that are in backup mode.

The following examples show how to use backup mode in the administration console. The first example is a procedure to set backup mode on all the vault stores in a vault store group. The second example is a procedure to find the current backup mode settings for index locations on a server called EVServer.domain1.local.

To set backup mode on all the vault stores in a vault store group

In the left pane of the administration console, expand the Vault Store Group container.
Right-click the vault store group whose vault stores you want to place in backup mode, and click Set State > Set Backup Mode on all Vault Stores.

The Backup Mode column in the right pane now shows that backup mode is set on all the vault stores in the vault store group.

To see the current backup mode settings for index locations, and to change these settings

In the left pane of the administration console, browse to Enterprise Vault Servers > EVServer.domain1.local > Services.
In the right pane, right-click Enterprise Vault Indexing Service and click Properties.
Click the Index Locations tab.
The Backup Mode column shows the current backup mode settings for all the index locations on the server. You can change the setting for any of these locations.