Features of NetBackup for Exchange

Table: NetBackup for Exchange Server features describes the features of the NetBackup for Exchange Server agent.

Table: NetBackup for Exchange Server features

Feature	Description
Online backups	Exchange Server data and transaction logs can be backed up without taking the Exchange Server offline. Exchange services and data remain available during the Exchange Server backup.
Minimal backup time	An administrator has the choice of to perform full or incremental backups. A full backup may take considerable time, so it may be performed infrequently. In the interim, any updates that occurred since the full backup can be quickly and incrementally backed up through a transaction log backup. In the event of a failure, the full backups and incremental backups would be restored. During recovery, the Exchange Server updates the databases and applies each of the logged transactions to the database. After the Exchange Server recovery completes, the system is brought back to the state as it existed when the last incremental backup was performed.
Exchange Server Backup methods	NetBackup supports all Exchange Server backup methods: full backups, cumulative incremental backups, and differential incremental backups. User backups function as copy backups.
Tight NetBackup integration	Tight integration with NetBackup allows for the following: An administrator already familiar with NetBackup procedures and software can easily configure and use NetBackup to perform Exchange Server backup and restore operations. Features and strengths of the NetBackup product suite are available to the Exchange Server backup user. These features include software data compression and encryption, scheduled and user-directed operations, backups of multiple data streams, and in-line tape copy. See the NetBackup Administrator's Guide, Volume I.
Central administration	Administrators can define, back up, and restore Exchange Servers and other NetBackup client computers from a central location.
Media management	Exchange Server backups can be saved directly to a wide variety of storage devices that the NetBackup master server supports.
Automated backups	Administrators can set up schedules for automatic, unattended backups for local or remote clients across the network. These backups can be full or incremental and are managed entirely by the NetBackup server from a central location. The administrator can also manually back up the clients.
Restore operations	An administrator using the Backup, Archive, and Restore interface can browse backups and select the ones to be restored.
Exchange backup and restore features	NetBackup can back up and restore storage groups and databases within the storage group. The capabilities of this feature are as follows: Scheduled backups of individual storage groups and databases User-directed backups of individual storage groups and databases Restores of individual storage groups and databases. These restores can be performed with the Backup, Archive, and Restore interface (on the server or on the client). Or you can use the Remote Administration Console for Windows or UNIX.
MAPI mailbox backup and restore	With Exchange 2007 or earlier, users can perform MAPI backups and restores of individual mailboxes and folders, as follows: Scheduled backups of individual mailboxes and folders User-directed backups of individual mailboxes and folders Restores of individual mailboxes, folders, or messages. You can perform this type of restore with the Backup, Archive, and Restore interface (on the server or on the client). Or you can use the Remote Administration Console.
MAPI public folder backup and restore	With Exchange 2007 or earlier, users can perform MAPI backups and restores of individual public folder items, as follows: Scheduled backups of individual folders User-directed backups of individual folders Restores of individual folders or documents. You can perform this type of restore can with the Backup, Archive, and Restore interface (on the server or on the client). Or you can use the Remote Administration Console.
Restores of individual items using Granular Recovery Technology (GRT)	When a backup uses GRT, users can restore individual mailbox and public folder items directly from any full database backup. See About Exchange backups and Granular Recovery Technology (GRT).
Redirected restores of mailbox objects	You can restore mailboxes, mailbox folders, mailbox messages, public folders, and public folder items to a new location.
Redirected restores of databases or storage groups	Exchange 2007 and later backups can be restored to another database or another storage group on the local server or on a different server. Exchange 2003 snapshot backups can be restored to an identical storage group on a different server.
Redirection to the recovery database (RDB) or recovery storage group (RSG)	Exchange 2007 and later backups can be redirected to the recovery database or RSG. Streaming backups of Exchange 2003 can be redirected to the RSG.
Single Instance Storage (SIS) of mailbox message attachments	This feature applies only to Exchange 2007 or 2003 MAPI mailbox backups. Users can enable Single Instance Storage for message attachments so that NetBackup writes only one copy of an attachment to the backup.
Compression of backups	Compression increases backup performance over the network and reduces the size of the backup image that is stored on the disk or tape. NetBackup does not support GRT for any backups that use compression.
Encryption	When the Encryption attribute is enabled, the server encrypts the backup for the clients that are listed in the policy. NetBackup does not support GRT for any backups that use encryption.
Snapshot backups and restores	NetBackup for Exchange can perform backups and restores of Exchange objects with snapshot methodology. With a separate Snapshot Client license, you can perform off-host backups, Instant Recovery backups, and backups with a hardware provider. See About snapshot backups with Exchange Server.
Exchange 2007 and later enhancements to consistency checks of snapshot backups	For snapshot backups, NetBackup uses the Microsoft consistency check API to check the consistency of databases and transaction logs and to provide additional details. This speeds up a snapshot backup, because it allows the backup to proceed in parallel with the consistency check. For Exchange 2010 you can disable the consistency check or ignore the check and continue with the backup.
Cluster support	The NetBackup for Exchange Server agent supports Microsoft Cluster Server (MSCS) environment and Veritas Cluster Server (VCS). See the NetBackup Enterprise Server 7.0.1 Cluster Compatibility list. This list contains information on the versions of Exchange Server that are supported with the cluster environments.
LCR/CCR support	NetBackup for Exchange with Snapshot Client supports backups of the passive VSS writer of an Exchange 2007 LCR and CCR configuration. NetBackup can back up the data that is replicated by interfacing with the replica (or passive) Exchange server. The benefit of such a backup is to reduce I/O impact on the active Exchange server. NetBackup accesses the replicated data and leaves the active (or live) Exchange server alone. This type of backup is especially beneficial for a backup of a CCR node because the active node is completely left out of the backup. VSS is the only backup Microsoft supports of this replicated data.
Exchange 2010 standalone server and DAG support	NetBackup for Exchange supports backups of Exchange 2010 standalone servers and Exchange 2010 Database Availability Groups (DAGs). VSS is the only backup Microsoft supports of Exchange 2010 backups. For a DAG, NetBackup supports backups of the active and the passive VSS writer of a Database Availability Group (DAG). When NetBackup backs up the data that is replicated the benefit is that I/O impact is reduced on the active Exchange server. NetBackup accesses the replicated data and leaves the active (or live) Exchange server alone. You can also configure a list of preferred servers you want to use to perform backups.