5 1 0:Exchange Configuration

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Docs latest icon.png Welcome to the latest SEP sesam documentation version 5.1.0 Apollon. For previous documentation version(s), check documentation archive.


Overview


SEP sesam offers backup functionality for Microsoft Exchange environment, and the restore solution that is based on Exchange Recovery Pro tool. To use this functionality, you need to configure the Exchange environment, which involves installing SEP sesam Client or RDS component on all Microsoft Exchange nodes or all servers in the Database Availability Group (DAG) environment, installing and licensing the Exchange Recovery Pro and adding Exchange as a client in SEP sesam environment. For backup of Exchange DAG, ensure the SEP sesam service user has the necessary permissions.

You can back up Exchange mailbox databases, individual emails, folders, calendars. For restore, you can perform restore of an Exchange mailbox database, a mailbox or single items using SEP sesam Exchange Recovery Pro, or perform a manual restore of compressed or encrypted backups.

Exchange Recovery Pro is a powerful recovery solution for Exchange that allows you to browse or search through backed-up mailboxes and emails and restore individual emails, calendars, journals, notes, contacts and mailboxes using simple drag-and-drop functionality. Exchange Recovery Pro is only supported on Windows systems and must be installed on the system that serves as SEP sesam Server or SEP sesam RDS. To use the full functionality of Exchange Recovery Pro, make sure that the SEP sesam Clients and Server are updated to a supported version. For details, see SEP sesam OS and Database Support Matrix.

On Linux systems, Exchange can only be restored manually using an integrated SEP sesam restore wizard in combination with Exchange Recovery Pro to recover to a live Exchange server or mailbox.

License

Exchange Recovery Pro licenses are issued for a specific number of mailboxes. Only one such license is required as it covers all mailboxes (user and archive mailboxes) in all Exchange databases. For example, for Database Availability Groups (DAGs) environments, you only need a single Recovery Pro license that supports all your Exchange databases. The license can be installed on different SEP sesam RDS systems to avoid overloading your network. Note that you cannot restore your data with Exchange Recovery Pro if the number of backed-up mailboxes exceeds the number of mailboxes specified in the license! For more details on licenses, see Licensing.

Configuring the Exchange components

Prerequisites

  • SEP sesam Server or SEP sesam Remote Device Server (RDS) running on Windows x64 with Microsoft Outlook 32 Bit and Microsoft .NET Framework installed; for details on the requirements and supported Exchange versions, check SEP sesam OS and Database Support Matrix. An additional Outlook license is not required and does not need to be activated. The Outlook version can be one of the following: 2010, 2013, 2016 or 2019.
  • Information sign.png Note
    If Exchange Recovery Pro cannot be installed because of the missing .Net3x and the .NET Framework 3.5 installation fails every time, log in as administrator and use the Microsoft DISM (Deployment Image Servicing and Management) tool to enable .NET directly from the command prompt:
    Dism /online /enable-feature /featurename:NetFX3 /All /Source:D:\sources\SxS /LimitAccess
    
    For details on using DISM, see the Microsoft article Enable or Disable Windows Features Using DISM.
  • Check the hardware requirements for SEP sesam Client, SEP sesam Server or RDS.
  • A SEP sesam data store of type Path, SEP sesam Si3 deduplication store or HPE StoreOnce is required for instant single item recovery.
  • If any of the following conditions apply, you need to manually restore the backup data to a Windows system that has SEP sesam Client, Exchange Recovery Pro and Microsoft Outlook 32-bit installed:
    • The saveset is encrypted.
    • The saveset is compressed.
    • The saveset is stored on tape (physical or virtual).
    • The saveset is stored on DISK_CHANGE medium (sayFUSE, RDX or external HDD).
    • The saveset is stored on a data store located on a non-Windows computer (e.g. Linux or AIX).
  • Make sure that there is sufficient free space on the Windows x64 system that will be used to recover the Exchange database and the corresponding transaction log files.

SEP sesam components for the Exchange environment

  • Install the latest SEP sesam Client/RDS version on all Microsoft Exchange nodes with the default properties.
  • Repeat the installation process for Database Availability Groups (DAGs) environments.

Installing the Exchange Recovery Pro package

Information sign.png Note
It is strongly recommended to install or upgrade to the latest available version.

Make sure that Microsoft Outlook (32-bit, 2010/2013/2016/2019) and SEP sesam Exchange Recovery Pro are installed on the Windows x64 system serving as SEP sesam Server or RDS. Outlook does not require any special configuration; an additional Outlook license is not required and does not need to be activated.

  1. Download the latest SEP sesam Exchange Recovery Pro zip package from https://www.sep.de/downloadportal/extensions/groupware/MS-Exchange.
  2. Extract the files to a directory of your choice. Then open the Recovery Pro directory, double-click SEP_Exchange_Recovery_PRO_<version_no>.exe and follow the instructions. If any of the required components are missing, you will be prompted to install them.

Installing the Exchange Recovery Pro license file

You need a special license file for the SEP sesam Exchange Recovery Pro feature. The licences will be made available immediately after the purchase/renewal is complete.

Information sign.png Note
The license counts all mailboxes (user and archive mailboxes) in all Exchange databases. If the number of mailboxes does not match the information in the license, the restore will not work!
  1. Go to Start -> All Programs -> Exchange Recovery Pro. The message "License file not installed" appears.
  2. Click the License info button and import the license.ini file.

Adding Exchange as a client to the SEP sesam environment

Once you have installed the SEP sesam package and the required Exchange Recovery Pro license, configure Exchange as a new client by adding it to the SEP sesam environment: Main selection -> Components -> Clients -> New Client -> add your Exchange client. For details, see Configuring Clients.

Information sign.png Note
Before proceeding, you should validate that you can back up to SEP sesam. Run a test Path backup manually to ensure that the backups work. For details on typical backup configuration, see Standard Backup Procedure.

Required user account for Exchange DAG backup

Performing backup and restore operations of MS Exchange Server requires special database access rights for the user account that is used to connect to MS Exchange Server. In order to perform Exchange DAG backups, the SEP sesam service user must have the required permissions for the operation, i.e. the service user must be a member of the following groups:

Information sign.png Note
The group Domain Users must be assigned to the service user as the primary group!

Domain-users-primary-group.jpg


Known issues

If you are having problems with Exchange, such as Exchange backup fails with VSS API error due to missing Microsoft Exchange VSS writer, see Exchange troubleshooting.

External references

Enable or Disable Windows Features Using DISMExchange Server Permissions

See also

Exchange BackupExchange Restore via GUI Exchange Restore via Web Restore Assistant

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