Backup command

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Use the backup command to run Exchange Server database backups from the Exchange Server to IBM Storage Protect™ server storage.

Microsoft™ Exchange Server considers the wildcard character (*) to be an invalid character when used in database names. Databases that contain the wildcard character (*) in their name are not backed up. When a full VSS snapshot backup (created for back up to local shadow volumes) is run, the backup remains active until the backup version is expired on the IBM Storage Protect server according to the defined server policy. As a result, different active backups can exist at the same time:

VSS local (full)
VSS local (copy)
VSS IBM Storage Protect server (full)
VSS IBM Storage Protect server (copy)

The Exchange database file size might increase as a result of increased database commitments that are triggered by backup operations. This behavior is standard for the Microsoft Exchange server.

For IBM® SAN Volume Controller and IBM Storwize® V7000 storage systems, only one backup is allowed to occur while the background copy process is pending. A new backup is not started until the background copy process for the previous backup is completed. As a result, local backups for IBM SAN Volume Controller and IBM Storwize V7000 storage systems must be initiated at a frequency that is greater than the time required for the background copy process to complete.

Data Protection for Exchange Server supports the following types of backup:

Full: Back up the entire database and transaction logs. If a successful integrity check and backup are obtained, the Exchange Server truncates the committed log files.
Incremental: Back up the transaction logs. If a successful integrity check and backup are obtained, the Exchange Server deletes the committed log files.
Differential: Back up the transaction logs but do not delete them.
Copy: Back up the entire database and transaction logs. Do not delete the transaction logs.