Restoring an Exchange database to an alternative instance

You can select a Microsoft Exchange database backup and restore it to an Exchange Server instance on an alternative host. You can restore the database in production mode or test mode to the alternative instance.

1. In the navigation pane, click Manage Protection > Databases > Exchange > Create job, and then select Restore to open the Restore wizard.
   Tips:

   • You can also open the wizard by clicking Jobs and Operations > Create job > Restore > Exchange.
   • For a running summary of your selections in the wizard, click Preview Restore in the navigation pane in the wizard.
   • The wizard is opened in the default setup mode. To run the wizard in advanced setup mode, select Advanced Setup. With advanced setup mode, you can set more options for your restore job.
2. On the Select source page, take the following actions:
   1. Click a source in the list to show the databases that are available for restore operations. You can also use the search function to search for available instances and toggle the displayed instances through the View filter.
   2. Click the plus icon next to the database that you want to use as the source of the restore operation. You can select more than one database from the list.

      The selected sources are added to the restore list next to the database list. To remove an item from the list, click the minus icon next to the item.

   3. Click Next to continue.
3. On the Source snapshot page, select the type of restore job that you want to create:

   On-demand: Snapshot

   Runs a one-time restore operation. The restore job starts immediately upon the completion of the wizard.

   On-demand: Point in Time

   Runs a one-time restore job from a point-in-time backup of a database. The restore job starts immediately upon the completion of the wizard.

   Recurring

   Creates a repeating point-in-time restore job that runs on a schedule.

4. Complete the fields on the Source snapshot page and click Next to continue.
   The fields that are shown depend on the number of items that were selected on the Select source page and on the restore type. Some fields are also not shown until you select a related field.

   Fields that are shown for an on-demand snapshot, single resource restore

   Option	Description
   Date range	Specify a range of dates to show the available snapshots within that range.
   Backup storage type	All backups in the selected date range are listed in rows that show the time that the backup operation occurred and the service level agreement (SLA) policy for the backup. Select the row that contains the backup time and SLA policy that you want, and then take one of the following actions: Click the backup storage type that you want to restore from. The storage types that are shown depend on the types that are available in your environment and are shown in the following order: Backup Restores data that is backed up to a vSnap server. Replication Restores data that is replicated to a vSnap server. Object Storage Restores data that is copied to a cloud service or to a repository server. Archive Restores data that is copied to a cloud service archive or to a repository server archive (tape). Click anywhere on the row. The first backup type that is shown sequentially from the left of the row is selected by default. For example, if the storage types Backup, Replication, and Archive are shown, Backup is selected by default.
   Use alternate vSnap server for the restore job	If you are restoring data from a cloud service or a repository server, select this box to specify an alternative vSnap server, and then select a server from the Select alternate vSnap menu. When you restore data from a restore point that was copied to a cloud resource or repository server, a vSnap server is used as a gateway to complete the operation. By default, the vSnap server that is used to complete the restore operation is the same vSnap server that is used to complete the backup and copy operations. To reduce the load on the vSnap server, you can select an alternative vSnap server to serve as the gateway.

   Fields that are shown for an on-demand snapshot, multiple resources restore; point-in-time restore; or recurring restore

   Option	Description
   Restore Location Type	Select a type of location from which to restore data: Site The site to which snapshots were backed up. The site is defined in the System Configuration > Site pane. Cloud service The cloud service to which snapshots were copied. The cloud service is defined in the System Configuration > Backup Storage > Object Storage pane. Repository server The repository server to which snapshots were copied. The repository server is defined in the System Configuration > Backup Storage > Repository Server pane. Cloud service archive The cloud archive service to which snapshots were copied. The cloud service is defined in the System Configuration > Backup Storage > Object Storage pane. Repository server archive The repository server to which snapshots were copied to tape. The repository server is defined in the System Configuration > Backup Storage > Repository Server pane.
   Select a location	If you are restoring data from a site, select one of the following restore locations: Demo The demonstration site from which to restore snapshots. Primary The primary site from which to restore snapshots. Secondary The secondary site from which to restore snapshots. If you are restoring data from a cloud or repository server, select a server from the Select a location menu.
   Date selector	For on-demand restore operations, specify a range of dates to show the available snapshots within that range.
   Restore Point	For on-demand restore operations, select a snapshot from the list of available snapshots in the selected date range.
   Use alternate vSnap server for the restore job	If you are restoring data from a cloud service or a repository server, select this box to specify an alternative vSnap server, and then select a server from the Select alternate vSnap menu. When you restore data from a restore point that was copied to a cloud service or repository server, a vSnap server is used as a gateway to complete the operation. By default, the vSnap server that is used to complete the restore operation is the same vSnap server that is used to complete the backup and copy operations. To reduce the load on the vSnap server, you can select an alternative vSnap server to serve as the gateway.

5. On the Restore method page, choose from the following options:
   • Test. In test mode, the agent creates a new recovery database by using the data files directly from the vSnap repository. This restore type might be used for testing purposes.
   • Production. In production mode, the agent first restores the files from the vSnap volume back to primary storage and then creates the new database by using the restored files.
   1. In the New Database Name field, enter a new database name.
   2. (Production restore only) Expand the database name to see the source and destination path information. In the Destination Path field, enter the directory location of the Exchange database file on the alternative host, including the .edb name, and the logs location.
      Warning: The destination directories that you enter in the Destination Path field must already exist on the alternative host. If not, then create the necessary directories on the alternative host before you complete the restore operation.
      For example, for a database that is named Database_A, enter C:\<new_destination_path>\Database_A.edb, and for the location of the logs , enter c:\<new_logs_path>.
6. On the Set destination page, choose Restore to alternate instance, select the target instance that you want to restore the database to and then click Next.
7. Optional: On the Job options page, configure additional options for the restore job and click Next to continue.

   Recovery Options

   Choose from the following recovery options:

   No Recovery

   This option skips any rollforward recovery after the restore operation. The database remains in a Rollforward pending state until you decide whether you want to run the rollforward recovery manually.

   Recover until end of backup

   Restore the selected database to the state at the time the backup was created.

   Recover until end of available logs

   This option restores the database and applies all available logs (including logs newer than the backup that might exist on the application server) to recover the database up to the latest possible time. This option is available only if you selected Enable Log Backup in the backup job.

   Recover until specific point in time

   When log backups are enabled, this option restores the database and applies logs from the log backup volume to recover the database up to an intermediate, user-specified point in time. Choose the date and time by selecting from the By Time options.

   Application Options

   Set the application options:

   Maximum Parallel Streams per Database

   Set the maximum data stream from the backup storage per database. This setting applies to each database in the job definition. Multiple databases can still be restored in parallel if the value of the option is set to 1. Multiple parallel streams might improve restore speed, but high-bandwidth consumption might affect overall system performance.

   This option is applicable only when you are restoring an Exchange database to its original location by using its original database name.

   Advanced Options

   Set the advanced job definition options:

   Run cleanup immediately on job failure

   This option enables the automatic cleanup of backup data as part of a restore if recovery fails. This option is selected by default. Do not clear this option unless instructed by IBM® Support for troubleshooting purposes.

8. Optional: On the Apply scripts page, select the Pre-Script or Post-Script to apply, or choose Continue job/task on script error. For more information about working with scripts, see Configuring scripts. Click Next to continue.
9. Take one of the following actions on the Schedule page:
   • If you are running an on-demand job, click Next.
   • If you are setting up a recurring job, enter a name for the job schedule, and specify how often and when to start the restore job. Click Next.
10. On the Review page, review your restore job settings and click Submit to create the job.
    The restore job is created, and you can check on its status in Jobs and Operations > Running Jobs.