Restoring an Exchange database to the original instance

Restore an Exchange database to its original instance by using production mode or test mode. Choose between restoring the latest backup or an earlier Exchange database backup version.

Before you begin

Ensure that the following requirements are met:
  • At least one Exchange backup job is defined and ran successfully.
  • IBM Spectrum® Protect Plus roles and resource groups are assigned to the user who is defining the restore job. For more information about assigning roles, see Managing user access.

About this task

When you restore a database to its original location in production mode, you cannot rename it. This restore option runs a full production restore operation, and existing data is overwritten at the target site.

Procedure

To define an Exchange restore job, complete the following steps:

  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 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 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:
    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.
    For Test restore only, in the New Database Name field, enter the new name for the restored database. The New Database Name field is also displayed when you choose Production restore, but this is for restoring to a new database location on the original instance. For detailed instructions on this task, see Restoring an Exchange database to a new location on the original instance.
  6. On the Set destination page, select Restore to original instance and click Next.
    Tip: In a Microsoft Exchange Server Database Availability Group (DAG) environment, you can restore to a recovery database on an active or passive member.
  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 operation if recovery fails. This option is selected by default. Do not clear this option unless instructed by IBM® Software 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.