Preventive Service Planning
Abstract
This document details the Microsoft® Exchange database backup and restore requirements for IBM Spectrum Protect™ Plus Version 10.1.4.
Content
This document is divided into linked sections for ease of navigation. You may use the links below to jump to the section of the document you require.
General
Configuration
Incremental backups
Software
Privileges
Ports
Hardware
General
Before registering each Microsoft Exchange Server in IBM Spectrum Protect Plus, ensure that it meets the following requirements.
Configuration
Make sure that the Microsoft Exchange Server version that you are using is supported on your operating system.
Application Versions
-
Microsoft Exchange Server 2013 CU16 and later CU and maintenance levels: Standard or Enterprise editions
-
Microsoft Exchange Server 2016 CU5 and later CU and maintenance levels: Standard and Enterprise editions
-
Microsoft Exchange Server 2019 and later maintenance levels: Standard and Enterprise editions
Note: Microsoft Exchange database availability groups (DAG) are supported.
Operating Systems
-
Windows Server 2012R2 and later maintenance levels (64-bit kernel): Standard and Datacenter editions
-
Windows Server 2016 and later maintenance levels (64-bit kernel): Standard and Datacenter editions
-
Windows Server 2019 and later maintenance levels (64-bit kernel): Standard and Datacenter editions
Note: Windows Server 2019 Core installation is supported. However the granular restore feature is not supported on a core installation.
Additional Notes
Install the latest Microsoft Exchange Server patches and updates in your environment.
For information about virtualization support for Exchange Server, see the Exchange Server Prerequisites in IBM Knowledge Center.
Incremental backups
IBM Spectrum Protect Plus uses update sequence number (USN) change journal technology for incremental backups in a Microsoft Exchange Server environment. The USN change journal provides write range tracking for a volume when the file size meets the minimum file size threshold requirement. The changed bytes offset and length extent information can be queried against a specific file.
To enable write range tracking, the system environment must meet the following requirements:
- Windows Server 2012 R2 or later
- New Technology File System (NTFS) Version version 3.0 or later
The following technologies are not supported for changed bytes tracking:
- Resilient File System (ReFS)
- Server Message Block (SMB) 3.0 protocol
- SMB Transparent Failover (TFO)
- SMB 3.0 with scale-out file shares
By default, 512 MB of space is allocated for USN change journaling. In addition, when journal overflow is detected, the allocated space doubles in size when an overflow is detected, to a maximum of 2 GB.
The minimum space required for shadow copy storage is 100 MB, although more space might be required on systems with increased activity.
A base backup of a file is forced when the following conditions are detected:
- Journal discontinuity is reported. This can occur when the log reaches its maximum size, when journaling is disabled, or when the cataloged USN ID is changed.
- The file size is less than or equal to the tracking threshold size, which by default is 1 MB.
- A file is added after a previous backup.
Software
-
Ensure that a supported version of a Windows 64-bit operating system is installed.
-
The following prerequisites from Microsoft are required and must be installed prior to using IBM Spectrum Protect Plus:
- Windows PowerShell 4 or later
- Windows Management Framework 4 or later -
When using Microsoft Exchange Server 2013 and the granular restore feature, the minimum level supported for Microsoft Exchange Messaging API (MAPI) Client and Collaboration Data Objects (MAPI/CDO) is version 6.5.8320.0.
Note: MAPI/CDO is required for Microsoft Exchange Server 2013 only. It is not required if you are running Microsoft Exchange Server 2016 or Exchange Server 2019. -
When using the granular restore feature with Microsoft Exchange Server 2016 or Microsoft Exchange Server 2019, Microsoft 32-bit Outlook 2016 or Microsoft 32-bit Outlook 2019 is required.
-
The following prerequisites from Microsoft are required, and installed automatically by the IBM Spectrum Protect Plus granular restore feature, if not already present on your virtual machine.
- 32-bit Microsoft Visual C++ 2012 Redistributable Package
- 64-bit Microsoft Visual C++ 2012 Redistributable Package
- 32-bit Microsoft Visual C++ 2017 Redistributable Package
- 64-bit Microsoft Visual C++ 2017 Redistributable Package
- Microsoft .NET Framework 4.5
- Microsoft ReportViewer 2012 SP1 Redistributable
- Microsoft SQL Server 2012 System CLR Types
- Microsoft SQL Server 2014 System CLR Types
- Microsoft SQL Server 2016 System CLR Types
Tip: Installation of these prerequisites might require a system restart. To avoid a system restart, ensure that these prerequisites are installed before starting the IBM Spectrum Protect Plus granular restore feature.
Privileges
IBM Spectrum Protect Plus agent users have the following privileges:
-
Microsoft Exchange Server is protected by role-based authentication. In order to get the Microsoft Exchange agent to work in your IBM Spectrum Protect Plus environment, you must set up the appropriate privileges. For detailed information, see the Exchange Server Privileges topic in IBM Knowledge Center.
Ports
The following ports are used by IBM Spectrum Protect Plus agent users. Ports that are indicated with "Accept" in the Firewall Rule column use secure connections (HTTPS or SSL).
| Port | Protocol | Firewall Rule | Service | Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5985 | TCP | Accept | WinRM | Windows Remote Management Service |
| 5986 | TCP | Accept | WinRM | Secure Windows Remote Management Service |
| Port | Protocol | Service | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3260* | TCP | vSnap iSCSI | iSCSI vSnap target port used for mounting LUNS for backup and recovery |
| 137 | UDP | vSnap SMB/CIFS | vSnap SMB or CIFS target port used for mounting filesystem shares for transaction log backup and recovery |
| 138 | UDP | vSnap SMB/CIFS | vSnap SMB or CIFS target port used for mounting filesystem shares for transaction log backup and recovery |
| 139 | TCP | vSnap SMB/CIFS | vSnap SMB or CIFS target port used for mounting filesystem shares for transaction log backup and recovery |
| 445 | TCP | vSnap SMB/CIFS | vSnap SMB or CIFS target port used for mounting filesystem shares for transaction log backup and recovery |
*iSCSI initiator is required on this node.
Hardware
| System | Disk Space | Disk Space for Granular Restore Operations |
|---|---|---|
| x64: Compatible hardware supported by the operating system and the Microsoft Exchange Server | A minimum of 200 MB of disk space for the product to be installed | At least 2.1 GB disk space for "Additional Microsoft prerequisites", which will be installed automatically if they are not already |
Related Information
Document Information
Modified date:
02 April 2020
UID
ibm10881756