Before
attempting to perform a recovery, it is important to first determine
the type and extent of the problem. If the problem is not properly
identified, you run the risk of performing an incorrect action that
could actually make the problem worse. Equally important is to choose
the most appropriate solution available. For example, restoring an
entire server when only a single database failed would impact users who
otherwise could have continued to use Exchange Server, and it would take
significantly longer than restoring just the necessary database. Even
though both plans of action would fix the issue, one is much simpler
with less impact than the other.
Mailbox Content Was Deleted, Use the Undelete Function of Exchange Server and Outlook
When information is
deleted from a user’s mailbox, whether it is an email message, a
calendar appointment, a contact, or a task, the information is not
permanently deleted from the Exchange server. Deleted items go into the
Deleted Items folder in the user’s Outlook mailbox. The information is
actually retained on the Exchange server for 30 days after deletion,
even when it is supposedly permanently deleted from the Deleted Items
folder.
Tip
Environments
that are utilizing Database Availability Groups as their primary form of
DR might consider increasing the Deleted Item Retention period to
further reduce the likelihood of needing to restore data. Make sure the
disk storage planning takes this into account because it will result in
mailboxes that can take up more space in the database than their limits
would suggest.
With a little
training and documentation, end users can recover their own deleted mail
items with ease. To recover mailbox items that have been deleted within
Outlook, follow these steps:
1. | Highlight the Deleted Items folder.
|
2. | Click Tools, Recover Deleted Items.
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3. | In the Recover Deleted Items From – Deleted Items window, select the items that you want to restore.
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4. | Click the Recover Selected Items button.
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If the item was
“Shift-deleted,” which bypasses the Deleted Items folder, the message is
not lost. Follow these instructions to enable recovery of hard-deleted
items:
1. | Click Start, Run, type Regedt32.exe in the Open text box, and then click OK.
|
2. | Browse to the following key in the Registry:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Exchange\Client\Options
|
3. | On the Edit menu, click Add Value, and then add the following Registry value:
Value name: DumpsterAlwaysOn Data type: DWORD Value data: 1
|
4. | Quit Registry Editor.
|
With this key set, you
can highlight any folder in Outlook and use the Recover Deleted Items
tool. This ability to restore items that users thought they had
permanently deleted can drastically reduce the level of involvement of
the helpdesk when users need to recovery messages that they accidentally
deleted.
Data Is Lost, Must Restore from Backup
If data is lost
and the undelete function does not recover the information, the
information might need to be restored from a backup. Depending on how
much information was lost, this might involve a full recovery of the
Exchange server from tape or snapshot, or it might involve restoring
just a single mailbox, folder, or message. The key to restoring
information is determining what needs to be restored. If just a single
message needs to be restored, there is no reason to recover the entire
server in production. In many cases, when full tape backups have been
conducted of an Exchange server, a restore of the storage group
containing the missing data can be performed. In the past, this was done
with the recovery storage group and the missing content merged back
into the production databases. This functionality is no longer available
in Exchange Server 2010. Although you can restore a database and its
logs to an alternate location, you would need to use a third-party
utility like Single Mailbox Recovery Tool or Quest’s Recovery Manager
for Exchange Server. These tools have the capability to recover
individual items directly from an unmounted EDB file without having to
involve Exchange Server 2010.
