Frequently Asked Questions

How do I take a backup of the MS Exchange server databases?

IDrive 360 provides a secure and reliable method to back up MS Exchange server databases to your IDrive 360 account.

To back up your MS Exchange server,

1. Sign in to the IDrive 360 desktop application and click 'Server Backup'. A slider menu will appear.
2. Click 'On-premise MS Exchange'. The MS Exchange backup/restore console appears. By default, 'MS Exchange backup' is selected.
   
3. Select 'Online Backup', 'Local Backup', or ' IDrive^® 360 Express™ Backup'.
   ‘Online Backup’ stores data in the IDrive 360 cloud. ‘Local Backup’ and ‘IDrive® 360 Express™ Backup’ store data on the local drive.
4. Select the mailbox databases and specify the local backup location.
5. Click 'Schedule Now'.

   Note:

   • Ensure the selected temporary folder on the local computer has sufficient free space to hold the Exchange backup files. Remote locations cannot be used as temporary storage for the backup.
   • When the local backup begins, the ‘.ServerBackup’ folder is auto-created.
   
6. In the 'Scheduler', configure a future date and time for the backup or perform an immediate backup of the selected databases.
   

Note:

• After successful backup to your IDrive 360 account, the files are stored in the ‘IDriveExchBackupset’ folder. Do not modify or delete files manually, as it may disrupt the restore process.
• Do not use the ‘IDriveExchBackupset’ folder as a destination for any other backup or restore operation.
• Only one backup job named ‘IDExchangeServerBkset’ can be maintained at any given time.

Do I need to stop the Microsoft Exchange server service to take a backup?

No. IDrive 360 supports online backup of MS Exchange server databases without stopping or interrupting the running MS Exchange server services.

On completion of MS Exchange server backup, I see a folder named 'IDriveExchBackupset' in my IDrive 360 account. What is it?

The ‘IDriveExchBackupset’ folder is automatically created during the MS Exchange server backup operation. It contains all the backup data for your Exchange server stored in your IDrive 360 account.

Can I add or modify files in the Exchange Backup folder 'IDriveExchBackupset'?

No. Do not add or modify any files in the ‘IDriveExchBackupset’ folder. Changing the contents of this folder may affect MS Exchange server restore operations.

What versions of MS Exchange Server does the IDrive^® 360 desktop application support for backup and restore?

IDrive 360 supports backup and restore for MS Exchange Server versions 2019, 2016, 2013, 2010, 2007, and 2003.

Does IDrive^® 360 support cluster backup for MS Exchange server 2010, 2013, and 2016?

Yes. IDrive 360 supports cluster backup for both brick-level mailbox backup and database backup in MS Exchange server 2010, 2013, and 2016.

MS Exchange Server Database backup

When connected to a clustered Exchange server, IDrive 360 automatically displays all available databases. You can back up or restore all clustered Exchange server databases in a single operation.

MS Exchange Server Brick-Level backup

IDrive 360 also enables backup and restore of individual mailboxes from different Exchange servers that are part of the cluster.

How secure is the data transfer during backup/restore using IDrive^® 360 - MS Exchange server backup?

IDrive 360 secures data during transfer and storage with 256-bit AES encryption and a user-defined encryption key that is not stored on the servers, ensuring complete data protection.

Can I edit the MS Exchange server scheduled backup job using IDrive^® 360?

Yes, you can edit and update the scheduled backup job using IDrive 360.

To edit the backup job,

1. Sign in to the IDrive® 360 desktop application and click 'Scheduler'.
2. From the ‘Backup set name’ dropdown, select the backup job ‘IDExchangeServerBkset’.
3. Make the required changes using the available checkboxes.

Note: Only one backup job named ‘IDExchangeServerBkset’ can exist at any given time. If you attempt to schedule multiple MS Exchange server backup jobs with different content, only the most recently created backup set will be considered by IDrive 360.

Can I select a shared or mapped drive as the destination for the MS Exchange server backup?

No. You cannot select a shared or mapped drive as the destination for your MS Exchange server backup.

Can I remove the Exchange backup folder 'IDriveExchBackupset' from my local computer after completing the MS Exchange server backup to my IDrive^® 360 account?

Yes. Once the MS Exchange server backup is successfully completed to your IDrive 360 account, you can safely remove the ‘IDriveExchBackupset’ folder from your local compute

How do I restore data to the MS Exchange server?

You can restore data from your IDrive 360 account or local drive to the MS Exchange server using the MS Exchange restore option.

Note:

• A qualified database administrator should perform the restore.
• The restore operation overwrites existing databases on the MS Exchange server.
• Take an offline backup of the MS Exchange databases that need to be restored before initiating the operation.

Prepare the mailbox databases for restore

Before restoring, dismount the mailbox store/database and allow it to be overwritten.

For MS Exchange Server 2013/2016:

1. Open the ‘Exchange Admin Center’ and select ‘Databases’.
2. Select the 'Mailbox' database from the 'servers' that needs to be restored and choose 'Dismount database' from 'More'.
   
3. Double-click the mailbox database and choose 'maintenance' in the 'Properties' window.
4. Select 'This database can be overwritten by a restore' and click 'save'.
   

Repeat steps 3–4 for all databases that need to be restored

Note: Close the Exchange Control Panel before starting the restore operation.

Restore the backup using IDrive 360

1. Sign in to the IDrive^® 360 desktop application and click 'Restore'.
2. Select 'Online Restore', 'Local Restore', or 'IDrive^® 360 Express™ Restore'.
3. Locate and select the 'IDriveExchBackupset' folder in your IDrive 360 account or local drive.

   Note: If 'Local Restore' is selected, you can choose the required version from the 'Version' list.

4. Click 'Restore Now' to restore the folder to the local computer.

   Note: The folder should be in the same path as it was during the backup.

Restore the data to MS Exchange server

1. After the folder is restored, click ‘Server Backup’. The slider menu appears.
2. Click 'On-premise MS Exchange'. The MS Exchange backup/restore console appears.
   
3. Click 'MS Exchange restore'.
4. Browse and choose the restored 'IDriveExchBackupset' folder.
   
5. Click 'Restore Now'.
   Do not interrupt the restore operation while it is in progress.
   

On completion, the restored databases (Public Folder stores and Mailbox stores) are automatically mounted.

How do I restore emails from Exchange Server using IDrive 360 - Exchange Server Restore?

To restore even a single email, you must first restore the complete ‘Mailbox’ store (database) associated with the user. For detailed steps, refer to MS Exchange Restore.

Alternatively, IDrive 360’s brick-level mailbox backup provides granular backup and restore capability. Using this method, you can back up or restore individual emails directly from or to your Exchange server mailbox without restoring the entire database.

Does IDrive^® 360 support restore of the MS Exchange Server Recovery Storage Group?

No. IDrive 360 supports backup and restore (crash recovery) only for MS Exchange Server storage groups and databases (mailbox stores), not the Recovery Storage Group.

Does the Recovery Storage Group cause the MS Exchange server restore operation to fail?

Yes. The MS Exchange server restore operation may fail if a Recovery Storage Group exists during the restore. To resolve this, remove the Recovery Storage Group before performing the restore.

Note: It is recommended to take an offline backup of the Recovery Storage Group before deleting it.

Does IDrive^® 360 support Incremental backup of Exchange server 2010/2013/2016 to a local backup location?

Yes. IDrive 360 supports incremental backup for Exchange Server 2010, 2013, and 2016, including backups to a local backup location.

How can I create recovery databases in Exchange Server 2010, 2013, and 2016?

You can create a recovery database using the Exchange Management Shell with the following command:

New-MailboxDatabase -Recovery -Name <database name> -Server <servername>
-EdbFilePath <path> -LogFolderPath <path>
Example:
New-MailboxDatabase -Recovery -Name RDB2 -Server MBX1 -EdbFilePath
"C:\Recovery\RDB2\RDB2.EDB" -LogFolderPath "C:\Recovery\RDB2"

Note: To allow file-level restore for the recovery database, use the following command:
Set-MailboxDatabase -Identity <database name> -AllowFileRestore $true

Do I need to disable Circular Log for Exchange server backup?

Yes. IDrive 360 uses a VSS-based method for Exchange Server backup. Therefore, Circular Logging should be disabled to ensure successful backups.

Does IDrive^® 360 - Exchange brick-level mailbox backup require any mailbox rights?

Yes. To perform brick-level mailbox backup for Exchange Server 2003 and 2007, you must grant the appropriate permissions for the mailboxes. Click here to learn more about mailbox rights.

How do I perform an Exchange brick-level backup?

To perform a brick-level backup,

1. Sign in to the IDrive® 360 desktop application and click 'Server Backup'. A slider menu appears.
2. Click 'Exchange Brick Level'. The Exchange brick-level backup/restore console appears. By default, 'Exchange brick-level backup' is selected.
   
3. Select the 'Online Backup', 'Local Backup', or ' IDrive^® 360 Express™ Backup'.

   Note: ‘Online Backup’ stores data in the IDrive 360 cloud. ‘Local Backup’ and ‘IDrive^® 360 Express™ Backup’ store data on the local drive.

   
4. Select the mailboxes that you wish to back up from the MS Exchange server.
5. Select the mailbox databases from the list and specify the local backup location.
6. Click 'Schedule Now'.

   Note:

   (a) Ensure the selected temporary folder on your computer has sufficient free space to hold the Exchange server backup files. Remote locations cannot be used as temporary storage.

   (b) Once the local backup is initiated, the ‘.ServerBackup’ folder is automatically created.

   
7. In the 'Scheduler', configure a future date and time for the backup or perform an immediate backup of the selected databases.
   

What are the minimum system requirements to perform an Exchange – brick level backup?

Exchange Server 2016

• xx64 architecture-based computer with:
  - Intel processor supporting Intel 64 architecture (Intel EM64T) or
  - AMD processor supporting AMD64 platform

  Note: Intel Itanium IA64 processors are not supported

• Operating System: Windows Server 2012, Windows Server 2012 R2, or Windows Server 2016 Minimum 8 GB RAM per server
• Sufficient hard disk space to store Exchange server mailbox backup files

Exchange Server 2013

• x64 architecture-based computer with:
  - Intel processor supporting Intel 64 architecture (Intel EM64T) or
  - AMD processor supporting AMD64 platform
• Operating System:
  - Windows Server 2012 Standard
  - Windows Server 2008 R2 Standard, Enterprise, or Datacenter with Service Pack 1 (SP1) or later
• Minimum 8 GB RAM per server
• Sufficient hard disk space to store Exchange server database backup files

For Exchange Server 2010

• x64 architecture-based computer with:
  - Intel processor supporting Intel EM64 or
  - AMD processor supporting the AMD64 platform
• Operating System:
  - Windows Server 2008 SP2 or later
  - Windows Server 2008 R2
• Minimum 2 GB RAM per server
• Sufficient hard disk space to store Exchange server mailbox backup files

I am receiving error messages stating 'The specified module could not be found' / 'ActiveX component can't create object' during the Exchange Server brick-level mailbox backup operation. Why?

These errors occur when a component required for Exchange brick-level mailbox backup is not properly installed. To resolve this,

1. Ensure that the IDrive® 360 desktop application is installed correctly.
2. If the issue persists, register the required component manually:

   a. Click 'Start' > 'Run'.

   b. Select 'Run'.

   c. Type the following command and press Enter: regsvr32 " <IDrive 360 installation path>\"IDriveRedempDll.dll"
   This registers the necessary DLL and should resolve the error messages.

Can I perform an Exchange brick-level mailbox restore with IDrive^® 360?

Yes. IDrive 360 allows you to perform brick-level mailbox restores.

To restore mailboxes,

1. Sign in to the IDrive^® 360 desktop application and click 'Restore'.
2. Locate and select the personal folder (*.PST) from the 'IDExchBrick' folder in your IDrive 360 account.
3. Click 'Restore Now' to restore the .PST file to the local computer.
4. Once the .PST file is restored, click the 'Server Backup' tab. A slider menu appears.
5. Click 'Exchange Brick Level'. The Exchange brick-level backup/restore console appears.
   
6. Click 'Exchange brick-level restore'.
   
7. Select 'Online Restore', 'Local Restore', or ' IDrive® 360 Express™ Restore'.

   Note: Restore the required version of the files to a local drive. Browse and select the restored .PST file from your local computer.

8. Click 'Restore Now' to initiate the Exchange server brick-level restore operation.

Does Exchange brick-level mailbox backup support full backup or recovery of the MS Exchange Server database?

No. IDrive 360’s Exchange brick-level mailbox backup is designed to back up individual mailboxes from selected mailbox stores. It does not support full database backup or complete Exchange server recovery. To perform a full Exchange database backup or recovery, use the Exchange Server backup/restore feature of IDrive 360.

Do I need to install Microsoft Outlook to perform the Exchange brick-level mailbox backup with IDrive^® 360?

No. IDrive 360's Exchange brick-level mailbox backup does not require Microsoft Outlook to be installed on your computer.

Does IDrive^® 360 support Exchange brick-level mailbox backup and restore on all nodes of MS Exchange Server 2013/2016 DAGs?

Yes. IDrive 360 supports Exchange brick-level mailbox backup and restore on all nodes of MS Exchange Server 2013/2016 DAGs.

Is there a need for an additional/external storage volume for Exchange brick-level mailbox backup?

No. However, ensure that the temporary location selected during scheduling has sufficient disk space to hold the mailbox items being backed up.

Why do I get a pop-up requesting mailbox authentication during Exchange brick-level mailbox backup?

This occurs if the required privileges for the mailboxes to be backed up have not been granted. Ensure that appropriate mailbox rights are assigned to perform the Exchange brick-level mailbox backup of the selected mailbox(es) using IDrive 360.

Why am I receiving the "Error in IMsgServiceAdmin::ConfigureMsgService: MAPI_E_NETWORK_ERROR" during brick-level backup?

This error may occur if the service is running under the Local Service account, which does not have network access rights. To resolve the issue, run the service under a domain account with appropriate network permissions.

Do I need to create a public folder database for brick-level backup?

Yes. To perform an Exchange brick-level backup on Exchange Server 2013 or 2016, a public folder database must be created.