How can I backup exchange 2007?

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There are a myriad of software options out there to back up Exchange and any other type of database.

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Of course the correct answer is to prevent Exchange from failing in the first place. You could cluster servers or use a fail-over system. But if you budget doesn’t stretch that far, then you need a restore solution. I say ‘restore’ because anyone can backup, all we are interested in is restoring, right?

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So now you go and buy a tape drive, tapes and backup software. This lot could easily cost you £2K for a typical small business solution.

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Or.. You could use our FREE software (which doesn’t require any hardware) and you backup to our N+1 data centres in the UK. All you pay for is the data you backup to us.

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This is how we do it for you.

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1. We remote onto your server and install our software for you.

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2. We set up the Exchange backup on the mailstore and the mailboxes.

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>The mailstore backup is a full backup designed for full disaster recovery situations and contains not only your emails, but also your Exchange configuration such as distribution lists and auto attendants.

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>The mailbox backup is more of a day-to-day backup and allows you to quickly restore single emails in a few mouse clicks.

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3. We perform a test restore.

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4. We configure the backup schedules and retention periods to suit your business requirements. We can backup Exchange once a day or once every 5 minutes if you prefer.

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Future backups will only backup the modified data you have created, which keeps your costs down and restore times as fast as possible.

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Now that’s sorted you can relax knowing you never have to change a tape again or worry about your Exchange backups. Now you can spend that £2K on something useful!

Bare metal restore software
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Bare metal restore support was embedded into Microsoft’s release of Windows 2008. The tool used is called ‘WBAdmin’ and works from the command line.

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In our experience it takes a bit of practice to restore perfectly and it’s also important to find a suitable disk (we had issues with some USB disks). One of the bugs we found is posted here https://www.openticket.eu/index.php?_m=knowledgebase&_a=viewarticle&kbarticleid=5

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Once running and tested it gives great peace-of-mind to the Sys Admin. Imagine being able to restore a failed server with Exchange and SQL in a few hours. If you had to install from scratch and restore from tape that could take even the most experienced Sys Admin up to 24 hours.

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Here at WorldBackups.net we have added the functionality for bare metal restores in version 3.2 which we released in June 2010. Now not only can you back up your server to a local disk you can also back it up online to our UK based data centre. That should protect you from fire and theft!

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All of our software is free and you only pay for data you back up to us http://worldbackups.net/pro_user.php .

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Feel free to download the latest version of our software and contact us if you need help to set it up.

How to choose an online backup provider

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Different online backup providers provide different features and customers’ requirements vary. The ultimate decision depends on the features the customer requires. To help you work out which company will offer you the best service we have listed a few considerations that are a ‘must ask’.

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1. Select your back up solution carefully, time spent now evaluating the services on offer will pay dividends when you need to restore.

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2. Anyone can backup but only heroes can restore!! It’s an old cliché but rings true every time. Make sure the solution allows you to restore your files and databases easily and quickly.

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3. Don’t think about ‘how do I back up’, think about ‘how do I restore’?

a. Look at it this way… if you back up 500GB of data online and you need to restore it following a disaster, that will take 5 days on a fast 10MB internet    connection.

b. If the service provider hosts their servers behind a link that is slower than yours, you could be waiting a lot longer for the restore to complete.

c. Ideally the service provider should own all of their own servers and have a dedicated rack or suite of racks. That way they can access your data directly and courier it back to you in a timely fashion rather than waiting for an restore over the Internet.

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4. Can the service provider install the software remotely on your server or desktop. Exchange, Active Directory and SQL databases can be difficult to back up on any platform. Do you want to struggle with software you have never seen before? If they can’t help here, will they help when you need to restore?

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5. Will the service provider allow you to back up any size and type of file?

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6. Will the service provider retain your data for longer than 30 days?

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7. Are there hidden charges for agents or a long term contract?

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8. Don’t be fooled by gimmicks such as a million pound insurance guarantee. Will the insurance company really pay off your mortgage and buy you a Ferrari if you can’t restore your iTunes?

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9. You could try asking your independent IT Support Company, chances are they will already use and trust an online backup service they can recommend and implement for you.

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10. Perform a test restore every six weeks.

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One last thing…. make sure you can restore your data!

Restore Exchange to brick level

Restoring single emails.

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Most IT Admins will only ever have to restore single emails or occasionally an entire mailbox. How does WorldBackups.net achieve this?

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WorldBackups.net allows you to restore an email or mailbox as a PST so it can be attached directly into Outlook, or if you are using Exchange the restore will go straight back into the mailstore.

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With version 3.2 we launched our new portal which allows you to restore a PST and download it directly to your desktop without having access to the original machine. Within a few minutes you can get an email back from any point in time.

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Imagine if you had to find that tape from 3 years ago!

We can remotely connect to your Windows using RDP or TeamViewer.

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Security notes

You should ensure all logon information is sent to us in a secure way.

We recommend you create a temporary account for us to connect with. The account requires Administrator equivalent privileges on your domain and local server.

After the WorldBackups.net support staff have finished resolving your issue, disable or delete the temporary account. Also restrict RDP access or close TeamViewer.

We are NOT responsible in any way for the misuse of logon information.

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Connecting using RDP
Please provide us with the IP address of your server and the account ID and password of the Windows user.

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Connecting using TeamViewer

Logon the Windows user account you have provided.

Download the remote agent from this site http://www.teamviewer.com/download/TeamViewerQS.exe.
Run the application (no need to install) and provide us with the Session ID and Password.

We will also need the account ID and password of the Windows user.

New features

Bare Metal Restore of Windows 2008, Windows 7 and Windows Vista. WorldBackups.net can back up the entire image of machines running Windows 7, Windows 2008 & Windows Vista Business (Enterprise, and Ultimate editions). The backed up image can be restored to the same machine or to a machine with very similar hardware as the original machine.

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Exchange Server 2010 Backup.WorldBackups.net can now back up an Exchange 2010 mailstore and mailboxes. This is the first version of WorldBackups to use VSS to back up Exchange, previously ESE API was used.

SharePoint Server Backup. WorldBackups.net can now back up the site collections of SharePoint Portal Server 2003 and Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007.

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SQL 2008 back up. WorldBackups.net can now back up MS SQL 2008 databases.

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Backup and Restore from local drives. WorldBackups.net can now back up to a local drive and also restore from it without having to connect to an online backup server.

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How to upgrade

You can download the update from here (do not uninstall your current version).

Or we can upgrade your installation free-of-charge. Click here to view our article on how we will connect to your server.

Perform a backup and test restore.

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Further support is available within your local client >> help > user guide.

April 2010 saw WorldBackups.net exhibiting at arguably the biggest IT event in the UK where all three exhibition centres at Earls Court were turned over to three separate IT sectors with exhibitors from HP, IBM and VMware at The Service Desk & IT Support Show 2010.

WorldBackups.net was the only company specialising in online backups exhibiting at the show.

The show isn’t typically suited to an online backup solution provider, but as MD Roland Scott says, ‘it couldn’t be missed’.

Roland Scott goes on to say….

“WB has grown in the last eleven years from a company providing online backup solutions to SMBs to a company providing an Enterprise solution to companies all around the World with thousands of members of staff and multiple servers.

Exhibiting at the UK’s biggest business IT event is an essential part of our sales and marketing strategy now we are delivering enterprise solutions on a worldwide stage.

Not only did we make contact with big businesses, charities, NHS and Governmental bodies here in the UK and abroad, we also had fun. I even got to meet an 80’s role model on Numara’s stand – Johnny Ball”

Why choose WorldBackups.net for your backup solution?

1. Robust company; we are now in our 11th year

2. Secure – non-reversible encryption.

3. Easy-to-use – first backup running in less than 5 minutes.

4. Cost effective (always more so than any tape based solution)

5. 24 x 7 support – telephone, email and remote control all available.

Our pilot of 24 x 7 web based support with an SLA of less than 2 hours has been a success

We know servers don’t always fail during office hours, which is why we are now rolling out 24 x 7 support to all partners at no extra charge.

In order to access the system, you will need to be registered on our new support helpdesk.

How to register

• You can register in one of 3 ways
  • As an individual
  • As an individual within your company with the abilty to view all of your company’s tickets – recommended option
    
  • One single account for use by all of the staff in your company
• To register, please send an email to partner@worldbackups.net
• Please note you will need to register before you can use the system, and registration requests will only be processed during normal working hours

Logging a fault call

• Send an email to wb-support@openticket.eu (registration required first)
  

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• Log onto our portal and submit your ticket from there. You can also view all of your tickets. https://www.openticket.eu/?group=worldbackups

Today a customer called us at WorldBackups.net to see if we could help them retrieve an email that was deleted over 2 years ago. Their Exchange 2003 server had retained the deleted email for 90 days before purging it.

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A quick look at the customer’s backup showed they had retained all of their Exchange data on a WorldBackups.net server for over 2 years. This was good news for them, because within a few minutes a WorldBackups Engineer had located the deleted email.

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The customer then attached the restored PST to Outlook and found the email they wanted. 2 years on and still working!!

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This is a true ‘brick’ email restore in action. Because our software is free to install and run, we only charge for the data you back up.

Based on our experience as a world-class online backup service provider we have put down our idea of an effective backup utility. There are a number of factors that influence the service of online backup effectiveness. In the IT industry and for most PC users, creating a backup is necessary and it is carried out with dread.

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To improve the experience, you need a reliable and robust solution that is designed to support the transfer of large volumes of data. The primary activity that needs to ensure data is transferred with no packet loss across the Internet is dependable servers at the provider’s end.

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You need to have a user-friendly interface, if the interface can be accessed via a browser based window, that is an added advantage. Our user friendly interface also includes features like email capability, password protection; file sharing with other users, etc.

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Your online backup service provider should be able to guarantee the security of your data. WorldBackups.net uses 64 to 448 bit non-reversible encryption for data encryption and is replicated across fault tolerant servers for added security.

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When you have signed up with an online backup service, you will need technical support. It is important that the provider has quick response time and excellent online customer support. In addition to this, you should also have clarity on your account services and billing details. You need to be aware of the termination periods for software and hardware installation and the billing cycle.