Even if no backup is available, you can usually restore a Hub Transport server
to a functional state after a crash by running this command:
Setup /m:RecoverServer
This command will use information contained in AD to rebuild the server and
restore it to a functional state. You can read more about this command in the
Microsoft article "Understanding Setup /M:RecoverServer" (http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/
aa998656.aspx).
The Edge Transport Server Role
Edge Transport servers are different from any other server in your Exchange
organization because they are designed to be isolated from AD, whereas other
Exchange servers depend on AD. More precisely, the Edge Transport role can't
be a domain member, and it uses Active Directory Application Mode (ADAM) to
give it a local directory replica.
Aside from that difference, an Edge Transport server functions similarly to
a Hub Transport server. In fact, Edge Transport servers and Hub Transport servers
have many of the same components. Both types of servers have message queues,
tracking and protocol logs, and basic server configuration data. Because of
the similarities, many of the rules that apply to backing up and recovering
Hub Transport servers also apply to Edge Transport servers.
As with a Hub Transport server, the message queues on an Edge Transport server
are based on an ESE database. And as is the case with Hub Transport servers,
it isn't practical to back up the message queue database because of the transient
nature of the data and the fact that the server uses circular logging.
You can back up message-tracking and protocol logs on an Edge Transport server
by performing a file-level backup. The message tracking and protocol logs are
located by default in the \Program Files\Microsoft\Exchange Server\TransportRoles\Logs
folder.
Where Edge Transport servers really differ from Hub Transport servers is in
the way that they store configuration data. As I mentioned earlier, Edge Transport
servers don't store data in AD. Instead, it's stored in an Active Directory
Application Mode (ADAM) database. This data is derived by replication from the
AD database.
An Edge Transport server's primary job is to filter messages entering the organization
from the Internet. Content-filtering data is stored in an ESE database similar
to the one used by the message queue.
What makes the configuration data on an Edge Transport server interesting is
that you typically don't need to back it up. That's because most settings on
an Edge Transport server are set by default. The data contained in the ADAM
database is replicated from the AD database, which you should already be backing
up. The content-filtering database is updated automatically over the Internet
as new antispam data becomes available. Consequently, Microsoft says that it
isn't necessary to back up configuration data on an Edge Transport server unless
you've implemented custom settings.
If your Edge Transport server does contain custom settings, you'll need to
use a cloning technique to back up those settings. The easiest way to accomplish
this task is to use the Exchange Management Shell to run two predefined scripts:
ExportEdgeConfig.ps1 and ImportEdgeConfig.ps1. You use the ExportEdgeConfig.ps1
scripts to export configuration data to an XML file, then if you ever need to
restore the server's configuration, you use the ImportEdgeConfig.ps1 script
to import the XML file. Both scripts are located in the \Program Files\Microsoft\Exchange
Server\Scripts folder.
Client Access Servers
In Exchange 2007, servers that host the Client Access server role provide OutlookWeb
Access (OWA) to users. What makes recovering Client Access servers tricky is
that they contain data that resides outside of Exchange Server. For example,
configuration data is stored in the local file system, AD, and in the Microsoft
IIS metabase. This external data complicates recovery efforts in the event of
a crash.
As with some of the other server roles that I've discussed, there's a command
that you can enter to return the server to a functional state. For a Client
Access server, the command is:
Setup /mode:RecoverServer
The most important thing to know about this command is that it returns your
server to the default installation state, and therefore any customizations that
you've made will be lost. These customizations include nondefault virtual directories,
any customizations that you've made to the default virtual directory, and any
certificates you've added.
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