How can I back up my Microsoft Exchange Server storage groups and databases?

A. The Exchange database uses the Extensible Storage Engine (ESE) to store messages in .edb and .stm files and transactions in the transaction log files. Although the process of backing up these files might seem obvious, several Exchange services lock these files, which can prevent you from backing up the file contents. As a result, you can either perform an online backup or an offline backup:

To create an online backup, perform the following steps:

After you create the backup, you should check the Application event log to ensure no warnings or failures exist. You'll see several entries in the log from ntbackup, ESE, and ESE BACKUP that provide details about the steps performed during the backup process, including transaction log file deletions if you performed a full backup.

Discussing the various backup cycles (e.g., the use of full, incremental, and differential backups) is beyond the scope of this FAQ. As a result, you will want to investigate what type of backup to perform. Keep in mind that NTBackup deletes transaction log files only after performing a full backup, so it's important to regularly run a full backup; otherwise, your disk will fill with transaction files.

It's also important to remember that in Windows 2000 and later, Exchange stores some of its information in Active Directory (AD). Therefore, in addition to backing up the Exchange databases, you need to back up the System State on a domain controller (DC), the IIS metabase, Site Replication Service (SRS--if applicable), and certificate services data.