Q1) Explain Stores and storage groups in Exchange 2003.

Ans: In exchange 2003 we can have 4 storage groups and each 5 stores, one store should be public folder store. Mailbox store A database for storing mailboxes in Exchange Server 2003. Mailbox stores hold data that is private to an individual and contain mailbox folders generated when a new mailbox is created for an individual. There can be up to five stores per storage group, and any number of the five stores may be mailbox stores Storage group A grouping of mailbox stores and public folder stores. Stores in a storage group share a single backup schedule and a single set of transaction logs. There can be up to four storage groups per server. Advantages 1. Smaller stores mean that restore will be faster and backup more manageable. 2. Fewer users will be affected when one store is offline. 3. Each store can have its own policy for mailbox limits. 4. If you have multiple disks, dividing a single store into storage groups will improve performance. Note that all stores in one storage group share the same log file. 5. Rather than having lots of small Exchange 2003 servers, buy one big machine and configure multiple Storage Groups. Trap: Multiple stores and storage groups are only available in the Enterprise edition of Exchange 2003. (Not in the Standard or SBS editions.) Q2.) Concepts of Transaction Log & Checkpoint file. Ans: Transaction Log Files that contain a record of the changes made to an Exchange 2003 database. All changes to the database are recorded in the transaction log files before they are written into the database files. If a database shuts down unexpectedly, unfinished transactions can be restored by replaying the transaction log files into the database. Checkpoint file: A file that tracks the progress of transaction logging. The checkpoint file has a pointer to the oldest log file that contains data that has not yet been written to the database. The name of the checkpoint file is Enn.chk, where Enn is the log file prefix of the storage group Log files (.log and .chk) Exchange Server 2003 writes each store transaction (such as creating or modifying a message) first to a log file for the appropriate storage group, and then to the store. This approach guarantees that all completed and in-progress transactions are logged, in case of a service interruption. The stores in a storage group share a single set of transaction logs. Checkpoint files store information that indicates when a transaction is successfully saved to the database files on the hard disk. Exchange Server 2003 uses checkpoint files to allow an instance of ESE to automatically replay log files into an inconsistent database when recovering from a service interruption, starting with the next unwritten transaction.

Q3.) Recovery Storage Group.? Ans: The Recovery Storage Group feature in Microsoft Exchange Server 2003 allows you to mount a second copy of an Exchange mailbox database on the same server as the original database, or on any other Exchange server in the same Exchange administrative group. This can be done while the original database is running and serving clients. This capability allows you to recover data from an older backup copy of the database without disturbing user access to current data. The recovery storage group can also be useful in various disaster recovery scenarios, most notably the Messaging Dial Tone scenario described later in this document. How a Recovery Storage Group Is Different from a Regular Storage Group A Recovery Storage Group is a specialized storage group that can exist with regular storage groups. Although a Recovery Storage Group is similar to a regular storage group, Recovery Storage Groups differ from regular storage groups in the following ways:

All protocols except MAPI are disabled. This means that you cannot send mail to or receive mail

from a mailbox store that is in a Recovery Storage Group. However, you can use the Exmerge.exe tool to access mailboxes to recover data.

You cannot connect user mailboxes in a Recovery Storage Group to user accounts in Active

Directory. The only supported method that you can use to access mailboxes in a Recovery Storage Group is by using the Exchange Server 2003 version of the Exmerge.exe tool.

You cannot apply system and mailbox management policies to a Recovery Storage Group. Online maintenance and defragmentation do not run against databases in the Recovery Storage

Group. You must manually mount databases in the Recovery Storage Group. You cannot configure the

databases to automatically mount in Exchange System Manager. You cannot change path locations or move data files after a Recovery Storage Group is created

because those actions are not supported. If you want to change the location of the files in a Recovery Storage Group, you have to delete and then re-create the Recovery Storage Group.

You can only recover mailbox stores to a Recovery Storage Group. You cannot restore a public

folder store to a Recovery Storage Group because that action is not supported. The methods that you use to recover a public folder store in Exchange Server 2003 are the same methods that you use in Exchange 2000 Server.

You can restore any private mailbox store from any computer that is running Exchange Server

2003 or Exchange 2000 Service Pack 3 (SP3) or later to a Recovery Storage Group, if the computer that contains the private mailbox store and the computer that contains the Recovery Storage Group are both located in the same administrative group.

Q4.) Under what circumstances will you run the setup /disasterrecovery command? What does it do?

Ans: Run Exchange Setup in Disaster Recovery Mode This procedure applies to the following recovery methods: Rebuilding an Exchange member server. Using an Exchange standby recovery server.

On the server you are rebuilding, run Exchange Setup in disaster recovery mode. This process installs Exchange applications and any required Exchange files to the server that you are rebuilding. This process also uses the configuration information that is stored on the Exchange Server object in Active Directory to reclaim the configuration of the original server. The configuration information that is reclaimed includes the Exchange storage group names, mailbox store names, public folder store names, virtual server configuration settings, and so on. When you run Exchange in Disaster Recovery mode, make sure that all the components that existed on the damaged server are selected. For detailed steps, see How to Run Exchange in Disaster Recovery Mode. Important: When recovering an Exchange server, always use the /disasterrecovery switch. If you run the Setup program without using the /disasterrecovery switch, Setup runs in Reinstall mode and automatically mounts the mailbox stores and public folder stores after the Setup process is completed. If you mount mailbox stores and public folder stores before you restore your Exchange databases, you can cause problems that include the potential loss of data.

How to Move Exchange Server 2003 to New Hardware and Keep the Same Server Name
To move an Exchange 2003 to new hardware keeping the same server name 1. Make a full backup of all the Exchange 2003 storage groups and the Site Replication Service (SRS) database on the existing Exchange 2003 computer. 2. 3. Take the existing Exchange 2003 computer offline. Reset the computer account for the existing Exchange 2003 computer. To do so, follow these steps:

a. b.
4.

Start Active Directory Users and Computers. Locate the computer account for the existing Exchange 2003 computer, right-click the computer account, and then click Reset Account.

Bring the new computer online, and then confirm that the new computer is running the same operating system that was installed on the existing Exchange 2003 computer.

Note: Make sure the new computer has a unique computer name on the network. 5. Rename the new computer to the same name as the original computer, and then join this computer to the domain.

Note: You must not delete the original computer account from the domain before you join the new computer to the domain. Additionally, do not delete the original Exchange server from Exchange System Manager. 6. Use an Exchange 2003 Full Administrator account to log on to the new computer.

7.

Install any components that Exchange 2003 requires, such as the NNTP service, the SMTP service, and the World Wide Web service.

8.

Configure drive letters on the new server to map to or match the configuration of the old server, for drives that contained Exchange data, with sufficient space to accommodate the restored data.

9.

Run Exchange 2003 Setup with the following parameter: Setup /disasterrecovery Make sure that you click Action-Disaster Recovery for the Messaging and Collaboration services and for Exchange System Management Tools.

10. When the Setup program has completed, install the Exchange 2003 service pack that was installed on the
existing server by using the /disasterrecovery switch. 11. Examine the registry to see if the following registry subkey exists: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Exchange\Setup If the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Exchange\Setup subkey does not exist, add a DWORD value and the following hexadecimal value, based on the service pack value: DWORD value name: ServicePackBuild Hexadecimal value: number The number for the hexadecimal value varies based on the service pack as follows:

2 3

The hexadecimal number for the original release version without a service pack installed is 1B20 The hexadecimal number for Service Pack 1 is 1C3A The hexadecimal number for Service Pack 2 is 1DD6

Install any Exchange 2003 post-service pack hotfixes that were installed on the existing server. In separate restoration jobs, restore the storage groups and the Site Replication Service (SRS) database

from the Exchange 2003 server backup. 4 flow. Note If the IP address of the Exchange 2003 computer changes, make sure that you update Domain Name System (DNS) records. If you do not update DNS records, other servers may try to connect to the previous address. Mount all the stores after the restoration is complete. Make sure that clients can connect and that mail can

Q5.) How do you verify consistency of database..?

Ans: we can check the consistency of database using eseutil.exe /mh.

Check the consistency of the databases. If a database is consistent, all the log files have been committed to the store. If the database is not consistent, the database may not be corrupted. Instead, the log files may be missing, damaged, or not yet committed to the database. Run the following commands to check the consistency of the public and private databases (these lines have been wrapped for readability).

C:\Program Files\exchsrvr\BIN>eseutil /mh "drive:\Program Files\exchsrvr\MDBDATA\priv1.edb"

C:\Program Files\exchsrvr\BIN>eseutil /mh "drive:\Program Files\exchsrvr\MDBDATA\pub1.edb"

eseutil /r for softrecovery of the data base.

Eseutil /p hard repair the database.

Q6.) Difference between eseutil and isinteg..? Ans:

ESEutil checks and fixes individual database tables and ISinteg checks and fixes the links between tables.

About ESEutil ESEutil checks and fixes individual database tables but does not check the mail data contained in the Extensible Storage Engine (ESE) database. Object-oriented databases like Microsoft Exchange consist of big, structured sequential files connected by a set of indexes. The underlying database technology that controls these files is called Indexed Sequential Access Method, or ISAM. The ESE database engine exposes the flat ISAM structure as a hierarchy of objects. The function of ESEutil is to examine these individually indexed object pages, check them for correctness by comparing a computed checksum against a checksum stored in the page header, and verify that each page's data is consistent.

ESEutil /r soft recovery ESEutil /g integrity check ESEutil /p hard repair ESEutil /d defragment needed 110_% space on the disk can t to give temp location. Restore: ESEutil /c - Checksum: ESEutil /k

ESEutil /d will defragment the designated database and is a fairly straight forward mode of operation that is commonly used. Running a manual offline defragmentation is only part of the process that should be completed in order to keep the databases healthy. About ISinteg The purpose of the Microsoft ISinteg utility is to inspect and fix weaknesses within the information store (IS). ISinteg looks at the mailboxes, public folders, and other parts of the IS, checking for anything that

appears to be out of place. ISinteg scans the tables and B-trees that organize the ESE pages into their logical structures. In addition, the tool looks for orphaned objects, or objects that have incorrect values or references. Because ISinteg focuses on the logical level rather than physical database structure, it can repair and recover data that ESEutil can't. When looking at the physical database level, ESEutil might find the data to be valid because it looks for things such as page integrity and B-Tree structure. Data that appears valid to ESEutil from a physical view of the database might not be valid from a logical view. For example, data for various IS tables like the message, folder, or attachments table may be intact, but the relationships among tables or records within tables may be broken or incorrect because of corruption in the logical structure. This corruption can render the database unusable. ISinteg one of two ways: -Default mode, in which the tool runs the tests you specify and reports its findings - Fix mode, where you specify optional switches instructing ISinteg to run the specified tests and attempt to fix whatever it can. The most important thing about running ISinteg is to run the command until it no longer reports any problems. Just running the command once does not guarantee that the information store is functioning properly. Depending on the size of the information store, the process can take a long time, however, it ensures that the databases are properly functional.

Q6.) What is circular logging..?

Q7.)Difference in Exchange Std & Ent. Ans:

Exchange Server 2003 Standard Edition

Exchange 2003 Standard Edition is designed to meet the messaging and collaboration requirements of small and medium corporations and for specific messaging server roles or branch offices.

One storage group can be created on a server One mailbox store database and one public folder store database that can be accessed by using MAPI and Outlook Web Access Up to four more public folder store databases that are accessible only programmatically Maximum 16-gigabyte (GB) database limit per database (75 GB with Microsoft Exchange Server 2003 Service Pack 2) Exchange clustering is not supported X.400 connector is not included

lack of ability to act as a Front-End server (this limit was in fact removed in Exchange Server 2003 Standard Edition)

Back to the top

Exchange Server 2003 Enterprise Edition

Exchange 2003 Enterprise Edition is designed for large enterprise corporations. With Exchange 2003 Enterprise Edition, you can create multiple storage groups and multiple databases. Exchange 2003 Enterprise Edition provides an unlimited message store that removes the constraints on how much data a single server can manage.

Four storage groups Five databases per storage group 16 terabyte database limit, limited only by hardware Exchange clustering is supported X.400 connector is included

Q8.) Purpose of Forest Prep & Domain Prep.? Ans: ForestPrep performs all Exchange 2003 setup tasks that require EnterpriseAdmin and SchemaAdmin permissions, as it makes changes in the configuration naming container in Active Directory. ForestPrep extends your Active Directory schema to include Exchange-specific information. ForestPrep also creates objects in Active Directory and gives permissions on those objects to the account designated as the Exchange 2003 administrator. This administrator will have enough permission to install the first Exchange 2003 server in your organization Requirements

Forest wide permissions to manage Active Directory Member of the Enterprise Administrators and Schema Administrators groups Member of the local Administrators group

The DomainPrep utility performs the Exchange setup tasks that require DomainAdmin permissions; it should be run by a member of the DomainAdmin group. You need to run DomainPrep once in each domain that contains an Exchange 2003 server and in any domain that hosts Exchange users. These are domains without Exchange servers but with mail enabled users. Domainprep is necessary for the recipient update service (RUS) and to create the groups and permissions necessary for Exchange servers to read and modify user attributes.

DomainPrep creates two new domain groups: Exchange Domain Servers (a Windows 2003 global security group) and Exchange Enterprise Servers (a Windows 2003 domain local security group). DomainPrep also creates the Public Folder proxy container in Active Directory. While ForestPrep works in the forest-wide configuration naming container, the Public Folder object (a Microsoft Exchange System Object) exists outside this container (this is the reason why you cant see public folders with ADSIEDIT, LDP or other LDAP tools). DomainPrep creates this object on a per-domain basis, under the domain co

When must you Run DomainPrep? For DomainPrep to work correctly, you must run it:

After running ForestPrep, and after all ForestPrep changes are replicated throughout the forest. Before the through Forestprep designated Exchange 2003 administrator can install the first Exchange 2003 server in the domain. Whenever you must create a Recipient Update Service (RUS) for a domain with mail-enabled users. It is also necessary to run Domainprep in an empty Forest Root Domain because RUS must use it

Q9.)Installation of Exchange in Multiple Domains

Ans: A: With Exchange 2003, you can setup Exchange for multiple domains easily. First, you need points all domain names to the Exchange and setup MX records. To configure an Exchange computer to receive mail for multiple domains: 1. Start Exchange System Manager. 2. Click to expand the Recipients container. 3. Click Recipient Policies. 4. Open the properties of the appropriate policy that is displayed in the right pane. 5. Click the E-Mail Addresses tab, and then add any additional Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP) addresses that you want the Exchange-based computer to host. For example, to add a new SMTP mail domain, follow these steps: a. Click New, click to select SMTP Address, and click OK. b. In the Address box, type the at sign (@) followed by the name of the SMTP domain. For example, to accept mail for Chicagotech.net, type the following in the Address box, and then click OK: @chicagotech.net 6. Your new address space is now listed on the E-Mail Address tab. To enable your new address space, click to select the check box next to the address that you created, and then click OK.

Q10.) What are the prerequisites for installing exchange 2000/2003 Ans.

Exchange 2003 Setup requires that the following components and services be installed and enabled on the server: ------.NET Framework ASP.NET Internet Information Services (IIS) World Wide Web Publishing Service Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP) service Network News Transfer Protocol (NNTP) service

Routing/Mail flow
Q11.) What is the difference between HTTP and HTTPS ? Ans: In many ways, https is identical to http, because it follows the same basic protocols. The http or https

client, such as a Web browser, establishes a connection to a server on a standard port. When a server receives a request, it returns a status and a message, which may contain the requested information or indicate an error if part of the process malfunctioned. Both systems use the same Uniform Resource Identifier (URI) scheme, so that resources can be universally identified. Use of https in a URI scheme rather than http indicates that an encrypted connection is desired. There are some primary differences between http and https, however, beginning with the default port, which is 80 for http and 443 for https. Https works by transmitting normal http interactions through an encrypted system, so that in theory, the information cannot be accessed by any party other than the client and end server. There are two common types of encryption layers: Transport Layer Security (TLS) and Secure Sockets Layer (SSL), both of which encode the data records being exchanged. When using an https connection, the server responds to the initial connection by offering a list of encryption methods it supports. In response, the client selects a connection method, and the client and server exchange certificates to authenticate their identities. After this is done, both parties exchange the encrypted information

after ensuring that both are using the same key, and the connection is closed. In order to host https connections, a server must have a public key certificate, which embeds key information with a verification of the key owner's identity. Most certificates are verified by a third party so that clients are assured that the key is secure. Https is used in many situations, such as log-in pages for banking, forms, corporate log ons, and other applications in which data needs to be secure. However, if not implemented properly, https is not infallible, and therefore it is extremely important for end users to be wary about accepting questionable certificates and cautious with their personal information while using the Internet.

Q12.) What is the difference between IMAP and POP3 protocol Ans: POP3 Since email needs to be downloaded into desktop PC before being displayed, you may have the following problems for POP3 access: IMAP Since email is kept on server, it would gain the following benefits for IMAP access:

You need to download all email again when using another desktop PC to check your email. May get confused if you need to check email both in the office and at home.

No need to download all email when using other desktop PC to check your email. Easier to identify the unread email.

The downloaded email may be deleted from the server depending on the setting of your email client. All messages as well as their attachments will be downloaded into desktop PC during the 'check new email' process. Mailboxes can only be created on desktop PC. There is only one mailbox (INBOX) exists on the server. Filters can transfer incoming/outgoing messages only to local mailboxes. A whole message will be downloaded only when it is opened for display from its content.

Multiple mailboxes can be created on the desktop PC as well as on the server.

Filters can transfer incoming/outgoing messages to other mailboxes no matter where the mailboxes locate (on the server or the PC). Outgoing email can be filtered to a mailbox on server for accessibility from other machine. Messages can be deleted directly on the server to make it more convenient to clean up your mailbox on the server. The occurrence of reloading messages from the server to PC is much less when compared to POP3.

Outgoing email is stored only locally on the desktop PC. Messages are deleted on the desktop PC. Comparatively, it is inconvenient to clean up your mailbox on the server. Messages may be reloaded onto desktop PC several times due to the corruption of system files.

Q13.)Scenario: Your SMTP g/w server is being used to send junk emails to other domains? What steps would u take? Ans: Stop the open relay.

Q14.) How does Mail flow work (Concepts) Ans: 1)Information Store (Store.exe)

The Microsoft Exchange Server Information Store (Store.exe) is the end point for e-mails sent to users on this server. It is also the start point for e-mails which are sent by MAPI clients, like Microsoft Outlook 2003, which directly connect to the MSExchangeIS 2) Advanced Queuing Engine (AQE) The Advanced Queuing Engine (AQE) is responsible for creating and managing message queues for email delivery. When AQE receives a Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP) mailmsg object, this object will be forwarded to the Message Categorizer. The Advanced Queuing Engine then queues the Mailmsg object for message delivery based on the Routing information provided by the Routing Engine process of Exchange Server 2003. The Message Categorizer is part of the Advanced Queuing Engine and is responsible for address resolution on every Mailmsg object that flows through the AQE. The Message Categorizer is implemented as an Event Sink. The Message Categorizer is also responsible for splitting messages into RTF or MAPI. Steps in the message flow:

MAPI client sends a message to a remote recipient Information Store (Store.exe) receives the message The created MailMsg object is forwarded to the Advanced Queue Engine (AQE) The Message Categorizer from the AQE processes the MailMsg object and splits it into MIME or RTF as necessary The Message Categorizer expands groups and checks defined Message limits on Exchange The MailMsg object is then transferred to the Remote Destination Domain within the AQE The AQE passes the destination address to the Exchange Routing Engine SMTP initiates an SMTP session with the remote SMTP host After the SMTP session with the remote host has been established, the information store retrieves the body of the message and converts the message as necessary SMTP sends the Message from the Queue to the Remote Host

General Administration Q15.) What is cached mode in Outlook 2003?

Ans: Cached Exchange Mode is a new feature in Outlook 2003. When you turn on Cached Exchange Mode in outlook 2003, and when the connection from your computer that is running Outlook 2003 to the Exchange Server 2003 computer is not available, Outlook switches to the Trying to connect state or to the Disconnected state. If the connection is restored, Outlook switches to the Connected state or to the Connected (Headers) state. Any changes that you made while you were offline are synchronized automatically when a connection to a server is available. You can continue to work while changes are synchronized. To enable Cached Exchange Mode in Outlook 2003, follow these steps:

On the Tools menu, click E-mail Accounts. In the E-mail Accounts dialog box, click View or change existing e-mail accounts, and then click Next. Make sure that Microsoft Exchange Server is selected, and then click Change. In the E-Mail Accounts dialog box, click to select the Use Cached Exchange Mode check box, and then click Next. Click OK, and then restart Outlook 2003.

Q16.) What is the size limitation of a pst file.? Ans: The recommended Pst file size is 2GB. Q16.) What is the difference between an ost file and a pst file.? Ans: Both .pst and .ost files almost have same features but the services vary according to the application in which they run. Some of the differences are: .ost file .ost is a cached file. .ost file starts as a mirror image of your folders on the Exchange Server, and works in conjunction with the Exchange Server during synchronization. OST mails cannot be read if you are not connected to network. .pst file .pst is a local file with stored emails. .pst file is simply a storage location on your hard disk or a server other than the Exchange Server. PST mails can be read without connecting to network.

Q17.) What is an FE/BE configuration and why do you use it? Ans: Front-End servers are used for Outlook Web Access. Front-end servers do not have mailboxes residing on them. The front-end model offers the advantage of letting all users specify the same URL to access their mailboxes. Back-end servers are normal Exchange servers which have mailboxes and public folders stored. Q18.) When you would use multiple administrative groups in an Exchange 2003 organization and how administrative groups differ from routing groups.? Ans: Administrative groups define a logical grouping of servers and other objects for the purpose of administration. When you install the first Microsoft Exchange server into an organization, by default it is created in the First Administrative Group administrative group. Routing groups: Logical collections of servers that are used to control mail flow and public folder referrals. Routing groups share one or more physical connections. Within a routing group, all servers communicate and transfer messages directly to one another. Q19.)What is the difference between Universal Distribution Groups and Universal Security Groups ? Ans: These Universal Groups do not really belong to a specific domain, they live in the forest

Security: Security groups allow you to manage user and computer access to shared resources. You can also control who receives group policy settings. This simplifies administration by allowing you to set permissions once on multiple computers, then to change the membership of the group as your needs change. The change in group membership automatically takes effect everywhere. You can also use these groups as email distribution lists.

Distribution: Distribution groups are intended to be used solely as email distribution lists. These lists are for use with email applications such as Microsoft Exchange or Outlook. You can add and remove contacts from the list so that they will or will not receive email sent to the distribution group. You can't use distribution groups to assign permissions on any objects, and you can't use them to filter group policy settings.

Q20.)Why would you defrag an exchange mailbox store? Ans:We use the defrag for removing the white space in the database eseutil/d needed 110% diskspace. Q21.)How do we move databases from one drive to another? Ans: dismount the database copy the edb and stm files to new location and point the database path to new

location via ESM.

Q22.)What are the type of clients supported on exchange.? Ans: Q22.)Scenario:Database and Transaction logs on different drives. Database drive failed. Last night's online backup available. Point of recovery? Steps to recover? Ans: SCENARIO 4. Databases got dismounted because the data drives crashed on which

Exchange databases were residing. =============================================================== ========================== TROUBLESHOOTING: The Databases are on say D: drive. The D: drive crashed and needs to be replaced. A new drive has been replaced, but the drive is empty. The databases that were on the corrupted drive is lost and cannot be recovered. We need to replace from the backup. The Backup database might be say 100 GB which will take upto 10 or 12 hours depending upon the backup software you use. Till 10 hours, there would be no mails for those users. In a situation like this, we can perform a dial-tone recovery where we can mount a blank database. Here we will mount the database with new blank stores so that users can send/receive emails. But they will not have their old mail content. We have a new D: drive. Place the location of log files and the database file on the new drive. Mount the store. An Empty database will be started and new set of log files will be started. Create a Recovery Storage Group. Add a Mailbox Store. Restore a good backup to the RSG Mailbox Store. Once the restore is done, mount the database on the RSG. Merge all the mailboxes from the Recovery Storage Group's mailbox store to the main Storage Group's mailbox store. Or you can use Exmerge to export all the mailbox contents of the RSG Mailbox Store and then import back to the FSG mailbox store. While mounting the stores with a blank database [Dial-Tone Recovery], right-click on the store properties, select "This Database can be overwritten by a restore".

22) Scenario One win 2003 domain controller in the domain.Exchange server is installed on a member server Exchange server crashes. How do I get my exchange server back with the least amount of administrative effort. ======================================================================= ================== SCENARIO 9. The Entire Exchange Server is crashed. The Hardware is gone, software is gone and the server does not even bootup. ======================================================================= ==================

TROUBLESHOOTING: In a situation like this, you need to setup a new server maybe with the same name. Let us also consider that it was a Domain Controller. You can restore the Active Directory using the System State Backup. You can restore the Exchange databases using the Exchange Backup and you can install the Exchange using the Exchange server CD. If you have Exchange database backup and system state backup, any type of recovery is possible
23) Scenario:You discover that a mailbox store is dismounted, and when you try to mount it, you get an error "An Internal Processing Error Has Occurred". When you check the application log, you find that the anti-virus software has quarantined the E00.log file. What steps will you take? Ans: SCENARIO 6. Databases got dismounted because the log files were quarantined by the Antivirus software. ======================================================================= ==================

TROUBLESHOOTING: Generally the last log file which is e00.log or e01.log etc keep increasing and decreasing the size. The Antivirus installed on your server might think that this is a virus file and will quarantine this log. If the last log file is quarantined, then the Exchange database will get dismounted. In situations like this, you need to open the AV program interface like Symantec or Trend Micro tool and check the Quarantine folder. If you see the file there, move back the file to the original location. Check the consistency of the log files and mount the database. Sometime, the AV will quarantine not just last log file, but also some other logs along with it. So, check the database consistency first. It will show Dirty Shutdown. Look for the Log files that are required and check if you see all those log files in the Quarantine folder. If you see them, cut paste or bring back the files back to the log file location and then mount the stores using soft recovery. NOTE: Always exclude the Exchange related folders and other important folders from being scanned by the Antivirus. Exclusions should be set on the AV tool. Never run file-based antivirus software against files in the following folders: - Exchange databases and log files. - Exchange message tracking log files (default location: \Exchsrvr\Server_Name.log). - Virtual server folders (default location: \Exchsrvr\Mailroot). Internet Information Service (IIS) system files (default location: \%SystemRoot %\System32\Inetsrv). - The working folder that is used to store streaming temporary files that are used for message conversion. By default, this working folder is located at \Exchsrvr\MDBData.
24) Under what circumstances will you run the setup /disasterrecovery command? What does it do? Ans: TROUBLESHOOTING: The entire Exchange Server crashed. Let's assume that it is not a domain

controller. And it crashed in such a way that no applications including Exchange server is working. Now, you need to re-build the Exchange server. The hardware is not crashed though. We need to reinstall the Exchange server here. In a situation like this, you do not need to completely reinstall Exchange server. You can reinstall only the files that are corrupted. How can we do this. Using a command switch setup.exe /disasterrecovery switch. Run the Exchange setup using /disasterrecovery switch. This will only reinstall the corrupted log files for the Exchange to be back. The Exchange files which are stored in AD will not be reinstalled as AD is not corrupted. You can also run the service pack using this switch. The Exchange setup with /disaterrecovery switch will take very less time compared to the entire setup which is time saving. Once the server is back, check the database consistency using eseutil /mh and mount the databases. The Exchange databases are still on the same hardware as the hardware did not crash. It is the software which crashed.

25.)Scenario: We have 1 exchange 2003 server in a windows 2003 forest with single domain. Last night the exchange server gave a STOP error and crashed. Now we have to rebuild this server. We have the last days backup of databases on the tape drive. What are the steps required to recover from this situation?