Mastering Microsoft Exchange Server 2007 SP1

The key here is support for Exchange Server. Windows Server 2003's own backup program backs up the Exchange mailbox and public information stores while they're open and in use. That's really nice, but Windows Server 2003's Backup utility isn't the most full-featured backup product around. For example, it doesn't back up individual Exchange mailboxes and its disaster recovery capabilities aren't all that sophisticated. Still, the Windows 2003 backup program can work well for small networks, especially if each server is backed up locally. For more features, turn to third-party backup solutions that include such features as Windows Server 2003's ability to do volume shadow copy backups of Exchange databases.

Organizational requirements, governmental regulations, or just plain diminishing disk-storage resources might require that e-mail be archived. Whether it's to protect employee pension information, to meet the financial requirements of agencies such as the Securities Exchange Commission, or to free up space on Exchange Server disks, e-mail archiving is becoming an important function in IT shops. You can do some archiving with tools built into Exchange Server and Outlook, but third-party add-ons make archiving much easier.

• Archive Manager Archive Manager captures, indexes and stores messaging data for the purpose of mailbox management, compliance archiving and knowledge sharing. Powerful search tools allow for retrieval from the archive to support e-discovery. Features mobile access for BlackBerry and Windows Mobile 5 devices as well. Contact: Quest Software (www.quest.com)

• Brightstor ARCserve Backup ARCserve has been around for a long time and is a good package. Under the enterprise-oriented hand of Computer Associates, the Brightstore ARCserve Backup suite has become a very strong contender in large system backup. Contact: Computer Associates (www.cai.com)

• Backup Exec Like ARCserve, Backup Exec has been around for eons and is a good backup product with nice backup-scheduling capabilities. Also check out Symantec's Remote Storage for Exchange, which archives message attachments to a secondary storage device such as tape and then seamlessly returns the attachment when a user tries to access it. Contact: Symantec (www.symantec.com)

• Exchange Archive Solution Exchange Archive Solution archives Exchange messages so that they can be managed and retrieved as needed. This is a high-powered product that allows for centralized backup while leaving room for local control and end-user recovery of archived messages. Contact: ZANTAZ. (www.zantaz.com)

• Galaxy Backup and Recovery for Microsoft Exchange Galaxy Backup and Recovery for Microsoft Exchange is a very nice product. It has a fine user interface and it allows individual recovery of messages and other Exchange items. Contact: CommVault Systems (www.commvault.com)

• EmailXtender EmailXtender is an e-mail archiving application. It runs on a separate server and can archive mail in a variety of server environments, including Exchange, Lotus Notes, and Unix Sendmail. Data is stored in Microsoft SQL Server. Administration includes the ability to set retention parameters and policies for categorization of messages. Contact: EMC Corporation (www.emc.com)

• Enterprise Vault Enterprise Vault is one of the industry leaders in Exchange archiving. It runs on a dedicated server and supports Exchange 5.5-2007, Lotus Notes, File Server Archiving, SharePoint Archiving, PST migrations, and many third party add-ins such as instant messaging, Bloomberg, and fax archiving. Contact: Symantec (www.symantec.com)

• NetWorker Well known for the excellence of its storage products and Unix backup products, EMC also supports the Windows NT 4 and Windows 200x Server environments with its NetWorker backup product. An optional module extends support to Exchange Server. Contact: EMC Corporation (www.emc.com)

• NetBackup NetBackup is the industrial-strength enterprise backup product from Symantec, makers of Backup Exec. The product provides centralized control of the backup process and comes in three flavors for different-sized organizations and backup needs. Contact: Symantec (www.symantec.com)

• Recovery Manager for Exchange Recovery Manager for Exchange allows administrators to restore, search and export individual message-level items, including e-mails, appointments, tasks, contacts, and attachments from backups, un-mounted edb files and PST files without setting up multiple dedicated Exchange recovery servers. Contact: Quest Software (www.quest.com)

• Replication Manager EMC Replication Manager manages EMC replication technologies and coordinates the entire replication process, from discovery and configuration to the operation of multiple disk-based replicas. Put the right data in the right place at the right time, on demand or based on user-defined schedules and policies. With Replication Manager, you can automate the discovery of storage arrays, applications, replication technologies, and hosts in the environment; record and catalog all information and activities for replicas; and enable point-and-click copies of information. Contact: EMC Corporation (www.emc.com)

• UltraBac UltraBac Software's backup entry sports very nice backup setup and scheduling interfaces. An optional Exchange information store backup module is available. Contact: UltraBac Software (www.ultrabac.com)