Exchange mailbox restore with Ontrack PowerControls (Kroll restore)

Topic

This article describes the procedure to restore Exchange mailboxes by using Kroll Ontrack PowerControls.

NOTE  To restore a SQL server, see Granular SQL restore with Ontrack PowerControls.

Environment

  • Datto SIRIS
  • Datto ALTO
  • Ontrack PowerControls for Exchange Version 9.3

Description

NOTE  If you are restoring from an ALTO 3, proceed to Section 2: Licensing Information.

Index

Licensing Information

The Kroll Ontrack PowerControls for Exchange licenses bundled with the Datto SIRIS are for Exchange Databases for 500 users or less.

Ontrack PowerControls licenses expire after a set period. If the license on your device shows expired, you'll need to provision one from the same location. Datto provides this license on SIRIS devices at no additional charge].

IMPORTANT  ALTO users not on per-agent pricing must purchase this service at an additional cost. Contact your Sales Executive, or navigate to the Purchasing & Billing > Service Billing category on the Datto Partner Portal, if you need to purchase a PowerControls license for an ALTO appliance.

NOTE  Datto appliances use Kroll Ontrack PowerControls version 9.3 to perform Exchange restores. Other versions of this software are unsupported.

System Requirements

Software

Supported Operating Systems:

    • Windows Server 2008
    • Windows Server 2008 R2
    • Windows Server 2012
    • Windows Server 2012 R2
    • Windows 7
    • Windows 8

IMPORTANT  PowerControls supports 32-bit and 64-bit versions of the operating systems listed above. Operating systems must have the latest service packs installed.

Supported Source Microsoft Exchange Database (offline):

PowerControls supports the following versions of Microsoft Exchange Server as offline source databases:

  • Microsoft Exchange Server 2000
  • Microsoft Exchange Server 2003
  • Microsoft Exchange Server 2007
  • Microsoft Exchange Server 2007 through SP3
  • Microsoft Exchange Server 2010 through SP3
  • Microsoft Exchange Server 2013 through SP1
  • Microsoft Exchange Server 2016

Supported Target (live) Microsoft Exchange Server:

PowerControls supports the following versions of Microsoft Exchange Server as live targets:

  • Microsoft Exchange Server 2007 through SP3
  • Microsoft Exchange Server 2010 through SP3
  • Microsoft Exchange Server 2013 through SP1
  • Microsoft Exchange Server 2016

Microsoft Office (Microsoft Outlook)

  • Microsoft Office Outlook 2007 and newer (32-bit versions only).

NOTE  If installing Outlook in a disaster recovery situation, install Outlook without configuring an email; that will suffice for this requirement.

Hardware

  • Intel Pentium-compatible processor
  • 1024 MB RAM minimum
  • 200 MB of free hard disk space for the installation of Ontrack PowerControls
  • Monitor with 800 x 600 or higher screen resolution

Performing the Restore

Offsite Restore Preparation

  • To do a Kroll restore from an offsite recovery point, follow the steps in Portal: File restore.
  • Alternatively, download the needed EDB file to your local environment, and instead of performing Step 7, use the path to the EDB file's download location. If the file is too large to download, consider a Reverse Roundtrip.

When you have completed these steps, proceed to the Configuring Microsoft Office Outlook step of this article.

NOTE  Do not leave offsite file restores mounted longer than necessary. Leaving restores mounted when they are not in use can affect your offsite retention usage, and may result in overage charges.

Configuring Microsoft Office Outlook

  1. Make sure that you installed Office Outlook, and that it has run once.

  2. Set up an email account on an Exchange Server.

  3. For versions of Outlook that distinguish between Corporate Email, use Corporate Email when configuring Outlook.

  4. Re-run Outlook and connect to the Exchange Server.

Obtaining the Ontrack PowerControls software and License

The Ontrack Power Controls 9.3 software and license can both be downloaded directly from the Datto Device Web GUI.

Click the Advanced tab, then select the Granular Restore tab of the Datto web interface.

NOTE  This option will not appear in the Device UI on ALTO 2 continuity devices. Contact Datto Technical Support for assistance with performing a mailbox restore on an ALTO 2.

Ontrack PowerControls Licensing for Previously-Installed Instances

If you are following this procedure for a previously-installed version, be sure to download the file into the same folder in which you already installed PowerControls. The default path for PowerControls installations is:

C:\Program Files (x86)\Kroll Ontrack\Ontrack PowerControls\

Then, proceed to Performing Exchange Message Level or Mailbox Level Restoration.

Installing Ontrack PowerControls

  1. Install and configure Outlook as described in Configuring Microsoft Office Outlook, above.

  2. Turn off any disk utility or antivirus program running in the background.

  3. Download Ontrack Power Controls from the link in the Datto appliance's Advanced > Granular Restore tab to a folder and run the executable to extract the files.

  4. Run setup.exe to launch the installer.

  5. Select Install Ontrack Power Controls to start the installation process.

  6. The install wizard may prompt you to install additional required components before you can install the software. Select OK to install them.

  7. Click Next to begin the installation.

  8. Once the installation completes, proceed to the next section of this article.

Installing the License File

  1. Launch Ontrack PowerControls for Exchange. You will see the prompt shown in Figure 6. Click Apply License.

  2. In the License Information window, click the navigation button highlighted in Figure 7. Browse to the file you downloaded from your Datto appliance or received from your Datto Sales Executive. Then, click Close.

Performing Exchange Message Level or Mailbox Level Restoration

On your Datto appliance, perform a Local File Restore of the recovery point from which you would like to restore. Make a note of the Samba Share path of the restore.

Configuring the Ontrack PowerControls Data Wizard

  1. Launch Ontrack PowerControls. You will see the Data Wizard. If the Data Wizard does not appear automatically, launch it by clicking File > Use Wizard in the Ontrack PowerControls UI.

  2. Click Browse, then navigate to the Samba share path in the file name section.

  3. Navigate through the directory tree of your file restore and locate the EDB file you would like to restore. Select the EDB file, and click Open.

  4. In the Data Wizard, the EDB Path, Log File Path, and Temporary File Path fields will auto-populate. Click Next to continue.

  5. Select the Target Type to which you would like to restore the contents of the EDB, and then use the Browse button to select the Target. When you finish making your selections, click Next to continue.

  6. The Data Wizard will display the message, "Now Processing Data File," as it processes the EDB file. The processing takes place in three stages:

    1. Pre-scanning the log files (integrity check)
    2. Scanning the log files (playing the log files)
    3. Hashing the EDB file (building a folder hierarchy)

    NOTE  If Ontrack PowerControls encounters corrupt or missing log files during log playing, you will have the option to continue without playing the logs. If you choose to continue, Ontrack PowerControls will process the EDB without logs.

  7. The Data Wizard will close. You will see the results of your recovery displayed in the Source and Target panes in the main Ontrack PowerControls window.

    For advanced information about working with or managing your recovery, or for information about recovering from non-EDB sources, see the Ontrack PowerControls User Guide (external PDF).

    NOTE  To prevent conflicts with retention operations on your Datto appliance, remove the Local File Restore you used for the Exchange mailbox restore once you've completed the mailbox recovery.

Additional Resources