Recommended Backup Type for Exchange Server

[Gumby]

Hi all,

I am running proxmox v3.0. The majority of my VMs are linux based but I do have two windows server vm's and one of them is an exchange server. All VMs are LVM based and I'm backing up to a single local mounted hard disk. Can anyone let me know what the recommended backup mode for such a setup is. I'm a bit worried with doing a snapshot as this may lead to exchange database inconsistancies. Suspend might be a good option as a short period of downtime would not be the end of the world however I am unsure if suspending a windows/exchange vm will cause any issues. Lastly, Stop isn't the best solution as it takes about an hour to backup the 120GB disk however I do understand that this is the "Safest" option.

Thanks for your help

 

[steffen]

Sorry for not really being any help, but if you suspend or stop doesn't make a difference really. Both times you have to wait for the backup to run before you can resume operation. With suspend you are just saving minimal time for the Exchange to shutdown or bootup.

My suggestion is throw the Exchange Server away. Ok. Not a solution.

I got rid of mine years ago as I was having similar issues as you are. So my only suggestion to you is ... if you can afford it, power it down, do the backup and bring it back up. If it is your only mail server and directly on the net it is wise to place a mailgateway in front of it so you still get mail in the meantime (proxmox mailgateway is aa good bet).

If your mailserver needs to be available 24 / 7 and downtime at night is not an option ... you need a second one.

Or you need to rely on a nice Windows Tool which will do the backup of all your stuff just as if it where a real machine.

Like I said, not really any help, maybe someone here can tell you if it is safe to work with a snapshot, which of course would be nice.