How OTG Backs Up the Server Cluster

Applies To: Windows Server 2003, Windows Server 2003 R2, Windows Server 2003 with SP1, Windows Server 2003 with SP2

Diagram 4 illustrates the process that the Operations and Technology Group (OTG) uses to back up the mailbox data in the Exchange databases. This backup strategy starts with a defined Service Level Agreement (SLA) that requires OTG to maintain a one-hour backup restore window per database.

Backup is divided into two stages. Stage 1 is a disk-to-disk backup, and stage 2 is a disk-to-tape backup. Stage 1 is a traditional full backup using the Exchange Backup API and is performed daily. The active cluster backs up data to locally mounted backup disks. Each storage group on an active node backs up its individual databases in sequential order, starting with database A and finishing with E. The logs get truncated daily after OTG completes a successful backup.

In Stage 2, the backup disks are failed over to the alternate passive node(s) and then backed up to tape through fibre attached tape devices. This backup can run at any period of the day without impacting server performance.

For more information about how the Exchange data storage is structured, see Storage Components. For additional information about the storage configuration for each virtual server, see Appendix A.

Diagram 4 Backup Process for the Server Cluster