Let's begin
The Exchange Server Disaster Recovery Analyzer collects configuration data and header information from your Exchange databases and transaction log files. ExDRA analyzes all database headers and creates a list of problems with your database and how to resolve problems with your Exchange databases.
ExDRA requirements
Note: Pure Exchange Server 5.5 topologies are not supported
IIS Common Files
Download and installation
You can download ExDRA from here. After downloading you must install the package. Installation is easy. Simply follow the installation instructions.
Using ExDRA
Before you can use ExDRA you have to dismount the concerned Exchange Information Store if it is not already down under other circumstances.
If you want to check for ExDRA updates on every startup, select the option Check for updates on startup. Next clickGo to the Welcome screen and start the wizard.
Figure 1: ExDRA start screen
The Exchange Server Disaster Recovery Analyzer Tool scans your dismounted Exchange databases and transaction logfiles for shutdown reason and other problems. ExDRA is supported for Exchange Server 2000 Service Pack 3 and later and Exchange Server 2003.
Figure 2: ExDRA Welcome screen
Select Auto Detect to let ExDRA discover available databases and transaction logfiles in their default location on Exchange Server (C:\program filesexchsrvrmdbdata).
Select Manual Input (Advanced) to manually enter the path to the databases and transaction logfiles.
Figure 3: Select Auto Detect or Manual Input for examining the database location
Enter the Exchange Server Name (in this example LONDON) and as an optional component the name of a Domain Controller. If your currently logged on account doesn't have enough permissions to read the Exchange Server configuration, you can specify an account with proper permissions.
Figure 4: Enter Server and User Information
If your Exchange Server has multiple Storage Groups, you must select the Storage Group where the Exchange database to be checked is located.
Figure 5: Select the Exchange Storage Group
Next you must select the Exchange Server database to be analyzed. Only dismounted databases can be selected.
Figure 6: Select the Exchange Server database to be analyzed
It could take a while for ExDRA to inspect the selected database and transaction logfiles.
Figure 7: Take a short break until ExDRA has checked the database and transaction logfiles
The following page shows the analysis results of the ExDRA check. Because I only dismounted the Exchange database, ExDRA stated that the Database is in a Clean ShutDown state. There is some additional information to handle if you are unable to mount a database, even if the database is in a Clean Shutdown state.
Figure 8: ExDRA analysis results
After you clicked Next ExDRA will display some very useful information about the database like Log- and DB-Signatures and many more.
Figure 9: Detailed information about the database state
Now let's make the work a little bit harder for ExDRA. For the following example I dismounted the Exchange database named Crashtest and deleted the associated STM database file.
Figure 10: Select the Crashtest database
After some Database and transaction logfile processing ExDRA tells us that it could not find the Crashtest.stm file and shows us some possible solutions to locate a copy of the STM file if it is lost or to run Eseutil.
Figure 11: Detailed information about the database state
On the following page you can select a report to view Exchange Server Disaster Recovery Analyzer results.
Figure 12: exDRA Reports page
Conclusion
ExDRA 1.0 is the first version and has alot of potential to be a single place for administrators for disaster recovery purposes. The Exchange team plans to use ExDRA as an all in one place where an Administrator can handle disaster recovery, from recovery storage group management through to actually getting mailboxes back online.
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