We actually do have an Exchange server at each location, and what we are trying to do is get both of these Exchange servers replicated at both locations.

I don’t think this procedure will work for Exchange. This procedure is for file systems. Unless you have an Exchange systems one on each side, with the Exchange plugin I don’t think it will work.

What I meant was that you need to have the same Exchange server on both sides, some kind of Exchange based replication going on so that the same data is in both places.

How about backing up the exchange store with NTBackup to a usb device, restore the store to another server at the remote location and back it up to avamar using the exchange plugin?

I'm not sure if the restored server needs the same hostname though so this may not work - I'm just thinking aloud.

I don’t see how having the same client name on the remote site would be necessary. You could create a backup with NTBackup, restore data to client with different name (Client 2) on site 2, and backup that client with Avamar. When you start replication, Avamar on site 1 (Avamar 1) will compare data with Avamar on site 2 (Avamar 2), and just associate the data that belonged to client 2 with the replicated client.

Step 1: Create backup of exchange client 1 in site 1 using NTBackup.

Step 2: Take backup to site 2 and restore to exchange client 2 with a different name.

Step 3: Install Avamar exchange plug in to client 2 and backup to Avamar on site 2.

Step 4: Enable replication from Avamar 1 to Avamar 2.

At this point, Avamar 1 will create a domain called “Replicate” in Avamar 2, and create a client called Client 1. Now it will figure out what data is missing and send the changed data over. Since the data is already there, associated with client 2, Avamar 2 will just reassociate data for client 2 with client 1.

And this is just an idea, I can’t say if this works. I think this is how Avamar works, if it finds the same data in two clients, it just link the same data to both clients.

Best way would be set up a smaller test Exchange server and verify with that.

Thanks for the replies.

So I guess it sounds like it might be possible, but somehow we need to get the client on the Avamar to have the same hostname as the one being replicated?

• So we could use the NTBackup to store the data on a external hard drive from site 1
  
• Transport this data to site 2
  
• Restore the data to a client with the exchange plugin at site 2 with the same name of the client that we ran the NTBackup on
  
• Begin replicating and hopefully only changed data will be replicated/site 1 will recognize the client at site 2 as the exchange one that we want replicated?
  

If anyone has any other insight or thoughts on this it would be greatly appreciated, thanks!

That was my thinking - Since you are using the same plugin for backup on both sides, the data should de-dupe and only the changes should be sent.

I was just worried about the hostname from an exchange level, not avamar.

Dave.

Dave, the data being backed up is at the block level and wont matter about the exchange application. Once the data is ingested it will not need to replicate all of the data over from the remote site. It will also use that data to dedup any local exchange backups as well.

Here is the solution .

NOTE: This solutions wont work if you are using Avamar 5.x clients, it will work with client 4.1

Let say you have AvamarA Replicating to AvamarB

You have ExchangeA backing to AvamarA and which need to be replicated to AvamarB, because of low bandwith you are unable to replicate

This is what you can do, Login to ExchangeA go to Command Prompt and go to the directory where avamar client is installed and run the command

avexchange -B --annotation="Microsoft Information Store" --instance="First Storage Group" --backupfile=stuff.bak --pipe=false --logfie=mylog.log

The above command will create a file called as "stuff.bak" which is saved in the same directory, once the file is created copy the file to the external disk and take to the location of AvamarB

Now copy "Stuff.bak" file on any of the server which is backing up to AvamarB, let take an example that "ClientZ" is backing up to AvamarB and you have copied the file on c:\

Run the below command from Avamar directory to inject the file on AvamarB

avtar --logfile=Inject.log --label=mystorage-manual -c --fixedatomsize=32768 --hfsaddr=avamarB --id=MCUser --ap=MCUser1 --path=/clients/ClientZ  "C:\stuff.bak"

NOTE: Avamar Exchange Client uses fixed block size at the time of backup and thats the reason you need to inject with the same block size

Regards

Amol Powar

Thanks for the answers everyone, I will be trying the initial seeding next week and will report back the outcome.

Thanks again.

Amol, I used your solution and I was able to successfully extract the data from AvamarA ExchangeServer onto an external hard drive. I then I took the data to AvamarB and uploaded it using the commands your provided.

The data from AvamarA ExchangeServer now lives on AvamarB SpareServer, but when I am trying to replicate, it's almost like AvamarA is not seeing the data that now exists on AvamarB.

I'm wondering if it has something to do with conflicting server names between ExchangeServer and SpareServer?

Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks again.

Just to reconfirm,

1>You are regularly backing exchange using 4.x client

2> You ran the first command and created a file stuff.bak

3> There was a client which was already activated to the grid "Spareserver"

4> Using the second command you seeded the exchange data on the client which was already activated to spareserver

After performing all the steps are you still using same version fo client?

We had a similar scenario except for the two Avamar Grids, i.e. exchange in different sites with low bandwidth. On one site I just let the backup run 24/7 until it was complete. After that takes less than 7 hours to complete. The other site we used one of the Nodes. We prepped it as a standalone device, before it was even attached to the grid, and sent it to the location. Once there we ran it for a week getting all the servers backed up. Then we shipped it to our data center where we just setup replication between the node and the Grid and repointed the clients to the Grid.

Is there any equivalent procedure available for avamar 5 clients?

Currently a hotfix is available for 5.0.105-169 client, Please contact support to get it. The hotfix number is 21255