Quick question re: mail database size

[MikeGR]

Hey guys,

Having a bit of a problem with Exchange 5.5, running on NT 4.0 server. We only have a DDS3 tape backup drive and we keep running out of space on the tape every night. I've forced people to clean their mailboxes, but the tape still won't take the backup.

My question is (and it may well be a stupid one!), is there something I'm missing here? Eg. Is there some way of compacting the database, or something I can do to compress the database?

 

[fuego007]

The questions that need answered are:

What is the size of your information store (priv.edb and pub.edb combined).

Are you performing incremental backups on your other files?

The database can be compressed, but this is done automatically in the background. While the database size may be reported as 10GB, there may only be 9GB of actual data. The tape backup will only back up the 9GB of actual data - it won't back up the blank space.

Consider changing your backup strategy. First, ensure your backup program is set to compress the data going to tape. Second, back up your Exchange databases at night and perform your incremental file backups during the day. depending on the number of users you have, this shouldn't have a significant impact on network performance during the short time it will take. Remember, your most important data is your exchange database. If your server crashes and irreparably corrupts your IS or DS, your backup will be the only thing that saves you.

If you can't get management to spring for a higher capacity tape drive, such as a DLT, by asking nicely, remind them that you could lose all your e-mail due to the inability to get a good backup.

 

[Grenage]

I was always under the impression that it would backup 10gb?

If people have cleared a lot of data out of their mailboxes you can run an offline exchange defrag, this will knock your priv.edb down to its real size.