Unified Messaging Server Data
Microsoft Exchange Server 2007 will reach end of support on April 11, 2017. To stay supported, you will need to upgrade. For more information, see Resources to help you upgrade your Office 2007 servers and clients.
Applies to: Exchange Server 2007, Exchange Server 2007 SP1, Exchange Server 2007 SP2, Exchange Server 2007 SP3
This topic outlines the critical data that is specific to the Microsoft Exchange Server 2007 Unified Messaging (UM) server role. You need to consider this data when you are preparing a disaster recovery plan. In this topic, the following sections discuss:
Where Unified Messaging stores configuration data
How to protect the configuration data
How to restore custom Unified Messaging configuration data
Where Unified Messaging Stores Configuration Data
The Exchange 2007 server roles are designed to store configuration data in the Active Directory directory service. The Unified Messaging server stores the majority of its configuration information in Active Directory, transient message queues in the file system, limited server setup information in the registry, server-specific configuration data in XML files in the \bin folder, and custom audio files in the file system.
The queues are not essential to restoring a Unified Messaging server's functionality. The Queue \temp folder is used to store messages while they are being processed by the server. When the message has been submitted to a transport server for delivery, it is removed from the \temp folder.
Table 1 outlines where Exchange data is stored on the Unified Messaging server.
Note
In Table 1, file paths all start in the root of the Exchange installation folder. The default Exchange installation folder path is C:\Program Files\Microsoft\Exchange Server.
Table 1 Exchange data storage locations on a Unified Messaging server
| Critical data | Location | Backup method | Restore method |
|---|---|---|---|
Custom audio prompts:
|
File system \UnifiedMessaging\Prompts |
File-level backup is only needed on the prompt publishing server. |
File-level restore is only needed on the prompt publishing server. |
Incoming calls: .eml and .wma files for each voice mail |
File system \UnifiedMessaging\temp |
None |
None |
Server configuration data |
Active Directory configuration container |
Backup method is domain controller replication or Active Directory backup. |
This data is reapplied to a server during a Setup /m:recoverserver restore. |
Limited information is stored in the registry by Setup that is not essential to server restore. |
Microsoft Windows registry:
|
Backup method is system state backup or registry export. |
Restore method is system state restore or registry import. |
How to Protect the Configuration Data
Custom audio files that are used for prompts by UM dial plans and UM auto attendant are replicated to all Unified Messaging servers from the prompt publishing point by the File Replication Service (FRS).
The prompt publishing point is a Universal Naming Convention (UNC) path that you can locate on any server accessible by the members of the dial plan. In an environment with multiple UM servers, and multiple dial plans, you may want to move the prompt publishing point to a file server that runs file level backup on a scheduled basis.
The prompt publishing point can be moved anywhere that is accessible to all Unified Messaging servers in the dial plan. Therefore, the contents of the files and subdirectories on the first Unified Messaging server to join the dial plan should be backed up. The other Unified Messaging servers that are added to the same dial plan will reload their cached copies from the prompt publishing point, if necessary.
The prompt publishing point for a dial plan consists of a top-level directory (named with the dial plan's GUID) and zero or more subdirectories, one for each auto attendant that is linked to the dial plan (each named with the auto attendant's GUID). Both the default prompts that are installed with Exchange 2007 and the prompts that have been customized are .wav files and are contained in the directory to whose object (dial plan or auto attendant) they refer.
By default, the prompt publishing point is a share called ExchangeUM on the first Unified Messaging server to be associated with a dial plan. By default, the prompt publishing point is located at the following path:
C:\Program Files\Microsoft\Microsoft Exchange\UnifiedMessaging\Prompts\Custom
Restore of Custom Unified Messaging Configuration Data
- Running Setup /m:RecoverServer on a new server with the same name as the old server will recover most Unified Messaging server data and configuration settings. However, if any customization was done prior to your server loss, some items must be restored separately.
If the server being replaced is the prompt publishing point server and the server had custom audio prompts, the custom audio prompts need to be restored to the new server. If the server is not the prompt publishing point server, these files will be replicated to the new server from the prompt publishing point.
Incoming calls are stored in two files until the Unified Messaging server has sent the messages. Those files are as follows:
.eml e-mail message file The .eml file is a standard e-mail message file that is dropped in the pickup directory and routed by the Exchange server. The .eml file contains the message routing information.
.wav audio file The .wav file is a recording of the voice message that was left by the caller.
The default path for these files is C:\Program Files\Microsoft\Microsoft Exchange\UnifiedMessaging\temp.
In the event that a Unified Messaging server stops routing messages or is no longer functional, and you are able to salvage the .eml and .wav files from the \temp folder, you can send those files to their intended recipients by putting the files in the Exchange Server\TransportRoles\Pickup folder on a Hub Transport server.
For More Information
- For more information about running Setup /m:RecoverServer, see Server Recovery.