Logical Components of the Exchange Store

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

The Exchange store has several logical components that interact with each other. These components can reside on a single server, or they can be distributed across multiple servers. This topic provides details about the following primary components of the Exchange store:

• Storage groups (including recovery storage groups)

• Mailbox databases

• Public folder databases

Storage groups

An Exchange storage group is a logical container for Exchange databases and their associated system and transaction log files.

Storage groups are the basic unit for backing up and restoring data in Microsoft Exchange (although you can restore a single database). All databases in a storage group share a single backup schedule and a single set of transaction log files.

Exchange Server 2007 Enterprise Edition supports up to 50 storage groups. Exchange 2007 Standard Edition supports up to five storage groups.

For information about managing storage groups, see Managing Storage Groups and Databases and Understanding the Exchange 2007 Store.

Recovery Storage Groups

A recovery storage group (RSG) is a special administrative storage group that allows you to mount mailbox databases and extract data from those databases. RSGs also allow you to recover data from a backup or copy of a database without disturbing user access to current data.

In Exchange 2007, RSGs are created and managed by using the Exchange Management Shell or by using the Microsoft Exchange Server Disaster Recovery Analyzer Tool. You cannot manage RSGs by using the Exchange Management Console, and RSGs are also not visible in the Exchange Management Console.

For more information about RSGs, see Understanding Recovery Storage Groups.

Mailbox Databases

Mailbox databases contain the data, data definitions, indexes, checksums, flags, and other information that comprise mailboxes in Exchange 2007. Mailbox databases hold data that is private to an individual user and contain mailbox folders that are generated when a new mailbox is created for that user. A mailbox database is stored as an Exchange database (.edb) file.

Exchange 2007 Enterprise Edition supports a total of 50 databases. Exchange 2007 Standard Edition supports a total of five databases. Both editions support a maximum of five databases per storage group, and all five databases can be mailbox databases.

For information about managing mailbox databases, see Managing Mailbox Databases.

Public Folder Databases

Public folder databases contain the data, data definitions, indexes, checksums, flags, and other information that comprise any public folders in your Exchange organization. Both editions of Exchange 2007 support only one public folder database per server.

In Exchange 2007, you manage public folders by using the Exchange Management Shell. (You can also perform a limited number of public folder database management tasks in the Exchange Management Console.) For more information about managing public folders, see Managing Public Folders and Understanding Public Folders.

For More Information

For more information about the file structure of the Exchange store, see File Structure of the Exchange Store.

For recommendations about configuring storage groups and databases, see Recommendations for Configuring Storage Groups and Databases.