Recovering Groove Server Relay data
Applies to: Groove Server 2010
Topic Last Modified: 2010-02-23
This article describes how to rebuild Groove Server Relay queue store databases if they have been damaged. Relay server databases reuse space as efficiently as possible and the log recovery that is built-in to Groove Server Relay helps protect database integrity. However, certain conditions such as disk failure can jeopardize log recovery. In such cases, the databases must be rebuilt before restarting the Groove Relay service. The Relay server’s FFQRebuild utility is designed to help recover client data after an outage. The FFQBackup utility is used to back up data before an outage. For more information about Relay server databases and FFQs (Flat File Queues), see Managing Groove Server Relay databases.
Should a disk failure occur on the system that is running the Groove Relay service, mirrored database files (extents) together with the FFQRebuild command can be used to reconstitute the queue store data. This process involves copying the mirrored extents to a backup Groove Server Relay installation database directory, by using XCOPY, for example. Or, to restore only selected data, FFQBackup can be used to copy selected files from the mirror location to the Relay database directory (as described in Backing up important files for Groove Server Relay. For example, if the mirrored directory contains all extents but you want to reduce relay server downtime, you might filter the restore so that only identity-targeted extents are rebuilt. Some stores can be tens or hundreds of gigabytes in size. Therefore, the time that is required to copy them can be significant.
Use of FFQBackup depends on high speed access between the Relay server and the mirrored path, and between the mirrored path and the replacement Relay server. The most expedient method of replacing a decommissioned Relay server with a healthy one is to locate the mirror path on the replacement Relay server.
If you do not define the mirrored FFQ directory as the replacement directory, you must copy all the FFQ extents from the mirrored directory to the new directory before you run FFQRebuild.
The examples in the following table show how you can use FFQRebuild from a Windows command line to restore data.
| FFQRestore task | FFQRebuild command (from the new Groove Server Relay installation directory) |
|---|---|
Reconstitute the queue store data when the Relay server database files are installed directly under the program files |
FFQRebuild |
Reconstitute the queue store data when the Relay server database files are installed in a different path from the program files |
FFQRebuild –f d:\Data\FFQ where -f is the specified path for the Relay database files. |
The following procedure is recommended for restoring Relay server queue store (RQS) data and recovering message queues.
This procedure requires that Groove Server 2010 Relay is installed as described in Install and configure Groove Server 2010 Relay and that database backup was performed before the outage, as described in Backing up important files for Groove Server Relay.
To restore Relay queue store data and recover Relay queues
Make sure the Groove Relay service is stopped, and rename the existing FFQ and RQS directories as follows, for example:
Rename the FFQ data directory to FFQ-old.
Rename the RQS data directory to RQS-old.
Copy the FFQ directory from \im-backup-2006-03-28 to the Groove Relay Data directory.
Make sure that ports 80, 443, and 2492 are disabled as follows:
Click Run from the Start menu, and then enter regedit.
Find the following registry key: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Office Server\14.0\Groove\Groove Relay\Parameters
Set the following values:
"HTTPPort"=dword:00000000
"Port"=dword:00000001
"SSLPort"=dword:00000002
Configure the Groove Server Relay to point to the new Data directory with the required access controls, by opening the Groove Relay control panel item, clicking the Tuning tab, and then changing the directory, as described in Managing Groove Server Relay databases.
From a command-line, enter the following command from the Groove Server Relay installation directory.
FFQrebuild -f Data\FFQ
Where –f = the path for the FFQ tree
Ensure that the Manager server credentials are in the following registry key or download the Manager server .reg file as described in Registering Relay servers with Groove Server Manager:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Office Server\Groove\Groove Relay\Parameters \ManagementServers
If the Relay server is provisioned to multiple Groove Server Manager systems, ensure that the Epoch registry value for each Groove Server Manager key is set to 0.
The Epoch registry value for each Groove Server Manager can be found under:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Office Server\Groove\Groove Relay\Parameters \ManagementServers\<Groove Server Manager>.
Start the Groove Relay service.
Synchronize the Relay server with each Groove Server Manager by forcing a connection as follows:
Logon to the Groove Server Manager administrative Web pages.
Expand the Groove Server Manager domain.
Click Relay Pools in the left navigation pane.
Click the Relay Servers tab. Then click the link for the desired Relay server.
Change the purge interval for the Device Message Lifetime - by one day, for example. Make a note of the existing setting so that you can restore it later.
Stop the Groove Relay service after each Groove Server Manager system has completed synchronizing.
Enable ports 2492, 443, and 80, as follows:
Click Run from the Start menu, and then enter regedit.
Find the following registry key: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Office Server\14.0\Groove\Groove Relay\Parameters
Set the following values:
"HTTPPort"=dword:00000050 (decimal 80)
"Port"=dword:000009bc (decimal 2492)
"SSLPort"=dword:000001bb (decimal 443)
Start the Groove Relay service.
Monitor the Relay server from the Relay Administrative Web pages until connections and on-line users return to normal.
Check the event log to make sure that no serious anomalies occur after restart.
Move (do not copy) the RQS-old and FFQ-old directories to another server for additional investigation, or delete them as appropriate.
In Groove Server Manager, restore the prior purge interval setting for the Relay server.