Can I back up Exchange Server to a shared network drive?

Yes, where the shared location is accessible and supported by the system running EdbMails. Verify permissions, capacity and network reliability before large jobs.

Does EdbMails provide cloud storage for Exchange backup?

The Exchange Backup workflow is designed around storage selected by the organization. The current product content identifies local and network storage as the repository model.

Is local mailbox backup the same as backing up the EDB file?

No. EdbMails Exchange Backup protects mailbox data in its encrypted backup format. Exchange database/EDB backup is a separate infrastructure-level requirement.

Should I use a local drive or a network share?

A local drive suits smaller environments, evaluations or dedicated backup systems, while a shared/network drive suits centralized storage managed by IT. The network option adds a dependency on consistent network availability and throughput.

Does a DAG copy count as one of my backup copies?

No. A DAG provides high availability but replicates deletions and corruption to every database copy, so it is not a point-in-time backup. Count the EdbMails backup, not a DAG copy, toward a 3-2-1 strategy.

How much storage will the backup need?

Plan for the current mailbox and archive size plus future growth and headroom for backup maintenance and any new full-backup generations. Avoid sizing storage only for today's usage, and monitor free space before repeated runs.

What happens if I lose the private encryption key?

Data protected with a private key requires that key for access and restore. Store the key securely, document who holds it, and plan for continuity if administrators change. Losing the key can prevent access to the protected data.

Can I keep more than one copy of the Exchange backup?

Yes. Because you control the storage, you can design a secondary or offline copy strategy for critical recovery requirements, subject to your own capacity and security planning.

Does the backup computer need to stay available for scheduled runs?

Yes. Scheduled or repeated runs depend on the backup computer being available and able to reach the Exchange source at the chosen time, so include its availability in your planning and monitoring.

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EDB Recovery and Migration

EdbMails lets you recover corrupted, damaged, and offline Exchange EDB files, convert EDB mailboxes to PST format, and directly migrate mailbox data to Office 365 and live Exchange Server.

EDB to PST

Recover corrupted, damaged, offline EDB files and convert Exchange EDB mailboxes to PST file format

Public Folder to Exchange

Migrate public folders from an Exchange offline EDB file to live Exchange Server

EDB to Live Exchange Migration

Directly migrate offline Exchange database (EDB) files to live Exchange server

Archive Mailbox to Office 365

Migrate archive mailboxes from offline EDB files directly to Office 365

EDB to Office 365 Migration

Directly migrate offline Exchange database (EDB) files to Office 365

Public Folder to Office 365

Migrate public folders from an offline Exchange EDB file to Office 365

OST, PST, MBOX, NSF, EML, MSG Export and Migration

EdbMails lets you to recover OST and PST files, export OST, PST, MBOX, NSF, EML, and MSG files to PST files, and directly migrate OST, PST, MBOX, and NSF mailbox data to Office 365 and live Exchange Server.

OST Recovery and Migration

Recover offline OST files, convert OST to PST, and migrate OST to Office 365 and Exchange Server

PST Recovery and Migration

Recover Outlook PST files , Export PST to PST, migrate PST to Office 365 and Exchange Server

MBOX Export and Migration

Export MBOX to PST, migrate MBOX to Office 365 and Exchange Server

NSF Export and Migration

Export NSF to PST, migrate NSF to Office 365 and Exchange Server

EML to PST Export

Convert EML files to Outlook PST files

PST to MSG Export

Convert Outlook PST file to MSG file format

MSG to PST Export

Export MSG files to Outlook PST files

Office 365, Exchange Migration

EdbMails lets you securely migrate mailboxes across Microsoft 365, Exchange, Google Workspace (G Suite), and IMAP-supported servers such as Outlook, Gmail, Zimbra, Zoho Mail, and cPanel, ensuring zero downtime.

Office 365 Migration

Migrate between Office 365 tenants, Office 365 to Exchange, Office 365 to PST, PST files to Office 365.

Exchange Migration

Migrate between any Exchange Servers, Exchange to Office 365, Exchange to PST, PST files to Exchange.

Tenant to Tenant Migration

Migrate Mailboxes, Public Folders, Archive Mailboxes between Office 365 Tenants.

Exchange to Office 365

Migrate Mailboxes, Public Folders, Archive Mailboxes from live Exchange server to Office 365.

Office 365 to IMAP

Migrate Office 365 to IMAP, Office 365 to Gmail, Office 365 to Outlook, Office 365 to Zoho etc.

Exchange to IMAP

Migrate from live Exchange Server to IMAP servers such as Gmail, Outlook, and Zoho Mail.

Public Folder to Office 365

Migrate Public Folders between Office 365 tenants with complete folder hierarchy and mailbox data integrity.

Exchange to PST

Export live Exchange Server mailboxes, public folders, and archive mailboxes to Outlook PST files.

SharePoint, OneDrive & Microsoft Teams Migration

EdbMails lets you migrate SharePoint sites, OneDrive data, Microsoft Teams, teams, channels, chats, permissions, and documents between Microsoft 365 tenants while maintaining the existing folder structure and data integrity.

SharePoint Online Migration

Migrate documents, lists, files and folders from SharePoint sites.

OneDrive for Business Migration

Migrate documents, lists, files, folders, private chats from OneDrive.

Microsoft Teams Migration

Migrate Teams, chats, channels, documents, files and folders etc.

Google Workspace / G Suite Migration

EdbMails offers secure Google Workspace migration to Office 365, Exchange, or IMAP, and export to PST covering emails, contacts, calendars and tasks.

Google Workspace Migration

Migrate emails, calendars, contacts, tasks from Google Workspace to Google Workspace, office 365, Exchange and IMAP. Export to PST

Google Workspace to Office 365

Migrate emails, calendars, contacts, tasks from Google Workspace / G Suite to Office 365

Google Workspace to Exchange Server

Migrate emails, calendars, contacts, tasks from Google Workspace / G Suite to on-Premise Exchange Server

Google Workspace to IMAP

Migrate emails, calendars, contacts, tasks from Google Workspace / G Suite to IMAP, Outlook, Zimbra, Zoho etc.

Google Workspace to Google Workspace

Migrate emails, calendars, contacts, tasks between two Google Workspace / G Suite tenants

Google Workspace to PST

Export emails, calendars, contacts, tasks from Google Workspace / G Suite to Outlook PST files

IMAP Migration

EdbMails IMAP Migration tool lets you easily migrate emails from IMAP servers such as Outlook, Gmail, Zoho Mail, Zimbra, cPanel, and more. Supports IMAP to IMAP, Office 365, Exchange Server, PST, and bulk PST to IMAP migration.

IMAP Email Backup & Migration

Backup and migrate emails from IMAP servers to PST, Office 365, and On-Premises Exchange Server

IMAP to Office 365

Migrate emails, folders, and attachments from IMAP servers to Office 365

IMAP to Exchange

Migrate emails, folders, and attachments from IMAP servers to on-premises Exchange Server

IMAP to PST

Export emails, folders, and attachments from IMAP servers to Outlook PST files for backup

PST to IMAP

Migrate emails, folders, and attachments from bulk PST files to IMAP servers

Duplicate Remover

EdbMails Duplicate Remover lets you easily remove duplicate items from Office 365 and Exchange Server, and from IMAP, Outlook, Gmail, Zimbra, Zoho Mail, etc., ensuring a clean and organized mailbox.

Remove Duplicates

Easily clean up your Office 365, Exchange, Outlook and IMAP accounts by removing duplicate emails.

Remove Duplicates from Office 365

Remove duplicate emails, calendars, contacts, journal tasks, etc. from Office 365.

Remove Duplicates from Exchange Server

Remove duplicate emails, calendars, contacts, journal tasks, etc. from live Exchange Server.

Remove Duplicates from IMAP, Outlook

Remove duplicate emails, attachments from IMAP, Outlook, Gmail, Zimbra, Zoho Mail etc.

Exchange, SharePoint, OneDrive, Teams and Office 365 Backup

EdbMails enables secure, automated backup and recovery for Microsoft 365 services including Exchange Online, SharePoint, OneDrive, Teams, and Live Exchange Server with complete data protection and restore flexibility.

Office 365 Backup

Incremental, Granular, Encrypted and Compressed Office 365 Mailboxes Backup

Exchange Server Backup

Incremental, Granular, Encrypted and Compressed Exchange Mailboxes Backup

SharePoint, OneDrive & Teams Backup

Backup Online site collections, Team sites, Office 365 groups, all documents etc.

EdbMails Data Recovery

EdbMails Data Recovery Software lets you recover permanently deleted data, including photos, videos, documents, and archived files, from partitions on hard drives, SSDs, USB drives, SD cards, and external storage devices.

EdbMails Data Recovery

Recover and restore permanently deleted data from hard drives, SSDs, USB drives, SD cards, and etc.

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Exchange Server Backup to Local Storage

Keep Exchange mailbox backups in organization-controlled storage

Keep Exchange mailbox backup files on a supported local drive or network share selected by your IT team. EdbMails gives organizations direct control over where the encrypted backup resides, helping them align mailbox protection with internal storage and access policies.

Just $299 for 100 Mailboxes

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Exchange Server backup to local storage

EdbMails enables administrators to back up live Exchange mailbox data to supported storage controlled by the organization. Instead of requiring a vendor-managed cloud repository, the application creates an encrypted Exchange mailbox backup on a local or shared/network location selected by the administrator.

For the main product overview, see EdbMails Exchange Server Backup. This page focuses specifically on local and network-storage architecture.

Organization-controlled AES 256-bit encryption Local or network 3-2-1 ready

What does Exchange backup to local storage mean?

A local Exchange mailbox backup creates a protected copy outside the live mailbox and stores that data on storage chosen by the organization. This can be a local disk, attached storage or a supported shared/network drive accessible from the Windows computer running EdbMails.

"Local" is about where the copy lives

Local backup does not mean the Exchange Server is disconnected during backup. EdbMails still connects to the live Exchange environment to read mailbox data. "Local" refers to where the protected backup copy is stored.

Why organizations choose locally controlled Exchange backup

Control the backup repository

Administrators can decide where protected mailbox data resides and apply the organization's own access-control, storage, replication and offline-copy policies.

Use existing storage infrastructure

Organizations that already operate secure file servers, network storage or dedicated backup storage can use supported storage locations without purchasing a separate vendor-hosted repository for this mailbox backup workflow.

Keep a separate mailbox recovery copy

A protected mailbox copy stored separately from the production Exchange mailbox provides another recovery source if users delete data, mailboxes change, or selected historical content must be restored.

Choose your own secondary-copy strategy

Because the organization controls the repository, it can decide whether to replicate the EdbMails backup to secondary storage, include it in a wider storage-protection strategy or maintain an offline copy according to internal policy.

Apply the 3-2-1 backup principle to a local copy

A locally controlled Exchange backup fits naturally into the widely used 3-2-1 backup principle: keep at least three copies of important data, on two different types of media, with at least one copy off-site or offline. For Exchange, the live mailbox database is one copy, an EdbMails local backup is a second independently controlled copy, and a replicated or offline duplicate of that backup serves as the off-site copy. A DAG copy does not count as a backup for this purpose, because it replicates deletions and corruption rather than protecting against them. Using the principle as a planning frame helps ensure that a single failure, deletion or site event does not affect every copy at once.

Copy	Example in this model	Purpose
Copy 1 (production)	Live Exchange mailbox database	Day-to-day access
Copy 2 (local backup)	EdbMails encrypted backup on local/network storage	Independent, organization-controlled recovery source
Copy 3 (off-site/offline)	Replicated or offline duplicate of the backup	Protection against site or storage failure

Exchange local backup with AES 256-bit encryption

EdbMails protects its backup using AES 256-bit encryption and supports a private encryption-key option. This provides application-level protection for the backup data in addition to whatever security controls the organization applies to the underlying storage. If a private key is configured, it should be stored separately and securely. The organization should document how authorized administrators can retrieve it during a recovery incident.

Back up Exchange mailboxes to a local drive

A local disk or attached drive may be appropriate for evaluation, smaller environments or dedicated backup systems when it provides sufficient capacity and reliability.

Before using a local drive, evaluate:

Current mailbox size

Expected mailbox growth

Available free capacity

Disk health and monitoring

File-system permissions

Whether a secondary copy is required

Back up Exchange mailboxes to a network drive

EdbMails can store backup data on a supported shared/network location accessible from the backup computer. This can centralize storage and make it easier to manage capacity separately from the computer running the application.

For network storage, verify that the backup computer has reliable access, appropriate permissions and sufficient network throughput for the expected data volume.

Local drive vs network drive: choosing the destination

Both destinations are supported; the right choice depends on who manages the storage and how centralized it needs to be.

Factor	Local drive	Shared / network drive
Best for	Smaller environments, evaluations, dedicated backup systems	Centralized storage managed by IT
Access control	Operating-system access on the backup computer	Network share permissions for the running account
Availability dependency	Local disk health	Disk health plus consistent network availability
Throughput consideration	Local disk speed	Network throughput for the protected data volume
Capacity planning	Single-machine capacity	Shared capacity, monitored centrally

Local mailbox backup vs Exchange database backup

Local EdbMails mailbox backup and Exchange-aware database backup are different architectures.

EdbMails local mailbox backup

Exchange database / VSS backup

Area	EdbMails local mailbox backup	Exchange database/VSS backup
Protection unit	Selected mailbox data	Exchange database/volume
Repository	Administrator-selected supported storage	Depends on infrastructure backup product
Granular restore	Mailbox, folder and supported items	Depends on recovery tooling
Restore to Microsoft 365	Supported mailbox scenario	Not the standard WSB database restore workflow
Infrastructure recovery	Not intended as full server-image recovery	Designed for database/application recovery

Local Exchange backup vs cloud-hosted backup

Neither model is universally better. The right choice depends on the organization's operational and recovery objectives.

Consideration	Locally controlled backup	Cloud/SaaS backup
Repository ownership	Organization selects and manages storage	Provider typically manages storage
Infrastructure responsibility	Customer manages capacity and redundancy	Provider typically manages repository infrastructure
Encryption control	EdbMails supports AES 256-bit and private key	Depends on vendor
Offline-copy strategy	Organization can design its own	Depends on vendor features
Operational overhead	Higher customer responsibility	More responsibility delegated to provider

Incremental Exchange backup on local storage

After the first full backup, consecutive EdbMails backup runs can process mailbox changes incrementally. This helps reduce repeated processing and storage growth compared with repeatedly creating independent full mailbox copies.

See Exchange Incremental Backup for details.

What Exchange data can be protected?

The EdbMails Exchange Backup workflow is designed for live Exchange mailbox content, including supported mailbox folders, archive mailboxes, shared mailbox scenarios and Public Folders as documented by the product. It is not the same as a raw EDB database image or full operating-system backup.

If the requirement is specifically to back up or recover an Exchange database file, see the existing Exchange Database Backup content instead.

How to back up Exchange Server to local storage

Install EdbMails on a supported Windows computer.

Select Backup Live Exchange and create an Exchange Backup job.

Choose the local or network backup location.

Connect to the source Exchange Server.

Select the required mailboxes and folders.

Choose the encryption option.

Start the backup and review the operation logs.

Run subsequent backups to keep the protected mailbox copy current.

For screenshots and the full procedure, use the Exchange Backup Guide.

Planning local Exchange backup storage capacity

Do not size the backup repository only for the current mailbox volume. Capacity planning should include future growth and backup-version behavior.

Measure current mailbox and archive size.

Estimate growth for the intended retention period.

Reserve operational free space.

Monitor capacity before recurring jobs.

Plan secondary storage if the backup is business critical.

Review repository performance for large mailbox sets.

Securing the local Exchange backup repository

Restrict file-system access to authorized administrators.

Use reliable storage with health monitoring.

Protect encryption-key access separately where practical.

Maintain a second copy for critical recovery requirements.

Test restore operations periodically.

Document backup retention and deletion procedures.

Securing the backup computer itself

Because the application and the protected copy run on a Windows computer that connects to the live Exchange environment, that computer is part of the backup's security boundary. Hardening it reduces the risk that the repository is tampered with or exposed.

Keep the operating system and the application updated.
Restrict interactive and administrative sign-in to authorized staff.
Protect the account used to run backups and to reach the Exchange source and any network share.
Where practical, keep the backup destination isolated from everyday user access.
Monitor the computer's own availability so scheduled runs are not silently missed.

Restore from a locally stored Exchange backup

When protected data is required, administrators can open the EdbMails backup, browse mailbox content and select the required data for restore. Supported restore destinations include live Exchange and Microsoft 365 mailbox scenarios.

See Exchange Server Backup and Restore for recovery planning.

Who should consider local Exchange mailbox backup?

Organizations that want direct control over the backup repository

Teams with existing secure local or network storage

Administrators who need encrypted mailbox-level protection

Organizations that want granular restore without first recovering an entire Exchange database

Teams that need restore flexibility between Exchange and Microsoft 365

Frequently asked questions

Can I back up Exchange Server to a shared network drive?
Yes, where the shared location is accessible and supported by the system running EdbMails. Verify permissions, capacity and network reliability before large jobs.
Is the local Exchange backup encrypted?
Yes. EdbMails uses AES 256-bit encryption and supports a private encryption-key option.
Does EdbMails provide cloud storage for Exchange backup?
The Exchange Backup workflow is designed around storage selected by the organization. The current product content identifies local and network storage as the repository model.
Is local mailbox backup the same as backing up the EDB file?
No. EdbMails Exchange Backup protects mailbox data in its encrypted backup format. Exchange database/EDB backup is a separate infrastructure-level requirement.
Should I use a local drive or a network share?
A local drive suits smaller environments, evaluations or dedicated backup systems, while a shared/network drive suits centralized storage managed by IT. The network option adds a dependency on consistent network availability and throughput.

Does a DAG copy count as one of my backup copies?
No. A DAG provides high availability but replicates deletions and corruption to every database copy, so it is not a point-in-time backup. Count the EdbMails backup, not a DAG copy, toward a 3-2-1 strategy.
How much storage will the backup need?
Plan for the current mailbox and archive size plus future growth and headroom for backup maintenance and any new full-backup generations. Avoid sizing storage only for today's usage, and monitor free space before repeated runs.
What happens if I lose the private encryption key?
Data protected with a private key requires that key for access and restore. Store the key securely, document who holds it, and plan for continuity if administrators change. Losing the key can prevent access to the protected data.
Can I keep more than one copy of the Exchange backup?
Yes. Because you control the storage, you can design a secondary or offline copy strategy for critical recovery requirements, subject to your own capacity and security planning.
Does the backup computer need to stay available for scheduled runs?
Yes. Scheduled or repeated runs depend on the backup computer being available and able to reach the Exchange source at the chosen time, so include its availability in your planning and monitoring.