Restore Exchange 2016 Mailbox from Recovery Database

In Exchange Server 2016, the Recovery Database (RDB) is a specialized feature used to restore mailbox data from backups without impacting the live production database. It enables administrators to mount a recovered copy of a mailbox database and retrieve selected mailboxes or individual mailbox items as needed. This makes RDB particularly useful not only for standard restoration tasks, but also for recovering data lost due to accidental deletions or database corruption. Created through the Exchange Management Shell (EMS), the Recovery Database is dedicated solely to recovery purposes and is available in Exchange Server 2016 and later versions.

To complete the recovery process, the mailbox data restored in the Recovery Database must be properly extracted and migrated back to the live Exchange environment. EdbMails EDB to Live Exchange Migration streamlines this task by enabling direct transfer of recovered mailboxes from the RDB to the active Exchange server. This approach removes the need for complicated manual steps and helps ensure a seamless and dependable mailbox restoration.

This detailed guide takes you through the process of restoring mailboxes using a Recovery Database and explains how EdbMails simplifies both recovery and migration tasks, whether you need to restore one mailbox or manage an entire database.

 Learn more about Recovery database in Exchange server

1. Prerequisites for recovering mailbox with RDB

   Before you create the RDB, ensure that you meet the following prerequisites

   1. Ensure that you have the Organization Management permissions on the mailboxes. See the recipient permissions in Exchange server for creating the RDB.
   2. You must copy the recovered database and log files manually to the RDB folder
   3. You may have to perform a soft repair on the recovered database and bring it to the clean shutdown with eseutil/r.

2. How to restore Exchange server 2016 mailbox from recovery database?

   • Step 1: Create a recovery database for Exchange server 2016

     The first step in restoring Exchange server 2016 mailboxes from a Recovery Database (RDB) is to create the RDB using the Exchange Management Shell. Before creating the database, ensure you have sufficient space on your server to store the backup database and its associated log files in separate folders. To create the recovery database, use the New-MailboxDatabase cmdlet.

     For example, the following command creates a recovery database named RDB1 on the mailbox server MBX1:

     New-MailboxDatabase -Recovery -Name RDB1 -Server MBX1

     This example demonstrates how to create a recovery database named RDB1 on the Mailbox server MBX1, specifying custom locations for the database and log files. Ensure the recovery database name matches the one from your backup, as this will be used in the restore process.

     New-MailboxDatabase -Recovery -Name RDB1 -Server MBX1 -EdbFilePath "C:\Recovery\RDB1.EDB" -LogFolderPath "C:\Recovery\RDB1"

      See how to create a recovery database in Exchange server 2016 and 2019

     Do not mount the recovery database yet. You must restore a database and corresponding log files from a previous backup.

   • Step 2: Recover and restore the backup Exchange server 2016 database

     Once the Recovery Database (RDB) is created, the next step is to restore the Exchange server 2016 backup to it. Using Windows Server Backup, copy both the database file and its corresponding log files into the folder specified for the RDB. The following steps provide a quick overview of how to perform this restore using Windows Server Backup:

     1. Start the Windows Backup 'Recovery Wizard'.
     2. Specify and select the 'location type' of the backup.
     3. Select the backup location and 'name of the server'.
     4. Apply the 'date filter' to restore the database and log files.
     5. Select the 'files and folders option' to restore to recovery databases.
     6. Browse through the Available Items tree to find the files and folders you want to recover.
     7. Select the Exchange database file and restore it to the location you specified when creating the Recovery Database in the earlier step.
     8. Repeat the same step to restore the log files to the same location.
   • Step 3: Mount the restored database to the Exchange server

     The database file which you recovered from Windows backup will be in the Dirty Shutdown state. To mount it to the RDB, you must first bring it to the 'Clean Shutdown' state.

     1. Start Eseutil from the Exchange server directory and run the following cmdlet

        Eseutil /r E01 /l E:\Databases\RDB1 /d E:\Databases\RDB1

        Eseutil /r performs soft recovery on the database

        • E01 is the log file number that is required along with the database.
        • The first path (/l) indicates the path to place the log files.
        • The second path (/d) indicates the path of the recovery database.

        Run the cmdlet eseutil/mh to verify if the database is in the Clean Shutdown state

     2. Restart the Microsoft Exchange server Information Store

        Restart-Service MSExchangeIS

     3. Mount the recovery database

        Mount-database

     4. Verify if the mounted database contains the mailboxes you want to restore

        Get-MailboxStatistics -Database | Format-Table DisplayName,MailboxGUID -AutoSize

   • Step 4: Perform Mailbox Restore Request in Exchange server 2016

     Once the backup database is successfully mounted to the Recovery Database, the next step is to restore the mailboxes to their original location on the Exchange server. For example, you can use the following cmdlet to restore John Doe’s mailbox directly to his archive mailbox.

     New-MailboxRestoreRequest -SourceDatabase DB1 -SourceStoreMailbox "John Doe" -TargetMailbox johndoe@mail.com -TargetIsArchive

     The following cmdlet restores the mailbox of Dave Smith to the target mailbox

     New-MailboxRestoreRequest -SourceDatabase DB1 -SourceStoreMailbox "Dave Smith" -TargetMailbox davesmith@mail.com

      See how to restore data using recovery database with EMS

     Run the following cmdlet on a regular basis to check the status of the mailbox restore completion.

     Get-MailboxRestoreRequest -Name "John Doe" | Get-MailboxRestoreRequestStatistics

   • Step 5: Remove the Recovery Database from Exchange server 2016

     After the restore operation is complete perform the following steps

     1. Run the following cmdlet to remove the mailbox restore request

        Get-MailboxRestoreRequest -Status Completed | Remove-MailboxRestoreRequest

     2. Dismount the recovery database with the following cmdlet

        Dismount-Database RDB1

     3. Finally, remove the recovery database that you created

        Remove-MailboxDatabase RDB1

3. Limitations of the Recovery database:

   1. A Recovery database can be used only for the restore operation and cannot be used to take a backup of an Exchange database file (EDB).
   2. The RDB can be created only in Exchange server 2016 and later.
   3. Restoring your mailbox data with the RDB requires extensive knowledge of PowerShell cmdlets.
   4. This method may result in data loss if you use incorrect commands
   5. The Recovery Database method will not work if Eseutil fails to restore the database to a Clean Shutdown state.

4. Recover and restore mailboxes in Exchange server 2019, 2016, 2013 and 2010 using EdbMails

   If you need to restore mailboxes from an offline or corrupted EDB file in Exchange server versions 2019, 2016, 2013, 2010 and 2007, then EdbMails Exchange Recovery is a reliable and efficient solution. As a Microsoft-partnered tool, it works independently of the original Exchange server or Active Directory, making the recovery process more flexible. Unlike traditional methods, EdbMails does not require a prior Windows backup. You can simply select any EDB file and begin the recovery process—whether you want to export mailboxes to PST format or migrate them directly to a Live Exchange server. Let us look at the steps to restore Exchange server mailboxes with the EdbMails application.

   Step 1: Download and install EdbMails Exchange recovery tool

   • Download and install EdbMails on a computer that is connected to both the source and target environments. Alternatively, you can perform the recovery and migration process by installing EdbMails on any non-Exchange server computer as well.

     

   • Launch the EdbMails Software on your system.
   • Enter your registered email address and password, then select ‘Login’. If you’re a new user, choose ‘Start Your Free Trial’ to continue with the trial version.
      Note: With the Free Trial, you can export mailbox data, but the export is limited to 30 items per folder. To remove this limitation and export complete mailbox data, a valid license is required.

      Click here to purchase the license from the EdbMails website

     Then restart the application and sign in using the same login credentials to activate your license successfully.

     

   • Choose ‘EDB Recovery (Offline) and Migration’ from the list of available products to begin the recovery process.

     

   • Select 'EDB to Live Exchange' as recovery technique

     

   • Use the default job name or define a custom name to make it easier to identify, monitor, and manage this job in the future.

     

   Step 2: Select offline EDB file for mailbox restore

   • Click the ‘Browse for EDB file’ button

     

   • Select the EDB file which contains the mailboxes you want to restore.

     

   • EdbMails performs a deep scan of the EDB file, including those that are damaged or corrupted, and successfully recovers all mailbox data while preserving its original structure and accuracy, ensuring all data remains intact throughout the recovery.

     

   • After the recovery process is complete, expand the mailbox and choose any folder to view its contents. You can easily preview emails, contacts, calendars, tasks, journals, and notes, all clearly shown in the right-side preview pane for quick access.
   • Select the mailboxes or folders you'd like to export, then click ‘Next’ to move forward.

     

   • You can apply the advanced filter settings to export or migrate Exchange emails based on Date, Subject, Attachments, and more.
   • EdbMails comes with other additional settings for export, like splitting a PST file during export and excluding emails that exceed a specified size limit.

     

   Step 3: Connect to target Exchange server

   • To set up a connection with the target Exchange server, click on ‘Add New Connection’ and enter the required details. If you already have a saved configuration, just select it from the list and click ‘Connect to Existing’ to proceed without starting from scratch.

     

   • Select the required connection options and click the ‘Next’ button.

       Different options to connect to Exchange server in EdbMails

     

   • Select the appropriate connection options based on your setup, click the ‘Next’ button to proceed.

     

   • As per Microsoft's API limit, EdbMails automatically loads up to 100 mailboxes from the target Exchange server. To load more, simply import a CSV list of additional mailboxes. Pick the option that fits your setup and move forward.

     

   Step 4: Map source and target mailboxes

   • Choose the required mailbox mapping option

     

   • When EdbMails is installed directly on the target Exchange server, it can automatically create mailboxes. It also maps source and target mailboxes intelligently by matching display names. If needed, you can manually map mailboxes and folders to align with your migration strategy.

     

   Step 5: Start EDB to live Exchange migration

   • Once the mailbox mapping is finished, simply click the ‘Start Migration’ button to begin transferring mailbox data from the EDB file to the Exchange server.

     

   • You can track the migration progress in real-time using the progress bar. Once the process is complete, EdbMails will show a confirmation message to let you know that the migration was successfully finished.

     

   • Click on the ‘View Logs’ button to access the migration report, where you can review details such as the number of emails, folders, and mailbox items that were successfully migrated.

Benefits of EdbMails Exchange recovery software

1. Does not require transaction log files for Exchange database recovery
2. All-in-one solution for Exchange migration, Exchange backup and recovery
3. Does not require you to create the RDB to perform the mailbox restore
4. Restores all Exchange server mailboxes without data loss
5. Recover Exchange server mailboxes without requiring PowerShell scripts
6. EdbMails is the ideal solution to directly migrate an EDB file to Office 365 and Live Exchange
7. The tool can recover corrupted, badly damaged and virus infected EDB files
8. Provides a complete preview of your mailbox data and mail items
9. Include and exclude filter options make it easy to export selected data
10. Enables you to recover deleted Exchange server mailboxes and perform migration to the target server.
11. EdbMails is compatible with all Windows operating systems and Windows server versions.

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Additional resources

• Exchange database is mandatory on UserMailbox
• Exchange database status unknown error
• Move Exchange mailbox to another database
• Check exchange database health