Performing and monitoring backups in Lync Server 2013
Topic Last Modified: 2014-05-15
Your business priorities should drive the specification of backup and restoration requirements for your organization. Performing backups of the servers and data is the first line of defense in planning for a disaster.
Computers that run Lync Server 2013 services or server roles must have a copy of the current topology, current configuration settings, and current policies before they can function in their appointed role. Lync Server is responsible for making sure that this information is passed along to each computer that needs it.
The Export-CsConfiguration and Import-CsConfiguration cmdlets are used to back up and restore your Lync Server topology, configuration settings, and policies during a Central Management store upgrade. The Export-CsConfiguration cmdlets enable you to export data to a .ZIP file. You can then use the Import-CsConfiguration cmdlet to read that .ZIP file and restore the topology, configuration settings, and policies to the Central Management store. After that, the replication services of Lync Server will replicate the restored information to other computers that are running Lync Server services.
The ability to export and import configuration data is also used during the initial configuration of computers that are located in your perimeter network (for example, Edge Servers). When configuring a computer in the perimeter network, you must first perform a manual replication using the CsConfiguration cmdlets: you must export the configuration data by using Export-CsConfiguration and then copy the .ZIP file to the computer in the perimeter network. After that, you can use Import-CsConfiguration and the LocalStore parameter to import the data. You only have to do this one time. After that, replication will occur automatically.
Who can run this cmdlet: By default, members of the following groups are authorized to run the Export-CsConfiguration cmdlet locally: RTCUniversalServerAdmins. To return a list of all RBAC roles, this cmdlet is assigned to (including any custom RBAC roles that you have created yourself), run the following command from the Windows PowerShell prompt:
Get-CsAdminRole | Where-Object {$_.Cmdlets -match "Export-CsConfiguration"}
All SQL 2012 Back End databases should be backed up as per SQL best practices.
Regular testing of the Disaster Recovery Plan for your Lync Server 2013 infrastructure should be performed in a lab environment that mimics the production environment as closely as possible. Refer to the Monthly Tasks for more information about Disaster Recovery Testing.
Note that the backup frequency can be adjusted, based on your Restore Point and Recovery Point objectives. As a best practice, take regular, periodic snapshots throughout the day. Generally, you should perform full backups every 24 hours.