During my tenure at Vodafone, There were frequent queries from clients about High Availability & Disaster Recovery for Blackberry Enterprise Server.
With @KapilSinha , Deval & Amrish (yet Waiting for them at twitter), we implemented it for many clients. So I will share in this post the disaster recovery strategy for BES 4.X . I will discuss Architecting High Availability in some other post.
As High Availability is in-built feature of BES 5.0, DR & HA strategy for BES 5.0 would be much different.
So before heading to plan our disaster recovery strategies, we need to understand how blackberry enterprise server works, the architecture behind the BES.
BES Architecture
For further details about, how this architecture works, follow the below document at Scribd .
http://www.scribd.com/doc/28591968
Overview of BlackBerry Enterprise Server Components
BlackBerry Enterprise Server components include:
• BlackBerry Enterprise Service(s)
• Mobile Data Service(s) (MDS) NT Service/Registry
• Attachment Service(s)
• SQL database
• BlackBerry Enterprise Server administrative mailbox
• User mailboxes
• State Databases (In Case of Lotus Domino)
• Registry
The BlackBerry Enterprise Service, MDS and Attachment Service act as standalone components to the BlackBerry Enterprise Server and can be recreated relatively easily.
The most important & critical components in DR Planning are SQL database, BlackBerry Enterprise Server admin mailbox (Service Account Mailbox), and user mailboxes.
For the proper functioning of BES, it requires access to:
• SQL database (for BlackBerry Enterprise Server management) (Could be MSDE or remote SQL Server)
• BlackBerry Enterprise Server admin mailbox
• User mailboxes
• SRP connection to BlackBerry Enterprise Server (srp.xx.blackberry.net)
Disaster Recovery Planning: What to Backup
The following components are recommended for backup:
1. Windows OS
2. SQL Database
3. BlackBerry Enterprise Server admin mailbox
4. User Mailbox
5. BlackBerry Enterprise Server configuration
• SRP ID, Authentication Key
• Service Account, BESAdmin Mailbox
• License keys (CAL Keys)
• Database name, location
• IT Policy configuration
Although SRP ID, Authentication key, CAL Keys, IT Policy Configuration are all included in SQL database, but it is always better to keep a note, which can help us in case of database restore is not successful.
Windows OS Backup
When designing a backup plan for the BlackBerry Enterprise Server backup on the server:
• BlackBerry Enterprise Server Install directory and subdirectories (Program Files Research In Motion; Program Files Common FilesResearch In Motion )
• Windows Registry
• HKLMSoftwareResearch In Motion
• HKCUSoftwareResearch In Motion
SQL Database Backup
Backing up the Blackberry Configuration database is very important; As long as our configuration database is available we can cutover to Another Blackberry Server.
Mailbox Backup
We need to have proper backup for Blackberry Admin Mailbox (Service Account Mailbox) and users’s mailboxes. So If accidently any mailbox is deleted, we can restore that particular Mailbox.
Disaster Scenarios and How To Recover
Server Hardware Failure
When the hardware fails an outage will occur. However, critical data will not be lost, and the data that is lost is recoverable.
The steps for recovery
1. Reinstall OS and restore from backup
3. Rebuild
• Install a new BlackBerry Enterprise Server using the same BlackBerry Enterprise Server name, BlackBerry Enterprise Server admin mailbox, SRP ID and Authentication Key
• SQL database including restore SQL backups
• BlackBerry Enterprise Server admin mailbox MAPI profile
• Start the Desktop Manager (not strictly necessary)
The BlackBerry Enterprise Server has many tasks to do in a restore — it connects to the BlackBerry Enterprise Server admin mailbox and retrieves the list of user names, then logs on to every server where mailboxes exist and then scans the mailbox. Consequently, it will take a few minutes before mail arrives on the users’ devices.
SQL Database Data Loss
To recover from a SQL database outage:
1. Restore from SQL backup
2. Create a new database and use the BlackBerry Enterprise Server to install and repair (or create db.sql script)
3. Go Blackberry Server configuration and connect to the Database.
Accidental User Mailbox Deletion
The user mailbox contains critical information, and deletion will cause an outage to occur for that user.
If the user mailbox is accidentally deleted, we need to get that restored.
An individual mailbox can be recovered from the Microsoft Exchange backups. However, if these backups are not available and it is not possible to restore an individual mailbox, the entire BlackBerry Enterprise Server will need to be restored. (If exchange server is lost, BES is lost)
We need to ensure that proper MAPI connection is established after mailbox restore, if not we need to recreate the user on BES.
Accidental BlackBerry Enterprise Server admin mailbox Deletion
The BlackBerry Enterprise Server admin mailbox is required to perform administration activities and deletion of it will cause an outage to occur for all users.
The BlackBerry Enterprise Server admin mailbox is completely recoverable either by restoring it from the
Microsoft Exchange backups or recreating it.
We can follow below the below steps to recreate service account mailbox.
http://www.blackberry.com/btsc/search.do?cmd=displayKC&docType=kc&externalId=KB04293
The best way to be prepared for BES (4.X) Disaster is to have a standby instance of the BlackBerry Enterprise Server ready on a separate computer. If the primary instance becomes unavailable, we can switch immediately to the standby instance. This switch is referred as a cutover process.
I will be coming up with HA & DR for BES 5.0 in coming posts.
