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Druva Documentation

Backup Exchange Online data

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License editions: To understand the applicable license editions, see Plans & Pricing.

 Overview

As an inSync Cloud administrator, you can schedule either automatic backups or perform an on-demand backup which is manual.

Before you begin

Before you initiate a backup operation for Exchange Online data, ensure the following:

Schedule automatic backup and retention policies

Note: 

inSync requires access to the data encryption key (ekey ) to initiate the scheduled backup of any Microsoft 365 app data. Scheduled backup fails in the absence of ekey.

The ekey is used to encrypt the user data when it is being backed up to the inSync Cloud. This is part of the digital envelope encryption process that Druva strictly adheres to. Druva does not store ekey of the users and has no access to the data. Use any one of the following methods to get the user data encryption key(ekey):

To schedule an automatic backup of Exchange Online data, you must specify the Microsoft 365 backup settings in an existing profile or in a new profile. For more information, see Create a profile or Update a profile.

inSync will automatically start backing up the user's Exchange Online data as per the backup schedule that is defined for a profile with SaaS Apps enabled. To know more about how to configure the backup interval for SaaS Apps, see Define the backup interval for SaaS Apps.

You can see the backup details for Exchange Online data on the User Details page. 

Following policies, that are defined for a SaaS Apps enabled profile, will be applicable to Exchange Online backup data.

  • Backup retention policy for SaaS Apps data

    The backup retention policy defines how long inSync will retain the backed up data in storage. For more information, see Configure the backup retention policy.

  • User data privacy policy for SaaS Apps data

    The user data privacy policy defines who can access user data across your organization. For a profile, SaaS Apps and devices are governed by the same data privacy policy. For more information, see Configure the user data privacy policy.

You can also see the distribution of the data depending on where the data resides at the Data by Source area on the Data Governance page.

Empty subfolders are not backed up.

Manual backup of Exchange Online data

As an inSync Cloud administrator, you can start an unscheduled backup of Exchange Online data as and when necessary. You can perform an on-demand or manual backup using the following procedure:

Procedure

  1. Sign in to Druva Cloud Platform Console and navigate to  Microsoft 365.
  2. Click Overview. An overview page that provides a holistic view of all the configured Microsoft 365 app appears.
  3. On the left-hand panel, click Exchange Online.
  4. Select the user name you want to backup. Click Backup Now to initiate a backup. 
    • Delete: To delete the Exchange Online app for a specific user, select the user name and click Delete.
    • Enable: To enable the Exchange Online app for a specific user, select the user name and click Enable.
    • Disable: To disable the Exchange Online app for a specific user, select the user name and click Disable.

      Alternatively, you can use the search box to search for a specific user.
  5. On the confirmation window click Yes to trigger the backup.

Note: If In-Place Archive is enabled for the selected user, inSync will back up In-Place Archive data as a part of Exchange Online data backup.

View backup details

You can view the backup details at the following pages:

  • On the inSync Management Console on the Backup Overview page.
  • On inSync Client on the Backup and Restore tab.
  • On the Druva Mobile App on an Android device and iOS device.

Backup a Shared Mailbox

inSync automatically backs up data for Shared mailbox users in the preserved state regardless of the shared mailbox user's azure AD status (Azure AD sign-in allowed /blocked). An administrator can manually disable the user's app status to discontinue the backup for the particular preserved shared mailbox user. For preserved licensing scenarios, see preserved license consumption rationale.

Notes:

  • If all shared mailbox licenses are used, shared mailbox backups are unsuccessful. Contact support to purchase additional shared mailbox licenses.
  • The changes to the mailbox type are visible on the user interface after initiating the first backup.
  • Only inSync Cloud administrator can manually enable, disable or delete a Shared Mailbox user.

Before you begin

  • Ensure inSync is configured to use inSync Email ID to access user accounts for Microsoft 365. inSync does not support AD Attribute - User Principal Name (UPN) for Shared Mailbox backup. To configure Microsoft 365 to use inSync Email ID, see Configure user account access settings.
  • Add Shared Mailbox email address as a new user in inSync. To create a new user, see Add users individually.
  • Ensure that the profile you have associated with Shared Mailbox user is not associated with any AD Mapping defined in inSync. You can create a new profile with backup for Cloud App - Microsoft 365 (Exchange Online) enabled, and associate it with the Shared Mailbox user. To create a new profile, see Create a profile.

Procedure

To enable backup of Shared Mailbox, perform the following steps:

  1. Sign in to Druva Cloud Platform Console and navigate to  Microsoft 365.
    An overview page that provides a holistic view of all the configured Microsoft 365 app appears.
  2. On the left-hand panel, click Exchange Online.
  3. Select the user name (shared mailbox email address) you want to backup. Click Backup Now. 
  4. On the confirmation window click Yes to trigger the backup.

Backup Recoverable Items folder

The Recoverable Items folder in Exchange Online retains the deleted emails, contacts, and calendar items. As an administrator, you can configure inSync to backup the Recoverable Items folder by updating the Profile associated with the Exchange Online users. This enables administrators and users to restore or download data caused by accidental or malicious deletion.

When configured, inSync backs up the following sub-folders in a user's Exchange Online account:

  • Deletions - It contains the deleted items like emails, contacts, and calendar items that are either deleted from the Deleted Items default folder or items deleted by pressing Shift + Delete, which bypasses the Deleted Items folder and places the item directly in the Recoverable Items folder.
  • Purges - If the Litigation Hold or single item recovery is enabled, the Purges sub-folder contains the items that are hard deleted.

Due to Microsoft API limitations, deleted calendar items and tasks are not backed up as part of Deleted Items and Recoverable Items folder.

For terminologies and more information about the Recoverable Items folder, see Recoverable Items folder in Exchange Online.

Considerations for backing up Recoverable Items folder

The following sub-folders in a user's Exchange Online account are not backed up when inSync is configured.

  • Audits
  • Calendar Logging
  • DiscoveryHolds
  • SubstrateHolds
  • Versions

Procedure

To enable backup of the Recoverable Items folder, perform the following steps:

  1. On the inSync Management Console menu bar, click Profiles. The Manage Profile page appears.
  2. Update the inSync Profiles.
    • If you want to update an existing profile that has Exchange Online already configured, select the Profile Name.
      1. On the Profile details page, select SaaS Apps tab.
      2. Click Edit. The Edit SaaS Apps Configuration window appears.
      3. In the Select Backup Content pane, under Microsoft 365, select Exchange Online.
      4. Select the Backup Recoverable Items check box.
      5. Save the configuration.
    • If you want to create a new profile, click Create New Profile.
      1. On the Create New Profile page, fill in the required information in the General tab and click Next. For more information, see Create a profile.
      2. On the SaaS Apps tab, click Enable SaaS Apps Backup.
      3. In the Select Backup Content pane, under Microsoft 365, select Exchange Online.
      4. Select the Backup Recoverable Items check box.
      5. Click Next.
      6. Click Finish to save the configuration and create the profile.
      7. Associate this profile to inSync users for whom you want to back up the Exchange Online data.

inSync will start backing up the Recoverable Items folder from the next backup cycle. The Recoverable Items folder is backed up and the administrator can view it under each of the Exchange Online items, that is, Emails, Calendars, and Contacts in the snapshots available in the Restore window for a user.

inSync logs the audit trail for the administrator who has modified the inSync Profile to enable or disable backup of the Recoverable Items folder.

Backup Resources - Room and equipment mailboxes

You can backup the Resources - Room and equipment mailboxes data using inSync.

At the Microsoft 365 end, Microsoft 365 Resources - Room and equipment mailboxes do not consume mailbox license. However, in inSync, a user license is consumed for protecting Resources - Room and equipment mailbox data.

Before you begin

  • Add email address associated with Room and equipment mailboxes that you want to backup as a new user in inSync. To create a new user, see Add users individually.

Procedure

To enable backup of Resources - Room and equipment mailboxes, perform the following steps:

  1. Sign in to Druva Cloud Platform Console and navigate to  Microsoft 365.
    An overview page that provides a holistic view of all the configured Microsoft 365 app appears.
  2. On the left-hand panel, click Exchange Online.
  3. Select the user name (Resources - Room and Equipment mailboxes) you want to backup. Click Backup Now. 
  4. On the confirmation window click Backup Now to trigger the backup. 

Item and Reference attachment backup and restore limitations

  • If a certain email has item attachments such as tasks, calendars or contacts (without and with nested attachments), backup and restore may not work because of MS API limitations. However, backup and restore will work as expected if you have emails with email nested attachments.
  • Item attachments in Tasks and Calendars are not supported (Backup and Restored).
  • Federated Search does not support the searching of emails with attachments using an attachment extension type filter.
  • Due to Graph API limitations, currently reference attachments backup is not supported.
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