Exchange 2013 backup and log truncation question
I have a scenario where I have 5 Exchange mailbox servers as members of a DAG, everything running fine, log truncation is working, but seems to be working differently than I am expecting it to work, as in previous versions of Exchange. I am used to the logs being truncated immediately after the full backup completes. What is happening is that the server is retaining a weeks worth of logs. Everything older than 7 days gets truncated after a full backup completes. Is this expected behavior? I am running Exchange 2013 CU3 on Server 2012, backup software is HP Data Protector 8 running the latest updates. I am running a VSS backup. The DAG is not a lagged copy of the DB's either.
January 6th, 2014 12:14pm

Hi Troy,

I have not seen this behaviour and this certainly is not the expected behaviour. For troubleshooting purposes, I would try using Windows Server backup and try a Full Backup and see if all my logs are being purged after the backup completes.

What are the log retention settings do you have on your servers? could you double check for any abnormality?

Are you backing up the passive copy of the DB or active copy? Try switching the passive/active copy of the DB while performing backup?

Do you have a test environment for extensive testing? Can you replicate this on your test lab?

Since when are you having this issue? Did you notice this issue recently?

Are the backups completing successfully (check Application logs) to confirm and also do a get-mailboxdatabase |fl *backup* and see what happens?

Does your backup time coincides with something else? Can you make sure to isolate the backup time frame from others?

All the best!

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January 6th, 2014 5:16pm

To answer your questions:

1. I am not sure what you mean by log retention settings. It's not in circular logging mode. I am kind of new to Exchange 2013, so did not know there were specific log retention settings other than enabling circular logging.

2. I am backing up the active copy of the DB.

3. I do have a dev environment, but currently not backing it up (and DO have circular logging enabled on all DB's in that environment)

4. Have had the issue since installing Exchange 2013. The environment is about a month or so old

5. Backups are completing successfully, I run this command every morning to make sure: Get-MailboxDatabase -Status | ft Name,Server,LastF*Backup,LastI*Backup,LastD*Backup

6. I thought that might be the issue, so I rescheduled them all and there is definitely no overlap...

January 6th, 2014 10:09pm

Ok, would you be able to test a VSS Backup using your Windows Server Backup utility and check?

If backup completes and purges all logs - then the problem could be with your VSS Provider or HP Backup application settings..

Thanks.

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January 6th, 2014 10:38pm

Just a thought - please check your keepalive setting on the HP DataProtection software..

http://social.technet.microsoft.com/Forums/exchange/en-US/fa151aa5-dc70-41f2-82a8-b779f91326ab/log-not-purged-after-full-backup-of-database

All the best!

January 6th, 2014 10:46pm

I will check the HP Data Protector setting, but I do not think that setting is valid or anything configurable.

Here is the contents of some various commands for one of my databases, all of which are configured identically, tell me if you see something set incorrectly. Hopefully I have redacted enough internal stuff:

Get-MailboxDatabaseCopyStatus

RunspaceId                            : 8467f253-8c82-4206-a002-14779e701b0e
Identity                              : DB1\EX2013-MB1
Id                                    : DB1\EX2013-MB1
Name                                  : DB1\EX2013-MB1
DatabaseName                          : DB1
Status                                : Mounted
InstanceStartTime                     : 12/10/2013 7:02:44 PM
LastStatusTransitionTime              :
MailboxServer                         : EX2013-MB1
ActiveDatabaseCopy                    : EX2013-MB1
ActiveCopy                            : True
ActivationPreference                  : 1
StatusRetrievedTime                   : 1/7/2014 12:54:19 PM
WorkerProcessId                       : 10292
ActivationSuspended                   : False
ActionInitiator                       : Unknown
ErrorMessage                          :
ErrorEventId                          :
ExtendedErrorInfo                     :
SuspendComment                        :
RequiredLogsPresent                   :
SinglePageRestore                     : 0
ContentIndexState                     : Healthy
ContentIndexErrorMessage              :
ContentIndexVersion                   : 1
ContentIndexBacklog                   : 0
ContentIndexRetryQueueSize            : 0
ContentIndexMailboxesToCrawl          :
ContentIndexSeedingPercent            :
ContentIndexSeedingSource             :
CopyQueueLength                       : 0
ReplayQueueLength                     : 0
ReplaySuspended                       : False
ResumeBlocked                         : False
ReseedBlocked                         : False
MinimumSupportedDatabaseSchemaVersion : 0.121
MaximumSupportedDatabaseSchemaVersion : 0.126
RequestedDatabaseSchemaVersion        :
LatestAvailableLogTime                :
LastCopyNotificationedLogTime         : 1/7/2014 12:38:09 PM
LastCopiedLogTime                     :
LastInspectedLogTime                  :
LastReplayedLogTime                   :
LastLogGenerated                      : 3510
LastLogCopyNotified                   : 3510
LastLogCopied                         : 0
LastLogInspected                      : 0
LastLogReplayed                       : 0
LowestLogPresent                      : 2875
LastLogInfoIsStale                    : False
LastLogInfoFromCopierTime             : 1/7/2014 12:54:19 PM
LastLogInfoFromClusterTime            : 1/7/2014 12:54:16 PM
LastLogInfoFromClusterGen             : 3510
LogsReplayedSinceInstanceStart        : 0
LogsCopiedSinceInstanceStart          : 0
LatestFullBackupTime                  : 12/9/2013 10:31:32 PM
LatestIncrementalBackupTime           :
LatestDifferentialBackupTime          :
LatestCopyBackupTime                  :
SnapshotBackup                        : True
SnapshotLatestFullBackup              : True
SnapshotLatestIncrementalBackup       :
SnapshotLatestDifferentialBackup      :
SnapshotLatestCopyBackup              :
LogReplayQueueIncreasing              : False
LogCopyQueueIncreasing                : False
ReplayLagStatus                       : Enabled:False; PlayDownReason:None; Percentage:0; Configured:00:00:00; Actual:00:00:00
DatabaseSeedStatus                    :
OutstandingDumpsterRequests           : {}
OutgoingConnections                   : {}
IncomingLogCopyingNetwork             :
SeedingNetwork                        :
DiskFreeSpacePercent                  : 99
DiskFreeSpace                         : 4.365 TB (4,798,945,292,288 bytes)
DiskTotalSpace                        : 4.366 TB (4,800,702,836,736 bytes)
ExchangeVolumeMountPoint              :
DatabaseVolumeMountPoint              : C:\Disks\DB1\
DatabaseVolumeName                    : \\?\Volume{b95c7aa2-2cd9-430e-ab75-ea4b0efba659}\
DatabasePathIsOnMountedFolder         : True
LogVolumeMountPoint                   : C:\Disks\DB1\
LogVolumeName                         : \\?\Volume{b95c7aa2-2cd9-430e-ab75-ea4b0efba659}\
LogPathIsOnMountedFolder              : True
LastDatabaseVolumeName                :
LastDatabaseVolumeNameTransitionTime  :
VolumeInfoError                       :
IsValid                               : True
ObjectState                           : Unchanged

[PS] C:\Windows\system32>Get-MailboxDatabase -Identity db1  |fl


RunspaceId                                   : 8467f253-8c82-4206-a002-14779e701b0e
JournalRecipient                             :
MailboxRetention                             : 30.00:00:00
OfflineAddressBook                           : \Default Offline Address Book
OriginalDatabase                             :
PublicFolderDatabase                         : CMBS1CC\CMBS1PF\CMBS1PF
ProhibitSendReceiveQuota                     : Unlimited
ProhibitSendQuota                            : 2 GB (2,147,483,648 bytes)
RecoverableItemsQuota                        : 30 GB (32,212,254,720 bytes)
RecoverableItemsWarningQuota                 : 20 GB (21,474,836,480 bytes)
CalendarLoggingQuota                         : 6 GB (6,442,450,944 bytes)
IndexEnabled                                 : True
IsExcludedFromProvisioning                   : False
IsExcludedFromInitialProvisioning            : False
IsSuspendedFromProvisioning                  : False
IsExcludedFromProvisioningBySpaceMonitoring  : False
DumpsterStatistics                           :
DumpsterServersNotAvailable                  :
ReplicationType                              : Remote
AdminDisplayVersion                          : Version 15.0 (Build 775.38)
AdministrativeGroup                          : Exchange Administrative Group (FYDIBOHF23SPDLT)
AllowFileRestore                             : False
BackgroundDatabaseMaintenance                : True
ReplayBackgroundDatabaseMaintenance          :
BackgroundDatabaseMaintenanceSerialization   :
BackgroundDatabaseMaintenanceDelay           :
ReplayBackgroundDatabaseMaintenanceDelay     :
MimimumBackgroundDatabaseMaintenanceInterval :
MaximumBackgroundDatabaseMaintenanceInterval :
BackupInProgress                             :
DatabaseCreated                              : True
Description                                  :
EdbFilePath                                  : C:\Disks\DB1\DB\DB1.edb
ExchangeLegacyDN                             : /o=%%%%%/ou=Exchange Administrative Group (FYDIBOHF23SPDLT)/cn=Configuration/cn=Servers/cn=EX2013-MB1/cn=Microsoft Private MDB
DatabaseCopies                               : {DB1\EX2013-MB1, DB1\EX2013-MB2, DB1\EX2013-MB3, DB1\EX2013-MB1-DR, DB1\EX2013-MB2-DR}
InvalidDatabaseCopies                        : {}
AllDatabaseCopies                            : {DB1\EX2013-MB1, DB1\EX2013-MB2, DB1\EX2013-MB3, DB1\EX2013-MB1-DR, DB1\EX2013-MB2-DR}
Servers                                      : {EX2013-MB1, EX2013-MB2, EX2013-MB3, EX2013-MB1-DR, EX2013-MB2-DR}
ActivationPreference                         : {[EX2013-MB1, 1], [EX2013-MB2, 2], [EX2013-MB3, 3], [EX2013-MB1-DR, 4], [EX2013-MB2-DR, 5]}
ReplayLagTimes                               : {[EX2013-MB1, 00:00:00], [EX2013-MB2, 00:00:00], [EX2013-MB3, 00:00:00], [EX2013-MB1-DR, 00:00:00], [EX2013-MB2-DR, 00:00:00]}
TruncationLagTimes                           : {[EX2013-MB1, 00:00:00], [EX2013-MB2, 00:00:00], [EX2013-MB3, 00:00:00], [EX2013-MB1-DR, 00:00:00], [EX2013-MB2-DR, 00:00:00]}
RpcClientAccessServer                        : EX2013-MB1.%%%%%%.local
MountedOnServer                              :
DeletedItemRetention                         : 60.00:00:00
SnapshotLastFullBackup                       :
SnapshotLastIncrementalBackup                :
SnapshotLastDifferentialBackup               :
SnapshotLastCopyBackup                       :
LastFullBackup                               :
LastIncrementalBackup                        :
LastDifferentialBackup                       :
LastCopyBackup                               :
DatabaseSize                                 :
AvailableNewMailboxSpace                     :
MaintenanceSchedule                          : {Sun.1:00 AM-Sun.5:00 AM, Mon.1:00 AM-Mon.5:00 AM, Tue.1:00 AM-Tue.5:00 AM, Wed.1:00 AM-Wed.5:00 AM, Thu.1:00 AM-Thu.5:00 AM, Fri.1:00 AM-Fri.5:00 AM, Sat.1:00 AM-Sat.5:00 AM}
MountAtStartup                               : True
Mounted                                      :
Organization                                 : %%%%%%%
QuotaNotificationSchedule                    : {Sun.1:00 AM-Sun.1:15 AM, Mon.1:00 AM-Mon.1:15 AM, Tue.1:00 AM-Tue.1:15 AM, Wed.1:00 AM-Wed.1:15 AM, Thu.1:00 AM-Thu.1:15 AM, Fri.1:00 AM-Fri.1:15 AM, Sat.1:00 AM-Sat.1:15 AM}
Recovery                                     : False
RetainDeletedItemsUntilBackup                : False
Server                                       : EX2013-MB1
MasterServerOrAvailabilityGroup              : DAG1
WorkerProcessId                              :
CurrentSchemaVersion                         :
RequestedSchemaVersion                       :
AutoDagExcludeFromMonitoring                 : False
AutoDatabaseMountDial                        : GoodAvailability
DatabaseGroup                                :
MasterType                                   : DatabaseAvailabilityGroup
ServerName                                   : EX2013-MB1
IssueWarningQuota                            : 1.9 GB (2,040,110,080 bytes)
EventHistoryRetentionPeriod                  : 7.00:00:00
Name                                         : DB1
LogFolderPath                                : C:\Disks\DB1\LOGS
TemporaryDataFolderPath                      :
CircularLoggingEnabled                       : False
LogFilePrefix                                : E01
LogFileSize                                  : 1024
LogBuffers                                   :
MaximumOpenTables                            :
MaximumTemporaryTables                       :
MaximumCursors                               :
MaximumSessions                              :
MaximumVersionStorePages                     :
PreferredVersionStorePages                   :
DatabaseExtensionSize                        :
LogCheckpointDepth                           :
ReplayCheckpointDepth                        :
CachedClosedTables                           :
CachePriority                                :
ReplayCachePriority                          :
MaximumPreReadPages                          :
MaximumReplayPreReadPages                    :
DataMoveReplicationConstraint                : SecondCopy
IsMailboxDatabase                            : True
IsPublicFolderDatabase                       : False
MailboxProvisioningAttributes                :
AdminDisplayName                             : DB1
ExchangeVersion                              : 0.10 (14.0.100.0)
DistinguishedName                            : CN=DB1,CN=Databases,CN=Exchange Administrative Group (FYDIBOHF23SPDLT),CN=Administrative Groups,CN=%%%%%,CN=Microsoft Exchange,CN=Services,CN=Configuration,DC=%%%%%%,DC=%%%
Identity                                     : DB1
Guid                                         : 765d01d0-4468-43fd-a1e8-ad205b25c8ee
ObjectCategory                               : %%%%%%.%%%/Configuration/Schema/ms-Exch-Private-MDB
ObjectClass                                  : {top, msExchMDB, msExchPrivateMDB}
WhenChanged                                  : 12/10/2013 7:02:44 PM
WhenCreated                                  : 11/13/2013 11:00:58 AM
WhenChangedUTC                               : 12/11/2013 12:02:44 AM
WhenCreatedUTC                               : 11/13/2013 4:00:58 PM
OrganizationId                               :
OriginatingServer                            : %%%%%-DC4.%%%%%.%%%
IsValid                                      : True
ObjectState                                  : Changed


[PS] C:\Windows\system32>Get-MailboxDatabase -Status | ft Name,Server,LastF*Backup,LastI*Backup,LastD*Backup -AutoSize

Name       Server        LastFullBackup       LastIncrementalBackup LastDifferentialBackup
----       ------        --------------       --------------------- ----------------------
MB1-DB0    EX2013-MB1    1/6/2014 11:30:46 PM
DB1        EX2013-MB1    1/6/2014 11:30:46 PM
DB2        EX2013-MB1    1/6/2014 11:30:46 PM
MB3-DB0    EX2013-MB3    1/6/2014 10:45:44 PM
DB5        EX2013-MB3    1/6/2014 10:45:44 PM
DB6        EX2013-MB3    1/6/2014 10:45:44 PM
MB2-DB0    EX2013-MB2    1/6/2014 10:15:39 PM
DB3        EX2013-MB2    1/6/2014 10:15:39 PM
DB4        EX2013-MB2    1/6/2014 10:15:39 PM
MB1-DR-DB0 EX2013-MB1-DR 1/6/2014 8:00:23 PM
MB2-DR-DB0 EX2013-MB2-DR 1/6/2014 8:15:22 PM













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January 7th, 2014 6:09pm

Hello,

Based on the result, your database copies are ok.

Please run test-replicationhealth cmdlet to check if there is any error.

Please try to use windows server backup to check if the issue occurs.

January 8th, 2014 7:25am

Hello,

Is there any update?

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January 10th, 2014 8:42am

After the backup runs logs which are older than the LatestFullBackupTime or LatestIncrementalBackupTime should get deleted. Is that not what you're seeing?
January 13th, 2014 9:25pm

Hi,

Did you ever find a resolution to this problem?

We are experiencing a similar issue with exchange 2013 logs not truncating.  It seems to truncate eventually after a day or so but follows no real pattern.  Very confusing.  It seems to be more of an issue when keeping the virtual copies for IR.

HP Data Protector 9 - Exchange 2013 SP1 (cu4)

3par Inform OS 3.2.1

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March 26th, 2015 5:47am

The fact that they are pruning eventually leads me to believe this blog should explain everything for you. 

https://community.emc.com/blogs/bottk/2014/10/02/help-my-exchange-logs-are-not-purged-after-backup

March 26th, 2015 2:38pm

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