Stellar Repair for Exchange – Best Exchange Recovery Tool Admins Should Use in Vulnerability

Although you try to protect the Exchange Servers as much as possible, they still become a target of cyber attacks or ransomware attack. Such attacks can be mitigated by ensuring you have the right protection on your machine and the latest Exchange Server Cumulative Updates (CU) and patches are installed.

When you get hit by a ransomware attack, the first thing to do is disconnect the affected servers from the network as this will reduce the spread of the ransomware.In many cases, it was seen that an Exchange server is attacked by a ransomware, but the EDB files where Exchange Server holds all the data are not encrypted. This would give a peace of mind.However, the Exchange Server would not function and you would end up with a non-functional server.

An Exchange Server database is composed of transaction logs and the database itself. Since these transaction logs are needed as they act as a buffer between the server and the database, the database will not mount, leading to the Dirty Shutdown error. This means that the database is corrupt.

So, reinstalling a new Exchange Server and attaching the databases will not resolve the matter.Also, restoring the whole server from yesterday’s backup will result in data loss – from the time of backup till the attack.

The best way to resolve the problem as soon as possible is by using a small but massively powerful third-party application, called Stellar Repair for Exchange. With this application, you will be able to open corrupt EDB files from any Exchange Server version and without the need of an Exchange Server. You will be able to browse and export the recovered data from your databases.

Let’s explore how to usethe application and restore thedata.

Downloading and installing the application is an easy task. You can simply download the software from theFree Download button on the official website.

Installation

The installation file is about 24 megabytes, which will be in your hands in a few seconds. The installation process is of only a few steps.

Open the EDB File

Once installed and you open the application, you are asked to enter the path of the EDB files. You can open the file manually or use the Find button to search a specific hard drive for any Exchange Server database files.You can also specify the path where to hold any temporary data or just leave it as the default location.

Scan theExchange Database

Once you selected the database, you will be prompted to select the scan mode. You can either do a Quick scan or Extensive scan depending on the damage on the database.

After the scan is complete, which could take some time depending on the size and complexity of the database, you will be presented with the main screen.

Now, in case you need to re-open the file without re-scanning it, you can selectthe save scan button.The file will open instantly the next time you open the application.

Preview Recovered Database

The software interface looks very similar to Outlook.So, you would adjust to it very quickly. On the left-hand side, you will get the structure, the middle pane for the listing, and the right pane comes with a full HTML preview. At the bottom of the left pane, you have the features that allow you to see the calendar, contacts, journal,andtasks.

All the functionality is on the screen and there aren’t any extra windows or popups that will open. In fact,in the middle pane, you will have the in-line real-time search.

After you have decided the number of mailboxes to export and the license mode, you will receive the license key from Stellar. You can simply add the license key to activate the product.

Export Options

Once you have the license in place, it’s time to export the recovered database.

After granularity selecting your recovered mailboxes or public folders, you can save them as PST or in other formats (like EML or MSG). You can also export directly to a live Exchange Server database or Office 365.

In the case of a ransomware attack, you will deploy a new Exchange Server, click on the Export to Live Exchange option, and export directly to the database without downtime. When exporting recovered mailboxes to a live Exchange database or Office 365, you can either match the mailboxes manually or just us

e the auto match. You don’t need to have the same Exchange Server version as the application can recover from any version to any version.

While exporting, you can also prioritize recovery of mailboxes of your VIP users, like directors or managers. The application uses parallel processing which can process up to4 mailboxes at a time. Like any other application, the migration can be interrupted, but there is no need to worry as Stellar Repair for Exchange has a continuation mechanism that will resume the process if the migration or recovery is interrupted.

Features and Pricing Plans

There are three different editions to choose from: Corporate, Technician, and Toolkit.

The Corporate edition costs $399/year and allows you to recover up to 100 mailboxes.

The Technician edition costs $599andrecovers unlimited mailboxes.

The most feature-rich package is the Toolkit that costs $999 and supports multiple mailboxes recovery. This is acombination of 5 tools:

• Stellar Repair for Exchange
• Stellar Converter for EDB
• Stellar Mailbox Extractor for Exchange Backup
• Stellar Converter for OST
• Stellar Password Recovery for MS Exchange

Software Improvements

• Option to recover 10 or 20 items in the demo version so that users can easily evaluate the softwareand make the decision.
• Option of mailboxes selection so that users can select number of mailboxes according to their need.

Verdict

There are many software available for Exchange Server recovery. I have tested 3 popular solutions often considered the software of choice by Exchange experts. Stellar Repair for Exchange is the best Exchange recovery software you can find with its limitless features, performance, and it guarantees the recovery of your data within minimum downtime. Some notable features areunlimited mailbox recovery, parallel processing, and large-size EDB file recovery. Users can use free version to check the efficiency of the software.An application worth having in any Exchange Admin’s sleeve.