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Recovery databases
16 Dell EMC PowerVault ME4 Series and Microsoft Exchange Server 2016 | 3925-BP-EX
5 Recovery databases
A recovery database is an Exchange Server 2013/2016 feature that replaces the Recovery Storage Group
(RSG) found in previous versions of Exchange Server. A recovery database is a special kind of mailbox
database that allows mounting a restored mailbox database and extracting data from the restored database
as part of a recovery operation.
The Restore-Mailbox cmdlet can be used to extract data from a recovery database. After extraction, the data
can be exported to a folder or merged into an existing mailbox. Recovery databases enable recovery of data
from a backup or copy of a database without disturbing user access to current data.
Before using a recovery database, there are certain requirements that must be met. For instance, a recovery
database can be used for Exchange Server 2010/2013/2016 mailbox databases only.
Note: The target mailbox used for data merges and extraction must be in the same Active Directory forest as
the database mounted in the recovery database.
5.1 Single item recovery
Microsoft provides the following information on single item recovery for Exchange 2013/2016 in the TechNet
article, Recoverable Items folder.
To protect from accidental or malicious deletion and to facilitate discovery efforts commonly undertaken
before or during litigation or investigations, Microsoft Exchange Server 2013/2016 uses the Recoverable
Items folder. The Recoverable Items folder replaces the feature known as the dumpster in Exchange Server
2007. The Recoverable Items folder is used by the following Exchange features:
• Deleted item retention
• Single item recovery
• In-Place Hold
• Litigation hold
• Mailbox audit logging
• Calendar logging