• Disk-image backups can occupy a large amount of disk space, so it is usually not feasible to perform these backups on a daily basis.
• Most disk-imaging software utilites cannot perform Incremental or Differential backups. As as result, the backups you perform with disk-imaging software are less flexible than the backups you perform with Backup.
• Disk images are more useful if you create Windows 2000 operating system disk images than if you create full computer disk images.
• Windows 2000 disk images give you a starting point for the restore process. You can quickly restore the operating system using the disk image, and then restore the other backups, such as a full computer backup set or a Windows 2000 backup set.
• Restoring a disk image is the fastest method if you need to restore a server that has just had its hard drive replaced.
• Although it is possible, you should not use full computer disk-imaging backups as your primary method of backing up your servers running Exchange 2000. If you attempt to create a full computer backup set using a disk-imaging utility, you must ensure that your Exchange 2000 databases are dismounted during the backup process.
• If you use disk-imaging software to create full computer backups, you can only restore your Exchange 2000 organization to the point of your latest disk-image backup.
  Tip If your backup plan involves creating a full computer backup set, you should also perform Exchange database backups using the Microsoft Information Store option in Backup.
• Disk-image backups are stored on hard disks (they cannot be stored on tape). For fault tolerance purposes, do not store a disk-image backup of a computer on that same computer. One alternative is to keep all of your disk images safe by storing them in a central location in your organization.
  If a disaster occurs, you can start the replacement computer from a network boot disk, and then restore the disk image for that computer.

The information in this article applies to:

• Microsoft Exchange Server 2003 Enterprise Edition
• Microsoft Exchange Server 2003 Standard Edition
• Microsoft Windows Small Business Server 2003, Premium Edition
• Microsoft Windows Small Business Server 2003, Standard Edition
• Microsoft Exchange 2000 Server