Apple Mac OS X Server (Administrator’s Guide) - Manual (Page 408)

408 Chapter 9
Backing Up and Restoring Mail Files
You can back up the mail service data by making a copy of the mail service folder. If you need
to restore the mail service data, you can replace the mail service folder with a backup copy.
The mail service folder contains the following items:
m MacOSXMailDatabase, which is the mail service database file
m AppleMail, which is the folder that contains a file for each mail message and a file for each
mail account
These items are stored in the folder /Library/AppleMailServer unless you specify a different
location. For instructions on changing the mail folder location, see “Changing Where Mail Is
Stored” on page 394.
An incremental backup of the mail service folder can be fast and efficient. If you use a third-
party application to back up the mail service folder incrementally, the only files copied are
the small database file and the message files that are new or changed since the last backup.
Although you can restore only part of the mail service folder—some message files in the
AppleMail folder with or without the MacOSXMailDatabase file—restoring only part of the
mail service folder can corrupt the mail database. The mail service automatically attempts to
clean up a mail service folder that has been restored improperly. You can also clean up the
mail service folder manually. For instructions, see “Cleaning Up the Mail Files” on page 395.
After restoring the mail service folder, notify users that messages stored on the server have
been restored from a backup copy.
If you’re using the UNIX Sendmail program or another mail transfer agent instead of
Mac OS X Server’s SMTP service, you should also back up the contents of the /var/mail
folder. This folder is the standard location for UNIX mail delivery.
Where to Find More Information
You can find more information about mail service in books and on the Internet.
Books
For general information about mail protocols and other technologies, see these books:
m A good all-around introduction to mail service can be found in Internet Messaging, by
David Strom and Marshall T. Rose (Prentice Hall, 1998).
Important Stop the mail service before backing up or restoring the mail service folder. If
you back up the mail service folder while mail service is active, the backup mail database file
may be out of sync with the backup AppleMail folder. If you restore while mail service is
active, the active mail database file may become out of sync with the active AppleMail folder.