Restoring Services and Data After Rackspace Hosted Exchange Outage
Outages can be devastating, especially when it comes to hosted exchange services that are crucial for the smooth running of your business. Recently, Rackspace, a leading provider of hosted exchange services, experienced an outage that left many businesses stranded and without access to essential data and services. While Rackspace worked diligently to restore services, it’s important for businesses to know how to recover their data and ensure service availability moving forward. This article will provide a step-by-step guide on what to do immediately after an outage, how to recover your data, and how to ensure that your services remain available in the future
On December 2, 2023, the Rackspace email infrastructure, which includes hosted Exchange Servers, experienced a service interruption in the early hours of the morning. Shortly after, users began to notice and report the unavailability of services. This affected all clients using hosted Exchange Server, leaving them unable to access their online mailboxes and services. The situation escalated when incoming emails started to bounce back, resulting in clients and recipients receiving Non-Delivery Report (NDR) messages after several hours of delay.
Rackspace has not provided details regarding the nature of the security incident. However, security incidents like this typically involve some form of vulnerability. At present, there are two critical vulnerabilities affecting Exchange Server.
CVE-2023-41040 This is a Server-Side Request Forgery (SSRF) vulnerability in Microsoft Exchange Server. An SSRF attack enables an attacker to read and modify data on the server.
CVE-2023-41082 This is a Remote Code Execution (RCE) vulnerability in Microsoft Exchange Server. An RCE vulnerability allows an attacker to execute malicious code on a server.
How to Restore Services and Mailbox Data?
This will address the issue of sending and receiving emails. If users exclusively used webmail, there is a possibility that some email data may be lost. However, for clients who accessed their emails via Outlook, there is a potential to recover the data. This is because Outlook stores emails locally in a cache (OST file), which can be extracted, converted into a PST file, and then imported into the new Office 365 platform. Here are the steps you can follow to recover the data.
1. Outlook
If the client computer can access Outlook, you can export the mailbox data to a PST file. Subsequently, this PST file can be imported into the Exchange Online (Microsoft 365) profile. The time required for this process will depend on the data volume and the size of the PST file. However, this method is not advised for large mailboxes or PST files as it may result in Outlook crashing.
2. DiskInternals Outlook Recovery
DiskInternals Outlook Recovery is a specialized software designed to recover lost or deleted emails, attachments, and other items from Microsoft Outlook. It can restore data from corrupted PST and OST files, even if your Outlook program cannot open them. This tool is especially useful for recovering data after a server outage, as it can extract emails from the local cache (OST file) on the client's computer and convert them into a usable PST file. This PST file can then be imported into a new Office 365 platform or any other email program that supports PST files. DiskInternals Outlook Recovery also offers a preview feature, allowing you to view the recoverable items before proceeding with the actual recovery.
Conclusion
The recent Rackspace Hosted Exchange outage caused significant disruptions, leaving many clients without access to essential emails and services. The situation was exacerbated when incoming emails started bouncing back, leading to clients and recipients receiving Non-Delivery Report (NDR) messages after several hours of delay. While Rackspace has not released detailed information about the security incident, it is important to take proactive measures to recover lost data and prevent future disruptions.
For clients who accessed their emails via Outlook, data recovery is possible as Outlook stores emails locally in a cache (OST file). This data can be extracted, converted into a PST file, and then imported into the new Office 365 platform. However, the manual method of exporting mailbox data to a PST file is not recommended for large mailboxes or PST files as it may lead to Outlook crashing.
DiskInternals Outlook Recovery is a specialized software that can aid in recovering lost or deleted emails, attachments, and other items from Microsoft Outlook. It can restore data from corrupted PST and OST files, even if Outlook cannot open them. This tool is particularly useful in the aftermath of a server outage, as it can extract emails from the local cache on the client's computer and convert them into a usable PST file.
In conclusion, while outages like the one experienced by Rackspace can be incredibly disruptive, it is possible to recover lost data and restore services with the right tools and approach. It is important for businesses to be prepared for such incidents by having a robust data recovery plan in place and being familiar with the tools and methods available for data recovery.
FAQ
What should I do immediately after a Rackspace Hosted Exchange outage?
Immediately after an outage, it is important to assess the impact on your business, communicate with your team and clients about the situation, and start the process of data recovery. If you accessed your emails via Outlook, you could recover your data from the local cache (OST file) on your client's computer.
Can I recover my data if I only used webmail?
If you exclusively used webmail, there is a possibility that some email data may be lost. However, if you accessed your emails via Outlook, you could recover your data from the local cache (OST file) on your client's computer.
What is the difference between OST and PST files?
OST (Offline Storage Table) files are copies of your Exchange mailbox data stored locally on your computer. PST (Personal Storage Table) files are used to store archived items and can be imported into other email programs that support PST files.
Can I recover data from a large PST file?
While it is possible to recover data from a large PST file, the manual method of exporting mailbox data to a PST file is not recommended for large mailboxes or PST files as it may lead to Outlook crashing. Instead, consider using specialized software like DiskInternals Outlook Recovery for a safer and more efficient recovery process.
Is there a way to prevent data loss during future outages?
While it is impossible to completely prevent outages, you can minimize the impact of future outages by having a robust data recovery plan in place, regularly backing up your data, and being familiar with the tools and methods available for data recovery. Additionally, consider using a cloud-based email service like Microsoft 365, which offers more redundancy and resilience against outages.