INFO: Backup\Restore of MSMQ Server Registry Keys (240438)

SUMMARY

A good disaster recovery plan for Microsoft Message Queue Server (MSMQ) should include backing up the MSMQ Server configuration information that is stored in the registry. This document should be used in conjunction with the following Microsoft Knowledge Base articles:

191535 HOWTO: Restoring MQIS from SQL Backup

191536 INFO: Backing Up the MQIS Database

For MSMQ Primary Site Controllers (PSCs), it is necessary to back up important registry key information as well as backing up the Message Queue Information Store (MQIS) database. In case of a catastrophic failure, Enterprise and Site configurations can be restored using a saved copy of the MQIS database and the following registry key:
HKEY\LOCALMACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\MSMQ\Parameters\MachineCache

How you recover an MSMQ Server is determined by what state the computer is in at time of recovery. For instance, if the computer was reformatted and the operating system was re-installed and you need to recover a previous MSMQ Server Service and its configuration, then restoring the necessary registry keys and MQIS database is required in order to retain the local MSMQ Server Service configuration prior to the computer's failure. If the computer was not reformatted and the underlying operating system is intact and MSMQ Server Services need to be reinstalled, some of the previous configuration might already be intact. For instance, MQ dlls have been deleted and the MSMQ Service is no longer valid but the MQIS database and Registry entries are intact. In this case, reinstalling MSMQ Server Services might be simpler because recovery of back up versions of the MQIS and Registry Keys is not necessary.

This document details how to back up and restore the necessary registry keys that MSMQ Primary Site Controllers require. Although there are many registry entries for MSMQ, only the following is required for restoration:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\MSMQ\Parameters\MachineCache

For PSCs, it is important to make a backup copy of the SiteID information in the registry. This procedure should be done occasionally, and the registry key backup file kept in a safe location along with the backup copy of the MQIS database. This procedure only needs to be completed for PSCs. BSCs do not retain a SiteID.

IMPORTANT NOTE:

It is very important that these procedures be tested in your environment prior to an emergency. Although Microsoft has thoroughly tested this procedure, each configuration is different and other factors might impact reliability.

MORE INFORMATION

Backing Up the Registry Key

From the Start menu, select Run, type Regedit, and then click OK.
In Regedit, open the following key:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\MSMQ\Parameters\MachineCache
On the Menu bar, click Registry, and then click Export Registry File.
Type an easily recognizable name for the backup file and location, and click Save to save the key backup.

It is very important that only the MachineCache key folder is selected when exporting the key to file. This is because if the MSMQ or Parameters key folders had been selected when exported and then subsequently imported\restored prior to running Option Pack Setup, Option Pack Setup does not re-install MSMQ because Setup finds enough information to believe that MSMQ is already on the computer.

Restoring the Registry Key

Restoring the MSMQ registry key must be performed prior to running Option Pack Setup to re-install the MSMQ components.

There are two simple methods of restoring the registry key export file: You can double-click on the file from anywhere in Windows Explorer, or you can use Regedit by doing the following:

From the Start menu, select Run, type Regedit, and then click OK.
In Regedit, click on Registry, then click Import Registry File. Select the Registry Export backup file you previously saved, and then click OK to restore the registry key.

For both methods, a message box appears stating that the backup file was entered into the registry.