Clustering questions

[Daveyd123]

I posted this in the Exchange forums with no luck so I thought I'd try it in here...

I currently have a single 2003 Exchange server.

I just purchased 2, Dell 1850s and also a PowerVault 220S direct attach storage. I am going to Cluster the 2 servers and have the PowerVault act as the shared storage.

I need to also migrate all Exchange data from the single server to the new cluster.

It will not be a front end/back end setup. The new cluster will be taking the place of the currect, single Exchange server.

Im looking for some info on how to cluster the 2 servers with Exchange 2003 and Server 2003 Enterprise and also migrate all Exchange data.

What are the steps involved?

From what I have read I would..

1. Install 2003 Enterprise on both servers.
2. Install MS-DTC
3. Install MS Clustering Services.
4. Install Exchange on Node1
5. Install Exchange on Node2
6. Install Exchange SP2 on Node1
7. Install Exchange SP2 on Node2


I know I'm missing a few steps. Can anoyone offer and assistance?

 

[mrslimey]

see

http://www.msexchange.org/tutorials/Implementing-Two-Node-Cluster-Windows-2003-Enterprise.html

 

[markdmac]

Your steps are correct for getting Exchange on the cluster. You will then need to do a transfer of all mailboxes and public folders to the cluster, direct all mail flow to the cluster, uninstall Exchange from the old server.

I think you will find this KB ont he subject will guide you best;

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/895981/en-us

I hope you find this post helpful.

Regards,

Mark

 

[ncotton]

Was just gonna point there, really, once you have configured your cluster service (with the exchange installed on both systems, is shouldn't need any real configuration change.
There is also a tutorial there on exporting and importing exchange data\configs.

Neil J Cotton
njc Information Systems
Systems Consultant

 

[Daveyd123]

SInce I am removing the single Exchange server, would there be any issues with giving the new Exchange cluster the same FQDN and IP address of the old server?

 

[markdmac]

I would advise against that.

Plus there should be no need for it. All local Outlook profiles will be automatically updated to point to the new mailbox location if you leave the old server runnign with Exchange for a day. Once the user has connected to email it will update the profile and then that server can be removed.

I hope you find this post helpful.

Regards,

Mark

 

[Daveyd123]

Does it matter what computer name I give each server while joining each to the Domain?

For instance, I install 2003 on one server, name it ExchNode1 and join it to the Domain. I install 2003 on the 2nd server and name it ExchNode2 and join it to the Domain.

 

[Daveyd123]

Also, is MS-DTC required for an Exchange cluster? If so, what is its functionality?

 

[markdmac]

Names don't matter, call it Tim or Bobo . Sorry not sure on the need for DTC.

I hope you find this post helpful.

Regards,

Mark

 

[Daveyd123]

I have a Dell PowerVault 220S for external storage for the cluster. It has 3 drives in RAID5. What would be the best way to set up the storage device to hold the Exchange data as well as the quorum drive?

 

[markdmac]

Sorry diving into areas where I have little expertise. You might want to bring in a consultant that specializes in this just to make sure you get the job done right.

I hope you find this post helpful.

Regards,

Mark

 

[Daveyd123]

Another question...On the Exchange cluster I am going to install Mcafee Groupshield as well as SurfControl's Email Filter.

Would the proper procedure be:

Shut down Node2
Install software on Node1
Shut down Node1
Install software on Node2
Restart both Nodes?

 

[markdmac]

Yes, that is the proper procedure. Make sure you configure the folder exclusions in the AV so they don't mess with your info stores.

I hope you find this post helpful.

Regards,

Mark

 

[pgaliardo]

I have a Dell PowerVault 220S for external storage for the cluster. It has 3 drives in RAID5. What would be the best way to set up the storage device to hold the Exchange data as well as the quorum drive?

If your budget allows, I think the best bet would be to have data, log files and the quorum on seperate physical disks. We just set up a SQL cluster with the following config:

2 mirrored hard drives in each node for the OS - Drive C
On the external storage:
Drive F for Data: 4 hard drives in a RAID 5
Drive H for Log files: 3 Hard Drives in a RAID 5
Drive G: Single Hard Drive for Quorum
Drive I: Single Hard Drive for MSDTC

I know that comes out to 9 Hard Drives, but if you're going to go this far with spending the money on cluster hardware, don't short change yourself on the hard drives.

 

[dangermouse68]

You're clustering for failover cases. So I wouldn't have any volume on a single driver, PG. Mirrored sets for each of the single drive cases above.

RAID 5 should be good enough, not sure how well Exchange works on RAID 1+0 though, which will give the best performance.

 

[Daveyd123]

PG...after some reading your solution seems to be the best practice.


Right now, each of my Nodes have 2 Physical drives in RAID 1

On my external storage device I only have 3 physical drives of which are in RAID 5. I do have the ability to expand up to 14 physical drives.

If I cannot get more physical drives, I guess I will have to partition the existing RAID5 array...albeit not best practice.

How many RAID controller cards do you have in your set up you listed above, PG?

 

[Daveyd123]

PG?

 

[Daveyd123]

Since my Shared storage consists only of 3 hard drives in RAID5, I partitioned it. I created a Q:\ drive for the Quorum, a R:\ drive for the Log Files and a S:\ drive for the database.

When I went to set up a new cluster in Cluster Admin, it told me that the Quorum Drive was (Q:,R:,S...and after the install the Quorum failed to go online and it created a local quorum.

I assume the best practice is for me to get 2 additional hard drives and put them into the external storage device and have them in RAID1 and assign the Quorum drive to that?

If I cannot get 2 additional drives, should I not partition the RAID5 array and just point the quorum and everything else there?

 

[Daveyd123]

Any clustering gurus out there?

 

[dangermouse68]

Best practice would be to have all your drives on separate disk sets. Mirrored set for the Quorum, You could go RAID 5 for the logs (R, but a mirrored set will work (less disks needed) and a RAID 1 or 1+0 set for the database (S for speed of accessing the database.