Concept clarification on additional exchange 2003

[faisalt]

Hi,

We have a single Exchange 2003 (Stand. Edition) server.
I am concerned that if this server goes down, users will be out of emails for a long time. I like to setup another box with exchange 2003 running in parallel. Is that going to work like having an additional domain controller? Ideally, I like to set it up in a way that if my current exchange server goes down, the other one continues to function. I read that it is not possible without doing clustering of some sort. Also, I need more detail on additional exchange server just running front-end services. How would that play a role in disaster recovery?
Thanks in advance,
faisal

 

[58sniper]

No - it doesn't work that way. You could look into clustering, but there is a single point of failure with the storage.

You could look into something like DoubleTake or Never Fail, which provide non-clustered failover.

As for FE servers and DR, that's not usually a problem (assuming more than one FE server).

Pat Richard, MCSE MCSA:Messaging CNA
Microsoft Exchange MVP
Want to know how email works? Read for yourself -

http://www.ietf.org/rfc/rfc2821.txt

 

[faisalt]

So I presume Front-end server will be able to queue incoming messages, incase my other server is down?

 

[58sniper]

No - not really. A front end server merely handles client access, so as MAPI and OWA. Having multiple FEs is so if one of the FEs goes down, you should still be ok.

For redundancy, clusters or failover software as mentioned previously.

Pat Richard, MCSE MCSA:Messaging CNA
Microsoft Exchange MVP
Want to know how email works? Read for yourself -

http://www.ietf.org/rfc/rfc2821.txt

 

[DanMIS]

If you have your internet connection via an ISP, they will queue the mail for a period, usually several days. The senders will still get the "delayed" notification, but will not have to resend.

 

[58sniper]

That's only if your backup MX record points to them. Otherwise, mail never touches your ISP's mail systems.

Pat Richard, MCSE MCSA:Messaging CNA
Microsoft Exchange MVP
Want to know how email works? Read for yourself -

http://www.ietf.org/rfc/rfc2821.txt