Mailbox Replication

[chrisazzi]

Hi can someone tell me if there is a way to replicate a single mailbox across 2 exchange servers. Ideally it would be real time replication just like cached mode...

at the moment i have the second server setup with outlook and i have opened the mailbox on the server using cache mode giving me a real time replication. However if the main server was to go down i would need to export the cache into a pst and then import into the second mail server.

2 questions.

1. Is there a way i can replicate the 2 mailboxes?

2. Is there a way i can import directly from a ost file into outlook?

Thank you.

Chris

 

[BenChristian]

Hi Chris, to answer your questions:

1. No, you cannot replicate mailboxes.
2. No, you cannot import an ost file in the same way that you can import a PST file.

Would a public folder be more suitable? You can create multiple public folder replicas.

Ben Christian
MCSE, MCSA:Messaging

http://www.benchristian.com

 

[fuego007]

If you want to have redundancy in the event of server failure, look into clustering.

When all else fails, read the book!

 

[58sniper]

If you want to have redundancy in the event of server failure, look into clustering.

Or something like DoubleTake or Never Fail.

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

 

[chrisazzi]

Thank you for your responses.

I have setup a second server with Exchange running, so that in the event of a failure on the main server, i can restore the mailbox from backup onto the redundant server.

These guys are a 10user company where they all access the same mailbox. so its only realy 1 mailbox which they are concerned about making redundant.

 

[58sniper]

You'd then have to redirect inbound traffic on port 25, and manually update the Outlook profiles on all of the machines.

A properly configured server should have no unplanned downtime (at least, that's the goal). And any unplanned downtime due to hardware failure should be quickly resolved through warranty (4 hours). In this scenario, the server should be back up and running before you'd be able to restore the databases, move the profiles, update the firewall, etc.

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

 

[Karidian]

I have a similar situation. I am replacing an aging server with a new one and am having issues with moving mailboxes from one server to the other. Is there a way to have both servers running while moving mailboxes so that I have no down time? Server 1 is Exchange 2003 Standard on Win03 R2 and Server 2 (replacement) is Exchange 2003 Enterprise on Win03 R2.

Rob Pierce, Systems Administrator
Lipo Chemicals, Inc.

http://www.lipochemicals.com

 

[BenChristian]

Hi Karidian,

You should start a new post for your question. But in short: Yes, you should be able to move mailboxes between the two servers using the move mailbox wizard. There will be no downtime for the user, however, Outlook can sometimes be a little sluggish during the migration. For this reason, it's usually best to schedule the mailbox moves out of hours.

Ben Christian
MCSE, MCSA:Messaging

http://www.benchristian.com