Recovery procedure for a Cluster Exchange to a Non-Cluster 1

[natashiakk]

Hi,

Anyone have the procedure to recover a Active/Passive Cluster Exchange server to a Non-Cluster environment.

Thanks
kk.

 

[larsjuhl]

Hi natashiakk,
Did you ever find out ?
I woul like any infomation on how to move my exchange 2000 cluster to a standalone server (and even if possible keep same server name..)

rgds,
Lars

 

[compgirlfhredi]

http://support.microsoft.com/defaul...ks%2Fwebcasts%2Fen%2Fwc032602%2Fwct032602.asp

http://support.microsoft.com/defaul...2Fwebcasts%2Fen%2Ftranscripts%2Fwct050603.asp

http://wms.eistream.com/support/support_WMS/Documentation/4.x/clusteringwhitepaper.pdf

http://ftp.us.dell.com/app/Thibaula.pdf

http://activeanswers.compaq.com/aa_downloads/6/100/225/1/42311.pdf

http://www.microsoft.com/technet/prodtechnol/windowsserver2003/support/SerCsFAQ.asp

http://www.microsoft.com/ntserver/support/faqs/Clusterfaq_deploy.asp

http://www.microsoft.com/technet/prodtechnol/exchange/maintain/operate/opsguide/e2kops2.asp

http://www.networkcomputing.com/1307/1307ws1.html

http://www.win2000mag.com/Articles/Index.cfm?ArticleID=16007

 

[compgirlfhredi]

Migrating from a Standalone Server to a Cluster




Although you can upgrade NT 4.0 to NTS/E, you can't upgrade an Exchange server to a clustered Exchange server. However, you can install the Exchange cluster with a new Exchange server name into the same site as the existing server. Move the users from the old server to the new server, and then shut down the old server. (If this server was the first server you installed in the site, you must move the site folders before shutting the server down permanently. The Microsoft article "XADM: How to Remove the First Exchange Server in a Site"—

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;Q152959&sd=tech

—explains the process.)

To ensure that your Outlook users know which server to use when they log on for the first time after the upgrade, create a network name alias that has the old network name but is bound to the IP address of the Exchange alias. When the clients connect to the old server name, they actually connect to the new Exchange server and automatically receive the information about the new server that holds their mailbox.

 

[compgirlfhredi]

BTW,you can use the Windows 2000 Backup and Recovery Tools wizard to perform back up and restore of cluster nodes.
When you back up data on a server cluster node, make sure you also back up the cluster quorum. The cluster quorum is important because it contains the current cluster config, application registry checkpoints, and the cluster recovery log.
Use the Backup wizard to perform a backup of a cluster node where the Cluster service is operational. On the What to Back Up page of the wizard, select Back up everything on my computer or Only back up the System State data. To back up all cluster disks owned by a node, perform the backup from that node.If you choose Back up everything on my computer, everything on a node is backed up. The backup will include the clustering software, cluster
administrative software, the contents of the cluster quorum disk, and system state data. If you choose Only back up the System State data only the quorum disk and system state data are backed up.Before you back up:
·If you are backing up Microsoft Exchange Server, verify that you are using the latest NTBackup.exe available from the Exchange Server Web site. Otherwise, you can use the version of NTBackup.exe that is included with Windows 2000.
·Verify that the node you are performing the backup on is the owner of the cluster quorum disk.
·During backup, the following errors may be displayed: "Completed with Skipped Files" and "Examining the NTBackup log, both Clusdb and Clusdb.log failed to be backed up." These errors may be ignored. The Mscs directory from the Cluster quorum drive is still successfully backed up.
After you back up the cluster quorum disk on one node, it is not necessary to back up the quorum on the remaining cluster nodes. However, you may want to back up the clustering software, cluster administrative software, system state data, and other cluster disks on the remaining nodes.
Restoring data on a server cluster node:
You can run the Restore wizard to restore the contents of a cluster quorum disk to the subdirectory systemroot\cluster\cluster_backup. Then, using another tool, Clusrest.exe, you can restore the contents of the systemroot\cluster\cluster_backup to the Mscs directory on the cluster quorum drive.
To restore the contents of a cluster quorum disk:
1.Using the dumpconfig utility, which is found in the Windows 2000 Resource Kit, restore the signature of the quorum disk if the signature of the quorum disk has changed since you backed up.
2.If the Cluster service is running, stop the Cluster service on all cluster nodes.
3.Restore the system state (containing the contents of the cluster quorum disk) using Ntbackup.exe. Ntbackup.exe puts the contents of the cluster quorum disk in the subdirectory systemroot\cluster\cluster_backup.
4.After restoring you are prompted to restart. Instead of restarting, run Clusrest.exe to restore the content of the systemroot\cluster\cluster_backup directory to the cluster quorum disk.
5.Restart the computer.
After restarting the system, verify that the Cluster service is running on the node and that the cluster quorum disk is available. Restart the Cluster service on all remaining nodes in the cluster.
Cluster back up and restore scenarios:
These scenarios will require restoring your cluster. The first and third scenarios use Exchange Server as an example application running on the cluster. The type of failure you experience determines the steps you must follow:
Scenario 1--Single Cluster Node Failure: If a single node fails in the cluster (due to hardware failure), follow these steps to rebuild the node and rejoin the cluster:
1.After verifying that all cluster resource groups have been successfully moved to other nodes, build the new cluster node. This requires installing Windows on the new node. Be sure to select a new machine name for the node (do not use the same machine name as the one used for the previously failed node).
2.Install Cluster service on the new node and join the existing cluster.
3.Restore the node from tape or other backup medium, restore the System State on the node, and then install Exchange Server on the node.
4.For each cluster group and resource, verify that the newly joined node appears as a possible owner.
5.Move an Exchange Server group to the newly joined node and verify that the move is successful.
Scenario 2--Cluster Quorum Failure: If the cluster service fails to start due to a corrupted quorum disk, follow the steps outlined in this topic.
Scenario 3--Complete Cluster Failure: If all nodes fail in a quorum and the quorum disk cannot be repaired, follow these steps: Rebuild all nodes in the cluster with Windows 2000, set up cluster service on each node, and re-create the original Cluster group.
1.Restore only System State on each node.
2.Install Exchange Server on each cluster node and re-create Exchange cluster resources using the same names as before.
3.Restore Exchange Server databases from backup.
The Restore wizard does not restore disk signatures or the partition layout of nonquorum cluster disks. If a nonquorum cluster disk changes after the back up time, the corresponding disk resources may fail to come online after a restore when the Cluster service attempts to bring them online.
The Restore wizard attempts to restore the disk signature of the quorum disk, but does not restore the partition layout of the quorum disk. This is so the Cluster service can recognize a newly replaced quorum disk after a restore.