Incase anyone is interested in the notes. Switching DR Exchange server with Production server
1. Full tape backup of the MS Directory and IS performed at 10pm est. Will take approximately 2 hours to complete. Outage scheduled for 12am est. 2. Production Server: Windows 2000 Server SP2 SR1, MS Exchange 5.5 SP4. Make sure that the DR server has the exact same service packs for both Windows 2000 and MS Exchange. 3. Backup completed at 11:47pm. Preparing to bring down the production Exchange server. (Company notified 48, 12, and 6hrs prior to scheduled outage) 4. Remove Production Exchange server from the domain. Run Replication Manager to sync this change across the network (You can also run Srvr Manager if you have a mix node environment). Waited approximately 15 mins before adding the DR server to the production domain. (Technically not necessary but did it as a precaution) 5. Added the DR Exchange server to the production domain. Ran Replication Manager again to synch the change across the network. 6. Install MS Exchange 5.0. Run setup\I386\Setup.exe 7. Select Custom Installation: Check the following options: MS Exchange Server, MS Exchange Administrator. 8. Enter the CD-KEY 9. Select Licensing Mode: Per Seat and click Continue 10. Select 'Create a new site' 11. Organization Name = 12. Site Name = 13. Organization Name and Site Name must be the same as the one on the original Exchange server. 14. Enter service account and service account password 15. Setup will not begin installing MS Exchange 5.0 Enterprise Edition. 16. Once MS Exchange 5.0 has been installed you will be asked to run the Performance Optimizer. Click 'Run Optimizer' (all Exchange services are stopped while Performance Optimizer is being run) 17. Move the Exchange server files to the following location: a. Private Info Store E:\exchsrvr\mdbdata b. Public Info Store E:\exchsrve\mdbdata c. Info Store Logs E:\exchsrve\mdbdata d. Directory Service E:\exchsrve\dsadata e. Directory Service Logs E:\exchsrve\dsadata f: Message Transfer Agent E:\exchsrve\mtadata 18. Once Performance Optimizer has complete open Exchange Administrator. 19. In Exchange Admin connect to: RKAWA1EX02 20. Upgrade to MS Exchange 5.5 (if you have an Enterprise Version of 5.5 then you would do the above using your 5.5 CD. We only have a 5.5 upgrade CD so we had to do the steps above again. Not pleasant! 21. Install MS Exchange Service Pack 4. 22. Restore MS Directory first from Tape backup. Make sure you Inventory and Catalog the tape prior to performing the restore. (We use Veritas Backup Exec 8.6) 23. Once restore has completed, stop/start the MS Directory service. Error: Event ID 1067: The process terminated unexpectedly. This behavior can occur on a recovery server or on a server you use for testing purposes because the Edb.log file that is created during a restore operation from backup interferes with the recovery process when the restore operation is finished. Resolution: To resolve this behavior, manually remove the existing data in the Dsadata folder before starting the restore operation from backup. NOTE : If you delete the Edb.log file to restart the directory service, run eseutil with the /g /v /x /ds options to ensure that this deletion does not introduce errors into the directory. 24. Once the existing data in the Dsadata folder was deleted the MS Directory was restored a second time. 25. MS Directory started successfully. 26. Run the restore process for the Information Store from tape backup. 27. Once restore has completed make sure that the MS Exchange Directory services has started successfully. 28. Run the isinteg patch: c:\exchsrvr\bin\isinteg -patch 29. Starting MS Exchange Information Store... 30. MS Exchange Information Store has started successfully. 31. Stop the MS Exchange Info Store service. 32. Run the isinteg patch: c:\exchsrvr\bin\isinteg -patch (MS Exchange Information Store Integrity checker) 33. The Information Store has been successfully updated. 34. Restart the MS Exchange Info Store service. 35. Test opening a few mailboxes to ensure that emails are present. 36. Exchange server is now up and running. Total time of entire process: 2hours 45 mins. -----Original Message----- From: Ray Zorz [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]] Sent: Thursday, April 18, 2002 9:12 AM To: MS-Exchange Admin Issues Subject: RE: DR Exchange server to production server Great job!! Post the notes!!! -----Original Message----- From: Sethi, Ali [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]] Sent: Thursday, April 18, 2002 12:32 AM To: MS-Exchange Admin Issues Subject: RE: DR Exchange server to production server Well I did it with no major issues. If anyone is planning on doing something like this and would like some notes please let me know. -----Original Message----- From: Sethi, Ali [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]] Sent: Wednesday, April 17, 2002 6:41 PM To: MS-Exchange Admin Issues Subject: RE: DR Exchange server to production server PS. We are a small shop so we can afford an outage to our Exchnge server overnight. I have read the Ed Crowley server move method. Its great but not be necessary as we only need one exchange server online and can afford an overnight outage. -----Original Message----- From: Sethi, Ali [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]] Sent: Wednesday, April 17, 2002 6:36 PM To: MS-Exchange Admin Issues Subject: DR Exchange server to production server Hi, Has anyone ever switched their DR server to their Production Exchange server? I have a DR Exchange server that I use to frequently perform DR tests. The specs: Computername, Domain, Windows 2k and Exchange service packs on the production server are exactly the same as the DR server. What I want to do is after hours(once a backup of the Dir and IS is run)stop the Exchange services on the production server and take if off the domain and sync the servers. Then, take the DR server off of the test domain (which is exactly the same as our production domain) and bring it online on the production domain. Once online, install Exchange 5.5 with sp4 and run a restore of the Ex Dir and the IS). Once the Exxchange service have started theoretically I should be able to log back in to my mailbox via Outlook. Has anyone done this type of scenario and experienced problems? Thanks, List Charter and FAQ at: http://www.sunbelt-software.com/exchange_list_charter.htm List Charter and FAQ at: http://www.sunbelt-software.com/exchange_list_charter.htm List Charter and FAQ at: http://www.sunbelt-software.com/exchange_list_charter.htm List Charter and FAQ at: http://www.sunbelt-software.com/exchange_list_charter.htm List Charter and FAQ at: http://www.sunbelt-software.com/exchange_list_charter.htm List Charter and FAQ at: http://www.sunbelt-software.com/exchange_list_charter.htm
