Title: Clustering Exchange 2000
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3Clustering Exchange 2000
- Scott Schnoll
- MCT, MCSE, MCSA, MCP, MVP
- Manager Product Support
- TNT Software http//www.tntsoftware.com
4Overview of Session
- What is Clustering
- Requirements for Clustering
- Step-by-Step E2K Cluster Build
- Managing E2K Clusters
- Disaster Recovery for E2K Clusters
- Caveats
5Overview of Clustering
- Why Cluster
- High-availability
- Measured in 9s
- Provided by failover
- Strengthened by fault tolerant design
- Increased Uptime (but not 100)
- System Uptime Performance Counter
- SRVINFO
- Uptime Utility
- Application Uptime
- Managed maintenance/upgrades
- Rolling Upgrades (Supported by Win2k and E2K SP3)
6Overview of Clustering
- Does not protect against
- Loss of or damage to shared storage
- Network failures
- Application failures or database corruption
- Disasters
- Does not provide scalability
- Cannot move running applications
- Shared state is lost
7Overview of Clustering
External Storage
Node A
Node B
Network Heartbeat
Shared nothing model
8Overview of Clustering
External Storage
Node A
X
Node B
Network Heartbeat
Shared nothing model
9Overview of Clustering
- Cluster Quorum
- Stores most current configuration data in quorum
recovery logs and registry checkpoints - Maintains resource checkpoints
- Provides persistent physical storage
- Recovery Logs Used to
- Enable any node to form a cluster
- Enable nodes to maintain a cluster
- Guarantee that a single cluster is formed
- Cluster.Log file
- Logs cluster activity great for troubleshooting
10Overview of Clustering
- Windows 2000 Advanced Server
- 2-node Active/Passive (A/P)
- 2-node Active/Active (A/A)
- Windows 2000 Datacenter Server
- 2-node Active/Passive (A/P)
- 3-node Active/Active/Passive (A/P)
- 4-node Active/Active/Active/Passive (A/P)
- 4-node Active/Passive/Active/Passive (A/P)
11Overview of Clustering
- Best Practices
- Active/Active
- Dont use more than two EVS
- Limit number concurrent MAPI users per node to
1,900 - Limit avg CPU utilization on each node to 40
- Active/Passive is the STRONGLY preferred model.
- Exchange Virtual Server Limits
- Two Node
- A/P 1
- A/A 4
- Three Node 2 (A/P only)
- Four Node 3 (A/P only)
12Exchange 2000 Support
- Active/Active Support
- System Attendant
- Information Store
- POP3, IMAP, SMTP, HTTP
- Microsoft Search (Full-text Indexing)
- SMTP and Routing Group Connectors
- Active/Passive
- Message Transfer Agent
13Exchange 2000 Support
- NOT Supported
- ADC
- Calendar Connector
- Chat Services
- Conferencing Services
- Exchange Event Service
- Foreign Mail System Connectors
- Instant Messaging
- Key Management Services
- NNTP STILL REQUIRED FOR INSTALL!
- Site Replication Service
14Migrating from anExchange 5.5 Cluster
- In-Place Upgrade Not Supported
- Move Mailbox Method - 316886
- Introduce standalone Exchange 2000 Server into
Exchange 5.5 Site - Move mailboxes from Exchange 5.5 cluster to this
system - Add Exchange 2000 cluster to Site
- Move mailboxes to EVS
15Preparing for Clustering
- SCSI or Fibre Channel shared storage
- Identical RAM and CPUs
- Cluster-certified hardware
- (HCL Cluster)
- Windows 2000 Advanced Server or Datacenter Server
- Exchange 2000 Enterprise Server
16Preparing for Clustering
- Design Storage
- 4 storage group maximum on node
- 5 databases per storage group
- RAID arrays (RAID 1 or RAID 01)
- Shared disks must be BASIC and formatted with
NTFS - Separate Disk Resources for Logs and DBs in the
same EVS - Separate Resource Group for Quorum
- Plan network (IP addresses and names)
17Building an Exchange 2000 Cluster
- Step 1 - Prepare Hardware
- Apply latest system BIOS
- Apply latest device firmware
- Gather latest software drivers
- Disable unnecessary hardware
- No need for more than 3GB
18Building an Exchange 2000 Cluster
- Step 2 Install OS and Related Software
- Win 2000 Advanced/Datacenter w/SP3
- SMTP, W3SVC and NNTP services
- Windows Update/Security Hotfixes
- Administration Tools ADMINPAK.MSI (SP3)
19Building an Exchange 2000 Cluster
- Step 3 Prepare Nodes for Cluster Service
- Disable unnecessary services
- Configure Networks
- Rename LAN connections to Private Network and
Public Network - Disable NetBIOS on private (heartbeat) interface
- Disable Media Sense on NICs Hard-code
- Create cluster service account
- Domain account w/Exchange Full Admin rights, and
local Administrator rights on each node
20Building an Exchange 2000 Cluster
- Step 3 Prepare Nodes for Cluster Service
(contd) - Add Nodes to Domain as member servers
- Create Quorum partition on shared disk
- 50MB min 500MB recommended
- Create and format additional disks/arrays
21Building an Exchange 2000 Cluster
- Step 4 Install Cluster Service on each node
- Step 5 Install MS DTC on each node
- Step 6 Install Exchange 2000
- Ent. Svr.
- Unattended setup not supported
- Cluster-aware version will be installed
- Binaries installed locally in same location on
each node - Install one node at a time and reboot each node
when finished
22Building an Exchange 2000 Cluster
- Step 7 Install Exchange 2000 Updates
- Service Pack 3
- Step 8 Create Exchange Virtual Servers
- Create Resource Group
- Disk Resource
- IP Address Resource
- Network Name Resource
- Exchange System Attendant Resource
- Repeat Step 8 if using Active/Active model
23Building an Exchange 2000 Cluster
- Step 9 Set Quorum Log file to reset at 4096KB
- Step 10 Configure EVS Resources
- LooksAlive not implemented
- IsAlive hard-coded at 10 seconds
- Increase pending timeout on A/A clusters
- Step 11 Bring Resources Online
24Building a Back-EndExchange 2000 Cluster
- Extra Steps for Back-End Servers
- Create HTTP virtual servers in ESM
- Create virtual directories to match those on FE
server - Add HTTP virtual servers to EVS
- Take EVS offline and restart IIS
- You must create one HTTP virtual server for each
FE namespace - SMTP domain must match users of FE server
25Before Cluster GoesInto Production
- Test failover policies
- Test hardware (simulate failures)
- Stress Tests LOADSIM/ESP
- Test performance under heavy network loads
- Test performance under heavy disk I/O
- Test performance under heavy services load
- Test performance under large number of
simultaneous logon attempts
26Before Cluster GoesInto Production
- Tune Failover Performance
- ESE Log Checkpoint Depth
- SMTP Tuning
- Evenly distribute threads across protocols
- Consider number of IS service connections
27Managing an Exchange2000 Cluster
- Cluster Administrator
- Other Objects Managed Within MMC
- Exchange System Manager
- Internet Services Manager
- DNS
- AD Users Computers
28Managing an Exchange2000 Cluster
- Management can be scripted
- WMI scripts
- Command-line mgmt (CLUSTER.EXE)
- CDO for System Management (formerly EMO)
- Diagnostic Logging on EVS
- Disable MTA Stack service monitoring
- Redirect IIS log files to shared storage
29Monitoring an Exchange2000 Cluster
- Health Performance
- MSExchangeIS\VM Largest Block Size
- MSExchangeIS\VM Total 16MB Free Blocks
- MSExchangeIS\VM Total Free Blocks
- MSExchangeIS\VM Total Large Free Block Bytes
- Make sure VM Total Large Free Block Bytes ALWAYS
exceeds 32 MB - SP3 fixes VM frag problem (324118)
30Removing an EVS from a Cluster
- Cannot remove first EVS until all other EVSs have
been removed - Designate a replacement system if bridgehead
- 5 steps
- Move all content (mailboxes/PFs) to another EVS
- Take the SA resource offline
- Delete the SA resource
- Verify that EVS server object is gone from AD
- Delete remaining cluster resources
31Removing Exchange 2000from a Cluster
- Create a temp folder outside Exchsrvr structure
- Copy four DLLs from Exchsrvr\BIN to temp folder
Dsaccess.dll, Exchmem.dll, Expoxy.dll,
Pttrace.dll - Uninstall via Control Panel
- Prompt Is this the last one in the cluster?
- Reboot
- Copy DLLs from temp folder back to original
location - Run exchmgmt.exe \uninstall
32Exchange 2000 ClusterDisaster Recovery
- Use cluster-aware backup software
- Location of backup
- Backup device/software on each node
- LAN-based backup solution
- See http//go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId1714
for Exchange 2000 Disaster Recovery info
33Exchange 2000 ClusterDisaster Recovery
- Recovery from Loss of Node
- Evict the old node and verify eviction
- Build a new cluster node and join cluster
- Restore System State only on new node
- Install Exchange on new node
- Make new node Possible Owner of resources
34Exchange 2000 ClusterDisaster Recovery
- Recovery from loss of shared storage
- Make sure disk signatures are correct (280425)
- Recovery from Quorum Failure
- Use DumpConfig to recreate disk signature
- Perform a node restore
- Use ClusRest to restore quorum
- See 248998 for more information
35Exchange 2000 ClusterDisaster Recovery
- Recovery from Total Failure
- Rebuild all nodes
- Create original cluster group
- Restore System State on each node
- Install Exchange on each node
- Recreate Exchange resources (use same names)
- Restore databases from backup
36Caveats
If you are installing the Exchange 2000 cluster
into an existing Exchange 5.5 organization, the
Exchange 2000 cluster may not be the first
Exchange 2000 server in a site, and the Exchange
2000 cluster may not be a bridgehead
server. Exchange 2000 requires the Site
Replication Service (SRS) in a mixed environment.
SRS is not supported in a clustered environment.
37Caveats
To successfully install or upgrade an
Exchange 2000 SP3 cluster on Windows 2000 SP2 or
later, you may need to run Comclust.exe on all
nodes in the cluster. Comclust.exe creates a
Microsoft Distributed Transaction Coordinator
(MSDTC) cluster resource, which is required by
Exchange 2000. See 312316, XADM Setup Does Not
Install Exchange 2000 on a Cluster If the MSDTC
Resource Is Not Running.
38Caveats
241626 XADM Do Not Use Secure Sockets Layer
Only for Cluster Virtual Servers 263060 XADM
Full Exchange Admin Cannot Create a New Store on
the Second Virtual Server in a Cluster 271449
XADM Message Transfer Agent Stacks Service
Incorrectly Logs an Error When It Runs in a
Cluster Environment 241627 XADM Cannot Access
Additional HTTP Virtual Server on Cluster Servers
39Caveats
271407 XADM Default SMTP Log File Directory Is
Incorrect for Clustered Servers 251525 XADM
Registry Checkpoints for DSProxy Need Manual
Configuration 266689 XADM The "ESEUTIL /CC"
Command Does Not Work on Cluster Server
40For more information
- Step-by-Step Guide to Installing Cluster Service
http//go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId266 - Disaster Recovery for Microsoft Exchange 2000
Server http//go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId1714
- Front-End/Back-End Configuration Guide
http//www.microsoft.com/exchange/techinfo/deploym
ent/2000/E2KFrontBack.asp - Deploying Exchange 2000 Clustershttp//go.microso
ft.com/fwlink/?LinkId9393 http//www.microsoft.c
om/exchange/techinfo/deployment/2000/E2KCluster.as
p
41For more information
- Exchange 2000 SP3 Deployment Guide
http//www.microsoft.com/exchange/techinfo/deploym
ent/2000/SP3Deployment.asp - Exchange 2000 Third-party Solutions
http//go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId5225 - Exchange 2000 Server Database Recoveryhttp//go.m
icrosoft.com/fwlink/?LinkID6273 - http//www.microsoft.com/exchange
- http//msdn.microsoft.com/exchange
- http//www.nwnetworks.com/cluster.html
- news//msnews.microsoft.com
- http//www.microsoft.com/technet/exchange/default.
asp - http//searchwin2000.discussions.techtarget.com
42Questions? Click the Ask a question button on
the bottom left corner of your screen now to ask
Scott a question. Thank You!
Scott Schnoll scott_schnoll_at_msn.com MCT, MCSE,
MCSA, MCP, MS MVP Manager Product Support TNT
Software http//www.tntsoftware.com
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