Migrating an Existing Microsoft Exchange Server Computer into a Cluster

If Microsoft Exchange Server is already installed and you want to install it into a cluster, you can either move users or perform a variation of the standard disaster recovery procedure. The option you choose depends primarily on the availability and capacity of other Microsoft Exchange Server computers in your site and your level of familiarity with the disaster recovery process.

Moving Users

Moving users from a non-clustered Microsoft Exchange Server computer to a clustered one allows you to take your time implementing your clustered environment because you can gradually migrate your users to the new system without interrupting e-mail services. However, to move users from a non-clustered Microsoft Exchange Server computer to a clustered Microsoft Exchange Server computer requires that you have sufficient hardware resources available to run two servers simultaneously.

Note   You can move users only between Microsoft Exchange Server computers that are located in the same site.

Before you move users, you must perform the following tasks:

  1. Install Microsoft Cluster Server.
  2. Configure the Microsoft Exchange cluster resource group for Microsoft Exchange Server.
  3. Install Microsoft Exchange Server on the primary node.
  4. Install Microsoft Exchange Server on the secondary node.

For more information, see "New Microsoft Exchange Server Computer Installation" earlier in this chapter.

The following procedure describes how to move users from the old Microsoft Exchange Server computer to the new clustered Microsoft Exchange Server computer. Before you move users, verify that the new clustered server has been added to the existing site and directory replication is complete.

Note   Do not shut down or remove the old server from the site until you are sure that all users have logged on to their mailboxes on the new server. This ensures that all messaging profiles are automatically updated.

    To move users from a non-clustered to a clustered Microsoft Exchange Server computer

  1. From the Tools menu in the Administrator program, choose Move User to move all users from the existing Microsoft Exchange Server computer to the new, clustered Microsoft Exchange Server computer.
  2. If the server you are moving users from was the first server in the site, in the Advanced property page for each public folder, change the home server to move all public folders from the existing Microsoft Exchange Server computer to the new, clustered Microsoft Exchange Server computer. For more information, see the Microsoft Knowledge Base article Q152959 "How to Remove the First Exchange Server in a Site" at the Microsoft Technical Support Web site (http://www.microsoft.com/support).
  3. After public folder and directory replication is complete and all users have logged on once, you can shut down the old server.
  4. In Windows NT Server Manager, remove the old server from the Microsoft Exchange Server site, and delete it from the domain.

Using Disaster Recovery

If you are limited by the amount of hardware resources that are available, you can perform a variation of the standard disaster recovery procedure to add an existing Microsoft Exchange Server to a cluster. For example, if you don't have an extra server and you plan to use the computer that is currently running Microsoft Exchange Server as a node, you can remove Microsoft Exchange Server from the computer and reinstall it in the cluster. This option requires no additional hardware other than the two servers to be clustered.

For more information about disaster recovery, see Microsoft Exchange Server Maintenance and Troubleshooting or the troubleshooting resources available on the Web at http://www.microsoft.com/exchange.

Note   Make sure you log on using the same Windows NT account used to back up the Microsoft Exchange Server computer. If the account you are using is not the same as the Windows NT service account used for the Microsoft Exchange Server services, ensure that the account has administrator permissions. This will allow your current account to start and stop Microsoft Exchange services when necessary.

    To add an existing Microsoft Exchange Server computer to a cluster

  1. Log on to the Microsoft Exchange Server computer as an administrator.
  2. As a precaution, use Windows NT Backup to back up the information store and directory.
  3. Run Microsoft Exchange Server Setup, and upgrade to Microsoft Exchange Server 5.5.
  4. Back up the information store and directory using Windows NT Backup.

    You will use this backup after you have created your new cluster.

  5. Shut down the server.
  6. Perform a clean installation of Windows NT Server Enterprise Edition on both servers to cluster.
  7. Install Microsoft Cluster Server. For information about installing Microsoft Cluster Server, see your Microsoft Cluster Server documentation.

    Make sure you use the same Windows NT service account for both the Cluster services and the Microsoft Exchange Server services.

  8. Configure Microsoft Cluster Server for Microsoft Exchange Server as described in "New Microsoft Exchange Server Computer Installation" earlier in this chapter.

    Note   The network name resource must be the same as the computer name of the old Microsoft Exchange Server computer.

  9. Run Microsoft Exchange Server Setup on the primary node using the /r option. From the Start menu, choose Programs, and then choose Command Prompt. Change directories to the installation directory of the Microsoft Exchange Server compact disc and type setup.exe /r. For example, if the installation compact disc is located in the E:\ drive, you would type E:\Server\Setup\I386\setup.exe /r.

    Note   All of the resources in your newly created cluster resource group, including the physical disk resource, network name resource, and IP address resource, must be brought online before you run Microsoft Exchange Server Setup. To bring a resource online, select the resource and, from the File menu, choose Bring Online.

    The Microsoft Exchange Server computer should use the same configuration as the old Microsoft Exchange Server computer. For example, you should use the same service account, install the same components, and specify the same organization and site names.

    Note   If the server you are removing was originally the first server in the site, verify that the system folders (Eforms Registry and Schedule+ Free & Busy folders) are replicated to other servers in the site. If these folders are not replicated, problems can occur. For more information, see the Microsoft Knowledge Base article Q152959: "How to Remove the First Exchange Server in a Site," at the Microsoft Technical Support Web site (http://www.microsoft.com/support).

  10. Select the Microsoft Exchange Server resource group you created when you configured Microsoft Cluster Server.

    Setup copies files to the primary node's Windows NT System32 directory, copies files to the clustered drive, and creates resources in the resource group.

  11. When Setup is completed, run Performance Optimizer.
  12. In the Cluster Administrator program, bring the Microsoft Exchange Server system attendant resource online. Select the resource and, from the File menu, choose Bring Online.
  13. Start Windows NT Backup and restore the information store and directory to the active node. Select the Do not start services after restore option.
  14. After you have restored the directory and information store, in the Cluster Administrator program, bring the Microsoft Exchange directory service resource online. Select Microsoft Exchange Directory and, from the File menu, choose Bring Online.
  15. In the Cluster Administrator program, select the Microsoft Exchange Server information store resource, choose Properties, and then select the Registry Replication tab.
  16. Choose Remove to remove the old registry checkpoint.
  17. Choose Add, and then type the following registry path to create a new registry checkpoint:

    SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\MSExchangeIS

  18. Choose OK twice.
  19. Bring the Microsoft Exchange Server information store resource online. Select the Microsoft Exchange information store resource and, from the File menu, choose Bring Online. This operation can take some time to complete, depending on how large your databases are.

    Note   The Cluster service normally allows 600 seconds (10 minutes) for the Microsoft Exchange Server information store service to start. When using Setup with the /r option to recover an information store running under the Cluster service, startup can take longer than 600 seconds. If this happens, the Cluster Administrator program indicates that the information store service failed to start. In fact, the startup of the information store service can still be waiting for the recovery process to be completed. In this case, you should disregard the status indicator and allow the recovery process to complete without stopping the information store service.

  20. After the information store has successfully started, select the name of the resource group. Then from the File menu, choose Bring Online.
  21. Run Microsoft Exchange Server Setup on the inactive node, and then select Update Node.