Configuring Clustering in Exchange Server 2007

Microsoft Professional Advisory Services is a support option that provides short-term, proactive, consultative support beyond break-fix product maintenance needs. This includes working with the same technician for assistance with issues like product migration, code review, or new program development and is a remote, phone-based support option. This service is typically used for shorter engagements, and is designed for developers and IT professionals who do not require the traditional onsite consulting or sustained account management services that are available from other Microsoft support options.

For additional information on Microsoft Advisory Services, including on how to engage, refer to this Microsoft web page:

http://support.microsoft.com/gp/AdvisoryService

• The current Exchange Server 2007 environment is configured properly per the:
  Verifying an Exchange 2007 Installation
  TechNet article, is healthy as determined by a full Exchange Best Practice Analyzer (ExBPA) health check and is running the latest Exchange Server 2007 Service Pack (SP) and hotfix Rollup Update (RU).
• The server environment also meets the hardware requirement as per TechNet article:
  Planning for Cluster Continuous Replication
  Any assistance for migration from Exchange Server 2003 will require a separate advisory case. Any other issues need to be resolved via separate break/fix incidents. If the environment is native Exchange Server 2007, any pre-existing configuration or other issues that might prevent a successful CCR/SCR setup must be resolved prior to beginning work on the Pro Advisory offering as scoped. It is highly recommended that the customer perform the ExBPA health check and resolve any issues prior to beginning work on the advisory case scope. If any unexpected break/fix issues arise while working on the scoped issue, a maximum of thirty (30) minutes will be spent troubleshooting the other issues. This will be billed to the current advisory case. If the issue is not resolved in thirty (30) minutes the customer must open a new break/fix support case, at additional cost, to address the problem. The Professional Advisory Support Engineer may work that break/fix support case at their discretion.
• The current environment meets all prerequisites for installing CCR/SCR as per TechNet articles:
  Planning Checklist for Cluster Continuous Replication
  and
  Planning for Standby Continuous Replication
  .

Questions to help choose the scenario:Exchange Server 2007 mailbox server high availability is served through two different setup types, Cluster Continuous Replication (CCR) and Standby Continuous Replication (SCR). The following definitions will help you decide the proper route:

Cluster Continuous Replication (CCR) is a high availability feature of Microsoft Exchange Server 2007 that combines the asynchronous log shipping and replay technology built into Exchange 2007 with the failover and management features provided by the Cluster service.

CCR is designed to provide high availability for Exchange 2007 Mailbox servers by providing a solution that:

• Has no single point of failure.
• Has no special hardware requirements.
• Has no shared storage requirements.
• Can be deployed in one or two datacenter configurations.
• Can reduce full backup frequency, reduce total backed up data volume, and shorten the service level agreement (SLA) for recovery time from first failure.

For more information please read the Cluster Continuous Replication section of the Exchange Server 2007 High Availability section on TechNet.

Standby Continuous Replication (SCR) is a new feature introduced in Microsoft Exchange Server 2007 Service Pack 1 (SP1). As its name implies, SCR is designed for scenarios that use or enable the use of standby recovery servers. SCR extends the existing continuous replication features found in the release to manufacturing (RTM) version of Exchange Server 2007 and enables new data availability scenarios for Mailbox servers running SP1. SCR uses the same log shipping and replay technology used by local continuous replication (LCR) and cluster continuous replication (CCR) to provide added deployment options and configurations. For more information please read the Standby Continuous Replication section of the Exchange Server 2007 High Availability section on TechNet.

• To configure high availability using CCR please follow Scenario 1 - Configuring Exchange Server 2007 Cluster Continuous Replication below. Note: CCR in a stretch cluster configuration that requires subnets stretched between two locations are not covered by Pro Advisory support.
• To configure high availability using SCR please follow Scenario 2 � Configuring Exchange Server 2007 Standby Continuous Replication. Note: SCR with Site Resilience configurations using stretched subnets and/or stretched Active Directory sites are not covered by Pro Advisory support.
  • To setup SCR Target Servers if source is:
    • Stand-alone mailbox server: Install Stand-alone/Passive Clustered Mailbox Role on the Target Server.
    • Clustered Mailbox Server in a Single Copy Cluster (SCC): Install Stand-alone/Passive Clustered Mailbox Role on the Target Server.
    • CCR source you must install the Standalone/Passive Clustered Mailbox Role. If CCR source is not yet configured you must configure it as source per Scenario 1.

Scenario 1 - Configuring Exchange Server 2007 Cluster Continuous Replication:

1. Verify the Majority Node set File Share Witness feature is installed for Windows Server 2003.
   1. Yes = Proceed to next step.
      No = Install the hotfix as per the article An update is available that adds a file share witness feature and a configurable cluster heartbeats feature to Windows Server 2003 Service Pack 1-based server clusters
2. Verify the Windows Server 2008 Operating System prerequisites for Mailbox Servers are installed.
   1. Yes = Proceed to next step.
   2. No = Install the pre-requisites per TechNet article How to Install Exchange 2007 SP1 and SP2 Prerequisites on Windows Server 2008
3. Verify your environment meets the hardware requirement for configuring CCR.
   1. Yes = Proceed to next step.
   2. No = Must meet the following requirements:
      • Both nodes in the CCR must have the same Windows operating system version.
      • Running Exchange Server 2007 cluster with any other application is not supported.
      • Both nodes in the cluster must be member of the same domain. ? There should be 2 network adapters for each node (public and private) with IP addresses configured.
      • Both nodes in the cluster must be members of the same domain. For more information see TechNet article Planning for Cluster Continuous Replication
4. Verify and configure the Network for Cluster.
   1. Yes = Proceed to next step
   2. No = Configure the Network Connection and Properties:
      • Check the Network Binding Order.
      • Configure Public NIC and DNS.
      • Configure Private NIC
      • Configure DNS
      • Configure WINS
      • See TechNet article How to Configure Network Connections for Cluster Continuous Replication
5. Verify and create the Windows Cluster and the second node.
   1. Yes = Proceed to next step
   2. No = Create the Windows Cluster and add the second node
      • Windows Server 2003: How to Create a Windows Server 2003 Failover Cluster for Cluster Continuous Replication
      • Windows Server 2008: How to Create a Windows Server 2008 Failover Cluster for Cluster Continuous Replication
6. Verify and create the Directory and File Share for the File Share Witness.
   1. Yes = Proceed to next step
   2. No = Create the Directory and File share witness
      • Create a directory that will be used for the share
      • Create the share �MNS_FSW_<CMSName>"
      • Assign permissions to the share
      • See TechNet articles:
        • How to Install the Majority Node Set File Share Witness Feature
        • How to Configure the File Share Witness
7. Verify and configure File Share Witness.
   1. Yes = Proceed to next step
   2. No = Configure the File Share Witness
      • Windows Server 2003 How to Configure the File Share Witness for Windows 2003
      • Windows Server 2008 How to Configure the Node and File Share Majority Quorum for Windows 2008
8. Verify the Cluster network components and binding order.
   1. Yes = Proceed to next step
   2. No = Configure the cluster network per TechNet article How to Configure the Cluster Networking Components and Priority
9. Verify if the Active Clustered Mailbox Role is installed in CCR environment.
   1. Yes = Proceed to next step
   2. No = Install the Cluster Mailbox Role per TechNet article How to Install the Active Clustered Mailbox Role in a CCR Environment
10. Verify if the Passive Clustered Mailbox Role is installed in CCR environment.
    1. Yes =Proceed to next step
    2. No =Install the Passive Mailbox Role per TechNet article How to Install the Passive Clustered Mailbox Role in a CCR Environment

Scenario 2 - Configuring Exchange 2007 Standby Continuous Replication:

1. Verify your environment meets the requirement for SCR.
   1. Yes = Proceed to next step.
   2. No = Must meet the following requirements:
      • Both nodes in the SCR must have the same Windows operating system version.
      • SCR is supported only with Exchange Server 2007 SP1 or later on both the source and target servers.
      • The SCR source and target servers must be in the same Active Directory domain.
      • A passive node designated as an SCR target must be a member of a failover cluster that does not have any clustered mailbox servers.
      • Public folder databases are not recommended for SCR, however you can enable them provided public folder replication is disabled.
      • The storage group and database paths on the SCR source and all target servers must not conflict with any other storage group or database paths. For more information see TechNet article Planning for Standby Continuous Replication.