Installing SP2 in a cluster environment

Hi,

If you have front end  Backend Scenario then first upgrade SP2 on front end exchange 2003.
Then you do upgrade on exchange 2003 Passive node whre no exchange services are running.Then Move the Resources of active node to passive node through cluster administrator and upgrade the second one which was active earlier.

Important You do not have to restart the computer after you install an Exchange hotfix or service pack that affects a cluster server. However, you must manually shut down the Cluster service and all the dependent resources before you install the hotfix or the service pack. To manually shut down the Cluster service and all the dependent resources, move the cluster group or groups from the cluster node where you want to install the hotfix or the service pack. Then, stop the Cluster service on that cluster node. The Microsoft Exchange Information Store service is automatically stopped and then restarted when you install the hotfix or the service pack.

To upgrade a cluster to an Exchange 2003 service pack, you must first run the Exchange 2003 Service Pack Setup program to upgrade the nodes of the cluster, and then use Cluster Administrator to upgrade the Exchange virtual servers. We recommend that you upgrade one Exchange cluster node at a time.

When you upgrade each node, we recommend that you move the Exchange Virtual Server from the node that you are upgrading to another node. This procedure lets users access their e-mail through the relocated Exchange Virtual Server during the Exchange 2003 service pack upgrade process.

Note The following example refers to a two-node server cluster. However, the example also applies to multi-node clusters for Exchange Server 2003.

To help clarify these steps, the sample server cluster that is described here is a two-node server cluster, and the cluster nodes are named "Cluster Node 1" and "Cluster Node 2." The following example also uses an Exchange virtual server that is named "Exchange Virtual Server 1."



1. Move "Exchange Virtual Server 1" to "Cluster Node 1." To do this, right-click "Exchange Virtual Server 1" in the console tree under Groups, and then click Move Group. The move is complete when the Owner column for the "Exchange Virtual Server 1" resources changes from “Cluster Node 2” to “Cluster Node 1”.

Note You must do this to make sure that there are no Exchange virtual servers that are running on “Cluster Node 2.” You must also make sure that the cluster resource group is not running on “Cluster Node 2.”

In a multi-node scenario, you must make sure that each node on which you install the service pack is not running either Exchange Virtual Server or the cluster resource group.

 
2. In the Cluster Administrator tool, right-click the “Cluster Node 2” object, and then click Stop Cluster Service.

3. Install the Exchange 2003 Service Pack on "Cluster Node 2."

4. After you finish installing the Exchange 2003 service pack, click Yes if you are prompted to restart the computer.

Note You do not have to restart the computer if you do not receive a prompt.
5. After "Cluster Node 2" has restarted, log on, and then start the Cluster Administrator tool. To do this, click Start, point to Administrative Tools, and then click Cluster Administrator.
6. Take all the "Exchange Virtual Server 1" resources offline except the following resources:• The IP Address resource  
• The Physical Disk resource or resources  
• The Network Name resource
Note To take a resource offline, right-click the resource, and then click Take Offline.  
7. In the Cluster Administrator tool, right-click the “Cluster Node 2” object, and then click Start Cluster Service.
8. Move the Exchange virtual server to the cluster node in which you installed the Exchange 2003 service pack. In this example, move "Exchange Virtual Server 1" to "Cluster Node 2." To do this, right-click the group, and then click Move Group.
9. On "Cluster Node 2", start the Cluster Administrator tool.
10. If you applied a hotfix, go to step 12. If you did not apply a hotfix, expand the cluster, expand Groups, right-click the group that contains "Exchange Virtual Server 1," and then click Upgrade Exchange Virtual Server.
11. After "Exchange Virtual Server 1" is upgraded successfully, bring the Exchange resources online on "Cluster Node 2."

Note After you bring the cluster resources online on the upgraded "Cluster Node 2," you cannot move them to "Cluster Node 1" until you upgrade "Cluster Node 1" to the same Exchange 2003 service pack.
12. In the Cluster Administrator tool, right-click the “Cluster Node 1” object, and then click Stop Cluster Service.
13. On "Cluster Node 1," install the Exchange 2003 service pack, and then click Yes if you are prompted to restart the computer.

Note You do not have to restart the computer if you do not receive a prompt.
14 Start the Cluster Administrator tool. In the Cluster Administrator tool, right-click the “Cluster Node 1” object, and then click Start Cluster Service.
15 If you are in a multi-node scenario, repeat steps 1 through 15 to upgrade the other nodes and other Exchange virtual servers to the Exchange 2003 Service Pack.

 
16 Make sure that you can successfully failover "Exchange Virtual Server 1" from one cluster node to the other.
17 Verify the version of Exchange that is installed. To do this, follow these steps:• Start Exchange System Manager.
• Expand Servers, right-click the name of the clustered Exchange server, and then click Properties.
• Click the General tab. Information that is similar to the following information appears:
Version 6.5 (Build 7226.6: Service Pack 1)
Version 6.5 (Build 7638.2: Service Pack 2)