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"Exchange Server Unavailable" when DC reboots
Hi,
On my network I have 2 DCs and 1 Exchange 2003 server.All are Win 2003 Std.
Both DCs are global catalogs and have a replica of DNS.
My problem is that when I shut down either DC1 or DC2 then my users cannot access the Exchange server. They get an "Exchange Server Unavailable" msg. The Exchange server shows event 8026, LDAP bind was unsuccessful.
I would presume that if I kept one DC operational that my Exchange server would still function.
Any ideas?
Thanks
On my network I have 2 DCs and 1 Exchange 2003 server.All are Win 2003 Std.
Both DCs are global catalogs and have a replica of DNS.
My problem is that when I shut down either DC1 or DC2 then my users cannot access the Exchange server. They get an "Exchange Server Unavailable" msg. The Exchange server shows event 8026, LDAP bind was unsuccessful.
I would presume that if I kept one DC operational that my Exchange server would still function.
Any ideas?
Thanks
Many people think the way that you do.
Exchange hooks on to a specific domain controller. If that domain controller goes away, Exchange does not go looking for another DC for around 35 minutes. During that time, Exchange will not function. Nothing you can do about it, other than ensure that your domain controller reboots very quickly and you don't do it during production hours.
If the DC fails or is going to be down for a while, restart the Exchange services which forces Exchange to look for another DC.
Both DCs need to be Global Catalogs for Exchange to use them.
Simon.
Exchange hooks on to a specific domain controller. If that domain controller goes away, Exchange does not go looking for another DC for around 35 minutes. During that time, Exchange will not function. Nothing you can do about it, other than ensure that your domain controller reboots very quickly and you don't do it during production hours.
If the DC fails or is going to be down for a while, restart the Exchange services which forces Exchange to look for another DC.
Both DCs need to be Global Catalogs for Exchange to use them.
Simon.
ASKER
Okay
If this is by design, is there a MS TID or KB article referencing this behavious so that I can present to others?
If this is by design, is there a MS TID or KB article referencing this behavious so that I can present to others?
ASKER
Finally, I guess the solution is (against MS recommendations) to make the Exchange server also a DC/GC ?
There is. Seems like the list of working DC's are evaluated every 15 minutes according to this article:
http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/aa996247.aspx
http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/aa996247.aspx
ASKER
Is this "35 minutes" a configurable interval somewhere?
How can I tell which DC thatExchange is currently bound to?
How can I tell which DC thatExchange is currently bound to?
In system manager, choose Properties for the Exchange server, click Direrectory Accrss tab. The Config DC is the important one
Making the Exchange server a domain controller is not a good idea.
It is against the best practises and changing the role of the machine after Exchange is installed is not supported. It will cause you more problems than it resolves.
The 30 minute timeout cannot be changed - as with many things in the Exchange world. While Microsoft claim that Exchange looks for DCs after 15 minutes, the real world is 30 minutes.
I would also strongly advise against permanently setting a specific domain controller in Exchange. That can cause problems, particularly if that DC was to fail during the night. Exchange will go looking for another DC on its own, it just takes time.
The thing that puzzles me is why you are shutting down a domain controller anyway. That will cause disruption to your users, it isn't only Exchange that uses one DC, but the user workstations do as well. I only shutdown a DC when I really have to - usually only for a reboot for automatic updates. That reboot takes place out of production hours any way. If I have to shutdown the DC then I will lock Exchange to a specific domain controller, but at least two hours before the work is to begin.
Simon.
It is against the best practises and changing the role of the machine after Exchange is installed is not supported. It will cause you more problems than it resolves.
The 30 minute timeout cannot be changed - as with many things in the Exchange world. While Microsoft claim that Exchange looks for DCs after 15 minutes, the real world is 30 minutes.
I would also strongly advise against permanently setting a specific domain controller in Exchange. That can cause problems, particularly if that DC was to fail during the night. Exchange will go looking for another DC on its own, it just takes time.
The thing that puzzles me is why you are shutting down a domain controller anyway. That will cause disruption to your users, it isn't only Exchange that uses one DC, but the user workstations do as well. I only shutdown a DC when I really have to - usually only for a reboot for automatic updates. That reboot takes place out of production hours any way. If I have to shutdown the DC then I will lock Exchange to a specific domain controller, but at least two hours before the work is to begin.
Simon.
ASKER
Okay sembee, I must confess this is not my network but our customer has had recent problems with backup software and things on a DC and for that reason several reboots of the DC were required during the day. The concern is that we presumed multuple DCs and GCs would provide enough resilience not to cause any probs with exchange.
How can I lock exchange to a specific DC if I need to restart it?
How can I lock exchange to a specific DC if I need to restart it?
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What you describe is a common issue I have seen also and never really found a resolution so I'll love to hear what it said. Saying that though when the Exchnage services start they bind to a specific DC. If that DC is shutdown or unavailable then the Exchange server tries to contact it for up to about 30 minutes before failing over and trying another DC. You can speed up the process by restarting the Exchange services and it should bind with the other available DC.
As I said not really a fix but that's what I've seen with this issue so everyone please chime in.
Thanks.