JoeyTheGreat
asked on
Exchange 2003 replication bet. 2 2003 servers for backup purposes.
I have 2 dc's running windows server 2003. 1 server is pdc running exchange 2003, which has a raid 5 and was the only one on site for quite a while. I have recently added a small server for recovery purposes which is a cheap computer just to be able to recover dc easier after corrupt os and working with backups to restore programs plus data.
2nd server is a cheap raid 1 server, where I have recently added bes. Now I want to have as easy a job as possible to recover from crash, hardware failure, etc. for data files, I am currently using robocopy as a scheduled task. for exchange, I am still looking for a solution (cheap). robocopy, will recopy the entire db which is getting big, and will never finish, nor will it ever be up to date even within half hr. (and is really not doable). Normal backups are only done once daily and taken off site.
Soooo the question, I want to replicate exchange db on server1 to server2. would exchange replication be an option? I did read that its for 5.5 to 2003 not 2 2003's.
2nd server is a cheap raid 1 server, where I have recently added bes. Now I want to have as easy a job as possible to recover from crash, hardware failure, etc. for data files, I am currently using robocopy as a scheduled task. for exchange, I am still looking for a solution (cheap). robocopy, will recopy the entire db which is getting big, and will never finish, nor will it ever be up to date even within half hr. (and is really not doable). Normal backups are only done once daily and taken off site.
Soooo the question, I want to replicate exchange db on server1 to server2. would exchange replication be an option? I did read that its for 5.5 to 2003 not 2 2003's.
Lee W, MVP
If these are Enterprise versions of Exchange, then you can create a cluster. Replication for redundancy requiers Exchange 2007 or later.
ASKER
But a cluster is expensive no? That's why I didn't go there till now.
Your cheapest option is to rely on your backups
Or extract the mailboxes to PST every day using exmerge, then you can use them to import quickly into exchange, once you have got exchange installed and running again
Or extract the mailboxes to PST every day using exmerge, then you can use them to import quickly into exchange, once you have got exchange installed and running again
ASKER
I need something automatic and at least every half hr. or so.
Do you NEED it or do you WANT it? A need is a must have... a want is not. A must have is worth the money... and a want is not.
Another option is to use full server replication software - but these products are expensive. For an SBS install, it would cost about $2000 minimum. For a non-SBS install, you're looking at closer to $6500+ MINIMUM.
An upgrade to Exchange 2007/2010 would cost you at least $2000 in Exchange license fees - EXCLUDING CALs, not to mention possible license fees for upgrading the operating systems to support the newer versions of Exchange.
You could also look into virtualization systems that provide near instant failover to a VM in the event of a primary server failure. These solutions tend to be AT LEAST $1500 themselves and that's for the low end model, you may need/want a higher end model that could cost $2500+
Basically, if being down for 8 hours would cost your business $5000, then $2500 on a solution is probably worth it... but if being down for 8 hours only costs the business $500 in lost productivity and sales, then it's not worth it to spend so much just because you never WANT to have an e-mail outage.
Another option is to use full server replication software - but these products are expensive. For an SBS install, it would cost about $2000 minimum. For a non-SBS install, you're looking at closer to $6500+ MINIMUM.
An upgrade to Exchange 2007/2010 would cost you at least $2000 in Exchange license fees - EXCLUDING CALs, not to mention possible license fees for upgrading the operating systems to support the newer versions of Exchange.
You could also look into virtualization systems that provide near instant failover to a VM in the event of a primary server failure. These solutions tend to be AT LEAST $1500 themselves and that's for the low end model, you may need/want a higher end model that could cost $2500+
Basically, if being down for 8 hours would cost your business $5000, then $2500 on a solution is probably worth it... but if being down for 8 hours only costs the business $500 in lost productivity and sales, then it's not worth it to spend so much just because you never WANT to have an e-mail outage.
You can schedule exmerge to run in batch mode so it will do incremental or full extracts of all your mailboxes, that is free
As leew says, spend money on a proper solution if your business cannot afford downtime or move to a hosted solution/cloud services so your uptime is someone elses headache.
As leew says, spend money on a proper solution if your business cannot afford downtime or move to a hosted solution/cloud services so your uptime is someone elses headache.
> hosted solution/cloud services so your uptime is someone elses headache.
While true, it's someone elses headache, you no longer have control over it and are potentially paying MORE over time. There are benefits to cloud based services and there are drawbacks. Some things are great in the cloud... others... not so much.
While true, it's someone elses headache, you no longer have control over it and are potentially paying MORE over time. There are benefits to cloud based services and there are drawbacks. Some things are great in the cloud... others... not so much.
ASKER
Leew I want it for no down time and nothing lost purposes. Backups currently run only every night. Which means that until backup ends, I have only a day old copy of all the emails etc. Sooo while the maximum data I might lose is 1 day, that is also too much. And besides that, I'll have a long downtime (if server needs parts). Same goes for all files.
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ASKER
I am currently looking into backup assist to see if that can automatically backup and restore to second dc every 4 hrs. or so.