DAG Help - Setup questions
I have gone from a single Exchange environment to now trying to configure a second one in a DAG for HA.
So far:
Installed 2nd Exchange Server
Gone through all settings in EMC and replicated them on the 2nd Exchange Server (i.e Send Connector, limits, etc)
Created DAG
Adding Mailbox Copy now
Questions:
So I now have a cluster IP. Do I point my internal autodiscover DNS records to this IP now, and change my firewall rule to redirect mail to this IP instead of just to the first Exchange Server?
How do I get both Exchange Servers using the same UCC Cert from GoDaddy? I cant just do "Import Certificate" becuase it asks for a format and password that GoDaddy does not issue.
MBDB01 is my main mailbox database, and I am adding a database copy to Exchange Server 2.
During the installation of Exchange Server 2, it created MBDB02 which is essentially empty. Do I need to create a database copy back to Exchange Server 1?
So far:
Installed 2nd Exchange Server
Gone through all settings in EMC and replicated them on the 2nd Exchange Server (i.e Send Connector, limits, etc)
Created DAG
Adding Mailbox Copy now
Questions:
So I now have a cluster IP. Do I point my internal autodiscover DNS records to this IP now, and change my firewall rule to redirect mail to this IP instead of just to the first Exchange Server?
How do I get both Exchange Servers using the same UCC Cert from GoDaddy? I cant just do "Import Certificate" becuase it asks for a format and password that GoDaddy does not issue.
MBDB01 is my main mailbox database, and I am adding a database copy to Exchange Server 2.
During the installation of Exchange Server 2, it created MBDB02 which is essentially empty. Do I need to create a database copy back to Exchange Server 1?
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>If I understand this, as it is. the Cluster IP is only used for the cluster purposes and not load balancing. <
the Cluster IP will be owned by just one node at a time, so yes it will not give you any load balancing
>Right now all my Exchange related DNS entires point to Server 1. If Server 1 was to ever fail, the DAG would take care of the mailboxes but I would manually need to change the DNS entries (remote, autodiscover) to point to Server 2, and everything should work.<
Provided that you have created a CAS array name and that all clients are using this cas array name and that the DNS entry for CAS array is pointing to server 1 then the answer is yes
N.B.: you need to create a CAS array asap no matter for which solution you will go
the Cluster IP will be owned by just one node at a time, so yes it will not give you any load balancing
>Right now all my Exchange related DNS entires point to Server 1. If Server 1 was to ever fail, the DAG would take care of the mailboxes but I would manually need to change the DNS entries (remote, autodiscover) to point to Server 2, and everything should work.<
Provided that you have created a CAS array name and that all clients are using this cas array name and that the DNS entry for CAS array is pointing to server 1 then the answer is yes
N.B.: you need to create a CAS array asap no matter for which solution you will go
ASKER
If I understand this, as it is. the Cluster IP is only used for the cluster purposes and not load balancing.
Right now all my Exchange related DNS entires point to Server 1. If Server 1 was to ever fail, the DAG would take care of the mailboxes but I would manually need to change the DNS entries (remote, autodiscover) to point to Server 2, and everything should work.
Correct?
Hardware Load Balancer is out of the question :) Will be looking at CAS Array at somepoint in the future though I think.