INSTALLING MICROSOFT EXCHANGE SERVER 2003 CLUSTERS AND FRONT-END AND BACK ‑ END SERVERS Chapter 4

2 OVERVIEW Clustering Exchange Server 2003 servers Installing Exchange Server 2003 on a Microsoft Windows Server 2003 cluster Managing an Exchange Server 2003 cluster Configuring Exchange Server 2003 in a front- end and back-end configuration Clustering Exchange Server 2003 servers Installing Exchange Server 2003 on a Microsoft Windows Server 2003 cluster Managing an Exchange Server 2003 cluster Configuring Exchange Server 2003 in a front- end and back-end configuration

3 CLUSTERING EXCHANGE SERVER 2003 SERVERS Supported clustering types Network load balancing Microsoft Cluster service Cluster service configurations Failover configurations Active/active and active/passive Clustering components Supported clustering types Network load balancing Microsoft Cluster service Cluster service configurations Failover configurations Active/active and active/passive Clustering components

4 SUPPORTED CLUSTERING TYPES Network load balancing Microsoft Cluster service Network load balancing Microsoft Cluster service

5 NETWORK LOAD BALANCING Configured through the Network Load Balancing Manager Runs as a driver in Microsoft Windows Distributes incoming requests across each node in the cluster Can contain as few as 2 nodes and as many as 32 nodes

6 NETWORK LOAD BALANCING (CONT.) Distributes TCP/IP traffic between the cluster nodes Only works with TCP/IP No special hardware is required Servers are not required to be members of a domain

7 THE LOAD BALANCED CLUSTER Seen as a single resource Operates by default in Unicast mode Addressed by a single IP address Each node also retains its own unique IP address Applications are installed individually on each node

8 NETWORK LOAD BALANCING ON MULTIHOMED SERVERS Advantages to using two network cards: Increases the fault tolerance of the individual server Enables communication between cluster nodes

9 HEARTBEATS Network packets emitted every second by each node in a cluster When a node goes offline, its heartbeats stop After five seconds the remaining nodes in the cluster begin to remove the unresponsive server This process is called convergence Convergence also redirects incoming client requests to other nodes for handling

10 MICROSOFT CLUSTER SERVICE A cluster appears as a single network resource to client computers Application and service aware Full failover protection for both servers and applications Does not load balance Requires a cluster storage device

11 MICROSOFT CLUSTER SERVICE FEATURES Requires Windows Server 2003 Enterprise Edition or Datacenter Edition Up to eight-node clusters supported Each cluster node must be running the same operating system version Restrictions relaxed for a two-node cluster Servers must all be members of the same domain

12 CLUSTER SERVICE CONFIGURATIONS Single node server clusters Single quorum device server clusters Majority node set server clusters

13 CLUSTER STORAGE DEVICE REQUIREMENTS The cluster storage device cannot use: Integrated Device Electronics (IDE) disks Software RAID Dynamic volumes Mount points or mounted volumes Encrypting File System Remote storage

14 Cluster Hardware Configuration Shared Small Computer System Interface (SCSI) bus Fast, reliable network card to the local area network (LAN) Network card to the private area network

15 ACTIVE/ACTIVE AND ACTIVE/PASSIVE CLUSTERS Active/active clusters limited to two nodes Active/active clusters support up to 1900 concurrent client connections Active/passive clusters can consist of up to eight nodes Active/passive clusters scale to significantly higher numbers Active/passive clusters generally more reliable Message transfer agent (MTA) always active/passive

16 Two-Node Hardware Configuration

17 The Small Computer System Interface (SCSI) Reserve Command

18 Active/Active Clustering

19 Failover and Failback Procedures

20 Clustering Support in Exchange 2003 Server Server installation Resource groups Virtual servers

21 INSTALLING EXCHANGE SERVER 2003 ON A WINDOWS SERVER 2003 CLUSTER Similar to a normal installation First prepare the Windows Server 2003 cluster servers Cluster service automatically installed on Windows Server 2003 Need to configure the Cluster service using Cluster Administrator

22 NEW SERVER CLUSTER WIZARD

23 THE NEW CLUSTER

24 INSTALLING EXCHANGE 2003 Install Microsoft Distributed Transaction Coordinator (MSDTC) Run ForestPrep Run DomainPrep Install Exchange Server 2003 on each node of the cluster Use the Cluster Administrator console to configure the Exchange Server 2003 virtual servers Assign the Cluster service account the Exchange Full Administrator role

25 MANAGING AN EXCHANGE SERVER 2003 CLUSTER Creating an Exchange Server 2003 virtual server Managing Exchange Server 2003 Clustered services

26 CREATING AN EXCHANGE SERVER 2003 VIRTUAL SERVER Two-node active/passive Exchange Server 2003 cluster One Exchange Server 2003 virtual server Two-node active/active Exchange Server 2003 cluster Two Exchange Server 2003 virtual servers

27 EXCHANGE SERVER 2003 VIRTUAL SERVER RESOURCE REQUIREMENTS Static IP address Unique network name Shared physical disk Exchange System Attendant resource

28 RESOURCES CREATED BY EXCHANGE SYSTEM ATTENDANT

29 MANAGING EXCHANGE SERVER 2003 CLUSTERED SERVICES Managed in Cluster Administrator Most default settings are adequate Might want to reconfigure failover and failback

30 CONFIGURING INDIVIDUAL RESOURCE PROPERTIES

31 TESTING POLICIES Test the restart, failover, and failback policies Right-click a resource and select Initiate Failure Manually stop the Cluster service on a server node Start the service again and test the failback policy

32 CONFIGURING EXCHANGE SERVER 2003 IN A FRONT-END AND BACK-END CONFIGURATION Configuring Exchange Server 2003 as a front- end server Front-end and back-end servers and clustering

33 CONFIGURING EXCHANGE SERVER 2003 AS A FRONT-END SERVER Front-end servers relay Internet traffic to back-end servers on the internal network Cannot host a Recipient Update Service Cannot host offline address lists Mailbox Management service must be removed Free and busy service must be removed

34 ADDITIONAL CONSIDERATIONS If the front-end server accepts Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP) mail from Internet- based clients: Start the Microsoft Exchange Information Store service Mount at least one mailbox store Ensure that user mailboxes are not stored in the mailbox store Do not delete the First Storage Group object One front-end server for every four back-end servers recommended

35 FRONT-END SERVERS AND CLUSTERING Do not host user data Well suited for using network load balancing Up to 32 nodes in a cluster Cluster service Internet-based clients connect through: Outlook Web Access (OWA) Post Office Protocol version 3 (POP3) Internet Message Access Protocol version 4 (IMAP4) Do not host user data Well suited for using network load balancing Up to 32 nodes in a cluster Cluster service Internet-based clients connect through: Outlook Web Access (OWA) Post Office Protocol version 3 (POP3) Internet Message Access Protocol version 4 (IMAP4)

36 FRONT-END SERVERS AND CLUSTERING (CONT.) Cluster functions as a single entity to client requests Cluster relays traffic between the client computer and the back-end server Cluster functions as a single entity to client requests Cluster relays traffic between the client computer and the back-end server

37 BACK-END SERVERS AND CLUSTERING Host user mailboxes and public folders Well suited for the Microsoft Cluster service Complete failover protection is typically required Map each front-end server to all back-end server nodes Communication between front-end and back- end servers goes through TCP port 80 Host user mailboxes and public folders Well suited for the Microsoft Cluster service Complete failover protection is typically required Map each front-end server to all back-end server nodes Communication between front-end and back- end servers goes through TCP port 80

38 SUMMARY Microsoft Cluster service and network load balancing Installing Exchange Server 2003 on cluster nodes Managing clusters Front-end and back-end servers Microsoft Cluster service and network load balancing Installing Exchange Server 2003 on cluster nodes Managing clusters Front-end and back-end servers