Can I get high availability by installing Exchange on a second server #2
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JohnTWT
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Can I get high availability by installing Exchange on a second server #2
Exchange 2000, Windows 2000 Server
Many thanks for the helpful suggestions. I've got a mix of all of them running now. With W2k and Exch2k I can't do the high availability thing. So I've backed up all the .pst's (using EXMERGE) which also allowed me to run an offline defrag - 16Gb to 9Gb!

Prior to that, I moved the .edb and .stm to another mirrored pair. I used VolumeMangler to make C: a bit bigger, defragged the life out of it then was able to run Ghost 2003 on it. I Offlined one of the mirrored pair of C and also D (where the Exch Db sits now) so I could restore if it went pear-shaped. Veritas backs up the database - no cash for the Exchange Agent so run a simple batch file to drop exchange before and raise it after the backup job.

Result? .PST's and a Ghost image of C: on a different server, along with a backup of the database using Veritas. Also, a slim-line Db and users who now know what happens if they don't delete their files! Should the server software go nuts, I think we'll survive now. If the hardware fails totally, we may still survive. Watch this space...

Many thanks folks!
ASKED: Dec 22 2006  4:27 AM GMT
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jmweber
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I like your solution. Seems to fit your requirements and budget.

I would make one mod....no need to drop your exchange prior to the backup. Simply devise yourself an NTBackup job and schedule it.
If I read your post correctly, you have about 10GB of mail. NTBackup will run an 10 GB online of Exchange, to include the all important system state, in about 1.5 hours or less, in real time. No need to drop the system.
Run it at like 1700, by the time Veritas kicks in (figuring a 2100 Veritas run) the bkf from the NTBackup will be waiting, users will never notice, and the system won't be constantly dismounting and mounting databases, which in my experience, is not the best practice.
-John
Last Answered: Dec 22 2006  11:10 AM GMT by jmweber   0 pts.
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Wrobinson   5610 pts.  |   Nov 24 2007  5:11PM GMT

I agree, though shutting down the services for Exchange Server allows you to backup the database in a consistent state, online backups using NTBackup are a good idea. There is the remote possiblity of data loss, however, this will keep the stopping and starting of the services to a minimum and reduce the impact to users, which is always a good thing.

 
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