offline 2003 backup server for Exchange 2003

[discovery]

I want to have an offline server( ready to plug in to network) with the following software configured as the backup server :-

The existing domain server will have the below software installed & Configured
Windows 2003 std OS, ISA Server, MS Exchange 2003 in a PIV HP server with 144 GB RAID5.

I would like to know wheather I could keep one offline server detached from network with the same IP, Domain name & Server name and configured with all the mentioned software and with a Tape Backup. The purpose of this is to backup the data from the HP server everyday and keep it ready as standby server for the domain & Exchange. I know there are many issues regarding the login and policy changes but i would like to know any one came across with any kind of solutions for that.

Thanks

[drewmaztech]

I know one of the issues (which I am working on now - setting up a backup exchange server) is keeping the "offline" server up to date.
If exchange sees another server with the same name on the network, it's not pretty. The backup exchange server also sees "this isn't my database" and won't mount the IS if you copy over the information.

I havn't found much helpful information for exchange as of yet. If you run into something, please let me know.

[discovery]

I know one of the issues (which I am working on now - setting up a backup exchange server) is keeping the "offline" server up to date.
If exchange sees another server with the same name on the network, it's not pretty. The backup exchange server also sees "this isn't my database" and won't mount the IS if you copy over the information.

I havn't found much helpful information for exchange as of yet. If you run into something, please let me know.


Hi,

I am desperate to find out a solution for offline. But I know if we have same hardware then we could make it work thru the disaster recover software and restore the data from the online server. But I am trying to see a way wheather I could make the same thing in different hardware confgiration . I will let you know the progress and thanks for your advice.

good day
Discovery

[corturbra]

Hi

This is something that I've pondered over long and hard about the best way to do it. I have had some ideas, but never been able to test.

I think that the only viable solution would be to have the Exchange servers running together with different names.

So you would have primary and secondary, the primary could copy all mail to the secondary, that way should the primary go down, then you have all the e-mails and could then point workstations to the secondary Exchange server.

Problems though.... would mean visiting workstations to repoint Outlook to secondary.

The problems which I'm sure you've already hit/thought about is even if the hardware is identical, name is the same etc. The second Exchange will have a different SID, and it's not that pretty restoring the Information Store onto another Exchange server and in the long run getting the second mail server to work could take longer than a walk round to each workstation....

Like I said I haven't had chance to test my theory though. I have had Exchange servers running quite happily together on LAN's and forwarding mail between them. If you do crack a good idea, I think anyone dealing with Exchange servers would like to hear it.

So keep us posted!

[drewmaztech]

Great Idea - BUT -
You can only have a mailbox on one server in a domain, even with multiple servers. Mailboxes can't be copied, they're just "moved" from one server to another.
Exchange has no functionality for "forwarding" email to a secondary server.

I wish.

[corturbra]

Great Idea - BUT -
You can only have a mailbox on one server in a domain, even with multiple servers. Mailboxes can't be copied, they're just "moved" from one server to another.
Exchange has no functionality for "forwarding" email to a secondary server.

I wish.

Yep,

I was thinking more along the lines of the secondary server being a different domain, for example primary - @domain.org, secondary server domain1.org. On each mailbox set an alternative recipient as <same-name>@domain1.org.

Then if crunch comes, login into secondary mail server and then setup to handle primary mail as well as the domain1.org.

Don't know how successful it would be without testing though.....

[drewmaztech]

I'm actually working on setting something similar to that now. I setup a second exchange server (same name) and all the IS with the same name, just in a slightly different domain.
I just setup a trust between the two domains. I'm looking into working with Active Directory Migration Tool to copy over user accounts to the second domain, and build the equivalent mailboxes.

My plan is to use the ExMerge utility to copy over mailbox contents, and then in the future, automate that utility to copy weekly.

Then when crunch time comes, hopefully I can just repoint the outlook clients to the new mailbox. (I will get to testing that later this week.)

[corturbra]

I'm actually working on setting something similar to that now. I setup a second exchange server (same name) and all the IS with the same name, just in a slightly different domain.
I just setup a trust between the two domains. I'm looking into working with Active Directory Migration Tool to copy over user accounts to the second domain, and build the equivalent mailboxes.

My plan is to use the ExMerge utility to copy over mailbox contents, and then in the future, automate that utility to copy weekly.

Then when crunch time comes, hopefully I can just repoint the outlook clients to the new mailbox. (I will get to testing that later this week.)

Good luck with it dude. Let me know how you get on, or if you need help if it goes boobies up. :thumbs:

[drewmaztech]

Eh - it's working.. eh.. not really well.
I was able to export the mailbox data, but importing into the backup server is giving me grief. I'm also considering I'm going to have to push 17gig of data over a WAN network in a timely manner - that ain't gonna happen.

I have Veritas Backup Exec with the Exchange agent. Supposedly that can restore data to a "different" server and get it online. Again - the restore process to the backup server keeps failing and the error messages arent helpful.
It's supposed to even rebuild the user accounts on the new domain.

Know where I can find some kind of Veritas manual? I don't have one and I can't locate one online.

Error Message: "Refer to Error Message for details."
ya - thanks.