How to Enable Redundant Cluster Networks for Log Shipping and Seeding on Windows Server 2003
Microsoft Exchange Server 2007 will reach end of support on April 11, 2017. To stay supported, you will need to upgrade. For more information, see Resources to help you upgrade your Office 2007 servers and clients.
Applies to: Exchange Server 2007 SP1, Exchange Server 2007 SP2, Exchange Server 2007 SP3
This topic explains how to use the Exchange Management Shell to configure a host name and IP Address resource for one or more redundant cluster networks that can be used for log shipping and seeding in a cluster continuous replication (CCR) environment running in a Windows Server 2003 failover cluster. The redundant network must be configured as a mixed cluster network. A mixed cluster network is any cluster network that has been configured for both cluster (heartbeat) and client access traffic.
When a mixed cluster network has been configured with continuous replication host names and IP addresses, Microsoft Exchange Server 2007 uses that network for log shipping. In addition, the configured network is available for administrator-initiated seeding with the Update-StorageGroupCopy cmdlet. Multiple mixed networks can be specified and if more than one network is available, Exchange 2007 randomly selects one of the networks. If the network currently in use becomes unavailable, Exchange 2007 automatically selects another available network.
Note
If the network being enabled is not properly configured as a mixed network, the following procedure fails with the following error message: "Cluster Common Failure Exception: Cluster Common Failure Exception: The cluster network is not valid. (Exception from HRESULT: 0x800713BE)."
When enabling a redundant network for log shipping and seeding, you must also make two configuration changes:
You must disable strict name checking on both nodes in the cluster. By default, computers running Windows Server 2003 do not listen for requests using alias names. As a result, connection attempts may fail when configuring log shipping networks on Windows Server 2003. To prevent this from happening, you must disable strict name checking on both nodes in the cluster. For detailed steps about how to disable strict name checking, see Microsoft Knowledge Base article 281308, Connecting to SMB share on a Windows 2000-based computer or a Windows Server 2003-based computer may not work with an alias name.
On the network adapter being configured with a continuous replication host name, the administrator must configure name resolution. We recommend that you clear the Register this connection’s addresses in DNS check box on the Advanced TCP/IP properties dialog box for the network adapter being used and use either static Domain Name System (DNS) server entries for the continuous replication host names, or add the appropriate continuous replication host name and IP address to the Hosts file on each node. If name resolution of each node's continuous replication host names fails, the redundant network cannot be used for log shipping or seeding.
Before You Begin
To perform this procedure, the account you use must be delegated the Exchange Server Administrator role for the target server. For more information about permissions, delegating roles, and the rights that are required to administer Exchange 2007, see Permission Considerations.
The following procedure must be performed on both nodes in the cluster once for each host name. For example, if you want to specify two mixed networks, because each network requires a unique host name, you would perform the following procedure a total of two times (one network and host name per node).
Procedure
To use the Exchange Management Shell to enable a redundant cluster network for log shipping and seeding
Run the following command:
Enable-ContinuousReplicationHostName -Identity <CMSName> -TargetMachine <NodeName> -HostName <NetworkNameforReplication> -IPV4Address <IPv4DottedDecimalIPAddress>Repeat the command in Step 1 for both nodes for each host name and IP address that you want to enable for continuous replication.
For More Information
For detailed syntax and parameter information, see Enable-ContinuousReplicationHostName. For more information about seeding a storage group copy, see How to Seed a Cluster Continuous Replication Copy and Update-StorageGroupCopy.