Installing Exchange 2007 - The Mailbox Cluster

Documentation for installing Exchange in a cluster continuous replication (CCR) configuration can be found here:
http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/aa997144.aspx

How to Create a Windows Server 2003 Failover Cluster for Cluster Continuous Replication:
http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb124038(EXCHG.80).aspx

Important Notes:

• Before you install Exchange 2007, make sure that the folder into which you install Exchange data is empty
• The Cluster service account must be a member of the local administrators group on each node that is capable of hosting a clustered mailbox server
• Do not install, create, or move any resources from the default cluster group to the resource group containing the clustered mailbox server
• Do not install, create, or move any resources from the group containing the clustered mailbox server to the default cluster group
• The default cluster group should contain only the cluster IP Address, Network Name, and quorum resources. Moving or combining resources to or with the default cluster group is not supported.

In order to create a Cluster configuration, you will need to configure a Majority Node Set (MNS) and a File Share Witness:
http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb124922.aspx

• When using a Majority Node Set (MNS) quorum with the file share witness on Windows Server 2003, only two nodes can exist in the cluster. If one node or more than two nodes exist in the cluster, MNS quorum with file share witness feature cannot be used. Instead, a traditional MNS quorum must be used, which requires three or more nodes in the cluster.
• We recommend using a two-node failover cluster that uses either the MNS quorum with file share witness or the Node and File Share Majority quorum. This eliminates the need to have a third voter node in the cluster.
• The file share witness for the MNS or the File Share Majority quorum does not need to be on a dedicated computer. It can be on any computer running Windows Server. However, we recommend that you host the file share witness on a Hub Transport server (or other Exchange server) to be under the control of the Exchange administrator.
• We recommend that you create a CNAME record in DNS for the server hosting the share, instead of the actual server name. When creating the share for the file share witness, use the fully qualified domain name (FQDN) for the CNAME record instead of the server name because this practice assists with site resilience.

Network Requirements for Cluster Continuous Replication

It is important that the networks used for client and cluster communications are configured correctly. This section provides links to the procedures that are necessary to verify that your private and public network settings are configured correctly. In addition, you must make sure that the network connection order is configured correctly for the cluster. Consider the following when designing the network infrastructure for your CCR environment:

• Each node must have at least two network adapters available for Windows Clustering. Clients and other servers only have to be able to access the nodes from one of the two network adapters. The other network adapters are used for intra-cluster communication. The recommended configuration is to have the private network dedicated to internal cluster communications and the public network designated as mixed.
  
• The cluster public network should provide connectivity to other Exchange servers and other services, such as Active Directory and DNS. You can prevent this from being a single point of failure by using network adapter teaming or similar technology.
  
• A separate cluster private network must be provided. The private network is used for the cluster heartbeat. The private network does not require DNS.
  
• Heartbeat requirements may not be the most stringent public network bandwidth and latency requirement for a two datacenter configuration. You must evaluate the total network load, which includes client access, Active Directory, transport, continuous replication, and other application traffic, to determine the necessary network requirements for your environment.
  
• We recommend that you use Gigabit Ethernet for CCR environments to maximize reseed time. For more information about why Gigabit Ethernet is recommended, see "Database Size and Cluster Continuous Replication" later in this topic.
  
• In Exchange 2007 RTM, a resource group that contains a clustered mailbox server can only have one Network Name resource. Having more than one Network Name resource in a resource group that contains a clustered mailbox server is not supported in Exchange 2007 RTM. However, this limitation does not exist in Exchange 2007 SP1. When the clustered mailbox server has been upgraded to Exchange 2007 SP1, more than one Network Name resource can exist in the resource group that contains the clustered mailbox server.

You will need to create the directories the database will be installed in (mailbox store, as well as logs).  Make sure to specify the data directory in the setup wizard (after selecting the install location).

Installing the Cluster

This basically boils down to a very few steps.

1. Create a share on your hub transport...I recommend something like: MNS_FSW_ClusterName (Majority Node Server, File Share Witness, Cluster Name)
2. Ensure local administrators and the cluster account have full rights to these files
3. Share this directory--again, ensure that local administrators and the cluster service account have access to this share
   NOTE: Microsoft strongly recommends you never touch the contents of this directory/share
4. Log onto the first/primary node of your cluster as an administrator
5. cluster /cluster:LABCLDEXBE3 /create /wizard
   1. On the Proposed Cluster Configuration page, click Quorum, click the drop-down list, select Majority Node Set, and then click OK.
6. cluster /cluster:LABCLDEXBE3 /add /wizard
7. CCluster res "Majority Node Set" /priv MNSFileShare=\\LABWSDEXHT1\MNS_FSW_LABCLDEXBE3

Below are detailed instructions from Microsoft on setting up the cluster for Exchange.

a. On the first cluster node (EXBE01), log on as an Administrator

b. Click Start and then click Run.

c. Type CMD and then click OK.

d. At the command prompt, type cluster /cluster:EXCluster /create /wizard and then press ENTER.

e. On the New Server Cluster Wizard page, click Next.

f. On the Cluster Name and Domain page, click the Domain drop-down list, click mydomain.com, verify that the Cluster name is EXCluster, and then click Next.

g. On the Select Computer page, verify that EXBE01 is selected, and then click Next.

Note: Under Finding common resources on nodes and Checking cluster feasibility, you will receive a warning that a sharable quorum resource could not be located. This is expected behavior.

h. Review the analysis results and then click Next.

i. On the IP Address page, in the IP Address field, type 10.0.0.70 and then click Next.

j. On the Cluster Service Account page, in the User name field, type clustersvc and then in the Password field, type P@ssw0rd

k. Verify that the Domain is nwtraders.com and then click Next.

l. On the Proposed Cluster Configuration page, click Quorum.

m. Click the drop-down list, select Majority Node Set, and then click OK.

n. On the Proposed Cluster Configuration page, verify that the information is correct, and then click Next.

o. After the tasks have been completed, click Next, and then click Finish.

p. Leave the command prompt window open.

q. Click Start, click Administrative Tools, and then click Cluster Administrator.

Note: The EXBE01 node in the results pane should be listed in an Up state.

r. Switch to the command prompt.

s. At the command prompt, type cluster /cluster:EXCluster /add /wizard and then press ENTER.

t. On the Welcome to Add Nodes Wizard page, click Next.

u. On the Cluster Name and Domain page, click the Domain drop-down list and then click nwtraders.com.

v. Verify that the cluster name shown is EXCluster and then click Next.

w. In the Computer name field, type EXBE02 and click Add, and then click Next.

x. After the analysis is complete, click Next.

y. On the Cluster Service Account page, in the Password field, type P@ssw0rd and then click Next.

z. Review the cluster configuration information and then click Next.

aa. After the tasks have been completed, click Next, and then click Finish.

bb. Switch to the Cluster Administrator management console. Click EXCLUSTER.

Note: You should now see EXBE02 added as a node to the cluster with the State shown as Up.

cc. In the navigation pane, expand Groups, and then click Cluster Group.

Note: The three current cluster resources should be listed as Online.

dd. Expand Cluster Configuration, and then click Networks.

ee. In the details pane, right-click Private Connection, and then click Properties.

ff. Verify that Enable this network for cluster use is selected, select Internal cluster communications only (private network), and then click OK.

gg. Right-click Public Connection, and then click Properties. Verify that the Public Connection is configured for All communications (mixed network), and then click OK.

hh. In the console tree, right-click EXCLUSTER and then click Properties.

ii. On the Network Priority tab, in the Networks used for internal cluster communication section, verify that Private Connection is at the top. If it is not, click Private Connection, click Move Up, and then click OK.

jj. Close the Cluster Administrator management console.

kk. Leave the command prompt window open.

Note: Create a share and configure permissions on the share and the folder.

Note: Configure MNS to use the new share as a witness.

Note: Confirm the settings.

a. Switch to SMBEX01.

b. Click Start, and then click Run.

c. Type CMD and then click OK.

d. At the command prompt, create a folder to use as the file share witness by typing the following and then pressing ENTER after each line.

• CD \
• mkdir MNS_FSQ_DIR_EXCluster

e. Share the folder as MNS_FSQ_EXCluster by typing the following and then pressing ENTER:

• net share MNS_FSQ_EXCluster=C:\MNS_FSQ_DIR_EXCluster
• /GRANT:nwtraders\clustersvc,FULL

Note: This is a single long command.

f. Set permissions for the share by typing the following command and then pressing ENTER:

• cacls MNS_FSQ_DIR_EXCluster /G BUILTIN\Administrators:F
• ClusterSVC:F

Note: This is a single long command.

g. When prompted Are you sure (Y/N)?, press Y and then press ENTER.

h. Switch to EXBE01.

i. At the command prompt, configure MNS to use the file share by typing the following and then pressing ENTER:

• Cluster res "Majority Node Set" /priv
• MNSFileShare=\\SMBEX01\MNS_FSQ_EXCluster

Note: This is a single long command.

j. When this command completes, a warning message appears indicating that the resource must be restarted for the change to take effect.

k. At the command prompt, type the following and then press ENTER:

• Cluster group "Cluster Group" /move

l. Repeat step k.

m. Verify that the properties are configured correctly by running the following command:

• Cluster res "Majority Node Set" /priv

n. Confirm that the results are set to the following values:

• MNSFileShare = \\SMBEX01\MNS_FSQ_EXCluster
• MNSFileShareCheckInterval = 240 (0xf0)
• MNSFileShareDelay = 4 (0x4)

o. Leave the Command Prompt open.