Cluster Help

First Day at Mindsharp

2008-07-14T16:06:00Z

Today is officially my first day at Mindsharp . Many of you have heard of the company and most people immediately associate it with SharePoint. That is a good thing, but Mindsharp is going to be much more than SharePoint in the near future. My job is to help complete courseware for Office Communications Server and help promote classes and consulting opportunities for OCS. I am excited about this opportunity. I get to work for a top-notch organization with a great reputation, and I get to help lead...(read more)

The Perfect Job

2008-07-10T09:29:00Z

I don't know if it is possible to find the perfect job or not. Over the last few weeks, I have been talking to several companies about opportunities. These conversations have been fun, and the interviewing has really been entertaining as well. Interviewing - I bet you have all heard the basic questions, like, "What is your biggest weakness?" So, during the process, I put together my top 10 questions. Why are you leaving your current position? Also, why did you leave your last job? Can...(read more)

Question of the day: What are they doing for Bill Gates last day?

2008-06-27T14:57:00Z

Now, seriously, what are they going to do for him? In some companies, they have a luncheon party, in others, they take up a collection and buy a parting gift. So, what are they doing for Bill? Does he get a cake? Does he get a watch? A plaque? A handshake from Steve? A hug? A letter of appreciation? A fishing pole? I really want to know....(read more)

Cluster Class in Pittsburgh

2008-06-26T15:06:00Z

We have scheduled a class in Pittsburgh, PA. It is tentative at this point. What does that mean? Well, it means that there is no actual contract yet, but it looks like it will be a go. If you are interested, please contact RiverHead Training in Pittsburgh by calling them at 412-224-2345 or by sending email to education@riverhead.com . Philip Anderson is the point of contact....(read more)

Blog was Down

2008-06-20T05:45:00Z

I am sorry, but this blog, as well as many others hosted on MSMVPS.com, was down for a considerable amount of time. I really wasn't happy about it, but I also really can't complain because this server is supported by a couple of voluteers, and they do it out of the goodness of their hearts. I will continue to host my blog here, for now. However, if there are continued issues, I will do my best to move to a new location. In the meantime, keep in mind that I copy many of my posts (not all)...(read more)

Should I Deploy Windows Server 2008 or Windows Server 2003 for Exchange Server 2007?

2008-06-16T21:53:00Z

This is another question that came up many times during TechEd. It was usually phrased, "Why would I go with Windows Server 2008 over Windows Server 2003 when deploying my Exchange Server 2007 environment next month?" Sometimes they also threw in that they were going to to CCR. My point, which actually seemed to please some of the people is that we, as administrators, should try to avoid NT 4.0 situations that we are still paying for today. What does that mean? Well, think about it, in...(read more)

Exchange Server 2007 and Virtualization

2008-06-16T21:39:00Z

During my booth duty at the Failover Clustering booth, I must have heard questions regarding this topic about once per hour if not more. The official stance : Microsoft does not support the virtualization of Exchange Server 2007 roles at this time. Why not? Well, Microsoft does not have a virtualization platform capable of supporting 64-bit virtual machines at this time. Hyper-V is not an RTM product. Whether Microsoft will change the stance once Hyper-V RTMs is another question, and I don't...(read more)

Tech-Ed and the High Availability Pre-Conference Session

2008-06-16T21:18:00Z

I have learned over the years that a successful presentation depends on solid planning, good input from many sources, and preparation. So, what do you do when things go wrong despite all prepartions going right? What do you do when: Three computers fail during the presentation and one of the three catches fire The computer used for displaying the PowerPoints reboots five times during the presentation The rack holding demonstration equipment makes tons of clacking noises as power spikes hit the PDU...(read more)

Windows Server 2008 Failover Clustering - Microsoft Official Courseware

2008-05-12T21:55:00Z

Microsoft has released its first Windows Server 2008 course based on the RTM version. Lucky for us high availability geeks, it happens to be the coruse on Failover Clustering. The course will be available May 15th, 2008. In the meantime, I strongly suggest everyone take a look at the syllabus for the class. You can find it here ....(read more)

"Save XP" Campaign Discussion

2008-03-21T02:22:00Z

I have been pretty busy lately, but I just couldn't ignore the "Save XP" campaign being promoted by InfoWorld. I have many issues with this entire campaign, so I will summarize them here: What is InfoWorld doing? I wasn't aware that it was suddenly an opinion magazine and had given up on being a news reporting organization. It is like NBC doing a "Help Elect Joe Snuffy" campaign. It it totally inappropriate. Read the story here on their site . I can't imagine that...(read more)

CCR and Multi-Site Environments

2008-02-20T02:56:00Z

I have been hearing more and more people talk about the virtues of using CCR with a node in each site. This talk has escalated now that Windows Server 2008 has released to manufacturing. With Windows Server 2008 Failover Cluster environments now have the ability to have nodes in multiple sites without having to use Virtual LANs (VLANs) to provide the networking support. On the surface, CCR and Windows Server 2008 in a multi-site cluster sounds like the answer to many organization needs. Obviously...(read more)

Domain Controllers as Cluster Nodes - Bad Idea

2008-02-12T17:01:00Z

This is an issue that pops up all the time when it comes to best practices and building server clusters. It is considered a very bad practice, in the community, to run Domain Controllers (DCs) as nodes in a cluster. While Microsoft says it is possible, and it is even discussed in KB171390 So, why do so many people recommend against doing it? Let's hit the main reasons: Microsoft clearly recommends against it in KB281662 It is not supported for Exchange per KB898634 There are known issues with...(read more)

Windows Server 2008 Clustering Documents

2008-02-04T18:17:00Z

Microsoft released a whole set of white papers and made them available for download off the same page here . The documents available include: Microsoft High Availability Strategy White Paper.doc Overview of Failover Clustering with Windows Server 2008.doc Quick Migration with Hyper-V.doc Windows Server 2008 Failover Clustering Architecture Overview.doc WS2008 Failover Clustering Datasheet.doc WS2008 Multi Site Clustering.doc They are all fantastic reads and I highly recommend downloading them....(read more)

IT Manager Webcast: Delivering High Availability

2008-02-03T08:59:00Z

Manish Kalra, will be delivering a 60 minute presentation on the value of High Availability. I strongly recommend that everyone give it a view. Details below: http://msevents.microsoft.com/CUI/WebCastEventDetails.aspx?EventID=1032365516&EventCategory=4&culture=en-US&CountryCode=US IT Manager Webcast: Delivering High Availability to Your Infrastructure (Level 100) Event ID: 1032365516 Register Online Language(s): English. Product(s): Windows Server . Audience(s): IT Professionals. Duration...(read more)

TechEd 2008 PreCon: High Availability Planning with Windows Server 2008

2008-01-28T03:58:00Z

I just wanted to point out that there will be an excellent Pre-Conference session on Windows Server 2008 High Availability with several demonstrations at the upcoming TechEd in Orlando. You can see the pre-conference sessions here: https://www.msteched.com/itpro/public/precons.aspx I have multiple reasons for promoting this session: PRC18 High Availability Planning with Windows Server 2008 Speaker(s): Manish Kalra This pre-conference seminar is designed to help you build a highly available infrastructure...(read more)

Microsoft Official Cluster Team Blog

2008-01-12T08:37:00Z

The cluster team at Microsoft has restarted their blog with a new dedication focused on Windows Server 2008 Failover Clustering and Network Load Balancing. I have been promised, by some of the powers that be, that they will do their best to provide responses to all appropriate comments posted to their blog entries. Also, from my experience, these are some really wonderful people and they really want to help everyone understand what failover clustering is all about and how your organization can benefit...(read more)

Exchange Server 2003 Assessment Configuration Packs

2008-01-03T09:53:00Z

Microsoft released assessment configuration packs for the following today: Gramm-Leach Bliley Act (GLBA) European Union Data Protection Directive (EUDPD) Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX) Federal Information Security Management Act (FISMA) Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA)...(read more)

Exchange Server 2007 Architecture Poster

2007-11-07T18:36:00Z

Get it here , fresh off the presses and just released today!...(read more)

Which Exchange Server 2007 Server Cluster Type Should I use, CCR or SCC?

2007-10-31T19:36:00Z

This is becoming a pretty common question in my Exchange classes. Which should I use? Why one over the other? My current recommendation is to use CCR whenever possible vs. SCC. Why? I am glad you asked that question. High Availability, see my definition here , is all about risk mitigation. What we should be doing is identifying risks to our important/critical applications and finding ways to eliminate or at least mitigate the risks where economically feasible. One of the major risks that I see with...(read more)

Wonderful Changes in Exchange Server 2007

2007-10-31T00:13:00Z

I want to end the work day on a positive note. Yes, there are a couple of things about Exchange Server 2007 that tick me off, but overall, I love the product. I just wanted to take a couple of minutes to mention some of my favorite features. Databases - The change to a single database is a big plus in my mind. Also, I love that we can now have up to 50 Storage Groups and up to 50 Databases when using Enterprise Edition. With the larger number of databases, we can now have smaller and faster databases...(read more)