Re: Migrate SBS 20 Backup Server and Back

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From: Ken Sadler (ksadler_at_dstincorporated.com_NO_SPAM_)
Date: 02/20/04 

Date: Thu, 19 Feb 2004 20:22:00 -0800

Jeff,

Thanks for the reply...I agree it may be a bigger project than I
want to take on right now. Maybe it would be better to elaboarate
on my goals. For more background; when I inherited the server a
few months back, it was running essentially as a standard DC.
Exchange and SQL were installed only because the boss wants to use
CRM. As a result, we began to host our own email and SQL is used
for CRM only (virtually no load). So none of the extra SBS
benefits are being used right now. My goals are:

1: Increase C: to 12GB, let D: take the rest (24GB) for apps and
keep spindles 1 and 2 mirrored. Spindles 3-6 will turn to RAID-5
(108GB by my calculations) creating the following partitions; 10GB
- SWAP/TEMP, 16GB - Exchange, 5GB - SysLogs and housekeeping, 20
GB - Reserve slop space for apps and the remainder for user data
(57GB).

2: Get the server up and running with both NICs active and ISA.

3: Get the native client/user management features of SBS up and
running and implement SUS.

Although we only have about 20 users now, we anticipate getting
close to the "magic 50" in 12-18 months so I anticipate about 50%
increase in required user storage/mailboxes...and after writing
this I'm wondering if I would be better off scaling the partitions
back and going with RAID-0+1.

It just seemed to me like all of this would be easier with a
domain rebuild. I really don't mind setting up the server again,
my biggest concern is that I don't lose data and minimize impact
on operations (hence the weekend work). Eventually, we will
upgrade everything to 2k3 (waiting on CRM 1.2 to arrive so I can
budget in upgrade CALs).

So with these goals in mind, what would be the recommended course
of action? And can you recommend a referece book that is geared to
ppl who are have experience but are lacking in the intricasies of
SBS?

Cheers,
Ken

"Jeff Middleton [SBS-MVP]" <jeff@cfisolutions.com> wrote in
news:uFTgKp09DHA.2064@TK2MSFTNGP11.phx.gbl:

> Hi Ken,
>
> My initial advice is that the process you describe is fine to
> the level of detail you described, but the level of complexity
> in reality is the sort of thing I don't ever recommend to
> someone to try if you only plan to do it this once. This is
> open heart surgery and you shouldn't try to be the surgeon and
> patient for just one time at the same time. For someone who is
> very good at this, you are describing probably a 8-12 hr
> process, depending upon factors not really covered in your
> outline. I've heard folks say this took them 3 days. If you
> aren't really good at this, you may find yourself midstream on
> the rocks.
>
> The exmerge step isn't required if you aren't trying to
> actually do any cleanup to the mailboxes like purging them in
> this process. What will happen is that the exmerge process will
> break all the single instance storage of emails between users.
> That means that an email from Bob sent to Ted will no longer be
> stored as one email, with a reference to both accounts, it will
> be two emails. It may not be a crisis, but exploding this stuff
> just to punch it right back in makes little sense unless you
> are parsing things out. For instance, I plan to clean my own
> Exchange out soon with Exmerge in my mailbox because I have a
> huge volume of spam I intend to clear, but I've been evolving
> Outlook rules to whitelist and clean up things. Once I move
> things to safe location, I will dump about 80% of my mailbox
> contents.
>
> If you reinstall the SBS with the very same name, you can
> simply restore the Exchange directly.
>
> The swapping of the DC roles and such will involve more than
> just casual playing in places you don't normally touch.
>
> Me, personally, I don't see that your partition sizes are a
> crisis. In fact, I would be inclined to put them back almost
> the same....maybe 10 or 12 G on the first partition, but that's
> about it.
>
> "Ken Sadler" <ksadler@dstincorporated.com_NO_SPAM_> wrote in
> message
> news:Xns9493C57087C63ksadlerdstincorporat@207.46.248.16...
>> Ok, here's scenario...we've got a PowerEdge
>> 2500 that is running SBS/Exch2k/SQL/CRM (or should I say
>> CRM is installed, because it really isn't "running"
>> ...but that's another story) and provides services for
>> about 20 users. Disk setup is:
>> 2/36GB (mirrored) C-8GB/D-28GB
>> 1/36GB E-User Data/Exchange (yes, I know that's very
>> bad...but I am waiting on more drives and I do daily
>> backups)
>>
>> I ordered 3 more 36GB drives so I can add it to the 3rd
>> drive and configure it RAID5. So I says to myself..."This
>> would be a great opportunity to reconfig the server with a
>> better partition scheme, enable some of the nifty
>> functions SBS has, and wipe away 2 years of
>> install/uninstall software, etc."
>>
>> I am not an SBS person by trade, so this is a real
>> learning experience for me, but I have been looking
>> through the groups pretty heavily and I think I've got my
>> plan:
>>
>> .5 - Backups
>> 1 - Install vanilla 2k server on old wks box
>> 2 - Join domain and dcpromo backup server
>> 3 - EXMERGE mailboxes
>> 4 - Copy User Data/Shared Data/.PST files to backup server
>> 5 - dcpromo SBS box out and disconnect
>> 6 - Seize FSMO roles with backup server and remove all
>> traces of SBS box from AD
>> 7 - Install/Config exchange and import mailboxes back
>> 8 - Repeat steps 1-7 with reconfiged SBS box
>>
>> Does that about cover everything? Any hidden gotchas?
>>
>> 2 questions I have are:
>>
>> 1 - The domain is currently named "domain.com" and I would
>> like to rename it "domain.local" When is the best time to
>> do that, after siezing FSMO roles, before installing
>> exchange?
>>
>> 2 - The backup server is a PII/450 with 384MB/ECC and 96GB
>> of harddrive space over 2 IDE drives. I plan on doing the
>> transfer work over the weekend so as to minimize any load
>> on the server (it will basically just need to sit there
>> and accept email)...shouldn't it be able to handle the
>> load?
>>
>> Any advice or recommendations are welcome.
>>
>> Cheers,
>> Ken
>
>
>

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