Knowledge Base

How to change the Exchange Server 5.5 database file paths or the log file paths on a Windows 2000 Advanced Server-based server cluster

Article ID: 841675

Article Last Modified on 10/27/2006

APPLIES TO

Microsoft Exchange Server 5.5 Standard Edition, when used with:
- Microsoft Windows 2000 Advanced Server

INTRODUCTION

This article describes how to move the Microsoft Exchange Server 5.5 mailbox store database files and transaction log files to a different hard disk when Exchange Server 5.5 is running on a Microsoft Windows 2000 Advanced Server-based server cluster.

MORE INFORMATION

The procedure to move a clustered Exchange Server 5.5 database file or transaction log files to a different hard disk is different when Exchange Server 5.5 is running on a Windows 2000-based server cluster than when Exchange Server 5.5 is running on a Microsoft Windows NT 4.0 Cluster Server. For more information about how to move the Exchange Server 5.5 database files on a Windows NT 4.0 Cluster Server, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

278464 How to change the Exchange Server database paths on a cluster

To move the Exchange Server 5.5 database files on a Windows 2000-based server cluster, follow these steps.

Part 1: Verify resource information, and then take the Exchange resources offline

Verify the root registry information for the Microsoft Exchange Information Store resource, and then take the Exchange-related resources offline. To do this, follow these steps:

Start the Cluster Administrator tool, and then connect to your server cluster. To do this, click Start, point to Programs, point to Administrative Tools, and then click Cluster Administrator.
Click the resource group that contains the Microsoft Exchange Information Store resource.
Right-click the Microsoft Exchange Information Store resource, and then click Properties.
Click the Registry Replication tab.
Under Root Registry Key, make sure that the following registry subkey appears:

SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\MSExchangeIS
Close the Microsoft Exchange Information Store Properties dialog box.
Shut down Node 2 of the server cluster. In this scenario, Node 2 is the passive cluster node.
On Node 1 of the server cluster, take the Exchange-related resources offline. In this scenario, Node 1 is the active cluster node. To take the Exchange Server 5.5 resources offline, right-click the Microsoft Exchange System Attendant resource, and then click Take Offline.
Quit the Cluster Administrator tool.

Part 2: Configure the Cluster service startup type, and then rename the MSCS folder

Configure the Cluster service to start with the -noquorumlogging option, and then restart the Cluster service. To do this, follow these steps:

Click Start, click Run, type services.msc, and then click OK.
In the Services dialog box, right-click Cluster Service, and then click Stop.
When the Cluster service has stopped successfully, right-click Cluster Service, and then click Properties.
On the General tab, type the following in the Start parameters box:

-noquorumlogging
On the General tab, click Start to start the Cluster service with the -noquorumlogging parameter.
When the Cluster service has started successfully, click OK to close the Cluster Service Properties (Local Computer) dialog box.
Start the Cluster Administrator tool, and then make sure that all resources in all the resource groups are online. In this scenario, manually bring all the Exchange-related resources online. To do this, right-click each Exchange resource, and then click Bring Online.
Rename the MSCS folder on the quorum drive of the server cluster. For example, start Windows Explorer, right-click the MSCS folder on the quorum drive of the server cluster, click Rename, type old-mscs , and then press ENTER.

Part 3: Run Exchange Performance Optimizer to move the database files to a new location

Run the Microsoft Exchange Performance Optimizer program to move the Exchange database files and transaction log files to the new location. To do this, follow these steps.

Note To move the Exchange database files and transaction log files to a new hard disk, you must first move that hard disk to the resource group that contains your Exchange resources. Additionally, we recommend that you create a full backup of your Exchange database and log files before you move them to a new location.

Click Start, point to Programs, point to Microsoft Exchange, and then click Microsoft Exchange Optimizer.
In the Microsoft Exchange Performance Optimizer dialog box, click Next.

Note If you are running Microsoft Windows 2000 Service Pack 4 (SP4), you may receive the following error message:

The service's list of dependent services could not be enumerated. -[800FF336]

To resolve this problem, install the hotfix that is described in the following Microsoft Knowledge Base article:

821543 "Services list of dependent services could not be enumerated. -800FF336" error message when you try to use the Exchange Server Performance Optimizer

To work around this problem, follow these steps:
1. Click OK on the error message, and then click Cancel to quit the Microsoft Exchange Performance Optimizer program.
2. Start the Cluster Administrator tool, and then take the Microsoft Exchange System Attendant resource offline. To do this, right-click the Microsoft Exchange System Attendant resource, and then click Take Offline.
3. Restart the Microsoft Exchange Performance Optimizer program, and then click Next.
Click Next.
When the Microsoft Exchange Performance Optimizer has finished analyzing your hard disks, click Next.
Modify the paths in the Suggested Location boxes to the paths where you want to store the Exchange-related database files and log files.
When you have finished modifying the Exchange database file paths and log file paths, click Next.
Click to select the Move files automatically check box if it is not already selected, and then click Next.
When the Exchange database files and log files have been moved successfully, click Finish.
If you manually stopped the Exchange-related resources, restart them by using the Cluster Administrator tool. To do this, start the Cluster Administrator tool, right-click each Exchange-related resource, and then click Bring Online. Make sure that all the Exchange-related resources start successfully.

Part 4: Reset Cluster service quorum logging

Important If you are running Windows 2000 Advanced Server Service Pack 4 (SP4) and if you have previously installed the hotfix that is mentioned in Microsoft Knowledge Base article 872970, you may skip this step.

Reconfigure the Cluster service to reset quorum logging. To do this, follow these steps:

Start the Cluster Administrator tool, and then take the Microsoft Exchange System Attendant resource offline. To do this, right-click the Microsoft Exchange System Attendant resource, and then click Take Offline.
When all the Exchange-related services have successfully gone offline, quit the Cluster Administrator tool.
Click Start, click Run, type services.msc, and then click OK.
In the Services dialog box, right-click Cluster Service, and then click Stop.
When the Cluster service has stopped successfully, right-click Cluster Service, and then click Properties.
On the General tab, type the following in the Start parameters box:

-resetquorumlog
On the General tab, click Start to start the Cluster service with the -resetquorumlog parameter.
When the Cluster service has started successfully, click OK to close the Cluster Service Properties (Local Computer) dialog box.
Start the Cluster Administrator tool, and then make sure that all resources in all the resource groups are online. In this scenario, manually bring all the Exchange-related resources online. To do this, right-click each Exchange resource, and then click Bring Online.

Part 5: Move the Exchange resource group to the second cluster node

Move the Exchange resource group to Node 2 of the server cluster. To do this, right-click the Exchange resource group in the Cluster Administrator tool, and then click Move Group.

Note The registry updates that reflect the new Exchange database path and log files path are not made on the second node of the server cluster until the Microsoft Exchange Information Store resource has either been moved to Node 2 or failed over to Node 2. If the Exchange resource group does not move or fail over to the second cluster node successfully, make sure that the following registry subkey appears in the Root Registry Key box on the Directory Replication tab of the Microsoft Exchange Information Store resource:

SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\MSExchangeIS

If this registry entry appears but certain Exchange resources do not fail over successfully, add the registry keys that correspond to those failed Exchange resources to the Root Registry Key box on the Directory Replication tab of the Microsoft Exchange Information Store resource. To do this, follow these steps:

Right-click the Microsoft Exchange Information Store resource, click Properties, and then click the Registry Replication tab.
Click Add, type the root registry subkey that corresponds to the Exchange resource that does not move or fail over successfully, and then click OK. For example, if the Microsoft Exchange Message Transfer Agent resource does not move or fail over successfully, type the following in the Root registry key box, and then click OK:

SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\MSExchangeMTA
Click Apply, and then click OK.
Retry the move or the failover operation.

Keywords: kbhowto kbinfo KB841675

Microsoft KB Archive/841675

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