Patching Servers running Microsoft Exchange 2010 and 2013 Data Availability Groups
You can use Server Automation Tasks to patch an operating system running Microsoft Exchange 2010 and Exchange 2013 (Exchange 2013 SP1 and later versions) Data availability groups (DAG), while maintaining the DAG availability. You patch the operating system using a number of Tasks and a service. The Tasks automate the execution of Microsoft Exchange scripts provided with Exchange 2010 and Exchange 2013. You run these Tasks in an Automation Plan and you can combine them with custom Tasks for patching the underlying operating system to fully automate the patching process.
Before you begin
- For Exchange 2013, Exchange 2103 Service Pack 1 and newer versions are supported. All version of Exchange 2010 are supported.
- Before running any of the patching steps, the control scripts must be installed. Use Task 110-Install Windows Cluster Control Application to install the control scripts.
- The IBM Exchange Cluster Manager Service must be installed. Use Task 123 Install IBM Exchange Cluster Manager Service to install the service.
- .Net Framework 4.0 must be installed on each node. Use Fixlet 40301 UPDATE: Microsoft .NET Framework 4.0 Available -Site-Patches for Windows to install or update the .Net Framework 4.0 on each node.
About this task
The scripts that are run by your Automation Plan are provided by Microsoft. For more
information about these scripts, see the following Microsoft resources:
You can use the Server Automation template sample plans, changing the template to add
your patching Fixlets. Server Automation template sample plans for Exchange are Fixlet IDs 133, 134,
136, 170, and 171. The recommended Automation Plan patching process is as follows, where you
complete steps 1 to 4 for the first node in the cluster, and then repeat these steps for the other
nodes in the cluster:- http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ee861125(v=exchg.141).aspx
- http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/dd298065(v=exchg.141).aspx
Task | Description |
---|---|
Task ID 125 - Exchange 2010 and 2013 Start DAG (Database Availability Groups) Maintenance Task | Runs the startDagservermaintainence.ps1 powershell script against the target endpoint. Active DAGs on the node are moved off the endpoint. The endpoint is placed on a paused state. If the cluster group is present on the endpoint, it is also moved to another node. The DatabaseCopyAutoActivationPolicy is set to blocked after running this script. The script does not move any non-exchange 2010 groups off the node. When this script is run against an endpoint, the endpoint is in a state where any patch or custom Fixlets can be run. |
Task ID 127 - Exchange 2010 and 2013 Stop DAG (Database Availability Groups) Maintenance Task | Runs the stopDagservermaintainence.ps1 powershell script against the target endpoint. This script resumes a node and also sets the DatabaseCopyAutoActivationPolicy to unrestricted for each database on the endpoint. No groups are failed back onto a node after running this script. |
Task ID 128 - Rebalance Active Databases Task Exchange 2010 and 2013 DAG (Database availability Groups) Task | Runs the RedistributeActiveDatabases.ps1 powershell script against the target endpoint. This script redistributes the active databases across all nodes available to the DAGs. The script uses the BalanceDbsByActivationPreference switch. You can run this Task at the end of an Automation Plan against one of the endpoints if you want to redistribute the DAGs across the servers after all patching has been completed. |
Task ID 163 - Check Status and Start Services on Microsoft Exchange | This Task is optional. This Task runs a script which checks the running status of the Microsoft Exchange services selected by the user on the target endpoint. The script will, by default, try and start any of the selected services which are not in a Running or Pending Restart state on the endpoint. The Task will fail if all selected services have not changed to a Running state within the Services startup timeout period. For information about limitations and about using this Task, see Check if File Share Witness is accessible. |
Task ID 164 - Check File Share Witness status on a Microsoft Windows cluster | This Task is optional. This Task runs a script which checks if the targets nodes can communicate with the File Share Witness. It also checks if the file share configured for the File Share Witness is accessible from the target endpoint. For information about limitations and about using this Task, see Check if File Share Witness is accessible. |