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Restoring a failed DAG member

robclarke41
Level 4

Hi All,

I just wondered what the process is here for restoring DAG members.  I have a two node dag loadbalanced using Kemp hardware loadbalancers & a witness setup.

We have the two DAG members in the same AD site etc but in different physical locations.  We use them in a primary/secondary setup where the loadbalancer takes preference for the server in the primary site.  My question is should the primary server fail completely what would be the process for restoring this server and getting it back into the DAG?  Is it as simple as restoring with backup exec and the Exchange environement carries on where it left off or is there more to it than that?  After finally migrating from a single Exchange 2003 environement it suddenly crossed my mind I have no idea what to do here!  Any help would be greatly appreciated, I am trying to put it all into a DR document.  Please be as detailed as possible!

Kind Regards

Rob

7 REPLIES 7

VJware
Level 6
Employee Accredited Certified

This may help - http://www.symantec.com/business/support/index?page=content&id=TECH164096

robclarke41
Level 4

Thanks but that is for restoring the database, I am talking about a complete server failure and restoring to different hardware.  I can't seem to find any articles on that?

 

ps can't believe Symantec spelt Exchange wrong in that article! 'Microsoft Exchnage 2010'

VJware
Level 6
Employee Accredited Certified

In case of a hardware failure, best to use SDR to recover the server first. This KB will help you with the SDR process - http://www.symantec.com/business/support/index?page=content&id=TECH180099

Once the server is recovered using SDR, you can restore Exchange DAG member using the earlier mentioned article.

And thanks for pointing out the error. Have edited the article.

robclarke41
Level 4

we also take Symantec System Recovery backups of the entire Exchange server. Could we restore to different hardware using these?

VJware
Level 6
Employee Accredited Certified

Yes, you can.
 

robclarke41
Level 4

Still not clear on all this, is there a definitive (official) Symantec article for restoring a failed DAG member?  I just want the shortest path to recovery possible - using Backup Exec or System Recovery. 

VJware
Level 6
Employee Accredited Certified

There isn't one KB article for the quickest method, instead there are 2 KBs (which I posted earlier). Using BE, you can use SDR first to recover a server on new hardware and then using the Exchange agent, restore the DAG node.

Regarding System Recovery (SSR), best to check with the SSR folks if Exchange DAG member can be restored or not. The process of restoring the server itself using SSR is akin to the SDR method of Backup Exec.

Link to SSR forum - https://www-secure.symantec.com/connect/backup-and-recovery/forums/symantec-system-recovery-formerly-backup-exec-system-recovery