1 Domain + 1 domain + syncronised users = possible?

[tarquel]

Here we go... *readies himself for a loooong morning* hehe

Thanks guys for the thoughts....

The first thing i did was put the site name back to First-Default-Site but didn't seem to make any differenece

You don't think it was R2's upgrade to the server, namely, the Application Role when I upgraded it?

I'm going to try restoring the config backup i made during the Virtual Directories recreation and see how that goes.

Also, after leaving the RAID supposedly rebuild fine last night, on a reboot.... OS not found

Note to self "never install a RAID driver in windows - especially not one that might decide to play with your RAID setup without asking you"

So there goes the new DC.... didn't take long to setup, but I wonder how that effects the AD and stuff... Do I just delete it from the AD?

Nath.

[tarquel]

Hooray....Well....some success anyhow....

Seemed to have managed to restore the Virtual Directories back on IIS from that config file....

Just can't get the services to come back on for Exchange....

Nath.

[tarquel]

...thanks to the addition of the extra site.

Although I dont have it here at home, one of the error codes in the Event Viewer refers to not being in a site.

According to one snip of info I obtained, when installing/using Exchange on a single site domain, it just uses that site, but for some confusing reason, when an additional site is added to a domain, it "doesn't know what to be in anymore".

Question is, how do I tell it to be in one of these sites?

Until I can get it in a site, i can't restart the exchange related services, and thus, exchange doesnt work.

Any ideas? Something i need to change outside of exchange possibly? *coughs DNS lol*

Is there a good procedure to backing up everything in exchange, in order to uninstall it and then install it again, and put the storage folders back etc?

Cheers
Nath

[Ric_]

You could try installing Exchange on another box, migrating the users to that, removing the first Exchange install, re-install Exchange and migrate the users back. The migration of users between two Exchange servers in the same Enterprise is relatively straight forward (ExchangeServer.org covers it in full).

[k-strider]

if you remove your exchange server besure to read this
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/822931 <- Exchange 2K3 or
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/307917 <-Exchange 2K

I wonder if you would beable to move the mailboxes over if the original Exchange Server Services are not starting... i moved the mail boxes from one server to another and yes it is very easy but both my exchange servers were alive at the time!!

I don't think your so lucky as to make DNS changes to make exchange work all that will have with regards to exchange is MX records..

i hope you don't need to use ADSI Edit ... eak...

[Lord_Edam]

According to one snip of info I obtained, when installing/using Exchange on a single site domain, it just uses that site, but for some confusing reason, when an additional site is added to a domain, it "doesn't know what to be in anymore".

Question is, how do I tell it to be in one of these sites?

Depends what the error actually is. If exchange is struggling to contact a domain controller because it can't decide which site it's in, just add the domain controllers manually to the DSAccess tab on the server's properties in ESM.

Any ideas? Something i need to change outside of exchange possibly? *coughs DNS lol*

It might turn out to need ADSI Edit :twisted:

Is there a good procedure to backing up everything in exchange, in order to uninstall it and then install it again, and put the storage folders back etc?

Good backups of exchange are online backups - but you can't do that if the stores won't mount. If the databases are fine in terms of being cleanly shut down, just copy the edb, stm & log files off somewhere safe, uninstall Exchange, re-install Exchange with the /disasterrecovery switch, then overwrite the newly created databases with your backup and re-mount everything. Very quick & painless.

[tarquel]

I wonder if you would beable to move the mailboxes over if the original Exchange Server Services are not starting...

Exactly, which is why I dont think that will work - as ive tried all sorts of basic stuff to try and get them to come on... but they refuse.

Lord_Edam...

Depends what the error actually is. If exchange is struggling to contact a domain controller because it can't decide which site it's in, just add the domain controllers manually to the DSAccess tab on the server's properties in ESM.

I'll have a look first thing and dig out the error in Event Viewer, but its something along the lines of not being able to determine what site its in thus it fails to start the main Exchange service [cant remember what its called] - thus the others in turn dont start.

You may have the answer right there [hopefully] lol

Good backups of exchange are online backups - but you can't do that if the stores won't mount. If the databases are fine in terms of being cleanly shut down, just copy the edb, stm & log files off somewhere safe, uninstall Exchange, re-install Exchange with the /disasterrecovery switch, then overwrite the newly created databases with your backup and re-mount everything. Very quick & painless.

Thats what I was thinking If its as simple as that then it should be good. I dont remember seeing any error messages relating to problems with the database & not being shut down cleanly. EMS seems happy enough too - dont see any error messages in that, except for obvious ones when you click on certain sections in it that, of course, tell you that that the service isn't running so you cant look at that section.

Havent been able to find a distinctive guide regarding backing up everything [on msexchange.org] so I guess I'll just have to try it.

Any more thoughts are welcome of course.

Nath.

[tarquel]

Well.... here's an amusing twist to things....

Walked into work this morning all geared up for getting the Exchange bax sorted. Said to the ICT Co-ordinator "well i guess i better crack on in fixing the email box then!?" and he says "Why? its working fine"

......:O

So then he loads up OWA and logs in and voila - up it comes.

I nearly passed out I think hehe

So went to my room and looked at the server, and sure enough, all the services were working as god intended [god being me in this scenario lol]

I was so chuffled.... then the fun began as the internet wasn't working [turns out to be me not reconfiguring dns fully the other day i.e. forwarding requests to the LEA's DNS servers hehe] and then some one deleting all of someone elses work - very pointless considering how my backup system is very good these days hehe

We of course know who it is, but how do you prove it eh? lol

All sorted now so i can relax and carry on configuring this new site's DC.... somehow hehe

Regards
Nath.