A database availability group, which can consist of up to 16 Exchange mailbox

servers, automates recovery at the database-level after a database, server or

network failure.
Database availability groups replaced Exchange Server 2007s high-availability
model, which was based on local continuous replication (LCR), standby
continuous replication (SCR), single copy clustering (SCC) and cluster continuous
replication (CCR).
Database availability groups:--You can consider DAG to be a hybrid replication method of Exchange Server
2007's cluster continuous replication (CCR) and standby continuous replication
(SCR). DAGs allow Exchange Server to seamlessly handle onsite and offsite data
replication scenarios.
To use DAGs, you need Windows Server 2008 failover clustering installed on
mailbox servers. You'll also need Windows Enterprise edition; however, failover
clustering is only there for basic clustering functions.
You can pre-install Windows Server 2008 failover clustering before installing
Exchange or Exchange Server 2010 . Running the NewDatabaseAvailabilityGroup cmdlet automatically installs failover clustering.
Even though failover clustering is installed, the failover cluster manager does not
control any DAG functions. After you've configured DAG, you won't see any
resources within the failover cluster tool. All functionality is maintained from the
Exchange Management Console (EMC) or in Exchange Management Shell.

Exchange Server 2010 Database Mobility explained

Many administrators think of database availability groups as a standalone entity; however, it's
actually part of a larger technology group within Exchange Server 2010 called Database
Mobility.
Database Mobility is comprised of the following components:

Incremental deployment
You can install Database Mobility, including DAG, after you've installed and
configured Exchange Server. For example, if you wanted to cluster a basic mailbox in
Exchange 2000 Server through Exchange 2007, you'd have to create a new Exchange
clustered instance and then move all mailboxes to it. By using incremental
deployment, you can configure high availability and implement Database Mobility -as long as you have the Enterprise versions of Windows 2008 (SP2) or 2008 R2.
Exchange 2010 no longer includes a clustered model instance; Exchange Database
Mobility uses failover clustering. Therefore, you won't have to enter the Failover
Admin tool to administer any part of Exchange high availability.

Database availability groups

You can create groups of mailbox servers with up to 16 replicated databases. Your

database availability group acts as a replication boundary for each mailbox database.
While DAGs can be part of several Active Directory sites and subnets, they must be
part of the same AD domain.
Mailbox database copies
Database copies that are stored on mailbox servers; these copies make up the
composite DAG.

The fundamentals of DAGs and database copies

The main principles of Database Mobility and DAGs may seem complex at first but, after
working with both for a while, they are pretty straightforward.

There are up 16 database copies per DAG.

Storage groups are not part of the database construct. Each database has its own set of
transaction logs.

Direct-attached storage (DAS) has become an attractive and cost effective choice.
When properly deployed, a DAG uses 50% less disk I/O. And because of how it's
deployed, you can even store some database copies on standard JBODS.

Each mailbox server within a DAG should have two network interfaces. One interface
could be used for replication and the default MAPI network; the interface handles
replication. DAG replication traffic is always compressed and encrypted.

Mailbox servers can also support other Exchange server roles.

Log shipping in Exchange Server 2010 uses TCP sockets -- with each database
assigned its own socket. In Exchange Server 2007, log shipping was performed via
Server Message Block (SMB), where a single SMB session was used between nodes
for all databases within the cluster. The change to TCP sockets results in more
efficient replication.

Data is replicated between primary databases on servers MBXSRV-1 and MBXSRV-2. In the
event of a database failure, the passive copies of databases DB-01 and DB-02 are brought
online on server MBXSRV-02.

Figure 2. How a database availability group works.

Configuring a database availability group
A basic DAG configuration is accomplished using five Exchange Management Shell cmdlets.
For example, I used the following configuration in the lab:

A single Windows 2008 R2 standard Server that acts as both the client access and hub
transport server.

Two Windows 2008 R2 enterprise servers -- each of which is configured as a mailbox

server with 5 GB logs and 5 GB database disks

1. Create a DAG
Open the Exchange Management Shell and type in the following command, which provides a
name for the DAG, the name of the File Share Witness Server, its location on the witness
server and the IP Address for the DAG:
New-DatabaseAvailabilityGroup -name TTLon -WitnessServer lab-2010htc01.justice.lab.com -WitnessDirectory c:\TechTargetLonFSW
-DatabaseAvailabilityGroupIpAddresses 172.31.253.146
Note: This step will automatically install failover clustering if it's not already installed on
the server.
If you've successfully created a DAG, you will see a screen similar to Figure 3.

Figure 3. This screen informs you that you have successfully created a database
availability group.
2. Add a mailbox server to the new DAG
Type in the following command to add a server named LAB-EX2010MB-01 to the TTLon
DAG that we created in Step 1. After running this command, repeat it for the second mailbox
server that you'd like to incorporate into your DAG configuration:
Add-DatabaseAvailabilityGroupServer -id TTLon -MailboxServer LAB-EX2010MB01.justice.lab.com
When you press Enter, you will see the screen shown in Figure 4.

Figure 4. This screen informs you that you have successfully added a mailbox server to
your new DAG
3. Create and mount a database to use with the DAG on the first mailbox server
The following command creates a new transaction log and database on the path provided to
the mailbox server of your choice:
New-MailboxDatabase -Name LAB-EX2010-01-GEN -Server LAB-EX2010MB01.justice.lab.com -LogFolderPath l:\Exchsrvr -EdbFilePath x:\Exchsrvr\LAB-EX2010GEN.edb
Hit Enter to produce the output shown in Figure 5.

Figure 5. Result of creating a new transaction log.

You can now mount the database that you just created using the following command:

Mount-Database LAB-EX2010-01-GEN

Figure 6. Output after mounting a database.

4. Add a copy of your previously created database
The command below will add a copy of the database that you previously created to the
second mailbox server, with an activation preference of 2. If you had more than two mailbox
servers and wanted to add a third copy of this database, you could give the server an
activation preference of 3. You could also change the preferences to accommodate the
specific server that you'd like to act as the active server, should the primary server fail:
Add-MailboxDatabaseCopy -id LAB-EX2010-01-GEN -MailboxServer LABEX2010MB-02.justice.lab.com -ActivationPreference 2
After using the above command, hit Enter and you should see an output similar to that in
Figure 7.

Figure 7. The output you should see after adding a copy of your database.

Question: How To Monitor Exchange 2010

DAG
Posted on July 8, 2010 by admin
Answer: After we configured Database Availability Group (DAG), Added member servers to
it and added mailbox database copies to it for redundancy in the previous Exchange 2010
articles , the last thing that we need is to make sure we know how to monitor our DAG and
make sure it works OK.
Exchange 2010 gives us two methods to monitor our DAG, the first method is using the
Exchange shell command utility which is powered by PowerShell and the second is using the
graphical interface
which is the Exchange Management console.
First method: Exchange management shell.
Command:
Get-MailboxDatabaseCopyStatus
This command gives the status of all databases on all mailbox servers.

This one gives us all the status information for a specific mailbox server.

This one gives us status information for specific mailbox database.

Test-ReplicationHealth
This command run set of tests to test the replication health.

This will run against a specific mailbox server.

Method Two:
This method provides much less information but can assist to find other problems.
To access the GUI tool Open the Exchange management console -> Organization
Configuration > Mailbox
Click on the Database Management and click on the database you need to monitor.
GUI Monitor:

Click on properties.

Here you can see the replication copy status and the database status.

This will show you if the database is seeding and if there are errors.

Its recommended to script the commands with refresh timer to view the status of the
replication.
http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/dd979799.aspx

Treating a DAG like an active/passive cluster. This one overlaps with load
balancing, and the message is to spread active clusters across servers to
distribute the load. The temptation, perhaps, is to place all active databases on
the same server, but there's no need to do so in a DAG configuration. McBee
recommends learning about activation preferences: "You can configure the
activation preferences of the database so that it's always got a preferred node or
a preferred DAG member that it activates on, but you want to make sure that you
distribute the load. This maximizes the use of your hardware, and it ensures if
either node fails, that only half of the users have to fail over to the alternate
server."

Failure to complete a sufficient pilot. I suspect your IT department will

struggle against timelines set by others in the business as well as budgetary
realities and be pressured into moving quickly through the test phase into
implementation. However, it's much easier to fix a problem during a pilot

operation than it will be after you've rolled out something to your whole user
base in production. "For an organization that's got a couple thousand mailboxes,
I would recommend that the pilot lasts four to six weeks" McBee said. "And
during all pilot tests, you test all functions of Exchange 2010, including moving
databases between servers; including ensuring that the Client Access array is
functioning properly if one of the Client Access servers or Hub Transport servers
is offline, and ensuring that databases fail over automatically. And possibly most
importantly, ensuring that your backup and your recovery procedures are
working properly prior to putting production users on the system."

What are the four main components in setting up DAGs?

1.Replication network, public network (NIC Card Properties)
2.File share witness
3.DAG Nework configuration
4.Mailbox Database Activation preference
How many Dags can you have?
its enough one DAG for 10 K users
How many CPUs and RAMs you can have in CAS and DAGs to support
more than 10k mailboxes?
We can install dedicated servers as 2 CAS and 2 HUB , 2 Mailbox servers with
DAG
CPU- Quad Processor, RAM- 32 GB for each server
What do you do when 1 of the CAS servers are down or What do you do
when DAGs are unavailable?
we should configure 2 casarray for this and add the 2 cas node and we should
configured load balance for this 2 servers,
if one cas down another server will take the load.
We have 2 mailbox server, so if one has down. automatically mailbox datbase
will move to another server
normally PAM will take care this task.
What type of AntiVirus programs do you use for mail coming in to your
org?
antivirus should be configured as Scan mail for Exchange capability for exchange
intername mailflow. and for external we can use smart host like Trend IMSS or
cloud like Message lab.
What type of routing cost and path do you use?

based on the preference (priority) , we will give rouring cost.

In Exchange 2010, it will take care by AD sites and serices. (it will managing
through Active directory topology service from exchange server side.)

What type of gateway do you use to route your exchange messages.?

we can use smart host or cloud or self DNS
for example:
smarthost: Trend IMSS
cloud: Message lab, MS Forefront
Self DNS: configured through exchange server itself
What sort of backups do you use to back up your exchange data and
logs?
Weekly full backup
daily differential backup.

What's the difference between online and offline defrag?

Online:
Exchange database online defragmentation occurs automatically as part of the
database maintenance process. Online defragmentation detects and removes
database objects that are no longer being used
Offline:
you must defragment the Exchange database offline to reduce the physical size of
the Exchange database.
eseutil /d Database_Name [options]
What are resource mailboxes? When would you use them?
SCR:
SCR enables a separation of high availability (comprised of service and data
availability) and site resilience.
What is CCR (Cluster Continuous Replication)?
It is a high availability feature of Exchange 2007. It keeps a copy of
storage group on another server and sinking the log files both. Also, it
removes the need of SAN and low cost. No single point of failure
What is LCR (Local Continuous Replication)?
The LCR feature makes it possible to create and maintain an exact copy (replica) of
databases in a storage group on an Exchange 2007 Server to a second set of disks
in the server or to a NAS/SAN
What are the Exchange 2007/2010 server roles?
Edge Transport , Hub Transport, Client access, Mailbox, unified messaging
What's a Recovery Storage Group?
RSGs enable you to recover data from a backup or copy of a database
without disturbing user access to current data.

How do you use Exmerge in Exchange 2007/2010?

Using ExMerge we can import or export PST files.
You can recover single mailbox

What's a Dial Tone recovery?

A dial tone recovery involves creating an empty database on a server to replace a failed database. This
empty, or dial tone, database allows users to send and receive e-mail while the failed database is
recovered.

What built-in tool do you have to allow you to manage Exchange store recoveries?
Exmerge / Recovery storage group
What is Isinteg?
The Information Store Integrity Checker (Isinteg.exe) finds and eliminates errors from
the public folder and mailbox databases at the application level. These errors can
prevent the information store from starting or prevent users from logging on and from
receiving, opening, or deleting mail. Isinteg is not intended for use as a part of
routine information store maintenance. It is provided to assist in disaster recovery
situations and other referential integrity issues.
What is Online Mailbox Move in Exchange 2010?
That allows end-users to be online in their email accounts. On completing the move users just needs
to reopen their Outlook clients.

What is the GAL?

The Global Address List or GAL is a University wide directory of Exchange users
available through Outlook or OWA.
How would you modify the filter properties of one of the default address lists?
You could do this by editing the Default Global Address List object in ADSEdit. The attribute that holds the query
is the purportedSearch attribute.

Where does Edge role store its settings?

The Edge Transport server uses Active Directory Application Mode (ADAM) to store
the required Active Directory data, which is data such as Accepted Domains,
Recipients, Safe Senders, Send Connectors and a Hub Transport server list.
What's Edge synchronization?
The process that the Microsoft Exchange EdgeSync service performs to propagate
data from Active Directory to the subscribed Edge Transport server. Configuration
data is synchronized one time each hour. Recipient data is synchronized one time
every four hours.
You can use the Start-EdgeSynchronization cmdlet in the Exchange Management
Shell to start immediate synchronization.
How do you enable Edge subscription?
Open the Exchange Management Shell on the Edge Transport server, and enter this
command:
New-EdgeSubscription file "C:\subscription.xml"
Answer Y
Transfer EdgeSubscription.xml to the Hub Transport server
Open Exchange Management Console
In the left tree choose Organization Configuration and then Hub Transport
In the Actions pane click New Edge Subscription
Choose active directory site, if you have multiple sites though, then you should make

the Edge Transport server a member of the site that has the fastest (or most reliable)
network connectivity to the perimeter network.
Use the Browse button to browse for and select the subscription.xml file.
Verify that the Automatically Create A Send Connector for this Edge Subscription
checkbox is selected, then click the New button to import the XML file and create the
Edge Subscription.
What's the default replication interval for Edge sync?
By default, configuration data is synchronized to AD LDS once every hour , and recipient data is
synchronized to AD LDS once every four hours . You can change these intervals using the SetEdgeSyncService cmdlet.

What's Edge subscription?

The Edge Subscription is the record of an Edge Transport server that has been subscribed to an Exchange
organization. The ADAM directory service on a subscribed Edge Transport server is updated with information
from Active Directory by the Microsoft Exchange EdgeSync service.

What is Eseutil?
It is a tool that you can use to verify, modify, and repair an Exchange database file. When a database is corrupt or
damaged, you can restore data from backup or repair it using Eseutil.

Where does Exchange store its configuration settings?

At configuration partition in the active directory

How would you verify that the schema is updated?

You can verify that you are ready to start installing Exchange 2007 by looking for the
following.
The Microsoft Exchange Systems Objects container contains a global group called
Exchange 12 Domain Servers
The ESUG has the Exchange 12 Domain Servers global group as a member.
The ESUG will have permissions to the Manage Auditing and Security Log settings
on all DCs in all domains that the commands were run against
What are the different Exchange Recipient types?
http://www.scripts4it.com/interview-questions/exchange-2007-2010/what-are-the-differentexchange-recipient-types
How many storage groups Exchange 2007 supports?
In the standard edition of Exchange 2007, you can have up to 5 databases spread
over 5 storage groups. With enterprise edition, you can have 50 databases spread
over 50 storage groups