How to Move a Storage Group in a CCR Environment

Microsoft Exchange Server 2007 will reach end of support on April 11, 2017. To stay supported, you will need to upgrade. For more information, see Resources to help you upgrade your Office 2007 servers and clients.

 

Applies to: Exchange Server 2007, Exchange Server 2007 SP1, Exchange Server 2007 SP2, Exchange Server 2007 SP3

This topic describes the recommended way to reconfigure a storage group by using the Exchange Management Shell or the Exchange Management Console. In a cluster continuous replication (CCR) environment, a single set of storage group configuration information applies to both copies. This creates the additional complexity of needing to relocate both copies. Under some circumstances, one copy may not be available at the time the other copy must be moved.

Before You Begin

To perform the following procedure, the account you use must be delegated the following:

  • Exchange Server Administrator role and local Administrators group

For more information about permissions, delegating roles, and the rights that are required to administer Microsoft Exchange Server 2007, see Permission Considerations.

We recommend that you perform this procedure when both active and passive nodes are available; however, that is not required.

Procedure

There are multiple options that you can use to complete the process of reconfiguring the storage group. In addition, each option can have variations as to when the copies of the data are moved. These procedures incorporate making core changes. The changes are:

  • Changing the configuration

  • Moving the copy on the active server

  • Moving the copy on the passive server

To use the Exchange Management Shell to move a storage group in a CCR environment

  1. Halt replay and log replication on the passive copy by using the following Suspend-StorageGroupCopy cmdlet:

    Suspend-StorageGroupCopy -Identity <CMSName\StorageGroupName>
    
  2. Dismount the database in the storage group by using the following Dismount-Database cmdlet. Dismounting the database can also be done from the Exchange Management Console. For more information see How to Dismount a Database in a CCR Environment.

    Dismount-database -Identity <CMSName\StorageGroupName\DatabaseName>
    
  3. Use the following Move-StorageGroupPath cmdlet to change the path settings for the storage group in the Active Directory directory service. This cmdlet does not move any data.

    Move-StorageGroupPath -Identity <CMSName\StorageGroupName>
    -LogFolderPath <NewPath> -SystemFolderPath <NewPath> -ConfigurationOnly
    

    Note

    You must use the -ConfigurationOnly parameter in a CCR environment. The new path for the system or log files must not be the root directory of a volume. Also, if the path name contains spaces, you must enclose it in quotation marks.

  4. Move the files to their new locations on the active and passive nodes.

  5. Mount the database in the storage group by using the Mount-Database cmdlet.

  6. Restart replication using the Resume-StorageGroupCopy cmdlet. To restart replication activities for the storage group, run the following command:

    Resume-StorageGroupCopy -Identity <CMSName\StorageGroupName>
    
  7. Verify that replication for the storage group is proceeding normally. For detailed steps about how to verify that replication is healthy, see How to View the Status of a Clustered Mailbox Server.

For more information about the Suspend-StorageGroupCopy cmdlet, see Suspend-StorageGroupCopy.

For more information about the Dismount-Database cmdlet, see Dismount-Database.

For more information about the Move-StorageGroupPath cmdlet, see Move-StorageGroupPath.

For more information about the Mount-Database cmdlet, see Mount-Database.

For more information about the Resume-StorageGroupCopy cmdlet, seeResume-StorageGroupCopy.

For more information about managing your CCR environment, see Managing Cluster Continuous Replication.