Live migrate exchange and AD using converter

[laieh]

Anyone have experience perform online migratioin for Exchange server and AD server using vmware converter? Is it possible?

[asatoran]

In general, shut down as many services as possible before converting. Exchange and SQL are good examples. I've converted and Exchange server without shutting down Exchange, but I did it after hours so there were no logons and I temporarily stopped inbound mail.

AD is more problematic. Not always, but often I would get AD errors and I have to do a AD repair or restore from backup. The usual recommendation is to NOT convert a DC, but to create a new virtual machine, join to domain, and promote it to a DC.

Obviously, YMMV. But in general, I wouldn't do a live conversion of AD. But if you must and assuming Exchange is on your DC, so doing the above is difficult, then I'd try some test conversions before deploying to production. Do the conversion after hours, shut down Exchange (and whatever other apps you have on the server.) And if you have multiple partitions, convert only the boot partition initially to make Converter go quicker. The just Robocopy/Xcopy the data on the other partitions. I also used Livestate (Backup Exec System Restore) images of my AD/Exchange server to do my testing so that I didn't have to wait for after hours.

[laieh]

Hi..that mean if I'm not shutdown my exchange server, I could cause my mail server data lost is it? Regarding the AD I cant perform the DC promo is because my file server is also part in my DC. Advise..

Thanks

[asatoran]

As long as your services are in use, the likelihood of data corruption is high. IOW, if you still have users logged on to Exchange, that's bad. Really bad. So shutting down the Exchange services will prevent data corruption of Exchange. Since you can't really shut down Active Directory, that's the reason why AD usually gets corrupted, thus requiring a repair or restore of AD after the conversion. Thus the recommendation to DCPROMO.

And it doesn't matter that your Exchange is on your DC to do the DCPROMO thing. What that means is you create a new server, join it to the domain as a member server, then run DCPROMO on the new server to make it an additional DC. (So now you have two DCs.) Then move over the FMSO roles and eventually DCPROMO the old server to demote it from a DC. This is the same as if you were replacing your server with another physical server. But now the new server is a virtual machine, not a physical machine. Yes, it's a little more complicated, but the only way to prevent data corruption of AD.

From my experience, if you do not kick off your users (e.g.: shut down Exchange,) you're likely to get data corruption. You really must have everyone logged off in order to have even a small chance for this to work.

[AndreTheGiant · Accepted solution]

that mean if I'm not shutdown my exchange server, I could cause my mail server data lost is it?

You have to shutdown the service or you will loose more data post conversion (all mail that are processed during conversion and maybe others if datastore become corrupted after the conversion).

For incoming mail you will not loose them... a real mail must retry again (for some hours) if the SMTP is not available.

Or you can use another SMTP as a secondary MX.

Regarding the AD I cant perform the DC promo is because my file server is also part in my DC

If you have a vCenter Server license download the Converter Enterprise live CD (from vCenter download).

Or install standalone converter on your server and than boot it in "Active Directory Restoration Mode" to have AD services stopped.

Andre

[Bartmosss]

Or install standalone

converter on your server and than boot it in "Active Directory

Restoration Mode" to have AD services stopped.

That's the way I am doing it. Never had a problem with converting a AD controller in AD Restore mode. I made one last week with success...

MCP, A, Network, Linux+, VSP, VTSP, VCP