Sample Plan: Microsoft Exchange 2010 or 2013 DAG Cluster - Middleware Patching

This sample plan automates patching of Microsoft Exchange 2010 or 2013 middleware in a cluster. The plan is designed to automate Microsoft Exchange patching in a two node cluster. The automation is executed in two phases, one for each node in the cluster. For steps 1 to 5, the first node in the cluster is patched. These steps are then replicated in steps 6 to 10 on the second node. Optionally, if you have a File Share Witness configured, you can add Task 134 Check File Share Witness status on a Microsoft Windows cluster to check the status of the File Share Witness. For each phase in the automation, replace the placeholder steps, replacing them with a Fixlet, Task or Baseline to patch Microsoft Exchange. All sample plans are read-only. To use a sample plan, you must copy it, re-name it, and then update the placeholder Fixlets with Fixlets, Tasks, or Baselines for your patching requirements.

Before you begin

Before you can run this sample plan, you must run the following Tasks on all target endpoints.
  • 123 Install IBM Exchange Cluster Manager Service
  • 110 Install Windows Cluster Control Application
  • This Task is supported only on Microsoft Windows 2008 Server Release 2 or newer.
  • If you are using Task 134 Check File Share Witness status on a Microsoft Windows cluster to check the status of the File Share Witness, the target computers must have the Powershell V2.0 feature installed.
  • The targets must have the Windows Failover Cluster Module feature feature installed and the cluster service must be running.

About this task

This sample plan demonstrates how you can automate patching of Microsoft Exchange 2010 or 2013 in a two node cluster. The patching process comprises two phases, one for each node. You can modify the copied plan for a cluster with a different number of nodes. For example, if you want the plan to automate patching for a three node cluster, you would add 5 more steps after step 11, replicas of steps 1 to 5, for the third node in the cluster. The last step in the plan must be Task 128 Rebalance Active Databases Task Exchange 2010 and Exchange 2013 DAG.

If you have a file share witness configured on your cluster, you can optionally add Task ID 164 Check File Share Witness status on a Microsoft Windows cluster to the plan after the Restart Endpoint and Wait for Restart to Complete step. This Task checks the status of the File Share Witness on the targeted host and checks whether the host can access the File Share which has been configured for the File Share Witness in the cluster. If you are using this optional Task 164, review the Task description for information about usage and prerequisites. For more information, see Check if File Share Witness is accessible. If you want to add Task 163 Check Status and Start Services on Microsoft Exchange and Task 164, add Task 163 Check Status and Start Services on Microsoft Exchange after the Restart Endpoint and Wait for Endpoint to Restart step and then add Task 164 as the next step.

Complete the following steps to use this sample Automation Plan.

Procedure

  1. Open the Server Automation domain.
  2. From the navigation tree in the Domain Panel, click Automation Plans.
  3. In the Automation Plans dashboard, enter 171 for the plan ID to search for the sample plan and press Enter.
  4. Select the sample plan from the list of Automation Plans. Click Copy to copy the Automation Plan, enter a name and then save the copy that you have just created.
  5. To run the copied Automation Plan, click Take Action.
  6. For steps 1 to 5, target the first node in the cluster. You can use the Use same target as step option as necessary. You must replace the placeholder Fixlet with a Fixlet, Task or Baseline that you want to use to patch Microsoft Exchange.
  7. For steps 6 to 10, target the second node in the cluster. You can use the Use same target as step option as necessary. You must also replace the placeholder Fixlet with a Fixlet, Task or Baseline that you want to use to patch Microsoft Exchange.
  8. For step 11, target both nodes in the cluster.
  9. Click OK to run the plan.