We have a few windows 2003 clusters. Just found out this weekend that one of the nodes isn’t working. its complaining of bad disk signatures so right now the cluster can only run on the one node. I’d also like to know the best practice for add another drive (LUN) to the cluster. I need a larger disk for our exchange db, I could add another LUN or move the LUN to a larger one and use diskpart to extend it in windows. I just don’t know how well that works in a cluster

1.         Under no circumstance should any other resource be created in the Cluster Group other than the default ones which are Quorum, Cluster IP Address and Cluster Network Name. (ref: KB168948)  If MS DTC is installed in the Cluster Group using the cluster’s resources and it’s not going to be used heavily by SQL, then this is the only exception that is supported as long as the MS DTC resource has the “Affect the group” box on the Advanced tab unchecked.

Ask the Core Team : TOP 10 Best Practice Tips for Windows Server 2003 Cluster Service (MSCS)

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We run our VCenter within our ESX Farm. We also run the SQL server that VCenter runs off in the same ESX farm. We’ve had no issues with VCenter in this configuration. But we do have to be careful with the SQL Server.

Sure, you can run Virtual Center Management Server as a Virtual Machine. VMware supports it and has published a technical note about doing it - http://www.vmware.com/pdf/vi3_vc_in_vm.pdf. A lot of companies have built their VC2 server this way, but is it really wise to have “the manager” of the environment running in the environment it is […]

Should Virtual Center run as a Virtual Machine? (VM /ETC)
Fri, 28 Dec 2007 11:31:32 GMT

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I allows find it good to wait at least a few weeks before I do any major upgrades. I’ll let other people shake out the bugs. Its a good thing because we are running our vcenter on SQL 2000. Follow the link for the fix before you try the upgrade or if you already tried and failed. Big note from the KB, if you don’t follow the steps in the KB, it will over write your database, you do backup your database before you do any upgrade, right?

I’ve not yet got my hands really dirty on ESX 3.0.x to ESX 3.5 and VirtualCenter 2.0.x to 2.5 upgrades. Although crudely “play” with the process under the Release Candate. Initially, I had a permissions problem with the VirtualCenter upgrade and my SQL 2000 server. There’s been a length forum thread on this which I have been involved with. It’s become clear that if you have a SQL 2000 server additional permissions are required for an upgrade, which were not previously required in previous upgrades from VC 1>2 or the intra-upgrades from say 2.0.0>2.0.1>2.0.2

A KB article from VMware outlines this issue. As far as I know its not an issue for SQL 2005…

Link: ID: 1003346

VirtualCenter 2.5 upgrade issue with SQL 2000
mikelaverick
Tue, 18 Dec 2007 22:09:15 GMT

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• another long night on our mantanance weekend #
• Trying to move SQL from Vmware 2 to VI3, can’t use vcenter because its database is on that sql server. #
• sitting on a boat in spring lake #

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Looks like my postnuke site is causing mysql issues even on my new host and it no one seems to know why.

Maybe its time to convert it to a wordpress site….We’ll see what my host says. If they have any ideas about the postnuke site.

jb

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 We currently run our VC in a VM, so I’ll have to take a look at this.

VMware has released a technical note on running VC in a VM. I personally don’t like running VC in a VM, for the reasons covered in the technote. I do like the concept to P2V your existing physical VC (connected to an external SQL/Oracle DB) and use it in a DR scenario.

Some things to note when deploying VC in a VM:

• You need to obtain a host-based license & an initial standalone ESX host, as you cannot boot your VC without a (host- or server-based) license
• Shutting down/maintenance on your Virtual VirtualCenter can be tricky: you need to locate VC & connect to an ESX host to power on VC or change your hardware config for your VC.

Download it here

Source: VMware: Running VirtualCenter in a VM
Originally published on Wed, 04 Apr 2007 08:57:00 GMT by Vincent Vlieghe

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I upgraded to WP 2.1.2. I hope this will reduce the load this site is putting on the mysql server.

Before I upgraded, I noticed the site got messed up somehow and now the sidebars on are the bottom. What’s up with that!!!

Anyways, let me know if you see any other issues.

later,jb

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Today we got the first snow of the year. I didn’t even think about all the schools that where closed today when I took my daughter to daycare, but they where closed because of the weather. So I got to stay home with her today and work from home as much as she let me Melissa went to work and said the roads where awful, you would think for a winter storm that was all over the news the night before that the plow trucks would be out in the morning. But nope, and from the radio is sounds like there where lots of accidents.
This weekend we are moving our SQL server from so REALLY old HP servers to virtual machines. Atleast until we have the money next year to move to new dell servers.

Enjoy the snow
jb

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Not too good. I started getting sick yesterday afternoon. My stomach had one of the worse pains I have every felt in it. I skipped dinner and just tried to relax and took some medicine to calm my stomach. But it didn’t help, I was up all night, trying to get sick just to get the bad stuff out of my stomach!

I ended up staying at the hotel today and helping remotely. The consultants where going to install the latest backup exec, which I guess using msde. but since we already installed WSUS (which also uses msde) they had all sorts of problems. I finally told them to remove WSUS and just use the msde for backup exec. Since I wasn’t there I had to take their word for it.
They still couldn’t get backup exec working correctly!!! So they wanted to reinstall the entire server!!! which meant setting up AD and everything else again!!!!! This project has to be done by Friday because our plane out is early Saturday. I told them to keep working to getting BE working without having to reinstall. They still couldn’t get it by 4:30 so I told them to just go ahead and reinstall.

SO tomorrow, I’ll be re-joining all the computers to the domain. Plus we found out today that only one machine has office 2003 and most computers hard drives are so full we can’t even load office 2003 on them!!

there’s been so many other little crazy things about this trip…I need to start posting them as they happen. Like, BE support telling the consutants to use full MS SQL instead of msde, so the consultant has if we have the SQL CD!!! (we are already packing a bunch of services on the one server they have) This one server is their AD server,DNS,WINS, DHCP,file server,print server, AV server,backup server,and I wanted it to be their WSUS.

Anyway, I’ll try to post more the last two days, but it sounds like we are going to be really busy trying to get done.

later,jb

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The first one will also talk about some of the changes in Exchange 2003 SP1.

Title	Technical Level	Date	Time (Pacific)
Exchange Server 2003 Overview	200	4-May	8-9:30
Exchange 2003 in Multi-Forest Environments	200	4-May	11-12:30
Migrating Lotus Notes Applications to VS.NET, SQL Server, Exchange 2003, and SharePoint	300	12-May	8-9:30
Exchange Server 2003 Mobile Services	300	19-May	8-9:30
Reducing Spam with Exchange Server 2003 and Outlook 2003	300	20-May	10-11:30
Exchange Server 2003: Better Exchange Remote Access!	200	27-May	12:30-2:00
Exchange Server 2003: Technical Overview	200	28-May	9:30-11:00
Exchange Server 2003 Disaster Recovery (broadcast live from Tech-Ed!)	200	28-May	12:15 - 1:00

- KC Lemson

[You Had Me At EHLO…]

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