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Release of Exchange DAG node, is this supported?

Question
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I have a DPM 2012 R2 UR11 server protecting three servers in an Exchange 2016 DAG. Due to a disk space issue, we would need to temporary move on of the exchange nodes to another DPM server. So my question is: will Microsoft support this "setup" in a scenario where a support ticket would have to be opened?
/Amir- Moved by Mike JacquetMicrosoft employee Tuesday, February 21, 2017 6:12 PM
Monday, February 20, 2017 8:03 PM
Answers
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Hi,
Some clarification about the 10K mailbox limit.
DPM 2012 (and later versions) have a storage pool size limit of 120 terabytes (TB). There is an 80 TB limit for DPM replica volumes and a 40 TB limit for recovery point volumes. When protecting a large Exchange deployment, it’s important to know the user mailbox size limit and the number of users or mailboxes. This information determines the maximum size or number of Exchange databases that can be protected by a single DPM server and keeps you within the supported limits.
Use the number of users assigned to a database and their mailbox limits to calculate the maximum size possible for each Exchange database. For example, if the maximum size of a user’s mailbox is 8 GB, a single DPM server can protect up to 10,000 mailboxes. If the maximum size of a user’s mailbox is > 8 GB, or if you need to protect more than 10,000 users’ mailboxes, the Exchange server must be configured using DAG and requires additional DPM servers to provide full protection. Be aware that an Exchange node can only be protected by a single DPM server; therefore, the number of Exchange nodes should be equal to or greater than the number of DPM servers required to protect all Exchange databases.
Now - if you want to move protection for some databases on a certain NODE to another DPM Server this is easily done by performing the following steps.
1) On DPM1 - Stop protection of the exchange databases that are being protected on the NODE you want to protect with DPM2. Retain replica so recoveries can be made if needed until the new DPM2 server starts protection.
2) For the NODE you just removed from protection for, disable the DPM agent on DPM1 so it no longer tries to refresh the agent. You can switch back later if you need do a restore.
3) On the NODE you want to protect with DPM2, open an administrative command prompt and CD to "C:\Program Files\Microsoft Data Protection Manager\DPM\bin" folder.
4) Run: Setdpmserver -dpmservername DPM2
5) On DPM2 - Attach the NODE agent.
6) Start protection of the databases hosted on NODE.
Please remember to click “Mark as Answer” on the post that helps you, and to click “Unmark as Answer” if a marked post does not actually answer your question. This can be beneficial to other community members reading the thread. Regards, Mike J. [MSFT] This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties, and confers no rights.
- Proposed as answer by Mike JacquetMicrosoft employee Tuesday, February 21, 2017 6:12 PM
- Marked as answer by Jaan Meijer Tuesday, April 11, 2017 12:42 PM
Tuesday, February 21, 2017 6:12 PM
All replies
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Hi,
we are running such a setup without bigger issues with an older Exchange version.
Sometimes you have to because DPM does not support backing up more than 10.000 mailboxes with one single DPM Server.
You get warnings because each DPM servers reports that not all Exch Cluster nodes have an installed agent (the ones set to the other DPM)
Don't run backups for the same DB from both DPMs!!
Take care when updating agents.
regards
/bkpfast
My postings are provided "AS IS" with no warranties and confer no rights
Tuesday, February 21, 2017 9:35 AM -
Hi,
Some clarification about the 10K mailbox limit.
DPM 2012 (and later versions) have a storage pool size limit of 120 terabytes (TB). There is an 80 TB limit for DPM replica volumes and a 40 TB limit for recovery point volumes. When protecting a large Exchange deployment, it’s important to know the user mailbox size limit and the number of users or mailboxes. This information determines the maximum size or number of Exchange databases that can be protected by a single DPM server and keeps you within the supported limits.
Use the number of users assigned to a database and their mailbox limits to calculate the maximum size possible for each Exchange database. For example, if the maximum size of a user’s mailbox is 8 GB, a single DPM server can protect up to 10,000 mailboxes. If the maximum size of a user’s mailbox is > 8 GB, or if you need to protect more than 10,000 users’ mailboxes, the Exchange server must be configured using DAG and requires additional DPM servers to provide full protection. Be aware that an Exchange node can only be protected by a single DPM server; therefore, the number of Exchange nodes should be equal to or greater than the number of DPM servers required to protect all Exchange databases.
Now - if you want to move protection for some databases on a certain NODE to another DPM Server this is easily done by performing the following steps.
1) On DPM1 - Stop protection of the exchange databases that are being protected on the NODE you want to protect with DPM2. Retain replica so recoveries can be made if needed until the new DPM2 server starts protection.
2) For the NODE you just removed from protection for, disable the DPM agent on DPM1 so it no longer tries to refresh the agent. You can switch back later if you need do a restore.
3) On the NODE you want to protect with DPM2, open an administrative command prompt and CD to "C:\Program Files\Microsoft Data Protection Manager\DPM\bin" folder.
4) Run: Setdpmserver -dpmservername DPM2
5) On DPM2 - Attach the NODE agent.
6) Start protection of the databases hosted on NODE.
Please remember to click “Mark as Answer” on the post that helps you, and to click “Unmark as Answer” if a marked post does not actually answer your question. This can be beneficial to other community members reading the thread. Regards, Mike J. [MSFT] This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties, and confers no rights.
- Proposed as answer by Mike JacquetMicrosoft employee Tuesday, February 21, 2017 6:12 PM
- Marked as answer by Jaan Meijer Tuesday, April 11, 2017 12:42 PM
Tuesday, February 21, 2017 6:12 PM