Troubleshooting top Exchange 2007 SP1 SCR issues
Published May 28 2008 04:12 PM 3,411 Views

This blog post discusses several top issues seen to date by the Microsoft Exchange Product Support Team regarding the Standby Continuous Replication (SCR) feature introduced in Exchange 2007 Service Pack 1. We wanted to share this information as it can be used as a preventative measure as well as for resolving issues you may have experienced. It is understood that this will not cover all that can possibly go wrong, but it should give you some good pointers in some situations that you might have seen. For basic configuration information on SCR, please review the following article available on Microsoft TechNet: Standby Continuous Replication Issues covered here include:

  • Enable-StorageGroupCopyStatus -StandbyMachine reports error "Another standby continuous replication source is already configured..."
  • SCR Target Log Files Fail to Truncate After the TruncationLagTime is Surpassed
  • SCR does not replicate logs in a disjoint namespace scenario
  • Database seeding error: Error returned from an ESE function call (0xc7ff1004), error code (0x0)
  • SCR Hidden Network share not created in a Cluster with Event id 2074
Enable-StorageGroupCopyStatus -StandbyMachine reports error "Another standby continuous replication source is already configured at <path to Storage Group logs> for 'CopyLogFolderPath'." Possible Causes  The SCR target server may be using the same log file path as the SCR source server.  This can happen when attempting to enable SCR on the First Storage Group. Resolution  Change the log file, system file paths on the Storage Group and database path on the Mailbox database to another location on the SCR target server.  Note: In order for the file path change to take effect the databases in the Storage Group will be temporarily dismounted and then remounted. Step-by-step instruction This can be done from the Exchange Management Console or through the Exchange Management Shell.  For specific instructions, please click the following links: How to Set or Change the Location of Storage Group Log Files How to Set a Database File Location SCR Target Log Files Fail to Truncate After the TruncationLagTime is Surpassed. Possible Causes The SCR log file truncation time is set to a value over 24 hours. Resolution Set TruncationLagTime to 0.0:00:00 minutes and then restart the Microsoft Exchange Information Store and Microsoft Exchange Replication services.  Next, take a backup of the Storage Group on the SCR Source server and then confirm that SCR Target log files get truncated after successful backup.  After SCR target files truncate properly, you may change the TruncationLagTime to your desired values. Note: This issue will be addressed in a future rollup for Exchange 2007 Service Pack 1. Step-by-step instruction In order to change the TruncationLagTime, you must disable SCR and then enable SCR using the desired values.  For specific instructions, please click the following links: How to Disable Standby Continuous Replication for a Storage Group How to Enable Standby Continuous Replication for an Existing Storage Group How to Enable Standby Continuous Replication for a New Storage Group SCR does not Replicate Logs in a Disjoint Namespace Scenario Possible Causes The SCR source and the SCR target servers have FQDNs with disjointed domain names Resolution Issue will be fixed in a future rollup for Exchange 2007 Service Pack 1.  To resolve this issue, contact Microsoft Customer Support Services to obtain fix 951955. More Information Understanding Disjoint Namespace Scenarios with Exchange 2007 Database Seeding Error: Error returned from an ESE function call (0xc7ff1004), error code (0x0). Possible Causes Windows firewall settings are blocking the command Resolution Add the "Windows PowerShell" to the Exceptions list under Windows Firewall settings. Step-by-step instruction Add a Program to the Exceptions List SCR Hidden Network Share is not created in a Cluster with Event id 2074 Possible Causes Resources in the default Cluster group, such as Cluster IP Address, Cluster name and Quorum disk were moved to a different cluster group. Resolution Move the Cluster IP Address, Cluster name and Quorum disk to the default Cluster group. Step-by-step instruction Best practices for configuring and operating server clusters If you experience failures other than those listed here, look at the event log on both nodes to determine the cause and use the information in the logs to determine what recovery steps need to be taken.  You can also review other events that occurred around the same time that the failure occurred to help assess if they could be attributed to the issue. Here are some How-to Webcasts on SCR configuration created by Scott Schnoll: SCR in Exchange Server 2007 SP1 - Part 1 SCR in Exchange Server 2007 SP1 - Part 2 SCR in Exchange Server 2007 SP1 - Part 3 SCR in Exchange Server 2007 SP1 - Part 4 SCR in Exchange Server 2007 SP1 - Part 5 - Gurpreet Erickson

10 Comments
Not applicable
I have implemented an SCR solution at my company and have been doing some DR testing on our failover server. It seems that the:

Get-Mailbox -Database hub-casSSGMBX-SSG |where {$_.objectClass -NotMatch '(SystemAttendantMailbox |ExOleDBSystemMailbox)'}| Move-Mailbox -ConfigurationOnly -TargetDatabase DRE2K7DRSSGDRMBX -Confirm:$false

command will only work if the primary server is still active (i.e. only the database was corrupted, not a hardware failure). I have found that if the primary server is completely offline, that command will not work.

How can I restore user databases on the Standby server if the primary server is completely down?
Not applicable
Hi orliville

I can see in your case you are utlizing database portability, right?

well, database portability by design to be done when a storage group or mailbox database has been corrupted for anyreason, so that's mean the server is up and running but thie specific storage group is dead, in this case this command will work fine.

If the source server is not running that's mean you are in another scenario which is recover server by using the /recoverserver switch and before doing so you will disable-storagegroupcopy command with the -force command as the source server is not reachable if that's what you mean.

Let Product Team correct me if i'm mistaken
Not applicable
"If the source server is not running that's mean you are in another scenario which is recover server by using the /recoverserver switch and before doing so you will disable-storagegroupcopy command with the -force command as the source server is not reachable if that's what you mean."

This is true for the SCR Target PC in a scenario where we would have a total hardware failure or Site outage?
Not applicable
Hi Orliville,

I believe the clarification in technet article below will help:
http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb691321(EXCHG.80).aspx

You can activate an SCR target using database portability, using the server recovery option (Setup /m:RecoverServer), or if the Mailbox server is clustered, using the clustered mailbox server recovery option (Setup /RecoverCMS). The option you choose will be based on your configuration and the type of failure that occurs.
Not applicable
/RecoverServer isn't what Orliville is trying to do here. You said that the above command doesn't work. Can you clarify what you mean it doesn't work? What was the error/ what makes you think that it only works when the original is active. With the -ConfigurationOnly switch the cmdlet shouldn't even be talking to the source. Is the target (DRMBX) mounted?
Not applicable
Hi,

I believe you should read this document, it sums up all cases with what you can do :
http://www.mmmug.co.uk/files/10/doc/entry1956.aspx

I'm really waiting for SP2 to have some features of SCR visible in EMC as many clients are "scared" by EMS.

Cheers,
Not applicable
I second Jaycee's comment: it would be great to get SCR into a more friendly state. The concept is great but if a site is slightly non-standard, the mysterious PowerShell incantations fail and you're on your own.

I've had an incident open with Product Support for SIX WEEKS and we've made no progress (database won't seed). I suspect disjoint namespace but, despite what's said above, fix 951955 isn't being distributed.
Not applicable
Hi

will the get-mailbox as orliville stated with the -configurationonly switch works if the source server is unaccessible? in our case we have 2 exchange servers located on 2 different sites, both servers are used in production and has 50/50 split mailboxes for users.
both servers also has SCR enabled between the First Storage Group on each servers. I have tried database portability between the two and it seems to be working, but i am not sure if get-mailbox will work if we totally lost the other site? /Recoverserver seems to be only use if there is a standbymachine dedicated only for recovery?
Not applicable
Hi

I am in the process of setting up Ex2K7 and am looking at implementing SCR in our main office, I understand the Database portability method in the vent of a corrupt database, but wwhat is the process if the source server has a sudden hardware failure is it the same or are there any differences

Thanks
Not applicable
Hi

When I run the command eseutil /r E02 to place the database in a clean shutdown I get an error stating

Recovery has indicated that there may be a lossy recovery option run recovery with the /a argument

Operation termainated with error -528

Do you have any idea what might be causing this

Thanks
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