Sample plan: (Parallel) Microsoft Exchange 2010/2013 and Microsoft Windows 2008 R2 Cluster - OS patching

This sample automation plan provides a template for you to automate patching of the operating systems for a Microsoft Exchange 2010 and 2013 and Windows Server 2008 Release 2 cluster. It is a parallel plan, where the patching of the clustered Exchange 2010 and 2013 servers are patched concurrently with the Windows Server 2008 cluster. This sample plan uses the Baselines from a site feature to complete the patching. 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 as per your requirements.

About this task

This plan is a parallel plan. To view the processing sequence, seen the Flow tab on the plan in the Server Automation user interface. This plan uses the Baselines from a site feature to complete the operating system patching. For information about how to run Baselines from a site, see Running baselines from a site.

For detailed information about patching Windows Exchange clusters, see Patching Servers running Microsoft Exchange 2010 and later Data Availability Groups.

Complete the following steps to run the 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 134 for the plan ID and press Enter.
  4. Select the Automation Plan from the list of Automation Plans.
  5. Click Copy to copy the Automation Plan, enter a name, and then save the copy that you have just created.
  6. To run the copied Automation Plan, click Take Action. The following table shows the parameters and targets that you need to input for each step in the sample Automation Plan.
    Table 1. Plan steps and parameters and targets

    Step Description Parameters and targets
    Step 1 Exchange 2010 and 2013 Start DAG (Database Availability Groups) Maintenance Task Runs the startDagservermaintainence.ps1 powershell script against the target endpoint. Active DAGs on the node are moved off the endpoint. The endpoint is placed on a paused state. If the cluster group is present on the endpoint, it is also moved to another node. The DatabaseCopyAutoActivationPolicy is set to blocked after running this script. The script does not move any non-exchange 2010 groups off the node. When this script is run against an endpoint, the endpoint is in a state where any patch or custom Fixlets can be run. Target the first node or set of nodes in the Exchange 2010 or 2013 cluster.
    Step 2 Dynamically Run Baselines from a Site This step patches the OS by running all of the Baselines in a site. Target the first node or set of nodes in the Exchange 2010 or 2013 cluster. You can select the Use same targets as option to quickly select the same targets you targeted for step 1. From the Parameters tab, select the site that contains the Baselines to patch the operating system.
    Step 3 Restart Endpoint on Pending Restart and Wait for Restart to Complete This restarts the targets that were patched in the previous step. Only endpoints in a Pending Restart state are restarted. Target the first node or set of nodes in the Exchange 2010 or 2013 cluster. You can select the Use same targets as option to quickly select the same targets you targeted for step 1.
    Step 4 Exchange 2010 and 2013 Stop DAG (Database Availability Groups) Maintenance Task Runs the stopDagservermaintainence.ps1 powershell script against the target endpoint. This script resumes a node and also sets the DatabaseCopyAutoActivationPolicy to unrestricted for each database on the endpoint. No groups are failed back onto a node after running this script. Target the first node or set of nodes in the Exchange 2010 or 2013 cluster. You can select the Use same targets as option to quickly select the same targets you targeted for step 1.
    Step 5 Exchange 2010 and 2013 Start DAG (Database Availability Groups) Maintenance Task Runs the startDagservermaintainence.ps1 powershell script against the target endpoint. Active DAGs on the node are moved off the endpoint. The endpoint is placed on a paused state. If the cluster group is present on the endpoint, it is also moved to another node. The DatabaseCopyAutoActivationPolicy is set to blocked after running this script. The script does not move any non-exchange 2010 groups off the node. When this script is run against an endpoint, the endpoint is in a state where any patch or custom Fixlets can be run. Target the second node or set of nodes in the Exchange 2010 or 2013 cluster.
    Step 6 Dynamically Run Baselines from a Site This step patches the OS by running all of the Baselines in a site. Target the second node or set of nodes in the Exchange 2010 or 2013 cluster. You can select the Use same targets as option to quickly select the same targets. From the Parameters tab, select the site that contains the Baselines to patch the operating system.
    Step 7 Restart Endpoint on Pending Restart and Wait for Restart to Complete This restarts the targets that were patched in the previous step. Only endpoints in a Pending Restart state are restarted. Target the second node or set of nodes in the Exchange 2010 or 2013 cluster. You can select the Use same targets as option to quickly select the same targets you targeted for step 1.
    Step 8 Exchange 2010 and 2013 Stop DAG (Database Availability Groups) Maintenance Task Runs the stopDagservermaintainence.ps1 powershell script against the target endpoint. This script resumes a node and also sets the DatabaseCopyAutoActivationPolicy to unrestricted for each database on the endpoint. No groups are failed back onto a node after running this script. Target the second node or set of nodes in the Exchange 2010 or 2013 cluster. You can select the Use same targets as option to quickly select the same targets you targeted for step 1.
    Step 9 Prepatching Task for Non Hyper-V Clustered Microsoft Server This step pauses the first node that you want to patch in the Windows 2008 cluster. Target the first node or set of nodes in the Windows 2008 cluster.
    Step 10 Move Groups from Node (Windows 2008-2012) This step moves groups from the node that you are pausing in the previous step. Target the first node or set of nodes in the Windows 2008 cluster.
    Step 11 Dynamically Run Baselines from a Site This step completes the patching by running the Baselines from a site. Target the first node or set of nodes in the Windows 2008 cluster. From the Parameters tab, select the site that contains the Baselines that you want to use to patch the OS.
    Step 12 Restart Endpoint on Pending Restart and Wait for Restart to Complete This step restarts the computers that you patched in the previous step. Only endpoints in a Pending Restart state are restarted. Target the first node or set of nodes in the Windows 2008 cluster.
    Step 13 Resume Node (Windows 2008-2012) This step resumes the first set of Windows Server 2008 nodes that you are patching. Target the first node or set of nodes in the Windows 2008 cluster.
    Step 14 Pause Node (Windows 2008-2012) This step pauses the second set of Windows Server 2008 nodes that you are patching. Target the second node or set of nodes in the Windows 2008 cluster.
    Step 15 Move Groups from Node (Windows 2008-2012) This step moves groups from the node or nodes paused in the previous step. Target the second node or set of nodes in the Windows 2008 cluster.
    Step 16 Dynamically Run Baselines from a Site This step completes the patching by running the Baselines from a site. Target the second node or set of nodes in the Windows 2008 cluster. From the Parameters tab, select the site that contains the Baselines to patch the OS.
    Step 17 Restart Endpoint on Pending Restart and Wait for Restart to Complete This step restarts the computers patched in the previous step. Only endpoints in a Pending Restart state are restarted. Target the second node or set of nodes in the Windows 2008 cluster.
    Step 18 Resume Node (Windows 2008-2012) This step resumes the second set of Windows 2008 nodes patched in step 16. Target the second node or set of nodes in the Windows 2008 cluster.
  7. Click OK to run the Automation Plan.