Sample plan: Microsoft Exchange 2010/2013 Cluster - OS patching

This sample automation plan provides a template for you to automate patching of operating systems in Microsoft Exchange 2010 and 2013 clusters. This sample plan uses the Baselines from a site feature to patch the operating systems. 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 sample plan use the Baselines from a site feature to patch the operating systems. For information about running Baselines from a site, see Running baselines from a site.

Complete the following steps to run the sample Automation Plan.

For more detailed information about patching Windows Exchange clusters, see Patching Servers running Microsoft Exchange 2010 and 2013 Data Availability Groups.

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 136 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 and 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 that you are patching.
    Step 2 Dynamically Run Baselines from a Site This step completes the patching by running Baselines from a site. Target the first node or set of nodes that you are patching. 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.
    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 that are in a Pending Restart state are restarted. Target the first node or set of nodes that you are patching. 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 that you are patching. 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 that you are patching.
    Step 6 Dynamically Run Baselines from a Site This step completes the patching by running Baselines from a site. Target the second node or set of nodes that you are patching. 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.
    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 that are in a Pending Restart state are restarted. Target the second node or set of nodes that you are patching. 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 that you are patching. You can select the Use same targets as option to quickly select the same targets you targeted for step 1.
    Step 9 Rebalance Active Databases Task Exchange 2010 AND Exchange 2013 DAG (Database availability Groups) Runs the RedistributeActiveDatabases.ps1 powershell script against the target endpoint. This script redistributes the active databases across all nodes available to the DAGs. The script uses the BalanceDbsByActivationPreference switch. You can run this Task at the end of an Automation Plan against all of the endpoints if you want to redistribute the DAGs across the servers after all patching has been completed. Target all of the nodes in the cluster.
  7. Click OK to run the Automation Plan.