Apply Roll-Ups to Exchange 2010 SP1 & above with my encapsulation tool…

Note: There is an update to this post located here: http://www.telnetport25.com/2011/11/update-to-the-rups-tool-apply-roll-ups-to-exchange-2010/

Additionally the original installation files for download have been replaced with the 1.5 versions of the tool.

There are a number of very good articles around on the web which focus on what the appropriate or best practice method is to apply Roll-ups to Exchange 2010 servers which are members of a dag configuration. There are a number of ways to skin this particular cat – which are detailed here, here and my personal favourite here by Paul Cunningham.

What has struck me about the process is that if you are new to Exchange it can be a little bit daunting to execute Powershell scripts, apply the update and then execute more Powershell scripts just to get your node ready for a Roll-up.

Even if you are an experienced Exchange Server admin, jumping in and out of PS console windows can be a little bit of a pain – so I decided to write a tool that centralises the process of applying Roll-ups to Exchange 2010 SP1 (and above) Mailbox Servers which participate in a DAG configuration.

This article will show you how you can obtain and use my tool to apply Exchange 2010 RUPS to DAG members.

Requirements

Before we begin it is important to have a quick look at the tools prerequisites:

• This software must be executed on the DAG node that you wish to install the Roll-up update on
• This software is only compatible with Exchange 2010 Service Pack 1 and above and should be used to apply Roll-up updates to Exchange Servers which are hosting the mailbox server role which is part of a DAG. Other Exchange 2010 roles can be present on the server – but the Mailbox Server role is mandatory.
• .NET Framework 3.5 SP1 and above

Download

You can obtain the tool from the following location:

[ Exchange 2010 Update Management System – v1.5 – 1.3MB ]

Installation

Download the setup binary file from the downloads section of this article to the DAG Member that you wish to update.

Double click on the “Exchange2010_ApplyRUPSSetup.exe” icon on the server which will present you with the following screen:

Once you have clicked on the “OK” button on the Welcome screen you will be presented with the default file extraction location options – choose a location which best suites your needs and then click on the “Unzip” button

All the required file will unzip to the location that you have chosen in the previous step and the application will then automatically launch:

Using the tool

Before you begin to use the tool you should ensure that you have also downloaded the required Exchange 2010 Roll-up to the server which you intend to update.

Once you have done this, navigate to the location where you downloaded the “Apply Exchange Roll Ups” tool and double click on the programs main executable. Doing so will present you with the following screen:

In the “Path to Rollup” section of the tool – click on the “Browse” button and locate the Rollup that you have downloaded and wish to apply.

When you have done the above – the “Exchange DAG Operations” window will change to show the DAG which the local server is a member of, you will also notice that the “Prepare”, “Resume” and “Redistribute” buttons are now enabled– see below:

In the “Exchange DAG Operations” window – expand the DAG that has been detected and select the Server name (this should be the same as the local server that you are running the tool on). Click on the “Prepare” button – see below

The tool will then execute the “StartDagServerMaintenance.ps1” script which performs the following actions:

• All resident database copies are moved to another server within the DAG
• Any core cluster resources owned by that server are moved to another node
• The DatabaseCopyAutoActivationPolicy property is set to Blocked
• Database copies are activation suspended
• The node is paused within the cluster service

See below:

When the script has been completed, from the “Apply Patch” area of the tool – click on the “Apply” button – the tool will then exit, and the patch will then deploy – see below:

When the Roll-up has completed, you may be prompted to reboot – please do so, and when the server has become available, execute the tool again.

From the “Exchange DAG Operations” area – click on the “Override” button, this will enable the “Resume” button.

Click on the “Resume” button – this will execute the “StopDagServerMaintenance.ps1” script which will switch the DAG node back into normal operation – see below:

When the above script has completed – you have the option of clicking on the “Redistribute” button – this will redistribute the Databases within the DAG according to the activation preference.

I hope that you find the tool useful.

Tagged as: .Net, Automated Roll up installation on DAG, Exchange 2010, Powershell, Roll-ups