2 Day Course
Introduction
Elements of this syllabus are subject to change.
This 2-day course teaches messaging engineers to design a high
availability messaging solution using Microsoft Exchange Server 2007. Students
will create a high availability design to meet service level agreement
requirements and learn strategies for gaining approval for the design. They
will learn how to identify risks and create mitigation plans to maintain the
business continuity of the messaging system. Students will also learn how to
design a backup strategy, disaster recovery procedures, and test plans for
those procedures.
Audience
This course is intended for people with 3 or more years experience
working with previous versions of Exchange Server and experience implementing
Exchange Server 2007. Most students will have managed enterprise-level Exchange
Server organizations. Students are expected to be new to participating in
designing high availability solutions for Exchange Server 2007 or be planning
to design high availability solutions for Exchange Server 2007 in the near
future. Students may have done some design for Exchange 2000 Server or Exchange
Server 2003 deployments but want to learn how to design Exchange Server 2007
environments. Students may have experience in designing and managing high
availability solutions for other network services.
At Course Completion
After completing this course, students will be able to:
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Describe foundational high availability concepts for messaging.
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Evaluate high availability messaging technologies for Exchange Server
2007
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Create a high availability messaging strategy.
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Design the messaging portion of a business continuity plan.
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Design backup for a high availability messaging environment.
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Ensure recovery readiness of a high availability messaging environment.
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Prerequisites
Before attending this course, students:
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Must have a basic understanding of high availability concepts. For
example, how clustering works at the operating system level (Windows
clustering) and how network load balancing works.
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Must have a basic familiarity with deriving business requirements. For
example, gathering business requirements and understanding that business
needs come from a variety of sources (direct personnel needs, regulatory,
business operations requirements).
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Must have a basic understanding of backup systems. For example, types
of backups (disk to tape, disk to disk, Storage Area Networks (SAN) snapshot,
imaging, etc.), backup rotation schemes, and offsite backup procedures.
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Must already know how to use:
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Microsoft Exchange Server 2007 Management tools
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Exchange Best Practice Analyzer (ExBPA)
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WinNT backup (ntbackup.exe)
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Microsoft Visio or Microsoft Office PowerPoint 2003 (to create infrastructure
diagrams)
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Must understand hardware concepts. For example, what redundant array of
independent disks (RAID) is, what a storage area network (SAN) is, processor options,
memory requirements, how disk I/O functions and the limitations of disk I/O,
and storage options for Exchange server. The differences in addressable
memory spaces between 32 and 64 bit architectures.
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Must have extensive detailed knowledge of Active Directory concepts and
design principles. For example, site replication, integrated authentication,
schema extension, Domain Name Systems (DNS), group and organization unit
structure and inheritance, etc.
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Must have working experience with designing and implementing Active
Directory directory services in Microsoft Windows Server 2003.
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Must understand Exchange architecture. For example, the purpose of
server roles, functions of specific server roles, how message routing and
queuing works in Exchange, standard messaging protocols (Simple Mail Transfer
Protocol [SMTP], Internet Message Access Protocol version 4rev1 [IMAP4], Post
Office Protocol version 3 [POP3]), how Exchange replicates data stores,
client access methods, etc.
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Must have working experience with Exchange 2000 Server or Exchange
Server 2003 and Exchange Server 2007. For example, must have installed,
maintained, and supported a production Exchange environment.
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Must already know how to use:
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Exchange Server 2007 management tools
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Exchange Best Practice Analyzer (ExBPA)
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Microsoft Visio (to create infrastructure diagrams)
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Must have familiarity and experience with a Windows scripting or
command line scripting
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Course Outline
Module 1: Foundational High Availability Concepts for Messaging
This module explains the concept of service level management and how it
relates the maintenance of Exchange Server 2007. As well, an overview of the
high availability technologies for various network and data center components.
Lessons
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Introduction to Service Level Management
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Overview of High Availability Technologies
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Lab: Foundational High Availability Concepts for Messaging
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Exercise 1: Discussion: Refining the Scope of SLA Requirements
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After completing this module, students will be able to:
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Explain service level management.
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Describe high availability technologies.
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Module 2: Evaluating High Availability
Technologies for Exchange Server 2007
This module explains how to evaluate the high availability technologies
for Exchange Server 2007. Options for Mailbox and non-Mailbox servers are
covered.
Lessons
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Evaluating High Availability Options for Mailbox Servers
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Evaluating High Availability Options for Non-Mailbox Servers
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Lab A: Evaluating High Availability Messaging Technologies
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Exercise 1: Configuring LCR
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Exercise 2: Configuring CCR
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Lab B: Evaluating High Availability Messaging Technologies
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Exercise 1: Testing CCR
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Exercise 2: Discussion: Recommendations for Using the High Availability
Solutions
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After completing this module, students will be able to:
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Evaluate high availability options for Mailbox servers.
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Evaluate high availability options for non-Mailbox servers
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Module 3: Creating a High Availability Messaging Strategy
This module explains how to create a high availability messaging
strategy. This includes creating solutions for Mailbox and non-mailbox servers.
Lessons
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Designing a High Availability Strategy for Mailbox Servers
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Designing a High Availability Solution for Non-Mailbox Servers
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Lab: Creating a High Availability Messaging Strategy
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Exercise 1: Designing High-Availability Improvements for a Messaging
Infrastructure
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Exercise 2: Justifying Messaging Infrastructure Design Decisions
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After completing this module, students will be able to:
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Design a high availability strategy for Mailbox servers.
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Design a high availability solution for non-Mailbox servers.
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Module 4: Designing the Messaging Portion
of a Business Continuity Plan
This module explains how to design the messaging portion of a business
continuity plan. As well, information about identifying threats to the
messaging organization and mitigating those threats is covered.
Lessons
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Overview of Business Continuity Planning
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Identifying Threats to the Messaging Organization
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Mitigating Threats to the Messaging Organization
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Designing the Business Continuity Plan
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Lab: Designing the Messaging Portion of a Business Continuity Plan
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Exercise 1: Identifying Risks to a Messaging Environment
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Exercise 2: Discussion: Mitigating Risks to a Messaging Environment
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After completing this module, students will be able to:
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Describe business continuity planning.
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Identify threats to the messaging organization.
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Mitigate threats to the messaging organization.
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Design the business continuity plan.
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Module 5: Designing Backup for a
High Availability Messaging Environment
This module explains how to identify the backup requirements and design
the backup procedures for a high availability messaging environment.
Lessons
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Identifying Backup Requirements
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Designing Backup Procedures
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Lab: Designing Backup for a High Availability Messaging Environment
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Exercise 1: Identifying Backup Requirements
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Exercise 2: Discussion: Creating Backup Procedures
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After completing this module, students will be able to:
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Identify backup requirements.
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Design backup procedures.
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Module 6: Ensuring Recovery
Readiness of a High Availability Messaging Environment
This module explains how to ensure recovery readiness of a high
availability messaging environment by designing recovery strategies and
evaluating disaster recovery readiness.
Lessons
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Designing Recovery Strategies
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Evaluating Disaster Recovery Readiness
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Lab: Ensuring Recovery Readiness of a High Availability Messaging
Environment
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Exercise 1: Defining Recovery Procedures
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Exercise 2: Evaluating Disaster Recovery Readiness
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After completing this module, students will be able to:
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Design recovery strategies.
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Evaluate disaster recovery readiness.
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