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Perform a Server Switchover

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Applies to: Exchange Server 2013 SP1

A server switchover is a task that you perform to move all active mailbox database copies from their current Mailbox server to one or more other Mailbox servers in a database availability group (DAG). This task is performed as part of preparation for a scheduled outage for the current Mailbox server.

What do you need to know before you begin?

  • Estimated time to complete: 30 seconds per database

  • You need to be assigned permissions before you can perform this procedure or procedures. To see what permissions you need, see the "Database availability groups" entry in the High availability and site resilience permissions topic.

Tip

Having problems? Ask for help in the Exchange forums. Visit the forums at Exchange Server.

Use the EAC to perform a server switchover

You need to be assigned permissions before you can perform this procedure or procedures. To see what permissions you need, see the"Mailbox database copies" entry in the High availability and site resilience permissions topic.

  1. In the EAC, go to Servers > servers.

  2. Select the Mailbox server you want to switchover.

  3. In the details pane, select Server Switchover.

  4. On the Server Switchover page, do one of the following:

    1. Accept the default setting of Automatically choose a target server (in which case, the system automatically selects the best Mailbox server for each database being switched over), and then click save.

    2. Click Use the specified server as the target for switchover, click Browse to select a Mailbox server, and then click save.

  5. When the switchover has completed, click close to exit the Server Switchover page.

Use the Shell to perform a server switchover

This example performs a server switchover for the server MBX1. The system automatically selects the best Mailbox server for each active database on MBX1.

Move-ActiveMailboxDatabase -Server MBX1

This example performs a server switchover of the Mailbox server MBX4. When the command completes, MBX5 hosts the active copy of the databases that were previously active on MBX4.

Move-ActiveMailboxDatabase -Server MBX4 -ActivateOnServer MBX5

For detailed syntax and parameter information, see Move-ActiveMailboxDatabase.