Geographically dispersed clusters, also called stretched clusters or extended clusters, are clusters comprised of nodes that are placed in different physical sites. Geographically dispersed clusters are designed to provide failover in the event of a site loss due to power issues, natural disasters or other unforeseen events.

To truly understand how geographically dispersed clustering works with Microsoft® Exchange Server 2003, you must first understand the basic requirements for a geographically dispersed cluster solution. A geographically dispersed cluster is a combination of hardware and software. In other words, a geographically dispersed cluster is a combination of pieces supplied by different vendors. Due to the complex nature of these configurations and the configuration restrictions that are fundamental to Microsoft Windows® Clustering technology, geographically dispersed clusters should be deployed only in conjunction with vendors who provide qualified configurations. To run Exchange Server 2003 in a geographically dispersed cluster solution, the solution must meet the following criteria:

• The nodes must share a common disk subsystem.
  
• The nodes must live on the same local area network (LAN)/subnet.
  
• The nodes must have a network heartbeat with low latency, less the 500ms.
  

For geographically dispersed clusters, the above criteria are met by replicating data at the disk level and creating a virtual LAN (VLAN) that allows the same subnet to exist over wide area network (WAN) links.

Note:

Through the use of a majority node set quorum, Windows Clustering allows you to build a cluster without a common shared disk array and a common shared quorum disk. Exchange Server supports this method of clustering. However, the solution must be listed on the Geographically Dispersed Cluster Solution section of the Windows Server Catalog. Additionally, only solutions that use synchronous replication are supported.

There are many types of replication technologies that can support a geographically dispersed cluster solution. All of these technologies use one of two types of replication: synchronous or asynchronous.

In terms of a geographically dispersed Exchange cluster, the most important difference between the two replication types is that synchronous replication is currently supported and asynchronous replication is not. Beyond that, the main differences between the two replication types involve the following:

• How and when data blocks are written to the local and remote sites
  
• How those writes are reported back the operating system
  
• How synchronized the data is on the local and remote disks at any given time
  

Synchronous Replication

Asynchronous Replication

For More Information About Replication Methods

In a geographically dispersed cluster installation, the added cost of data replication is the main deviation from the standard testing and monitoring needs of an Exchange Server installation. Because of this, you should pay extra attention to disk latency. Information about disk latency testing is already well documented. For detailed information about disk performance settings and testing procedures, see Optimizing Storage for Exchange Server 2003.

Some geographically dispersed clusters require a fiber optic connection between the primary and backup sites, which can impose a constraint on the distance permitted between sites. Other solutions are able to encapsulate the data in an IP packet and can run over an Ethernet or frame connection. No matter what the connection is, you can expect that the further the distance between sites, the greater the latency will be. In turn, this increased latency equates to a less useable and supportable solution.

In terms of a geographically dispersed solution, another expense of greater latency is the number of users that can be supported on a single server. As latency increases, the number of supported uses per server decreases. As a result, this increases the amount of servers you need to support the environment, thereby increasing the total cost of the Exchange installation.

Most certified solutions support a very specific scenario. One component of this scenario is a maximum supported distance between sites. As the distance increases, the number of available solutions is going to diminish.

Aside from deciding on which solution is best for your Exchange organization, there are many other requirements you should consider when researching a geographically dispersed cluster solution. For example, be sure that you've considered the following:

• Ask yourself, "Will I need to replicate more than just Exchange data?" For example, will you also need to replicate file servers?
  
• The LAN and WAN networks must be fault tolerant enough so that, if the primary site goes down, your client computers can communicate seamlessly with the new site.
  
• At the failover location, you must have an adequate number of domain controllers and global catalog servers. These domain controllers and global catalog servers must be able to support the volume of requests required for Exchange servers and client computers to function at acceptable levels. These levels should be defined in a service level agreement (SLA).
  
• The hardware in your failover location must be able to support your user requests at an acceptable level. This level should be documented in an SLA.
  
• The replication link from the failover site to the primary site must have sufficient bandwidth and be fast enough to support the data replication requirements established by your e-mail volume.
  
• It would be beneficial if you had staff that could provide end-to-end support for your solution.
  

Depending on your specific implementation, there may be more requirements to consider. For example, a Web service hosted on a different server that requires Exchange, support for virtual private network (VPN) remote users, replication of a data archiving solution, and so forth.

After researching all the appropriate parts and service requirements, be sure that you familiarize yourself with the supportability guidelines from Microsoft. The following is a list of system requirements for geographically dispersed Exchange clusters:

• No more than 500 milliseconds of roundtrip network latency on the shared heartbeat network between the nodes.
  
• The solution must be listed on the Geographically Dispersed Cluster Solution section of the Windows Server Catalog.
  
• The quorum disk resource must be replicated in real-time synchronous mode across all sites, or you must run a Windows Server 2003 majority node cluster set. For more information about majority node set quorums and how they work in a geographically dispersed cluster, see Majority Node Set Quorum in Geographically Dispersed Clusters.
  

Microsoft strongly recommends that customers obtain assurances from their replication solution vendors on the following issues:

• Is the solution in the category of a geographically dispersed clustering solution?
  
• Will the replication solution prevent all possibilities of data loss short of simultaneous outage at all sites?
  
• What are the procedures for performing a failover and fail back?
  
• Can the replication solution and expected latency handle the planned Exchange user load and provide a quality client experience?
  

This article provided an overview of geographically dispersed clustering in Exchange Server 2003, but there's a lot of detailed documentation out there that can help you decide if this solution is right for you. Check them out:

• Multi-site data replication support for Exchange 2003 and Exchange 2000.
  This Microsoft Knowledge Base article (895847) is the official word on what is and isn't supported for geographically dispersed clusters in Exchange Server 2003.
  
• Designing a Geographically Dispersed Cluster
  This topic covers many of the basics about Windows Server 2003 and geographically dispersed clusters.
  
• Windows clustering and geographically separate sites
  This Microsoft Knowledge Base article (280743) hits on some of the supportability basics for geographically dispersed clusters.
  
• Stretching Microsoft Server Clusters with Geo-Dispersion
  This article is a bit older, but it covers almost all of the basics of geographically dispersed clustering.
  
• "Planning for Exchange Clustering" in the Exchange Server 2003 High Availability Guide
  This topic covers some of the concepts that revolve around Exchange Server 2003, Windows Server 2003 and clustering. Essentially, it covers the benefits, features, components, considerations, and functionality of clustering.
  
• Technical Overview of Clustering Services
  This article provides an overview of the differences in clustering technology between Windows Server 2003 and Windows 2000 Server. Some of the areas covered in the article are installation, integration, Network Load Balancing, and the new Network Load Balancing Manager.
  
• What’s New in Clustering Technologies
  This article covers the new clustering technology features found in Windows Server 2003.
  
• Server Clusters: Frequently Asked Questions for Windows 2000 and Windows Server 2003
  This article answers frequently asked questions about clustering. It provides some details on scalability and performance, and includes a small section on geographically dispersed clusters.