Performing a Top-Down GroupWise Rebuild with No User Downtime
Novell Cool Solutions: Feature
By Tommy Mikkelsen
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Posted: 29 May 2002
I've used this in a 96-site GroupWise installation where I performed a top-down rebuild that took about one working day, and the users didn't notice it at all.
This is a valuable solution since user downtime is a major concern to all admins everywhere.
How to rebuild a remote secondary domain, and its member postoffices.
How to make a top-down rebuild of a GroupWise System, where the only impact on the users is the time it takes to unload and reload the POA, (give or take 2 seconds).
This means, that you'll be able to do a remote rebuild in a way, that only a handful of users might detect.
In this example one assumes that you have LAN-Access to the primary domain, and that the access to the secondary domains are 64 Kb leased lines.
- Launch NWAdm32 or ConsoleOne with the GroupWise snapins loaded.
- Select the secondary domain from within GroupWise View and select maintenance/synchronize.
This way, you make sure that all records present in the secondary domain don't get lost if you have communication problems between the primary and secondary domains.
- Using RConsole or RConJ, select the MTA screen at the remote server and hit "F7".
The MTA running for the Secondary domain will now shut down. Mail going to and from this domain will be queued for delivery when the rebuild is finished.
- Create a directory at your workstation called C:\GWFIX.
- If you are using ConsoleOne, copy all *.dc files from the root af your primary domain directory to c:\gwfix
- Select from within NWAdm32 or ConsoleOne GroupWise View the secondary domain, and select maintenance/rebuild.
- When asked for a rebuild path, select the directory C:\GWFIX
- Since you have LAN Access to the Primary Domain, the rebuild process will take place at the speed of your LAN.
- From within NWAdm32 or ConsoleOne, select the menu "System Operation/Connection" and connect to the domain located in C:\GWFIX and ignore the error-messages.
Since you don't have an MTA running against your local workstation, the remaining GroupWise systems will not know what is taking place and will throw errors.
- From within NWAdm32 or ConsoleOne, select the Secondary domain that you just rebuilt, and take a note of the UNC-Path.
- Change the UNC-Path to C:\GWFix.
- Select the Secondary domain's PostOffice from GroupWise View, right-click and select Maintanence/ Rebuild.
- When asked for a rebuild path, select C:\GWFIX. Your secondary domains' PostOffice will now be rebuilt with the speed of your HDD.
- Select the secondary domain, and change the UNC-Path back to its original path.
- Copy the file C:\GWFIX\WPDomain.db to the remote server's domain directory.
- Rename the file C:\GWFIX\WPHost.db to C:\GWFIX\WPHost.org.
- Copy the file C:\GWFIX\WPHost.org to the remote servers PostOffice directory.
- Using RConsole or RConJ, select the remote server's PostOffice screen, and Hit "F7".
- Your users are now locked out of GroupWise, and you MUST hurry.
- From Explorer, select the remote server the file <path to postoffice>\WPHost.db, and hit "F2" for Rename. Name it WPHost.db1.
- Select on the remote server the file <path to postoffice>\wphost.org, and hit "F2". Name the file WPHost.db.
- Using RConJ or RConsole, reload the POA on the remote server.
- Reload the MTA on the Remote Server.
If you follow this procedure, and prepare by making a note of the name of the configuration file for the POA, you should be able to do this in the time it takes to unload the POA, reload the POA plus 2 sec.
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