unity failover server install

[littledavewhite]

i am going to install a failover server on unity 4.2 unified messaging. The initial install of the origional unity system used MSDE. Reading the failover server requirments it says both server must have full sql installed ? what are my options, do i need to perfom a full new install on both servers, can i reating any user config ?

[Brandon Buffin]

You can upgrade from MSDE to SQL on the existing server. See the following link.

http://www.cisco.com/en/US/docs/voice_ip_comm/unity/42/upgrade/guide/ex/ru_160.html#wp1038627

Hope this helps. If so, please rate the post.

Brandon

[littledavewhite]

Hi Brandon

Thanks for this, i'm new to unity and want to try and have a go on a lav server first before i trash the on site system. I presume i can run dirt to back everything up before hand, or would you recommend a disk imaging software to backup the complete drive first. I have heard some people remove one of the disks in the server before upgrade is this common ? does the raid auto reconfigure the disk whe nits placed back into the system? I have 4.2 system the guide refers to additional tasks for this release, i will look for an updated guide.

Thanks for your help and any comments on the above would be great.

Dave white

CCIE

[Brandon Buffin]

Dave,

You could certainly use either approach. One advantage to DiRT is that you don't need identical hardware. I've used DiRT backup/restore and they do a great job.

Regarding the RAID array, breaking the mirror set is a fairly common practice. Just be aware that this is not a fool proof. See the following link for some caveats regarding breaking mirror sets.

http://www.cisco.com/en/US/docs/voice_ip_comm/unity/404/maintenance/guide/ex/mg0450.html#wp1073796

Hope this helps.

Brandon