Exchange 2010 CAS Array - 2 Sites

Hi Josh,

 

 

I can maybe see that configuration working, as long as you are strictly running in an active/passive setup. Otherwise, if you were ever to activate individual database copies in Site B (active/active), you would not have the flexibility of forcing client connections to the respective CAS array for that site.

 

 

The only other concern I have is if you are doing Kerberos authenitcation to the CAS array. I'm not sure if anything will break if the Outlook client obtains a ticket for array-siteA.domain.com, but is then redirected to array.domain.com, if that will break anything in the Kerberos authenication process. It may not be a big deal if you are not using Kerberos, but something to be sure to test, if you are.

 

 

The proper way to achieve this, I think, is to have separate CAS arrays for each site with separate namespaces, and as a part of the datacenter switchover process, update the DNS A record for the CAS array in Site A to point to the same VIP as the CAS array in Site B. I realize this makes a datacenter siwtchover a manual process, but per Microsoft, datacenter switchovers in Exchange 2010 are not automatic.

 

 

Adam