Topic Last Modified: 2011-05-06

When you remove a Front End Server or Front End pool, you may need to move the Central Management Server to another Front End Server or Front End pool before you can remove the server or pool.

The Central Management Server is a single master/multiple replica system, where the read/write copy of the database is held by the Front End Server that contains the Central Management Server(that is, either the collocated SQL Server for Standard Edition or on the dedicated SQL Server for Enterprise Edition). Each computer in the topology, including the Front End Server that contains the Central Management Server, has a read-only copy of the Central Management store data in the SQL Server database (named RTCLOCAL by default) installed on the computer during setup and deployment. The local database receives replica updates by way of the Lync Server Replica Replicator Agent that runs as a service on all computers. The name of the actual database on the Central Management Server and the local replica is the XDS, which is made up of the xds.mdf and xds.ldf files. The master database location is referenced by a service control point (SCP) in Active Directory Domain Services (AD DS). All tools that use the Central Management Server to manage and configure Lync Server 2010 use the SCP to locate the Central Management store.

After you have successfully moved the Central Management Server, you should remove the Central Management Server databases from the original Front End Server.

You use the Windows PowerShell cmdlet Move-CsManagementServer in the Lync Server Management Shell to move the database from the current SQL Server database to the destination SQL Server database, and then update the SCP to point to the new Central Management Server location.

You can use ADSIEdit to see the current state of the definition for the Central Management store in Active Directory Domain Services (AD DS). The location of the SCP is in the Configuration container, under the distinguished name (DN) CN=Topology Settings, CN=RTC Service, DC=<your domain>. Under CN=Topology Settings is an object named with a globally unique ID of the class msRTCSIP-GlobalTopologySetting. Right-click the GUID and then click Properties. The Central Management Server is defined in the attribute named msRTCSIP-BackEndServer in the format of fully qualified domain name (FQDN) of the SQL Server, and the instance (for example, sqlbe.contoso.net\rtc). Never update the msRTCSIP-GlobalTopologySetting attribute manually.

Warning:
The process of moving the Central Management Server is not a trivial task and you should carefully plan this process before you move the Central Management Server. Service interruption will occur while the move is underway, and you might lose data. You should move the Central Management Server only if it is absolutely necessary.

Preparing Front End Servers before moving the Central Management Server

Use the procedures in this section to prepare the Front End Servers before you move the Central Management Server.

To prepare an Enterprise Edition Front End pool

  1. On the destination Enterprise Edition Front End pool where you want to relocate the Central Management Server: Log on to the computer where Lync Server Management Shell is installed as a member of the RTCUniversalServerAdmins group or with the necessary user rights as described in Delegate Setup Permissions. You must also have SQL Server database sysadmin user rights and permissions on the database where you want to install the Central Management store.

    Important:
    This procedure does not provide guidance on setting up the Front End pool. If you need to set up the destination Front End pool, see Setting Up Front End Servers and Front End Pools.

  2. Start the Lync Server Management Shell: Click Start, click All Programs, click Microsoft Lync Server 2010, and then click Lync Server Management Shell.

  3. To create the new Central Management store in the destination SQL Server database, in the Lync Server Management Shell, type:

    Copy Code 
    Install-CsDatabase -CentralManagementDatabase -SQLServerFQDN <FQDN of your SQL Server> -SQLInstanceName <name of instance>
    Important:
    Install-CsDatabase is a complex command with a number of potential options. You should familiarize yourself with the options and the implications of the choices you make by first reading the topics in Configure SQL Server for Lync Server 2010.

  4. Confirm that the status of the Lync Server Front-End service is Started.

To prepare a Standard Edition Front End Server

  1. On the destination Standard Edition Front End Server where you want to relocate the Central Management Server: Log on to the computer where Lync Server Management Shell is installed as a member of the RTCUniversalServerAdmins group or with the necessary user rights as described in Delegate Setup Permissions.

  2. Start the Lync Server Deployment Wizard: Click Start, click All Programs, click Microsoft Lync Server 2010, and then click Lync Server Deployment Wizard.

  3. In the Lync Server Deployment Wizard, click Prepare first Standard Edition server.

  4. On the Executing Commands page, the Microsoft SQL Server 2008 Express database software is installed as the Central Management Server. Necessary firewall rules are created. When the installation of the database and prerequisite software is completed, click Finish.

    Note:
    The initial installation may take some time with no visible updates to the command output summary screen. This is due to the installation of the SQL Server Express. If you need to monitor the installation of the database, use Task Manager to monitor the setup.

  5. To create the new Central Management store on the destination Standard Edition Front End Server, in the Lync Server Management Shell, type:

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    Install-CsDatabase -CentralManagementDatabase -SQLServerFQDN <FQDN of your Standard Edition Server> -SQLInstanceName <name of instance - RTC by default>
    Important:
    Install-CsDatabase is a complex command with a number of potential options. You should familiarize yourself with the options and the implications of the choices you make by first reading the topics in Configure SQL Server for Lync Server 2010.

  6. Confirm that the status of the Lync Server Front-End service is Started.

To move the Central Management Server to another pool or Front End Server

  1. On to the destination server that will be the Central Management Server (that is, the server or pool that you prepared using the procedures in the previous section): Log on to the computer where Lync Server Management Shell is installed as a member of the RTCUniversalServerAdmins group or with the necessary user rights as described in Delegate Setup Permissions. You must also have the SQL Server database administrator user rights and permissions.

  2. Start the Lync Server Management Shell: Click Start, click All Programs, click Microsoft Lync Server 2010, and then click Lync Server Management Shell.

  3. In the Lync Server Management Shell, type:

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    Enable-CsTopology
    Warning:
    If Enable-CsTopology is not successful, resolve the problem preventing the command from completing before continuing. If Enable-CsTopology is not successful, the move will fail and it may leave your topology in a state where there is no Central Management store.

  4. On the source Front End Server or Front End pool that you want to move the Central Management store from, in the Lync Server Management Shell, type:

    Copy Code 
    Move-CsManagementServer

  5. Lync Server Management Shell displays the servers, file stores, database stores, and the service connection points of the Current State and the Proposed State. Read the information carefully and confirm that this is the intended source and destination. Type Y to continue, or N to stop the move.

  6. Review any warnings or errors generated by the Move-CsManagementServer command and resolve them.

  7. On the destination server where you relocated the Central Management Server, start the Lync Server Deployment Wizard: Click Start, click All Programs, click Microsoft Lync Server 2010, and then click Lync Server Deployment Wizard.

  8. In Lync Server Deployment Wizard, click Install or Update Lync Server System, click Step 2: Setup or Remove Lync Server Components, click Next, review the summary, and then click Finish.

  9. On the original source server that you moved the Central Management store from, start the Lync Server Deployment Wizard: Click Start, click All Programs, click Microsoft Lync Server 2010, and then click Lync Server Deployment Wizard.

  10. In Lync Server Deployment Wizard, click Install or Update Lync Server System, click Step 2: Setup or Remove Lync Server Components, click Next, review the summary, and then click Finish.

  11. To confirm that replication with the new Central Management store is occurring, in the Lync Server Management Shell, type:

    Copy Code 
    Get-CsManagementStoreReplicationStatus
    Note:
    The replication may take some time to update all current replicas.

To remove Central Management store files after a move

  1. On the original source server that you moved the Central Management store from: Log on to the computer where Lync Server Management Shell is installed as a member of the RTCUniversalServerAdmins group or with the necessary user rights as described in Delegate Setup Permissions. You must also have SQL Server database administrator user rights and permissions.

  2. Start the Lync Server Management Shell: Click Start, click All Programs, click Microsoft Lync Server 2010, and then click Lync Server Management Shell.

    Warning:
    Do not proceed with the removal of the previous database files until replication is complete and is stable. If you remove the files prior to completing replication, you will disrupt the replication process and leave the newly moved Central Management Server in an unknown state. Use the cmdlet Get-CsManagementStoreReplicationStatus to confirm the replication status.

  3. To remove the Central Management store database files from the original source Central Management Server, type:

    Copy Code 
    Uninstall-CsDatabase -CentralManagementDatabase -SqlServerFqdn <FQDN of SQL Server> -SqlInstanceName <Name of source server>

    For example:

    Copy Code 
    Uninstall-CsDatabase -CentralManagementDatabase -SqlServerFqdn sqlbe.contoso.net -SqlInstanceName rtc

    Where the <FQDN of SQL Server> is the source server where the Central Management store was originally located, and is either the Back End Server in an Enterprise Edition deployment or the FQDN of the Standard Edition server. InstanceName indicates that the Central Management store was in a SQL Server named instance.

    Note:
    This procedure removes the xds.mdf and ldf, which are the primary database files that hold the configuration of the Lync Server deployment, in addition to the lis.mdf and .ldf files that maintain the Location Information service data. If you do not remove the old database files and you try to move the Central Management store back to the previous location, you will receive an error that indicates that information in the XDS is stale and that the Central Management store move will fail until you remove the XDS data files.

See Also