Secondary DC

Hello,
I posted this on the "setup" forum and got no answers. Maybe it's because
that was not the right forum. So, I hope someone can help me here with this
or at least steer me in the right direction as we plan to do this next week.
Thanks in advance.

Original Post:
I am about to install windows 2003 server on a second computer which we
purchased for the purpose of being our secondary DC. I trust the install
will be as straight forward as the primary one was - if not can you give me
any tips or "look out for" advice?
What I am really writing this for is the data files. It seems that AD pretty
much takes care of itself, but the reason for this backup server is
so that if the primary goes down (which it has in the past) all the users on
the system (approx. 40) don't even notice a hickup and can keep working.
A. Is that unrealistic to think that's how it will work?
B. How do I make sure the data files, which are all stored on a different
partition on the main server, are constantly mirrored and up to date on the
backup server?

So, if the students are logged on to Server1 and working on their Word
documents, and the Office is doing its thing, then Server1 crashes - we want
Server2 to kick in and everyone is still working on their files.
I checked and checked and can't find anything about how to set up this
scenario which partly leads me to believe it is not possible, but realizing
there must be many companies much bigger than us, and much more dependant on
their files than us, in the same boat - it must be possible.
Thanks in advance for your help and any leads.
TK

Hi TK,

For the type of fail over you describe take a look at Windows Clustering:

http://www.microsoft.com/windowsserv...g/default.mspx

However, be aware that clustering has special hardware requirements
(typically including shared storage) and also requires Windows Server 2003
Enterprise edition. So, there is a cost involved in using clustering.

There are other solutions for backing up files and redirecting clients, but
none of them provide the automatic, transparent, and fast failover that
clustering does.

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MCSE, MCSD, MCDBA
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"TK" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:(E-Mail Removed)...
> Hello,
> I posted this on the "setup" forum and got no answers. Maybe it's because
> that was not the right forum. So, I hope someone can help me here with
this
> or at least steer me in the right direction as we plan to do this next
week.
> Thanks in advance.
>
> Original Post:
> I am about to install windows 2003 server on a second computer which we
> purchased for the purpose of being our secondary DC. I trust the install
> will be as straight forward as the primary one was - if not can you give
me
> any tips or "look out for" advice?
> What I am really writing this for is the data files. It seems that AD
pretty
> much takes care of itself, but the reason for this backup server is
> so that if the primary goes down (which it has in the past) all the users
on
> the system (approx. 40) don't even notice a hickup and can keep working.
> A. Is that unrealistic to think that's how it will work?
> B. How do I make sure the data files, which are all stored on a different
> partition on the main server, are constantly mirrored and up to date on
the
> backup server?
>
> So, if the students are logged on to Server1 and working on their Word
> documents, and the Office is doing its thing, then Server1 crashes - we
want
> Server2 to kick in and everyone is still working on their files.
> I checked and checked and can't find anything about how to set up this
> scenario which partly leads me to believe it is not possible, but
realizing
> there must be many companies much bigger than us, and much more dependant
on
> their files than us, in the same boat - it must be possible.
> Thanks in advance for your help and any leads.
> TK
>
>