23.3 Managing the Internet Agent in a Windows Cluster

After you have installed the GWIA in a cluster, you should consider some long-term management issues.

23.3.1 Updating GroupWise Objects with Cluster-Specific Descriptions

After installing the GWIA in your clustered GroupWise system, while the cluster-specific information is fresh in your mind, you should record that cluster-specific information as part of the GroupWise objects in ConsoleOne so that you can easily refer to it later. Be sure to update the information recorded in the GroupWise objects if the configuration of your system changes.

Recording Cluster-Specific Information about the GWIA Domain and Its MTA

To permanently record important cluster-specific information for the GWIA domain:

  1. In ConsoleOne, browse to and right-click the Domain object, then click Properties.

  2. In the Description field of the GWIA domain Identification page, provide a cluster-specific description of the GWIA domain, including its resource group IP address and the cluster-unique port numbers used by its MTA.

  3. Click OK to save the GWIA domain description.

  4. Select the GWIA Domain object to display its contents.

  5. Right-click the MTA object, then click Properties.

  6. In the Description field of the MTA Identification page, record the domain resource group IP address and the cluster-unique port numbers used by the MTA.

    This information appears on the MTA console, no matter which node in the cluster it is currently running on.

  7. Click OK to save the MTA description.

  8. Continue with Recording Cluster-Specific Information about the GWIA.

Recording Cluster-Specific Information about the GWIA

With the contents of the GWIA domain still displayed:

  1. Right-click the GWIA object, then click Properties.

  2. Click GroupWise, then click Identification.

  3. In the Description field, record the resource group IP address and the cluster-unique port numbers used by the GWIA.

    This information appears on the GWIA console, no matter which node in the cluster it is currently running on.

  4. Click OK to save the GWIA information.

  5. Continue with Knowing What to Expect in a GWIA Failover Situation.

23.3.2 Knowing What to Expect in a GWIA Failover Situation

The failover behavior of the MTA for the GWIA domain is the same as for an MTA in a regular domain. See Knowing What to Expect in MTA and POA Failover Situations.

Failover of the GWIA itself is more complex. The various email clients (POP3, IMAP4, and LDAP) receive an error message when the server they were connected to becomes unavailable. Most of the clients do not attempt to reconnect automatically, so the user must exit the email client and restart it to reestablish the connection after the failover process is complete. Fortunately, the GWIA restarts quickly in its failover location so users can reconnect quickly.

As with the MTA and the POA, manual migration of the GWIA takes longer than failover. In fact, the GWIA can seem especially slow to shut down properly, as it finishes its normal processing and stops its threads. For a busy GWIA, you might need to wait several minutes for it to shut down properly when you are manually migrating it.