I am asking this here on exchange forum even though it has to do with server 2012 but the servers have Exchange 2013 and i DO NOT want updating to mess up Exchange.

Server 2012 R2 with Exchange 2013 SP1. Exchange has 1 DAG with 2 member servers. Exchange servers are hyper-v 2012 R2 VM's. All roles installed on each server. I have not installed any updates to either server 2012 or exchange 2013 since the move over to exchange about a year ago. So now to my question:

1. how do i correctly update server 2012 r2 without breaking exchange 2013?
2. Are there any server 2012 updates that you have experienced break exchange 2013?
3. Do i configure/use cluster aware updating snap-in?
4. If i use CAU, does it matter in what order i apply the updates (active copy vs. passive copy)?

Thanks for any help.

Hi forgive,

Thank you for your question.

We could refer to the following steps to install Window update on Exchange DAG member:

1) Perform server Switchover so that the server you are installing the updates on is not active:  Move-ActiveMailboxDatabase Server ExchangeServerYouAreUpdating

After each switchover perform the following command to make sure the DBs are healthy and see which server is the active server:

Get-MailboxDatabaseCopyStatus *

Note: sometimes after a reboot it can take a few minutes for things to return to a healthy state. The output of Get-MailboxDatabaseCopyStatus may also get index errors.

2) On the Exchange Server that is not active for the databases: Open the yellow-shield Windows Update icon, review the updates, confirm that no Exchange Update Rollups or Exchange patches are selected. If they are, exclude them. Exchange patches should not be applied through Windows Update on DAG member Exchange servers.  Once the updates are applied, reboot the Exchange server.

3) Once the first server is rebooted and back online from the updates and we have checked the db replication health (Get-MailboxDatabaseCopyStatus *), repeat the steps 1 and 2 on the next server. 

Note: Avoid having more one exchange server offline at a time.

Do i configure/use cluster aware updating snap-in?

A: if we configure the cluster aware depend on yourself, in my solution, I didnt use CAU.

If i use CAU, does it matter in what order i apply the updates (active copy vs. passive copy)?

A: yes, we should apply the update on passive copy.

If there are any questions regarding this issue, please be free to let me know. 

Best Regard,

Jim

Hi,

1.Windows 2012 R2 operating system updates will not break Exchange & Except IIS related patches (I would say, take backup if IIS virtual directories before applying IIS related patches)

2. So far I haven't heard any patches that affects Exchange (There are patches which will affect OS not application, Pls test patched before applying to prod)

3.Yes you can use, cluster aware update.

4. Always passive first, once done move all database to passive (once moved this will become active) then patch second node.

Hope this helps!

Hi forgive,

Thank you for your question.

We could refer to the following steps to install Window update on Exchange DAG member:

1) Perform server Switchover so that the server you are installing the updates on is not active:  Move-ActiveMailboxDatabase Server ExchangeServerYouAreUpdating

So, if i am performing the update on the passive copy server, i do not need to run this command, correct?