I am installing a SCC cluster in a test domain of 5 servers. 1 DC (win 2k3 R2 std, Sp2, fully patched) 1 Cas / Hub server (win 2k3 R2 SP2 std x64, .net 2.0 sp1, fully patched) (installed exchange 2007 sp1, did all forest / domain / schema prep from this server) 3 clustered mailbox servers (win 2k3 R2, SP2 enterprise x64, .net 2.0 sp1, fully patched) Set up cluster on all 3 (identical) mailbox node servers. Presented quorum lun, 2 gb "root disk lun" which only hosts the windows "mount points" for my storage group lun's. Created cluster disk objects for all these disks, verify cluster works properly and is able to fail over to any lun. This works seamlessly. I go to install exchange, and this is where i have issues. I have tried from both the GUI and from the command line. You go to install exchange (2007 sp1), and it goes though, all checks go fine. You go to install, and it gets to the point where it installs "creating exchange configuration server in the active directory" and just hangs. Sits there like nothing is happening. When you are running setup from the command line, it hangs at 52%. You go into the exchangesetup.log and it seems to be having issues with performance counters, which makes no sense to me. [4/14/2008 11:41:42 AM] [1] Executing 'new-PerfCounters -DefinitionFileName MapiNetPerfCounters.xml', handleError = True [4/14/2008 11:41:42 AM] [2] Launching sub-task '$error.Clear(); new-PerfCounters -DefinitionFileName MapiNetPerfCounters.xml'. [4/14/2008 11:41:42 AM] [2] Beginning processing. [4/14/2008 11:41:42 AM] [2] Processing file: C:\Program Files\Microsoft\Exchange Server\Setup\Perf\MapiNetPerfCounters.xml Also during this time, the cluster will fail over (successfully) to one of the other active nodes. I thought this might have something to do with it, so I move the active node back to the server running exchange setup. No change. Then, something came up and I had to address another issue on our production network and didnt have time to look at it. I come back monday and some time over the weekend, it finished. I started setup on 4/9 at 11:18, and it finished on 4/11 at 3pm. 48 hours +!!! So this morning, I begin the install on the passive node of one of the cluster nodes, the exact same symptoms. It has done this to me three times. The first time, I thought it was a fluke or something, I was installing 2007 RTM, not SP1, so I thought it might have something to do with that. But it happened the same thing running setup from the SP1 install. I can post the contents of the entire setup log if you want. I have gone through it and it looks like HOURS of it not doing anything. These are powerful servers, quad cpu, 8 gigs ram, san is fiber channel 2gb SAN HP EVA 8000.Its definetly not hardware. Each time, I would start from scratch, new fresh domain/forest, no trusts. This dumbfounds me. Any ideas?

So installation of the passive node is approaching 24 hours now. It took 5 hours to get to where it is now, "configuring mailbox performance counters"Something is definetly wrong, and since I can reproduce this scenario consistently, it leads me to believe that this is a known issue, yet I see no documentation of it anywhere. I know its not the servers (fresh, fast) or AD (new install, no cluttered schema, no replication issues).

still going

Well, it finally finished, 3 days later. Now I kicked off the second active scc node, curious to see how many days this takes.One thing I find kind of bothersome, it appears that when creating the exchange cluster, it creates a new cluster group, which is all good and well, but you have to move the resources into one of the existing groups, or you will not have a working cluster when you do move-clusteredmailboxserver, because the physicaldisk cluster resources are in the cluster group created when you create the WIndows cluster. After you move the resources, you can set dependencies, and all is right with the world. No one here has ever seen this before? I cant be the only one.

Hi I'm having a similar problem. I'm installing Ex2007 SP1 on brand new machines (quadcore with 4Gb RAM). I have a single domain, 2 DC, 1 Ex2007 HT+CA, 2 Ex2007 MB cluster. All machines are x64 with w2003R2 SP2, NetFx20 SP1. Wheninstalling the first exchange server (HT+CA), all tests are ok but setup hangs at "configuring performance counters" step. Checking the setup log I can see it's taking about 6 hours to configure each performance counters set and it finalizes each section with "system out of memory" error. After the install begins, if I go to control panel-performance and I try to configure any counter, the perfmon tool also hangs. Iuninstalled everything, rebuilt the perf counters, but the problem maintains. Did anybody had this problem or has a clue how to solve it? Thanks

i'm currently on 24 hours stuck at configuring mailbox performance counters on the mailbox role while upgrading to SP3 on Exchange 2007 SP1 fresh install to a new Server 2008 R2 box in an attempt to migrate from SBS 2003, according to what i've read SP1 is not supported on 2008 R2, but SP3 adds the proper support to make this happen, how long do i wait, 3 days seems excessive but better that than breaking this by cancelling mid SP3, right?

Your configuration of installing SP1 on windows 2008 R2 and then upgrading to SP3 will not be supported. Why not just install Exchange 2007 SP3 from the start. The download is fully capable of a brand new install (it is not just an SP) http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=1687160b-634a-43cb-a65a-f355cff0afa6&displaylang=en "Clean installations of Exchange 2007 SP3 on a new server are possible by using this download in the same manner as you would install Exchange 2007 RTM, Exchange 2007 SP1 or Exchange 2007 SP2."Tim Harrington - Catapult Systems - http://HowDoUC.blogspot.com