XADM: Recommendations for Using Content Indexing Utilities (Pstoreutl or Catutil) in a Cluster Environment (294821)

SUMMARY

There are two utilities that you can use to manipulate Content Indexing indices:

Pstoreutl.exe. This utility moves the property store to another drive location.
Catutil.exe. This utility moves the catalog (index) to another drive location.

For additional information about the latest service pack for Microsoft Exchange 2000 Server, click the article number below to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

301378 XGEN: How to Obtain the Latest Exchange 2000 Server Service Pack

MORE INFORMATION

Use the following guidelines when you run Pstoreutl.exe or Catutil.exe in a clustered environment:

Ensure that the Exchange MS Search resource is in a consistent state (for example, take the resource offline and review the Microsoft Windows NT Event log for error messages from Microsoft Search). Resolve any issues before you run the utilities.
Ensure that the target folders and files are located on disks that have been identified as cluster resources in the group in which the Exchange and Search resources are defined.
Run the search utilities with the new target files and folders. Note that these utilities verify the consistency of the current files before the utilities attempt to make changes.
Do not interrupt the utilities (for example, by pressing CTRL+C) until they finish; otherwise, the cluster resource that is defined for Search may not be restored properly.
The utilities automatically attempt to bring the Search resource online. After the utility finishes, review the Windows NT Event log to ensure that the Search resource is running properly with the new target folders and files.
Ensure that the cluster resources that are described the target folders and files are dependencies for the Search cluster resource (for example, add a new dependency for the disk resource).

In some cases, after you run either of these utilities, the utility detects and reports errors. These error messages may state that the Search cluster resource may not be restored properly. In such a case, manually review the Exchange MS Search Instance resource and ensure that the resource is restored properly. To assist in this review, the utilities display the correct cluster resource properties that existed before you ran the utilities.

For more information about Exchange 2000 and full-text indexing, see the following Microsoft Web site:

http://www.microsoft.com/TechNet/exchange/technote/bestind.asp