Executive Summary:
No in-place upgrade to Microsoft Exchange Server 2007 is possible because Exchange 2007 requires a 64-bit version of Window Server 2003 operating system (OS) and Microsoft Exchange Server 2003 requires a 32-bit version of Windows Server OS. To upgrade your Microsoft Exchange Server organization to Microsoft Exchange Server 2007, you'll need to prepare your existing Acitive Directory (AD) and make sure your domain controllers (DCs) are running Windows Server 2003 service pack 1 (SP1) operating system (OS). You must extend the Active Directory (AD) schema before installing Microsoft Exchange Server 2007 into a legacy Exchanger Server organization.
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Deploying Microsoft Exchange Server 2007 requires careful planning. If you're
bringing Exchange 2007 into an organization with Exchange Server 2003 or Exchange
2000 Server, you can't just insert the installation disk into one of your existing
Exchange servers and run the Exchange Server 2007 Setup wizard. Here's what
you'll need to do to make sure your legacy organization is ready to receive
the upgrade.
Before You Begin
Exchange 2007 runs only on 64-bit versions of Windows Server 2003. In contrast,
Exchange 2003 runs only on 32bit Windows Server OSs. Therefore, an in-place
upgrade is impossible. If you want to bring Exchange 2007 into an Exchange 2003
organization, you'll have to perform a migration, which means installing 64-bit
Windows 2003 on a new server, installing Exchange 2007, transferring data from
an Exchange 2003 server, and then decommissioning the old server if necessary.
You probably have a lot of money invested in the hardware that's currently
running Exchange 2003. Assuming that your old servers meet the minimum recommended
hardware requirements for running Exchange 2007—for example, they have
processors that will work with both 32-bit and 64-bit OSs—you might be
able to reuse them. For example, you could migrate the contents of one of your
existing servers to a new Exchange 2007 server. When that migration is complete
and has been thoroughly tested, you can reformat the old server, install 64-bit
Windows 2003 on it, then install Exchange 2007. You could then migrate the contents
of another server to this server, and so on, in a leapfrog approach to upgrading.
In some instances, you might be able to get away with having to purchase only
one new server.
Initial AD Preparation
Every version of Exchange Server since Exchange 2000 has been dependent on Active
Directory (AD) for storing information about the organization. Exchange 2007
is no exception, so you'll need to adequately prepare your AD prior to installing
the first Exchange 2007 server. Yes, you'll have to extend the AD schema in
order for AD to support Exchange 2007, but this step comes later in the process
(see the "Final AD Preparation" section below). Right now, you need to make
sure the individual domain controllers (DCs) are ready for Exchange 2007.
First, you should verify that your AD's schema master is running Windows 2003
SP1. You can identify the schema master by inserting your Windows 2003 installation
CD-ROM into the server's CD-ROM drive and double-clicking the adminpak.msi file
found in the CD-ROM's I386 directory. Windows launches the Administration Tools
Pack Setup Wizard. Follow the wizard's prompts to install the administration
tools pack.
When the installation process is complete,
close the setup wizard and open Microsoft
Management Console (MMC). In the console, select Add/Remove Snap-in from the
File menu. Windows then displays the Add/
Remove Snap-in dialog box. Click Add on the
Standalone tab to reveal a list of available snapins. Select the Active Directory Schema snap-in
from the list, then click Add, Close, OK.
Now that the snap-in has been loaded, right-click the Active Directory Schema
container in the console tree, then click Operations Master on the shortcut
menu. As Figure 1 shows, you'll see a dialog
box that tells you which server is acting as the forest's schema master. After
you've found the schema master, simply right-click the My Computer icon for
that server, then select Properties to display the System Properties sheet,
which tells you the server's OS and service pack level.
The next step in preparing AD for Exchange 2007 is to verify that the Global
Catalog (GC) servers and sites containing Exchange servers are running Windows
2003 SP1. You don't necessarily have to track down GC servers; a better method
is simply to verify that every site containing an Exchange server has at least
one DC running Windows 2003 SP1. A couple of advantages come with this requirement.
First, running Windows 2003 SP1 on your DCs lets users browse the Address Book
through Microsoft Outlook Web Access (OWA). Also, administrators are able to
look up distribution list memberships more efficiently.
While we're on the subject of
GC servers, this is a good time to
decide whether yours are up to
par. If your AD contains more than
20,000 objects, you'll get better
performance by running a 64-bit
version of Windows 2003 on your
GC servers.
The last step in preparing AD (at
least for now) is to make sure the
functional level for any domains
that will contain Exchange 2007
servers is set to Windows 2000
native or higher. Of course, it's
preferable to have a domain functional level
of Windows 2003, but you'll have to use the
Windows 2000 functional level if the domain
contains Windows 2000 Server–based DCs.
To check a domain's functional level, open the MMC Active Directory Users and
Computers snap-in. Right-click the domain in the console tree, and select Raise
Domain Functional Level. You'll see a dialog box (which Figure
2 shows) that displays the current functional level. If the domain is set
to a functional level lower than Windows 2003, the dialog box gives you the
option to raise the functional level.
Preparing Your Exchange Organization
After you've done your initial prep work on AD, it's time to turn your attention
to your existing Exchange organization and determine the scope of your upgrade.
For example, are all your Exchange servers being upgraded to Exchange 2007,
or is the upgrade limited to a particular subset of your Exchange organization?
By far the most important consideration is whether you have Exchange Server
5.5 servers present in your organization. Exchange 2007 isn't compatible with
Exchange 5.5. Therefore, any Exchange 5.5 servers must be upgraded at least
to Exchange 2000 before you can bring Exchange 2007 into your organization.
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