Exchange 5.5 to Exchange 2003
Good Afternoon,
I have an Exchange 5.5 running on a Windows 2000 Server Domain Controller. Active Directory is running on the network. I would like to migrate Exchange 5.5 to a new box running Windows 2003 Server and Exchange 2003. Winodws 2000 DC machine is also running DNS, WINS, DHCP and also a file server. I would like to get some step by step instruction on how to migrate exchange 5.5 to exchange 2003 to lessen any migration errors and system downtime.
I appreciate your help in advance
Software/Hardware used:
Software/Hardware used:
ASKED:
June 26, 2006 3:48 PM
UPDATED:
June 27, 2006 1:59 PM
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Answer Wiki:
Since you indicate that you have the luxury of having a new box up and running with Windows 2003/Exchange 2003 side by side with the existing server, it's fairly straightforward by installing the necessary Exchange/AD connector (to translate Exchange 5.5 and Active Directory data, not necessary once you complete the migration to 2003). Once you have the new server up and running, you can move mailboxes without taking down your whole system. Depending on how many users you are talking about, this process could take an hour or two or a whole weekend.
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I would suggest that you download and review the “Exchange server 2003 deployment guide” available from the Microsoft website at the following address: http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyId=77B6D819-C7B3-42D1-8FBB-FE6339FFA1ED&displaylang=en
This is a very comprehensive document covering all kinds of migration scenarios (with step by step instructions) and proved extremely usefull in conjunction with the “Exchange server 2003 administration guide”, available at:
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=98E45481-1458-4809-97D6-50D8AEEBD8A1&displaylang=en
I would suggest that these documents are looked at before considering off the cuff help, as following the official MS documentation will leave you in good stead for future customisation once the base product is up and running.
I agree with the advice given to get the microsoft docs first and follow them. We did this and it ran surprisingly smoothly.
I also noticed you said you are running an active directory domain controller with exchange, DNS, wins, DHCP, and file services. I’m glad to hear you are moving exchange to a different, non domain controller box.
The other issue you should be aware of is running DHCP on your domain controller. Due to the nature of the microsoft implementation of DHCP server, for win2k they recommend not running this on a domain controller. For 2003, if you want to run DHCP server on a DC they recommend using a special limited account for the DHCP server service. Here is the link:
http://technet2.microsoft.com/WindowsServer/en/Library/d0e19b57-c368-46c2-b017-caf25ae150ec1033.mspx?mfr=true
For file sharing, make sure the users can’t fill up the space needed for active directory. Hopefully this was obvious to you already. When I first came to my current job they were using any server space they could find for file sharing and killed exchange when someone saved streaming audio files on the exchange server.
rt