Adding a Exchange 2007 box to our domain

[tosca925]

We currently have a Exchange 2003 server on our all 2003 domain, this server is coming up for replacement this summer and the obvious way forward is to put a new server in place with 2007 on.

My issue/questions

I have read about introducing the 2007 box intot he domain and how to get all the folders and mailboxes across. This seems pretty straight forward :x

I was thinking on the subject of redundancy and keeping the 2003 box online as well as some sort of backup option where the mailboxes replicate from the 2007 to 2003.

To be honest i have no idea on this and may be talking out my ar**.


Could someone give me ideas on this possible best way set up.

[tosca925]

Any one?

[mrforgetful]

We've no 64bit boxes to put Exchange 2007 on.

To be honest I probably wouldn't keep a 2003 backup.

[zag]

Yeh I'm planning for exchange 2007 but the jump to 64bit is a bit much with all the new hardware needed, I was going to leave it a few years before upgrading.

[mrforgetful]

Exchenge Server 2007 is 64bit only.

[djm968]

Have you seen this artical? http://www.microsoft.com/technet/tec.../12/Upgrading/

[limbo]

Not started to read anything up on exchange 2007 yet, but I can tell you what we did when we went from Ex5.5 to ex2003.

We left the 5.5 server untouched and then introduced the 2003 server onto the domain.

I cannot remember exactly how now but the two servers spotted each other and connecting the two together was very easy.

We then migrated one or two accounts to the new server and tested them, then a few more and so on until they had all migrated.

We left the 5.5 box with the task of collecting / delivering the external email during this whole process and that is what it has been doing ever since.

This means that if we need to switch of the 2003 server with all the mailboxes then we are still collecting external emails and they are not bouncing back or getting lost. And if we need to switch of the 5.5 box then internal email is completely unaffected.

It also means the 5.5 is sort of acting as a quarantine box for external email.

I really should get around to upgrading it - but it works and some of the filtering of incoming emails is easier on 5.5 than it is on 2003 so there is not a huge amount of incentive.

[john]

Really you should have a backup SMTP feed for your email, a lot of ISPs including RBCs can offer that.

[m25man]

Smoke n Mirrors, good old M$ have done a good job in hyping up this beast.
The channel were told it would do this and do that, they gave us 32bit betas then told us only 64bit versions would be released they said we would see the end of the good old jet database and get sql, but we still have jet... I could go on.

The upgrade path is complex and costly and this has been voiced in many corporate IT departments.

Just because they control 70% of the corporate messaging platforms on the planet they think everyone is going to roll over and accept what M$ tell them but I don't belive that for one minute.

There are a number of Open Source Exchange Replacements coming along very quickly and these are scaring the pants off of M$.
Outlook clients can be used with them and some combine webdav file server access as well, hang on, it's a bloody portal....

Exchange 2003 support is going to run until 2011 and unless M$ can convince a lot more people to do so Exchange 2007 will be a long way down most peoples priority list.
If anyone I knew was considering an Exchange deployment right now, I think I would have to look very closely at the Open Source offerings first, before sitting down with the devil!

[mrforgetful]

I like Microsoft.

[wickit]

i think you should be ok, not like me.
we went from exchange 2000 to 2007, wow not a easy task by any means.

the gui is only designed for 2003 - 2007
all other versions you need to use the powershell for everything.
also make sure you dont have any 2000 domain controllers, that causes sooooo many issues.