Advice: Upgrade Exchange 2007 to 2010

[Gatt]

What is the best way to do this without a load of admin work?

We have: 1 physical server running exchange 2007 and we dont really have a spare server to install 2010 on and run both at the same time..

 

I know you cant do an in place upgrade (for reasons best known only to MS!) so how can I backup all relevant info from 2007 (settings, mailboxes, etc), uninstall 2007 and then install 2010 and import the settings back in?

 

Can 2007 be moved to a VM?

Can 2010 be installed on a VM, migrate everything to that, then reinstall the 2007 box with 2010 and move the VM'd 2010 to the physical Server/

 

Or am I best not bothering?

[SYNACK]

Exchange 2010 will run fine on a VM depending on the load its under and the spec of the virtual server. Just make a new VM and install 2010 to that then migrate normally. This is probably the easiest route.

[Gatt]

Can I then "move" the new 2010 from the VM to a physical server by installing 2010 on the old 2007 server then uninstall from the VM?

Dont really want ot run about 1000 Mailboxes on a VM...

[SYNACK]

If you wanted to yes, you could then install it on a physical box and migrate it back. Exchange 2010 is vastly less IO hungry than 2007 and so unless you are going to be using the unified messaging components it should work fine in a VM for 1000 users. Give it 4CPUs and 8GB or more of RAM and it should be perfectly happy under Hyper-V or ESX. This would probably give you better disaster recovery options too.

 

I am running on a physical box just to get around the max CPU count of 4 with the version of Hyper-V we have as I intend to use unified messaging which can be CPU heavy when processing voice messages into text.

[Gatt]

Thanks Synack - will look at the VM tomorrow and see if we can configure it...

If not - I could turn the old Exchange server into a new VM and mvoe the VM'd EX2010 onto that ...

[leco]

I was under the impression that a VM'd Exchange had to be run on a VM server that wasn't doing anything other than hosting VM's. So if you've only got one server then VM is not an option.

 

But I might have got that wrong?

[Theblacksheep]

I was under the impression that a VM'd Exchange had to be run on a VM server that wasn't doing anything other than hosting VM's. So if you've only got one server then VM is not an option.

 

But I might have got that wrong?

 

I think that comes from 'no stuff running on root OS', one of hyper-v's "features".

 

Virtualization support restriction are somewhere around here:

 

Exchange 2010 System Requirements: Exchange 2010 Help

 

 

Key points:

* 2:1 vCPU real ratio

* No dynamic HDs

* No UM in virtual (must be physical)

* No snapshots

* No Lun sharing

* No 3rd party HA with DAGs

* No systems running on root OS

[SYNACK]

If not - I could turn the old Exchange server into a new VM and mvoe the VM'd EX2010 onto that ...

 

It does look like Exchange 2007 supports visualization so you could do a P2V transition to make that a VM then migrate from that to a newly installed OS+Exchange on the metal of the old exchange box. Your VM environment will need a lot of IO grunt to handle Exchange 2007 though as it is very IO heavy. With the right hardware and a good chunk of testing I see no reason why it would not work though.

[Gatt]

Ah that sounds an idea..

Would I need to move the mailboxes to the VM as well or could i just virtualise the OS+exchange 2007

then install 2010 and then use the mailboxes from their current location on the physical server?

[SYNACK]

You would need to move all of exchange 2007 off the old server, if your exchange data store is on retaskable storage like a SAN you should be able to simply allow the VM access to the storage and then open the DB off the storage location. Exchange won't open its DBs off network storage though so if it is local to the physical server then you will need to move the whole lot over. Depending on your VM solution it should be simple enough to stop the services, P2V it, shutdown the physical box then boot the VM to replace it.

 

Just make sure that it is not also running as a DC otherwise VMing it or any other snapshot type is a bad idea.

[leco]

Could I ask a question as I'm about to go through the same process. How do you do that if the box that Exchange is running on currently is a DC? All of Exchange is on one Server, which is about to be replaced by a VM server under Hyper-V. I was hoping that I could create a VM that would run Exchange. Following the instructions I found on TechNet. But now I'm not sure how to achieve it:(

[Gatt]

Exchange 2007 isn't a DC so thats not a problem..

Our Mailboxes are on a seperate partition (E:) and Exchange is on the C: Drive on the server.. Can I just virtualize the C: drive or do the mailboxes need go over too?

 

Sorry but I tend to get a bit confused at times - lol

[EduTech]

Exchange 2007 isn't a DC so thats not a problem..

Our Mailboxes are on a seperate partition (E:) and Exchange is on the C: Drive on the server.. Can I just virtualize the C: drive or do the mailboxes need go over too?

 

Sorry but I tend to get a bit confused at times - lol

 

Running Exchange as a VM wont cause you any problems, i have been running exchange 2007 with over 1,000 Mailboxes without any issues.

 

You could have the database store located on another device such as a SAN for example if you wanted to, there would not be any problems with that and then you would have on the VM the OS/Exchange Installation.

 

James.

[Gatt]

sounds promising - I could move the Mailboxes to our NAS box, VM the EX07 server & pointto the NAS box for the mailboxes, install 2010 on the "old" server and once all done move the mailboxes back to the "new" exchange 2010?

 

Why Oh WHy did MS have to make this so dificult?

[SYNACK]

Could I ask a question as I'm about to go through the same process. How do you do that if the box that Exchange is running on currently is a DC? All of Exchange is on one Server, which is about to be replaced by a VM server under Hyper-V. I was hoping that I could create a VM that would run Exchange. Following the instructions I found on TechNet. But now I'm not sure how to achieve it:(

 

If the new VM server going to be a physical new server? If so I would just put exchange onto a VM on the new box while the old box is still running then simply migrate the mailboxes across, its a case of right clicking them in the exchange manager and telling it which server you want them on. If you are still running Outlook 2003 as long as you leave the old empty server running for a while it will update outlook profiles as they logon to email as well to point to the new server.

 

sounds promising - I could move the Mailboxes to our NAS box, VM the EX07 server & pointto the NAS box for the mailboxes, install 2010 on the "old" server and once all done move the mailboxes back to the "new" exchange 2010?

 

Why Oh WHy did MS have to make this so dificult?

 

As long as your NAS is able to do iSCSI or DAS because exchange won't mount its DB off a file share then yes this should work fine. I agree that they have made it a bit of a pain by expecting everyone to be transferring to new servers with their new software releases.

Edited April 11, 2010 by SYNACK

[Gatt]

If the new VM server going to be a physical new server? If so I would just put exchange onto a VM on the new box while the old box is still running then simply migrate the mailboxes across, its a case of right clicking them in the exchange manager and telling it which server you want them on. If you are still running Outlook 2003 as long as you leave the old empty server running for a while it will update outlook profiles as they logon to email as well to point to the new server.

 

We're running Office 2007, with a view to goto 2010

If I installed EX 2010 as a VM, can i leave the mailboxes alone until I turn it back to a physical machine (the mailboxes would then be on the same server as the physical 2010 install)?

[SYNACK]

We're running Office 2007, with a view to goto 2010

If I installed EX 2010 as a VM, can i leave the mailboxes alone until I turn it back to a physical machine (the mailboxes would then be on the same server as the physical 2010 install)?

 

I think that Outlook 2007 has an autodetect feature that will just find the right server anyway. I think what you are talking about is a swing migration, moving all the users off the original server then upgrading it with fresh OS and Exchange and putting them all back to retain the same name. This would work fine but you will need to move the users and their mailboxes to the new system before putting them back so that they can be properly upgraded to the new structure. I would do this kind of thing over a weekend and so load would not really be that much of a concern.

 

At any rate the store on the server at the moment is in a 2007 format so will need to be moved to a 2010 based install at some point to be compatible. If you are concerned about space perhaps you could put in a desktop drive into your virtual server to stage the boxes onto temporarily while you reinstall the exchange metal. You could also look at putting it on to a powerful workstation if you have one around. With no clients you could probably get away with putting it on a Core2 Duo 2.8GHz with 4GB of RAM (just scavenge from another workstation temporarily to up the ram if needed). That may be another option other than going with a VM.

[Gatt]

thanks synack - the mailbox drive is sitting at about 70Gb so will try and copy them to an ext HDD and do the spare server/pc idea..

[leco]

Yes it's to be a physical so that sounds relatively simple (I may regret having said that, time will tell). So it's a case of re-housing them as it were. Not really looking forward to it but it will have to be done. Thanks Synack. Edited April 12, 2010 by leco

[Gatt]

Ok I have installed 2010 onto a midway server and just waiting on exchange 2007 to finish installing updates

Quick look through the EMC on 2010 shows that it has found all the accounts, etc and all seems ok there, so just need to migrate a few test mailboxes over to 2010

Once everything has been migrated to the new 2010 server (EX02) I plan to shift it back to its main server EX01 (Currently 2007)

 

Do I need to move them onto a mailbox store on EX02?

Is there anything eles that I need to migrate besides mailboxes? Specifically my SSL Certificate!

 

EX01 is currently on Server 2008 x64 - can i just upgrade it to R2, remove 2007 and install 2010 then shift the mailboxes back over from EX02?

[SYNACK]

You will need to move them onto a store on the EX02 box as you will need to remove all of the EX01 2007 services in order to put 2010 on, I'm not sure on the cert as it may migrate accross automagicly but it will probably need to be transfered manually. You will also need to transfer any public folders if you have them to the new server manually especially if you have previously migrated up from Exchange 2003. You may also need to transfer the send connectors and OAB roles over too. This may be of help How to Remove the First Exchange 2007 Server in a Coexistence Scenario: Exchange 2007 Help

Microsoft Exchange 2007 Training Clips

 

You can upgrade from 2008 to R2 Windows Server 2008 R2 Upgrade Paths but will get a much cleaner and faster machine if you reinstall it from scratch, it may seem like more work but if you get any random little anomolies during the upgrade that can take way longer. Whichever way you choose it will just be a case of shifiting those mailboxes and possibly roles/certs back over when your OS is ready for it.

[Gatt]

Hurray! All mailboxes successfully transferred from the Ex07 Server to Ex2010

 

Now, Is there anything else I need to do to the Ex07 server before removing 2007 and installing 2010?

Its running Windows 2008 x64 - does it need to be R2?

What happens with to the settings / configs such as send/receive connectors, outgoing rules, etc.. where are they stored and will they be there wehn 2010 is installed?

[Gatt]

Thanks Synack - will take a look at the links later..

[Gatt]

Ok this is getting confusing..

Too many "servers" lol

 

So, I have an existing 2007 org (Server1).. I have installed 2010 on a new server (Server2) and migrated all the mailboxes over to Server2

I am now in a co-existance environment

 

Outlook is working correctly and connecting to Server2

 

I need to remove 2007 and install 2010 on the same server (Server1)

 

What I'm confused about is how to transfer the necessary 2007 roles, etc to Server2 before removing 2007.

[Trapper]

We're looking at doing this soon as well.

 

I've had a play with Exch 2010 at home, and the basic config isn't hard at all. My only concern is migration 1500 mail boxes over - especially when some are running into the gigs of data.

 

If anyone has actually done this, has MS provided us with a streamlined, stress free migration path?