exchange 2007 server name

[bustamove]

We just migrated Ex2003 to 2007 and everything works well.
However, there are 1000+ workstations and they are all imaged with Exchange server name hard coded in Outlook
i.e. EXSRV01 (exchange 2003 box) instead of some FQDN which we can change easily. Now we should be using EXSRV03(hub transport), so if we want to retire EXSRV01 from our exchange org, what is the best way?

we certainly dont want to re-do office packaging for 1000 PCs and we also dont want to uninstall exsrv01 and remap names because this would create a large window of downtime.

many thanks!

 

[theravager]

assuming the old box is getting turned off you can just alias the old name to the new server in dns. Once all the clients are rehomed it dosen't matter regardless.

 

[bustamove]

we will have to uninstall exchange server off that box, change the server name to something else, and remap dns.

it is all doable but there will be a few hours of downtime, this is something we try to avoid. i also look at the office 2007 group policy, and didn't find anywhere i can change this

 

[theravager]

If you are using office 2007 the clients will autodiscover the server to.

Just wait a couple of weeks and all the clients will know where there mailbox stores are and you won't have a issue.

 

[bustamove]

Thanks theravager,

is there something we need to do because the client is hard coded with:

servername = EXSRV01
username = %username%

with default profile name.

is there a policy or something that we can remove this setting first at least or it should be automatic.

 

[theravager]

How exactly is it hardcoded?

Outlook 2007 can autodiscover mailboxes and servers on Ex07 so you don't need to do that.

 

[bustamove]

profile using office customization tool ...
we use this setup since outlook 97/exchange 5.5

 

[theravager]

Assuming the profile is getting put on via something like a logon script that only creates a profile if one doesn't exist then you won't have any hassles here.

Just take the profile out of the logon script, existing one will rehome regardless. New profile will autodiscover.

 

[bustamove]

but i really don't know how...PC are imaged with preconfigured office. but thanks, i think i can use group policy to re-patch all office installation, run customization wizard again to change the server name, but this time i will use FQDN like mail.domain.com so next time i will be able to just change name using DNS.

 

[58sniper]

You don't need to include any server name if your autodiscover is working correctly.

Pat Richard MVP
Plan for performance, and capacity takes care of itself. Plan for capacity, and suffer poor performance.

http://www.ucblogs.net/blogs/exchange/

 

[theravager]

As Pat said, with outlook 2007 you don't need to preconfigure. The client queries AD or DNS if its external to get the mail profile settings.

Generally, the mail profile settings in the past have been done via login script. This is no longer required thou it still works.

 

[bustamove]

Thanks.

I totally understand that I don't need to preconfigure the 2007 clients and my autodiscovery works I tried.

But the guy who imaged the workstations didn't use login script but HARDCODED server name in outlook via office customziation wizard.

So my question now should be, if we already hardcode server name in there, is there any way to remove that so it allows we do autodiscovery. or at least put %exchangeservername% variable instead of EXSRV01?

SORRY i guess this is more an outlook question now

 

[ShackDaddy]

TheRavager's first two answers summed up the solution.

Once the mailboxes have been migrated, the clients change their own configuration: when Outlook fires up for the first time after the mailbox move, it contacts its old Exchange server and that server (using AD info) provides it with the updated server info. From that point on, that client won't check with the old server, it will connect directly to the new server.

So if you leave your old server online long enough for all the clients to have a chance to get the initial redirect from it, it will ultimately work itself out of a job.

Alternately, as TheRavager pointed out, if you don't want to wait a couple of weeks for every mailbox to have a chance to try and connect (with 1000 desktops there's always someone on a two-week leave somewhere), you could retire that box and create a fresh A-record for that old server's name that points at the new server's IP, and the client would end up contacting the new server when it fires up, and the new server would theoretically help the client correct the name.

I'm not sure you're going to need to mess with what you think is "hardcoded". Just because it was part of an image doesn't mean that it is locked to a particular server: Outlook is built to change the server name when the mailbox moves to a new server.

Dave Shackelford
ThirdTier.net

 

[bustamove]

thanks everyone.

i totally understand what are you trying to say, but our goals is to have zero user interaction, any type of popup/confirmation/progress bar to be seen by user is no good for us. so i can't really try to test live environment, and i also failed my testing:


i did one test when i install a new image, hardcode server name (SRVFAKE) which doesn't exist, same as the case where the server is uninstalled and gone, and a new image is fired up. the result is Outlook can't find the server and stops. please remember we always add PCs

that's why i am thinking this is hardcoded to tell Outlook which first server to go, and then find the real mailbox server...the autodiscovery doesn't kick in if there is a default profile configured. I think...

 

[ShackDaddy]

Try creating an A-record for SRVFAKE that points to the IP of your new Exchange server and see what happens.

The normal process is that whatever name is in there NEEDS to be an available Exchange server. If the given server is not the server on which the mailbox exists, then that server will refer the client to the proper server and Outlook will reconfigure itself accordingly.

If the A-record test works, then you can just use DNS to get around the hard-code. If the A-Record test fails, then you will need to alter your image.

Dave Shackelford
ThirdTier.net

 

[bustamove]

Thanks. I will test this first. The image definitely needs to be changed too! Thank you SD, Ravager & Pat , I think I am OK!