Exchange 5.5 upgrade to Exchange 2000 (tips needed) 3

[bhb3881dmb]

I am looking for tips on upgrading my Exchange 5.5 on a Windows NT 4.0 server to a Exchange 2000 on a Windows 2000 server.

I only have one night to do this, so if anyone can point me to a how-to, I don't want to miss anything that may cause me grief.

Current:
Window NT 4.0 Server PDC
Windows NT 4.0 server w/ Exchange 5.5
Windows NT 4.0 w/web server

Thanx,
Bruce

 

[zoeythecat]

Are you upgrading your WindowsNT PDC to Windows2000? Do you plan to do a full upgrade to a Windows2000 Environment?

 

[bhb3881dmb]

Yes, all 3 systems will be Windows 2000.

 

[zoeythecat]

Would suggest reading the documentation regarding an "in-place upgrade" from Exchange 5.5 to Exchange 2000. This will give you an excellent baseline on what you need to do.
(1)

http://www.microsoft.com/exchange/techinfo/deployment/55/InPlace_Up.asp

(2)

http://www.microsoft.com/exchange/techinfo/deployment/55/Upgrade2000.asp

These documents gives you a step by step what is involved . Just follow this and you should be all set. The important thing here is when you upgrade your PDC to W2K, before upgrading your BDC (with Exchange Server) you will need to change the LDAP port from 389 to an unusued port (usually 390 is ok to use) and then upgrade your BDC to Windows2000. After upgrading you will need to install an Active Directory Connector (from the Exchange 2000 CD) and setup connection agreements to populate your Exchange Mailboxes with Active Directory
(See This article)

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;301036

Once the above is done you can proceed with the process of upgrading to Exchange 2000

Again just follow the Whitepaper documentation and you shouldn't have any problems.


Zoey


___________________________________________________________

 

[bhb3881dmb]

Thanx for the help, you've made it much easier to do this needed upgrade.

 

[zoeythecat]

No problem. Good luck.

 

[bhb3881dmb]

Sorry for my ignorance, but what does changing the LDAP port do, and how do I change it? I serched the help files, but it only gives up definitions.

Thanx,
Bruce

 

[zoeythecat]

If you have Exchange 5.5 installed and you plan on upgrading to Windows2000 you will need to change the LDAP port that exchange 5.5 uses. Active Directory uses port389 for LDAP which prevents Exchange from using that port to communicate with the ADC (Active Directory Connector). You can change the port in Exchange 5.5 Administrator by doing the following: Under your Site and Configuration container, select the &quot;Protcols&quot; object. LDAP configuration should appear in the right pane of the screen. You can then change the LDAP port in the properties of the LDAP object. Generally, you can use port 390 for the LDAP port, unless you are running any other applications that use port390. At a command prompt, run ==>netstat -an< to verify that port390 is not in use. After changing the LDAP port, you must restart the Exchange 5.5 services for the changes to take effect. Now the ADC will communicate with the Exchange directory when you set up and configure the Connection Agreements.

 

[bhb3881dmb]

Thanx, Zoeythecat,
I have been reading ths docs you suggested, and I don't see a refference to whether or not I should disable the exchange services while doing the upgrade from NT -> 2000. What is your take on this?
Thanx,
Bruce

 

[zoeythecat]

I can understand your worry about users connecting to your Exchange Server while you are doing the upgrade. If its not listed in the Whitepaper then I probably would not disable any services. I'm not 100 % certain if disabling Exchange Services would cause any problems or corruption. My guess is it would not, and by disabling Exchange Services you can guarantee that users will not login until you are done with the upgrade, but again i'm not certain because I did not test disabling the services. The best way would be to try this in a test environment.

 

[bhb3881dmb]

Hello Zoeythecat, my try to upgrade last week was a failure, due to time constraints. I am going to try again tonight, and had a question. I have never done a defrg (over 3 years of uptime) of the Exchange database, would you advive on doing this? Are there any good instructions on how to do this?

Thanx,

Bruce

 

[zoeythecat]

(Defragging Exchange 1of2)

http://www.ladatap.com/new_page_2.htm

(Defragging Exchange 2of2)

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;Q192185

* Note the /T switch and then the directory you want the temp file to go to. You need to make sure you have enough disk space and to point this file to a location you know you have plenty of space
* You will have to do this function for the:
ISPRIV
ISPUB
DS
* To be honest I never have run an offline defrag myself but the above articles list how to do it. Others from here like Alshrim and Bronto (among others here) could probably offer something in regards to this. I think the real concern is just to make sure the Temp file is going to a directory with enough disk space.
(Note the comments here)
&quot;The defragmentation option makes used storage contiguous, eliminates unused storage, and compacts the database, which reduces the database's size. Eseutil copies database records to a new database. When defragmention is complete, the original database is deleted or saved to a user-specified location, and the new version is renamed as the original. If the utility encounters a bad record, the utility stops and displays an error message.&quot;
What I would do is find a location you can use to save these 3 (DS, ISPRIV, ISPUB), just name the folders in the Temp location to &quot;DS, ISPRIV, ISPUB&quot; and once the defrag is done you can delete these folders (or if you have enough disk space wait about a month before deleting)
(Run an online backup immediately after defrag)

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;183380

* Hope this helps. I've heard the Defrag is a painless process. Just make sure you stop the DS and IS services when running this.

* good luck and let us know how the upgrade went. I'm envious. Been waiting over a year for us to bite the bullet and we may do it this summer.

* One more note. Make sure you have your DNS setup properly. This will make a difference with clients connecting to your network. I'm sure you already have it thought out.

Zoey

 

[bhb3881dmb]

I obviously have not configured my DNS correctly, can someone give me a forinstance of the forward and reverse look up zone files in Windows 2000 server DNS

Thanx,

Bruce

 

[floppya]

Hi bhb3881dmb, I have read this thread and find it very strange that you have got the responsibility of upgrading to exchange 2000.
But but, I see that zoeythecat have given you a link to how to make an in-place upgrade. I know this is a possibility and that microsoft things it is a good idee, but in real life you would never performe an in-place upgrade but a clean instalation if possible.
If you need any more help just ask. I have done this a couple of times.

 

[zoeythecat]

Floppya,

True there are other ways to upgrade depending on your budget. There are 5 methods to upgrade.

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;327928#4

Really depends on your departments budget. Some methods you will be required to purchase new hardware. You need to include that in your thoughts.

To suggest, &quot;In real life you would never perform an in-place upgrade but a clean installation if possible&quot; is a weird statement in itself. I've researched this and done the upgrade in a test environment and I am confident an in-place upgrade is a good path for me to take but everybody's environment is different. I plan on doing an in-place upgrade for my environment because our budget does not allow us to purchase new hardware or because of time contstraints we will not be able to rebuild/reinstall our servers. Do you think I should scratch that idea?

Would be curious to your thoughts on what the best method should be for the upgrade taken in the fact that he has only 3 servers. What should he have done? What method should he have chosen?

 

[MarkSe]

One key thing when upgrading from Exchange 5.5 to Exchange 2000 is to ensure that you have run DS/IS consistency adjuster(with just the tick boxes on remove unknown accounts on both priv and pub)prior the creation of any PFCA or migrating any mailboxes. Once you start and bring data across you don't want to create zombie users as they are a pain to get rid of!

Also if coexisitng for a while make sure yourt ADC is configured correctly and test it. This is probably the most important thing to get right.

HTH,

Mark

 

[floppya]

Okey...I know my statement was maybe a litle confusing, but my point was that a lot of things that works in test environments and looks good in teori doesn`t work so good in real job situasjons.
I have done the in-place upgrade 6 or 7 times in test environments (works good) but I would never have recomended it for a company, even if they have a low butchet. Clean instalasjon is ALWAYS to prefer. Another example is the instalasjon of DC you can instal DNS threw the dcpromo but you should always install DNS seperatly
In this case I would first have Instaled windwos 2000 server on the PDC, then installed exchange 2000 on it and added it to the same organisasjon as the old 5.5. Installed The ADC connector (one way), this way you dont have to change the LDAP from 389 to 390. Make sure the servers are in the same site as oneanother this way you dont have to thing about SRS. After you have done this you can use the exmerge (or move manualy) the mailboxes from 5.5 to 2000 remember always use the versjons on the Exchange CD not the 2000 CD. bigger companies use other tools like Nett-IQ etc This should be done in an test environment first, dont ned the best maschines to do this P 700 Mhz is enough. Also have to open the ports for smtp 25 on the firewall and anyother you would like to implement OWA etc. Remember to change the MX record in DNS if you have changed server. If you use LMhost you also have to change those.

 

[zoeythecat]

You still have not convinced me on why it is a bad idea for an in-place upgrade. What reports have you heard where an in-place upgrade would not work? You still would have to install Exchange 2000 clean and then the mailboxes get migrated to Active Directory via the ADC from the IN-Place Upgrade. I would not do a 1 way connector either. I respect your opinion but have to disagree with your thoughts. DNS is a separate issue and a good point but a standard point the people should know when upgrading to Windows2000 Server.

 

[floppya]

I had writen a very long artikel about why you should not perform an in-place upgrade and better alternativs. But its gone, I lost it when I had to remote administer a computer.
I dont bother writing it again. All I am going to say is that you are wrong. When you get a job and you have one day to upgrade try In place-upgrade, and se how long you keep your job...ha ha ha.
If something is going wrong you are in deep...xxxx.

 

[zoeythecat]

Floppya,

I'm sure your artikel (Article=correct spelling) was a very good one with inaccuracies and misspellings. Until you can prove your point with articles, links or explanations to verify your facts than you should not offer anything unless you can back it up. I provided a Microsoft link here and I will provide another link here that shows the Microsoft recommended choices for doing an upgrade:

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;327928#4

From here you have 5 possible upgrade options including the &quot;in-place upgrade&quot;. I guess Microsoft should just discontinue this from their knowledgebase because Floppya thinks it is wrong to do an &quot;in-place upgrade&quot;. This method of upgrade is also taught in classes &quot;Upgrading from Microsoft Exchange 5.5 to Microsoft Exchange2000&quot; among other upgrade methods&quot;. Guess they should just discontinue teaching that topic.

Once again, you have not offered any proof at all why an &quot;in-place upgrade&quot; would not work.


And please do write that artikel. I would love to reed it.