Moving to new server 1

[tattl]

All I am running Exchange 5.5 over NT 4.0 server. The hardware needs to be replaced so I purchased a new Server with Win2K as an OS. The Exchange server being replaced is the first server in site (I have one other server). Can anyone tell me what is the best way to accomplish moving my server to a new box.

Thanks in advance

 

[muitai]

Check this URL:

http://www.microsoft.com/technet/tr...technol/exchange/exchange55/reskit/exc03a.asp

I think it will help.

 

[henrymsilva]

I check the article stated and in this article it mentioned about procedure C which is applicable for the situation asked but i found no where in the article the procedure C. If you could please supply us the missing Procedure "C" it would be much helpful. I myself will be doing this very soon.

 

[fuego007]

The following is from TechNet article 155216. I have modified sections to speed the process. Read through the entire process before beginning. Give yourself several hours to accomplish this task. Your users will be without e-mail, so you might want to do this at night or on a weekend.

TechNet article 155216 starts here:

Before you move Exchange Server to the new computer, verify that the original
computer is not the only Microsoft Windows NT domain controller in the domain.
While this computer is shut down as part of the moving procedure, there must be
a domain controller that can validate logon requests.

If the original computer is a primary domain controller (PDC), make sure that
there is at least one other backup domain controller (BDC) in the Windows NT
domain. After you shut down the original computer, upgrade the BDC to a PDC.

If the original computer is a BDC, make sure that the PDC in the domain is up and
operational, or that there are other BDCs that can be upgraded to become the
PDC.

The steps below explain how to move Exchange Server to a new computer that has
the same hardware platform as the original computer. That is, either both
computers are Intel, or both computers are Alpha.

For the purposes of these steps, the two computers are referred to as the
"original computer" and the "new computer," even though both computers have the
same NetBIOS machine name.

Moving Exchange Server to a New Computer with the Same Name as the Original Computer
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Moving Exchange Server to a new computer consists of the following steps, which
are expanded on below:

1. Backing up information from the original computer.

2. Installing Windows NT and Exchange Server on the new computer.

3. Restoring the Exchange Server data to the new computer.

4. Configuring the Key Management server (KM server).

5. Restoring and reconfiguring connectors.

Backing Up Information from the Original Computer:

1. At the original Exchange Server computer, start the Exchange Server
Administrator program. Note the following information:

- The organization and site names.

- The configuration parameters of any connectors that are installed on the
original computer. You may want to print screen dumps of the different
pages of the connector properties.

Quit the Exchange Server Administrator program, and then note the drive
configuration of the original computer.

1a. Shut down the second server in the site.

2. At the original computer, stop all of the Exchange Server services and set them to manual startup.

3. Start the Exchange Server Performance Optimizer utility, and then note the
locations of the directory service, information store, message transfer agent
(MTA), and Internet Mail Service files. You can quit the Performance
Optimizer utility after you get the necessary information. You can also get
this information from the registry.

You may want to run the perfwiz -v command, and then note any customized
settings on the original computer.

Also, note the version and service pack number of Exchange Server that is
installed on the original computer.

4. If the KM server service is installed, stop the KM server service, and then
back up the Security directory. If the original computer is running Exchange
Server version 5.5, there is no Security directory, because the KM server
information is stored in the Exchsrvr\Kmsdata directory. Also back up the KM
server Startup disk.

5. Rename the original computer, and join it to the domain. Make sure that there is local administrator account on the server.


Installing Windows NT and Exchange Server on the New Computer:

1. Using the Server Manager utility, remove the machine account for the original computer.

2. Install Windows NT on the new computer, using the same machine name that the original computer used and join it to the domain. If necessary, make the new computer a BDC.

3. Reconfigure the drives on the new computer exactly as they were configured on the original computer (partition size is not important, but if the original server had drives C:, D:, E:, and F:, and there was Exchange data on each, then the new server must have matching partitions).

4. Run the Exchange Server Setup program to install Exchange Server on the new computer, and use the same organization and site names that were used on the original computer. Click to select the Create a New Site check box. Make sure that you install all of the connectors that were installed on the original computer. To do this, select custom installation by clicking the Custom check box.

During the Setup process, when you are prompted for the Exchange Server
service account, select the same service account that was used on the
original computer. If you select a new service account, after the directory
from the original computer is restored to the new computer, the new service
account does not have permissions on the directory.

At the end of the Setup process, start the Performance Optimizer utility and
move the files to same locations that they were in on the original computer.

Upgrade the new Exchange Server computer to the service pack number that was
installed on the original computer.

5. If the Microsoft Mail Connector was installed on the original computer,
configure it on the new computer exactly as it was configured on the original
computer. You must do this to recreate the registry entries that are required
by the Microsoft Mail Connector. You must do this before the directory
service information is restored to the new computer.

You may also need to configure any third-party connectors that save
configuration information in the registry. For more details, please contact
the third-party software vendor.

6. If KM server was used on the original computer, install KM server on the new
computer. Click to select the Create a Startup Disk check box. After the
installation finishes successfully, stop the KM server service on the new
computer.

7. Make sure that none of the Exchange Server services are running.

Restoring the Exchange Server Data to the New Computer:

1. Copy the following Exchsrvr directories from the original computer to the new computer (overwite the existing files on the new server). Make sure that you copy the directories to the correct drives.

Dsadata, Dxadata, Imcdata, Mdbdata, and Mtadata
You may also need to copy the Ccmcdata, Insdata, Kmsdata, and Tracking.log directories if the corresponding components were installed or enabled on the original computer.

2. Start the system attendant and directory services.

3. From Windows NT command prompt, run the following command

isinteg -patch (you may need to start the command with 'C:\exchsrvr\bin')

and then start the information store service.

Configuring the KM Server: (If used - if not, skip to step 7)

You installed the KM server in the "Installing Windows NT and Exchange Server on
the New Computer" section, step 7, before you restored the Exchange Server
directory from the original computer to the new computer.

1. Stop the KM server service on the new computer.

2. Copy the Kmspwd.ini file from the KM server Startup disk for the original
computer to another disk. Label the disk "KM Server Startup Disk - New
Computer."

3. Perform one of the following steps, depending on the version of Exchange
Server that the original computer was running and the new computer is
running:

- For Exchange Server version 4.0 or 5.0, at the new computer, rename the
Security\Mgrent directory to the Security\Mgrent.original directory. Copy
the Security\Mgrent directory from the backup of the Security directory of
the original computer (that you made in the "Backing up Information from
the Original Computer" section, step 5) to the Security directory on the
new computer.

- or -

- For Exchange Server version 5.5, at the new computer, rename the
Exchsrvr\Kmsdata directory to the Exchsrvr\Kmsdata.original directory.
Copy the Exchsrvr\Kmsdata directory from the backup of the Exchsrvr
directory of the original computer (that you made in the "Backing up
Information from the Original Computer" section, step 3) to the Exchsrvr
directory on the new computer.

4. Place the new KM server Startup disk for the new computer (labeled "KM Server
Startup Disk - New Computer&quot into the disk drive of the new computer.

5. Start the KM server service on the new computer.

6. Use the Performance Optimizer utility to make any desired changes.

7. Start all of the Exchange Server services.

8. Start the second server in the site.

9. Remove and reinstall the Internet Mail Service if it was installed on the original server.

Restoring and Reconfiguring Connectors:

Restore all of the information that relates to site connectors and X.400
Connectors on the new computer. You need to reconfigure any Internet Mail
Connector or Dynamic RAS Connectors. You may also need to reconfigure
third-party connectors.

Exchange Client Profiles
------------------------

After you complete the steps in this article, Exchange Server runs on the new
computer in the same way that it ran on the original computer. Exchange Clients
can connect to the new Exchange Server computer just as they connected to the
original computer.

End of TechNet article.


If you should run into serious difficulties getting the new server to run, you can simply shut down the new server, remove the server from the domain, and rename the original server to it's original configuration. This will get you back up until you have a solutin to your problem.

If you have any questions, contact me via e-mail at fuego007@mindspring.com (I check my e-mail more often than I get on Tek-Tips).

Good luck,
Bob

 

[jlmartini]

Hi - I am planning on upgrading hardware as well and I understand Fuge's method and I have read the MS Tech Note a few times. I have actually performed this procedure before without problems, but with only one server in the site. I now have two servers in the site. If I follow MS method and Fuge's method it states to create a new organization and new site using the same names. If I do that, how does the second server in the site get into the new site on the new server? Thanks for your help.