New server being a problem

[Microhard]

Ok I have a brand new Compaq server sitting there awaiting to be the new Exchange server. I have multiple site in the environment and I am baffled as to how this is suppose to work. I have read the MS tech page on how to do this and I even tried it last weekend with terrible results. Lucky for me that I didn't change a thing on the old server and had everything up in running like it was in no time.

http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/q155/2/16.asp

That is the document that is suppose to tell me how to do this easy process and I seem to have no luck with their procesdures. Has anyone done this in the past successfully and if they did how in the world did they go about doing it.

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

 

[Zelandakh]

If you are adding this new server to the site, install Exchange and it asks if you want to join a site or create a new one.

Just type in the existing site name and you will join. Don't put the existing server name!

 

[Microhard]

Ok well this is the situation I have to keep the server with the same name and IP address as the old one. If you look at the instructions I put up from Microsoft they are geared for people to use them to take an exsisting server with legacy hardwarer to a new server with better hardware. This is exactly what I am attempting to do at this point.

My question again is has anyone tried and was able to successfully make this transition in this matter?

I would greatly apreciate it if someone with this knowledge, would give me a little insight as to how this can be accomplished.

Thanks!

 

[yizhar]

HI!

You may try this way. Even if the hardware is different, it might work:

* Verify your backup of current server
* Schedule downtime
* Stop Exchange Services on current server
* Install driver for the SCSI adapter of the new server, on the old one.
(It will not load ofcourse).
* Clone the current server to an empty disk on the new server.
You may work with an IDE drive to be cloned later again to the SCSI.
* Try to load the new server with the cloned copy.
* If OS loads (with errors ofcourse) - install new NIC and other drivers, etc.
Then maybe some isinteg -patch and Exchange will also load.
* If not, find a better way, or try reinstalling OS over cloned copy (will help with W2K but NT4 will probably blue you out because of SP differences).

You probably have more then 1 HD on the servers, but the idea could work also with more disks or partitions to clone.

Tell us what you did eventualy

Bye
Yizhar

Yizhar Hurwitz

http://come.to/yizhar

http://teachers.sivan.co.il/yizhar