the 1 millionth Migration question..incoming.... 2

[DColcl]

I have
1. an NT 4.x network running 2 DC.
2. an Exch 5.5 running on NT 4.x.
3. 2 Win2k servers running SQL.

I need to add a new Exchange 2k3 Enterprise.

Now, I've been told that in order for the Exchange 2k3 to work properly I will need to upgrade the network (of 16 users and an exchange Standard DB of 13GB+) to Windows 2k. Is this true? all but one email users have mail on .pst files ( and we still have 13GB. Ugh!).

what will happen to my Exhcange 5.5 (running on Win 4.0) box once I have upgraded the PDC/BDC to a Windows 2k3?

Danny

 

[NetworkDOC]

You need AD for Exchange 2000 and up to work. No exceptions.

So you have one user with a 13Gb mail box. OUCH. You are in for some fun times.

I believe your best bet will be to either enter in a new server and build that as your AD 2003 server, or an inplace upgrade of the other PDC & BDC. Once they are uptodate (patched) then begin with the exchange server upgrade the OS to 2000, then patch that. Once this is done you are now ready to upgrade 5.5 to 2000 or 2003.

It has been my experience that it is a lot easier and less time consuming to go the new server route, build the OS add exchange 2003 on there and do a move of mailboxes. Some times budgets don't allow it though. Performance will be better if you go the new server route. You will be doing a lot of reading on this project. You have several pieces that need to tie into one another gracefully. Before you start get a good backup (and test it).

Hope this helps.

http://www.lan-doc.com

 

[DColcl]

That is what I have done, Doc. I have purchased a really nice HP with TONS of space.

Um, no one user doesnt' have 13GB. My bad. What I meant was there is just one user that doesn't have mail to .PST files. All the other users do have them and are willing to have me create more .PST files so that I can free up space on the current exchange box. However, there are folks that still have mail on the server. Two of them (one of which I mentioned above) have over 4GB of mail still on the server.

What I had planned to do is to install the new server as a Windows 2k3 standalone server on the current Win 4.0 network. Patch and update. Then stop the services on the old Exchange box and COPY the database to the new Exchange server. once done, I will install Exchange 2k3 and patch. once done, I will disconnect that new server from the network and bring up the old Exchange services online again.

Here I will do the DC upgrades and get the network on Windows 2k domain. I will also have to upgrade the Exchange 5.5 OS to Windows 2k as well. >>> Will 5.5 still run on a AD network?<<<

Once the network is on Win2k AD I will then stop the 5.5 services and reconnect the new Exchange 2k3 server. Here I will do one last Exchange database copy from the old to the new server and disconnect old 5.5 server from the network. Then do one last database migration of the mailboxes. Finally, I will change my Firewall to direct all mail services to the static IP Address of the new server >>OR<< just change the IP Address of the new server to that of the old server.

Finally, go to all 16 workstations and configure Outlook to connect to the new exchange server.


That's it in a nutshell. Any thoughts?


Oh, btw. I'm petrified!

 

[DColcl]

oh and the current server is a 5.5 standard going to an 2k3 Enterprise. once this server is up and running smoothly, I want to migrate all .PST files back to each user's mailbox on the server.

 

[zephyran]

Win2k3 will not run any version of Exchange except 5.5; I HIGHLY recommend you don't try to manually put it on there. If you must, upgrade the Exchange server to Windows 2000 (I did that myself and had no trouble). Save the new server to be a member server running Exchange 2003 (you'll be much happier if you do it this way).

First, you have to be running an AD domain:

I'd recommend you either add another new server as an NT4 BDC, or take a workstation for temporary use as a DC for the domain upgrade:

1. Install the server/workstation as a BDC.
2. After enough time passes for domain replication, promote the server/workstation to PDC.
3. Take the new PDC offline.
4. Upgrade the new PDC to Windows 2000/2003. This will upgrade the domain and make it easier to add Windows 2000 and 2003 computers.
5. If the domain upgrade goes properly (all user and computer accounts intact), reconnect the new PDC to the network and allow the domain to replicate. *Make sure WINS has a listing for the new DC in its entry for the domain, so the NT DCs can still find it.
6. Upgrade both the other domain controllers at your leisure (make sure each uses the new DC as their DNS server).
7. After both other DCs are upgraded, transfer all FSMO roles to them as well as the Global Catalog, and set them up as Active Directory DNS servers.
8. Set all clients to use the newly-upgraded servers for DNS.
9. Demote the temporary domain controller using DCPROMO and remove it from the domain.
10. If all your Domain Controllers are Windows 2000, switch the domain to "Native Mode".

Once that's done, add in the new Win2k3 server as a member server. Then, you can begin on the checklist included with the Exchange Deployment Tools:

http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/...fd-fe7d-42ad-b621-45f974ed34c0&displaylang=en

Those tools will walk you through preparing your domain and Exchange Organization for the Active Directory Connector (which helps the Exchange directory and Active Directory stay in sync), and eventually help you migrate your Exchange organization to the new Exchange 2003 server.

I don't know about .PST files from experience, but you should be able to find plenty of info on it in Microsoft's documentation and Knowledgebase.

 

[DColcl]

Thank you, Wild for your guidance. Just a few more points to cover.

1. Do NOT add the new HP server to the network until after the network as been upgraded. Makes logical sense.

2. We have a PDC on the network now that will have nothing on it once I migrate the Company Shared folders to one of the current Win2k/SQL servers (This SQL server is a new computer servicing only 3 clients so it will handle the work load of Company Shared). I will take the Current Network PDC offline and perform the upgrade on that one.

3. Should I upgrade the current Exchange box running WinNT 4.0 to Win2k first before upgrading the PDC to AD?

Once again, thank you for you help.

Danny

 

[DColcl]

NM. Dont answer question 3. Your post above, line item 5, tells me that I dont "Need" to upgrade the Exchange server first before the network upgrade. I was just wondering if it would be less of a headache....that's all.

Once again, thank you!

 

[zephyran]

1. It's not absolutely necessary, but it's much easier to get a Win2k3 server to work properly with an AD domain. plus, it will help you avoid little nagging errors down the line (Exchange 2003 apparently doesn't like it when you take its original Global Catalog away, even if you give it another one).

2. That should work fine. If the PDC goes kaput during the upgrade, you can always promote the BDC and keep the domain running. If you're 100% sure the PDC's hardware is compatible with Win2k (and you have the appropriate drivers), you should be fine.

3. I personally think it'd be a good idea to upgrade the old Exchange box to Win2k, simply because of the added stability. When I migrated from 5.5 to 2003, I upgraded my 5.5 boxes to Win2k and that alone made the old Exchange run much better.

By the way, there's a very good FAQ on Exchange migrations here on Tek-Tips:

http://www.tek-tips.com/faqs.cfm?fid=3483

While all this info is for Exch 2000, much of the background work still applies for 2003, and actually made my migration go much more smoothly.

It sounds like your setup is pretty straightforward, so I doubt you'll have too much trouble.

 

[DColcl]

just so you know, the old PDC that I will be upgrading is a Compaq Proliant ML 370. I see that it will be okay to act as a DC.