Upgrading Exchange 5.5 to Exchange 2003 1

[Tracknut]

Currently running Exch5.5 on Win2k standalone. Running in mixed mode (NT & 2K, Office 97 & 2K). Looking to upgrade Exchange to 2003. Is it best to upgrade clients to Office 2K then upgrade OS on Exchange server to Win2003 then upgrade to Exchange 2003?

 

[n00blar]

I know that Exchange 5.5 will not work on Windows 2003, so you will need to either upgrade to Exchange 2000 or just get the leap to Exchange 2003.
As for the clients, just make sure they're not running Outlook 98 as I know that Outlook 98 has problems connecting to Exchange 2003.

 

[Tracknut]

Is it possible to do an inplace upgrade from 5.5 to 2003 or do you need to put 2003 on new HW then join the 5.5 site?

 

[n00blar]

Exchange 2003 will run on Win2K SP3 or later and it will obviously run on Win2K3, so as long as your OS on the Exchange 5.5 server is Win2K you should be able to upgrade Exchange 5.5.
Do a search in MS site for this doc: Exchange 2003 Deployment Guide. It's an excellent reading if you're looking to upgrade to Exchange 2003.

 

[Dyadmin]

Actually Exchange 5.5 will work in 2003, just that they say its not a good idea since is doesn't use the AD and all the security features.

W2K will run with Exchange 2003 but about 75% of the features in Exchange will be turned off, since they aren't compatible.

W2K3 and Exchange 2K3 are the perfect tandem as per Microsoft!

There is a straight migration path from 5.5 to 2003, no intermediate steps. As for your clients the minimum Office software is 2K, 97 will not work (well)