Hi All, Finally going to install first 2010 server and just wanted to clarify a few things. I have searched the forum and read this article http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb125224.aspx but not sure at some things. Here are the steps I plan to do 1. Take an image and system state backup of the Schema Master DC 2. Turn off another DC in the domain for safety. 3. Disable replication on the schema master 4. Run setup /pl from a 2008 R2 server which is in the same AD site as the Schema Master (Do I need to turn replication back on after I do this step like what the MS document says?) 5. Run Setup /ps (Again do i need to resume replication to see if it is all OK) 6. Run Setup /prepareAD (finally turn replication back on after checking that the MS Exchange Security Groups OU and its objects have been created, is there any other checks I should be doing to make sure that the Schema is all good?) At each of the setup steps the MS document says to replicate first before moving on... Is this what i should be doing or can I replicate once I complete all 3 setups? Thanks again.

I would do step 1. but I wouldn't switch off any DC's or disable replication on ANY dc. This will cause you issues. Once you have executed those commands AD needs to replicate changes across all your DC so they are consistent. You should not proceed until this is complete. For safety, you'll have a system state backup & and image.Sukh

Hi Sukh, Thanks for the reply. I did come across articles that said it is recommended to turn of replication during the process though. Wouldn't it be ok to turn replication on at the end of the update process to replicate the changes across all DCs. This is what we did for 2008 schema update, but i do realise Exchange is different.

Hi No, I would not move away from that document, it may work but I have always waited. Also, The changes needs to be be replicated before you can proceed safely. I have seen some issue on forums whereby replication has caused issues and stopping/pausing replication for an Exch install is not recommended. Many have deployed Exch 2010 and it is a native MS produc which ties in with AD, so dont expect it will something crazy to your schema when you prepare for Exch deployment.Sukh

Once you succesfully update the schema, there is really no going back anyway. They are irreversable and you cant roll them back short of using Directory Restore Mode. Dont forget that schema updates are designed so that if they fail for whatever reason, then the update is not applied, so you can apply with confidence as long as you have the requred permissions.

Ok, thanks to the both of you. Looks like we will rely on the image if hell breaks lose. I did a dcdiag on my production network I get some replication latency warnings on some DCs and it advises some higher priority task work is preempted. But when I use repmon to check those DCs, the results are successful. All other tests were successful iin the dcdiag test too so I am assuming all should be ok.

Since the test can go smoothly, you can move on and install Exchange 2010 directly. If there is any error message, you can post the ExchangeSetup.log file here to discuss. Thanks. Novak Wu TechNet Subscriber Support in forum If you have any feedback on our support, please contact tngfb@microsoft.com

Is there any progress or question? If so, please feel free to post it here to discuss. Thanks. Novak Wu TechNet Subscriber Support in forum If you have any feedback on our support, please contact tngfb@microsoft.com