I want to install Exchange 2003 Enterprise server in my Lab. can I install that on my primary domain controller which is having active directory and Global Catalog configured. Or do I need to install it on a different server. It is only for testing purpose. what is the best way of installing exchange on Windows 2003 R2 Enterprise Environement.

First of all if you are only testing Exchange why dont you install a test DC too, because Exchange installation makes changes in Schema and AD objects. You can install Exchange on DC but it is not recommended because if Exchange installed on a DC, its GC Failover mechanism will not work. and you can find a lot of reason about that, like system resources, messaging protocols security, etc. oshener

glk wrote: I want to install Exchange 2003 Enterprise server in my Lab. Ona a TEST DC only running windows 2003 r2 ent. can I install that on my primary domain controller which is having active directory and Global Catalog configured. Or do I need to install it on a different server. It is only for testing purpose. what is the best way of installing exchange on Windows 2003 R2 Enterprise Environement.

Of course you can , for details please refer the link below. http://www.microsoft.com/technet/prodtechnol/exchange/Guides/Ex2k3DepGuide/fa02f087-7fe7-4eb7-b859-12632d762f9e.mspx?mfr=true

Thanks for your great help.....

What about doing this in a production environment? THX, Mike

you can, however not recomended in production for performance and security perceptive Dhruv