I need a little advice from someone that may have been down this road before.I am considering setting up Exchange 2007 for a ten person small business. The needs are to have a solid messaging platform and Exchange is perfect and we don't want to go the outsource route as we plan to grow and need to do some development work against Exchange. My concerns are completely in the area of getting into a project that is over my head. How much work does it take to setup a new install of Exchange 2007? The setup would be on a dedicated Server 2008 machine.How much work does it take to administer an install?I have very strong SQL Server DBA and SQL skills and understand all areas of tech so I'm comfortable that I could figure this out but amd very busy with the actual business and software development so do not want to get into something that turns into a failed project.Along these lines if anyone knows a trusted independent consultant I'm not opposed to paying someone to do this for me.If this message is out of place for the forum please accept my apology. If not any advice would be greatly appreciated!

setting up exchange 07 it won't take long hours, mabe just 4 hours ur exchange completed setup. question the WAN IP and the machine and license need take how long to full deliver to you?my Exp. for setup a new exchange 07 it just take 2 hours ++

Hello,Yes,it doesn't take much timefor small business & simpleinstallation. Its worth reading below article before starting installation forprerequisites and installation steps.Installing Exchange 2007 on Windows Server 2008http://www.msexchange.org/articles_tutorials/exchange-server-2007/migration-deployment/installing-exchange-2007-windows-server-2008.htmlYou may need to configure internet mail flow depending on the topology you are going to use (directly from Hub or through SMTP Gateway) and register MX record to receive mails from outside.How to Configure Connectors for Internet Mail Flowhttp://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/aa998212.aspx Amit Tank || MVP - Exchange || MCITP - Exchange 2007 || http://ExchangeShare.WordPress.com

Thanks for the insight guys, we also do not have a domain or Active Directory yet and I suspect those are all issues as well.Again I don't expect to be doing this on a regular basis and am super busy which equates to concern that this isn't going to go well.Is Server 2008 and Exchange 2007 as a pair very simple for someone with decent tech skills to take on?Also would such a modest install of Exchange need a dedicated machine or could it co-exist on the same server as a very active SQL 2000 install?Thanks again for your insight everyone!

Hello,I wouldn't recommend to put Exchange 2007 with SQL server since Exchangeaccumulate more memory to cache database into memory as per standard design of Exchange 2007 to reduce I/O load on hard drive and to give better performance which may hit SQL performance.Well, you may try Exchange 2007 SP1 installationon Windows 2008 before real installation on Virtual Labs... ;)TechNet Virtual Lab: Installing Exchange Server 2007 SP1 on Window Server 2008http://msevents.microsoft.com/CUI/WebCastEventDetails.aspx?EventID=1032365366&EventCategory=3&culture=en-US&CountryCode=US Amit Tank || MVP - Exchange || MCITP - Exchange 2007 || http://ExchangeShare.WordPress.com

Hi Amit, Is a Server 2008 machine with 2GB of RAM enough for the solution? Again this should be pretty small for 2009 but should also grow into 100+ accounts over the next 2-3 years.I am also considering making this machine the Active Directory/Domain Controller for the business as well. Thanks again for you insight!

Hi,If you are putting all Exchange 2007 Server roles on a server then it requires minimum 4GB of Memory, with 2GB it may give poor performance and you may need to add more later.Planning Memory Configurationshttp://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb738124.aspxPractically you can but it is not recommended/supported to put Exchange on DC in-terms of performance & Recovery purpose.http://smtp25.blogspot.com/2008/11/why-we-should-not-install-exchange-on.htmlAmit Tank || MVP - Exchange || MCITP - Exchange 2007 || http://ExchangeShare.WordPress.com

Amit Tank said: Hi,If you are putting all Exchange 2007 Server roles on a server then it requires minimum 4GB of Memory, with 2GB it may give poor performance and you may need to add more later.Planning Memory Configurationshttp://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb738124.aspxPractically you can but it is not recommended/supported to put Exchange on DC in-terms of performance & Recovery purpose.http://smtp25.blogspot.com/2008/11/why-we-should-not-install-exchange-on.html Amit Tank || MVP - Exchange || MCITP - Exchange 2007 || http://ExchangeShare.WordPress.com yes thas rite as amit said 2GRAM with all in one box will give a poor performance. suggest, don;t run all service in one box, coz it will make you crazy when the box are encounter any issue,if prosible try to make it stand alone. at less make the exchange box are stand alone.i had a bad exp when troubleshoot and maintaine AD and exchange with the same box.it really will make you crazy.