I have been tasked with deploying a brand new AD/Exchange/BES environment and although I could just install everything and go the trial and error route, I figured I would ask you professionals before I get started. The end result of this project must allow me to create MS Exchange mailboxes (that can be used by our clients securely from outside the local network) and sync with a Blackberry Enterprise Server. I don't see the user base being larger than 100 users, and will probably start off and stay small for the first 6 months to 1 year depending on the clients needs. I currently have 1 dell optiplex to use. We have existing licenses for server 2k3 and exchange 2003 enterprise so thats what we will be using. I basically have a few 'best practices' questions.I need to know if it's ok to run AD and MS Exchange together on the same box and if the exchange server can run on the PDC. If not, i would like to know if we can use MS Virtual Server to seperate the PDC and Exchange servers virtually so we can still have everything on the same hardware. I'd also like to know if a BES should be run on the same install as the exchange server, or if it too should be separated. BES requres a SQL server, so there's another virtual machine -- possibly. Right now I'm thinking - 4 virtual machines1) PDC2) Exchange3) SQL server4) BESThat would be a lot of licenses though... Which servers could be combined with the least amount of problems?

Hi, I may focus on the performance of Exchange 2003.As we know that the number of virtual machines that are running at the same time on the host computer will affect the overall performance of the whole system. We do not recommend you to install BES together with Exchange 2003 Server. Supporting policy for Exchange Server 2003 running on hardware virtualization software should meet the below conditions: The hardware virtualization operating system is Virtual Server 2005 R2 or a later version The version of Exchange Server that is running on the virtual machine is Microsoft Exchange Server 2003 Service Pack 2 (SP2) or a later version The Microsoft Virtual Server 2005 R2 Virtual Machine Additions are installed on the guest operating system Exchange Server 2003 is configured as a stand-alone server, not as part of a Windows cluster The SCSI driver that is installed on the guest operating system is the Microsoft Virtual Machine PCI SCSI Controller driver I recommend you to use Exchange Server 2003 Performance Tools such as Exchange Server Stress and Performance 2003 to simulates large numbers of client sessions, by concurrently accessing one or more protocol servers. Meanwhile, you can use Exchange Load Generator to client requests against Exchange Server for testing purposes. Besides, for the best scalability and administrative flexibility, Exchange Server2003 should be installed on a Windows member server instead of a domain controller or global catalog server. We need to aware a lot of issues, for details you can refer to the below article: Using Exchange Server2003 on Active Directory Servers http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb123771(EXCHG.65).aspx More information share with you: Support policy for Exchange Server 2003 running on hardware virtualization software http://support.microsoft.com/?id=320220 System Requirements for Exchange Server 2003 http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc164322.aspx Overview of operating system and Active Directory requirements for Exchange Server 2003 http://support.microsoft.com/kb/822179 How to Set the MinUserDC Registry Value http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/aa998118.aspx When to Use Exchange Load Generator http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb508899(EXCHG.80).aspx Performance and Scalability Features of Exchange Server 2003 http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb123986(EXCHG.65).aspx Black Berry Server: Pre-installation Tasks http://na.blackberry.com/eng/support/preinstallation/exchange.jsp#tab_tab_step2 Important Note: Microsoft provides third-party contact information to help you find technical support. This contact information may change without notice. Microsoft does not guarantee the accuracy of this third-party contact information. Hope it helps. Xiu