All,

I need to upgrade our Exchange 2010 system to SP3 and wondered if you would mind looking over my approach here and offer any advice.

We currently have 2 servers on the estate for Exchange, 1 is a multi role server containing all Exchange roles and the other is an Edge Server. Our Exchange version is 14.02.0283.003 which is Exchange 2010 SP2 Update 1.

The update file that I am planning to use is this one:

http://www.microsoft.com/en-gb/download/details.aspx?id=36768

My plan here is to upgrade the Edge server first followed by the multi role so that if there are any problems with the first server we lose external mail but internal will still be available.  I have created an Exchange Organisation on a virtual environment to test this install but it is far from the real setup. The upgrade steps I am planning are as follows:

1. Run setup.exe /PrepareAD (using the setup file from the above link) on the main Exchange server (multi role) to setup AD ready for the upgrade.
2. On the Edge server run the setup executable found within Exchange2010-SP3-x64.exe and follow the install instructions
3. On the multi role Exchange server run the setup executable found within Exchange2010-SP3-x64.exe and follow the install instructions.

Is there any more to it than this or anything else I need to be aware of?

My main concern it to protect the existing mailboxes and config etc. Is the powershell /PrepareAD command safe to do when there are already AD objects created for users etc?

Is it OK to do Edge first and then Exchange? Many of the online guides available talk about doing the roles in a specific order but as all roles are on 1 box there is only 1 install.

Is there anything else I should be aware of here?

Thank you

This article should some up all your questions and answers..

http://exchangeserverpro.com/installing-exchange-server-2010-service-pack-3/

Hi,

The Microsoft recommended update sequence is to upgrade the Exchange roles in the following order:

Client Access

Hub Transport

Unified Messaging

Mailbox

Edge Server (can be done at any time)

Yes, you can upgrade Edge first, then facing Internet CAS, Hub and then finally mailboxes and UM. Please also make sure that you have backups before upgrading.

Here are other blogs about Exchange 2010 SP3 install

http://msmvps.com/blogs/andersonpatricio/archive/2013/02/13/deploying-exchange-server-2010-service-pack-3.aspx

http://www.bibble-it.com/2013/02/13/quick-step-by-step-exchange-2010-sp3-install-guide

http://c-nergy.be/blog/?p=3839

Note: Microsoft is providing this information as a convenience to you. The sites are not controlled by Microsoft. Microsoft cannot make any representations regarding the quality, safety, or suitability of any software or information found there. Please make sure that you completely understand the risk before retrieving any suggestions from the above link.