Upgrade Exchange 2007 on Win 2003 Server to new domain on Win 2008 R2 Server
I am planning on upgrading my servers from Windows 2003 to Windows 2008 R2. The only 64 bit server in my organization is my Exchange 2007 Server. After looking at the upgrade options, I would like to do a Clean and Pristine upgrade. I have found plenty of documentation on upgrading the servers and the AD. Is there any documentation on how to perform the Exchange Server upgrade. E-Mail is a big deal for everyone and I don't want to have any issues with it. I should add that I might not upgrade the Exchange Server immediately but would want the users to be able to receive their email even though they would be part of a new domain. This is really my biggest concern. I plan on installing Win Server 2008 R2 on two new boxes with a clean install and creating a new domain. I would like the Exchange clients to continue to receive their email even though their computer and user accounts are joined to the new domain. This is my big issue. I could then upgrade the Exchange box at my leisure. William Huffman
March 31st, 2011 5:47pm

Hi William! What you are trying to do there can be done, but you'll have to put some effort in it. I would opt for the "resource forest"-approach. (using your existing forest as a resource-forest for users in the new AD). You'll find quite some usefull information here: http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/aa998031.aspx Once you're ready to transistion from Exchange 2007 in the resource-forest to (e.g.) Exchange 2010 in your new forest, you'll need to migrate again. On the MS Exchange team blog, you'll again find some pretty usefull information on that topic (cross-forest migration). http://blogs.technet.com/b/exchange/archive/2010/08/10/3410619.aspx Hope this helps you to get started!
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March 31st, 2011 8:57pm

Hi, Do you want to remove the old DC after installing the new domain? Is the new domain name the same as the old one? If you would like to keep the old DC, I think everything is fine and you need not do additional task after building the new domain. Otherwise, you should do several things. 1. Using Ntdsutil.exe to transfer or seize FSMO roles to a domain controller http://support.microsoft.com/kb/255504 2. Move users and mailbox via ADMT. http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/aa997145(EXCHG.80).aspx Since the procedure is too difficult, it’s recommended to keep the current DC until you would like to upgrade your Exchange server. You can just setup the new Exchange 2010 server and migrate the mailbox to the new server directly. Thanks. Novak Wu TechNet Subscriber Support in forum If you have any feedback on our support, please contact tngfb@microsoft.com Please remember to click Mark as Answer on the post that helps you, and to click Unmark as Answer if a marked post does not actually answer your question. This can be beneficial to other community members reading the thread.
April 1st, 2011 10:34am

I do eventually want to remove the old DC. I have two DCs at my primary location and 9 at branches. I plan on upgrading all the servers to Windows Server 2008 R2, with the branch DC's becoming read only servers. I would like to use the current server hardware. We have purchased two new servers and I have made one a DC in the new domain and the other a member server of the new domain so that I could use ADMT. I have am in the process of testing eveything. I have been able to transfer a user account and computer account to the new domain, translate the user profile and the shares so that the user can access resources in the other domain. Of course, Outlook will now not connect the user to the old domain, even though it does prompt for a domain, username and password. I have not been able to connect this user with Outlook Web Access even though, I could before the transfer to the new domain. I am really trying to figure out the best way to proceed, as this may be a gradual upgrade and I don't want people not having access to their email. I was hoping to be able to allow them to access their email on the old server until I was ready to upgrade it. It is Exchange 2007 running on a Win 2003 server. I don't plan to upgrade to Exchange 2010 yet, as it is not budgeted although this would probably be an opportune time. I do want to use the same hardware, so I do realize the server will have to come off line for a short period of time. I'm a one man shop and so I have to move slow. Given this information, what is the best way to proceed? Can I do things the way I would like?William Huffman
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May 17th, 2011 3:24pm

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