I've been learning lots about Server 2008 R2. I built a Hyper-V server and installed R2 on a virtual machine. I made this my PDC which I learned later was not a good idea. So I built another PDC on a physical machine. I would now like to learn a little more about Exchange, SCCM and Forefront. If I were to build a second R2 VM could I load these 3 programs on that? I understand it's not best practice to have Exchange on a DC hence my idea of building a second VM. All and any comments or suggestions appreciated. Thanks

Its not recommended to have multiple Enterprise class applications running on a single machine (both physical and virtual) and that too on a Domain Controller. However, if it is for your testing/learning purpose then you may proceed only when you don't have sufficient resources (machines). I would still suggest NOT to run all of them on a single machine. Its better to have them on different virtual machines, that would make your life simpler. Thanks, Santosh (MCTS W2K8 AD and SCCM) “ To Infinity and Beyond… ”

It all depends upon your Hardware, the more hardware you have the stronger would be your guest operating systems and In a nut shell if its a LAB yes you can have all of them on one server with virtual guest systems like one VM for sccm, one for forefront and so on. Yes its not a best practice for install Exchange on the domain controller but in lab its ok. There is nothing called PDC now all the domain controllers in Windows Env are multimaster the era started from windows 2000 Thankshttp://www.virmansec.com/blogs/skhairuddin

Hello, I've been learning lots about Server 2008 R2. I built a Hyper-V server and installed R2 on a virtual machine. I made this my PDC which I learned later was not a good idea. it is recommended to have at least one physical DC with all FSMO roles (The PDC Emulator is included). So I built another PDC on a physical machine. I would now like to learn a little more about Exchange, SCCM and Forefront. If I were to build a second R2 VM could I load these 3 programs on that? I understand it's not best practice to have Exchange on a DC hence my idea of building a second VM. Running Exchange on a DC is not recommended for performance and security reasons. I recommend running Exchange on a member server. For Exchange questions: http://social.technet.microsoft.com/Forums/en-US/category/exchange2010 For Forefront questions: http://social.technet.microsoft.com/Forums/en-US/category/forefront For SCCM questions: http://social.technet.microsoft.com/Forums/en-US/category/configurationmanager This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties or guarantees , and confers no rights. Microsoft Student Partner 2010 / 2011 Microsoft Certified Professional Microsoft Certified Systems Administrator: Security Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer: Security Microsoft Certified Technology Specialist: Windows Server 2008 Active Directory, Configuration Microsoft Certified Technology Specialist: Windows Server 2008 Network Infrastructure, Configuration Microsoft Certified Technology Specialist: Windows Server 2008 Applications Infrastructure, Configuration Microsoft Certified Technology Specialist: Windows 7, Configuring Microsoft Certified IT Professional: Enterprise Administrator Microsoft Certified IT Professional: Server Administrator

It's my understanding that the Forefront requires SCCM so they will have to be on a single machine. Could those two programs be run on the Physical DC? Thanks again for all the comments and suggestions.

Hello again, It is not recommended to run that on DCs. This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties or guarantees , and confers no rights. Microsoft Student Partner 2010 / 2011 Microsoft Certified Professional Microsoft Certified Systems Administrator: Security Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer: Security Microsoft Certified Technology Specialist: Windows Server 2008 Active Directory, Configuration Microsoft Certified Technology Specialist: Windows Server 2008 Network Infrastructure, Configuration Microsoft Certified Technology Specialist: Windows Server 2008 Applications Infrastructure, Configuration Microsoft Certified Technology Specialist: Windows 7, Configuring Microsoft Certified IT Professional: Enterprise Administrator Microsoft Certified IT Professional: Server Administrator