Migrating from Exchange 2003 to 2007

[Big_PaPa]

I'm new to the company I currently work for and well things are a bit dated. We have Exchange 2003 on our mail server for mail and active directory / group policies. We just received a new(ish) server from corporate and I installed Server 2008 R2 SP2. Its going to be used for WSUS and mail / active directory (we only have 350 active users). We have 280 machines in use and 6 servers 4 running server 2003. Their on 2003 because the program we use for tracking and production is old and there is no update in sight. (I know… I’ll save that can of worms for another day) Anyhow, I was thinking about using Hyper-V and virtualizing WSUS if possible, so it would have Exchange and WSUS on it. Would anyone even recommend that?

 

I was talking to corporate and I was told that the migration from 2003 to 2007 is a bit of a process. I’ve never touched 2007 and from what I see it's changed quite a bit. My main concern isn’t necessarily the installation and set up but the migration of active directory and mailboxes. I have a 10 tera NAS that I was going to back everything up to. Is there a special way to back them up for a migration? Also, when and if correctly migrated how much policy tweaking am I going to need to do?

 

Any help and ideas would be much appreciated.

[Andersson]

Hi,

 

Before doing anything, make sure you have a successfully completed full backup of Exchange 2003 databases/logs

And IF you are going to 2007, then you can follow this article, it will give you the steps

http://www.msexchange.org/tutorials/transitioning-exchange-2000-2003-exchange-server-2007-part1.html

 

But since 2010 has been our for a long time now I would advice you to go for that instead

 

For Exchange 2007:

http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb125224%28EXCHG.80%29.aspx

 

For Exchange 2010:

http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb125224.aspx

 

Here's a transition guide for 2003 -> 2010, it's pretty basic and gives you the most steps in this process...

http://www.msexchangegeek.com/2010/01/30/rapid-transition-guide-from-exchange-2003-to-exchange-2010/

 

Good luck!

[Big_PaPa]

Thank you for the advise, I would go 2010 but we've bought Exchange Enterprise 07 with 300 CALS so due to costs we're going to stick with it.

 

 

This is what I have lined up for the update / transfer, please let me know if there is anything else I should plan for.

 

 

Site verification

 

Verify AD has been prepared for Exchange 2007

Verify anti-virus support is available

Verify backup software support is available

 

Documentation

 

RAID configuration for Mail Database server

RAID configuration for CAS/HUB server

 

All Existing Mail store database

Storage group locations

Mail databases within each store

Messaging limits per storage group

Transport Rules

Recipeint Policies

Address Policies

OWA configuration

Active-Sync Configuration

SSL Certificate configuration

 

Active Directory Prep

 

Update AD to support Exchange 2007

Apply Windows 2003 SP2 to all controllers

Raise Domain and Forrest Functionality to Native

Replace Windows 2003 controllers with 2008 R2 controllers

Transfer FSMO roles

Adjust/Validate AD Sites and Services topology

 

DNS

 

Configure record scavaging

Change all DNS zones to AD Integrated

Change Security to allow only Secured updates

Add DNS role to new Domain Controllers

Add all Zones to new Domain Controllers

 

Exchange 2007 SP3

 

Present documentation and recommendations

Setup timeline for resources and execution

 

Setup server hardware

Configure RAID 1 for OS

Configure RAID 1 for Virtual Server's VHD files

Configure Raid 5 for Database VHD

Install Windows 2008 R2 Enterprise

Install Hyper Visor

Create Virtual Network for Exchange 2007 virtual machines

Create VHD files for Transaction logs stored on Raid 5

Create VHD for Database stored on RAID 5

 

Create Primary Exchange Database

 

Server Create Windows 2008 R2 Virtual machine for Exchange 2010 (1 for database and one for CAS/HUB)

Apply patches

Install roles to support Exchange 2007 on Database Server

Install roles to support Exchange 2007 on CAS/HUB server

Install CAS/HUB into existing Exchange organization

Configure CAS OWA and Active Sync for FNG

Test OWA and Active Sync access to Exchange 2007 server

Install Exchange 2007

Create Storage groups

Create mail databases for each storage group

Create DAG

 

Create On-Site Exchange Database Server

 

Setup server hardware

Configure RAID 1 for OS

Configure RAID 1 for Virtual Server's VHD files

Configure Raid 5 for Database VHD

Install Windows 2008 R2 Enterprise

Install Hyper Visor

Create Virtual Network for Exchange 2010 virtual machines

Create VHD files for Transaction logs stored on Raid 5

Create VHD for Database stored on RAID 5

 

OPTIONAL

 

Create Windows 2008 R2 Virtual machine for Exchange 2007 (1 for database and one for CAS/HUB)

Apply patches

Install roles to support Exchange 2010 on Database Server

Install roles to support Exchange 2010 on CAS/HUB server

Install CAS/HUB into existing Exchange organization

Configure CAS OWA and Active Sync for FNG

Test OWA and Active Sync access to Exchange 2007 server

Install Exchange 2007

Create Storage groups

Create mail databases for each storage group

 

I think that covers it. Let me know if there's anything I missed.

[Andersson]

I think you will be fine, just post if something is unclear to you

 

Good luck!