In this edition of "where exams and the real world unite" (sounds like a bad soap opera eh?) we're going to take a look a= t an important upgrade for enterprises running Microsoft Exchange Server as their email/groupware platform – moving from 5.5 to 2000. Because the challenges involved are many, Microsoft has made coexistence and upgrading = key topics on the 70-224 certification exam. We'll s= tart by examining the components and requirements involved in upgrading to Excha= nge 2000 from 5.5, concluding next time with a discussion of the Active Directo= ry Connector (ADC).
Before you can install Exchange 2000, you have to make= sure that you have adequate hardware to support it. The absolute minimum requirements for the installation are:
Windows 2000 SP1
Exchange 2000 not only requires Windows 2000 as its mi= nimum operating system, you must also first deploy service pack 1 (SP1) at minimum for Windows 2000. Later service packs will suffice as well, you just have t= o at least have SP1 installed before deploying Exchange 2000.
Active Directory
In addition to simply having Windows 2000 Server insta= lled, you must also have an Active Directory infrastructure in place before deplo= ying Exchange 2000. That means you can't install Exchange 2000 on a Windows 2000 member server that is part of an NT4 domain. Active Directory requires care= ful planning, so don't take this step lightly if you are still on an NT4 domain= and planning to go to Windows 2000 and Exchange 2000.
Internet Information Server (IIS) with NNTP
Exchange 2000 takes advantage of many built-in Windows= 2000 features rather than duplicating functionality. One of the key features of Exchange 2000 is the ability to utilize the NNTP protocol for groupware functionality. NNTP is a part of IIS, which is included with Windows 2000. = It is important to note that NNTP is not installed by default in a typical Win= dows 2000 installation, so you will want to install it through the Add/Remove Programs Control Panel applet before installing Exchange 2000.
Exchange 5.5 SP3
Lastly, if you are upgrading from Exchange 5.5 rather = than installing Exchange 2000 clean, you must update your Exchange 5.5 installat= ion to at least SP3 before proceeding (SP4 is the most current service pack for 5.5). Exchange 5.5 SP3 makes key structural changes to the Exchange directo= ry and databases, and older versions are not compatible for updating directly = to Exchange 2000.
So now we know the hardware and software requirements = for installing Exchange 2000 and are ready to proceed upgrading an Exchange 5.5 installation. Wait! It's not so simple as just r= unning a setup program at this point. There is more prep work to be done before you can begin the installation. The next step we need to take is to prepare Act= ive Directory for Exchange 2000.
Preparing Active Directory is a two-step process that extends the Active Directory schema to include new classes and attributes necessary for Exchange 2000. Both steps involve running setup.exe with spec= ial switches.
Setup /ForestPrep
Before running ForestPrep, you need to ensure that you= have an Exchange service account in place. This shouldn't be an issue if you hav= e an existing 5.5 installation, though you'll want to make sure you create an account in advance if you haven't already. This account must belong to the Windows 2000 Schema Admins security group because of the changes it will ne= ed to make to the schema.
When you run setup /forestprep from your Exchange 2000= CD, significant changes will be made to the Active Directory schema that will t= ake considerable time to complete. Even on a small Active Directory network it could literally take several hours to complete. Therefore you will want to = run it in advance of the day you plan to do the actual Exchange 2000 installati= on. ForestPrep, as the name implies, makes forest-wide changes to Active Direct= ory for the support of Exchange 2000.
Setup /DomainPrep
The second phase of the pre-installation is to run set= up with the /domainprep switch. This switch causes setup to make Active Direct= ory changes at the domain level. If you have a multiple Active Directory domain environment, you must run domainprep in the domain that you plan on install= ing Exchange 2000. When you run domainprep, the following Active Directory obje= cts are created. The first two are security groups and the last one is a user account used specifically by Exchange that cannot be used as a normal accou= nt to access the file system.
The missing piece we haven't mentioned yet in preparin= g to upgrade from Exchange 5.5 to 2000 is the Active Directory Connector (ADC). = The ADC is a utility that allows data to be replicated between the Exchange 5.5 directory and Active Directory, which otherwise would be unable to share information. Join us next time as we dive into the ADC and learn how to ins= tall and configure the ADC to make Exchange 5.5 talk to Active Directory in preparation for the Exchange 2000 migration. Until then, practice with the preparation we've discussed here in your test lab, and we'll see you next t= ime.
Questions or comments?
Will can be reached at WWillis@Transcender.com