Recipe2.15.Switching Exchange from Mixed Mode to Native Mode

Recipe 2.15. Switching Exchange from Mixed Mode to Native Mode

Problem

You have gotten rid of all of your Exchange 5.5 servers, and all legacy connectors and components have been removed from your Exchange organization. You want to switch to native mode to take advantage of the additional features offered, such as a pure SMTP routing environment and the ability to move servers between AGs.

Solution

Using a graphical user interface

1. Launch the Exchange System Manager (Exchange System Manager.msc).

2. In the left pane, right-click the organization object, and select Properties.

3. On the General tab, click the Change Operation Mode button. Note that this change, once completed, cannot be reversed. Click Yes in the notification box to confirm you want to make the change.

Using a graphical user interface (alternative)

1. Open ADSI Edit (adsiedit.msc) from the Windows Support Tools.

2. Expand the configuration container. Drill down to the appropriate CN=Configur-ation, DC=<domain>,DC=<tld> container for your Exchange organization.

3. Expand the CN=Services container and select the CN=<domain> object that matches your domain. Right-click it and select Properties.

4. On the Attributes tab, in the Select a property to view drop-down list, select msExchMixedMode. In the Attribute Values area, in the Edit Attribute line, type FALSE. Click the Set button, then the Apply button, then OK.

Discussion

Moving from mixed-mode operations to native mode is the final step in most migrations from Exchange 5.5 to Exchange 200x. Your organization can realize about a 15% bandwidth savings on messages that contain binary data, since the 8BITMIME SMTP verb will now be used between routing groups. Switching to native mode also means you're rid of the Active Directory Connector and the Site Replication Service, and you can finally begin using query-based distribution groups. Table 2-2 lists the specific functionality that you gain when you switch to native mode. Some features are available only on Exchange Server 2003 servers, while others are available on Exchange 2000 as well.

Table 2-2. Native-mode-specific functionality

Functionality provided	Exchange 2000	Exchange Server 2003
Routing groups can have servers from multiple administrative groups	Yes	Yes
Servers can be moved between routing groups	Yes	Yes
SMTP becomes default routing protocol	Yes	Yes
Allows for LDAP query-based distribution groups	No	Yes
Information Store service ignores and removes zombie ACEs from tombstoned Exchange 5.5 servers	No	Yes

See Also

MS KB 270143 (XADM: Mixed Mode vs. Native Mode), MS KB 272314 (XADM: Preparing a Mixed Mode Organization for Conversion to Native Mode), and MS KB 281088 (XADM: When to Change an Exchange Organization to Native Mode)