Chapter 4: Installing Exchange Server 2007

Overview

Now that you've had a chance to learn and absorb the theory behind the new Exchange 2007 architecture, you can get your hands dirty and get it installed in your organization. If you're familiar with Exchange 2003 or Exchange 2000, your first look at the Exchange 2007 installation process is going to be a mix of the familiar and the new.

The look of the graphic-mode installer has completely changed; not only is it easier to navigate, but it actually gives you useful progress indicators as it works through its many complicated tasks and actions. This improvement alone is pretty good, but the ability to perform a full installation from the command line, while never leaving text mode, turns "pretty good" into "great."

Installing an Exchange 2007 server involves the following steps:

1. Choose your Exchange 2007 roles.

2. Prepare your Windows server.

3. Perform the installation, using either the graphic- or text-mode setup options.

4. Run through the postinstallation checklists.

Listed out as a dry collection of steps, it sounds like a lot of work. It's actually pretty simple to do, and the new installation improvements allow you to automate a lot more of the work with a lot less effort than you could in previous versions of Exchange. Without further ado, let's get our hands dirty and get installing!

Note 

As you read through this chapter, you'll see that it presumes you're installing a brand-new Exchange 2007 organization rather than upgrading from an existing Exchange 2003 or Exchange 2000 organization. If you're looking to upgrade, then you're going to want to read Chapter 5. Before you skip ahead, though, read through this chapter to master the mechanical steps of installing Exchange 2007. Chapter 5 won't cover them again but will instead focus on the specific issues you'll need to address in order to keep Exchange 2007 and your existing organization interoperating smoothly during your upgrade period.

Topics in this chapter include the following:

• Choosing roles

• Preparing your server

• Installing Exchange Server

• Performing postinstallation tasks