Upgrading from Exchange 2000 Server

The upgrade path from Exchange 2000 Server to Exchange Server 2003 is a simple one. In most cases, your hardware will be up to par with the requirements for Exchange Server 2003 and Windows Server 2003, but it ‚ s always good practice to verify this before starting any upgrades. The minimum and recommended hardware requirements for installing Exchange are detailed in Table 12.1. For more detailed information about the requirements to install Exchange Server 2003 on a computer, refer back to Chapter 3, ‚“Installing Microsoft Exchange Server 2003. ‚½

Note ‚

The Microsoft Exchange Server software comes on a CD. If the machine intended to be the Exchange server has no CD-ROM drive, the administrator can copy the necessary files from the CD to a shared hard disk or share a CD-ROM drive on another machine.

Table 12.1: Exchange Server 2003 Hardware Requirements
Item	Minimum	Recommended
CPU	133 MHz Pentium or comparable	733 MHz Pentium or comparable
RAM	256 MB	512 MB
Disk space	500 MB available on the Exchange drive; 200 MB available on the system drive	Space as required, with the databases kept on fault-tolerant drive sets
Drives	CD-ROM for installation	CD-ROM for installation
Video display	VGA or better	VGA or better

Upgrade Considerations

As discussed previously, several Exchange 2000 Server components are not supported in Exchange Server 2003, so ensure that these items are removed before starting the upgrade:

Microsoft Mobile Information Server
Instant Messaging
Exchange Chat
Exchange 2000 Conferencing Server
Key Management Service
The cc:Mail connector

The MS Mail connector

Note ‚

If you require connectivity to a cc:Mail system or an MS Mail system and migration from that system is not in your plans, you have two choices: Keep at least one Exchange 2000 Server in the organization or procure third-party connectors for these messaging systems.

Front-end and back-end servers If your organization uses Exchange 2000 Server in a front-end/back-end configuration, you must upgrade all front-end servers to Exchange Server 2003 before upgrading the first back-end server to Exchange Server 2003.

Tuning parameters If you ‚ ve configured any tuning parameters on your Exchange 2000 Servers per the Microsoft Exchange 2000 Internals: Quick Tuning Guide, you will need to remove them before performing the upgrade process. These tuning configurations are no longer needed in Exchange Server 2003 and, in most cases, will result in problems with Exchange Server 2003. The Microsoft Exchange 2000 Internals: Quick Tuning Guide can be found at www.microsoft.com/technet/prodtechnol/exchange/2000/maintain/exchtune.mspx. As well, Chapter 6 of the Exchange Server 2003 Deployment Guide contains guidance on removing these tuning parameters. You can find the Deployment Guide at www.microsoft.com/technet/prodtechnol/exchange/2003/library/depguide.mspx.

Upgrading to Exchange Server 2003

The high-level process to upgrade an Exchange 2000 Server to Exchange Server 2003 is composed of the following steps:

Ensure that Windows 2000 Server Service Pack 3 or later is installed.
Ensure that Exchange 2000 Server Service Pack 3 or later is installed.
Remove the unsupported components as discussed previously.
Ensure that the World Wide Web Publishing Service, the Simple Mail Transfer (SMTP) service, and the Network News Transfer Protocol (NNTP) service are installed and running on the server.
Install the Windows 2000 Server SP3 Support Tools on the server.
Run the DCDiag utility.
Run the NetDiag utility.
If this is the first Exchange Server 2003 server, run Exchange Server 2003 setup /forestprep as discussed in Exercise 3.2.
If this is the first Exchange Server 2003 server, run Exchange Server 2003 setup /domainprep as discussed in Exercise 3.3.
Upgrade the server to Exchange Server 2003 as outlined below in Exercise 12.2.

Note ‚
When upgrading an Exchange 2000 Server, the Exchange Server 2003 setup routine will automatically install the .NET framework and ASP.NET during the installation process.

After the upgrade has been completed, you can upgrade the server to Windows Server 2003 by completing these steps:

Run Windows Server 2003 adprep /forestprep .
Run Windows Server 2003 adprep /domainprep .
Upgrade the server to Windows Server 2003.

Exercise 12.2 presents the procedure to upgrade an Exchange 2000 Server, assuming that you ‚ ve already completed the prerequisite steps.

EXERCISE 12.2: Upgrading from Exchange 2000 Server to Exchange Server 2003

Insert the Microsoft Exchange Server CD into the server ‚ s CD-ROM drive. If your CD-ROM drive is set to automatically run CDs, this will automatically open the Welcome to Exchange Server 2003 Setup page. If not, browse to the location of your CD-ROM and double-click the
```
 setup.exe file. 
```
Click the Exchange Deployment Tools link.
On the Welcome to the Exchange Server Deployment Tools page, click the Deploy The First Exchange 2003 Server link.
On the Deploy the First Exchange Server 2003 page, click the Upgrade From Exchange 2000 Server Native Mode link.
Ensure that you ‚ ve completed all of the preliminary actions in Steps 1 through 7 shown above.
Scroll down the Exchange Server Deployment Tools page until you locate Item 8, Install Exchange Server 2003. Click the Run Setup Now link.
When prompted, agree to the EULA, and click Next to continue.
Enter your 25-digit CD-key, and click Next to continue.
The Component Selection page lists the installation options, as well as the option to choose the directory into which Exchange Server will be installed. This latter option is accessed through the Change Path button. For this exercise, we will assume that the installation directory is the default, C:\Program Files\Exchsrvr . The installation option we will use for this exercise is Typical, which includes the messaging components and management tools. If you would like to see the individual components that can be selected, choose the Custom option from the drop-down menu to the left of the first item in the list, Microsoft Exchange. You can then choose whether to install each individual option using that option ‚ s drop-down menu. Once you ‚ ve made all of your decisions, click Next to go on.
A Licensing screen appears, explaining the need for you to purchase Client Access Licenses before clients can access this Exchange server. Exchange Server 2003 supports only the per-seat licensing mode. Once you have read and agreed to this licensing, click the I Agree That I Have Read And Will Be Bound By The License Agreements For This Product option, and then click Next.
The Installation Summary dialog box appears, asking you to confirm your installation choices. You can use the Back button to change any settings you have made. When you are satisfied with your choices, click Next to install Exchange Server 2003.
The installation process can take some time. When it is done, a Congratulations screen appears, informing you that the installation is complete. Click the Finish button.

Note ‚

Remember that when you perform a clean installation of Exchange Server 2003 or when you upgrade to Exchange Server 2003 from Exchange 2000 Server, the Installable File System (IFS) is no longer mapped to the M: drive as in Exchange 2000 Server. This change is a direct result of significant data-corruption issues that may occur when the M: drive is accessed directly, such as by virus scanners or backup-and-restore operations.

Getting Back the M: Drive

Although many people consider the doing away with the M: drive in Exchange Server 2003 a good thing, that feeling is likely not universal among all organizations that are upgrading from Exchange 2000 Server. Again, in most situations, there is really no need to have the M: drive available, and having it gone is far more worthwhile because of the serious potential for database corruption due to file-level virus scanning or backup-and-restore operations performed directly against the M: drive.

Despite Microsoft ‚ s attempts to look out for your Exchange organization by removing the M: drive, you do have the final say in the matter. Situations when you might have a valid need to enable the M: drive under Exchange Server 2003 include:

You are using the Microsoft Front Page extensions and the Microsoft Web Storage System.
You have developed an application that makes use of the M: drive instead of using the UNC path of \.\BackOfficeStorage .

The procedure to get your M: drive back in Exchange Server 2003 is basically the same as it was if you wanted to change the drive letter in Exchange 2000 Server to something other than M: (just because you could). The following procedure requires direct editing of the Registry, so be careful ‚ this is not recommended for the weak at heart or the inexperienced.

Open the Registry by selecting Start > Run and then entering regedit . Click OK.
Locate the following key: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\
EXIFS\Parameters
Click Edit > New and select String Value.
Type DriveLetter and press Enter.
Click Edit > Modify. In the Value entry area, type M and click OK.
Exit the Registry Editor.
Restart the Exchange Information Store service from the Services console.