Introduction

This chapter deals with the exam topics that you will need to understand in regard to installing Exchange Server 2003 in a new Exchange environment. Topics regarding Exchange being installed in an existing environment, such as an upgrade from Exchange Server 5.5 or Exchange 2000 Server, are covered in Chapter 3, "Upgrading, Integrating, and Troubleshooting Exchange Server 2003 in Mixed Environments."

Although this chapter does cover the installation of Exchange Server 2003, it is not an installation guide.

It is worth noting here that what you are required to know for the 70-284 exam is not all that you need to know to successfully deploy Exchange Server 2003 in a production environment. Several good references dealing with how to install Exchange Server 2003 are listed at the end of this chapter in the "Need to Know More?" section.

Exchange Server 2003 is the newest version of Microsoft's popular and powerful enterprise-level messaging server. Some differences between Exchange Server 2003 and Exchange 2000 Server include the operating systems on which it can be installed:

• Exchange Server 2003 runs on Windows 2000 Server and Windows Server 2003.

• Exchange 2000 Server only runs on Windows 2000 Server.

• Exchange 2000 Server cannot run on Windows Server 2003.

To do well on this exam, you need a solid amount of practical experience using Exchange Server 2003, though solid experience with Exchange 2000 Server can be highly beneficial as well. You can obtain this experience either by working with Exchange Server in a production environment or via learning in a lab environment. You also need to have solid knowledge of Active Directory, IIS, ISA Server, and TCP/IP. If you are considering taking this exam as an elective, we suggest you take it after you have finished your other core exams. For those without direct access to Exchange Server 2003, we advise that you procure an evaluation version of Exchange Server 2003, Enterprise Edition from Microsoft. You can either set up your own test network or configure a single system with virtual networking using virtual machine software, such as VMWARE or Microsoft Virtual PC. If you take this approach, we recommend that your system be outfitted with plenty of RAM so that the virtual systems can run concurrently.

To further prepare yourself, we recommend that you install Exchange Server 2003 several times. This will help you become more familiar with the necessary installation steps to set up Exchange Server 2003 successfully.

The installation of Exchange Server 2003 requires substantial modifications be made to the Active Directory (AD) schema in the domain that will host Exchange Server 2003. For this reason, we recommend against installing Exchange Server 2003 in a production Active Directory environment, unless it is part of a planned and authorized deployment of the messaging system. Even though Exchange Server 2003 can later be uninstalled, the changes made to Active Directory itself are difficult to roll back. In the case of schema modifications, they cannot be rolled back at all. Your best option is to set up a test AD forest that is separate from any production network.