Summary

Many organizations have been waiting for that "killer app" to justify an upgrade from an NT 4.0 domain structure to Active Directory. Exchange Server 2003 fits this role in many cases. Before deploying Exchange Server 2003, however, a migration from NT 4.0 to Windows Server 2003 AD must take place. The upgrade path to Windows Server 2003 can be accomplished via an in-place upgrade of each NT domain into AD, or via a migration from the old NT domain structure into a brand new AD forest via the ADMT v2. Each option has its pros and cons, and it is important to determine which option is the most ideal for each organization, because the benefits of Exchange Server 2003 cannot be achieved without this very important step.