Chapter 14: Planning a Migration to Exchange Server 2003


At the time of this writing, a very large install base of Microsoft Exchange 5.5 Server still exists, and many users will want to migrate to Microsoft Windows Server 2003 and Microsoft Exchange Server 2003. Some will be running Exchange 5.5 on Windows 2000 Server; others will be running Microsoft Windows NT as their base operating system.

Whatever your present environment is, you’ll need to do some planning before migrating to Exchange Server 2003. This chapter is written at a very high level and only just touches the surface of our topic, so we’ll focus here on the decisions you must make and the strategies you must lay out before you start your migration. You probably feel about this chapter like you do about other planning chapters, and you’ll have a strong urge to skim it and think that you’re ready to perform your migration. But we want to emphasize that failure to plan well for your migration will lead to problems and mistakes in the real migration.

Differentiating Between Migration and Upgrade

Out of the chute, let’s differentiate between a migration and an upgrade. A migration is the process of moving your existing information from one server or organization to another—in our case, to the Exchange 2003 platform. An upgrade is the process of converting the current software on your Exchange server to a new platform, such as Exchange Server 2003, while using the same hardware. This is sometimes referred to as an in-place upgrade. Whether you migrate or upgrade, you’ll be changing platforms, but the hallmark is the introduction of new hardware, and in most cases, a new forest and Active Directory too. (Chapter 15, “Migrating to Exchange Server 2003,” provides more details about upgrading.)

The cost of upgrading is less expensive than the cost of migrating. Often in a migration, administrators choose to restructure their user accounts, mailboxes, and other Exchange information, although in smaller environments, there might be no reason to do this. An upgrade is less complex and provides the fastest and easiest path to Exchange Server 2003.

A migration is usually more expensive but also offers more alternatives and benefits, such as restructuring the forest and providing a new administrative structure for your Exchange organization. Depending on how the information is migrated, you might need to touch each desktop to reconfigure the Microsoft Outlook profiles—not fun! But the consolidation, new design benefits, and new administrative flexibilities that a restructuring operation offers are often compelling reasons for organizations to opt to endure the pain of a migration instead of the (relatively) painless in-place upgrade.




Microsoft Exchange Server 2003 Administrator's Companion
Microsoft Exchange Server 2003 Administrators Companion (Pro-Administrators Companion)
ISBN: 0735619794
EAN: 2147483647
Year: 2005
Pages: 254

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