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Exchange 03 Setup Planning - 20.Sep.2005 6:56:37 PM

mrjtanus

Posts: 6
Joined: 27.Feb.2005
From: Seattle, WA, USA
Status: offline

Hi,

I am going to setup a network w/ Exchange 03 from scratch.

We have two Servers, I am planning to setup one as main Domain Controller, and leave the other one

for Exchange 03 and SharedPoint Services. Is this network structure recommended? Is it a good idea

to put Exchange and the main DC in one server? I want to setup it up so the users only have one password

both for the domain login and Exchange login. Would it still work if I put the main DC and Exchange in two seperate

servers? I wonder how people setup Exchange in the enterprise network enviroment.

Thanks in advance!

James

Post #: 1

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RE: Exchange 03 Setup Planning - 21.Sep.2005 4:15:27 AM

bej

Posts: 640
Joined: 3.May2005
From: Sweden
Status: offline

Since Exchange 2003 relies on Active Directory you�re using the same login wether it�s installed on the the DC or not.
If you�re running a small environment it�s OK to run the Exchange on the DC. There are a few things you need to be aware of though:
Taken from Exchange 2003 High Availability Guide:

Running Exchange 2003 on a Domain Controller
As a best practice, you should not run Exchange 2003 on servers that also function as Windows domain controllers. Instead, you should configure Exchange servers and Windows domain controllers separately.
However, if your organization requires that you run Exchange 2003 on a domain controller, consider the following limitations:

�

If you run Exchange 2003 on a domain controller, it uses only that domain controller. As a result, if the domain controller fails, Exchange cannot fail over to another domain controller.

�

If your Exchange servers also perform domain controller tasks in addition to serving Exchange client computers, those servers may experience performance degradation during heavy user loads.

�

If you run Exchange 2003 on a domain controller, your Active Directory and Exchange administrators may experience an overlap of security and disaster recovery responsibilities.

�

Exchange 2003 servers that are also domain controllers cannot be part of a Windows cluster. Specifically, Exchange 2003 does not support clustered Exchange 2003 servers that coexist with Active Directory servers. For example, because Exchange administrators who can log on to the local server have physical console access to the domain controller, they can potentially elevate their permissions in Active Directory.

�

If your server is the only domain controller in your messaging system, it must also be a global catalog server.

�

If you run Exchange 2003 on a domain controller, avoid using the /3GB switch. If you use this switch, the Exchange cache may monopolize system memory. Additionally, because the number of user connections should be low, the /3GB switch should not be required.

�

Because all services run under LocalSystem, there is a greater risk of exposure if there is a security bug. For example, if Exchange 2003 is running on a domain controller, an Active Directory bug that allows an attacker to access Active Directory would also allow access to Exchange.

�

A domain controller that is running Exchange 2003 takes a considerable amount of time to restart or shut down. (approximately 10 minutes or longer). This is because services related to Active Directory (for example, Lsass.exe) shut down before Exchange services, thereby causing Exchange services to fail repeatedly while searching for Active Directory services. One solution to this problem is to change the time-out for a failed service. A second solution is to manually stop the Exchange services before you shut down the server.

_____________________________

Bengt Jonsson
MCSE:MESSAGING
MCITP Enterprise Messaging Administrator

(in reply to mrjtanus)

Post #: 2

RE: Exchange 03 Setup Planning - 22.Sep.2005 1:00:47 PM

mrjtanus

Posts: 6
Joined: 27.Feb.2005
From: Seattle, WA, USA
Status: offline

bej, thanks for you detailed reply.

If I want to put domain controller and exchange in two different servers, how to set it up?

I tried to install domain controller on one server and made the second server a member server (No AD);
however, I could not install exchange on the second server because forestprep and domainprep setup
failed due to no AD locally installed. How do i setup exchange on a server and uses AD from a different
server?

Thanks in advance!

James

(in reply to bej)

Post #: 3

RE: Exchange 03 Setup Planning - 23.Sep.2005 9:33:24 AM

bej

Posts: 640
Joined: 3.May2005
From: Sweden
Status: offline

You must join the second server to the domain.

_____________________________

Bengt Jonsson
MCSE:MESSAGING
MCITP Enterprise Messaging Administrator

(in reply to mrjtanus)

Post #: 4

RE: Exchange 03 Setup Planning - 23.Sep.2005 1:17:18 PM

mrjtanus

Posts: 6
Joined: 27.Feb.2005
From: Seattle, WA, USA
Status: offline

So, after I join the second server to the domain. Then I should run ForestPrep and DomainPrep on the DC,
and run Exchange setup on the member server. Is this right?

Btw, If I setup the second server as an additional domain controller (both DCs are identical, they replicate
each other), and then install Exchange and SharedPoint on it. Is this recommended?

I am junior Sys Admin and don't have a lot of experience, Please help!

Thanks a lot in advance!

James

(in reply to bej)

Post #: 5

RE: Exchange 03 Setup Planning - 23.Sep.2005 2:23:24 PM

bej

Posts: 640
Joined: 3.May2005
From: Sweden
Status: offline

Like I said Exhchange on a DC is OK. If you want to run Sharepoint services why don�t you take a look at Small Business Server 2003? It�s got both Exchange and Sharepoint services.
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsserver2003/sbs/evaluation/features/default.mspx
Since Exchange relies on Active Directory there will only be one login no matter which server you install Exchange on.

_____________________________

Bengt Jonsson
MCSE:MESSAGING
MCITP Enterprise Messaging Administrator

(in reply to mrjtanus)

Post #: 6