Moving Exchange 2007 Install To New Hardware - Advice Required

Moving Exchange 2007 Install To New Hardware - Advice Required (Full Version)

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PT_JA -> Moving Exchange 2007 Install To New Hardware - Advice Required (26.Jun.2008 10:45:54 AM)
Hi, I have a crappy server currently running Exch2007 with SP1. The company has grown and we now need to move the installation to another box. Below you will see my plan, but I would like confirmation of this as I have not done this before: 1. Install Exch 2007 & SP1 on new hardware. 2. Dismount mailboxes & public folders .edb from old server and mount on new server. 3. Uninstall Exch2007 via Add/Remove Programs on the old server. I just need to know/make sure that the uninstall of Exch 2007 from the old server will not wipe any of the organization configuration. I understand that this config is stored within AD so my immediate thoughts would be that it will not remove it as another Exch 2007 server is within the domain. If someone reading this has perform this task before and can advise on what I am looking to do that would be great. Oh one last thing to mention would be that I am going to be using a different server name. I have read that as long as the .edb files are from the same domain it will mount fine within Exchange......? Thanks

Sembee -> RE: Moving Exchange 2007 Install To New Hardware - Advice Required (30.Jun.2008 2:47:08 PM)
Why have you decided to do it that way? If you remove Exchange then it is gone. The best way would be to install the new machine with a new name, then replicate the content of public and system folders to the new server. Once that is complete, move the mailboxes. You can then remove the original server at a time to suit you. Zero downtime, zero risk and unnoticeable by the users. Simon.

PT_JA -> RE: Moving Exchange 2007 Install To New Hardware - Advice Required (30.Jun.2008 5:29:46 PM)
Hi Simon, I think excluding the replication of the system and public folders to the new server I said the same as you. My question mainly related around if I uninstall Exchange 2007 from the old server with the new one running and clients connected to it. Will I lose any config in AD? Thanks

Sembee -> RE: Moving Exchange 2007 Install To New Hardware - Advice Required (30.Jun.2008 8:24:36 PM)
What you have said and what I have written are totally different things. I will be blunt - it is obvious you don't know how the Exchange databases work. Replication and Move Mailbox is NOT the same as moving the raw database files across. What I have outlined is known as a swing migration and involves both servers being available at the same through the process. The raw files are not moved at all. The data is moved by Exchange. Exchange is an Active Directory integrated database and should be treated as such. You cannot just pick up the raw files, move them to a new server and expect everything to move correctly The plan you currently have in place is high risk, involves an extended period of downtime and will result in the loss of some configuration because it involves the removal of Exchange. You will lose settings - what those settings are and how much you will lose I cannot say. Once Exchange has been uninstalled that is it - no going back. If the databases will not mount or you have another problem you are stuffed. DR will be impossible because there will be no data in the domain to recover. You would have to take a backup of your domain and do a restore of the domain, then a restore of Exchange. A big mess that is totally avoidable. I would never recommend that the plan you have outlined is used. If you follow the plan I have outlined, where both servers are live then it is zero risk, zero downtime. Something goes wrong you can easily roll back. Simon.

PT_JA -> RE: Moving Exchange 2007 Install To New Hardware - Advice Required (1.Jul.2008 4:43:58 AM)
Simon, I do apprciate your help. So from what you are saying I shoudl do this: 1. Install new server in domain 2. Enable local continuous replication between the mailbox and public folder databases to the new exchange server 3. Mount then being the new one online I just need to ask a few questions about this; looking at the replication you cannot have 2 exchange servers mounted at the same time and replication enabled. Therefore I will have stop replication and then mount the databases on the target server? Also I would like to ask about the unistall of Exchange 2007 on the first server. We want to use the old server for something else and therefore I need to remove Exchange from it. Can this be done? If you are able to bullet point my steps to take I would really apprciate it.

Sembee -> RE: Moving Exchange 2007 Install To New Hardware - Advice Required (1.Jul.2008 8:32:42 AM)
Are you actually reading what I am writing? Where did I say to do this? "Enable local continuous replication between the mailbox and public folder databases to the new exchange server " Install Exchange 2007 on the new server with the new name. Configure replication of the public and system folders. That is public folder replication. Has nothing to do with CCR, LCR or SCR. Wait. Once the data has replicated (use get-publicfolderstatistics to confirm the item count is the same), you can then move the mailboxes using Move Mailbox in Exchange Management Console. Leave both servers running for a few days to allow the clients to update themselves. Remove the old server from the list of public and system folders replicas. Follow the procedure on Microsoft Technet to remove the Exchange 2007 server and then remove Exchange 2007 from the old server using add/remove programs. There is a lot more to it than that, such as moving the SSL certificates around, confirming settings that might have been changed on a per server basis (Receive connectors for example). However that is the basics of the process. If you are still unsure then get a consultant in to do the job for you. That will ensure that the server is configured correctly and to the best practise. A live production email server is not the best place to learn about a product that is as complex as Exchange. If you insist on doing it yourself then you need to spend a lot of time reading and researching on how Exchange works before you even attempt to move the data to ensure that nothing is lost. I will be blunt - it is obvious that you don't know a great deal about this type of operation of Exchange and you need to learn about it before doing anything. As an Exchange consultant myself I get called in to clean up the mess so many times, which simply shouldn't happen if people read and learn and don't dive in head first. A forum isn't really suitable for asking these types of questions either because it is written down on Technet and people like me are not going to spend hours typing out the procedures - that doesn't pay the bills. Simon.

PT_JA -> RE: Moving Exchange 2007 Install To New Hardware - Advice Required (1.Jul.2008 9:00:47 AM)
Thanks Simon! Great advice! I will read up on Technet instead of wasting your time. Cheers.

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