1. Upgrading from Previous Versions of Microsoft Windows
Many organizations already have an existing
directory structure in place such as Windows NT 4.0 domain or Windows
2000 Server AD domain in their environment. It is great if a company has
the opportunity to implement a new Windows Server 2003 AD environment
from scratch; however, this is not always possible or practical because
of costs, company politics, hardware limitations, or a business goal of
minimizing end-user disruption during the migration. That being said,
organizations typically upgrade their environment from a Windows NT 4.0 or Windows 2000 domain to the Windows Server 2003 AD to implement Exchange Server 2007.
Upgrading from a Windows NT 4.0 Domain
The first decision to be made when migrating
from a Windows NT 4.0 domain is to determine which type of migration
strategy best fits your requirements and AD design. Of the three
migration paths described in the following list, each one is unique in
characteristics and requires different tasks to complete. Therefore,
each migration path should be planned in detail, scripted, and tested
before you actually perform any migration tasks.
The first migration option is an
in-place upgrade. This migration path is a direct upgrade of the Windows
NT 4.0 operating system and domain to Windows Server 2003 and AD.
The
second option is to migrate the NT 4.0 objects from an existing NT 4.0
domain to a brand-new Windows Server 2003 forest and AD.
The third option is to consolidate multiple existing Windows NT 4.0 domains into a single AD domain configuration.
Each domain migration path offers different
characteristics and functionality. Before you continue, review each
migration path and perform all preparation tasks to prepare your Windows
NT 4.0 environment to be migrated to AD. Begin by determining the
specific criteria for your migration, such as the time frame in which to
complete the migration and your final AD design. Understanding these
key areas will assist you in determining which migration path is best
for your organization.
Note
The Windows NT 4.0 upgrade is supported by
Service Pack 5 (SP5) or later. If an earlier version of service pack is
installed, the upgrade is not possible.
For more information on upgrading a Windows NT 4.0 domain to Windows Server 2003 AD, it is recommended to reference Windows Server 2003 Unleashed, R2 Edition, by Sams Publishing (ISBN: 0-672-32898-4).
Upgrading from Windows Server 2000 Active Directory
Because it is required to run Exchange Server
2007 on AD using Windows Server 2003, organizations need to upgrade
their Windows 2000 domain controllers to Windows Server 2003.
In many ways, a migration from Windows 2000
Server domain to Windows Server 2003 is more of a service pack upgrade
than a major migration scenario. The differences between the operating
systems are more evolutionary than revolutionary; consequently, there
are fewer design considerations than in upgrades from the NT 4.0
operating system.
Because
the fundamental differences between Windows 2000 Server and Windows
Server 2003 are not significant, the possibility of simply upgrading an
existing Windows 2000 domain controller to Windows Server 2003 is an
option. Depending on the type of hardware currently in use in a Windows
2000 AD environment, this type of migration strategy becomes an option.
Often, however, it is more appealing to simply introduce new domain
controllers running Windows Server 2003 into an existing environment and
retire the domain controllers running Windows 2000 Server from
production. This technique normally has less impact on current
environments and can also support fallback more easily.
2. Implementing Active Directory from Scratch
The following sections focus on installing
Windows Server 2003 AD to support an Exchange Server 2007 installation.
This AD example consists of a single site and single domain controller
representing a small organization. The order of operations of this
installation includes the following:
Installing Windows Server 2003
Installing Windows Server 2003 Service Pack 1 or higher
Installing the first domain controller
Configuring AD Sites and Services
Configuring a global catalog server
2.1 Installing Windows Server 2003
The mechanism that lies at the base of Exchange
Server 2007 functionality is the operating system. Exchange draws from
Windows its base functionality, and it cannot be installed without it.
Consequently, the operating system installation is the first step in the
creation of a new Exchange server.
As previously mentioned, Exchange Server 2007
requires an operating system to supply needed core functionality. The
operating system of choice for Exchange Server 2007 is Windows Server
2003, Standard or Enterprise Edition with the latest Windows service
pack or at least Windows Server 2003 Service Pack 1.
Note
It is highly recommended to install Exchange
Server 2007 on a clean, freshly built operating system on a reformatted
drive. If the server that will be used for Exchange Server 2007 was
previously running in a different capacity, the most secure and robust
solution is to completely reinstall the operating system using the
procedure outlined in the next passages.
Installation of Windows Server 2003 is
straightforward, and takes approximately 30 minutes to an hour to
complete. Many hardware manufacturers include special
installation instructions and procedures, which might vary from the
procedure outlined here, but the concepts are roughly the same. To
install Windows Server 2003, Standard or Enterprise Edition, perform the
following steps:
1. | Insert the Windows Server 2003 Standard CD into the CD drive.
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2. | Power
up the server and let it boot to the CD-ROM drive. If there is
currently no operating system on the hard drive, it automatically boots
into the CD-ROM–based setup, as shown in Figure 1.
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3. | When prompted, press Enter to start setting up Windows.
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4. | At the licensing agreement screen, read the license, and then press F8 if you agree to the license agreement.
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5. | Select
the physical disk on which Windows will be installed. Choose between
the available disks shown by using the up and down arrows. When
selected, press Enter to install.
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6. | At the next screen, choose Format the Partition Using the NTFS File System by selecting it, and press Enter to continue.
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Following this step, Windows Server 2003 setup
begins formatting the hard drive and copying files to it. After a reboot
and more automatic installation routines, the setup process continues
with the Regional and Language Options screen as follows:
1. | Review the Regional and Language Options, and click Next to continue.
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2. | Enter a name and organization into the Personalization screen, and click Next to continue.
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3. | Enter
the product key for Windows. This is typically on the CD case or part
of the license agreement purchased from Microsoft. Click Next after the
key is entered.
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4. | Select which licensing mode will be used on the server, either Per Server or Per Device, and click Next to continue.
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5. | At
the Computer Name and Administrator Password screen, enter a unique
name for the server, and type a cryptic password into the Password
fields.
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6. | Check the Date and Time Zone settings, and click Next to continue.
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The next screen to be displayed is where
networking settings can be configured. Setup allows for automatic
configuration (Typical Settings) or manual configuration (Custom
Settings) options. Selecting Custom Settings allows for each installed
network interface card (NIC) to be configured with various options, such
as static IP addresses and custom protocols. Selecting Typical Settings
bypasses these steps; however, they can easily be set later. Proceed
with the following steps:
1. | To
simplify the setup, select Typical Settings, and click Next. Network
settings should then be configured after the OS is installed.
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2. | Select
whether the server will be a member of a domain, or whether it will be a
workgroup member. For this demonstration, choose WORKGROUP because the
server will be promoted to a domain controller in the upcoming steps.
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3. | Click Next to continue.
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After more installation routines and reboots,
setup will complete and the operating system can be logged on to as the
local Administrator and configured for Exchange Server 2007.
