How to Migrate from Exchange 5.5 to Exchange 2003 Using the Active Directory Migration Tool (or Windows Domain Upgrade) > ADC > Migration Wizard external migration path

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This topic explains one of two options for migrating from Exchange 5.5 to Exchange 2003 using an external migration path. Using an external migration path is not the recommended way to migrate from Exchange 5.5, but it may be necessary in some situations.

Before You Begin

Consider the following before you begin:

  • If possible, you should always migrate from Exchange 5.5 to Exchange 2003 using the recommended migration path. See Planning to Move from Exchange 5.5 to Exchange 2003.

  • This method is best used by larger organizations. It is intended for use in a situation where an Exchange 5.5 organization will need to coexist with a separate Exchange 2003 organization for a period of time.

  • There are two available methods for migrating SIDs from the source account to the destination account:

    You can upgrade the Windows NT domain to Windows Server 2003, which preserves the SID on each account.

    --OR--

    You can use ADMT, providing you select the option to migrate the SID from the source account to the SIDHistory attribute of the target account.

    Before setting up ADC, you will need to decided which of these two methods to use.

Important

To migrate SIDs, the target Windows domain must be in native mode. The SIDHistory attribute exists in the domain schema only if the Windows domain is in native mode.

  • If the SID is preserved for each account in the new forest (either through an upgrade or by migrating the SID to the SIDHistory attribute), ADC can create mail-enabled accounts. After you install ADC, you can run Migration Wizard to move mailboxes.

  • If the process of creating accounts with Active Directory Migration Tool is expected to take a long time, as an alternative, you may want to set up ADC first to create contacts in Active Directory. Setting up ADC first allows Active Directory users to exchange e-mail messages with Exchange 5.5 users during lengthy periods of coexistence. As with the previous method, you then use Active Directory Migration Tool to retain the account permissions (for example, permissions to printers, file shares, and other mailboxes).

Procedure

To Migrate from Exchange 5.5 to Exchange 2003 using the Active Directory Migration Tool (or Windows Domain Upgrade) > ADC > Migration Wizard external migration path

  1. Create new accounts in the target forest by one of two methods:

    • A domain upgrade from Windows NT to Windows 2000 or Windows Server 2003 creates accounts with SIDs preserved.

    • ADMT migrates the Windows NT accounts associated with Exchange 5.5 mailboxes to Active Directory and then creates new Active Directory users. ADMT then populates the SIDHistory attribute for each new user.

  2. Setup ADC.

    ADC finds the new Active Directory users and assigns e-mail addresses, making the users mail-enabled.

  3. Use the Migration Wizard to move Exchange data from the Exchange 5.5 organization to the Exchange 2003 organization.

    Migration Wizard finds the Active Directory users by searching for the SID. Migration Wizard creates mailboxes (making the users mailbox-enabled) and then migrates the mailbox data.

For More Information

For more information, see the following resources: