How to Migrate from Exchange 5.5 to Exchange 2003 Using the Active Directory Migration Tool > 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 attempting this procedure:

  • If possible, you should 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 small organizations. It is not intended for use in a situation where an Exchange 5.5 organization will coexist with a separate Exchange 2003 organization.

Procedure

To Migrate from Exchange 5.5 to Exchange 2003 using the Active Directory Migration Tool > Migration Wizard External Migration Path

  1. Run ADMT to create active user accounts in Active Directory.

    You should select the option for migrating security identifiers (SIDs) to ensure that ADMT adds the source account's SID to the new target account's SID history (SIDHistory) attribute. (In the next step, Migration Wizard uses the SID to match mailboxes to accounts.) However, to migrate SIDs, the target Exchange 2003 domain must be in native mode.

    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.

  2. Use Migration Wizard to migrate mailboxes.

    If you migrated SIDs when you ran ADMT, Migration Wizard uses the SID to match mailboxes to the new accounts and then converts the accounts to mailbox-enabled user accounts. If you did not migrate the SIDs in the first step, Migration Wizard cannot match a mailbox to an account and instead creates a disabled user account to associate with the mailbox.

    Note

    As an alternative to using ADMT, you can follow the standard process for upgrading from Windows NT Server version 4.0 to Windows Server 2003. Following this process preserves the SID.

For More Information

For more information, see Planning to Move from Exchange 5.5 to Exchange 2003.