Planning Checklist

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Microsoft Exchange Server 2007 will reach end of support on April 11, 2017. To stay supported, you will need to upgrade. For more information, see Resources to help you upgrade your Office 2007 servers and clients.

 

Applies to: Exchange Server 2007, Exchange Server 2007 SP1, Exchange Server 2007 SP2, Exchange Server 2007 SP3

Before deploying Microsoft Exchange Server 2007, your existing infrastructure must meet certain prerequisites. You can use the following planning checklist to verify that your organization is ready for Exchange 2007.

Before proceeding with your deployment, we recommend that you also review the Exchange 2007 System Requirements.

Active Directory Planning

Requirements Check

The domain controller that is the schema master has Windows Server 2003 Service Pack 1 (SP1), Windows Server 2003 R2, or Windows Server 2003 Service Pack 2 (SP2) installed. For more information about SP1, including links for downloading and ordering SP1, see Windows Server 2003 Service Pack 1 (SP1) Roadmap. For more information about SP2, including links for downloading and ordering SP2, see Windows Server 2003 Service Pack 2. For more information about Windows Server 2003 R2, see the Windows Server 2003 R2 home page. To determine which domain controller is the current schema operations master, see Identify the Schema Master.

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At least one domain controller in each Active Directory directory service site that contains Exchange 2007 must be running Windows Server 2003 SP1 or later. In addition, at least one global catalog server in each Active Directory site that contains Exchange 2007 must be running Windows Server 2003 SP1 or later.

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For the release to manufacturing (RTM) version of Microsoft Exchange Server 2007, in each domain, including child domains, where you have the Exchange Enterprise servers and Exchange Domains Servers groups and therefore must run Setup /PrepareLegacyExchangePermissions, you must have at least one domain controller that is running Windows Server 2003 SP1 or a later version.

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For Exchange 2007 RTM and Microsoft Exchange Server 2007 Service Pack 1 (SP1), in each domain (including child domains) where you plan to install Exchange 2007, you must have at least one domain controller that is running Windows Server 2003 SP1 or a later version.

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The Active Directory domain functional level must be Windows 2000 Server-native or higher for all domains in the Active Directory forest where you will install Exchange 2007. For more information about raising the Active Directory domain functional level, see Raise the domain functional level.

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If you have a resource forest or multiple forests that share an Exchange 2007 organization, then a trust relationship is required.

The minimum Active Directory forest functional level for each forest is Windows Server 2003 if one of the following conditions is true:

  • Your topology includes multiple forests that contain Exchange 2007.

  • Your implementation requires a forest-to-forest trust between a forest that contains Exchange 2007 and a forest that does not contain any version of Exchange, such as a forest that contains only user objects.

  • You require a forest-to-forest trust between forests that contain Exchange 2007.

Note

In these scenarios, a Windows Server 2003 forest functional level is a requirement. It is not optional.

For more information about raising the Active Directory forest functional level, see Raise the forest functional level.

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Network and Name Resolution Planning

Requirements Check

Domain Name System (DNS) is configured correctly in your Active Directory forest, using a single, unified namespace. For more information about configuring DNS for use with Exchange 2007 see Configuring DNS Settings for Exchange 2007 Servers.

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Connection points between Exchange servers in distributed Exchange sites have at least 64 kilobits per second (Kbps) of bandwidth available.

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Existing Exchange Organization Planning

Requirements Check

Exchange Server version 5.5 is not present in the Exchange organization. If computers running Exchange Server version 5.5 are present in your organization, they will need to be removed before you can convert the organization to native mode. For detailed steps to remove Exchange Server version 5.5 from the organization, see How to Remove Exchange 5.5 Servers from Your Exchange 2003 Organization.

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The Exchange organization has been converted to native mode. For detailed steps to convert an Exchange organization to native mode, see How to Convert from Mixed Mode to Native Mode in Exchange.

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Exchange Server 2003 servers must have a minimum version of Exchange Server 2003 SP2 installed.

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Servers running Exchange 2000 Server must have a minimum version of Exchange 2000 Service Pack 3 (SP3) installed.

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Exchange 2000 servers require the installation of the latest Exchange 2000 Server Post-SP3 update rollup. The update rollup includes the updated Exadmin.dll, which helps the Exchange 2000 Exchange System Manager work with Exchange 2007 object versioning. For more information about the update rollup, and to download the update rollup, see Microsoft Knowledge Base article 870540, Availability of the August 2004 Exchange 2000 Server Post-Service Pack 3 Update Rollup.

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Mailbox Server Role Planning

Requirements Check

Hardware meets minimum requirements. For information about the minimum requirements for Exchange 2007, see Exchange 2007 System Requirements. See also, Planning Processor Configurations.

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Partitions containing the following files are formatted using NTFS: system partition, and any partition that stores Exchange binaries; storage group files, including the transaction log files and database files; and other Exchange files. For information about formatting or converting partitions to NTFS, see Reformatting or converting a partition to use NTFS.

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Operating system meets minimum requirements. For information about the minimum requirements for Exchange 2007, see Exchange 2007 System Requirements.

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Client Access Server Planning

Requirements Check

Hardware meets minimum requirements. For information about the minimum requirements for Exchange 2007, see Exchange 2007 System Requirements. See also, Planning Processor Configurations.

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Partitions containing the following files are formatted using NTFS: system partition, and any partition that stores Exchange binaries; storage group files, including the transaction log files and database files; and other Exchange files. For information about formatting or converting partitions to NTFS, see Reformatting or converting a partition to use NTFS.

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Operating system meets minimum requirements. For information about the minimum requirements for Exchange 2007, see Exchange 2007 System Requirements.

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Unified Messaging Server Planning

Requirements Check

Hardware meets minimum requirements. For information about the minimum requirements for Exchange 2007, see Exchange 2007 System Requirements. See also, Planning Processor Configurations.

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Partitions containing the following files are formatted using NTFS: system partition, and any partition that stores Exchange binaries; storage group files, including the transaction log files and database files; and other Exchange files. For information about formatting or converting partitions to NTFS, see Reformatting or converting a partition to use NTFS.

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Operating system meets minimum requirements. For information about the minimum requirements for Exchange 2007, see Exchange 2007 System Requirements.

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At least one supported IP PBX or IP gateway is installed and configured correctly in your organization. For information about supported IP PBX and IP gateways, see Supported IP Gateways and IP PBX and PBX Support.

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Hub Transport Server Planning

Requirements Check

Hardware meets minimum requirements. For information about the minimum requirements for Exchange 2007, see Exchange 2007 System Requirements. See also, Planning Processor Configurations.

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Partitions containing the following files are formatted using NTFS: system partition, and any partition that stores Exchange binaries; storage group files, including the transaction log files and database files; and other Exchange files. For information about formatting or converting partitions to NTFS, see Reformatting or converting a partition to use NTFS.

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Operating system meets minimum requirements. For information about the minimum requirements for Exchange 2007, see Exchange 2007 System Requirements.

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Edge Transport Server Planning

Requirements Check

Hardware meets minimum requirements. For information about the minimum requirements for Exchange 2007, see Exchange 2007 System Requirements. See also, Planning Processor Configurations.

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Partitions containing the following files are formatted using NTFS: system partition, and any partition that stores Exchange binaries; storage group files, including the transaction log files and database files; and other Exchange files. For information about formatting or converting partitions to NTFS, see Reformatting or converting a partition to use NTFS.

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Operating system meets minimum requirements. For information about the minimum requirements for Exchange 2007, see Exchange 2007 System Requirements.

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Server must not be a member of your internal Active Directory forest. It must be deployed in a perimeter network as either a stand-alone server in workgroup mode, or a member of a separate Active Directory forest in the perimeter network.

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Exchange Client Planning

Requirements Check

All MAPI clients are running a supported version of Outlook, including Microsoft Outlook 2007, Outlook 2003, or Outlook 2002.

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All Outlook Web Access clients are running a supported Web browser, including Microsoft Internet Explorer. Users running Microsoft Internet Explorer 6 and later versions can choose either Outlook Web Access Premium or Outlook Web Access Light (formerly Outlook Web Access Basic). Users running earlier versions of Internet Explorer, and users running third-party Web browsers automatically use Outlook Web Access Basic. Outlook Web Access Basic has been tested against several Web browsers, including Internet Explorer versions 7, 6, 5.5, and 5.01, Mac OS X, Linux, Safari, Firefox, Netscape, and Opera. Outlook Web Access Basic has also been tested with Microsoft Windows Vista, Microsoft Windows XP, Microsoft Windows 2000, Microsoft Windows Millennium Edition, and Microsoft Windows 98.

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All mobile devices are running a supported operating system, including Windows Mobile 5.0, Windows Mobile 5.0 with the Messaging and Security Feature Pack, Windows Mobile 6.0, or mobile phones running a non-Windows operating system that is compatible with Exchange ActiveSync.

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Note

The third-party Web site information in this topic is provided to help you find the technical information you need. The URLs are subject to change without notice.