Upgrade MS Exchange 2003 Server to MS Exchange 2010 Server
Upgrading MS Exchange 2003 Server to MS Exchange 2010 Server
Microsoft Certified Partner Provides Help and Assistance with Upgrading MS Exchange 2003 Server to MS Exchange 2010 Server

Notice: As of April 14, 2009 Microsoft will not provide support for Windows 2003 Server and Exchange 2003 Server—these products are officially “retired” by Microsoft—Exiis Corporation will continue to support both products until June 30, 2015.

If you are experiencing a server-down or mission-critical issue, call 877-752-1122 for immediate help, support, or assistance.

Upgrade MS Exchange 2003 Server to MS Exchange 2010 Server

Businesses and Organizations planning to upgrade MS Exchange 2003 Server to MS Exchange 2010 Server will need to ensure certain components within their network are prepared properly before they attempt their upgrade process. This means network administrators will need to examine their current network infrastructure and perform pre-installation steps to ensure the upgrade process goes as smoothly as possible without interrupting the current messaging environment. Since there is no direct “upgrade” path from MS Exchange 2003 Server to MS Exchange 2010 Server, administrators need to be prepared ahead of time, planning for such items as: Microsoft Windows 2008 Server, Active Directory, Forest and Domain level changes, planning for a Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) infrastructure, determine Microsoft Exchange 2010 role placements, and make additional decisions related to firewall ports, security, and network routing.

Organizations that have other messaging solutions, such as Lotus Notes and Novell GroupWise, will find this is an excellent opportunity to move to a MS Exchange 2010 Server messaging environment. Because the process of migrating from one messaging environment to another are relatively the same, the time and effort required to move from Lotus Notes or Novell GroupWise is very similar as the move from MS Exchange 2003 Server to MS Exchange 2010 Server. Since the MS Exchange 2003 Server environment relies on old messaging technologies, the need to upgrade to newer technologies will be a great advantage to end-users, network administrators, and the organization as the availability and reliability of the new messaging platform will be greatly improved. Built upon the earlier release of MS Exchange 2007 Server, MS Exchange 2010 Server takes the best features of MS Exchange 2007 Server and leverages those features in this latest release, which means additional gains to the organization.

Benefits of Upgrading to MS Exchange 2010 Server

One of the primary support services provided by Exiis Corporation is the repair and recovery of MS Exchange 2003 Server mailbox databases. While there are many technical reasons for a database failure, the recovery process with MS Exchange 2003 Server databases is oftentimes a long and tedious process. Microsoft provides many command-line tools and utilities that assist in the database recovery process, such as the ever popular ISINTEG and ESEUTIL tools that defrag and recover database records and log files. MS Exchange 2003 Server database recovery times can last from a few minutes to several hours depending on the cause of the corruption and the size of the mailbox store.

MS Exchange 2010 Server provides real-time copies of MS Exchange Server databases to be created and stored both locally and at remote locations. The benefits of allowing real-time copies to exist allow administrators to manually switch over to these databases when an MS Exchange 2010 Server experiences hardware failure and when an MS Exchange 2010 Server becomes unavailable, such as in cases of a regional or local disaster. The advantages gained in the new database design allows databases to be mounted on other MS Exchange 2010 Servers; eliminating older requirements of Exchange databases having to be mounted on the same server.

MS Exchange 2010 also provides increased client availability features, such as Microsoft Outlook Web Access (OWA) with a variety of web browsers. In the past, Outlook Web Access was only accessible by users who used Microsoft Internet Explorer as their web browser which severely limited access from other web-based browsers. MS Exchange 2010 allows for popular Internet browsers such as Firefox and Macintosh Safari to access and interact with Outlook Web Access just as seamlessly and efficiently as Microsoft Internet Explorer.

Microsoft Outlook 2007 and later takes advantage of the “Auto Discover” service featured in MS Exchange 2007 Server and MS Exchange 2010 Server. The Auto Discover service provides all the configuration settings necessary to connect remotely to the MS Exchange 2010 Server organization by sending these settings over the Internet to the Outlook client. Because MS Exchange 2010 Server communicates seamlessly with the Microsoft Outlook client, there are significant reduction in Help Desk support calls, allowing network administrators and Help Desk personnel to remain free to address more important support issues. Microsoft Outlook 2007 requires two pieces of information for this process to complete; the user’s e-mail address and their password. Windows Mobile devices also rely on the Auto Discover service for their configuration as well. Now, Windows Mobile device users simply need to provide their e-mail address and password in order for the Windows Smart Phone to retrieve configuration settings and configure the mobile device automatically, without further intervention. In addition to Microsoft-based mobility features, MS Exchange 2010 Server also supports other mobile devices through the use of Microsoft Exchange Active Sync technologies, which provides real-time push/pull processes over the Internet using the cellular providers wireless data services. Finally, MS Exchange 2010 Server supports other clients utilizing protocols such as IMAP and POP3, virtually connecting to any mobile device anywhere in the world.

MS Exchange 2010 Server Built-in Services for Legal and Regulatory Requirements

Legal and regulatory compliance issues are becoming a greater concern for many businesses and organizations. In the past, businesses relied on costly, third-party add-on solutions to meet these requirements in the MS Exchange 2003 Server organization. MS Exchange 2010 Server, as well as MS Exchange 2007 Server, provides solutions that meet legal and regulatory requirements by providing built-in features such as content filtering, e-mail archiving, and e-mail delivery options. MS Exchange 2010 Server lowers the total cost of ownership associated previously with manual processes by automating them to the specific needs of the organization. These advanced configuration options require experienced MS Exchange 2010 Server Support Professionals and MS Exchange 2010 Server Consultants who understand how these processes work, their effect on e-mail flow throughout the organization, and how to apply these settings in the correct order. Businesses and Organizations that need assistance or help with MS Exchange 2010 meeting the legal and regulatory requirements of the Exchange Organization should contact Exiis Corporation for a consultation.

Complex MS Exchange 2003 Server and MS Exchange 2010 Server Organizations

MS Exchange 2003 Server and MS Exchange 2007 Server are present in nearly every business environment, from Microsoft Small Business Server, Microsoft Windows Essentials, and Enterprise Microsoft Windows 2008 Server environments; Microsoft Exchange Server services are at the core of the messaging environment.

In larger organizations, the need to address advanced and complex MS Exchange 2010 Server concepts means having access to experienced MS Exchange 2010 Server Professionals. Environments that require cross-forest and cross-domain authentication, a centralized Global Address List, and resource forest domains need highly trained and experienced MS Exchange 2010 Server administrators, Enterprise level Active Directory engineers, and advanced network routing engineers to plan, implement, and deploy solutions that are reliable and highly available.

Exiis Corporation has extensive experience providing enterprise solutions with MS Exchange 2010 Server, MS Exchange 2007 Server, and MS Exchange 2003 Server Organizations. Complex Microsoft Exchange environments are usually the result of two or more organizations merging together, eliminating the need for separate messaging environments. MS Exchange 2010 Server is completely capable of merging Exchange Server Organizations, resulting in a centralized approach to network management, security control, and reduction in hardware resources. While every scenario has its own unique requirements, MS Exchange 2010 Server can be configured to address any requirement an organization may need to complete their messaging environment. Organizations of this size will oftentimes have additional solution requirements, such as Instant Messaging, Unified Messaging, Real-time Presence Awareness, and integration with related mission-critical applications such as Microsoft Dynamics Products, Microsoft Office SharePoint Server, and Microsoft Customer Relations Manager Server. When complex messaging solutions are required, the Microsoft Exchange 2010 Support Professionals at Exiis Corporation, together with other Microsoft Support Professionals and Consultants, are available to assist in the planning, implementation, and migration of these services.

Tighter Integration with IP Telecom and Network Resources

Many organizations are familiar with the ever-popular Cisco Call Manager software which intercepts voice mail messages and delivers them to the end-users Microsoft Exchange 2003 Outlook Inbox. Cisco Call Manager is a third-party application and add-on solution that is efficient by design, but it is not native to the Exchange Server environment. In MS Exchange 2007 Server and continued in MS Exchange 2010 Server, the ability to connect and interact with telecom devices was introduced, allowing voicemail to be captured by MS Exchange 2010 Server and delivered directly to the users Inbox—the result—less operational costs and add-on fees associated with having to purchase Cisco Call Manager as an add-on cost to the clients phone system. The added feature also includes tighter integration with remote users and mobile clients as well, allowing users who are out of the office to manage all their important calendar, task, voice, and e-mail messages from one centralized location. It is important to note however that Microsoft FAX services are not integrated with the latest edition of MS Exchange 2010 Server. The decision to remove FAX services came as a result of more and more organizations utilizing e-mail and third-party software such as Adobe Acrobat to send and receive important e-mail messages, eliminating the need for FAX services in MS Exchange 2010 Server. Removing FAX services remains an on-going debate that has yet to be settled in the Microsoft Exchange community as there are plenty of businesses that still use FAX as a primary form of communication to receive purchase orders, legal documents, and signed contracts. While the fate of FAX services appears to remain a dead issue in Microsoft Exchange 2010, it’s important to note earlier decisions by Microsoft have oftentimes been reversed and rescinded, such as in the case of providing backup software with MS Exchange 2007 Server. With MS Exchange 2007 Server, Microsoft released Exchange Server 2007 Service Pack 2 which included  the ability to “hook” into Windows 2008 Server Backup—perhaps we will see another reversal in the future when it comes to Microsoft Exchange 2010 FAX services.

The Exiis Difference

Exiis Corporation combines the talents of Microsoft Certified Systems Engineers (MCSE), Cisco Certified Internet Engineers (CCIE), system security specialists, experienced business consultants, and professional project managers to deliver the perfect Unified Messaging environment, regardless of your organizations size or location. Our world-class 24X7 Professional Call Center provides help-desk style support at all levels within the organization—from end-users to senior IT managers. We provide additional technology planning, design, and deployment options with other Microsoft Products and Technologies, such as Microsoft Office SharePoint Server (MOSS) and Microsoft Dynamics products. With such a diverse and specialized group of professionals, Exiis Corporation will certainly become a trusted and valuable partner you can rely upon.