Deploying Exchange 2000 should not be taken lightly-especially in an organization that currently uses Exchange or another messaging system. What your deployment looks like will depend a lot on where your organization is in its Active Directory deployment. Each point along your Active Directory deployment may have a different impact on your deployment plan. Your Active Directory deployment may be in one of the following phases:

ÿÿÿÿ No Active Directoryÿ If your company is currently running Windows NT 4.0, and has no current plans to deploy Active Directory company-wide, then your deployment plan will include a segment on establishing an Active Directory domain, setting up coexistence, then upgrading your Exchange 5.5 servers to Exchange 2000.

ÿÿÿÿ Deploying Active Directory at same time as Exchange 2000ÿ If your company plans on deploying Active Directory at the same time Exchange 2000 is being deployed, you will want to make sure your deployment plan outlines how the two deployments will affect each other, along with any dependencies that are created by Active Directory or Exchange 2000. Coexistence will be established between directories and care will be taken to manage the creation of twin accounts.

ÿÿÿÿ Mid-Active Directory deploymentÿ If your company has already begun deploying Active Directory and will not finish before your Exchange 2000 deployment begins, you'll have to anticipate the possibility of duplicate accounts created by your deployment. Familiarizing yourself with the Active Directory deployment plan and coordinating deployment schedules will help to assure both deployments are successful.

ÿÿÿÿ Active Directory fully deployedÿ If your company has fully deployed Active Directory, your task will be to move the Exchange 5.5 directory data into Active Directory and upgrade your Exchange 5.5 messaging system to Exchange 2000.

Once you've nailed down your directory upgrade strategy, you can begin to review your options for upgrading your existing messaging system. Your goal is to upgrade your existing messaging environment to an Exchange 2000 organization that matches the Exchange 2000 design. You choices here include:

ÿÿÿÿ Upgrading your servers in placeÿ This is the most straightforward approach and best suited for smaller organizations or organizations that have a limited number of servers in a limited number of physical locations. The in-place upgrade may also be well suited for the remote offices of large organizations that will continue to host an Exchange server in the Exchange 2000 organization.

ÿÿÿÿ Moving your existing Exchange mailboxes to new Exchange 2000 serversÿ This approach will likely be the most common method of upgrading to Exchange 2000. This method does not require you to upgrade from Exchange 5.5, nor does it require the server to be offline during the upgrade.

ÿÿÿÿ Moving your existing Exchange mailboxes to existing servers reconfigured as Exchange 2000 servers ÿAnother common upgrade solution, the leapfrog method, is a variation of the previous method, where mailboxes are moved off existing Exchange servers that are then wiped clean. Windows 2000 and then Exchange 2000 are installed. Mailboxes from the next existing Exchange server are moved to this Exchange 2000 server and the cycle continues until all Exchange servers have been upgraded to Exchange 2000.

ÿÿÿÿ Combining different upgrade methodsÿ Large organizations may find it makes most sense to employ a combination of the above methods, depending on the location within the organization that is being upgraded. The servers in the server farm at headquarters may be upgraded using the leapfrog method, while servers at remote offices are upgraded in place.

ÿÿÿÿ Migrating your mailboxes to a new Exchange organizationÿ As one of the most radical methods of upgrading to Exchange 2000, this migration may be used in organizations where the Exchange 2000 design is drastically different from the existing Exchange organizations. It may also be used when companies that have multiple Exchange organizations want to consolidate into a single Exchange organization and Active Directory forest.

Microsoft has provided us with the tools necessary to deploy Exchange 2000. It is up to us to put these tools to good use. In doing so, we will take a set of complex tasks and perform them in a controlled manner that will result in a successful upgrade to Exchange 2000. By choosing your directory upgrade strategy and messaging system upgrade strategy, then developing a deployment plan that articulates how they will be applied to your organization, you will be able to realize your goal of upgrading to an Exchange 2000 design.

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