Part One 

Microsoft recently announced that Microsoft Exchange Server 2010 Release Candidate (RC) will directly upgrade to the Release to Manufacturing (RTM) code. This means that you can introduce Exchange 2010 into your Exchange 2007 SP2 environment and start to leverage the new features that make the most sense for your organization. Therefore, now is the time to start getting familiar with Exchange 2010. And because you can install Exchange 2010 into your existing Exchange 2007 SP2 organization, and then upgrade the RC code to RTM, Microsoft has erased all barriers to a clean adoption path.

Part one of this series will walk through the install of a consolidated server offering mailbox (MBX), hub transport HT), client access (CAS), and of course, the management tools. Part two will cover the basic configuration of the system, and part three will cover putting together a simple Database Availability Group.

Part One

Part Two

Part Three

We will use Server 2008 SP2 as our base host server. The following list shows the additional prerequisites for installing Exchange 2010 onto Server 2008 SP2.

1. .Net3.5SP1 – There are two versions: a small bootstrap download and the full 231MB version.
2. Update for .NET 3.5 SP1 (NDP35SP1-KB958484-x64 - make sure you get the right version, ie: x64 for ws08sp2)
3. 2007 Office System Converter: Microsoft Filter Pack – what we need is FilterPackx64.exe
4. PowerShell v2 (windows6.0-KB968930-x64_update – again, make sure you get the right version)

• If you install the components in that order you will only have one reboot.
• Keep in mind that this version of PowerShell is NOT the version included with the base Server 2008. Do not install that version or you will be uninstalling it before installing PowerShell v2.
• As an option, you may wish to install the Windows Server Backup feature so that you can leverage the native ability to perform backups of your Exchange data.

Now that we have a valid base host server, let’s get started.

Open an elevated command prompt, navigate to the Scripts folder on the Exchange 2010 installation media and use the following commands to tweak the system a tad and install the necessary operating system components. For the second command, the xml files that control what Server 2008 components are needed to support Exchange 2010 are included with the distribution media. Very nice.

sc config NetTcpPortSharing start= auto

ServerManagerCmd -ip Exchange-Typical.xml –Restart

Then run setup.exe from the root of the distribution source

Note that I have already chosen the default language from the DVD.

Click on Step 4: Install Microsoft Exchange

At the setup wizard, read all the wonderful information, and then click Next.

Accept the license terms. No choice here if you want to continue!

Click on Next when you are ready to move on.

Choose to participate (or not) in the Error Reporting. I chose “no.” Click Next to move on.

I am choosing the “typical” Exchange installation that consists of the Hub Transport, Client Access, and Mailbox roles, along with the management tools. If you don’t like the default installation path target, change it now. Click on Next to move on.

On this next screen, you need to enter your Exchange Organization name. Because I am installing for the first time into a clean Active Directory, I needed to create the Organization. If you have an Exchange 2007 SP2 Organization, this parameter would already be done for you as you would be joining the Exchange 2010 server to the existing organization. Enter a name for your organization and click next to move on.

This is the place where you designate what type of clients you have. Remember that if you have Outlook 2003 in your organization, you will need public folders. In this example, I don’t have Outlook 2003, so I selected “NO” to this question. Make an appropriate selection and then click next to move on.

This next bit is new to Exchange 2010. Basically, you need to decide if your Client Access server is going to face the internet; if yes, then the install is going to configure the required parameters. This leaves you with arranging for the firewall to either publish OWA/autodiscover or pass port 443 straight to the Exchange 2010 Server. Very nice. Remember that you can have a single CAS that serves both internal and external users. Make your choice, fill in the externally facing domain name if needed, and click next to move on.

I never say yes to this, but you may wish to participate. Make the appropriate choice, and click next to move on.

Here we are with the wizard running through the readiness checks.

The results are interesting. Observe that I am being warned that if I proceed, I will not be able to install an Exchange 2007 server into this Exchange Organization. Review this information and then click on Install.

And off we go…

Install complete!

We have prepared the server for Exchange 2010 and installed the necessary system components. In the next installment, we will look at the configuration of Exchange 2010. Remember to make sure that you update your server. To enable Server 2008 for additional updates past the core operating system, see this blog entry.