Planning an Exchange Server 2003 Infrastructure

Understanding the Different Combinations of Exchange and Windows Server

The different supported combinations of Exchange and Windows Server are listed here:

There are also a number of Exchange Server 2003 features that are not supported when Exchange Server 2003 is installed on Windows 2000 Server:

The following Exchange Server 2003 features are only supported when Windows Server 2003 Enterprise Edition is being used:

Planning for Exchange Server 2003 Implementation

When planning for an Exchange Server 2003 implementation, it is recommended that you create an Exchange Server 2003 design document that encompasses the following aspects of the Exchange Server 2003 implementation:

You should consider building an Exchange test environment, which should include the following:

When dealing with complex multiple domain environments, the factors listed below should be considered:

As a component of your planning phase, you have to determine whether any third-party applications are going to be added to improve on your Exchange implementation:

Exchange Server 2003 Hardware Requirements

The minimum hardware requirements for installing Exchange Server 2003 are listed here:

The hardware requirements recommended for a cluster server configuration are detailed below:

The recommended hardware requirements for installing Exchange Server 2003 are listed here:

Use separate physical disks for the Exchange binaries, Exchange database files, and Exchange transaction logs.

Windows Services and Components Required for Exchange Server 2003

Because of Windows and Exchange integration, there are a number of Windows Server 2003 components and services that have to be installed and enabled before you can install Exchange Server 2003.

These Windows services are:

In order to install your first Exchange 2003 server, the Active Directory infrastructure and DNS has to be running, and running correctly and efficiently, that is, with no errors. Exdeploy can be utilized to move through all the necessary pre-installation health checks before you run the Exchange Server 2003 Setup program.

Impact of Windows on the Exchange Server 2003 Installation

Since Windows forms the basic infrastructure for an Exchange Server 2003 installation, there are a number of factors which have to be considered before you proceed with your Exchange Server 2003 installation. These factors are:

When planning Global Catalog placement, consider the following recommendations:

A few important changes made with regard to groups are listed here:

A few important factors on how group types affect visibility are listed here. Visibility refers to the ability of users being able to view the domain membership of a group:

You need to define security groups so that you can assign permissions for Exchange resources, calendars and public folders. A security group is a collection of users who have the same permissions to resources, and the same rights to perform certain system tasks. These are the groups to which you assign permissions so that its members can access resources. Security groups therefore remove the need for an Administrator to individually assign permissions to users. Users that need to perform certain tasks can be grouped in a security group, and then assigned the necessary permissions to perform these tasks. Each user that is a member of the group would have the same permissions. In addition to this, any e-mail sent to a security group is received by each member of that particular group.

The different group scopes make it possible for groups to be used differently to assign permissions for accessing resources. The scope of a group defines the place in the network where the group will be used or is valid. This is the degree to which the group will be able to reach across a domain, domain tree, or forest. The group scope also determines what users can be included as group members.

With domain local group, the functional level set for the domain determines which members can be included in the domain local group.

With Global groups, the domain functional level set for the domain determines which members can be included in the global group.

With Universal groups; user accounts, computer accounts, global groups, and other universal groups, from any domain in the Active Directory domain tree or forest can be defined as members. This basically means that you can add members from any domain in the forest to a Universal group. Universal groups are not available when domains are functioning in the Windows 2000 Mixed domain functional level.

A few other elements associated with the Active Directory schema are:

Before proceeding with extending the Active Directory schema, consider the points listed below:

To extend the Active Directory schema, you will need to run ForestPrep. ForestPrep extends or updates the Active Directory schema so that the necessary Exchange 2003 classes and attributes are added.

DomainPrep must be run in each of these domains:

The changes made to the domain when DomainPrep is run are listed here:

Before you start to install Exchange Server 2003, verify that the following installation preparations have occurred:

Exchange Server 2003 Service Account Requirements

It is recommended that the service account which you plan to use to install Exchange Server 2003 be a dedicated service account.

For auditing purposes, this would enable you to more quickly determine what activities are being performed by Exchange services.

To install Exchange Server 2003, the following permissions are needed:

Determining which Exchange 2003 Version to use

The different versions of Exchange 2003 are:

The features not supported in the Standard version of Exchange Server 2003 are noted here:

Determining whether to use Multiple Exchange Databases and Storage Groups

A storage group in Exchange pertains to the logical grouping of Exchange databases that have common logs.

Exchange Server 2003 provides the following features with regard to Exchange databases:

A single Exchange Server 2003 Enterprise version can support the following:

A few advantages of implementing multiple Exchange databases are listed here:

Best Practices for Exchange Server 2003 Design

A few best practices for Exchange Server 2003 design are listed here:

How to create an Exchange Server 2003 Service Account

  1. Click Start, Administrative Tools, and then click Active Directory Users And Computers to open the Active Directory Users And Computers console.
  2. In the console tree, expand the domain.
  3. Right-click the Users container and select New, and then User from the shortcut menu.
  4. When the New Object - User dialog box opens, enter the necessary information.
  5. Enter the logon name for the account in the User Logon Name field, and select the domain to which the account should be associated with.
  6. Click Next.
  7. Proceed to set the password of the service account in the Password and Confirm Password fields, and enable any applicable options available in the dialog box for the new service account.
  8. Ensure that you select the Password Never Expires option. This option is generally enabled for accounts utilized by Windows services or programs.
  9. Click Next
  10. Click Finish.
  11. Right-click the service account that you created, and select Properties from the shortcut menu.
  12. The service account Properties dialog box opens.
  13. Click the Member Of tab.
  14. Click Add.
  15. Proceed to add the service account to the groups listed here:
    • Schema Admins group
    • Enterprise Admins group
    • Domain Admins group
  16. Click OK.
  17. Click OK in the Properties Dialog box of the service account.

How to install the Windows services for Exchange Server 2003 implementation

To install the SMTP service,

  1. Click Start, Control Panel, and click Add/Remove Programs.
  2. Click Add/Remove Windows Components in the Add Or Remove Programs dialog box.
  3. The Windows Components Wizard starts.
  4. Click Application Server in the Windows Components dialog box, and then click the Details button.
  5. The Application Server dialog box appears next.
  6. Click Internet Information Services (IIS) and then select the Details button.
  7. Click the SMTP Service checkbox.
  8. Click OK.

To install the NNTP service,

  1. Click Start, Control Panel, and click Add/Remove Programs.
  2. Click Add/Remove Windows Components in the Add Or Remove Programs dialog box.
  3. The Windows Components Wizard starts.
  4. Click Application Server in the Windows Components dialog box, and then click the Details button.
  5. The Application Server dialog box appears next.
  6. Click Internet Information Services (IIS) and then select the Details button.
  7. Click the NNTP Service checkbox.
  8. Click OK.

To install the World Wide Web service and ASP,

  1. Click Start, Control Panel, and click Add/Remove Programs.
  2. Click Add/Remove Windows Components in the Add Or Remove Programs dialog box.
  3. The Windows Components Wizard starts.
  4. Click Application Server in the Windows Components dialog box, and then click the Details button.
  5. Click the ASP.NET checkbox.
  6. Click OK.
  7. Click Internet Information Services (IIS) and then select the Details button.
  8. Click the World Wide Web Service checkbox.
  9. Click OK.

To enable ASP,

  1. Click Start, Administrative Tools, and then click Internet Information Services (IIS) Manager to open the Internet Information Services console.
  2. In the console tree, select Web Service Extensions.
  3. Select ASP.
  4. Click Allow to enable ASP.

How to run ForestPrep

  1. Using an account that belongs to the Schema Admins group and Enterprise Admins group, access the Windows Server 2003 server.
  2. Place the Exchange Server 2003 installation CD in the CD-ROM drive.
  3. Click Start, and then Run to access the Run command-line.
  4. Execute D:\setup\i386\setup.exe/forestprep, where D is the drive letter for the CD-ROM drive.
  5. The Exchange Installation Wizard starts.
  6. Click Next on the Exchange Installation Wizard Welcome screen.
  7. Read and accept the End User License Agreement. Click Next.
  8. The Component Selection page is displayed
  9. Ensure that ForestPrep is selected.
  10. Provide the installation path, if necessary. Click Next.
  11. Provide the account information for the account being used to install Exchange Server 2003, and then click Next.
  12. After the ForestPrep process has run, a message dialog box is displayed, indicating that the process has been completed.
  13. Click Finish to end the Exchange Installation Wizard.

How to run DomainPrep

  1. Using an account that belongs to the Domain Admins group, access the Windows Server 2003 server.
  2. Place the Exchange Server 2003 installation CD in the CD-ROM drive.
  3. Click Start, and then Run to access the Run command-line.
  4. Execute D:\setup\i386\setup.exe/domainprep, where D is the drive letter for the CD-ROM drive.
  5. The Exchange Installation Wizard starts.
  6. Click Next on the Exchange Installation Wizard Welcome screen.
  7. Read and accept the End User License Agreement. Click Next.
  8. When the Component Selection page is displayed, ensure that DomainPrep is selected.
  9. Provide the installation path, if necessary. Click Next.
  10. Provide the account information for the account being used to install Exchange Server 2003, and then click Next.
  11. After the DomainPrep process has run, a message dialog box is displayed, indicating that the process has been completed.
  12. Click Finish to end the Exchange Installation Wizard.


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