Windows 2K8 R2

[Kevin Adams]

Greetings.

Environment:
Windows 2003 AD (Domain and Forest Functional Levels)
Exchange 2003 SP2 (Several)
Exchange 2007 SP2 (3) (transitioning to E2K7 SP2)

Scenario:
Installing Windows 2008 R2 Servers as GC and DCs while remaining at
2003 Domain and
Forest Functional Level

Question:

I've read in several places of incompatability between Exchane 2K3 and
Windows 2K8 R2 AD. Is the above scenario feasible in our
environment? Has anyone been in this situation?

Looking at the Exchange server supportability Matrix, it seems to
indicate that as long as the 2K8 R2 servers stay in 2003 Domain and
Forest Functional Levels, our E2K3 servers should communicate against
those DCs just fine. Let me know if this is a mistake so i can go
head off the responsible people before they break my mail servers.

Thanks

K

[Mark Arnold [MVP]]

On Tue, 3 Nov 2009 12:53:23 -0800 (PST), Kevin Adams
<incensedprey@gmail.com> wrote:

>Greetings.
>
>Environment:
> Windows 2003 AD (Domain and Forest Functional Levels)
> Exchange 2003 SP2 (Several)
> Exchange 2007 SP2 (3) (transitioning to E2K7 SP2)
>
>Scenario:
> Installing Windows 2008 R2 Servers as GC and DCs while remaining at
>2003 Domain and
> Forest Functional Level
>
>Question:
>
>I've read in several places of incompatability between Exchane 2K3 and
>Windows 2K8 R2 AD. Is the above scenario feasible in our
>environment? Has anyone been in this situation?
>
>Looking at the Exchange server supportability Matrix, it seems to
>indicate that as long as the 2K8 R2 servers stay in 2003 Domain and
>Forest Functional Levels, our E2K3 servers should communicate against
>those DCs just fine. Let me know if this is a mistake so i can go
>head off the responsible people before they break my mail servers.
>
>Thanks
>
>K
I'll offer the advice that always gets offered in your kind of
situation, specifically, why go racing ahead with the AD when you're
behind with the other infrastructure.
For no pain or interop worries you can get rid of the Exchange 2003
and go exclusively Exchange 2007. Then you can do the AD from 2003 to
2008 R2 and go to 2008 (if not all the way to R2) native.

That way you don't have to do any additional testing that hasn't
already been done by a tone of people and proven perfectly functional.

That said, keep it all at the lowest FFL and you are ok.

[Kevin Adams]

Mark,

Thanks for the advice. That would be my preferred route were it up to
me. Unfortunately
Its not. Thanks again.

K