Moving from Exchange 2007 to 2016 questions

deathnote666

Will 2016 be able to import the 2007 database?

Do I need to install 2013 first to convert the 2007 database into the 2013 version first?

Is it true that I would need to remove my 2007 server from the forest before 2016 is installed?

I've seen some difficulties getting the 2007 database to be used by 2013. What are some common problems?

I'm going to be using this server as a DC as well. Would it be advisable to install the DC role first?

Server 2012 R2 will have exchange 2016. Server 2008 R2 has exchange 2007 and is a DC.

What would be the best order to install the DC role and exchange 2016 with minimal downtime while keeping exchange 2007 live as long as possible?

Feral

deathnote666 wrote: »

Will 2016 be able to import the 2007 database? Do I need to install 2013 first to convert the 2007 database into the 2013 version first?

Is it true that I would need to remove my 2007 server from the forest before 2016 is installed?

Per https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms.exch.setupreadiness.e16e12coexistenceminversionrequirement(v=exchg.160).aspx there is no direct upgrade path for 2007 to 2016. You must go to Exchange 2010 or 2013 first.

Also, you shouldn't attempt to upgrade the database from one version of Exchange to another. You can do that, but it's generally much easier to just spin up a new Exchange server, run them concurrently, and migrate everything over.

Instead, your migration plan should look something like this:

1) Spin up a separate Exchange 2010 or 2013 server and get it running.
2) Configure the client access and hub transport roles on EX2010/2013.
3) Migrate all mailboxes from EX2007 to EX2010/2013.
4) Test EX2010/2013 while EX2007 has its network cable disconnected and make sure you can access your mailbox, send/receive internal and external mail, and (gag) access any public folders if you still have any.
5) Plug the EX2007 network cable back in and uninstall Exchange. (Uninstalling Exchange from Control Panel also cleans up all of the Active Directory stuff.)
6) Run your company on EX2010/2013 for a week or two to iron out any residual wrinkles.

Then do it all again as you migrate from EX2010/2013 to 2016.

deathnote666 wrote: »

I'm going to be using this server as a DC as well. Would it be advisable to install the DC role first?

It is advisable that you don't do this.

Microsoft will not support Exchange and ADS on the same server.

You can make it work, but you're increasing the likelihood of weird flaky problems and just creating headaches for yourself in the long term.

My recommendation if you're limited on server hardware is to use Hyper-V. I've done this in small environments before and it works fine. An example might look something like this:

First Physical Server: HYPERV01
VM: ADS01
VM: EXCHANGE01
VM: FILE01

Second Physical Server: HYPERV02
VM: ADS02
VM: EXCHANGE02
VM: FILE02

Total cost: 6 licenses for Microsoft Server, 2 licenses for Exchange, 2 physical servers, plus however many CALs you need. You can do this for around $10k before CALs.

If you can't quite swing that, you can also do:

First Physical Server: HYPERV01
VM: ADS01
VM: EXCHANGE01

Second Physical Server: HYPERV02
VM: ADS02
VM: FILE02

You don't get redundancy on Exchange or file sharing, but you can easily migrate those VMs to another physical server if something crashes.

Feral

BTW, keep in mind that purchasing a license for any Microsoft product through volume licensing channels always provides downgrade rights. You should have downloads available in the volume licensing portal for Exchange 2010-2016.

I'm assuming you got Exchange through volume licensing. AFAIK there's no other way to get it, but I might be wrong. YMMV.

deathnote666

Thanks for the responses!

Apothe0sis

If you use Public Folders, bear in mind that the find public folder functionality is broken since 2010

Feral

Microsoft has been trying to get rid of public folders, but public demand (no pun intended) keeps forcing MS to keep them.

Public folders still work in 2016. There are differences in how they're stored and managed, but they're still around.