XADM: When to Change an Exchange Organization to Native Mode

This article describes issues that you should consider if you want to move an Exchange organization to an Exchange 2000 native-mode environment.

NOTE: After you move an Exchange organization to an Exchange 2000 native-mode environment, it cannot be switched back to a mixed-mode environment.

When to Switch an Exchange Organization to a Native-Mode Environment

After you switch an Exchange 2000 organization from mixed mode to native mode, the organization is no longer interoperable with Microsoft Exchange Server 5.5-based systems. Exchange organizations operating in native mode can contain servers that are running Exchange 2000. You can switch an Exchange organization to native mode only when all of the Exchange-based servers in the site are running Exchange 2000.

You should change your Exchange organization to native mode in the following scenarios:

• You no longer have Exchange 5.5-based servers in your organization.
• You have no plans to add Exchange Server 5.5-based computers to your organization in the future. For example, your organization is not planning to merge with a company that uses Exchange Server 5.5-based computers.
• Your organization will never require interoperability between the Exchange 2000-based servers and servers that are running previous versions of Exchange Server. (Connectors can provide connectivity between your servers. However, administration of servers is limited to Exchange 2000-based servers.)
• Your organization does not use any connectors or gateway programs that run only in Exchange Server 5.5.

NOTE: After you switch from mixed mode to native mode, the change cannot be reversed and the organization is no longer interoperable with Exchange Server 5.5-based systems.

Advantages of Native Mode

Running an Exchange organization in native mode gives you the full flexibility of Exchange 2000 when you manage your messaging system.

For additional information about the advantages of Native Mode, click the article number below to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base: