Site Consolidation, a feature that is available with Microsoft Exchange Server 2003 Service Pack 1 (SP1), lets you consolidate remote sites into large central sites. This article describes the basic steps that you must follow to institute site consolidation. The basic steps are the following:
Earlier versions of Exchange, such as Microsoft Exchange
2000 Server and Microsoft Exchange Server 5.5, require good network
connectivity between the Microsoft Outlook client and the Exchange server.
Because of this, if you have a network organization with remote physical
locations, you have to locate Exchange servers in these remote locations to
achieve a good Outlook client experience. If you use Exchange 2003 with
Microsoft Office Outlook 2003 in cached mode, you no longer have this
restriction. This configuration permits a more cost-effective deployment
because you can install Exchange Server 2003 on servers in central sites
instead of on servers at remote locations.
This article describes how
to move content to central sites from remote locations and how to remove
Exchange from the remote locations. For more information, see the following
resources. All three resources are updated for Exchange 2003 SP1.
The "Exchange Server 2003 Deployment Guide." This
deployment guide was released at the same time as Exchange 2003 SP1. This guide
includes information about consolidation requirements and about the steps that
you have to follow to consolidate sites. To obtain the deployment guide, visit
the following Microsoft Web site:
The Exchange Server Deployment Tools program. This program
provides a basic outline of the steps to consolidate sites. To obtain Exchange
Server Deployment Tools, visit the following Microsoft Web site:
After you download the Exdeploy.exe file, double-click it to
extract the contents to a folder. After the files are extracted, double-click
the Exdeploy.hta file to open Exchange Server Deployment Tools.
The "Planning an Exchange Server 2003 Messaging System"
guide. To obtain this planning guide, visit the following Microsoft Web site:
Before you consolidate sites, read through the planning steps to
learn about the process and to set your expectations. Read the updated
"Exchange Server 2003 Deployment Guide," the information in the updated
Exchange Server Deployment Tools program, and the updated "Planning an Exchange
Server 2003 Messaging System" guide. The deployment tools outline the basic
consolidation steps, and the deployment guide and the planning guide outline
the consolidation details.
Before you consolidate remote sites, you must prepare a central
site to consolidate the remote content to. To do this, follow these general
steps:
Install Exchange 2003 on a server in the central
site.
Deploy sufficient servers to consolidate the remote content
to.
Upgrade the consolidation servers to Exchange 2003
SP1.
To deploy the initial Exchange 2003 server that you will use
for site consolidation, use the Exchange Server Deployment Tools program. To do
this, follow these steps:
Double-click the Exdeploy.hta
file.
On the home page, click Deploy the first Exchange
2003 server.
In the Follow this process column, click
one of the following options:
Click Coexistence with Exchange 5.5 to
deploy Exchange 2003 into an existing Exchange Server 5.5 organization. Then,
follow the steps in the three-phase process that Exchange Server Deployment
Tools presents. You must install Exchange 2003 on new server hardware and then
join that server to the Exchange Server 5.5 organization.
Click Coexistence with Mixed Mode Exchange 2000
and Exchange 5.5 if you have already deployed Exchange 2000 into a
mixed-mode organization that uses Exchange 2000 and Exchange Server 5.5. Follow
the instructions in Exchange Server Deployment Tools to upgrade each instance
of the Active Directory Connector (ADC) in the site before you install Exchange
2003 on the first server.
Note We recommend that you install Exchange 2003 on a consolidation
server in a site that contains a Microsoft Exchange Site Replication Service
(SRS). This way, a remote site does not own the SRS for the central site. If a
remote site owns the SRS for the central site, you cannot consolidate this
remote site. Alternatively, you can manually create an SRS on the Exchange 2003
server in the central site to make sure that it owns its naming context.
For more information about how
to create the SRS in the Exchange 2003 site, click the following article number
to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
255285
(http://support.microsoft.com/kb/255285/
)
How to create an additional Site Replication Service for a mixed site
Make sure that the supported Exchange versions are installed on the central site servers
You must deploy sufficient servers in the central site to handle
the services and the content that you want to consolidate from the remote
sites. Make sure that the servers that will provide these server roles are
running the versions of Exchange that are shown in the following table, or
later versions. "Yes" indicates that the Exchange version supports the server
role.
Collapse this tableExpand this table
Server role
Exchange 2000
Exchange 2003
Exchange 2003 SP1
Mailbox server.
No
No
Yes
Public folder content
server.
Yes
Yes
Yes
Public folder WMI server. This is used during public folder
migration.
No
No
Yes
Front-end servers.
No
No
Yes
Offline Address Book
server.
No
Yes
Yes
Internet mail connector and foreign
connectors.
Yes
Yes
Yes
Note We strongly suggest that the server that will run Offline Address
Book Generator be running Exchange 2003 because an offline Address Book that is
generated in Exchange 2003 is smaller and less likely to be generated when it
is not required. You can use an offline Address Book that is generated in
Exchange 2000, but we do not recommend it. If you use it, performance may be
affected.
Perform the post-installation steps
After you have deployed sufficient Exchange 2003 servers in the
central site, follow the appropriate post-installation steps in Exchange Server
Deployment Tools. To do this, follow these steps:
On the Exchange Server Deployment Tools home page, click
Perform post-installation steps.
In the Consolidating Sites in Exchange Mixed
Mode section, click consolidating sites in Exchange mixed
mode.
The Consolidate Sites in Exchange Mixed
Mode page that appears outlines the steps that you must perform to
consolidate content and to remove servers from remote sites. These steps are
organized in three phases. To consolidate the remote sites, follow the steps on
these pages in the order that is designated.
Phase 1 - Preparing for site consolidation This page guides you through the process of preparing public
folder content, mailboxes, distribution lists, and contacts that you want to
consolidate into a central site.
Phase 2 - Consolidating remote content This page guides you through the process of moving public
folder content, mailboxes, distribution lists and contacts to a central
site.
Phase 3 - Removing a site This phase guides you through the process of removing a site
from an Exchange mixed-mode organization.
Perform additional site consolidation steps
After you have deployed the consolidation servers in a central
site, you must follow these additional steps to prepare for site consolidation:
Install Exchange 2003 SP1 Active Directory Connector (ADC). To install Exchange 2003 SP1 ADC, upgrade the existing ADCs
to Exchange 2003 SP1. Exchange 2003 SP1 ADC is a prerequisite for
consolidation. In the Exchange System Manager graphical user interface (GUI) in
Exchange 2003 SP1, you cannot make cross-site moves until all ADCs in the
forest have been upgraded to Exchange 2003 SP1.
For more
information about how to upgrade the ADCs, click the following article numbers
to view the articles in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
306505
(http://support.microsoft.com/kb/306505/
)
The Active Directory Connector upgrade does not succeed if certain files are in use
328839
(http://support.microsoft.com/kb/328839/
)
How to apply Exchange service packs and hotfixes
Upgrade several target servers to Exchange 2003 SP1. You must upgrade several target servers to Exchange 2003 SP1
before consolidation. Any server that you plan to move mailboxes to from remote
sites must be running Exchange 2003 SP1. Additionally, you must upgrade one
server to Exchange 2003 SP1 to act as a WMI server when you move the public
folders.
Install the Exchange Server 5.5 DS/IS hotfix. To preserve Exchange Server 5.5 public folder access control
lists (ACLs), you must install the Exchange Server 5.5 DS/IS hotfix that is
included in the May 2004 Update Rollup for Exchange Server 5.5 on all Exchange
Server 5.5 public folder servers before you move public folders, mailboxes,
contacts, or distribution lists between sites. If you do not install this
hotfix, you will be blocked from moving these items between sites.
For more
information about the May 2004 Update Rollup for Exchange Server 5.5, click the
following article numbers to view the articles in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
836489
(http://support.microsoft.com/kb/836489/
)
An update is required for mixed-mode site consolidation with Exchange Server 5.5
841765
(http://support.microsoft.com/kb/841765/
)
November 2004 Update Rollup for Exchange Server 5.5
For more information about ESMTP X verbs, click the
following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
812455
(http://support.microsoft.com/kb/812455/
)
Definitions of verbs that are used between 2 Exchange servers
After you have deployed a central site and after clients are
running Outlook 2003, you can start to consolidate content from remote sites.
This includes consolidating public folders, mailboxes, distribution groups,
contacts, and services to servers in the central site. Examples of services
include offline Address Book generation responsibility and foreign
connectors.
To consolidate the site and to remove the remote sites,
follow these steps:
Replicate public folders to the central site. Consolidate public folder content from the remote site to
the central site. To do this, add an Exchange 2000 server or an Exchange 2003
server as the target public folder content server in the central site to the
replica list of all public folders that are in the remote site. Make sure that
there is an Exchange 2003 SP1 server in the central site that can be used as
the public folder WMI server during the public folder move process.
To add a target server in the central site to the replica list, use the
Exchange 2003 SP1 PFMigrate tool against all the servers in the remote site
that have public folders. To do this, open Exchange Server Deployment Tools,
click Consolidate Sites in Exchange Mixed Mode, click
Phase 1, and then go to step 4.
Note You must use the Exchange Server 2003 SP1 version of the
PFMigrate tool. This version is available as part of the updated Exchange
Server Deployment Tools program. To obtain the Exchange Server Deployment Tools
program, visit the following Microsoft Web site:
Do not delete the original public folder server from the replica
list. After you add the Exchange server in the central site to the replica
list, clients have constant access to public folders while the mailboxes are
moved from the remote site. You do not have to configure public folder
affinity.
Move mailboxes to the central site. To move mailboxes from a remote server that is running
Exchange Server 5.5, Exchange 2000, or Exchange 2003 to an Exchange 2003 SP1
server in the central site, use the Exchange 2003 SP1 Exchange System Manager,
or use Active Directory Users and Computers, on a server that has Exchange 2003
SP1 Exchange System Manager installed. The Move Mailbox functionality in the
Exchange Task Wizard has a new Cross Administrative Group Move
option in Exchange 2003 SP1 to make cross-site moves easier.
After
the mailboxes are moved, you must wait for the mailbox changes to replicate to
Active Directory and to each Exchange Server 5.5 site before you remove the
remote site.
Important If you remove the site before the automated cleanup process for
distribution lists has completed, distribution list membership may be lost.
Clean up public folders, distribution lists, and contacts. After you move the mailboxes, move any additional Exchange
Server 5.5 directory objects from the remote site. This includes contacts or
custom recipients, distribution lists, and public folder directory
objects.
To move distribution lists and contacts, use the Object
Rehome tool. To do this, open Exchange Server Deployment Tools, click
Consolidate Sites in Exchange Mixed Mode, click Phase
2, go to step 5, and then click Run Object Rehome
now.
After all the mailboxes have been moved to the central
site, remove the public folder replicas from the remote site. To do this, open
Exchange Server Deployment Tools, click Consolidate Sites in Exchange
Mixed Mode, click Phase 3, go to step 1, and then
click Run PFMigrate now.
After you perform this
step, the public folder directory objects will be rehomed to the central site.
Sometimes you may want to remove Exchange Server 5.5 servers from
a remote site without decommissioning the site. For example, you may want to
remove these servers before the site is decommissioned so that the server
hardware can be used for other purposes.
Remove an Exchange Server 5.5 server from a site with multiple Exchange Server 5.5 servers
To remove an Exchange Server 5.5 server from a site where
multiple Exchange Server 5.5 servers exist, follow these steps:
Back up the Exchange server.
Make sure that there are no mail connectors on this
server.
Run the Setup program from the Exchange Server CD, and then
click the Remove All option.
For more information about how to
remove an Exchange Server 5.5 server from a site, click the following article
number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
189286
(http://support.microsoft.com/kb/189286/
)
How to delete a server from a site
Remove the last Exchange Server 5.5 server in a mixed-mode site
To remove the last Exchange Server 5.5 server in a site
where Exchange Server 5.5, Exchange 2000, and Exchange 2003 servers exist, use
the Exchange System Manager program.
For
more information about how to do this, click the following article number to
view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
284148
(http://support.microsoft.com/kb/284148/
)
How to remove the last Exchange Server 5.5 computer from an Exchange 2000 administrative group
Remove the last Exchange Server 5.5 server when it is the last server in a site
If the last Exchange Server 5.5 server in a site is the last
server in that site, you must decommission the site before you remove that
server. After you decommission the site, you can remove Exchange Server 5.5 by
using the Exchange Server 5.5 Setup program.
Consider these removal issues
The following are issues that you must consider when you
remove servers from remote sites.
Removing the first Exchange Server 5.5 server in a site If the server that you are removing is the first Exchange
5.5 server that was installed in a site, follow the recommendations in the
following Microsoft Knowledge Base article:
152959
(http://support.microsoft.com/kb/152959/
)
How to remove the first Exchange server in a site
Key Management server If the server that you are removing is also a Key Management
server (KM server), follow the process in the following Microsoft Knowledge
Base article to move the KM server between servers in the site:
154531
(http://support.microsoft.com/kb/154531/
)
Moving the KM server to another server in the site
Alternatively, see "Server Backups" by visiting the following Microsoft Web site:
Note that a KM server is not a feature of Exchange 2003.
Therefore, if your goal is an Exchange 2003 organization, or if you want to
move the KM server database across to another site for consolidation, you may
want to migrate your KM server environment into Microsoft Windows Server 2003
Certificate Services. See the "Key Archival and Management in Windows Server
2003" white paper for more information. To see this white paper, visit the
following Microsoft Web site:
Site and directory replication connectors If the server that you are removing is a bridgehead for a
site or directory replication connector and if it is not the last server in the
site, you must redirect the site and directory replication connectors to
another server in the site. Make sure that both sides of the connector are
updated with the new information.
Foreign connectors (Notes/GroupWise) If the server that you are removing has a foreign connector
(either Lotus Notes or Novell GroupWise), you must remove the connector before
you remove the server. You must move the custom recipients that were created by
the connector to a central site as part of the directory cleanup in "Phase 3 -
Removing the Remote Site." After you move the contacts that were created by the
connector, you can install a new Exchange 2003 foreign connector and configure
it with an import and export container in the Active Directory to match the
existing contacts. After you configure the new connector, it will take
ownership of the existing contacts.
Foreign connectors (MS Mail, cc:Mail, SNADS/PROFS) Because these connectors are not available with Exchange
2003, if you want to remove an Exchange 5.5 server with these connectors, you
must decommission these connectors. If connectivity is still needed to these
systems, consider using SMTP or leaving an Exchange 5.5 server intact somewhere
in the organization.
X400 connector If an X400 connector is being used as a site connector
between Exchange sites on the server that you are removing, move the X400
connector to another server, unless this is the last server in the site. If it
is the last server, remove the X400 connector. If the X400 connector is being
used to route mail externally, install a new X400 connector on an Exchange 2003
server in the central site, and remove the X400 connector from the remote site.
Internet Mail Connector If an Internet Mail Connector (IMC) exists on the Exchange
5.5 server that is to be removed, move the connector functionality to an
Exchange 2003 server in the main site. To do this, create an SMTP connector on
an Exchange 2003 server, configure it for mail handling, and then remove the
existing Internet Mail Connector on the Exchange 5.5 server.
Non-leaf nodes If an Exchange 5.5 site is being used as a replication link
to other Exchange 5.5 sites, the Exchange 5.5 server should not be removed
until you first remove all the leaf nodes or reconfigure them to perform
directory replication. For example, the main site is configured for directory
replication to site A, and site A is configured for directory replication to
site B. You must not completely remove Site A until you remove or reconfigure
site B. You can move the public folders, the mailboxes, the groups, and the
contacts from site A. However, site A must remain intact with at least one
Exchange 5.5 server or SRS to perform directory replication.
Note A non-leaf node is a site that has more than one directory
replication connector, not including ADNAutoDRC connectors.
Offline Address Book If the server that you are removing is also configured to
generate the offline Address book and if the server is not the last server in
the site, configure another server in the site to generate the offline Address
Book. If this is the last server in the site, you do not have to reconfigure
it. The offline Address Book for a remote site is not needed after all the
mailboxes are moved from the site. Therefore, the offline Address Book will not
have to be replicated to the central site.
System Folders The system folders (EventConfig, OAB, F/B) from the remote
Exchange 5.5 site are not needed after the site is removed. Therefore, do not
move them to the new target site.
Decommission a site
To decommission a site where the last Exchange Server 5.5 server
is the last Exchange server in the site, follow these steps:
Make sure that no objects remain in the site. Make sure that no mailboxes, distribution lists, contacts,
or mail-enabled public folders exist that reference the site. If objects such
as these remain in the site, data loss may occur when you decommission the
site. Make sure both that no objects have been left unmigrated. Also, make sure
that no objects remain in the process of being migrated.
Objects that
you must make sure do not remain are the following:
Directory objects Directory objects that are in the process of being migrated
(stub objects in the source site) are hidden and have two X500 proxies stamped
on them in the Exchange Server 5.5 directory. To verify that no directory
objects are still being migrated, look for hidden objects in the various
recipient containers in Exchange Server 5.5. Additionally, export the directory
and include hidden objects. Make sure that no objects with an
"X500:ADCDeleteWhenUnlinked" proxy or an "X500:ADCDoNotReplicate" proxy exist
in the directory.
Mailboxes To make sure that no mailboxes exist on the server that you
are removing, use the Exchange Server 5.5 Administrator program to view the
Mailbox Resources container on the server object.
Public folders To make sure that no public folder replicas exist on the
server that you are removing, use the PFMigrate tool to generate a report on
the replica status on the server. To do this, use the following command:
PFMigrate /S:Source_Server /R
Additionally, view the public folder "instances"
information on the servers in the remote site to make sure that the replication
is complete. PFMigrate does not remove public folder instances from the public
folder server until the replica has finished replicating and until the Delete
Pending state has been removed.
Contacts and distribution lists To verify that there are no unmigrated contacts or
distribution lists in the source remote site, rerun the scan phase of the
Object Rehome tool to make sure that no additional objects remain to be
migrated. To do this, open Exchange Server Deployment Tools, click
Consolidate Sites in Exchange Mixed Mode, click Phase
3, go to step 4, and then click Run Object Rehome tool
now.
Note Because this action does not verify that the transition of
distribution list membership is complete, you must still verify that the
directory objects have completed migration.
Remove ADC recipient Connection Agreements. To delete any recipient Connection Agreements to the server
in the site that you are removing, use ADC Admin. Because the site is an
Exchange Server 5.5 site, you will not have any Configuration Connection
Agreements to remove.
Remove Exchange Server 5.5 directory replication connectors and site connectors. Use the Exchange Server 5.5 Administrator program to remove
all directory replication connectors on the last Exchange Server 5.5 server. Do
this on the Directory Replication object in the Configuration container. Also,
make sure that the directory replication connector from other sites back to the
server that is being removed is also deleted. Typically, you can do this at the
same time by clicking Yes when you are prompted with the
question "Should the directory replication connector in the remote site
'Site' be deleted also?".
You must also
remove any mailflow (site/x400/IMS) connectors to and from this site by using
the Exchange Server 5.5 Admin on the Connections object. After the connectors
are removed, wait for replication, and then make sure that the site is removed
throughout the organization. To do this, review the Administrative Groups in
Exchange System Manager. Look in the Exchange Server 5.5 Administrator program
elsewhere in the organization to make sure that the remote site no longer
appears.
Recalculate routing. In any other Exchange Server 5.5 site that was connected to
the site that was removed, recalculate routing. To recalculate routing, view
the properties of the Site Addressing object under the
Configuration object. Click the Routing tab,
and then click Recalculate Routing. Recalculation occurs
automatically according to the Routing Calculation Schedule
for the Exchange Server site, but you can manually recalculate routing to speed
up the process.
Remove Exchange Server 5.5. Use the Exchange Server 5.5 Setup program to remove Exchange
Server 5.5 on the remote server.
For more information, click the following article numbers to
view the articles in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
255285
(http://support.microsoft.com/kb/255285/
)
How to create an additional Site Replication Service for a mixed site
189286
(http://support.microsoft.com/kb/189286/
)
How to delete a server from a site
284148
(http://support.microsoft.com/kb/284148/
)
How to remove the last Exchange Server 5.5 computer from an Exchange 2000 administrative group
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