Upgrading to Microsoft Exchange 2010

Background
Organizations are ready to move to upgrade from Microsoft Exchange 2003 and 2007 to Microsoft Exchange 2010.  The benefits of upgrading to Microsoft Exchange 2010 include:

• Security
• Automatic encryption at both the channel and message levels to help control access to data and ensure trusted communications both inside and outside the network
• Multi-layered anti-spam filtering comes with continuous updates to help guard against increasingly sophisticated spam and phishing threats
• To protect against malware, leading anti-virus solutions can be integrated throughout the Exchange 2010 network

• Unified Messaging
• Voicemail and email messages consolidated into a universal inbox
• Voicemail preview that allows you to read your voicemail messages
• Customized greetings and call transfer options to reduce the likelihood of missing an important call
• Removes the need to purchase or manage a separate voicemail system

• Mobile Email
• A truly universal inbox on your mobile device that can includes email, voicemail, rights-protected messages, calendar requests, RSS feeds, saved instant message conversations, and more
• Over-the-air sync on hundreds of compatible devices so email, contacts, and calendar are always up to date
• Greater control over device access with policy support and allow/block/quarantine lists, including exceptions down to the individual user level
• No need to purchase or manage a separate system or buy additional licenses for mobile access — it's all included with Exchange 2010

• Email Archiving
• Users can easily access their own email archives within their Inbox
• Automatic archiving eliminates the need to monitor user archiving
• Easy to search across multiple end-user mailboxes at once
• No need to purchase and maintain a separate email archiving product
• Mailbox Recovery
• Microsoft Exchange Server includes a new, unified solution for high availability, disaster recovery, and backup with fast, automatic, database-level recovery from database, server, and network failures.

Planning

Where to Start?

I.  Assess your current Messaging Environment.  

The Exchange Pre-deployment Analyzer is the best place to start.

You can use the Exchange Pre-Deployment Analyzer to perform an overall topology readiness scan of your environment. When you run the Exchange Pre-Deployment Analyzer, it provides a detailed report that will alert you if there are any issues within your organization, which could prevent you from deploying Exchange 2010. For example, the Exchange Pre-Deployment Analyzer will notify you if you haven't deployed the minimum required Exchange service pack on all your existing Exchange servers.

II.  Create Deployment Plan

The Exchange Deployment Assistant will guide you through the process of developing your deployment plan.  Carefully complete the Deployment Assistant by answering questions presented by the Deployment Wizard.

III.  Create Documentation

Nothing beats good documentation.  Document every decision that’s made during the Deployment Assistant phase above.  

We’re a big advocate for design before build, or in this case, design before deploy.  With that said, open up your favorite diagramming tool and draw your current messaging platform.  Be as detailed as possible.  Then use a different color and place the new objects on your diagram.  This includes hardware, software tools, etc.

!!DO NOT GO ANY FURTHER UNTIL YOU COMPLETE the Messaging Diagram!!

IV.  Construct New Environment

At this point you should have a good deployment plan and messaging platform diagram.  You are now ready to prepare your new messaging platform.

A.  Provision Hardware

B.  Provision all components of the new messaging platform based on deployment plan

C.  Run Exchange Best Practice Analyzer against new messaging platform

D.  Move mailboxes to new platform

E.  Decommission old messaging objects that’s no longer in use