Exchange Server #2

Following my own advice, here was my list:

Stop all inbound emails and access to server to stop any changes
Veritas Backup Exec backup using Exchange Agent to tape
NTBackup to disk immediately after
Stop all Exchange services
Copy MDBDATA folder

Follow my own Exchange 2003 in place migration document :-) (available on http://www.gillott.co.uk/nick)

So of course it all went smoothly. Had I NOT done the above, things would have been as pear shaped as...erm, a pear.

Very minor glitches all of which will be documented to the in place migration document and none of them slowed me down for more than 5 minutes (rerunning the setup program after a Dot Net problem with OMA).

Took a backup after the upgrade, then another and another. After all of the upgrades, the change of tape and the lovely polishing of the system by yours truly, the store level 6 hour backup and associated 13 hour brick level backup has dropped to a 95 minute store level backup and a hankering for Quest's marvellous Aelita Recovery Manager. 19 hours down to 1.5 hours. Class.


Mudd (domain controller) got upgraded too from Windows 2000 to 2003. In place. No problem.

One of the data servers got retired too. Piddly 240GB of data but it was taking 12 hours to back it up plus 3 hours to back up the SQL boxes. New hardware, RAID array, tape drive etc. Whole backup now takes a tadge over 2 hours.

Bring on the data boys, we've got RAID arrays and we're willing to use them.