Hello all,
We have a physical server that runs Win2003 Enterprise edition x64 R2 SP2 with 8GB of Ram and we want to upgrade it to Enterprise 2008 R2 SP2.
The problem is that this 2003 server runs Exchange 2007 SP3, so we cannot perform an in-place upgrade of the OS without reformatting the machine. In the end, we would like to have an Enterprise 2008 R2 SP2 reformatted machine but with the Exchange 2007 server running again as previously.
So the plan is to export the Exchange 2007 database with an official tool, reformat the machine with Enterprise 2008 R2 SP2, reinstall Exchange 2007 and then import the exported database back again.
I forgot to mention that this server is one of the two 2003 domain controllers in the forest. So before installing Exchange 2007 again and right after the 2008 installation, it will be joined to the existing forest and promoted to DC with dcpromo.exe. The other DC will have already been upgraded toEnterprise 2008 R2 SP2 BEFORE we touch the DC with the Exchange 2007 server. So the 2008 environment will already be there for us to find.
My question basically is, if there is a good tool for safely exporting/importing the Exchange 2007 database AND do you agree with the whole concept and design of our effort to get rid of the unsupported 2003 OS and get to 2008??
All replies are appreciated
Thanks a lot
Tassos