Upgrading Exchange 2007 to SP1 (Part 1)
Finally Exchange Server 2007 SP1 is released (See my previous post for more information). In this part we will go through necessary steps for successful upgrade of CAS Servers to SP1.
In this scenario I have only CAS role on server. If you have other roles on the same server (MBX, HUB) wait for upcoming posts for specific roles. If you have Exchange aware antivirus software running on the same machine make sure that it's compatible with SP1. If you are using Microsoft ForeFront Security for Exchange, upgrade it to compatible version prior upgrading Exchange to SP1! RTM version of ForeFront Security for Exchange is not compatible with SP1!
Update your server(s)!
I strongly recommend that you install Windows Server 2003 SP2 and all the latest hotfixes on server prior upgrading to SP1.
It is recommended to upgrade Microsoft .NET Framework 2.0 prior upgrading to SP1 due to some performance issues and high memory usage. Microsoft .NET Framework 2.0 SP1 is currently not published on Microsoft Update. You can download it from here (SP1 x64 version). Note: If you do not want to install Microsoft .NET Framework 2.0 SP1 on Exchange Server, you can install hotfix which is published under following KB942027.
Prepare Active Directory
Not all steps are necessary in simple Active Directory setup (single domain forest). So here are necessary steps to prepare Active Directory for Exchange 2007 SP1. Make sure that you run this commands from server that is in the same Active Directory Site as Schema Master DC. The advantage of running steps separately is that you can use account which has minimum permissions necessary for task.
- Run setup /PrepareLegacyExchangePermissions (coexistence with Exchange 2000/2003). Note: To successfully complete the PrepareLegacyExchangePermissions step, the domain in which you run this command must be able to contact all domains in the forest.
- Run setup /PrepareSchema (Note: You must not run this command in a forest in which you do not plan to run setup /PrepareAD. If you do, the forest will be configured incorrectly, and you will not be able to read some attributes on user objects.)
- Run setup /PrepareAD
- Run setup /PrepareDomain to prepare local domain, run setup /PrepareDomain:e12.exchange.si to prepare specific domain, run setup /PrepareAllDomains to prepare all domains in forest.
Setup.com /PrepareAD output.
After you run each command, you should wait for the changes to replicate across your Exchange Organisation. It can take a while in large Active Directory site topology. You can always force replication via Active Directory Sites and Services.
Installing Service Pack 1
It's time for Service Pack installation.
Just run setup.exe from location with extracted SP1 files. You will receive beautiful Welcome screen. :)
Note: If you will run setup.exe from the network share, setup will first copy necessary files to local disk.
Welcome Screen
If you know what you are doing, then click Install, otherwise PLEASE click Plan and read about Service Pack 1.
After clicking on Install you receive window describing new features in SP1.
New features in SP1
Click Next and accept License Agreement. If all prerequisites are OK you can click Upgrade. Otherwise read carefully and resolve issues.
Prerequisites check
Review installation steps and click Finish, if everything is OK. If there are errors or warnings, review and resolve them.
Completion screen
It's time to check CAS services. Do you notice anything new on OWA?
Upgrading to Microsoft Exchange Server 2007 SP1 is pretty simple and straightforward. In following posts we will dive into upgrading HUB and Edge role. Probably the most interesting part will be about upgrading Single Copy Cluster (SCC), Cluster Continuous Replication (CCR) and new high availability features in SP1.
Is anyone interested in posts about Exchange 2007 SP1 Unified Messaging with Office Communications Server 2007?