Exchange 2000 is supported in a Windows Server 2003 Active Directory environment. When you run Exchange 2000 in a Windows Server 2003 environment, Exchange 2000 can take advantage of the new features in Windows Server 2003 including Active Directory and the global catalog.
Although Exchange 2000 is supported in a Windows Server 2003
Active Directory environment, you must install and run Exchange 2000 on a Windows 2000-based server. You cannot install and run Exchange 2000 on
a Windows Server 2003-based computer. There are significant differences between
Windows Server 2003 and Windows 2000. These differences include changes to the following services:
- Active
Directory
- Microsoft Internet Information Services (IIS)
- The Simple Mail
Transfer Protocol (SMTP) service
- The Domain Name System (DNS) service
Because of improvements in the Active
Directory features of Windows Server 2003, the performance of
Exchange 2000 is enhanced when it is run in a Windows Server 2003
environment.
Note The Outlook Web Access (OWA) component of Microsoft Exchange Server 5.5 is not supported on Windows Server 2003. Even though you may be able to successfully install the OWA component on Windows Server 2003, OWA for Exchange Server 5.5 was not designed to run on Windows Server 2003. This configuration has not been tested for long term compatibility.
Before you install the first Windows Server 2003 domain
controller, follow the steps that are provided in the following article to
prevent corrupted attributes:
325379 How to upgrade Windows 2000 domain controllers to Windows Server 2003
Exchange Server 5.5 is also supported in a
Windows Server 2003 Active Directory environment. However,
you must install and run Exchange Server 5.5, including the OWA component, on
a Windows 2000-based server or on a Microsoft Windows NT 4.0 Server-based
computer. Because Exchange Server 5.5 does not use Active
Directory, Exchange Server 5.5 does not benefit from the new Active Directory features
of Windows Server 2003 when you run Exchange Server 5.5 in a Windows Server 2003
environment.
Microsoft Exchange Server 2003 is supported in a native
Windows Server 2003 environment, a native Windows 2000 environment, or a
mixed Windows 2000 and Windows Server 2003 environment. You can install
and run Exchange Server 2003 on either a Windows Server 2003-based computer or on a
Windows 2000-based computer.
How to add Exchange 2000 to a Windows Server 2003 forest
If Exchange 2000 is installed and running on a Windows 2000 Service Pack 3 (SP3) member server, this server and the Exchange 2000 computer can be part of the Windows Server 2003 forest. The Windows 2000 SP3 member server and the Exchange 2000 computer can run at the Windows 2003 forest functional level. In the Windows 2003 forest functional level, all the domain controllers in the forest are Windows 2003 domain controllers. This level is the highest functional level.
You cannot install or run Exchange 2000 on a Windows Server 2003 member server or on a Windows Server 2003 domain controller.
For more information about how to run Exchange 2000 in a Windows Server 2003 environment, see the "Microsoft Exchange Server Compatibility with Microsoft Windows Server
Operating Systems" white paper
that is located on the following Microsoft Web site:
For more information about
Exchange Server, visit the following Microsoft Web site:
For more information about Windows Server 2003, visit the
following Microsoft Web site:
For a technical overview of Active Directory and of other features in
Windows Server 2003, visit the following Microsoft Web site: