Exchange Server 2003 Deployment Tools overview

This article contains an overview of the Microsoft Exchange Server 2003 Deployment Tools.

A description of the Deployment Tools

The Exchange Server 2003 Deployment Tools are a compilation of old and new Microsoft Product Support Services (PSS) support tools that you can use to prepare Microsoft Exchange Server 5.5 and the Microsoft Active Directory directory service infrastructure for the installation of Microsoft Exchange Server 2003.

Note By using these deployment tools, you are guided through correct deployment steps that are based on a central Help file. These steps, or phases, are based on the PSS Setup team's experience with the installation of Exchange Server 2003.

There is one primary tool for most of the six phases of deployment, and all these tools are addressed in this article. You can run the tools directly from the compiled HTML Help file, Exdeploy.chm, or from a command prompt. These tools generate self-help log files to help you recognize and to fix the following issues:

• Improperly configured Domain Name System (DNS).
• Missing connection agreements.
• Objects that are not replicated.
• Mailbox resources that are not marked.

These tools also help you to perform integrity checks, and to identify various pre-setup conditions, post-setup conditions, and error conditions. These self-help log files are automatically created in an Exdeploy Logs folder unless you specify another location.

The purpose of the Deployment Tools

These tools were created to proactively help with Exchange Server 2003 deployments in a way that PSS and customers had not had before. The installation of Exchange Server 2003 may become long and complex, even in a small organization. These tools may help you to resolve issues that might occur so that you do not have to contact PSS. These tools also give PSS a way to help you troubleshoot Microsoft Exchange Server 2003 Setup issues by helping you gather data to troubleshoot a particular problem.

How to use the Deployment Tools

The Deployment Tools are not designed to be used for an in-place upgrade or for interorganization migration. They are designed to be run before you install Exchange Server 2003 in an existing Exchange Server 5.5 site. The Help file includes boxes where you can specify the Exchange Server 5.5 computer and the global catalog server. Frequently, the primary tools for each phase of deployment are made up of a group of subtools. You can run each of these major or minor tools from a command prompt. For example, the following command runs all the tools and generates log file output:

Overview of the Deployment Tools Workflow

There are six phases to the Deployment Tool workflow:

• Phase 1: Planning Your Exchange Server 2003 Deployment and Infrastructure Checks
• Phase 2: Cleaning Up the Exchange Server 5.5 Directory
• Phase 3: Replicating Exchange Server 5.5 Data
• Phase 4: Preparing the Active Directory
• Phase 5: Installation and Exchange Server 2003 Directory Service Integration
• Phase 6: Moving Mailboxes and Decommissioning Exchange Server 5.5

Phase 1: Plan Your Exchange Server 2003 deployment and infrastructure checks

DSScopeScan is the major group of tools for Phase 1 of an Exchange Server 2003 deployment. You can run this group of tools during planning and before you install the Active Directory Connector (ADC) to help determine the scope of your deployment.

DSScopeScan runs the following tools:

• DSConfigSum: This tool reports the total number of Exchange Server 5.5 sites and the total number of servers in each site. DSConfigSum sends output to the Exdeploy.log file and to the Dsconfigsum.log file in the Exdeploy Logs folder, or to the folder that you specified when you ran the tools. DSConfigSum does not run automatically during Exchange Server 2003 Setup.
• DSObjectSum: This tool reports the total number of public folders, distribution lists, distribution lists with hidden membership, and contact objects.
• UserCount: This tool reports the total number of users in each Exchange Server 5.5 site and the total number of users in the Exchange Server 5.5 directory.
  
  Note If you run the UserCount tool in an Exchange organization that contains both Exchange Server 5.5 and Exchange Server 2003 computers, the output does not differentiate between Exchange Server 5.5 users and Exchange Server 2003 users.
• VerCheck: This tool determines if the organization contains the server versions that are required for an upgrade to Exchange Server 2003. VerCheck is designed for servers that are running Exchange Server 5.5 Service Pack 3 (SP3) or later.
• NetDiag: This tool tests Domain Name System (DNS) functionality by running a series of tests to check network connectivity.
• DCDiag: This tool provides a quick and easy-to-read summary of Active Directory infrastructure problems.

To run the DSScopeScan group of tools, your account must have Exchange Server 5.5 administrator permissions and the rights to view objects in the Exchange directory.

Phase 2: Clean up the Exchange Server 5.5 directory

UserPrep is the major group of tools for Phase 2 of an Exchange 2003 Server deployment. You can run this group of tools before you install the Active Directory Connector so that you can do the following:

• Preview the results when you match user accounts to mailboxes.
• View a list of recommended connection agreements.
• Make sure that your servers can support an upgrade.
• Verify that the name of the Exchange organization and that the names of the Exchange sites in that organization do not contain any special characters that are mentioned in the following Microsoft Knowledge Base article:
  277844� Exchange 2000 Release Notes, part I

UserPrep runs the following tests:

• ADCUserCheck: The Active Directory Connector User Check tool (ADCUserCheck) identifies the locations of user accounts and of mailboxes, and then uses this information to recommend appropriate connection agreements. ADCUserCheck also uses the search process in the Active Directory Connector (ADC) to compare user objects in the Exchange Server 5.5 directory to objects in the Active Directory global catalog. It then reports any users who exist in the Exchange Server 5.5 directory who are missing from Active Directory. Microsoft recommends that you run the ADCUserCheck tool to obtain a list of recommended connection agreements before you install the ADC. Run the ADCUserCheck tool again after you install the ADC to make sure that you have correct functionality.
• NTDSNoMatch: The NTDSNoMatch tool verifies that there is a one-to-one relationship between Exchange 5.5 mailboxes and user accounts. The NTDSNoMatch tool generates a separate Ntdsnomatch_sitename.csv file for each site. The Ntdsnomatch_sitename.csv file also lists recommendations for setting the Custom Attribute 10 attribute to the NTDSNoMatch value for individual sites. You can import these files directly into the Exchange Server 5.5 directory.
• VerCheck: The VerCheck tool verifies that there is at least one Exchange Server 5.5 Service Pack 3 SP3 (or later) server in the site that Exchange 2003 Server is joining.
• OrgNameCheck: The OrgNameCheck tool looks for characters in the Exchange Server 5.5 organization name that are not supported. If characters that are not supported are found, you may have to change the display name of the organization. The OrgNameCheck tool also checks for characters in the site name that are not supported.

To run the UserPrep group of tools, your account must have domain administrator permissions and rights to write to Active Directory; you must also have Exchange Server 5.5 administrator permissions and rights to view objects in the Exchange directory.

Phase 3: Replicate Exchange Server 5.5 data

ADCCheck is the group of tools that you can run after you install Active Directory Connector. ADCCheck makes sure that user objects and non-user objects were replicated correctly between Exchange Server 5.5 and Active Directory.
ADCCheck runs the following tools:

• ADCUserCheck: See the previous description.
• ADCObjectCheck: The ADCObjectCheck tool makes sure that non-user non-configuration objects in the Exchange Server 5.5 directory correctly replicated to Active Directory. It confirms consistency of public folders, of distribution lists, and of contact objects between the Exchange Server 5.5 directory and Active Directory. If a public folder is not replicated to Active Directory, the ADCObjectCheck tool recommends a public folder connection agreement. The ADCObjectCheck tool also recommends custom recipient connection agreements and distribution list connection agreements. Microsoft recommends that you run the ADCObjectCheck tool after you install Active Directory Connector.
• ADUserScan: The ADUserScan tool verifies that mail-enabled objects in Active Directory are replicated to the Exchange Server 5.5 directory. If objects have not replicated from Active Directory to the Exchange Server 5.5 directory, the ADUserScan tool recommends connection agreements. To run ADUserScan, your account must have domain administrator permissions and rights to write to Active Directory, and you must have Exchange Server 5.5 administrator permissions and rights to view objects in the Exchange directory.

Phase 4: Prepare Active Directory

To prepare for the installation of Active Directory, run the setup/forestprep command and the setup/domainprep command, and then create public folder connection agreements. After these steps have completed, run the OrgPrepCheck group of tools before you install Exchange Server 2003. This group of tools validates schema extensions, domains, and security descriptors.
The OrgPrepCheck group of tools runs the following tools:

• PolCheck: The PolCheck tool checks that all domain controllers in the local domain have the Manage auditing and security logs right for the Exchange Enterprise Servers group, and then reports any domain controllers that do not have this right.
• OrgCheck: The OrgCheck tool validates the schema extensions that are created by the forestprep command. The OrgCheck tool makes sure that the correct domain groups exist, that they are populated, and that the correct security descriptors are assigned. The OrgCheck tool confirms the following:
  • That the Exchange configuration container exists.
  • That a global catalog server is available in a domain that the domainprep command has already been run on.
  • That a global catalog server is available in the same site as the Exchange Server 2003 computer or in a site directory that is adjacent to the Exchange Server 2003 site.
• Netdiag: The Netdiag tool checks the network for problems such as Domain Name System (DNS) configuration issues.
• PubFoldCheck: The PubFoldCheck tool uses the Exchange Server 5.5 Directory Service/Information Store consistency adjuster to make sure that the directory and the information store are synchronized. Inconsistencies between the directory and the information store may occur when there is an entry for a public folder in the directory database that does not have a corresponding entry in the information store, or vice versa. The PubFoldCheck tool also removes unknown user accounts from public folder access control lists (ACL) in Exchange Server 5.5, and it filters all inconsistencies that are more than one day old.

To run the OrgPrepCheck group of tools, your account must have domain administrator permissions and rights to view objects in Active Directory, and you must have Exchange Server 5.5 administrator permissions and rights to view objects in the Exchange directory.

Phase 5: Installation and Exchange Server 2003 directory service integration

This is the easiest of the six phases. However, you may experience problems if you did not perform one or more of the earlier phases. Make sure that the server that will run Exchange Server 2003 has Network News Transport Protocol (NNTP) and Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP) installed, log on by using an account that has appropriate permissions, and then run Exchange Server 2003 Setup.

Phase 6: Move mailboxes and decommission Exchange Server 5.5

To complete the deployment, run the ADCConfigCheck tool, the ConfigDSInteg tool, and the RecipientDSInteg tool.

• ADCConfigCheck: The ADCConfigCheck tool makes sure that Exchange Server 5.5 directory configuration objects were correctly replicated from the Exchange Server 5.5 directory to Active Directory. The ADCConfigCheck tool searches Active Directory by using the Exchange Server 5.5 object�s ADCGlobalNames attribute. It returns a list of any Exchange Server 5.5 configuration objects that are missing from Active Directory. Before you use the ADCConfigCheck tool, wait for Exchange Server 5.5 objects to be replicated.
• ConfigDSInteg: The ConfigDSInteg tool runs the E2kDSInteg configuration object to check Active Directory configuration objects. The E2kDSInteg configuration object checks are designed to detect problems in Active Directory after the Active Directory Connector has been configured.
• RecipientDSInteg: The RecipientDSInteg tool runs the E2kDSInteg configuration object to check each recipient object, including the user object, the group object, the contact object, and the public folder objects in Active Directory. The E2kDSInteg configuration object checks are designed to detect problems in Active Directory after Active Directory Connector has been configured.

The next step when you decommission Exchange Server 5.5 is to prepare to move the mailboxes. To do this, back up the Exchange Server 5.5 databases, and then back up the new server that is running Exchange Server 2003. If you are running other programs on the new server, also perform a full program-level backup of the system. Include a backup of the Windows system, including the system state and the registry, but do not include the Exchange databases. Finally, turn off all antivirus software.

Run the PrivFoldCheck tool that uses the Exchange Server 5.5 Directory Service/Information Store consistency adjuster to make sure that the directory and the private information store are synchronized. The PrivFoldCheck tool removes unknown user accounts from mailboxes on Exchange Server 5.5, and it filters inconsistencies that are more than one day old. It also creates new directory entries for mailboxes that do not have a corresponding directory entry.

Next, run the Move Mailboxes tool, and then replicate public folders to Exchange Server 2003. Finally, remove the last Exchange Server 5.5 computer from the site.