How to remove the first Exchange Server 2003 computer from the administrative group

This article describes the steps to remove the first Microsoft Exchange Server 2003 computer from an administrative group. The first Exchange Server 2003 computer that is installed in an administrative group holds certain important roles. For example, the first server hosts the Offline Address Book folder, the Schedule+ Free Busy folder, the Events Root folder, and other folders. Therefore, you must use caution when you remove this server from the administrative group that it belongs to.

Replicate all public folders to another server

All public folders and system folders that are housed on the first Exchange 2003 computer must be replicated to another Exchange 2003 computer that is in the site. The remainder of this article refers to this other computer as the destination server. The server that is being removed is referred to as the source server.

1. Click Start, point to Programs, point to Microsoft Exchange, and then click System Manager.
2. If the Display administrative groups option is turned on, expand Administrative Groups, and then expand First Administrative Group.
   Note To display administrative groups, right-click Your_Organization, click Properties, click to select the Display administrative groups check box, click OK two times, and then restart Exchange System Manager.
3. Expand Folders, expand Public Folders, right-click a top-level public folder, and then click Properties.
4. Click the Replication tab, and then click Add.
5. In the Select a Public Store box, select the name of the server where you want a replica of this public folder (the destination server), and then click OK.
6. Click Apply, and then click OK. If this public folder has any subfolders and if you want these subfolders to have a replica on the destination server, right-click the top-level public folder, click All Tasks, and then click Manage Settings.
   
   Note When you are running Microsoft Exchange Server 2003 Service Pack 2 (SP2), the Manage Public Folders Settings Wizard page may appear. You can use this wizard to modify client permissions, to modify lists of replica servers, and to overwrite public folder settings.
7. In the Propagate Folder Settings box, click to select the Replicas check box, and then click OK. When you complete this step, all subfolders of that top-level folder have a replica on the destination server.
   
   Note For performance reasons, you may not always want to have replicas of all subfolders of a top-level folder on another server. You may want to consider this before you complete this procedure.
   
   For more information, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
   273479 Description of the public folder referral functionality in Exchange 2000 Server and in Exchange Server 2003
8. Repeat steps 1 through 7 for all top-level folders and all subfolders that you want to replicate.
9. After replicas have been made on the destination server, wait for replication to complete, and then make sure that the replica folders are synchronized with the source folders. To do so, follow these steps:
   1. Right-click the public folder that you want to verify, and then click Properties.
   2. Click the Replication tab, and then click Details.
   3. When replication has completed, the Replication Status column indicates In Sync.
10. After you have confirmed that replication is complete for each folder, you must turn off replication for each public folder. To do this, follow these steps:
    1. Expand Public Folders, right-click a top-level public folder, and then click Properties.
    2. Click the Replication tab.
    3. In the Replicate content to these public stores section, click the name of the public folder store that is on the source server, click Remove, click Apply, and then click OK.

Rehome the Offline Address Book folder

1. Click Start, point to Programs, point to Microsoft Exchange, and then click System Manager.
2. If the Display administrative groups option is turned on, expand Administrative Groups, and then expand First Administrative Group (where First Administrative Group is the name of your administrative group).
   Note To display administrative groups, right-click Your_Organization, click Properties, click to select the Display administrative groups check box, click OK two times, and then restart Exchange System Manager.
3. Expand Folders, right-click Public Folders, and then click View System Folders.
   
   Note If you do not see a View System Folders option, you are already viewing the system folders.
4. Expand Public Folders, and then expand Offline Address Book.
5. Right-click /o=Organization Name/cn=addrlists/cn=oabs/cn=Default Offline Address List, and then click Properties.
   
   Note If you receive a message that the mail proxy for this folder was not found, click OK.
6. Click the Replication tab, and then click Add.
7. In the Select a Public Store box, select the name of the server where you want a replica of this public folder (the destination server), and then click OK.
8. Click Apply, and then click OK. If this public folder has any subfolders and if you want these subfolders to have a replica on the destination server, right-click the top-level public folder, click All Tasks, and then click Manage Settings.
   
   Note When you are running Exchange Server 2003 SP2, the Manage Public Folders Settings Wizard page may appear. You can use this wizard to modify client permissions, to modify lists of replica servers, and to overwrite public folder settings.
9. In the Propagate Folder Settings box, click to select the Replicas check box, and then click OK. When you complete this step, all subfolders of that top-level folder have a replica on the destination server.
10. After replicas have been made on the destination server, wait for replication to complete, and then make sure that the replica folders are synchronized with the source folders. To do so, follow these steps:
    1. Right-click the public folder that you want to verify, and then click Properties.
    2. Click the Replication tab, and then click Details.
    3. When replication has completed, the Replication Status column indicates In Sync.
11. After you have confirmed that replication is complete for each folder, you must remove the replica from the source server. To do this, follow these steps:
    1. Right-click /o=Organization Name/cn=addrlists/cn=oabs/cn=Default Offline Address List, and then click Properties.
    2. Click the Replication tab.
    3. In the Replicate content to these public stores section, click the name of the public folder store on the source server, click Remove, click Apply, and then click OK.
12. Repeat step 11 for each subfolder of the offline Address Book and for each additional offline address list.

Change the server that is responsible for generating the Offline Address List

1. Start Exchange System Manager, expand Recipients, and then click the Offline Address Lists container.
2. In the right pane, right-click Default Offline Address List, and then click Properties.
   
   In the Default Offline Address List Properties dialog box, the server that is going to be removed from the administrative group will be in the Offline address list server list.
3. Click Browse, and then type the name of the server that the replica of the Offline Address Book was added to in the "Rehome the Offline Address Book folder" section.
4. Click OK.
   
   The new server is now listed as the Offline address list server.
5. In the Default Offline Address List Properties dialog box, click OK. You may have to quit and restart the Exchange System Manager before the change is displayed.

Rehome the Schedule+ Free Busy folder

1. Click Start, point to Programs, point to Microsoft Exchange, and then click System Manager.
2. If the Display administrative groups option is turned on, expand Administrative Groups, and then expand First Administrative Group (where First Administrative Group is the name of your administrative group).
   
   Note To display administrative groups, right-click Your_Organization, click Properties, click to select the Display administrative groups check box, click OK two times, and then restart Exchange System Manager.
3. Expand Folders, and then click Public Folders.
4. Right-click Public Folders, and then click View System Folders.
   
   Note If you do not see a View System Folders option, you are already viewing system folders.
5. Expand Schedule+ Free Busy, right-click EX:/o=Organization_Name/ou=Administrative_Group_Name folder, and then click Properties.
   
   Note If you receive a message that the mail proxy for this folder was not found, click OK.
6. Click the Replication tab, and then click Add.
7. In the Select a Public Store box, select the name of the server where you want a replica of this public folder (the destination server), and then click OK.
8. Click Apply, and then click OK. If this public folder has any subfolders and if you want these subfolders to have a replica on the destination server, right-click the top-level public folder, click All Tasks, and then click Manage Settings.
   
   Note When you are running Exchange Server 2003 SP2, the Manage Public Folders Settings Wizard page may appear. You can use this wizard to modify client permissions, to modify lists of replica servers, and to overwrite public folder settings.
9. In the Propagate Folder Settings box, click to select the Replicas check box, and then click OK. When you complete this step, all subfolders of that top-level folder have a replica on the destination server.
10. After replicas have been made on the destination server, wait for replication to complete, and then make sure that the replica folders are synchronized with the source folders. To do this, follow these steps:
    1. Right-click the public folder that you want to check, and then click Properties.
    2. Click the Replication tab, and then click Details.
    3. When replication has completed, the Replication Status column indicates In Sync.
11. After you have confirmed that replication is complete, you must turn off replication for this folder. To do this, follow these steps:
    1. Expand Public Folders, right-click EX:/o=Organization_Name/ou=Administrative_Group_Name, and then click Properties.
    2. Click the Replication tab.
    3. In the Replicate content to these public stores section, click the name of the public folder store on the source server, click Remove, click Apply, and then click OK.
    4. Repeat step 11 for each subfolder of the Schedule+ Free Busy folder and for each additional folder that contains free and busy information that has been replicated to the destination server.

Rehome the Organization Forms folder

If the server that is being decommissioned has the Organization Forms folder homed and if this server has the only replica, replicate the Organization Forms folder to another server in the site. If you do not replicate this folder, clients may stop responding (hang) when non-delivery report (NDR) messages and read receipt messages are sent.

1. Start Exchange System Manager, expand Administrative Groups, and then expand the name of your administrative group.
2. Expand Folders, right- click Public Folders, and then click View System Folders.
   
   Note If you do not see the View System Folders option, you are already viewing system folders.
3. Expand the EFORMS REGISTRY folder.
   
   If an Organization Forms library folder does not exist, ignore the rest of the steps in this section.
4. Right-click the Organizational Forms folder, and then click Properties.
   
   Note If you receive a message that states that the mail proxy for this folder cannot be found, click OK.
5. Add a replica of this folder to the destination server.
   
   For more information about how to add a replica of this folder to the destination server, see the "Replicate all public folders to another server" topic earlier in this article.
6. After replicas have been made to the destination server, wait for replication to complete, and then make sure that the replica folders are synchronized with the source folders. To do this, view the properties of the specific public folder, click the Replication tab, and then click Details. If the Replication Status column indicates In Sync, the replica folders have been synchronized with the source folders.
7. After you confirm that the replicas are synchronized, remove the replica of this folder from the source server.
   
   For more information about how to remove the replica folder from the source server, see the "Replicate all public folders to another server" topic earlier in this article.

Rehome the Recipient Update Service

1. In Exchange System Manager, expand Recipients, and then click Recipient Update Services.
2. In the column headings that are in the right pane, click Exchange Server to sort the available Recipient Update Services by the Exchange Server computer that hosts them.
3. Right-click the Recipient Update Service that is hosted on the Exchange Server 2003 computer that you plan to remove, and then click Properties.
4. On the General tab, next to the Exchange server box, click Browse.
5. In the Select Exchange Server dialog box, click the name of another Exchange Server computer as the new server to host the Recipient Update Service, and then click OK two times.

Designate another server to be the routing group master

If this server is the routing group master, you must designate another server to be the routing group master. To do this, follow these steps:

1. On the Exchange 2003 computer that you want to designate as the routing group master, start Exchange System Manager.
2. If the Display administrative groups check box and the Display routing groups check box are selected, expand Administrative Groups, expand First Administrative Group, expand Routing Groups, and then expand First Routing Group. (First Routing Group is a placeholder for the name of the routing group where you want to change the routing group master.)
   
   Notes
   • To display administrative groups, right-click First Organization (First Organization is a placeholder for the name of your organization), click Properties, click to select the Display administrative groups check box, click OK two times, and then restart Exchange System Manager.
   • To display rooting groups, right-click First Organization, click Properties, click to select the Display rooting groups check box, and then click OK two times.
3. Click Members, right-click the server in the right pane that you want to make the routing group master, and then click Set as Master.

Create another Site Replication Service (SRS) instance

If this Exchange 2003 computer has the Site Replication Service (SRS) installed and running on it, you must create a new SRS in Exchange System Manager. To do this, follow these steps:

1. Start Exchange System Manager on the Exchange Server 2003 computer where you want to create the SRS, and then expand Tools.
2. Right-click Site Replication Service, click New, and then click Site Replication Service.
3. When you receive the Are you sure you want to install a new Site Replication Service on this server (ServerName) prompt, click Yes.
4. When you receive the In order to create a Site Replication Service on the local machine, enter the password for the Exchange service account (Domain\service account) prompt, type the password for the Exchange service account.

This creates the SRS, and it also creates an associated configuration Connection Agreement.

For more information, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

Rehome connectors to another server

If this Exchange Server 2003 computer has any connectors that are hosted on it, these connectors must be rehomed to another server before you remove this Exchange 2003 computer from the routing group. For example, if the source server hosts an X.400 connector, you must set up this connector on the destination server.

Move mailboxes to another server

If this Exchange Server 2003 computer hosts any mailboxes, these mailboxes must be moved to another server before you remove this Exchange 2003 computer. To do this, follow these steps:

1. Start Exchange System Manager on the Exchange 2003 source computer.
2. Double-click Servers, and then locate the server container where the mailboxes of the users are located.
   
   For example, if you want to move mailboxes from the default storage group and from the mailbox store, double-click First Storage Group, double-click Mailbox Store, and then click Mailboxes.
3. In the right pane, click the mailboxes that you want to move.
4. Right-click the selected users, and then click Exchange Tasks.
5. In the Exchange Task Wizard, click Next.
6. On the Available Tasks page, under Select a task to perform, click Move Mailbox, and then click Next.
7. On the Move Mailbox page, click Cross Administrative Group Move under Select the Type of Move, and then click Next.
8. On the Move Mailbox page, click the destination server that is in the Server list, click a mailbox store in the Mailbox Store list, and then click Next.
9. Configure how you want any corrupted messages that are found during the move to be handled, and then click Next two times.

For more information about how to move mailboxes in Exchange Server 2003, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

Remove the first Exchange Server 2003 computer

Insert the Exchange Server 2003 CD in the CR-ROM drive in the Exchange 2003 computer, and then click Remove for each component that has been installed.

For more information, click the following article numbers to view the articles in the Microsoft Knowledge Base: For more information about how to rehome public folders in Exchange 2000, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

For more information about this topic for Microsoft Exchange Server 5.5 and for Microsoft Exchange 2000 Server, click the following article numbers to view the articles in the Microsoft Knowledge Base: