This is Part 2 of our Screencast – How to Upgrade from Exchange 2007 to Exchange 2010. In Part 1 we have introduced Exchange 2010 SP2 to our existing Exchange 2007 SP3 organization. Still all resources reside on the legacy Exchange 2007 server and e-mail traffic is flowing through it. Remote clients continue using Exchange Server 2007 for OWA, Outlook Anywhere and ActiveSync connectivity.

In Part 2, we continue with Exchange 2010 coexistence scenario. Even if you are planning to perform a quick upgrade over a weekend, being prepared for Exchange 2007 and Exchange 2010 coexistence period is the safer and recommended approach.


As usual, we follow our Step-by-step approach, where the whole upgrade is split into seven steps.


For your convenience, we have published the text file with the upgrade plan and commands which we are using in the Screencast here .

Step 1 We start by creating replicas of the IPM and non-IPM subtree in Exchange 2010 Public folder database. Then we move the Offline Address Book generation server and set Exchange 2010 as OAB Web Distribution point.

Step 2 Next, we generate a new Certificate Signing request (CSR) with names required for a coexistence scenario, and submit the request to GoDaddy.com.

Step 3 In this step, we install and test then new certificate on Exchange 2010 and Exchange 2007 servers.

Step 4 Modifying the mail flow is one of the crucial steps in this upgrade. We discuss in details the changes that need to take place in the external DNS zone, firewall configuration and Exchange 2010 server.

Step 5 Remote client access is affected immediately when you change the mail flow. As you will see preparation and timing can minimize significantly downtime for Outlook Anywhere, OWA and ActiveSync clients.

Step 6 We dedicate a lot of time on different scenarios for moving the mailboxes, both in Exchange Management console and EMS. This includes troubleshooting failed requests, applying filters, automatically suspending requests and completing them after working hours.

Step 7 In the last step, we proceed with moving Public Folder (PF) replicas to Exchange 2010, removing Exchange 2007 mailbox and PF databases, and uninstalling Exchange 2007 server.