This tutorial demonstrates how to move an existing Exchange 5.5 server to new hardware.
The old server is going to be shut down and removed from the network. The new server is going to have exactly the same name and IP address, and the change should be totally transparent to the end user.
Using Offline Backup means that you have a copy of the "Exchsrvr" folder(s). As you can see in the demo, the exchange services must be stopped before you create this copy, hence the name of the backup - Offline backup. This method can be used also, when the server crashes but the hard drive(s), with the exchange data, are intact. The procedure requires that you know, and configure the locations of the different logs and databases exactly the way they were configured on the original computer. It is a good practice, from disaster recovery stand point, to have this information saved for each of your corporate Exchange servers in advance. You can download the sample text form, which was used in this tutorial from
here.
In most of the cases, Exchange OWA (Outlook Web Access) is implemented over a secure connection. That is why we demonstrate here, how you can export the existing certificate from the old server, and import it to the new replacement server.
Important:
1) In this example, we have only one server in the Site (though we have a remote Site with other servers), and we start the installation of Exchange 5.5 "Setup.exe" without any switches.
If you are restoring an Exchange 5.5 server, in a Site with more than one Exchange servers, then you have to start the installation program for Exchange 5.5 "Setup.exe", with the "/R" switch - "Setup.exe /R". For a detailed explanation click
here.
2) You should choose the option "Create a new site", not "Join an existing site", and specify exactly the same Org and Site name, as the existing one (even if you have more than one Exchange servers in the target Site).
3) All the Exchange servers in a Site should be installed by using the same Exchange Services account