Upgrading Windows Server 2008 is a Trouble

Users who plan to run Microsoft Exchange on Windows Server 2008 and those who consider replacing upgrades after the launch of this new server operating system may face installation issues unless they follow Microsoft Special advice.

Microsoft has warned users that the RTM version of Exchange 2007 cannot be installed on Windows Server 2008 and says that Windows Server 2008 replacement upgrades cannot be performed on servers running Exchange 2007 SP1.

Microsoft also said that "rolling upgrades" for Exchange failover clusters are also impossible.

Microsoft announced three migration options, including a long list of steps to uninstall data, and steps to uninstall and reinstall multiple Exchange components.

Another upgrade issue involves a confusing dialog. Microsoft's partners said that this dialog freezes the administrator account for the replacement upgrade, which proves that it is very cumbersome to upgrade the application server to Windows Server 2008.

This dialog box pops up when you upgrade the server running the application from Windows Server 2003 to Windows Server 2008. The content is: If you use a third-party application, you will not get support. Microsoft acknowledges the existence of this dialog, which was added in the beta version of Window Server 2008.

Microsoft's partners said that Microsoft told them that some changes were needed during the Windows Server 2008 replacement upgrade, but did not elaborate on these changes to the partners.

According to Microsoft, the only supported replacement upgrade option is when replacing core infrastructure services such as DNS, DHCP, or Active Directory.

In other cases, Microsoft recommends that users uninstall third-party applications or applications that are not provided with Windows Server 2003 or that are not provided through Windows Update before installing Windows Server 2008. Once this server operating system is installed, the application and any corresponding data can be reinstalled, similar to the process of operating Exchange.

Microsoft officials say that replacing upgrades is not the best practice, and most large IT departments will conduct comprehensive testing before deployment.

A member of the system group who asked not to be named said: "Most customers will test, but they want to replace the upgrade because it takes the least amount of time. If you uninstall and then reinstall, this There is a lot of work to be done."

Microsoft officials are beginning to announce some of the installation instructions they are working on to educate users on how to replace upgrades, and say that many large users will initially see the dialog during the test. But it will not be seen in actual deployment.

Alex Hinrichs, Program Manager, Microsoft Application Server Group, said: "Almost all of the replacement upgrades we have encountered are in the core infrastructure. We think this is not a big problem for most customers. We believe Customers will be well aware of whether their application is a supported application before any type of deployment."

In addition, Hinrichs said that Windows Server 2008 installation can be cleaned up on new hardware or to install new programs. On the hardware.

Microsoft has not changed or deleted the plan for reminding users that they are not supported.

IDC analyst Al Gillen said: "Windows Server 2008 is not the kind of upgrade that plugs in a disc on weekend nights and allows you to leave at 9 o'clock. This means it creates a longer adoption cycle, while Microsoft This adoption cycle is more realistic than it is for Vista."

An article published last October titled "Impossible Task: Microsoft Exchange Server 2007 is Upgraded from Windows Server 2003 to Windows Server 2008" The Exchange blog details the issue of Exchange 2007 SP1 shipped last November. This blog describes how the Exchange team tried to replace the upgrade and finally decided that it could not be upgraded.

The upgrade issue was first revealed by the Exchange team last August. After the upgrade test failed, Microsoft released three upgrade options.

The most complex choices include multiple steps. Microsoft describes these steps: save the data on an existing server, uninstall Exchange, uninstall PowerShell, uninstall all other programs that prevent replacement upgrades, upgrade to Windows Server 2008 (or install Windows Server 2008 from scratch), install PowerShell and other programs you need to install Exchange 2007 SP1, take advantage of database portability or backup/restore, reconfigure servers, reinstall third-party applications, and more.

Another option is to install Windows Server 2008 from scratch and then install Exchange 2007 SP1 to build a new server or cluster and migrate mailboxes using the Mobile Mail task. "The third option is the same as the second, except that it is recommended to use database portability and/or backup and recovery to migrate data.

Microsoft also said that in view of failover clustering in Windows Server 2008 Significant changes to rollover clustering from Windows Server 2003 to Windows Server 2008 are also not possible.

When upgrading a clustered mailbox server Windows Server 2003 to Windows Server 2008, users must use Windows Server 2008 builds a new failover cluster as the operating system for all nodes. Then, the data must be migrated from the old cluster to the new cluster. The Move Mailbox and Public Folder Replication feature can be used to transfer data to the new cluster.