Cleaning Up the Exchange 2000 Server and Exchange Server 2003 Environments
After
a new Exchange 2007 server is added to the network to functionally
replace an old Exchange 2000 or 2003 server, there comes a time when
the old server should be removed.
For
front-end servers, however, they can be removed as soon as a new
Exchange 2007 Client Access server is added to the network because the
new Exchange 2007 Client Access servers will host both Exchange 2000 or
2003 back-end servers as well as Exchange 2007 Mailbox servers.
The
removal process is more than just powering off the system and
disconnecting it from the network. It is very important that the old
Exchange servers are properly removed from the Exchange organization;
otherwise, Exchange does not know that a server has been removed, and
the server remains in the Exchange organization configuration tables.
As an example, if you have a bridgehead server that used to route mail
messages between sites and you just unplugged the server without
properly removing it, Exchange servers in the organization will not
know that the server has been removed, and will continue to try to
route messages to the server. This could cause messages to pile up in a
queue and unless the Exchange servers can recalculate a new message
route for messages, the lack of removing a specific server can prevent
messages from ever routing within the organization until the server is
properly removed. So, remove servers properly.
The proper process of removing an old Exchange 2000 or 2003 server is a three-step process:
1. | Remove all routing connectors to the server.
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2. | Uninstall Exchange from the server.
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3. | Remove routing groups.
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Removing Routing Group Connectors to Servers
The
removal process of an Exchange 2000 or 2003 server starts with the
removal of routing group connectors from the server being removed. It
is important to confirm that the routing group connector that is being
removed is not serving a key communication route for a site or for the
organization. As an example, if the routing group connector is the only
link for a server to another site in the organization, the removal of
the routing group connector will have messages cease being sent or
received to the remote site. Alternatively, if the routing group
connector is the link between Exchange 2000 or 2003 and Exchange 2007
and if there are no other routing group connectors between Exchange
2000 or 2003 and Exchange 2007, the removal of the routing group
connector will effectively drop any communications between the old and
new Exchange environment.
If you are
certain that the routing group connector serves no purpose, remove the
routing group connector so that you can remove the Exchange server from
the organization.
Tip
If
you aren’t sure whether a routing group connector serves an important
function in the network, and cannot figure out through looking at
architectural or mail flow diagrams of the organization whether the RGC
is of value, just stop the Routing Group Connector (RGC) service. On
the Exchange 2000 or 2003 server, click on Start, Programs,
Administrative Tools, Service. Right-click on the Microsoft Exchange
Routing Engine, and choose Stop. Wait a few hours or days to see if
anybody complains that their messages aren’t being transmitted
properly. If after a few days no one has complained, you can probably
assume the RGC is not serving any valuable function.
To remove a routing group connector, do the following:
1. | On
the Exchange 2000 or 2003 server on which you plan to remove the
routing group connector, launch the Exchange 2000 or 2003 System
Manager program.
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2. | Expand the Administrative Groups container.
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3. | Choose and expand the administrative group where the server that you are on resides.
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4. | Choose and expand the Routing Groups container.
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5. | Choose and expand the routing group that holds the routing group connector you want to remove.
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6. | Choose and expand the Connectors container.
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7. | Right-click
on the routing group you want to remove, and choose Delete. Confirm Yes
that you want to remove the routing group connector.
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This process removes the routing group connector and you can now proceed with removing the server itself from Exchange.
Uninstalling Exchange from Old Exchange 2000 Server or Exchange Server 2003 Servers
Rather
than simply removing or disconnecting an old Exchange server from the
network, it is important to uninstall Exchange from the old server
system. The uninstall process doesn’t just remove the Exchange software
off the hard drive of the system; it performs a very important task of
properly removing that Exchange server from the Exchange directory.
After
all mailboxes, public folder replicas, and connectors have been moved
off an old Exchange 2000 or 2003 server, the server can be retired and
removed from service. The easiest and most straightforward approach to
this is to uninstall the Exchange 2000 or 2003 component via the
Add/Remove Programs applet in Windows. To perform this operation, do
the following:
1. | On the Exchange server, select Start, Control Panel.
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2. | Double-click Add/Remove Programs.
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3. | Select Microsoft Exchange (2000 or 2003) and click Change/Remove.
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4. | Click Next at the welcome screen.
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5. | Under Action, select Remove from the drop-down box, and click Next to continue.
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6. | At the summary screen, click Next to continue. The Exchange server will then be uninstalled.
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7. | Repeat the process for any additional Exchange 2000 or 2003 servers.
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As
Exchange 2000 or 2003 servers are removed from Exchange 2000 or 2003
routing groups, upon the removal of the last Exchange 2000 or 2003
system from a routing group, the routing group itself can be removed.
Removing an Exchange 2000 Server or Exchange Server 2003 Routing Group
In
Exchange 2000 or 2003, routing groups are containers that hold groups
of Exchange servers that frequently communicate with each other,
typically servers within a site, or servers within a region. Because
the concept of a routing group does not exist in Exchange 2007, as
Exchange 2000 or 2003 servers are removed from the network, when the
last Exchange server in a routing group has been removed, the routing
group itself can be deleted, thus cleaning up the Exchange environment
of remnants of Exchange 2000 or 2003.
To remove a routing group, do the following:
1. | Remove routing group connectors to servers that are being removed per the instructions .
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2. | Remove old Exchange 2000 or 2003 servers as they are no longer needed.
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3. | When
all of the servers in a routing group have been removed, go into the
Exchange 2000 or 2003 System Manager utility by selecting Start, All
Programs, Microsoft Exchange, Exchange System Manager.
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4. | Expand the Administrative Groups container.
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5. | Choose and expand the administrative group where the routing group that you want to remove resides.
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6. | Choose and expand the Routing Groups container.
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7. | Choose
and expand the routing group that you want to remove and confirm that
no member servers exist in the routing group anymore by choosing the
Members container to see if any servers exist. |
8. | If
no servers are in the Members container, right-click on the routing
group that you want to remove, and select Delete. Confirm Yes that you
want to remove the routing group.
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Upon
removal of the last Exchange 2000 or 2003 routing group, the
environment should be completely void of any Exchange 2000 or 2003
servers. There is no Native Exchange 2007 mode. The removal of the last
Exchange 2000 or 2003 routing group clears legacy mail routing that is
no longer needed in Exchange 2007.
