Exchange Server 2010 Deployment Assistant
By Exchange MVP, Ismail Mohammed
Exchange Server 2010 Deployment Assistant
If you are considering upgrading to Microsoft Exchange 2010, you should really check out the Exchange server Deployment Assistant. This tool asks you a small set of questions that will help you determine what technical steps are required to make the transition.
What exactly does this tool accomplish? This tool can be used during the pre-deployment phase to ensure that you consider all prerequisites that are required to install Exchange 2010.
These include:
- Active Directory Prerequisite concerns
- Operating System Supported
- Firewall Rules
- Certificate Configurations
- Server side prerequisites
I believe this tool is an advanced version of the Exchange 2003 setup.htm file. The Exchange 2003 setup.htm file was a server level html that helped you identify and complete the prerequisites for the installation of Exchange 2003. By using this tool, you are not only taking care of prerequisites on the server side but also Active Directory prerequisites plus additional configuration based on the Exchange Server Role including things like how to handle the Certificate configuration details. The primary advantage of this tool is that it saves you time so you do not have to read through 1000’s of pages to cross check the basic prerequisites and more over it will reduce the chance of human error.
Another beautiful thing about this tool is that you do not need to install it on your server. To check out this tool, please Click here
This tool addresses the following scenarios:
- Upgrade from Exchange 2003
- Upgrade from Exchange 2007
- Upgrade from Exchange 2003 and Exchange 2007
- New Installation of Exchange 2010
Figure 1:
Once you click on any one of the options, it will take you to series of questions. For example, let’s assume that I want to do a new installation of Exchange Server 2010. I would simply click on New Installation of Exchange 2010 button.
Next, you will be presented with another set of questions that will help you identify how you plan to configure the servers.
Figure 2:
Once you click on the Next button, a detailed check list is created for you.
Figure 3:
To learn how to take advantage of the checklist, be sure to read everything under the “Navigate your checklist” heading. This section will teach you how to access the tool, customize your answers and show you how to save your work in case you are interrupted.
Once you are done, put a tick mark in the right end side bottom corner and click on next -> arrow mark which will take you to next step ,“Confirm the Prerequisite steps are done”
Confirm the Prerequisite Steps are Done:
Figure 4:
This section will assist you to make sure that your existing Active Directory and Exchange configuration meet the necessary prerequisites. Once you complete this task, proceed to the next step.
Note : In the above screen you will notice the “Learn More at” heading. This is yet another way the tool can help you save time by directing you to content that will help you learn about the selected topic.
Install the Client Access Server :
The next step will help you ensure that you install the CAS role in the correct manner. In addition, it also provides links to learn more about the CAS role and how to obtain the latest Exchange Server 2010 updates. If this is your first time deploying the CAS, I strongly recommend you use this option.
Figure 5:
The following sections help you cover all the major areas required to get Exchange 2010 up and running in your environment. Once you complete your installation be sure to use this tool to walk you through the final post installation tasks, including verifying the installation, entering product key details, and finalizing your transport server.
Figure 6:
The Checklist Complete section provides links to additional tools including the ExBPA.
If you want to capture all the information provided by this tool and read it when you are offline, you can download all the content into a pdf document by clicking on Download Checklist.
I believe this tool is an excellent place to begin your Exchange 2010 deployment and it will definitely help you stay on track. It might be a simple tool but it is very valuable.
Thanks to Microsoft for releasing such a nice tool!
Reference Article:
Exchange Server 2010 Deployment Assistant
Othe Exchange Server 2010 Articles