Virtualization and Exchange Server

  • Section(s): Exchange
  • Published on Mar 15, 2006.
  • Last Modified on Mar 15, 2006.
  • Last Modified by Mitch Tulloch.
  • Rated 2.5 out of 5 based on 8 votes.
Tips for running Exchange on Virtual Server.

Running Microsoft Exchange Server 2003 on Microsoft Virtual Server is another way of leveraging the power of virtualization to reduce hardware and support costs for your enterprise. But there are some important limitations you need to pay attention to if you plan on doing this.

First, your underlying machine must be running Virtual Server 2003 R2 and your virtual machines must be running Exchange Server 2003 Service Pack 2 or later. And of course you need to install Virtual Server 2003 R2 Virtual Machine Additions and use the Microsoft Virtual Machine PCI SCSI Controller driver as your SCSI driver for your VM. Finally, using Undo Disks is a no-no and you can't cluster together Exchange servers.

Apart from these limitations and requirements though, this approach is a great one to use if you're planning on server consolidation to reduce costs.

About Mitch Tulloch

Mitch Tulloch was lead author for the Windows Vista Resource Kit from Microsoft Press, which is the book for IT pros who want to deploy, maintain and support Windows Vista in mid- and large-sized network environments. Mitch was also the author of Introducing Windows Server 2008 and technical project lead for the Microsoft Office Communications Server 2007 Resource Kit, both books also from Microsoft Press. For more information on these and other books by Mitch, see www.mtit.com .

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