Exchange 2007 SP1 + Windows Server 2008 RC0

This weekend I took down my mail server, and home server, and reinstalled it.  Upgrading from beta 2 to RC0, I've found RC1 to have a couple more bugs in it with regards to profiles and folder redirections.

After installing Windows server 2008, i got cracking on setting up the servers, and joining the PC's to the domain.

All went well until it came to folder redirections.  For some reason Vista + RC0 had a big hissy fit with the way I was setting them up.  Thankfully I'm got round this by making new user home directories, logging that user in, setting the folder redirects up, then moving the files back in.

After that came the reassigning in the user profile registry entry (ntuser.dat)  Thankfully there's only 5 users I had to do that with, real nightmare.

Anyhow, then came exchange.  The main installation went fine, with no problems wat so eva.  The only issue came with IIS7 and Exchange's client role.  For some reason it removed most of the Website authentication rules.  Thankfully, don't know how, I managed to fix that with a reinstall of the client role, and a tweak of the IIS settings.  Still not sure how tho.

After that, comes the Virtual Machine to run the SMTP server.

Now because my server is a Pentium 4 with HT tech, it's not really a dual core 64 bit processor with Vitalization software on it, so using a 32bit Virtual Machine in VMware was the best I could hope for.  Thank god exchange 2007 sp1 was available as a trail (180 day) 32bit preview.

Once again, server 2008 went on the virtual machine, with nothing but Windows Shell, and AD LS (Active Directory Lightweight services) on it (previous known as ADAM [active direcotry application mode]). 

This install was server 2008 RC1, as I couldn't get my hands on RC0 of 32bit server 2008.  It'd been removed from Technet.

Configured that.  Restarted (important step this).  And finished the Exchange install with the Edge Transport Role.  Exported the setting, imported it.  Configured the FQN of the edge transport server's external interface.  And hey presto, no spam, and a working exchange install with Outlook anywhere and Active Sync.

Just time for me to import my user settings from a PST, and away I go.

I'ts been over a day now since the emails came back online, and I've had 0, count that, 0, SPAM emails.  It's great.  I'm used to getting 30+ in 4 hours.  I feel left out now.

Anyhow, I love exchange server, love it as a email server, have a few issues with Server 2008, but I think that's prob a Group Policy setting more than anything.  And loving IIS7.

http://mail.nbdev.co.uk should be back up now, along with my emails.

You might also be getting alot of emails from nb development as I've configured it to use the email server.  So hopefully that works.

Coming on Friday/Moday, will be 2x2gb DDR2 ram sticks which are for my computer. Freeing up the 1gb DDR2 modules for the media center pc.  And the left over ram will be sold.  4x512mb DDR2 with heat spreaders on.

Home Network 5 Plans

The next planned update to the network is over the summer, with a planned new server with proper Virtualization technology on it, prob a core 2 duo, again a shuttle for the fact that it's small.

This will free up that PC to replace my sisters machine (6 years old now) with the old server (3 years old), which will be sold, along with the duplicate machine of the same specs.

The server will be installed with Windows Server 2008 RTM, Exchange 2007 SP1, with virtualized machine with Server 2008 on it (might try the core version) and the Exchange Edge Transport Server on it.  This will be completed with a x64 OS's.  And will prob be the final step of the Network before I move out into the wide world of business.