Answers inline prefixed by ">>>".

Ed Crowley MCSE+Internet MVP
Freelance E-Mail Philosopher
Protecting the world from PSTs and Bricked Backups!T

-----Original Message-----
From: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
[mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Niles
Ferrier
Sent: Monday, January 30, 2006 3:39 PM
To: Exchange Discussions
Subject: Best Practice/Tips and Tricks - Migrating from 5.5 to 2003

Hi All,
We are going to be moving from Exchange 5.5 to 2003 (finally) and I would
like to try my best to get it right the first time.

I have been involved with a bad migration on a similar scale to what I am
about to start here, which gave me a good idea of how the whole process
works, and what to look out for this time.

Basically this is a simple setup. A mixed NT4/2003 domain, a single site,
single server, exchange enviroment, and all servers are in the same building
(so no lengthly delays for domain/forestprep).

My main concern is creating hundreds of dummy accounts in AD because the ADC
cant match a mailbox to an AD account. So I would like to do what I can to
avoid that happening.

I know that a user cant be primary account in more then one mailbox, nor can
a group be the primary account of a mailbox, so I will fix these things in
Exchange 5.5 before starting anything, but beyond this, what other things
can I do to ensure good match up between Exchange 5.5 directory and Active
Directory?

Some things I would like to find out are:

- How does ADC match mailboxes to accounts. The last attempt I saw, new AD
accounts were created for ALL mailboxes. Does it use the alias and account
name, SID, etc..?

>>> Primary Windows NT Account's SID.  If the SID of the Primary Windows NT
Account exists in the target domain, whether it's the primary account SID or
there by SID history, that account is matched and no new account is created.

- When ADC does match mailboxes to accounts, I assume that in AD Users and
Computers, I will see some form of Exchange attribute on the user account
who has been matched with a 5.5 mailbox (similar to a user who has an
exchange 2003 mailbox)?

>>> That account will become mailbox-enabled and the store will show as
being on an Exchange 5.5 server.

- Is it good practice to create a new OU for unmatched mailboxes/accounts in
AD.. For the sake of keeping them seperate in the event that they are
created?

>>> Yes.

- Any other advice?

>>> Don't fret over the disabled account creation.  It's normal and
necessary.

>>> Use the ADC Tools feature of Exchange 2003 to preview what ADC will do
and resolve your mailboxes' Primary Windows NT Accounts.  Try to make it so
that each mailbox has a unique Primary Windows NT Account and then you
shouldn't have any surprises.

>>> Check the "Deletion" tab on your connection agreement.  Be aware that if
you want to start over, and you delete all the newly-created disabled
accounts, the default setting on this tab will cause all the mailboxes to be
deleted.

Likewise, if there are any good migration guides on the web besides those on
Microsoft, please let me know.

Many thanks for your expertise.

Cheers.
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