EDIT: This post was updated on 4/29/2008 to add more detail about the Exchange-aware backup on next version of SBS. In a previous blog post, we wrote about the various versions of Exchange Server and their support for Windows Server 2008. Now that Windows Server 2008 has released to manufacturing, we wanted to briefly discuss some specific issues that you might encounter as you deploy Windows Server 2008 in your environment, particularly if you're planning on running Exchange Server 2007 Service Pack 1 (SP1) on Windows Server 2008. Exchange 2007 SP1 is the only version of Exchange Server that is supported for installation on Windows Server 2008. Now that Windows Server 2008 has RTM'd, Exchange 2007 SP1 is fully supported on Windows Server 2008 in production environments. No other version of Exchange Server, including the released to manufacturing version of Exchange 2007, is supported on Windows Server 2008. As stated in the blog, Mission Impossible: In-Place Upgrading Microsoft Exchange Server 2007 from Windows Server 2003 to Windows Server 2008, you cannot upgrade the operating system in-place while Exchange 2007 (RTM or SP1) is installed. Thus, the only way to run Exchange 2007 on Windows 2008 is to do a fresh install of Windows 2008 and then install Exchange 2007 SP1. Windows Server 2008 Improvements that Benefit Exchange Windows Server 2008 includes a number of improvements and enhancements that can directly benefit servers running Exchange 2007 SP1. There are many benefits to running Exchange 2007 SP1 on Windows Server 2008. Just to name a few:
- Support for multi-subnet failover clusters When running in a Windows Server 2008 failover cluster, Exchange 2007 SP1 includes support for geographically dispersed clusters for failover across two subnets. This support includes both Cluster Continuous Replication (CCR) environments and Single Copy Clusters (SCC).
- Faster log file shipping Cluster Continuous Replication and Standby Continuous Replication are two forms of log shipping that use the Server Message Block (SMB) protocol to copy log files from a source storage group to a passive or target storage group. Windows Server 2008 includes SMB version 2, which provides a significant increase (around 30-40%) in SMB-based file copying throughput and performance.
- Reduced downtime for hardware maintenance Windows Server 2008 enables a variety of core hardware components to be added, removed or replaced without requiring system downtime. These processes are often referred to as "hot add", "hot remove", "hot replace" because the system remains active and continues providing service and data access while the hardware maintenance is occurring. Dynamic hardware partitioning in Windows Server 2008 includes support for hot add and replacement of processors and memory, as well as hot pluggable PCI Express cards. Of course, support for this is available only with the appropriate hardware. If you're not sure if your hardware is capable of running Windows Server 2008, you can download the Microsoft Assessment and Planning tool to securely inventory your existing servers and generate a migration report for Windows Server 2008.
- Near-zero downtime when fixing NTFS corruption In Windows Server 2003 and earlier, fixing NTFS corruption required taking the server offline to run the Chkdsk utility. The downtime associated with this process can be significant, particularly when the volume being checked is quite large. Windows Server 2008 includes a feature called self-healing NTFS, which attempts to correct corruptions of an NTFS file system while the system is online, and without requiring Chkdsk to be run. With self-healing NTFS, the file system is always available, NTFS corrects all detected problems while the system is running, and Chkdsk does not have to run in its exclusive mode except in extreme conditions.
- Greater scalability for Client Access servers that provide Outlook Anywhere services Windows Server 2008 includes a Next Generation TCP/IP stack that removes the RPC Proxy Service TCP connection limits imposed by Windows Server 2003 and earlier versions of Windows. Specifically, the RPC Proxy Service, the Windows component that enables RPC over HTTP, now supports per-IP address connection-limits. Whereas the RPC Proxy Service in Windows Server 2003 supports a maximum of 65,535 connections, regardless of the number of IP addresses assigned to the server, the RPC Proxy Service in Windows Server 2008 supports a maximum of 65,535 connections per IP address.
- Easier deployment Windows Server 2008 includes Exchange 2007 installation dependencies, such as Microsoft Management Console (MMC) 3.0, Windows PowerShell, and .NET Framework 2.0. As a result, you don't need to separately download these prerequisites in order to deploy Exchange 2007 SP1 on Windows Server 2008. Instead, you can quickly install them from the new Server Manager MMC console in Windows Server 2008, or install them from the command-line version of Server Manager.
- Support for IPv6 Windows Server 2008 includes support for IPv6, and Exchange 2007 SP1 supports IPv6 on Windows Server 2008 when used in tandem with IPv4. For more information, see IPv6 Support in Exchange 2007 SP1.
- Move to a Volume Shadow Copy Service (VSS)-based backup application. You can use Microsoft System Center Data Protection Manager (DPM) 2007 or a third-party backup application that supports Exchange-aware VSS-based backups of Exchange 2007 SP1 on Windows Server 2008. Windows Server Backup in Windows 2008 is a VSS-based backup application, but there are additional requirements for Exchange backups and restores beyond using the VSS Framework; for example, checking the database and log files for corruption during backups is not part of the VSS Framework and it is not performed by Windows Server Backup.
- Use a Third-Party application that supports ESE streaming backups using a local backup agent on the Exchange server. Because the ESE streaming APIs remain in Exchange 2007, you can still use them to backup Exchange. But to do that, you must use a third-party backup application that runs a local agent on the Exchange server so that the streaming backup is made locally, and not remotely. You cannot take remote streaming backups of Exchange 2007 SP1 on Windows 2008 with or without a third-party product. Any streaming backups that are performed must be performed locally on the Exchange server. An ESE streaming backup application that uses an "agent" locally on the Exchange server to remotely backup Exchange is considered a local streaming backup and not a remote streaming backup because the application's agent component is running locally on the Exchange server.
- Information and resources to use when you plan to upgrade Windows Server 2003 to Windows Server 2008
- Windows Server Catalog of Tested Products
- Windows Server 2008 Migration Forum - TechNet
- Windows Server 2008 - Backup and Recovery
- Microsoft Applications Supported on Windows Server 2008
- Third-Party Applications and Windows Server 2008
- Top 11 Reasons to Upgrade to Windows Server 2008
- Windows Server 2008 Security Technologies A-Z
- Windows Server 2008 TechCenter
- TechNet Virtual Lab - Windows Server 2008
- Windows Server Team Blog
- Windows Server 2008 Product Information