Exchange Server 2007 and Windows Server 2003 Service Pack 2
Published Apr 10 2007 04:16 PM 5,077 Views

EDIT: This post was edited on 8/13/2007 to add a section about domain controller OS version.

If you haven't heard, Service Pack 2 for Windows Server 2003 is now available. In the final few months leading up to the RTM of Exchange 2007, we performed automated testing of Exchange 2007 with Windows 2003 SP2. Once Exchange 2007 was RTM, we continued to test. Service Pack 2 for Windows 2003 provides additional language support for Exchange 2007. In addition, you'll also find that the installation experience of Exchange 2007 is more streamlined because many of the updates that are required for Exchange 2007 (for example, Microsoft Management Console 3.0) are built into SP2; as a result, you don't need to download and install these individual components. And of course, administrators will have the benefit of running the latest version of Windows Server 2003 to ensure their system is fully patched and up-to-date.

Exchange Server 2007 Service Pack 1 System Requirements

We've received a lot of great feedback and positive responses regarding the blog post on Exchange 2007 SP1.  Some customers and administrators are wondering if we're changing any of the system requirements for SP1.  As far as hardware requirements are concerned, SP1 will not change the existing Exchange 2007 RTM system requirements.

Regarding the operating system, SP1 for Exchange 2007 will require Windows Server 2003 SP2.  This will be a hard dependency for installation, so the operating system must be upgraded to Windows Server 2003 SP2 before you upgrade the Exchange 2007 RTM installation to Exchange 2007 SP1, or before installing a fresh build of Exchange 2007 SP1.

Exchange 2007 SP1 does not place new operating system version requirements on your domain controllers / global catalog servers. Windows 2003 SP1 is still required as it was in Exchange 2007 RTM version. The use of some optional features such as RMS (Rights Management Service) might require Windows 2003 SP2 on DC/GC as they rely on updated operating system components. Please consult documentation for details.

Additional note: While Exchange 2007 is compatible with Windows Server 2003 SP2, please make sure that any 3rd party software or hardware you use is also compatible before deploying, by checking the vendor's web site.

- Ed Banti

11 Comments
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Any updates related to the release date for SP1?
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As its unlikely i will have all exchange sites migrated to 2007 anytime soon, do you have any information related to Exchange 2003 and its interaction with Windows 2003 Server Service Pack 2. I know i saw a few odd issues with IE7 and Exchange 2003. Can i expect to see similar issues with the new Service Pack 2 for Windows 2003 Server?
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Does the Exchange team have any specific recommendations with Windows 2003 SP2 and Exchange 2003?

One would assume it is fully supported on Exchange 2003 but I haven't found anything in the Tech Center explicitly stating that.
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I'm using the 32-bit version of E2K7 in our test lab. Will there be an SP1 for this version as well ?
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In a blog post a few months ago, you guys were talking about releasing "update rollups" for 2007 every 2-3 months. Do you still intend to do so, or has the idea been canned in favor of an accellerated SP1 release date?
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Will Exchange 2007 offer slipstream capability of service packs like windows does or will I have to install RTM and then apply service pack

thank you
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Jonathan, we are releasing our first Update Rollup for E2k7 this week.  It's taken longer than we expected to get the details and implementation right (and there are still a few issues with the look of the installer for non-English installs) but the builds and fix engine are working great.  By the time our second Rollup ships, the localized cosmetic issues will be resolved too.

If you subscribe to Microsoft Update, watch for it to be offered to you very soon.
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Do you know of any issues installing SP2 after having installed Exchange 2007?
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One thing that needs to be taken into consideration, is that SP2 enables the Windows Firewall by default and Exchange 2007 installation doesn't take this into account. The firewall have to be configured manually in order to allow external access to Exchange services (SMTP, POP, IMAP etc.). Will there be a fix for this in the SP1 version of Exchange?
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Kristofer,

Well, I have looked at the lab that I applied SP2 to, and - Windows Firewall is still disabled on all servers as it was before. I do not see that the firewall gets turned on by defauly. If you ran the Security Configuration Wizard then yes - you can turn it on, but it should not just auto turn on by the application of the service pack only?
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Exchange 2007 is solid.  I like 2k7 better thank 2k3 because It's all in one place and you now have the powershell.  It takes some getting used to but now Im loving it. I wish it wasnt so resource intensive.  But who know it may be a bug they havent fixed yet.
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