Planning to install Exchange 2010
It’s nearly time for me to install Exchange 2010 for the first time. Before I do, I need to make sure the server is powerful enough and has the required resources. In reality, it will far exceed these requirements as it will be a virtual server (running on VMware ESXi 4.1) and I have plenty of CPU, disk and memory to spare.
Hardware
Hardware requirements vary depending on the roles that will be installed, so use the following as a guide:
- 64bit processor architecture
- At least 1.2GB to install Exchange, 200MB on the system drive, 500MB for each language pack and 500MB for the message queue database
- NTFS partitions
Software
In addition to making sure my hardware meets the minimum requirements I also need to ensure the following are installed before installation:
- Microsoft .Net Framework 3.5 SP1
- Windows PowerShell v2
- Internet Information Services (IIS)
- 2007 Office System Converter: Microsoft Filter Pack
Active Directory Schema
Exchange cannot function without Active Directory. Before I can install Exchange I need to ensure that the Active Directory Schema has been updated to include Exchange functionality.
User account
In order to install Exchange I will need to log on to the server with an administrator account that is a member of the Enterprise Admins group.