Hello! I am quite new to Exchange and Server management in general. I will do my best to explain my situation.
I am looking to move my Exchange server off of our DNS server. When we installed them on the same server, we did not have the funds to buy 2 separate servers. I am told that it is best to separate the two. I have followed the Microsoft instructions for installing the prerequisites for Exchange 2013 on a 2012 R2 server, and i am at the point where it wants me to configure AD LDS. As I have active directory running on the current server, I was a little hesitant to just install it without understanding what i am doing.
After the AD LDS is configured, I believe i can move forward with installing Exchange 2013 (all 3 roles will be hosted on the new server), export the mailboxes from 2007 server and import them into the new Exchange 2013 server. After 2013 is up and stable,
I plan on removing 2007 from the old server (DNS server).
What are my next steps after importing the mailboxes? Am i missing important details that I need to change or migrate?
My biggest fear is that nothing works after the installation and moving the mailboxes over. For that case, it makes sense to keep 2007 installed as a fallback for when my installation fails and all i have lost is just my time :)
Current Server:
Windows Server 2008 Standard (64 bit)
1. Roles: Active Directory, DNS, IIS
2. Software: Exchange 2007
New Server:
Windows 2012 R2 Server
1. Roles: ???
1. Software to install: Exchange 2013
Thank you for any help you can provide!