how long (or quick) does it take to set up an Exchange Server?

[groovin]

ive never set one up from scratch before, so i was just wondering how long i should expect a setup of exchange 2003 for 10-20 users would take. assuming the person doing the setup has some Exchange 2000 exp and a good amount of exchange 5.5. also assume there is no current exchange server at all and this is all done from scratch.

this should include planning and testing as well.

thanks!

 

[nweaver]

do it right? Days...

do it quick and dirty? 3 hours tops

 

[stash]

Do you have Active Directory? If not, that will add a significant amount of time (and needed expertise) to the project.

 

[azev]

Exchange 2003 is almost plug and play, If you have Active Directory allready setup, all you've gotta do is install exchange and it should work right out of the box.
Goodluck

 

[RebateMonger]

You didn't say whether you have other servers already. If this is a FIRST server (or even if it isn't), take a hard look at Windows Small Business Server 2003. You can set up a box with Server 2003, Exchange, (and, if you want, ISA 2004 and SQL 2000) in a matter of hours. The hardest part is joining the client PCs to the Domain, but if you know the tricks, that can be done in about fifteen minutes per client if the clients already have XP Pro or Windows 2000.

SBS automatically installs and configures Outlook 2003 on the client PCs. SBS 2003 also gives you automated backups of the entire Server (including Exchange) and automated Server status reports that it emails you every morning.

The only thing is....I'd recommend planning on doing your first install TWICE. Once to learn the tricks. Then, re-install it for the real install. If you buy a Dell OEM install, you'll probably want to re-install SBS anyway....they really don't provide enough space on the the system partition for future upgrades.

 

[groovin]

thanks for the replies...

im asking this question for myself and anohter sys admin friend... on my network, we have NT servers running various things and an exchange 5.5 server which we will eventually replace completey... my friend's company is more up to date, I believe they might be running AD and have no existing exchange server.

another question, IIRC, entourage is basically outlook for macs?

 

[RebateMonger]

Originally posted by: groovin
another question, IIRC, entourage is basically outlook for macs?

Yup.
One of clients has a couple of Macs with Entourage.
I don't know much about it. Based upon the Server messages, it seems to use an http connection to the Exchange Server.

 

[MulLa]

Why not download the trial and test out the installation for yourself on some spare boxes? That way you'll have a better feel for time. But if you're ONLY setting up exchange where you have a 2003 AD up and running should only take you around 16 hours tops for around 10 - 20 people.

 

[RebateMonger]

Originally posted by: MulLa
Why not download the trial and test out the installation for yourself on some spare boxes? That way you'll have a better feel for time. But if you're ONLY setting up exchange where you have a 2003 AD up and running should only take you around 16 hours tops for around 10 - 20 people.

I do a lot of Server 2003, SBS, and Exchange installs into Virtual PC. You can get 180-day trial versions of all this software, including VPC.

 

[groovin]

Yeah, i have vmware running on my workstation so i think ill download the trials of win2k3 and exchange 2k3 and see for myself. thanks!