[RipThorn]

Hello

first i apologize if this was asked before. i did search but could not find exactly what i needed

I have BES v 4.0 SP7 and SQL 2000 SP4 running on the same box with about 650 users connecting to Exchange 2003 SP2. So far its been working fine for about 3 years. Recently i have added 2 new back end exchange servers and moved users to the new servers. Now i have BES4.0SP7/SQL2000SP4 and 3 back end exchange mailbox servers. I;m planning to move to BES 4.1SP4 or SP5 and remote SQL 2005 SP2 server.

This is what i;m planning to do on the high level :

Upgrade current BES4.0/SQL box to BES 4.1, then apply SP4. I'm not sure about SP5. i briefly tested it and had problems with pre population among other things. So hopefully this upgrade will go smooth.

Build new SQL 2005 remote server. Attempt to move database from existing SQL2000 to this new remote SQL 2005. This part scares me. I;ve read so many postings and my head hurts.

Once this is done and working i;m going to build 2 new BES4.1 servers and point them to the remote SQL2005 server so that i have one database and then start moving BB users to the 2 new BES servers. What i would like to achive is to spread BB users equally among 3 back end exchange servers with about 200 BB users per back end.

Is database move possible from SQL 2000 to SQL 2005? Do i have to do any upgrades to BES database because of the different versions of SQL server?

I understand that once you have 3 BES servers pointing at the same database you dont need to perform activations?

You still to have 3 separate SRP keys right?

thank you

[shuman]

you will need three SRP keys. If you upgrade the db on your current server, you should be fine when you restore it to the other servers. Just make sure that you are running the same version of BES on all three servers. Definitely back up your current BES server and especially the db files. GL

[fadmin]

You made it sound more complicated then it should be .
Unless exchange servers are spread among different sites with slow link you should be perfectly fine with just one BES. 600 users? Will be no problem for server with decent hardware.
Now another thing is to planone thing at the time, or else you might end up with way too many things to troubleshoot at the same time.


For example.
1. Backup current DB.
2. Backup all other info as well (srp, licences etc)
3. Obtain full 4.1.5 install file and do in place upgrdade to 4.1 and that will upgrade DB as well. Make sure all is working.
4. Backup current DB and restore to remote 2005 sql.
5. Stop bes services and local sql and point your BES to a a new db.
6. Start BES services and make sure all is working.
7. If you still want another BES servers (really no need if BES and Exchange servers are on the same site) and during setup select remote (new 2005 ) sql etc.
7. If all is good enjoy the summer

[RipThorn]

Thanks for your replies Guys

fadmin

600 users? i hear you. I know its not that many users. The client has already bought all the servers for me to do the install. I guess they have enough cash to burn it I;m simply trying the make best use of it.

as far as moving the database: don;t i have to run createdb to create the blank database first? Simply restoring the backup will work? this is the only part i don;t feel good about.

thank you

[fadmin]

Yes, you are right. I did not have time to go too much into details but for each of these steps there is an article about in RIM kb.
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