We are currently running a fully patched version of BPS 4.1.4 and some nice features are available with the new Blackberry Enterprise Server Express 5.0. I know i cannot perform a straight upgrade, but i don't like the idea of deactivating our current devices, uninstalling the BPS from our exchange server and then installing BES Express and reactivating all of our devices. Is it possible to instead install the BES Express side by side with the BPS and migrate the devices at my convenience? Anyone have any experience with this yet?
This is exactly what I am looking for the answer too. I posted this question on another forum, the support blackberry forums to be exact. The answer I got was we can't install BESX 5.0.2 on the same server as BPS 4.1.4. HOWEVER, I have read you can have two installs of BES running just not using the same database. But what is NOT clear to me is can I install BESX 5.0.2 on the same server as my current BPS 4.1.4 using a seperate database?
I only have ONE server running Win2003SBS.
Food for thought, although NOT supported, I have tested and was successful in installing BESX on a Windows 7 box (for my own home server, can't do that with the company I'm trying to upgrade BPS to BESX).
I would rather like to remove a currently installed BPS 4.1.6, leave the database intact, and, then install BESx, and, reuse the database.
The server currently only has 6 users, so, reactivating the devices is not a problem, but, If I could omit this, the users saved settings, and their pin, sms, email history would be kept.
HOWEVER, I have read you can have two installs of BES running just not using the same database. But what is NOT clear to me is can I install BESX 5.0.2 on the same server as my current BPS 4.1.4 using a seperate database?
I only have ONE server running Win2003SBS.
Food for thought, although NOT supported, I have tested and was successful in installing BESX on a Windows 7 box (for my own home server, can't do that with the company I'm trying to upgrade BPS to BESX).
only one BES per server OS and Windows 7 is unsupported
__________________
I had to fall
To lose it all
But in the end
It doesn't even matter
i have successfully installed BES 5.0 Express on a VM. I still currently am running BPS on our exchange server. I have tested the transporter and moved a user to the new Express server without having to do a reactivation. My eventual plan now is to migrate all users the the Virtual Machine and then uninstall the BPS and reinstall a new BES 5.0 Express on the exchange server and migrate the users back over. This is pending a response to my performance question tho.
See my post BES 5.0 Express Performance in the BES Admin Corner.
Thanks for the write up knottyrope on blackberry's website forums. Very helpful in determining a path for my migration.
knottyrope you seem very knowledgable on the BES Express software. Do you have any input on my question related to performance of BES Express? Look up my post if you can and reply if you have anything.