Summary:
I currently have BES 4.x (purchased version) deployed with Exchange 2003. We are migrating to Exchange 2010 and BES 5.0 express and I want to make sure I have the order of operations right. I'm new to this so thanks for explaining.
Key requirements:
1. We want to have BES 4.x and 5.x express coexisting at the same time on different servers and migrate a few users as a time to test BES 5.0 out and be able to move them back if needed.
2. We want this operation to be as transparent as possible to device users (no re-provisioning, no losing device options, no password resets, minimal down time), etc.
I read the docs and at a high level it looks like I do the following:
1. Install BES 5.x express on a new server
2. Migrate users from 4.x to 5.x using Enterprise Transporter
3. Install Exchange 2010
4. Move the BES mailbox from Exchange 2003 to Exchange 2010
5. Move user mailboxes from Exchange 2003 to 2010.
Questions:
1. Are the above steps correct?
2. Do I need to upgrade an existing configuration DB or create a new one? What are the implications of doing that or not given the 2 requirements above?
3. Do I need to create a new BESAdmin account for BES 5.x or can I use the same one that is currently being used by 4.x?
4. I saw this statment in the docs, "The BlackBerry Configuration Database and all BlackBerry Administration Service instances in the BlackBerry Domain must be the same version. Before you upgrade the BlackBerry Configuration Database, you must stop the BlackBerry Administration Service services that run on all other computers in the BlackBerry Domain until you upgrade the computers." Does that mean upgrading the configuration DB mean I need to stop the BES services on the existing 4.x server, effectively taking it out of service?
Question on migration from BES 4.x to 5.x express
