There are many types of mattresses available in the market and it is very difficult to choose a mattress. Everybody will not like a particular type of mattress, as the choice and tastes differ among people. Some people like a very light mattress while some like hard surface mattresses.

If you want to buy a mattress there are 4 important points to be kept in mind:

Soft or hard mattress: It is best to choose a mattress by lying down on it for a minute and giving it a test. Some people like a mattress that is little soft while others like very soft mattresses. Do not just check the brand name and buy a mattress, test and then buy.

Durability: The mattress should be very comfortable and the quality of the materials used should be very good, so that it can last for years.

Warranty: The competition in the mattress industry is picking up and there are companies which provide 20 years warranty, so buy a mattress which at least provides 10 years warranty.

Space: Buy the mattress according to the size of the bed. The measurements of beds are different, so buy the right ones. If you are single then buy a single mattress and if two people sleep then buy a double bed mattress so that you have enough space to sleep and roll on the bed.

It is very difficult to suggest a good mattress, as there are many opinions on each and every mattress available in the market. So, it is advised to judge the mattresses by keeping the above points in mind while buying a mattress.

People designing their kitchen and wanting Italian kitchen furniture often make the mistake of thinking they’re looking for something very specific. As time has gone on, anything to do with Italian kitchens has become far more diverse. Here are just three common misconceptions of Italian furniture.

Firstly, you don’t have to just marble for your kitchen furniture to achieve an Italian style. For some reason, just because this material has become synonymous with Italy, people automatically think they need to put it in their kitchen to be authentic with their design. Marble can be very expensive and if not chosen and implemented correctly, can make a kitchen look horrific. There are other quality materials that are just as good.

Secondly, there is not set arrangement and layout for an Italian kitchen so you can feel free to space furniture out as you see fit. People often think that if you don’t have the big table in the middle of the kitchen for chopping meat and vegetables or large counters for other food preparation then it’s not an Italian kitchen. This is wide of the mark.

Finally, Italian kitchen furniture doesn’t have to look or feel a certain way. The Italian principles of kitchen design are to create a warm and inviting space that is functional to work in. This very much ties in with the theories behind bespoke kitchen design and customising a kitchen to suit your needs.

So when you’re picking out Italian kitchen furniture, feel free to think more creatively and don’t become ruled by a theme you’re told is set in stone, or marble.

Lighting is very important when it comes to making your house look beautiful. Lights and lamps also serve a functional purpose. There is more to buying a table lamp than grabbing the first one you think looks pretty. You also need to think about your needs. You should consider size, color, scale, function and wattage. Even your own height is important! Your choice of table lamp depends on what you want the lamp for. Is it for dining and entertaining? Is it for reading or working? Or just for some extra lighting? These tips should help you choose the best table lamp for your needs.

Size

If you want a table lamp as a decorative accent or for general illumination (ambient light) pretty much any size will be fine, as long as it will suit the room. If you plan to use the lamp for reading, you should bear this in mind when choosing one. Reading by the light of a small ornamental lamp can be very frustrating and not good for your eyes! If you want a mini lamp, or indeed several, there are plenty of affordable ones on offer. Two matching lamps either side of a bed can look great and bedside lamps don’t need to be huge. Large table lamps look stunning in a spacious dining room or sizable lounge.

Height

If you want the lamp next to a sofa or chair, the base of the shade should be level with the seated person’s ear. This prevents the bulb from shining directly into their eyes. It is a good idea to measure the height of the table you plan to put the lamp on before buying it. Think about where the shade is going to go – do you want a table lamp to illuminate the whole table or just something to give some subtle lighting in a certain part of the room? You can choose the bulb wattage but different table lamps accept different bulb wattages so bear this in mind too before you make a purchase.

Color and Style

You can buy lamps in just about any color or style these days. Matching your table lamp to your décor is a good idea. If you have, for example, a peach colored room, a peach tone of table lamp can introduce a beautiful accent and blend into the décor. If you favor the antique look, a Tiffany style lamp can look attractive. Tiffany lamps were popular in the 1970s and are making a big comeback now, thanks to their timeless style. They are now more refined in terms of color and design and more affordable in today’s economy.

You can choose from fringed lampshades, plain fabric lampshades, glass fibers and many more designs. It is worth taking as much time as you need to select the perfect one.

For something a little more modern, how about a traditional desk lamp or something quirky, like a lamp with the sun, moon and stars on? You can get copper-based lamps, gold effect lamps, silver lamps and many more types. Your table lamps should match both your personality and requirements.

Table lamps are the most common type of lamps and because there are so many options, you should easily be able to find the perfect ones for you and your home. Professional decorators and homeowners agree that with the right lighting, especially table lamps, a room can be transformed and made truly comfortable and beautiful.

With the arrival of spring, people start sprucing up their outdoor living areas. Decorating a patio or deck is similar to decorating a traditional room, in more than one way. Plants, lighting and colors are to be taken into account. Nevertheless, furniture probably is of prime importance in any outdoor design. There is a wide choice of present day outdoor furniture available in varied styles to suit individual tastes and purse.

Choosing outdoor patio furniture sets can be a bit overwhelming if you are unaware of all the different materials on the market. Metal furniture, such as iron, steel, and aluminum, are still popular choices for patio designs. Wood, especially teak and oak, is also a fashionable material used in making outdoor designs. Another popular option is Choosing outside area furniture sets can be a bit resistless if you are asleep of all the other materials on the industry. Conductor furniture, much as trammel, brace, and metal, are still touristed choices for area designs. Director, especially tree and oak, is also a modernistic relevant victimized in making outside designs. Another favourite option is exterior wickerwork furnishings which is both perdurable and bonny.

Most exterior furnishings sets also have matching consort pieces in addition to the conventional fare and chairs. End tables, bars, bar stools, ottomans, and even sofas can be constitute to deepen the wait of your outdoor seating region. Most of these pieces present be visible at an additional value and can mostly be open neighbouring the commodity table and berth offerings.

Judgment outside furniture is sure not an supplying in today’s retail industry. Nigh all big box stores and furniture retailers transfer in-stock sets. Some mart stores and deduction stores also tender outdoorsy sets at real intelligent prices. There are also numerous online sources for area furniture, but business may be pricy depending on the metric of the shipment.

Prices differ widely according to the materials old and arrangement of the furniture. Judge to pay solon for actress and work sets. Mixture sets may be inferior valuable, but can also oxidization. Tidy sure to brook your anaesthetic weather conditions into fee during the pick making transform.

Decorating an outdoor living space can be fun and rewarding. Purchasing furniture for the outdoors that fits your needs and budget does not have to be overwhelming. With the right furniture and accessories, the great outdoors can become an extension of your home and a great place to entertain or relax.

The following is an overview of how to arrange your living room, bedroom, dining room, and children’s room and kitchen furniture that leaves them homely:

Furniture in the living room. This is the first room you see once you or a visitor enters your home. It’s also a place where your family and visitors can relax and congregate. Begin by creating a floor plan and decide on the focal point which may be a large window, fireplace or entertainment center. Position your furniture around it. Ensure that your furniture complement your focal point.

Bedroom furniture. This is a place for comfort and relaxation. Begin by choosing the wall against which you will place your bed. Arrange other furniture pieces such as nightstands, lamps, dressers and shelves on both sides of the bed to provide a balanced furnished room.

Dining room furniture. This room is a place to sit, eat and socialize. Put into consideration the space you have. Arrange the furniture in a manner that allows anyone to push their chair back and move comfortably without knocking the adjacent furniture.
Avoid unnecessary congestion on the dining table in particular.

Children’s and teen furniture. Perhaps children’s room is the most important place in kid’s life. It’s a place for sleeping, studying and nourishing dreams. Ensure that your child fully participates in organizing their room. Children are not big fun of surprises. Consider having a filing cabinet close to their study desk neatly fitted and a reachable hanging storage closet.

Kitchen Furniture. Many a times, arranging kitchen furniture is not considered essentially important. To organize the kitchen begins by giving yourself a couple of days to notice your living habits and which pieces you use more often; place them closest. Ensure that complimentary accessories such as baker’s rack, kitchen carts, kitchen stools, movable storage are symmetrically matching the space of the room.

Bathroom furniture. With modernity, sizeable bathroom is the in-thing thus; you may need to ensure that there is sufficient space for bathroom furniture pieces such as benches, armoires, chest, or chairs. Avoid large furniture pieces as this may make the room look clumsy and feel congested.

The first thing you need to consider is your budget. Childrens bedroom furniture generally falls into two categories: high quality furniture, which tends to be more expensive, and cheap bedroom furniture. There are plenty of choices for all budgets, and if you are looking to do it on the cheap, there is still a huge selection of kids furniture for you to choose from.

So, why spend money then? The reason you would want to invest money in your child’s bedroom furniture is purely because high quality furniture is built to last. This means that you won’t need to update your child’s room in years to come. However, you must bear in mind that children will probably be begging you to update their bedroom as they get older, particularly as they reach their teenage years, and it might therefore be better to plump for cheaper children’s bedroom furniture. You are more likely to feel that you have had your use out of it if then go on to update in the next five years. If you have more than one child, investing in more expensive furniture is always a good idea as it can be passed down to your younger children as those pesky older children beg for a revamp!

Next on the list is, which colour to go for? There are so many colours of kids bedroom furniture on the market, from white to cream, pink to blue, or wooden and natural. It may be tempting to buy pink furniture for girls bedrooms, and blue for boys bedrooms, but as children grow older they are probably going to want to escape stereotyping by colour. Investing in wooden, unpainted furniture or white bedroom furniture is often a good idea.

So, should you buy wooden furniture or not? Wooden furniture not only looks nice, but is also sturdy and built to last. However, there are plenty of retailers at the cheaper end who sell furniture for kids bedrooms with a wooden effect, therefore keeping the price down. Often these pieces of furniture look as good as their wooden counterparts, and no one would ever know that it is not real wood. Going for cheaper materials is recommended if you are thinking you will update your child’s bedroom in the next handful of years, whereas investing in wooden pieces is a good option if you don’t think you will be updating your child’s room for at least five years.

Buying online versus buying from shops…you need to weigh up the pros and cons on this one. If you buy from your local shop, you get the advantage of seeing the children’s furniture in the “flesh”, but you will need to arrange delivery yourself if you are buying from smaller retailers (many larger retailers will deliver). If you buy online, you can view many different online stores in one sitting (it would take you days to look around this many shops by foot!), without having to think about parking, delivery, and the inevitable crowds in town. Most large online retailers deliver for free or very little cost, and will normally deliver within seven days.

Shopping for girls bedroom furniture, or that for a boys bedroom, can be both fun and enjoyable, but the key to being successful is knowing what your budget is and what you are after, BEFORE you go shopping.

With all the emphasis on keeping children healthy and active it is important to have kids outdoor furniture in your yard to allow your busy kids to sit down and relax. More and more children are reported as spending the majority of their time inside, so enhancing your yard and making it very kid friendly with child sized outdoor furniture is a great idea.

Often, as adults, when we think of outdoor furniture we think of lawn chairs, tables, and perhaps loungers. When considering kids outdoor furniture, you can be even more creative. Many companies sell kids clubhouses, Adirondack style chairs and picnic tables, as well as outdoor rockers and benches.

Children have a hard time using adult sized outdoor furniture, mostly because the adult type of furniture is simply too big for smaller children. With a complete line of child sized items this problems is eliminated.

Adirondack Kids Outdoor Furniture

The Adirondack style of kids’ outdoor furniture is durable, sturdy, and easy to maintain. The furniture comes finished in a variety of stains and colors to best suit your yard and also your children’s favorite colors. New to the market this year is a pink Adirondack chair for young girls and a blue one for the boys.

The benefit of the Adirondack furniture is that it is able to withstand both the rain and the heat of the sun. These items can also be brought inside and used in the house over the winter months or during unseasonable weather. Children can use their outdoor furniture to have picnics and other outings right in the house during the cold seasons.

In addition to the Adirondack chairs and picnic tables, there are also benches available that are finished in colors similar to the other types of furniture. This means that you will be able to add to the set throughout the years, or as your family grows.

Playhouses

Playhouses are an excellent way to spark your child’s imagination. Kids love being outside and using their imagination to decorate their clubhouse or playhouse. Be careful to purchase good quality kids outdoor furniture, especially if it will be outside in the elements all through the year. Many playhouses are made of wood, plastic, or a combination of both materials. As with all children’s toys and furniture it is important to make sure that it meets safety standards and that the playhouse is kept in good repair and free from any splinters, breaks or other safety concerns. Some playhouses even have a front porch, perfect for kids size Adirondack chairs and ottomans.

If you would like a playhouse, but don’t want to have to leave it up all the time, consider a play tent. These easy to set-up tents are usually theme based, with a star tent, a military headquarters tent, a castle tent, and even a train station tent. Children really enjoy being creative, so why not provide the outdoor furniture needed to really make their play fun. The tents are relatively inexpensive and easy to store, so it may be possible to have a whole village!

Kids have always been drawn to bean bag chairs. There’s something just fun about lounging around in a sack that is low to the ground and kind of scrunchy.

Parents have traditionally bought this kind of furniture for their kids’ bedrooms or bonus rooms.

Young adults bought them for their dormitories or first apartments.

But until now, this kind of furniture wasn’t considered elegant enough for the “adult” portions of the home.

New technology has taken bean bag chairs further than it ever went back in the 1960s when the furniture first became popular.

They have been updated and now can now be brought up from the basement and put into the more formal areas of the home.

Partially, this change is a result of new technology. It used to be that bean bag furniture was filled with Styrofoam. Nowadays, this kind of furniture is filled with shredded polyurethane. Polyurethane is a type of sugar which has been infused with steam to create a suitable filling for furniture. One of the benefits is that it doesn’t compress as it is used.

These chairs and sectionals are perfect for media rooms as they can be rearranged easily depending on who is currently watching television.

But, while bean bag chairs have come up from the basement, it doesn’t mean that kids like them any less. This is still the most kid-friendly furniture out there. And, many of the designs still focus on making kids happy.

So, consider buying bean bag chairs and sectionals the next time you need family room furniture.

The definition of interior decoration has transcended the role of lamps from basic lighting purpose, to enhancing the beauty and elegance of the interiors. Each room of the house is decorated with different kinds of lamps, keeping with the theme, mood and the ambience. As the name suggests, floor lamps are not attached or hung from the ceiling. They are independent lamps attached to stands made of different materials and kept on the floor. Floor lamps can be lit with candles, gas or electrical lighting devices.

These lamps are available in a number of varieties, such as wrought iron, white iron, bamboo, steel and other materials. They look especially beautiful when placed at the corner of big living rooms or drawing rooms. They come in several designs and styles. These include wood based, chandelier arch, spider arch, twist style and brass plated, to name a few. These lamps are the ideal way to impart a unique look to the rooms. On the basis of the size, shape and the other furniture in the room, they can be placed on side-tables, beds, sofa sets and the corners of the room.

A huge collection of each variety can be found online. Lamp dealers often present the entire catalog consisting of the items on the shelf online, to make shopping for lamps easier for their customers. Buyers can go through the online catalogs or visit the local lamp stores to check out the options. Prices may vary according to the materials used, designing patterns and size of the lamps. However, the prices of these antique lamps may be very high and vary, depending on their vintage value. Discounts are also offered occasionally. The latest and most contemporary Chinese or Germen imported floor lamps with sleek and trendy designs can also be ordered online.

OBJECTIVE:

Electronic messaging services within a company remains a mission critical application and its implementation is a vital part to the conduct of everyday business strategies, needs and goals. Within the organization the business requirements now include the safeguard of electronic content retention best practices. Therefore, it is important to see to it that a migration project is undertaken with a lot of care. Read this document carefully to gain a good understanding of not only the pre-requisites but also the migration path from mixed to native mode.

The delivery of mail is a challenging task which includes the support of thousand of users within the corporation environment. The new infrastructure must set up procedures to respect compliance, corporate governance and internal regulatory policy enforcement. Affirmatively, business guidelines and principles for the preservation of electronic mail within the corporate body must now be taken into consideration. This requires that companies learn how to standardize their projects to meet not only corporate needs but also judicial demands.

The granularity of server management depends upon a business model that will sustain the rationalization of all of the mechanics of the migration project from Exchange 5.5 to Exchange 2003. It is understood that the migration will introduce many changes upon the business model. It is to be undertaken by keeping the infrastructure model and design flexible without the impairment of performance.

SETUP PROCEDURES FOR THE MIGRATION:

MANAGING THE MIGRATION:

• Domain controller location. You’ll need at least one Domain Controller in each office that has an Exchange 2003 server

• Global Catalog server location. Need at least one Global Catalog server in each office that has an Exchange 2003 server. This can also act as the local Domain Controller. The simplest way to accomplish this is to make all branch office DCs into GCs. Microsoft recommends a minimum of one GC server for every four Exchange processors, not servers.

• DNS configuration. Make certain that DNSLint shows no errors, other recommended tool KILLADCGN.EXE to verify chkds Checkdisk and chkdsro (CheckReplicationOrphan objects in AD);

• Active Directory Native Mode. Important Notice: The Active Directory domain containing the Exchange servers must be in Native Mode so that you can use Universal Security Groups for e-mail distribution.

• Replication or authentication problems. Verify Event Viewer to have no errors from directory service replication, KCC topology calculations, or authentication errors originating from domain controller accounts. You can use the EventCombMT utility (download from Microsoft). EventCombMT is part of the Account Lockout and Management and Lockout

• Domain Prerequisites Considerations : Name Resolution, ADC Staging OU, ADC Staging, Verify trusts issues, Replication topology

Verify Current Exchange Organization Roles and Distributions:

O Exchange server version

O Site configuration

O Site connectors and Directory Replication connectors

O Internet connectors

O Unsupported connectors

O Key Management Services

O Compatible backup

O Antivirus and Antispam software

O Patches

O E-mail dependent applications

O Exchange 2000 instant messaging

Pre-Requisites and Precautions before the installation:

o Security patches (ISDS for Exchange)

o In order to preserve Exchange 5.5 Public Folder Access Control Lists (ACLs) after mailboxes or distribution lists are moved between sites the Administrator will need to install an Exchange 5.5 DS/IS hotfix (http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=836489) on every Exchange 5.5 Public Folder server prior to moving mailboxes or DLs between sites.

o The Consistency Adjuster must be run for each server in each site.

o Windows service packs (SP4.0 for Exchange 5.5 while Exchange 2003 is on SP2.0 this information must be revised on the website of Microsoft for the latest updates)

o Considerations – Mobile Information Server (MIS) –To preserve functionality for existing mobile users during the Exchange 2003 deployment, keep at least one MIS 5.5 servers running as you migrate to Exchange 2003.

o Instant Messaging (IM) and Chat –This functionality has been replaced by Live Communication Server (LCS) in Exchange 2003.

o CcMail connector — If you are running ccMail (mainly for Lotus Mail Agents) in the organization along with Exchange, it’s time for a final transition upon the migration path to Exchange 2003.

o Backup, Antivirus, and Antispam software compatibility issues and third party software issues

o ADC upgrades considerations – You must upgrade the ADC servers to Exchange 2003 ADC prior to introducing any Exchange 2003 servers into the organization. The ADC upgrade modifies the schema, so make sure that the Schema Master is available.

o Front-end/back-end upgrades. – If you have an existing deployment such as for example, Exchange 2000 that uses a distributed architecture, upgrade the front-end servers first and then upgrade the backend servers.

PRE-MIGRATION NORMALIZATION ISSUES:

O Install service packs (verify Microsoft website for the latest versions)

O Normalize mailboxes (size sum check)

O Verify public folders permissions (permissions will affect the RUS)

OMigration Account Rights Ensure the account(s) used for the migration process are given ‘Service Account Admin’ rights at the Organization, Site and Server level.

OSimple-Synchronization Ensure the Simple-Sync replication schedule is set to every twelve hours (12 hours) – Exdeploy.hta. (Deployment tools)

Considering ultimate performance:

• Domain Upgrade

• Upgrade the current PDC to Windows Server 2003.

• Install additional Windows Server 2003 domain controllers

• Shift the domain and forest to Windows Server 2003 functional level

Network Infrastructure Considerations:

• Traffic patterns

• Outages

• Remote users

• Routing groups

Costs Topology:

• Server software

• Client Access Licenses (CALs)

• Additional personnel

• Training

• Client software

Additional Networking Considerations:

• Directory service connection failures

• Inability to access public folders

• Inability to replicate public folders with legacy Exchange

• Incompatible historical backups

• Hardware failures

• Software compatibility failures

Considering Final Networking Objectives:

• No service interruptions

• Single mailbox-enabled account for each user

• Retain existing mailbox and public folder permissions.

• Fastest possible introduction of new features

• Maximize existing hardware

Domain Prerequisites Considerations: Name Resolution, ADC Staging OU, ADC Staging, Verify trusts issues, Replication topology. ADC, DcDiag, NetDiag, AD Snapshot, Log Files, Event Viewer Security, Application and System Logs

NB*: Remove Internet Explorer Enhanced Security. ADC Setup will make extensive use of Internet files (.html, .hta, etc.). Windows Server 2003 has a feature called Internet Explorer Enhanced Security that forces a security launched wizard. Remove this feature from the server for the duration of the ADC and Exchange setup.

1. Launch Control Panel.

2. Open the Add/Remove Programs applet.

3. Click Add/Remove Windows Components

4. Uncheck the Internet Explorer Enhanced Security Configuration option

5. Click Next to accept the change.

Primary Reports and Log Files verifications:

• DSConfigSum. This test reports the total number of sites and the number of servers in each site.

• DSObjectSum. This utility reports the total number of public folders, distribution lists, distribution lists with hidden membership, and custom recipients.

• UserCount. This test reports the total number of recipients (users) in the organization, broken down by site.

• VerCheck. This test verifies that you have the right Exchange version and service pack level on your Exchange servers.

• NB*: The main log file for the deployment is Exdeploy.log. It shows the result of each test performed by DSScopeScan.

INSTALLATION CONTROLS:

The Extending of the Active Directory Schema:

/Forestprep switch is used to extend the Active Directory schema.
§ Will modify the Active Directory Schema to include new attributes and classes used by Exchange 2003 and also installs the top-level objects for a placeholder organization tree in the Configuration Naming Context in the Active Directory forest.

Preparing the Windows Server 2003 Domains to Support Exchange Server 2003:

/Domainprep It will prepare the domains that will host Exchange servers or mailbox-enabled users
§ This creates objects in the Active Directory domain that represent Exchange service accounts, public folders, and groups that represent Exchange servers in the domain and the enterprise.

It will configure the Recipient Update Service parameters responsible for keeping Exchange address lists up-to-date and for creating proxy addresses for users based on recipient policy addressing configuration.

NB*: Recipients are Active Directory objects that have messaging capabilities. The object itself does not receive messages. The messages are not stored in Active Directory. Instead, they can reside in a mailbox on an Exchange server, in a public folder, or in another messaging system.

How these objects work:

When the proper credentials are sent to the domain controller for the user object, the contents of the mailbox become available to the e-mail client like Outlook (in the inbox of the user).

It will also create the Exchange Server 2003 specific groups (permissions) that allow Exchange services to run without a service account.

Domainprep will create two new groups:

a) Exchange Domain Servers

b) Exchange Enterprise Servers

Utilities to Run to verify the settings of the Organization:

1) OrgPrepCheck

2) OrgCheck

3) PolCheck

OrgPrepCheck: Verifying the Organization Settings with OrgPrepCheck. To validate the Forestprep and Domainprep utilities were functionally successful. The OrgPrepCheck utility is found via the Exchange Deployment Tools and is a recommended way of determining whether it is safe to proceed with the migration process.

OrgCheck: This test is made to verify that the Setup created the proper Exchange objects in the Configuration naming context and Domain naming context. By making sure that the Exchange Domain Servers group, Exchange Enterprise Servers group, and Exchange Services group exist. It also will verify that the schema changes are propagated and that it can find a Global Catalog server in the same site as the ADC server.

PolCheck: This test queries each domain controller in the domain to determine if the Exchange Enterprise Servers group has been given the Manage Auditing and Security Logs privileges. If the changes have not been created it is possible to make use of Active Directory Sites and Services to force replication to the affected problematic Domains to run OrgPrepCheck again.

Manage the (ADC) Active Directory Controller:

Do not make use of the ADC that comes on the Win 2000 or Win 2003 Setup CD. These specific versions of ADC do not map special attributes required by Exchange recipients and public folders. If you have already installed the operating system version of the ADC, remove it before installing the Exchange version. Also, unlike the Exchange files themselves, you can do the initial installation of the ADC using the Exchange service pack files. The ADC uses LDAP to query and update servers. The ADC stores configuration parameters in Active Directory objects called Connection Agreements (CAs). A CA defines object types for the ADC to copy, the source and target containers for the objects, a replication schedule, and credentials to use for making inter-server replication connections between sites.

Failed Over Principle: The (ADC) Active Directory Connector has the capacity to delete objects in both directories, as a pre-migration rule and precaution the data should be stored. This failed over principle is important for if things go wrong during the migration an authoritative restore must be performed with the NTDSUTIL utility of the Active Directory Database.

Fail Over practices for recovery purposes during the migration:

This particular tool is going to provide a fail over practice which is the standard approach to perform database maintenance of Active Directory

- managing of single master operations

- managing of the metadata in regards to the Domain Controllers


Found in systemrootSystem32

May also perform the restore from Backups

CONFIGURING THE ACTIVE DIRECTORY CONNECTOR (ADC):

Step 1: Before installing the ADC the Administrator must create or choose a user account that will be used to run the ADC service and manage the (CA) connection agreements.

Step 2: Permissions rights for the (DC) Domain Controller: This account needs to be added to the Administrators group in the domain if the ADC is installed on a domain controller.

Step 3: Permissions rights for a Member Server: This account needs to be added to the local Administrators group. Must standardize the rights on both sides 5.5 Admin and 2003 server by adding the service accounts from both administrative accounts to gain the proper credentials (service account Admin group)

Step 4: To install the ADC there are two (2) options ADC Setup from the Auto Run menu, or simply invoke the setup from the Exchange Deployment Tools.

Step 5: Before building the installation of the (CA) connection agreements the Administrator must configure the Attribute replication, account-matching rules, diagnostic logging properties and replicating directory entries. (Very important)

Step 6: Once the ADC is installed with its account credentials and services it will be time to configure the connection agreement (CA) and to begin synchronizing the Active Directory and Exchange 5.5 directories.

VERIFY THE CONNECTIVITY WITH ACTIVE DIRECTORY:

Run the Exchange 2003 SP1 version of exdeploy.exe with the following switches to test the ADC configuration.

%pathname%exdeploy.exe /t:ADCCheck /p:%logpath% /s:< Server Name >

• Initial ADC Attribute Copy , ADC-Global-Names Attribute Creation

• NT Account Migrations -Invalid User Accounts , Do not Enable the Disabled User Objects

• Multiple Mailbox Owners (NTDSNoMatch) set an exclusion standard on the account

• Active Directory Account Cleanup Wizard

• ADC and Distribution Lists – Automatic Security Group Upgrades

• Distribution List Membership

• ADC Setup Permissions – ADC Server Selection – ADC Service Account Selection

Synchronization: The connection agreements (CA) in the ADC are necessary to synchronize directory entries between the Exchange 5.5 and Exchange Server 2003 systems.

Dispositions: Can be installed on a Member Server or on the 1st Exchange 2003 Server installed.

Implementation of CA: At this point you can choose to implement one or more (CA) connection agreements within the organization. It must be done because of the migration process for it will not sustain issues of fault tolerance or load balancing. For managerial purposes of the migration installation procedures the best practice is to install a single ADC with one connection agreement for each Exchange 5.5 site.

Site Replication: The 5.5 Exchange Server and the installed ADC must be on the same physical network segment.

Permissions: The rights must be Schema Admin and Enterprise Administrator both are required to install the ADC.

Installation Process: Allocate at least two hours for the replication of about 5,000 objects within a single direction. But, the length of time for replication really varies on the number of
Connection Agreements that is present and on the recipient containers on the populated attributes and on the actual directory objects.

SYNCHRONIZATION BY USING THE ADC TOOL:

• ADC Tools: Simplify the process of testing prerequisites and installing Connection Agreements. It will synchronize the active directory forest with the Exchange 5.5 directory during the migration process. Schema changes will now be fully replicated so that every domain is properly updated to include the necessary Exchange objects for the migration.

• Tool Settings: This step is to specify the name of the Exchange 5.5 server to use for data collection and the location for the ADC logs.

• Data Collection: This step ultimately will run a suite of utilities that scans both Active Directory and the legacy Exchange directory service to find parameters that will be synchronized by the ADC.

• Connection Agreement Wizard: This step is used to create Connection Agreements that define the replication endpoints of the ADC and determine how attributes will be mapped between the endpoints.

• Final Checks: To check the Active Directory users to make sure the Exchange attributes appear in their properties using the Active Directory Users and Computers.

OBJECT DELETION WITH THE ADC:

1) If you delete a mailbox-enabled user in Active Directory, the ADC deletes the corresponding mailbox in legacy Exchange.

2) If you delete a mail-enabled group or contact in Active Directory, the ADC deletes the corresponding distribution list or custom recipient in legacy Exchange.

3) If you remove the e-mail attributes from users, groups, or contacts in Active Directory, the ADC deletes the corresponding mailbox, distribution list, or custom recipient in legacy Exchange.

4) If you delete a mailbox in legacy Exchange, the ADC strips the email attributes from the corresponding user object in Active Directory.

5) If you delete a distribution list or custom recipient in legacy Exchange, the ADC strips the e-mail attributes from the corresponding group or contact in Active Directory.

§ Active Directory Connector Object Replication Check

§ Active Directory Object Replication Scan

§ Active Directory Unmarked Resource Mailbox Scan

SCHEDULING REPLICATION WITH THE ADC:

• Ensure that the 5.5 replication connector is set directly between the remote site and the central site.

• The replication connector is using the same server in the central site as the replication bridgehead that the ADC is configured to replicate changes from the Active Directory.

• The 5.5 replication schedule set to Always or short intervals

• Configuration Connection Agreements: Exchange 5.5 stores server information in a configuration container in the legacy Exchange directory service. Each Exchange server in a site knows about the other servers in the site by looking in this Configuration container. The legacy servers in a site will not know that you installed an Exchange 2003 server until they see the server’s information in the legacy Configuration container. That’s the job of the Configuration Connection Agreement, (CA) which is created automatically by default when you install the first Exchange 2003 server in the site.

• Configuration CA Function: When you install an Exchange 2003 server, Setup creates objects under the Exchange organization container in Active Directory that represent the following functions:

ü Site addressing and routing capabilities

ü Site Connectors

ü MTA (Message Transfer Agent) and other transport protocols

ü Private and public mailbox storage parameters

ü Recipient Policies

ü Site (Administrative Group) configuration parameters

ü Encryption and secure messaging parameter

INSTALLING AND CONFIGURING THE CONNECTION AGREEMENTS:

Recommendations: To be installed after the ForestPrep

INSTALLING AND CONFIGURING THE CONNECTION AGREEMENTS:

Connection Agreement Properties:

• Recipient Connection Agreements: The wizard creates two-way connection agreements, meaning that changes made to either of the directory service will replicate to the other service (within Active Directory).

• Check Connection Settings: This tab allows you to select the endpoint server for each side of the Connection Agreement and the credentials used to access the directory service on that server. Exchange 2003 has a service called the Site Replication Service. But, SRS listens at TCP port 379 rather than TCP port 389, the standard LDAP port.

• If you delete a resource mailbox, the ADC deletes the corresponding disabled user object in Active Directory.

• If you delete a standard mailbox, the ADC strips the e-mail attributes from the corresponding Active Directory object and sets the LegacyExchangeDN attribute to ADCDisabledMailByADC.

RESOURCE MAILBOX WIZARD MANAGEMENT:

It is best practice to allow the ADC Tools to create the necessary Connection Agreements (CA) for the migration process.

The wizard helps in the creation of the Connection Agreements required to migrate from Exchange 5.5 properly.

It will automatically create a recipient (CA) Connection Agreement and a public folder (CA) Connection Agreement.

This Wizard will identify users with multiple mailboxes and fix them in advance for the migration.

This step will determine if the same user owns multiple mailboxes. It gives you the possibility to identify the user’s primary mailbox so that other mailboxes can be designated as resource mailboxes. Click Run to query the Exchange 5.5 server and collect information about the Exchange organization. ADC Tools performs a series of four tests that will check for objects and attributes in legacy Exchange and Active Directory. This will help build XML database files to use later for resource mailbox marking. It looks for mailboxes that have a similar owner. After, the ADC Tool identifies and marks resource mailboxes using the Resource Mailbox Wizard. You can use the bulk edit capabilities to create .csv files for doing the mailbox marking.

HOW CONNECTION AGREEMENTS ARE CONFIGURED:

Connection agreements are configured by an Administrator who controls the type of objects that are replicated between Active Directory and Exchange 5.5. It contains information on how to handle the deletion and what to do when there is no matching account for the mailbox in the destination directory. Notice: To ensure that objects are created, the ADC marks all connection agreements as primary by default.

a) A primary connection agreement has the capability to create objects in the directory.

b) A secondary connection agreement can only update the attributes of existing objects.

Can configure: • One way from Windows or from Exchange

Can configure: • Two ways replication of the information this is synchronized in both directions.
This is generally the preferred method for it keeps the configuration simple

Types of Connection Agreements to be found during the Migration:

Exchange System Manager Program: Default

It will be created by default by the system when the first Exchange Server 2003 system has been installed. After the replication of the configuration information, Exchange 5.5 sites will be visible in the Exchange System Manager program and they are represented as Administrative Groups. Exchange Server 2003 systems are also visible in the Exchange 5.5 Administrator program.

Configuration Connection Agreements cannot be created manually)

This CA maps some of the objects in the legacy configuration container with objects in the Exchange 2003 Organization container in Active Directory. This CA cannot be created manually. Exchange Setup configures the CA as part of installation of the very first server in each legacy site. It is used for coexistence between the Exchange 5.5 and Exchange 2003 servers environments. To transfer information such as site addressing and routing information between the various Exchange platforms.

Recipient Connection Agreements:

It is responsible for replicating mailbox, distribution list, and custom recipient information from the Exchange 5.5 directory to the Active Directory. This CA maps the attributes of Users, Groups, and Contact objects in Active Directory with Recipient, Distribution Lists, and Custom Recipient objects in the legacy Exchange directory service environment.

It is also used to send users, groups, and contacts from Active Directory to Exchange 5.5. Recipient Connection Agreements it maybe configured as one-way or two-way connection agreements. It is important to remember that each connection agreement has its own schedule

Public Folder Connection Agreements:

This CA maps legacy public folders with Public Folder objects in Active Directory to allow Exchange 2003 to accept e-mail on behalf of the public folders. It is responsible for replicating mail-enabled public folder information from and to Exchange 5.5 and the Active Directory. This connection agreement can only be configured as a two-way connection agreement. It is best to create the connection agreement for each Exchange 5.5 site in regards to this connection agreement. Pfmigrate utility automates replication to allow Exchange mailboxes on the new Exchange Server 2003 systems to be able to access system and public folders.

PFMigrate /S: (Source Server) /T: (Target Server) /A /N: (Number) /SC

How to Manually Configure Additional Connection Agreements?

To configure a Manual Configuration Agreement:

Open the ADC MMC snap-in on the domain controller running the ADC.

The following tabs must be populated:

• General

• Connections

• Schedule

• From Exchange

• From Windows

• Deletion

• Advanced

To configure manually a public folder connection agreement:

It is best practise to right-click the Active Directory Connector service icon for the server and select New, Public Folder Connection Agreement.

The following tabs must be populated:

• General

• Connections

• Schedule

• From Exchange

• From Windows

After its creation, the Administrator must force replication immediately; right-click the connection agreement and select Replicate Now. Verify the Application Event Log in Event Viewer for errors during the replication process.

Rehoming and Distribution List Replication:

All Contacts, Distribution Lists (DLs) and Mail-enabled Public Folder Objects are represented in the Exchange 5.5 Directory and are associated with a specific site. When consolidating a 5.5 site, these objects must be moved (re-homed) to a new site prior to removing the old site or they will be lost. Re-homing these objects will ensure that they are not lost when an old site is removed and that mail flow to them can continue.

INSTALLING AND CONFIGURING THE FIRST EXCHANGE 2003 SERVER:

Run the program: Run SetupPrep it will be use to validate that all prerequisites are now in place for the installation of the first Exchange Server 2003 in the site.

Routing table issues: This Exchange server will hold many critical Exchange organizational management and routing master tables.

Installation path: Choose the installation path and ensure that Typical Installation is chosen.

The new Exchange site: Enter the name of an Exchange 5.5 Server of the site the Exchange Server 2003 system will be joining.

Permissions: During Exchange setup, the Exchange server’s machine account is added to a Global Security group called Exchange Domain Servers. This group is granted permissions on all Exchange objects to allow the Exchange Server 2003 services to access and update the Active Directory.

Two Global Security Groups:

a) Exchange Domain Servers

b) Exchange Enterprise Servers group

The Exchange Enterprise Servers group contains the Exchange Domain Servers groups from all domains in the forest and provides cross-domain access between all Exchange Server 2003 systems.

What has been installed during the setup of the Exchange 2003server?

1) Exchange Server 2003 binaries and services installed

2) Changes to Active Directory Configuration container

3) Exchange Server added to Exchange Domain Servers security group

4) Configuration connection agreement created (for routing)

5) Recipient Update Service (RUS) created

6) Site Replication Service (SRS) installed

Configuration connection agreements (ConfigCA) and site replication service (SRS):

ConfigCA:

The ConfigCA will be responsible for replicating the configuration information between the Exchange platforms. The ConfigCA replicates items such as the Site Addressing Policies and the routing information in the Gateway Address Routing Table (GWART). Also a new (ADC) connection agreement is added to the Active Directory Connector.

SITE REPLICATION SERVICES (SRS)

Interoperability: It will provide provides directory interoperability between the Exchange 5.5 and the Exchange 2003 servers.

LDAP: SRS service runs using LDAP and is needed only during the migration period.

Synchronization: SRS service runs in conjunction with the Active Directory Connector for directory synchronization.

SRS services: One SRS is allowed per Exchange Server 2003 system.

Replication Connectors: The SRS are created on all servers that house Exchange 5.5 Directory Replication Connectors. The Directory Replication Connector is replaced by the SRS to perform Inter-site replication with the remote Exchange 5.5 sites.

SRS Default: SRS is automatically installed and configured at the time of the installation of the Exchange Server 2003 installation.

Recipient Update Service: It is responsible for updating address lists and email addresses in Active Directory. The Recipient Update Service is responsible for updating the Enterprise configuration information in Active Directory (administrative and routing information).

Recipient Policies: The address list and email addresses are configured under this policy.

NB*: Recipients are Active Directory objects that have messaging capabilities. The object itself does not receive messages. The messages are not stored in Active Directory. Instead, they can reside in a mailbox on an Exchange server, in a public folder, or in another messaging system.
When the proper credentials are sent to the domain controller for the user object, the contents of the mailbox become available to the e-mail client like Outlook (in the inbox of the user).

EXAMPLES OF TWO METHODS TO MIGRATE THE MAILBOXES:

The Move Mailbox Tool:

The Move Mailbox tool allows the organization to migrate users in sizable numbers. The Outlook profiles automatically are updated on the Desktop. Upon log on the users are redirected to the new Exchange Server 2003 systems within the same administrative group. During the installation process the Administrator can choose to either create a failure report if corruption is detected or to skip corrupted items and continue the mailbox move.

a) Swing Mailbox Server Migration

b) Cross-site Mailbox Migrations

NB* If the move is unsuccessful, the user’s mailbox will still be available on the source Exchange 5.5 server. It is important to have a failed over design plan at this point to avoid errors.

In moving selected mailboxes to a different server, the duration of the task will depend upon the size of each of the selected mailbox. Specify the current mailbox store, the server, and the destination mailbox store. Decide on the action that you want the utility to take if corrupted messages are found.

MoveMailbox Features:

The Mailbox Wizard lets you decide, how it should react if one or more corrupted messages are detected. If you select Create a failure report, the mailbox containing corrupted messages will be left untouched, which basically means it won’t be moved. But if you select Skip corrupted items and create a failure report the mailbox will be moved, but any corrupted items detected will be deleted from the mailbox, not only on the destination server, but on the source server as well. It is very important to think about failover methods always backup your stores to media previous to the moves.

Option 1:

The utility can create a failure report (the report can be found in systemdriveDocuments and Settingsprofile nameMy DocumentsExchange Task Wizard Logs). This first option will not allow the move of the mailbox.

Option 2:

The second option is to skip corrupted items and create a failure report. With this option corrupted items will be permanently deleted from the mailbox. These items maybe recuperated from backup storage media.

This option gives Advanced Properties such as the possibility to specify the maximum number of corrupted items to skip; when the maximum number of corrupted items is exceeded the mailbox will not be move. It is possible to set a Task Schedule period within which to streamline the move.

It is possible to make use of the bulk mailbox move tool in addition to the Active Directory Users and Computers MMC snap-in to move Mailboxes. If the user has a corrupted item the option Skip Corrupted Items can be use. The mailbox can later be move manually even if it contains corrupted items with Exmerge. It is possible to plan and schedule to move 100 to 200 mailboxes per day.

The Move Mailbox process can be scheduled to execute right away, 4 mailboxes are processed at the same time, and this is the Multithreading feature.

Once the Mailboxes move has been completed, you can choose to view a detailed log file of the Move Mailbox operation, this log is saved in XML format and can be found under:
SystemdriveDocuments and SettingsprofilenameMy DocumentsExchange Task Wizard Logs