David Strome's Blog : Upgrading Exchange Server

Exchange Server 2007 SP1 Single Label Domain Update Now Available

dstrome — Sun, 30 Mar 2008 09:26:20 GMT

Ed Beck announced that we have released the English language version of the prerequisite check file for Exchange Server SP1 setup that will allow you to install Exchange 2007 SP1 in a single label Active Directory domain. You can find all the instructions on how to download and install the prerequisite check file at the Exchange Team blog. The English language update can only be installed on English language versions of Exchange Server 2007 but future localized versions will be released in the near future.

As mentioned previously in Exchange Server 2007 SP1 and Single Label Domain Names, we recommend that you move away from single label domains. The next major version of Exchange Server after Exchange Server 2007 SP1 will not support single label domains.

Exchange Server 2007 SP1 and Single Label Domain Names

dstrome — Mon, 18 Feb 2008 20:53:07 GMT

I've received questions on the past regarding this issue so wanted to post this update here.

Ed Beck from our Exchange Supportability team posted an article on the Microsoft Exchange Team blog Friday with an update about Active Directory domains with single label domain names (SLD) and Exchange Server 2007 SP1. Ed states, "After investigating Exchange 2007 Service Pack 1 installed in an Active Directory domain with a Single-label Domain (SLD) name, Microsoft has changed the Setup prerequisite rule for SLDs from an Error to a Warning, thereby allowing Service Pack 1 installation to continue in SLD environments.".

An SLD is a domain name such as "contoso" instead of a fully qualified domain name (FQDN) such as "contoso.com".

There are several issues and recommendations you must be aware of to use SLDs in your environment, most notably that Exchange Server 2007 SP1 will be the last major release of Exchange Server that will support them (a list of issues and recommendations is available in the article). The next major release of Exchange Server will not support SLDs.

In order to install the next major release of Exchange Server after Exchange Server 2007 SP1, you'll need to first migrate away from your single label domain (if you're still on Exchange 2003 and haven't prepared your organization for Exchange 2007 yet, now is the time to change your domain name to an FQDN). As mentioned in the article, Microsoft strongly recommends that you move out of this configuration.

The URL to the article is http://msexchangeteam.com/archive/2008/02/15/448140.aspx. Check back here or at the Microsoft Exchange Team Blog. We'll notify you when the updated setup rules are available.

Exchange Server 2007 SP1 Featured in TechNet Magazine

dstrome — Mon, 21 Jan 2008 10:22:05 GMT

In case you missed it, check out the December 2007 edition of TechNet Magazine which focuses on Exchange Server 2007 SP1. The Exchange-related feature articles included in this edition of TechNet Magazine are:

Don't forget that the December 2006 edition of TechNet Magazine also focused on Exchange Server 2007. While the articles in this edition of TechNet Magazine are based on a pre-release version of Exchange 2007, they still contain a wealth of information. I highly recommend you check them out. The Exchange-related feature articles included in this edition of TechNet Magazine are: