Upgrading your Exchange 2007 Server to service pack 2 is a simple and straight forward process. You can either use the GUI or the command line interface to upgrade your server.
Setup initializes a schema update as part of the installation and hence the account you use should have schema admin rights. You can also update the schema manually using a schema admin account before running the setup. If you have a multi domain environment, all domains have to be updated with the new schema attributes before upgrading exchange to SP2. Instructions for upgrading clustered mailbox servers is totally different and will be explained in a different article.
Using Command Line:
From a command prompt, navigate to the exchange 2007 sp2 installation files folder and execute the command Setup.com /mode:upgrade. The setup process starts and will update you with the success of each step as it proceeds with the installation.
Using GUI:
Navigate to the folder that contains the exchange 2007 sp2 installation files and double click on the setup file. The splash screen will be launched, click on “Install Microsoft Exchange Service Pack 2”.
The introduction screen comes up, click Next to continue.
Accept the license and click Next.
Setup goes through the readiness checks and once you have all green, click on Upgrade.
The setup goes through the upgrade process and once you have all green ticks, click Finish to complete the installation.
Restart the server and you now have an Exchange 2007 SP2 Server. Launch EMC and navigate to Server Configuration and make sure that the version is 8.2
Hi John,
It's basically a reinstall of Exchange. It will take a while.
hi, how long does the inplace upgrade takes? mine is taking long time in "Removing Exchange Files" section. it's 20 minutes now.
appreciate any help.
John
Hi,
I tried installing SP2, but it failed running /prepareAD. The setup.log says:
[ERROR] Active Directory operation failed on dc1.company.intra. The object 'CN=Folder Hierarchies,CN=Exchange Administrative Group (FYDIBOHF23SPDLT),CN=Administrative Groups,CN=COMPANY,CN=Microsoft Exchange,CN=Services,CN=Configuration,DC=company,DC=intra' already exists.
Does anyone have any ideas on what this could be?
Thanks,
Bryan
Hi Rajith,
We don't have Forefront installed. So I take it other Exchnage services do not require stopping prior to applying thee service pack.
Great, Thanks for your help.
TR
Hi TR,
If you have Forefront installed, that needs to be stopped before SP2 install. The link for SP2 is correct. It is actually the full Exchange binaries. There are no "just service packs" these days.
Do we need to stop anyall Exchange services prior to beginning the SP2 installation?
I also assume that the correct download page for just SP2 is http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?familyid=4C4BD2A3-5E50-42B0-8BBB-2CC9AFE3216A&displaylang;=en
TR
I have a parent domain and a child domain. The Exchange servers are all in the parent domain. Both domains have mailbox users. Do I need to manually upgrade the schema on the child domain, or will the setup take care of upgrading it? If I have to manually update the child domain's schema, how do I do it and where are the upgrade files? Thanks.
-mark
Hi Albert,
A number of fixes are released in the form of rollup updates and now SP2 brings all of those in one single installation. I would definitely recommend installing SP2 and to keep exchange & windows always up-to-date.
I'd like to upgrade my Existing Exchange Server 2007 Std. SP1 + RU 3 into the latest Service Pack 2, but I'm confused and not sure if it can bring more benefits than harm :-(
Emails getting stuck in drafts folder is a sign of back pressure feature kicking in. Check whether you have enough free space in the drive that holds the HUB transport database and log files. Check my article for more info. http://www.theucguy.net/2009/08/back-pressure-feature-in-exchange-2007.html
After I finished the upgrade to SP 2, my webmail users are having an issue. All new mail when sent is going in the drafts folder. please help
Hi Dale,
Schema has to be updated no matter what patch level you are at. It is also to make the environment compatible with Exchange 2010. The schema definitions are the same for Exchange 2007 SP2 and 2010.
You don't have to update the schema manually, as the exchange setup will do it for you, as part of the SP2 upgrade.
If you have the latest rollups and SP1 do you still need to update schema ?
You are welcome Benny.
Hi Rajith,
thank you for the info.
Benny
Hi Benny,
You can have Windows 2003 as DCs in an Exchange 2007 environment. Make sure it has the latest service packs.
As far as Exchange 2007 SP2 upgrade is concerned, it is not required to upgrade your windows 2003. But you can upgrade, if you wish to.
In my domain, i have Win2008 and Win2003 as the DC's. Is that OK for the schema update ? Or should i upgrade the win2003 before running the SP2?
Thank you – Benny
Yes. Schema gets updated as part of the SP2 installation and hence the account you use should have schema admin rights. Or update the schema seperately before running the setup. If you have a multi domain environment, all domains have to be updated with the new schema definitions.
Great.. Upgrade seem to be straingt forward. Does it do any schema update in AD?