Migrating from Novell GroupWise to Exchange 2003 Server

Plan your migration from GroupWise to Exchange

With the release of Exchange 2003 Server firmly on the horizon, you can start developing a strategy for moving your current infrastructure to Windows 2003 and Exchange 2000. Migrating from Windows NT/Exchange Server 5.5 to Win2K/ Exchange 2003 isn't a simple task, and the migration will probably take longer than you imagine. However, creating and following a plan can help you get through the migration period as quickly as possible. Migrating quickly not only minimizes additional costs that result from running two infrastructures but also reduces stress on users, administrators, computers, and the network.

Exchange 2003 differs greatly from its predecessors, so simply adapting your current infrastructure won't work. Instead, you need to start with a clean slate. To help you plan your migration, I've developed a list of obstacles that frequently hinder migrations. These obstacles are real-world problems that companies have faced while migrating their Exchange systems. The obstacles are

Too many NT domains
Too many servers in production
Too many Exchange sites
Too many connectors
Too many people with administrative privileges
Too much replication between servers