[Davinci1969]

Hi all,

I could really use some help please.

I have a customer who is virtualising alot of their servers. As a result of this they are wanting to migrate their existing BES 4.0 box to a VMware box and upgrade it to 4.1. They are also going to be moving their existing Exchange 2003 server onto a VMware box as well, which means the BES Service Account and BB users are moving.

I would really appreciate some help on the best order to do this in please if possible.

Information I believe relevant is:

-BES Environment: 4.0 migrating to a VMware server and also upgrading
-Exchange Environment: 2003 migrating to a VMware server, staying 2003
-Number of users: 69
-Method of Upgrade: 4.1 Upgrade software
-Exchange is staying in same domain
-BES Server name is likely to change as is Exchange server
-All handheld software is version 4.0 or above.

Does anyone have an ideal or proven path for this sort of situation or even an understanding of the best way to do it.

I believe it would be best to do the migration first and the upgrade after.

However, what order should I do the move of the BES service account in? Do I install the BES 4.0 software on the new server using the existing SRP and keys but keep the box offline and then move the users over at the same time as the BES service account is done and then change MAPI and run the Handheldcleanup utility?

Sorry, but I'm a bit confused on this.

Basically I need to find a way to move the BES onto the new VMware box and at some point upgrade it to 4.1 as well as move the Exchange users and BES Service Account over to the new VMware box.

Do I do the upgrade first, and then move over to the VMware after installing 4.0 and upgrading that box?

If anyone has any ideas, I would be extremely greatful.

Kind Regards
Davinci1969

[ashworth]

Well I would do an inplace upgrade to 4.1.2 for BES first and then do a cut over to VMWare. If you run into any issues then RIM should support this configurations.

[Davinci1969]

Hi Ashworth,

thanks for that. The only part I guess concerning me is when we should do the move of the BESAdmin users and the Service Account to the new server to cause the least disruption?

I know there could be a number of options, but which one would cause the least disruption?

Do we move the Exchange Server and let that settle first, then move the BES Users and Service Account followed by moving the database over and repointing the New BES then upgrading? I'm really at a loss.

Or, is it best to Upgrade BES, Migrate BES, then move Exchange mailboxes?

Confused, I know I am

[ashworth]

I would make sure that all of the permissions for the service account are correct then you could start moving the users. Once all of the users are moved over on Exchange, fix the service account MAPI profiles and then reboot or run handheldcleanup -u on the BES. Once mailflow is back up and running then run the inplace upgrade to 4.1.2 and then you can follow the RIM KB to do a cut over to new hardware.