Business Continuity Risk Assessment

Recently SkyByte won a project to install a new VMware Vsphere 4.1 Virtualized server cluster utilizing a NetApp SAN. An important prerequisite to the VMware project was an active directory upgrade from the client's current single server SBS 2000 domain controller to the latest Server 2008 R2 Active Directory.  Our new client had grown out of it's single DC SBS many years ago but they never found a consulting company that was confident enough to tackle a production upgrade to 2003 Active Directory much less to 2008 R2 Active Directory.

SkyByte designed an Active Directory Upgrade plan to solve their network growth problems. The company had 100+ desktops authenticating logins, running login scripts, and serving DNS, WINS,  and multiple DHCP scopes. SkyByte used VMware virtualization technologies to spin up multiple servers on new Dell physical server equipment. We first upgraded the domain to 2003 levels and after successful replications we upgraded the new 2003 domain to 2008 R2 levels. Ultimately the upgrade was a complete success and was done during business hours with NO company downtime. SkyByte also architected new levels of redundancy into the clients network by putting the main 2008 R2 DC on a physical server and two others on the VMware cluster. This choice assures that the domain would not be lost in the event of a VMware cluster or SAN failure. The customer now has multiple 2008 R2 domain controller servers for DNS, DHCP, login authentication. These upgrades have paved to way to other network enhancements coming soon. Namely SharePoint 2010 and Exchange 2010.

SkyByte has over 16 years of experience in advanced IT system design and architecture. We have implemented many complex active directory upgrades over the years. We apply a strong emphasis on network security for all our projects. SkyByte has performed business continuity risk assessments and DR planning for many businesses around the US.

Recently Ive been working on some Exchange 2007 to 2010 upgrades and I would like to share some of my experiences. It is no easy task to upgrade a companies email system. Planning is key to making a successful migration. Here are some key things to help plan your Microsoft Exchange Upgrade to 2010 or 2010 SP1.

• Assess your network infrastructure and decide if you need to acquire a new server or just require some server upgrades. Remember Exchange 2010 only runs on 64-bit versions of Server 2008 and R2. This also means you will need a 64-bit processor in your server.
• Do you currently use virtualization in your network infrastructure? If so you can virtualize your exchange server or servers using Microsoft Hyper V Server 2008,  Vmware Vsphere Installation, and other server virtualization systems.
• Download and read the Planning for Exchange 2010 and also the Deploying Exchange 2010 information on Microsoft's Technet site.
• Does your current network infrastructure design support an edge configuration, or will you be just installing a single server setup?
• If you are upgrading you can only upgrade from Exchange 2007 R2. This may require you to upgrade your exchange 2007 server to R2. If your running Exchange 2003 you will have to perform a migration.
• If your running an older network infrastructure like Server 2000 and earlier, it will require an Active Directory upgrade.
• Do your current email security solutions support Exchange 2010?
• When you finalize your plan also perform a business continuity risk assessment focusing on electronic communications for your business, and update your information Technology disaster recovery plan to include the new Exchange 2010 mail server or cluster. These are very important parts of the process that many neglect to do.

Hopefully these tips and suggestions will make your transition to Exchange 2010 a little easier. SkyByte Consulting has significant experience with Microsoft Exchange upgrades and Exchange migrations. We can also assist with Blackberry Enterprise Server migrations and upgrades or secure connectivity with Droid or iPhones.

SkyByte is a security based service and solution provider dedicated to the delivery of secure data communications, risk management, data integrity and corporate privacy. SkyByte offers a wide array of IT consulting services such as the design and maintenance of firewalls, VPNs, LANs, WANs, VMware server virtualization, messaging systems and secure wireless networks.