we currently have an office server running on Windows 2003. The server hosts e-mail (exchange) and active directory. Also we have two client pc's which get their internet connection and their profiles through the server.
The server is currently running at a specific domain. xxx.companyname.nl. Our companyname has changed and we would like to change the domain to xxx.newcompanyname.nl. Is this a complex procedure (are we better off re-installing?), or can this be done easily?
Best Answer
Exchange being on a DC makes a normal "Domain rename" a bit complicated. If you've only got a few mailboxes I'd consider doing a full PST export of the mailboxes with EXMERGE (and any Public Folders, using Outlook), uninstalling and retiring the Exchange organization, then performing a normal domain rename (see http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc786120(WS.10).aspx), and re-installing Exchange and importing the email.
Be aware that after such a "PST migration" you'll need to edit the X500 address proxies on recipients so that replies to old intra-organization emails work properly (see http://blogs.technet.com/sbs/archive/2009/05/21/cannot-reply-to-old-emails-or-modify-old-calendar-items-after-pst-mail-migration.aspx for details about what I'm talking about).
This shouldn't be too hard of a road, really. Since you can gather all the pertinent details re: Exchange prior to the export / uninstall / reinstall / import, it should go fine.