[KOR]

I'm looking for opinions/feedback from those of you who have migrated Exchange 2003 to Exchange 2007; below are steps I'm planning on following. I'll point out that I'm a programmer, not a server admin, but manage BES because we have a smaller staff that wear many hats (and it keeps me in a new phone )...

I've had a couple of discussions with RIM but I've found I usually get sound advice here, so any feedback is appreciated.


BES SERVER

• Windows 2003 Server SP2
• BES 4.1.6 MR7 (Bundle 174)
• MAPI32.dll v6.5.7638.1
• CDO.dll v6.5.7651.61

EXCHANGE 2003 SERVER

• Windows 2003 Server SP2
• Exchange 2003
• MAPI32.dll v6.5.7638.1
• CDO.dll v6.5.7654.12

EXCHANGE 2007 SERVER

• Windows 2007 Server SP2
• Exchange 2007
• MAPI32.dll v1.0.2536.0
• CDO.dll v6.5.8069.0

MISCELLANEOUS
We have a mix of Blackberrys, and client machines are running Outlook 2003

STEPS I PLAN TO TAKE

1. Log on to the BES server with the BES admin account and stop all BES services
2. Our network admin will migrate all mailboxes, including the BES admin mailbox, from Exchange 2003 to 2007
3. Set the Exchange 2007 permissions for the BES admin account on the Exchange 2007 server per RIM's KB12483
4. On the BES server, update the MAPI profile using the BES Configuration tool so that it points to the Exchange 2007 server
5. Reboot the BES server, make sure all services come back up, and test e-mail & calendaring
6. Assuming there are no issues, stop all BES services
7. Per RIM's KB14502, on the BES server, uninstall Exchange System Manager, rename all instances of MAPI32.dll and CDO.dll to .old, respectively
8. Install ExchangeMapiCdo.msi on the BES server
9. Reboot the BES server, make sure all services come back up, and test e-mail & calendaring

QUESTIONS I HAVE

1. From research and speaking with RIM support, I'm told that the MAPI & CDO versions on the BES server must be at least at the same level of those on the Exchange server, if not higher. When I look at the Exchange 2007 server, the MAPI version doesn't seem to conform to the versioning convention I see on the Exhange 2003 and BES servers. Am I correct in assuming that I need to be looking at the File Version and not the Product Version, and if so, what's the best way to compare versions between 2003 and 2007?
2. Assuming I have newer versions of MAPI & CDO on the BES server after installing the ExhangeMapiCdo.msi file, does it make sense for us to bring the Exchange server up to the same level?
3. If we do not have problems before the ExchangeMapiCdo.msi installation but have problems after installation, what is the best way to recover? Can I simply switch back to the old versions of MAPI & CDO on the BES server?

Again, thanks for any feedback you can offer.