How to Remove the Last Exchange 5.5 Server

The Administrator program removes the Exchange 5.5 server from the SRS database. The Config_CA object processes this deletion, then replicates it to AD.

As long as you have Exchange 5.5 servers in your Exchange organization, you need to run an SRS in your administrative group. The SRS acts as a shadow Exchange 5.5 directory while Exchange is running in mixed mode.

Remove the last Exchange 5.5 server in the organization by performing the following tasks. Note that you should take these actions only when you're deleting the last Exchange 5.5 server in an Exchange organization. The Microsoft article "XADM: Preparing a Mixed Mode Organization for Conversion to Native Mode" (http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us; q272314) gives more detail about this process.

1. Back up the SRS and the Exchange databases.
2. Log on to the computer on which ESM is installed with an account that has Full Exchange Administrator and service account permissions on the SRS database.
3. Use the Active Directory Connector Management snap-in to delete any recipient CAs.
4. Don't delete any ConfigCAs. (ConfigCAs appear in the Active Directory Connector Management snap-in, with Config_CA as part of their name.)
5. Use Exchange Administrator to connect to the Exchange 2000 server that's running the SRS. Delete any DRCs on the SRS server.
6. Delete the last Exchange 5.5 server.
7. For all sites, delete the DRCs by using Exchange Administrator to connect to the SRS in each site.
8. Allow time for the changes made to the Exchange 5.5 directory to replicate to the AD ConfigCAs. Replication time depends on how efficiently directory replication takes place in your organization.
9. Open ESM and double-check that no Exchange 5.5 servers remain in the organization.
10. Under the Tools container, click the Site Replication Services container.
Right-click each SRS and delete it.
11. Use the Active Directory Connector Management snap-in to verify that the ConfigCAs for each SRS have been deleted. The deletion of each SRS automatically triggers the deletion of the ConfigCAs.
12. Allow time for the changes to replicate.
13. Delete all instances of the ADC.

When this procedure is complete, you can switch from mixed to native mode. To change the mode, open ESM. On the General tab of the Exchange organization's Properties dialog box, click Change Mode. Note that this process is a one-way operation; after you convert an organization to native mode, you can't set it back to mixed mode. . . .