Exchange 2007 System Requirements
Microsoft Exchange Server 2007 will reach end of support on April 11, 2017. To stay supported, you will need to upgrade. For more information, see Resources to help you upgrade your Office 2007 servers and clients.
Applies to: Exchange Server 2007, Exchange Server 2007 SP1, Exchange Server 2007 SP2, Exchange Server 2007 SP3
Before you install Microsoft Exchange Server 2007, we recommend that you review the sections in this topic to make sure that your network, hardware, software, clients, and other elements meet the requirements for Exchange 2007.
Network and Directory Servers
For detailed information about the supported directory servers for Exchange 2007, see the "Supported Active Directory environments" section of the Exchange Server Supportability Matrix.
In each Active Directory site where you plan to install Exchange 2007, you must have at least one writable global catalog server and one writable domain controller running a supported version of Windows Server.
Directory Server Architecture
The recommended number of Active Directory directory servers in each site containing Exchange 2007 Mailbox servers or users depends on the number of processor cores in each computer running the Exchange 2007 Mailbox server role and the hardware platform on which Active Directory is running. Specifically, consider the following scenarios:
If Active Directory is running on the x86 platform (32-bit), the recommended ratio of Active Directory directory server processor cores to Exchange 2007 Mailbox server processor cores is 1:4.
If Active Directory is running on the x64 platform (64-bit), the recommended ratio of Active Directory directory server processor cores to Exchange 2007 Mailbox server processor cores is 1:8. To achieve the 1:8 ratio, you must have enough memory installed on the directory server to cache the entire Active Directory database in memory. To check the size of your Active Directory database, examine the NTDS.DIT file on a global catalog server. By default, this file is located in %WINDIR%\NTDS.
In the above ratios, it is important to note that this is a ratio of processor cores and not processors. Thus, a dual-core processor counts as 2 when calculating the ratio.
For Exchange 2007, we recommend that you deploy one 32-bit global catalog (GC) server processor core for every four Exchange 2007 Mailbox server processor cores. Although other server roles will influence the number of GC processor cores required, the Mailbox servers that are deployed influences the deployment of each of the other roles, so basing the number of GC processor cores on Mailbox server processor cores will suffice.
Installing Exchange 2007 on Directory Servers
For security and performance reasons, we recommend that you install Exchange 2007 only on member servers, and not on Active Directory directory servers. Although installing Exchange 2007 on a directory server is supported, it is strongly discouraged. However, you cannot run DCPromo on a computer running Exchange 2007. After Exchange 2007 is installed, changing its role from a member server to a directory server, or vice versa, is not supported.
If you install Exchange 2007 on a global catalog server, and if you restart the server, you may need to start the required Exchange services manually. For more information, see Knowledge Base article 940845, Exchange 2007 services cannot start automatically after you install Exchange 2007 on a global catalog server.
Hardware
The following table lists the recommended minimum hardware requirements for Exchange 2007 servers.
| Component | Requirement | Notes |
|---|---|---|
Processor |
|
|
Memory |
|
This recommended memory configuration is suggested as a way to optimize performance for Exchange 2007. Specifically, it allows Exchange to use an appropriately sized database cache, which reduces database disk input/output (I/O). These recommendations are oriented toward authorized production environments that have many users with large, frequently used mailboxes. |
Paging file size |
Use the following calculations to determine the value to type in the Initial Size (MB) box in the Virtual Memory dialog box:
|
The recommended paging file size for Exchange 2007 accounts for the memory that Exchange 2007 could allocate in the paging file together with the memory that may be allocated by other operating system kernel and application resources. For more information about how Exchange 2007 uses the paging file, see Understanding Exchange 2007 Memory Usage and its use of the Paging File. The recommended page file size also accounts for the memory that is needed to collect information if the operating system stops unexpectedly. On 64-bit operating systems, memory can be written as a dump file to the paging file. This file must reside on the boot volume of the server. For more information about the configuration options that are available for memory dump data, see Microsoft Knowledge Base article 254649, Overview of memory dump file options for Windows Vista, Windows Server 2008 R2, Windows Server 2008, Windows Server 2003, Windows XP, and Windows 2000. |
Disk space |
|
For more information about the disk space requirements for the drive that stores the message queue database on an Edge Transport server or Hub Transport server, see Understanding Back Pressure. |
Drive |
DVD-ROM drive, local or network accessible |
None. |
Screen resolution |
|
None. |
File format |
Disk partitions formatted as NTFS file systems, which applies to the following partitions:
|
None. |
Important
The 32-bit version of Exchange 2007, which requires an Intel Pentium or compatible 800-megahertz (MHz) or faster 32-bit processor, is provided for testing and training environments only. It is not supported for production environments. In production environments, you must install the 64-bit version of Exchange 2007. For more information, see Exchange Server 2007: Platforms, Editions, and Versions.
For more information about planning your hardware for Exchange 2007, see Planning Your Server and Storage Architecture.
Operating System
For detailed information about the supporting operating systems for Exchange 2007, see the "Supported Operating System Platforms" section of the Exchange Server Supportability Matrix.
Other Operating System Considerations
The following considerations apply to both Exchange 2007 SP1 and Exchange 2007 RTM:
If you plan to install a single copy cluster (SCC) or cluster continuous replication (CCR) on any of your Mailbox servers, you must install Windows Server 2003 Enterprise Edition or Windows Server 2008 Enterprise. Windows Server 2003 Enterprise Edition and Windows Server 2008 Enterprise have the Cluster service installed by default. On Windows Server 2003, you must also install the updates described in Knowledge Base article 921181, An update is available that adds a file share witness feature and a configurable cluster heartbeats feature to Windows Server 2003 Service Pack 1-based server clusters.
32-bit Exchange 2007 architecture is not supported on the Microsoft Windows on 64-bit Windows (WOW64) operating system component. WOW64 is an operating system component in 64-bit Windows operating systems that support 32-bit x86 platform applications.
The NNTP service must not be installed on a computer on which you want to install Exchange 2007.
The SMTP service must not be installed on a computer on which you want to install Exchange 2007.
Software
The following table lists the minimum software requirements for Exchange 2007 servers installed on Windows Server 2003. These software requirements are based on server roles.
| Component | Server role | Notes |
|---|---|---|
Internet Information Services (IIS) |
Mailbox |
If you have Exchange 2007 installed on Windows Server 2003, you must install IIS by using Add or Remove Programs in Control Panel. If you have Exchange 2007 SP1 installed on Windows Server 2008, you must install by using Programs and Features in Control Panel. |
COM+ access (IIS 6.0 component) |
Mailbox |
If you have Exchange 2007 installed on Windows Server 2003, you must install COM+ access by using Add or Remove Programs in Control Panel. If you have Exchange 2007 SP1 installed on Windows Server 2008, you must install by using Programs and Features in Control Panel. |
World Wide Web Publishing Service (W3SVC) |
Mailbox, Client Access |
If you have Exchange 2007 installed on Windows Server 2003, you must install W3SVC by using Add or Remove Programs in Control Panel. If you have Exchange 2007 SP1 installed on Windows Server 2008, you must install by using Programs and Features in Control Panel. |
Hotfix that is described in Knowledge Base article 904639, An access violation may occur when you try to run a 64-bit program that uses the interface remoting component of MDAC 2.8 on a computer that is running Windows Server 2003 |
Mailbox |
None. |
Hotfix that is described in Knowledge Base article 904639, Update for Windows Server 2003 x64 Edition (KB904639) |
Mailbox |
None. |
Hotfix that is described in Knowledge Base article 918980, Update for Windows Server 2003 x64 Edition (KB918980) |
Mailbox |
None. |
Remote procedure call (RPC) over Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) Proxy Windows networking component |
Client Access Note Only required on Client Access servers that are providing access to Microsoft Outlook Anywhere. We recommend that you enable at least one Client Access server for Outlook Anywhere access per site. Note It is only supported to use Outlook Anywhere with Outlook 2003 and Outlook 2007 clients. |
If you have Exchange 2007 installed on Windows Server 2003, you must install RPC over HTTP Proxy by using Add or Remove Programs in Control Panel. If you have Exchange 2007 SP1 installed on Windows Server 2008, you must install by using Programs and Features in Control Panel. |
ASP.NET version 2.0 |
Client Access |
If you have Exchange 2007 installed on Windows Server 2003, you must install ASP.NET version 2.0 by using Add or Remove Programs in Control Panel. If you have Exchange 2007 SP1 installed on Windows Server 2008, you must install by using Programs and Features in Control Panel. |
Distributed Transaction Coordinator service |
Client Access |
The service must be started. For more information, see The Distributed Transaction Coordinator Service Must be Started Before Setup can Continue. |
Microsoft Exchange Speech Engine service |
Unified Messaging |
If you run the Exchange Server 2007 Setup wizard or if you perform setup from a command prompt to install the Unified Messaging server role, Exchange will install the Microsoft Exchange Speech Engine service automatically. You cannot install the Unified Messaging server role on a computer that already has Microsoft Speech Server installed. You must remove Microsoft Speech Server prior to running Setup. Unified Messaging relies on the Microsoft Exchange Speech Engine service for its speech services, which is installed by the Exchange Server 2007 Setup wizard. |
Microsoft Windows Media Encoder |
Unified Messaging |
If you run the Exchange Server 2007 Setup wizard or if you perform setup from a command prompt, and you do not already have Windows Media Encoder installed, the prerequisite checks during setup will fail. To install the most recent version of Windows Media Encoder, see Windows Media Encoder 9 Series x64 Edition. |
Microsoft Windows Media Audio Voice Codec |
Unified Messaging |
If you run the Exchange Server 2007 Setup wizard or if you perform setup from a command prompt, and you do not already have the Windows Media Audio Voice Codec installed, the prerequisite checks during setup will fail. To install the most recent version of Windows Media Audio Voice Codec, see FIX: Availability of the Windows Media Audio 9 Voice codec for x64-based computers. |
Microsoft Core XML Services (MSXML) 6.0 |
Unified Messaging |
If you run the Exchange Server 2007 Setup wizard or if you perform setup from a command prompt, and you do not already have MSXML 6.0 installed, the prerequisite checks during setup will fail. To install MSXML 6.0, see Microsoft Core XML Services (MSXML) 6.0. |
Active Directory Application Mode (ADAM) |
Edge Transport |
Required if you are installing the Edge Transport server role on an Exchange 2007 RTM server that is running Windows Server 2003. Download the required files at Active Directory Application Mode (ADAM). Accept all default settings during installation. ADAM will be configured for the Edge Transport server role when that role is installed. |
Active Directory Lightweight Directory Services (AD LDS) |
Edge Transport |
Required if you are installing the Edge Transport server role on an Exchange 2007 SP1 server that is running Windows Server 2008. Use the Server Manager to add the AD LDS role before you install Exchange. |
Configure DNS suffix |
Edge Transport |
Edge Transport servers must have a DNS suffix configured, and you must be able to perform name resolution from an Edge Transport server to any Hub Transport servers and from the Hub Transport servers to any Edge Transport servers. For more information, see Configuring DNS Settings for Exchange 2007 Servers. |
NWLink IPX/SPX/NetBIOS Compatible Transport Protocol |
Client Access, Edge Transport, Hub Transport, Mailbox, Unified Messaging |
Must not be installed. |
AppleTalk protocols |
Client Access, Edge Transport, Hub Transport, Mailbox, Unified Messaging |
Must not be installed. |
For information about software requirements for Exchange 2007 SP1 installed on Windows Server 2008, see How to Install Exchange 2007 SP1 and SP2 Prerequisites on Windows Server 2008 or Windows Vista.
Note
If you use any applications that rely on the Recipient Update Service, you must have the Exchange 2003 Recipient Update Service installed in the same forest in which you are running Exchange 2007. The Address List Service in Exchange 2007 will not stamp mail-enabled objects in the background in the same way that the Recipient Update Service in Exchange 2003 stamps mail-enabled objects.
Note
Installing and running the Unified Messaging server role in a virtual environment is not supported.
Note
For information about the supported IP gateways to use with the Unified Messaging server role, see Supported IP Gateways.
Software Requirements for Previous Versions of Exchange
If you are installing Exchange 2007 in an organization that contains servers running Exchange 2003 or earlier, those servers must meet the following requirements:
No Exchange Server 5.5 servers are in the forest.
Exchange 2003 servers must have a minimum version of Exchange 2003 SP2 installed.
Servers running Exchange 2000 must have a minimum version of Exchange 2000 SP3 installed.
Exchange 2000 servers require the installation of the latest Exchange 2000 Server Post-SP3 update rollup. The update rollup includes the updated Exadmin.dll, which helps the Exchange 2000 Exchange System Manager work with Exchange 2007 object versioning. For more information about the update rollup, and to download the update rollup, see Knowledge Base article 870540, Availability of the August 2004 Exchange 2000 Server Post-Service Pack 3 Update Rollup.
Note
If you have computers that have the Exchange 2000 Exchange System Manager installed on them, such as computers running Windows XP, you should install the latest Exchange 2000 Server Post-SP3 update rollup on those computers.
Important
If you install Exchange 2007 in a new organization, you cannot add Exchange 2003 or Exchange 2000 servers to that organization after you have already installed Exchange 2007. To have an organization with either Exchange 2003 or Exchange 2000 and Exchange 2007, you must install the Exchange 2003 or Exchange 2000 servers first. You can later add additional Exchange 2003 or Exchange 2000 servers to such an organization.
For more information about using previous versions of Exchange in an organization that contains computers running Windows Server 2008, see Exchange Server 2007: Platforms, Editions, and Versions.
Client Computers
The following table lists the requirements for client computers that access data from Exchange 2007 servers.
| Client application | Requirement |
|---|---|
Outlook |
Use one of the following:
Note You cannot use Outlook 2002 to access Exchange Server 2007 SP3 or a later server version. |
Outlook Web Access |
Client computer with a Web browser installed |
Outlook Web Access using Integrated Windows authentication |
Client computer with Microsoft Internet Explorer installed |
Mobile device |
Use one of the following:
|
Client application that uses Post Office Protocol 3 (POP3) |
You must have a client computer that meets the requirements for your specific client. For a list of these requirements, consult the documentation for the POP3 client software. |
Client application that uses Internet Message Access Protocol 4 (IMAP4) |
You must have a client computer that meets the requirements for your specific client. For a list of these requirements, consult the documentation for the IMAP4 client software. |
Microsoft Entourage |
Download and read the Microsoft Office 2004 for Mac Resource Kit version 2. This resource kit contains a complete feature matrix and provides details about the versions of Entourage that are supported for Exchange 2007. Information about Entourage 2008 for Mac is available in the Microsoft Office 2008 for Mac Administrator’s Guide. |
For more information about Outlook and Exchange compatibility, see Outlook and Exchange Server Compatibility.
For more information about authentication methods for Outlook Web Access, see Configuring Standard Authentication Methods for Outlook Web Access.
If you use Outlook to access your mailbox, you must have a client computer that meets the requirements for installing and running Outlook. For more information, see the following:
Knowledge Base article 285342, List of system requirements for Microsoft Office XP
Note
It is supported to install Outlook 2007 on the same computer on which you have installed Exchange 2007.
Note
The user experience in Outlook Web Access depends on the location of the user's mailbox. For example, if a mailbox is located on an Exchange 2003 back-end server and the Client Access server is running Exchange 2007, the user receives Outlook Web Access in Exchange 2003.
Other Recommendations
Before you run the Exchange Setup program, you should stop any third-party applications that are integrated with Microsoft Exchange. If you are using any applications or hardware on the computers on which you are going to install Exchange 2007 SP1, verify with each vendor whether any updates are needed for Exchange 2007 SP1 prior to installing Exchange 2007 SP1.
If you are planning to install Exchange 2007 SP1 on a computer that is running Windows Server 2008, you should also verify application and hardware compatibility with Windows Server 2008.
The following are additional software and hardware solutions that are not required to install and operate Exchange 2007. However, to help you manage a healthy and available messaging system, we recommend that you consider implementing the following:
Backup For more information about backing up Exchange 2007, see Disaster Recovery.
Note
If you use Volume Shadow Copy Service (VSS), you need a third-party Exchange and VSS-aware backup application.
High availability For more information about high availability strategies and features for Exchange 2007, see High Availability.
Monitoring For more information about monitoring Exchange 2007, see Monitoring and Operations Management.
Anti-spam and antivirus solutions For information about anti-spam and antivirus solutions in Exchange 2007, see Anti-Spam and Antivirus Functionality.
Firewall between your corporate network and the Internet For more information about using a firewall with Exchange 2007, see Configuring ISA Server 2006 for Exchange Client Access.
For More Information
Windows Server 2008 includes several features that have been enhanced or renamed. For information about the feature changes between Windows Server 2003 and Windows Server 2008, see Terminology Changes.