Exchange 2000 Won't Run On Windows Server 2003, Partners Gripe

Just two days before that operating system is to be released, partners are complaining about incompatibilities between Windows Server 2003 and existing Microsoft server applications installed at many customer sites.

For instance, neither Exchange 2000 nor Internet Information Services 5.0 will run on Windows Server 2003. SQL Server 2000 will run on Windows Server 2003 only with Service Pack 3 deployed, partners sources say.

"It would be much better to have Exchange 2000 on Windows 2003," said Walter Horowitz, president of Mardovar Networking, a reseller in Saundersville, R.I. "After all, we were able to keep Exchange 5.5 when we upgraded from Windows NT to Windows 2000."

Only Exchange 2003 will run on Windows Server 2003, which is due to launch Thursday after years of delays.

Microsoft's Web site defines restrictions regarding which versions of which application can be run on Windows Server 2003.

"Exchange 2000 Server is supported to run in a Window Server 2003 environment, where it can take advantage of the new features of Active Directory service and global catalog of Windows Server 2003," according to Microsoft's Web site.

However, "you cannot install and run Exchange 2000 Server on a Windows Server 2003-based computer," continues the information found at www.microsoft.com. "The next version of Exchange, code-named Titanium, can be installed and run on both Windows Server 2003 and Windows 2000 Server."

One Microsoft spokesman said the security, backup and storage improvements in Windows Server 2003 made it very difficult for Microsoft to extend Exchange 2000 support to Windows Server 2003. Microsoft would have had to release an Exchange server pack with the new Exchange 2003 code to provide compatibility, he said.

This lack of backward compatibility will likely upset Exchange 5.5 customers that have purchased upgrade rights to Exchange 2000, solution providers say.

During the last upgrade cycle, customers had the option of running Exchange 2000 on either NT 4.0 or Windows 2000 Server. More than 50 percent of Windows server installments are based on NT 4.0 and Exchange 5.5.

In addition, Exchange 2003 isn't expected to ship until mid-2003 at the earliest. Any significant delay in the messaging server could delay deployment of Microsoft's latest server operating system, observers note.

Microsoft said last week that it will position the Windows Server 2003 OS and forthcoming server application upgrades as the Windows Server System.

However, some solution providers say the lack of backward compatibility with existing applications like Licensing 6.0 may backfire on the software giant. Microsoft's attempts to force customers to purchase the current OS and applications software may not enhance the company's standing with its customer base, channel partners add.

"All the new [server] applications are for Windows Server 2003," said Oli Thordarson, president of Alvaka Networks, Huntington Beach, Calif. "A lot of applications are modular components you can mix and match, but you've got to have the new OS to run it. This may not go over well."

Solution providers have been briefed on this issue several times by Microsoft over the past year. As the release of Windows 2003 nears, however, there is a wide range of opinion about how it will affect partners and customers.

Some expect it will drive upgrade business for them.

"I think that it is potentially a mistake on Microsoft's part. We saw a significant number of customers wait longer than they would have liked to go to Exchange 2000 because of the Active Directory requirement [in Windows 2000]," said Michael Cocanower, president of ITSynergy, Phoenix. "To say the Exchange 2000 won't run on Windows Server 2003 delays product adoption. Having said that, however, I think there are significant feature enhancements and additions in Titanium. I have a lot of customers that are very interested in that functionality, so maybe that balances out any other barriers to Windows Server 2003 adoption."

Another solution provider said it should be of no concern to the channel. "It does not affect us negatively," said Mark Romanowski, senior vice president of client services and business development at AMC, a New York-based solution provider. "It may actually help us since customers who want 2003 will have to upgrade."