Troubleshooter: Removing the Last Exchange 5.5 Server

I know you need to follow special procedures for removing the last server from a site or administrative group. Do I have to do anything special to remove the last Exchange Server 5.5 machine from a mixed-mode organization?

Yes, you do. Overall, the process is very similar to the steps outlined in the Microsoft articles "XADM: How to Remove the First Exchange Server in a Site" (http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;q152959)—for Exchange 5.5—and "XADM: Removing the First Exchange 2000 Server from the Site" (http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;q252486). The basics are the same: Rehome any public folders on the target server, migrate the Schedule+ Free/Busy folder, relocate or replace any connectors, and so forth. However, the sticking point is that Exchange System Manager (ESM) won't let you remove the last Exchange 5.5 server because it knows that the Site Replication Service (SRS) is tied to that server's presence. The solution is to not use ESM; instead, use the Exchange 5.5 Microsoft Exchange Administrator tool:

For more information, see Daragh Morrisey, "How to Remove the Last Exchange 5.5 Server," March 2002, InstantDoc ID 23769.