Question : Need help with version of Windows 2008 and Exchange 2007

Hi I have a Windows 2003 Server  thats my DC1, Exchange 2003 sp2 Server
we just purchased a new Dell PE 2900 with all the bells and whistles
For this new server I am going to make it a member server2 if possioble with 2008 as I have never used it
Move Exchange away from DC1 and install it on Server2

NOW......
I have read so many issues with different versions of Win2008, Exchange 2007
What is the difference between Windows 2008 64bit Standard and Windows 2008 64bit Enterprise
What is the difference betwenn Exchange 2007 64bit Std and 64bit Ent?
What do I need to make this work?
The cost of Win2008 Ent and Exchrver 2007 Ent is high!! but i need to know the differences and whats my best bet to go with
right now I have Exchange 2003 SP2 Std on Windows 2003 Sp2 Std

Answer : Need help with version of Windows 2008 and Exchange 2007

Hi,

In all versions of Microsoft software there are always different editions. Windows XP had a Home and Professional edition, and now Windows Vista has 5 (maybe 6) different versions.

In Windows Server, there is generally 3 different versions of the operating system. The first, and cheapest, is Windows Server Standard edition. For the majority of businesses, Standard edition will suffice. The next is Windows Server Enterprise Edition - this version contains everything which Standard edition supports, but it also allows you to do Server Clustering. This is only really intended for large corporate business networks, as the cost of this and all the hardware and other software in order to benefit from a cluster will amount to a lot.

The final edition is Datacenter Edition, which again has more support since it is designed for running in large high-end data centres.

The only other difference between each version of Windows Server is that as you step up through the versions, the amount of RAM supported in each OS is increased. Forgetting about the 32-bit editions (which can only address 4GB of RAM max, no matter what edition), the Standard edition can address 32GB and Datacenter and Enterprise can address 2TB, provided it is supported by the server hardware.

There is another edition of Windows Server called Windows Server for Itanium-based systems. This is essentially for installing on an Intel Itanium processor: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Itanium

For Exchange 2007 on Server 2008, you can run it on any edition provided you install the 64-bit (x64) version. Exchange 2007 is not supported in a 32-bit CPU anymore. Again, Exchange 2007 has two editions - Standard and Enterprise. The Enterprise is again aimed at large corporate businesses, because it allows for more storage groups, and more databases. It also supports clustering, provided it is installed to a Windows Server Enterprise edition server. See http://www.microsoft.com/exchange/evaluation/editions.mspx.

-tigermatt