Ok, I am going to try and explain it the best I can. A - is 2003 Windows Server running 2003 Exchange as a Domain Controller B- is a recently formated 2003 windows Server, with 2003 Exchange on it. Not running yet. The plan is to backup A with NTBACKUP and test that it did do a correct backup, by restoring it to B. Then copy all data on in th Exchange Server on A onto B. The run both A and B in parrallel. Shut down A, knowing that B is working correctly. Reformat A to not be a domain contoller. Copy B back to A. Run in parrallel. They shut down B and have A running correctly. Is this possible? Does anyone have a better suggestion? or ideas? Thank you

Hi, The requirement of restoring the original Exchange 2003 to a new computer is the server must have identical hardware with the old one, and do not put the computer into a domain, instead keep it in a workgroup. Thus, that is possible as long as it meets the above requirements. Additionally, for your scenario, the best practice is deploy the cluster for Exchange 2003. To better understand it, please view the document as the below link: Exchange Server 2003 Cluster Architecture http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/aa997253(EXCHG.65).aspx Deploying Exchange Server 2003 in a Cluster http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb123612(EXCHG.65).aspx Thanks Allen