Exchange Server 2010 SP1 Test Lab Deployment Guidance

Customers looking to test drive the first major upgrade for Exchange Server 2010 can download guidance from Microsoft to help simplify their work.

Test Lab Guide: Exchange Server 2010 with Service Pack 1 is available via the Microsoft Download Center free of charge, just as it is the case for the service pack itself.

According to the documentation’s author, Bill Mathers, the guidance is intended for architects, consultants, system engineers, and system administrators that are planning to deploy Exchange Server 2010 SP1 in a test lab.

“This paper contains instructions for setting up a test lab based on the Exchange Server 2010 with Service Pack 1 Test Lab Guide and deploying Exchange Server 2010 with Service Pack 1 using one server computers and one client computers,” Mathers stated.

“The resulting Exchange Server 2010 with Service Pack 1 test lab demonstrates simple e-mail functionality.”

Customers looking to test drive the upgrade will need Windows Server 2008 R2 Enterprise Edition, Exchange Server 2010 SP1, Office Professional Plus 2010 along with Office 2010 Filter Packs and a few hotfixes.

The software giant underlines the fact that the guidance is only designed to guide customers through the deployment of an Exchange 2010 SP1 test lab, and should not be leveraged in any other scenarios including for production environments.

SP1 for Exchange Server 2010 was offered to customers in August 2010, offering a set of new features.

“With Microsoft Exchange Server 2010 SP1 you can achieve new levels of reliability and performance with features that simplify your administration, help protect your communications, and delight your users by meeting their demands for greater mobility,” Mathers explained.

“Microsoft Exchange Server, the cornerstone of Microsoft’s Unified Communications solution, is a flexible and reliable messaging platform that can help you lower your messaging costs by 50-80%, increase productivity with anywhere access to business communications, and safeguard your business with protection and compliance capabilities that help you manage risk.”

Exchange Server 2010 Service Pack 1 (SP1) RTM is available for download here.