eric

Hi,

I am planning on creating a Windows 2003/Exchange 2003 recovery server in
order to restore a public folder from backup tapes (the folder can no longer
be recovered using the 'recover deleted items' function in
exchange/outlook.)

The operational exchange server must remain online on the network during
this recovery process
The operational exchange server is also a domain controller of the domain as
well as a global catalog server.

I plan to do the following and would greatly appreciate feedback indicating
if this should work alright and whether I can expect any problems

1. Install the recovery server as a new windows 2003 domain controller in
the operational domain.
2. disconnect it from the network and rename it (using the Computer Name tab
of System Properties) to the same name as the exchange server. Reboot.
3. Install Exchange 2003 in Disaster Recovery mode.
4. Restore the exchange database from the backup tape
5. Start up exchange and copy the old public folder to a PST file.
6. Use this PST file to recreate the public folder on the operational
exchange server.


Is this a valid way to create a recovery server or will I encounter problems
in reinstalling exchange or renaming the domain controller?

I'm basically looking for the quickest way to create a recovery server on a
server that is not identical to the operational exchange server. (less MB
RAM and slower processor, but still easily able to run exchange 2003 in a
test environment)

Any help or comments greatly appreciated.

eric