I'm having a problem installing Exchange, and I'm hoping
someone can help me.

When I try to install Exchange, I get this message:

The component 'Microsoft Exchange Messaging and
Collaboration Services' cannot be assigned the action
"Install" because:
- Setup cannot connect to a global catalog server. There
are no global catalog servers that are running on Windows
2000 SP3 in a domain-prepped domain in either the local
Windows site or adjacent sites. Upgrade at least one
global catalog server in the local site or an adjacent site
to Windows 2000 SP3 or later. In addition, ensure that the
domain of which the global catalog server is a member has
been domain-prepped. If the global catalog server is not
in the local domain, run Setup with the /DomainPrep switch
in the domain of which the global catalog server is a member.

I'm trying to install Exchange on a domain controller
within an AD forest. There is one other domain in the
forest, and that other domain is the root domain for the
forest. All my machines are running Windows 2003 Server.

In preparation for this install, I did the following:

1. Ran forestprep on the DC in the root domain.
2. Ran domainprep on the DC in the root domain.
3. Ran domainprep on the DC on which I'm trying to install
Exchange.

Can anyone explain why Exchange is having a problem with
the Global Catalog?

Thanks for any help you can offer.

-- Chris

Re: Global Catalog problem in Exchange Setup by Al

Al
Thu Sep 30 10:33:57 CDT 2004

Have you verified that the DC you're installing on is actually coming up as
a GC properly?


"R. Christian Call" <ccall@madentech.com> wrote in message
news:17ef01c4a6fc$d2a95a60$a401280a@phx.gbl...
> I'm having a problem installing Exchange, and I'm hoping
> someone can help me.
>
> When I try to install Exchange, I get this message:
>
> The component 'Microsoft Exchange Messaging and
> Collaboration Services' cannot be assigned the action
> "Install" because:
> - Setup cannot connect to a global catalog server. There
> are no global catalog servers that are running on Windows
> 2000 SP3 in a domain-prepped domain in either the local
> Windows site or adjacent sites. Upgrade at least one
> global catalog server in the local site or an adjacent site
> to Windows 2000 SP3 or later. In addition, ensure that the
> domain of which the global catalog server is a member has
> been domain-prepped. If the global catalog server is not
> in the local domain, run Setup with the /DomainPrep switch
> in the domain of which the global catalog server is a member.
>
> I'm trying to install Exchange on a domain controller
> within an AD forest. There is one other domain in the
> forest, and that other domain is the root domain for the
> forest. All my machines are running Windows 2003 Server.
>
> In preparation for this install, I did the following:
>
> 1. Ran forestprep on the DC in the root domain.
> 2. Ran domainprep on the DC in the root domain.
> 3. Ran domainprep on the DC on which I'm trying to install
> Exchange.
>
> Can anyone explain why Exchange is having a problem with
> the Global Catalog?
>
> Thanks for any help you can offer.
>
> -- Chris



Re: Global Catalog problem in Exchange Setup by R

R
Thu Sep 30 10:45:33 CDT 2004

No, I havent. Can you tell me how I would go about doing that?

-- Chris


>-----Original Message-----
>Have you verified that the DC you're installing on is
actually coming up as
>a GC properly?
>


Re: Global Catalog problem in Exchange Setup by Al

Al
Thu Sep 30 11:27:47 CDT 2004

AD Sites and Services is a way to tell.
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;313994&sd=tech but
you should be able to just check vs. setting anything.

"R. Christian Call" <ccall@madentech.com> wrote in message
news:189c01c4a704$85402da0$a401280a@phx.gbl...
> No, I havent. Can you tell me how I would go about doing that?
>
> -- Chris
>
>
>>-----Original Message-----
>>Have you verified that the DC you're installing on is
> actually coming up as
>>a GC properly?
>>
>



Re: Global Catalog problem in Exchange Setup by R

R
Thu Sep 30 12:09:11 CDT 2004

Al,

Thanks for the info. Maybe you can help me get to the
bottom of this...

I looked in Active Directory Sites and Services on each
machine, and found that:

1. The "Global Catalog" box is checked for the DC that is
in the root domain tree of the forest.

2. The GC box is *not* checked for the DC of the other
domain tree (which is the machine that I'm trying to
install Exchange on).

I viewed this information on both DCs, just to make sure
that they were seeing the same picture of the world (and
indeed they are).

I'm not terribly experienced in AD, so forgive me if what
I'm about to ask is ignorant, but here goes:

Do I need to have a GC in both domain trees?

If the answer to that is "no", then how can I go about
figuring out why Exchange Setup thinks it can't talk to the
GC in the other domain?

By the way, all of the machines in questino are running
Windows 2003 Server (as opposed to Win2k).

-- Chris

>-----Original Message-----
>AD Sites and Services is a way to tell.
>http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;313994&sd=tech
but
>you should be able to just check vs. setting anything.
>


Re: Global Catalog problem in Exchange Setup by Melissa

Melissa
Thu Sep 30 12:55:26 CDT 2004

Hi Christian,

I would add a GC in the domain in which you are installing Exchange.

If we still have issues, it could be a DNS issue that is causing you not to
be able to contact the GC. Be sure Exchange is pointed to local DNS servers
and not outside DNS servers at your ISP. The best practice is to point to
internal DNS servers and configure forwarders to point to your ISPs DNS
servers.

--
Hope this helps

--
Melissa Travers, MCSE
Microsoft Exchange Support

Please do not send email directly to this alias. This alias is for newsgroup
purposes only.

This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties, and confers no rights.

"R. Christian Call" <ccall@madentech.com> wrote in message
news:001801c4a710$345aae90$a501280a@phx.gbl...
> Al,
>
> Thanks for the info. Maybe you can help me get to the
> bottom of this...
>
> I looked in Active Directory Sites and Services on each
> machine, and found that:
>
> 1. The "Global Catalog" box is checked for the DC that is
> in the root domain tree of the forest.
>
> 2. The GC box is *not* checked for the DC of the other
> domain tree (which is the machine that I'm trying to
> install Exchange on).
>
> I viewed this information on both DCs, just to make sure
> that they were seeing the same picture of the world (and
> indeed they are).
>
> I'm not terribly experienced in AD, so forgive me if what
> I'm about to ask is ignorant, but here goes:
>
> Do I need to have a GC in both domain trees?
>
> If the answer to that is "no", then how can I go about
> figuring out why Exchange Setup thinks it can't talk to the
> GC in the other domain?
>
> By the way, all of the machines in questino are running
> Windows 2003 Server (as opposed to Win2k).
>
> -- Chris
>
> >-----Original Message-----
> >AD Sites and Services is a way to tell.
> >http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;313994&sd=tech
> but
> >you should be able to just check vs. setting anything.
> >
>



Re: Global Catalog problem in Exchange Setup by R

R
Thu Sep 30 14:08:01 CDT 2004

Hi, Melissa,

I can try adding a GC. Is that simply a matter of checking
the box next to "Global Catalog" under "Active Directory
Sites and Services" for that DC, or is there more that must
be done?

I don't think DNS is an issue. There's no ISP involved
here. This is a test network that isn't connected to the
Internet.

-- Chris

>-----Original Message-----
>Hi Christian,
>
>I would add a GC in the domain in which you are installing
Exchange.
>
>If we still have issues, it could be a DNS issue that is
causing you not to
>be able to contact the GC. Be sure Exchange is pointed to
local DNS servers
>and not outside DNS servers at your ISP. The best
practice is to point to
>internal DNS servers and configure forwarders to point to
your ISPs DNS
>servers.
>
>--
>Hope this helps
>
>--
>Melissa Travers, MCSE
>Microsoft Exchange Support


Re: Global Catalog problem in Exchange Setup by Waldo

Waldo
Thu Sep 30 18:30:24 CDT 2004



--
"R. Christian Call" <ccall@madentech.com> wrote in message
news:260601c4a720$ce4b4d10$a601280a@phx.gbl...
> Hi, Melissa,
>
> I can try adding a GC. Is that simply a matter of checking
> the box next to "Global Catalog" under "Active Directory
> Sites and Services" for that DC, or is there more that must
> be done?
>
> I don't think DNS is an issue. There's no ISP involved
> here. This is a test network that isn't connected to the
> Internet.
>
> -- Chris
<Snip>

Make sure you have all your SVR records in DNS:

1 Double click your zone to expand it. You should have 4 subfolders
(_MSDCS, _SITES, _TCP, _UDP) and a few records.

2. If the zones do not exist you should open a command prompt.

3. Type ipconfig /flushdns >enter

4. Type ipconfig /registerdns >enter

5. Type net stop netlogon >enter

6. Type: net start netlogon >enter

7. Reboot

Regards,

Waldo,

www.tugboatsf.us



Re: Global Catalog problem in Exchange Setup by anonymous

anonymous
Fri Oct 01 11:05:57 CDT 2004

Waldo,

The subfolders in DNS all exist, so I guess that's not the
problem.

Melissa,

I added a GC in the domain in which I'm trying to install
Exchange.

I then ran Exchange Setup, and (as one of about five
installation steps) it tried to run a "forest preparation"
step, and complained that it couldn't do it.

I don't understand why Setup wants to do forestprep, when I
already *did* forestprep back in the root domain of the forest.

I'm totally confused now about where I'm supposed to run
domainprep and forestprep, and how to tell whether they
completed successfully.

Can you help?

-- Chris


Re: Global Catalog problem in Exchange Setup by Melissa

Melissa
Fri Oct 01 12:10:51 CDT 2004

Looks like /forestprep did not run successfully. Are you able to run
/forestprep and /domainprep again?

274737 How to Verify That ForestPrep and DomainPrep Completed Successfully
in
http://support.microsoft.com/?id=274737

--
Hope this helps

--
Melissa Travers, MCSE
Microsoft Exchange Support

Please do not send email directly to this alias. This alias is for newsgroup
purposes only.

This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties, and confers no rights.

<anonymous@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
news:23dc01c4a7d0$89b58f70$a401280a@phx.gbl...
> Waldo,
>
> The subfolders in DNS all exist, so I guess that's not the
> problem.
>
> Melissa,
>
> I added a GC in the domain in which I'm trying to install
> Exchange.
>
> I then ran Exchange Setup, and (as one of about five
> installation steps) it tried to run a "forest preparation"
> step, and complained that it couldn't do it.
>
> I don't understand why Setup wants to do forestprep, when I
> already *did* forestprep back in the root domain of the forest.
>
> I'm totally confused now about where I'm supposed to run
> domainprep and forestprep, and how to tell whether they
> completed successfully.
>
> Can you help?
>
> -- Chris
>



Re: Global Catalog problem in Exchange Setup by R

R
Fri Oct 01 13:09:06 CDT 2004

Melissa,

The article in question gives several ways of trying to
figure out whether forestprep succeeded, but none of them
seem to apply to me, because I'm not using Exchange 5.5,
nor am I using Windows 2000. I'm installing Exchange
Server 2003 on Windows 2003 Server.

I did the best I could by using the MMC "ADSI Edit"
snap-in, and was able to get to
Configuration->cn=services->cn=Microsoft Exchange->cn={long
string of hex digits} and look at the objectVersion
attribute, which was indeed set to 6903. So (if I read the
document correctly) forestprep did succeed.

Is there something else I can look at?

Also, does it matter what ID I run Exchange Setup from?
I've been running it from the Enterprise Administrator's
ID--is that a bad thing?

-- Chris

>-----Original Message-----
>Looks like /forestprep did not run successfully. Are you
able to run
>/forestprep and /domainprep again?
>
>274737 How to Verify That ForestPrep and DomainPrep
Completed Successfully
>in
>http://support.microsoft.com/?id=274737
>
>--
>Hope this helps
>
>--
>Melissa Travers, MCSE
>Microsoft Exchange Support
>
>Please do not send email directly to this alias. This
alias is for newsgroup
>purposes only.
>
>This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties, and
confers no rights.
>
><anonymous@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
>news:23dc01c4a7d0$89b58f70$a401280a@phx.gbl...
>> Waldo,
>>
>> The subfolders in DNS all exist, so I guess that's not the
>> problem.
>>
>> Melissa,
>>
>> I added a GC in the domain in which I'm trying to install
>> Exchange.
>>
>> I then ran Exchange Setup, and (as one of about five
>> installation steps) it tried to run a "forest preparation"
>> step, and complained that it couldn't do it.
>>
>> I don't understand why Setup wants to do forestprep, when I
>> already *did* forestprep back in the root domain of the
forest.
>>
>> I'm totally confused now about where I'm supposed to run
>> domainprep and forestprep, and how to tell whether they
>> completed successfully.
>>
>> Can you help?
>>
>> -- Chris
>>
>
>
>.
>

Re: Global Catalog problem in Exchange Setup by Al

Al
Sat Oct 02 09:06:56 CDT 2004

No, you can do it from there. The forestprep information has to replicate.
More specifically, since you're trying to install on a DC/GC, it needs to
replicate completely to that GC.


So to recap:
You need to have at least one GC in the domain in which you are installing
Exchange.

You need to have run:
Diagnostics (netdiag, dcdiag, etc) and they need to pass which ensures a lot
of supporting structure will be there such as DNS etc.
Forestprep correctly (one time) and it needs to replicate.
You need to run domain prep one time for each of the domains where you have
user-objects that will be mailbox-enabled and it needs to replicate in that
domain.

Once all of that is in place, you should be ready to install the first
server into the org. No ADC, no forestprep, no more domain prep, etc. Just
install the components you want and be done with it.

Al


"R. Christian Call" <ccall@no.spam.madentech.com> wrote in message
news:0b3401c4a7e1$bdec59c0$a501280a@phx.gbl...
> Melissa,
>
> The article in question gives several ways of trying to
> figure out whether forestprep succeeded, but none of them
> seem to apply to me, because I'm not using Exchange 5.5,
> nor am I using Windows 2000. I'm installing Exchange
> Server 2003 on Windows 2003 Server.
>
> I did the best I could by using the MMC "ADSI Edit"
> snap-in, and was able to get to
> Configuration->cn=services->cn=Microsoft Exchange->cn={long
> string of hex digits} and look at the objectVersion
> attribute, which was indeed set to 6903. So (if I read the
> document correctly) forestprep did succeed.
>
> Is there something else I can look at?
>
> Also, does it matter what ID I run Exchange Setup from?
> I've been running it from the Enterprise Administrator's
> ID--is that a bad thing?
>
> -- Chris
>
>>-----Original Message-----
>>Looks like /forestprep did not run successfully. Are you
> able to run
>>/forestprep and /domainprep again?
>>
>>274737 How to Verify That ForestPrep and DomainPrep
> Completed Successfully
>>in
>>http://support.microsoft.com/?id=274737
>>
>>--
>>Hope this helps
>>
>>--
>>Melissa Travers, MCSE
>>Microsoft Exchange Support
>>
>>Please do not send email directly to this alias. This
> alias is for newsgroup
>>purposes only.
>>
>>This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties, and
> confers no rights.
>>
>><anonymous@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
>>news:23dc01c4a7d0$89b58f70$a401280a@phx.gbl...
>>> Waldo,
>>>
>>> The subfolders in DNS all exist, so I guess that's not the
>>> problem.
>>>
>>> Melissa,
>>>
>>> I added a GC in the domain in which I'm trying to install
>>> Exchange.
>>>
>>> I then ran Exchange Setup, and (as one of about five
>>> installation steps) it tried to run a "forest preparation"
>>> step, and complained that it couldn't do it.
>>>
>>> I don't understand why Setup wants to do forestprep, when I
>>> already *did* forestprep back in the root domain of the
> forest.
>>>
>>> I'm totally confused now about where I'm supposed to run
>>> domainprep and forestprep, and how to tell whether they
>>> completed successfully.
>>>
>>> Can you help?
>>>
>>> -- Chris
>>>
>>
>>
>>.
>>



Re: Global Catalog problem in Exchange Setup by ccall

ccall
Mon Oct 04 08:07:00 CDT 2004

Hi, Al,

What you describe is what I've been doing. Unfortunately,
Exchange Setup still fails to run.

Oddly enough, I tried running Setup on the DC for the root
tree of my forest, and *that* worked. But none of my
attempts to instll in on the DC of a non-root tree have worked.

Not sure what else there is to try here. Is Exchange as
problematic *after* it's installed as it is when you're
trying to install it? After using up a week of time trying
to get it installed, I can't imagine how much more time I'd
lose trying to administer it... :-(

-- Chris

>-----Original Message-----
>No, you can do it from there. The forestprep information
has to replicate.
>More specifically, since you're trying to install on a
DC/GC, it needs to
>replicate completely to that GC.
>
>
>So to recap:
>You need to have at least one GC in the domain in which
you are installing
>Exchange.
>
>You need to have run:
>Diagnostics (netdiag, dcdiag, etc) and they need to pass
which ensures a lot
>of supporting structure will be there such as DNS etc.
>Forestprep correctly (one time) and it needs to replicate.
>You need to run domain prep one time for each of the
domains where you have
>user-objects that will be mailbox-enabled and it needs to
replicate in that
>domain.
>
>Once all of that is in place, you should be ready to
install the first
>server into the org. No ADC, no forestprep, no more
domain prep, etc. Just
>install the components you want and be done with it.


Re: Global Catalog problem in Exchange Setup by Al

Al
Mon Oct 04 19:36:44 CDT 2004

No, it's not that difficult. In fact, I very rarely have this amount of
trouble when setting it up and when I have, it invariably turns out to be
something I've missed.

How about this for next steps:
1) verify that forestprep and domain prep have occurred without error.
Forestprep in the root. It should have replicated to all DC's in the
forest. Domain prep in at least the domain you are installing Exchange.
This needs to occur sucessfully after forestprep.

2) Re-step through the exchdeploy.exe checklist. If you follow it exactly,
it will work.

3) If that doesn't give you the results you want, how about posting the
setup log? That way somebody may be able to help out.

Al

<ccall@no.spam.madentech.com> wrote in message
news:1b6301c4aa13$08dcb8c0$a501280a@phx.gbl...
> Hi, Al,
>
> What you describe is what I've been doing. Unfortunately,
> Exchange Setup still fails to run.
>
> Oddly enough, I tried running Setup on the DC for the root
> tree of my forest, and *that* worked. But none of my
> attempts to instll in on the DC of a non-root tree have worked.
>
> Not sure what else there is to try here. Is Exchange as
> problematic *after* it's installed as it is when you're
> trying to install it? After using up a week of time trying
> to get it installed, I can't imagine how much more time I'd
> lose trying to administer it... :-(
>
> -- Chris
>
>>-----Original Message-----
>>No, you can do it from there. The forestprep information
> has to replicate.
>>More specifically, since you're trying to install on a
> DC/GC, it needs to
>>replicate completely to that GC.
>>
>>
>>So to recap:
>>You need to have at least one GC in the domain in which
> you are installing
>>Exchange.
>>
>>You need to have run:
>>Diagnostics (netdiag, dcdiag, etc) and they need to pass
> which ensures a lot
>>of supporting structure will be there such as DNS etc.
>>Forestprep correctly (one time) and it needs to replicate.
>>You need to run domain prep one time for each of the
> domains where you have
>>user-objects that will be mailbox-enabled and it needs to
> replicate in that
>>domain.
>>
>>Once all of that is in place, you should be ready to
> install the first
>>server into the org. No ADC, no forestprep, no more
> domain prep, etc. Just
>>install the components you want and be done with it.
>



Re: Global Catalog problem in Exchange Setup by R

R
Tue Oct 05 09:10:23 CDT 2004

Al,

Thanks. I'll try to follow your advice, if I can only
figure out how. Here's what I'm dealing with:

1. Verifying that forestprep and domainprep worked: How do
I do that? I found a Microsoft KB article (274737) on
this, but it's not written for Windows 2003. Basically, it
involves verifying that some field is equal to 6936, but
the instructions given don't apply to Win2003. I was able
to struggle through on my own, and find a field with the
right name ("objectVersion") that was set to 6936. Does
that mean forestprep worked? Who can tell...

2. I can go through the checklist again, but the one point
that bothers me is running the two diagnostic utilities.
Invariably they print out one or two messages, but they're
so cryptic that I have no idea whether they indicate
problems or whether this is just "normal" behavior.

3. I'd love to post the setup log, but I have no idea where
to find it or what its name is. Microsoft seems to do this
a lot. Some error message says "see the log", and there's
no indication of where the log is. It's a really big file
system out there... Can you clue me in about where the
log is?

4. I tried an end run around this problem by installing
Exchange in the forest root. Setup ran OK, but I can't get
Outlook to work with the Exchange server. I'm going to
start a new thread about this.

Thanks for any info you can provide.

-- Chris

>-----Original Message-----
>No, it's not that difficult. In fact, I very rarely have
this amount of
>trouble when setting it up and when I have, it invariably
turns out to be
>something I've missed.
>
>How about this for next steps:
>1) verify that forestprep and domain prep have occurred
without error.
>Forestprep in the root. It should have replicated to all
DC's in the
>forest. Domain prep in at least the domain you are
installing Exchange.
>This needs to occur sucessfully after forestprep.
>
>2) Re-step through the exchdeploy.exe checklist. If you
follow it exactly,
>it will work.
>
>3) If that doesn't give you the results you want, how
about posting the
>setup log? That way somebody may be able to help out.
>
>Al
>
><ccall@no.spam.madentech.com> wrote in message
>news:1b6301c4aa13$08dcb8c0$a501280a@phx.gbl...
>> Hi, Al,
>>
>> What you describe is what I've been doing. Unfortunately,
>> Exchange Setup still fails to run.
>>
>> Oddly enough, I tried running Setup on the DC for the root
>> tree of my forest, and *that* worked. But none of my
>> attempts to instll in on the DC of a non-root tree have
worked.
>>
>> Not sure what else there is to try here. Is Exchange as
>> problematic *after* it's installed as it is when you're
>> trying to install it? After using up a week of time trying
>> to get it installed, I can't imagine how much more time I'd
>> lose trying to administer it... :-(
>>
>> -- Chris
>>
>>>-----Original Message-----
>>>No, you can do it from there. The forestprep information
>> has to replicate.
>>>More specifically, since you're trying to install on a
>> DC/GC, it needs to
>>>replicate completely to that GC.
>>>
>>>
>>>So to recap:
>>>You need to have at least one GC in the domain in which
>> you are installing
>>>Exchange.
>>>
>>>You need to have run:
>>>Diagnostics (netdiag, dcdiag, etc) and they need to pass
>> which ensures a lot
>>>of supporting structure will be there such as DNS etc.
>>>Forestprep correctly (one time) and it needs to replicate.
>>>You need to run domain prep one time for each of the
>> domains where you have
>>>user-objects that will be mailbox-enabled and it needs to
>> replicate in that
>>>domain.
>>>
>>>Once all of that is in place, you should be ready to
>> install the first
>>>server into the org. No ADC, no forestprep, no more
>> domain prep, etc. Just
>>>install the components you want and be done with it.
>>
>
>
>.
>

Re: Global Catalog problem in Exchange Setup by R

R
Wed Oct 06 13:25:32 CDT 2004

I've posted (what I hope are) complete details of the setup problems
I've been encountering, in a new thread called "Anatomy of a Setup Failure."

Al and Melissa: Perhaps you could take a look at that problem
description; maybe it will suggest something to you that hasn't been
clear so far in my less-than-detailed description.

Thanks!

-- Chris