News

Test Lab Guide for Exchange 2010 SP1 Released

• By Kurt Mackie
• 12/02/2010

Microsoft has issued a guide for setting up a lab testing environment for Exchange Server 2010 Service Pack 1.

The 21-page document, "Exchange Server 2010 With Service Pack 1 Test Lab Guide," which was published in November, is designed for architects, system administrators and system engineers. Microsoft announced the guide's availability on Wednesday in a blog post. It can be downloaded here (Word document).

The blog explains that this test lab guide describes steps to take for setting up a "base configuration" lab environment for Exchange 2010 SP1. IT pros can build other test labs on top of the base configuration if Microsoft's test lab guides are used in setting them up, according to a Microsoft TechNet Wiki article.

According to that article, Microsoft actually offers six types of test lab guides, including those on base configuration, modular scenarios, extensions, troubleshooting, troubleshooting scenarios and portal pages.

Microsoft also offers TechNet Virtual Labs, which allows testing of preconfigured labs delivered via the Internet cloud. However, Joe Davies, Microsoft's principal writer for Windows Server information experience, explained in a Q&A that "we think the core value of the test labs is the hands-on experience in setting them up."

SP1 for Exchange 2010 SP1 was released by Microsoft in August. It's a 64-bit application that can only be installed on hardware running Windows Server 2008 Service Pack 2 or Windows Server 2008 R2.

A free download of SP1, good for 120 days, is available at the Microsoft Download Center here.