How much MS server experience is required to take on Exchange?

I was just wondering how much experience would be required in your opinion before you start learning exchange? Would the subject material in 290 and 291 set a solid foundation or do you think it goes beyond that? In terms of years of service as a Wintel/SA how many would you think it would require?Thanks for any answers, I know the questions is kind of broad.

When I mean take on Exchange I mean to learn the material and lab it. Not certify

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rsutton

You don't need any experience to start learning exchange. However the more you understand about related technologies, such as Active Directory, the easier/faster it will be to learn Exchange. Why Exchange 2003 though? I would think Exchange 2010 would be more beneficial.

N2IT

I just through out 290 and 291 because I know those are Windows server exams/material

I was curious about 2010, forget 2003!

ptilsen

You need to have a good foundation in networking. Subnetting, firewall rules, etc. must come natural. Most of the standards Windows server administration topics aren't really that relevant. Exchange is very much its own beast. Yes, it ties in with AD, but the bread and butter stuff of Windows administration found in 290 and 291 don't directly apply to Exchange administration.

I will agree that you don't need much experience, as a result. The fundamental stuff, yes, but Exchange on its own is a deep product and you can jump right in without getting deep into other MS products.

Everyone

Depends on how far down the rabbit hole you want to go.

Everyone

Ok so a slightly more useful reply.

If you were my entry level Exchange Monkey, and I told you to go build an Exchange 2010 server for me, the Windows Server stuff you would need to know would be something like...

How to install Windows Server 2008 R2.
How to configure disks according to my specification (i.e. lets say I want separate drives for the O/S, Apps, Page File, Databases, Logs, and Queue, depending on server role).
How to configure the NIC(s) on it.
How to join it to the domain.
How to run Windows Update on it to make sure it is current with all patches and updates.

How to install all the prerequisites (roles, features, etc.).

Depending on the size of the environment, you may or may not need to know how to do any of that. There might already be a "Windows Server" team that will do all of that for you. If that is the case, and I'm only talking installs here, not even getting into maintenance... then I would expect you to know some very simple stuff like...

What are the prerequisites (in case the Windows Server team forgets to install them, or isn't responsible for this little piece), and how do you install them?
What are the 5 server roles for Exchange 2010, and what does each role do?
What server roles can be combined and run on the same server?
What permissions in AD do you need to configure each role?

That's just scratching the surface... and all the time I have for today. Time to go try grilling some salmon on cedar planks with this new grill I got.

N2IT

Thanks a lot for the wonderful replies.