Finding Exchange server version using different methods

The following methods allow us to find out the version of the exchange server installed on your server.

We can check the "Exchange Server Setup Progress.log" which can be found in the drive where exchange server is installed, just do CTRL+F in the log and search for the keyword "Enterprise" OR "Standard", but some times we don’t find the entry over there also…at that time what to do??

The following methods can be used to determin the exact version in use:

Method 1

First we need to open Regedit but doing the following:

1 - Click Start, select Run and enter Regedit then click OK.

2 - Navigate to the following registry value:

          HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall

Find the appropriate GUID registry subkey in one of the following lists. Verify that the Display Name in the right pane is Microsoft Exchange 2000 or Microsoft Exchange.

      The following subkeys indicate the version of Exchange 2000 that is installed on the computer:

     The following subkeys indicate the version of Exchange 2003 that is installed on the computer:

     The Following acronyms have been used above:

Method 2

In Exchange 2000 and 2003 Standard Edition it is only possible to create 1 storage group at time.  In Exchange 2000 and 2003 Enterprise Edition it is possible to create 4 storage groups.

If you want to find out if the Server has Exchange Server Enterprise or Standard Edition, we can perfrom the following task.

If it allows you to create a new Storage Group then it is Microsoft Exchange Enterprise Edition.  By default Exchange 2000 and 2003 Enterprise Edition has database size limit of 16TB per mailbox store.

Method 3

This is the third method from which we can check and find out if Exchange Server is Standard Edition or Enterprise.

When the information service starts on a computer the Event ID: 1216 is generated in windows application log with the description “The information store database <database location> has limited storage capacity enabled.” For standard edition.

For enterprise edition the Event Id : 1217 is generated in windows application log with the description “The information store database <database location> has unlimited storage capacity enabled.” For Enterprise Edition.

Note: - This log is only visible if the windows logs are not ever cleared, it generates every time when a server is rebooted or information store services are restarted.