<div>
No definitive answer ever presented.
</div>


<div>
<div class="content wysiwyg-content">
I have a client trying to migrate their Exchange to Office 365. &nbsp;They have everything ready to do, except that when they get to Directory Synchronization they are being prompted from Office 365 that they need a Windows Server 2008 64-bit server installed.<br />
<br />
I have two questions:<br />
<br />
1) Is this requirement only for the migration itself, or do they need to have a 2008 64-bit server running permanently on a good-forward basis to maintain the Directory Synchronization?<br />
<br />
2) Their Exchange server is also Exchange 2003, are there any issues with that?<br />
<br />
Thank &nbsp;you,<br />
Jeff
</div>
</div>


I have a client trying to migrate their Exchange to Office 365.  They have everything ready to do, except that when they get to Directory Synchronization they are being prompted from Office 365 that they need a Windows Server 2008 64-bit server installed.

I have two questions:

1) Is this requirement only for the migration itself, or do they need to have a 2008 64-bit server running permanently on a good-forward basis to maintain the Directory Synchronization?

2) Their Exchange server is also Exchange 2003, are there any issues with that?

Thank  you,
Jeff

Exchange to Office 365 migration issue

Windows Server 2003 was based on Windows XP and was released in four editions: Web, Standard, Enterprise and Datacenter. It also had derivative versions for clusters, storage and Microsoft’s Small Business Server. Important upgrades included integrating Internet Information Services (IIS), improvements to Active Directory (AD) and Group Policy (GP), and the migration to Automated System Recovery (ASR).

Windows Server 2003

Active Directory (AD) is a Microsoft brand for identity-related capabilities. In the on-premises world, Windows Server AD provides a set of identity capabilities and services, and is hugely popular (88% of Fortune 1000 and 95% of enterprises use AD). This topic includes all things Active Directory including DNS, Group Policy, DFS, troubleshooting, ADFS, and all other topics under the Microsoft AD and identity umbrella.

Active Directory

Windows Server 2008 and Windows Server 2008 R2, based on the Microsoft Vista codebase, is the last 32-bit server operating system released by Microsoft. It has a number of versions, including including Foundation, Standard, Enterprise, Datacenter, Web, HPC Server, Itanium and Storage; new features included server core installation and Hyper-V.