Exchange 2007 SDK on Windows Server 2008, is it supported? YES it is!!!

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I have seen lots of confusion lately and people asking this question in various forums. I do not have an official statement yet on this and waiting for a response from Exchange SDK documentation owners.

Here is my understanding, I may be wrong here.

According to https://www.microsoft.com/downloadS/details.aspx?familyid=47720D33-FA5A-4AF4-A8EB-FA39695CBAD1&displaylang=en, the Exchange 2007 SP1 SDK does not list Windows 2008 as supported platform.

It does not says it’s NOT supported but it also does not mention that whether its supported or not. Usually something which is NOT documented as “not supported” is assumed to be supported :-)

Let’s take an example of “Exchange 2007 SP1” - https://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?displaylang=en&FamilyID=44c66ad6-f185-4a1d-a9ab-473c1188954c

The download page does not mention that it’s supported on Windows 2008 while it is the only version of Exchange so far which is supported on Windows 2008

Source: https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb232170.aspx

Exchange 2007 and Windows Server 2008

The RTM version of Exchange 2007 cannot be installed on Windows Server 2008. However, Exchange 2007 SP1 is supported for installation on Windows Server 2008. Although you cannot install the RTM version of Exchange 2007 on Windows Server 2008, the RTM version of Exchange 2007 will be supported for use with Windows Server 2008 directory servers.

Exchange Server 2003 Service Pack 2 (SP2) is similarly supported. Exchange Server 2003 cannot be installed on a computer running Windows Server 2008, but Exchange 2003 will be supported for use with Windows Server 2008 directory servers.

Be aware of the following when combining Microsoft Exchange with Windows Server 2008:

  • Exchange 2007 RTM and all previous versions of Microsoft Exchange are not supported for installation on a computer running Windows Server 2008.
  • Exchange 2007 SP1 can be installed on a computer running Windows Server 2008.
  • Management tools for Exchange 2007 RTM and all previous versions of Microsoft Exchange are not supported for installation on a computer running Windows Server 2008 or Windows Vista.
  • Management tools for Exchange 2007 SP1 can be installed on a computer running Windows Server 2008 or Windows Vista.

With all that into consideration, it is safe to assume that if you are running with Exchange Sp1 Management Tools on a Windows 2008 machine you are under support boundaries to install and use SDK. I will update this document once I have more information along with facts & confirmation from documentation team.

Stay tuned…

EDIT: UPDATED ON 3/18/2009

I have got confirmation from product group that its a document bug and nothing more or less. So we DO support Exchange 2007 SP1 SDK on Windows Server 2008.