The Microsoft Exchange Team posted a blog yesterday about a problem installing Exchange 2007 SP2 in a Windows domain.

The problem is that the Setup of Exchange 2007 SP2 fails during the prerequisite check stage if all domain controllers are running Windows Server 2008 R2. Users receive this mystifying error message:

“ERROR] Cannot find at least one domain controller running Windows Server 2003 Service Pack 1 or later in domain ‘DC=DCName,DC=com,DC=DCName’. This could be the result of moving domain controller objects in Active Directory. Check that at least one domain controller running Windows Server 2003 Service Pack 1 or later is located in the ‘Domain Controllers’ organizational unit (OU) and rerun setup.”

According to the blog, the above scenario can happen if you are installing or upgrading Exchange 2007 SP2 in an AD forest that only has a Windows Server 2008 R2 domain controller or in an AD forest that has Windows Server 2008 R2 DCs and at least one Windows Server 2003 DC that hasn’t been upgraded to 2003 SP1.

So what’s the fix? Well, according to the post made by Exchange Escalation Engineer, Nasir Ali, there won’t be one until Windows Server 2008 R2 is widely-available. Once this vague time-frame has been met, then the Exchange team will provide an update.

It’s probably true that droves of domain controllers won’t be upgraded right away to Server 2008 R2 when it becomes available sometime at the end of next month but there are servers that will be. This is an example of what can be viewed as shoddy, rushed Quality Assurance by Microsoft and hints of the poor planning involved with Vista. There is no excuse for a problem of this type to have been overlooked when it’s an issue with a Microsoft product working with another Microsoft product.

Windows Server 2008 R2 is a great product, maybe the best Microsoft has developed. With Microsoft so needing to save face after Vista, now is not the time for carelessness like this so close to launch of the final releases of Windows 7 and Server 2008 R2 RTMs.