Installing Exchange 2000 in a cluster environment is basically a four-step process. The first two steps while the last two steps involve installing and configuring Exchange 2000 to run on the cluster nodes:

1. Install Windows 2000 Advanced Server and Service Pack 1 on both systems.

2. Install Cluster Service on each node.
3. Install Exchange 2000 on both cluster nodes, performing the installation one node at a time.
4. Configure at least one virtual server on each node.

Note: Cluster Service must be running on both nodes before you install Exchange 2000. It cannot be installed on a non-clustered server and integrated into a cluster afterwards. Cluster Service must be on the system before Exchange 2000 to take advantage of the clustering technologies.

Once Windows 2000 Advanced Server (or Windows 2000 Datacenter Server) is installed and Cluster Service is running on both of the nodes, you are ready to begin the installation of Exchange 2000 on the cluster nodes. As with the installation of most software, you need to complete some preliminary steps before you jump into the installation process. The preliminary steps that need to be completed before install Exchange 2000 on a cluster node includes:

1. Assign the Cluster Service account the necessary permission. The installation of Exchange 2000 will be done under the account created for Cluster Service. The Cluster Service account needs to be made a member of the Schema Admins group and the Enterprise Admins group. This can be done through the Active Directory Users and Computers snap-in.

2. Run the Forestprep utility to prepare Active Directory for the installation of Exchange. The Forestprep utility must be run under a user account that is a member of the Schema Admins group and the Enterprise Admins group. When the Forestprep utility is run without any previous versions of Exchange running, it adds Exchange specific information to the schema, establishes the Exchange organization name and object within Active Directory, and grants Exchange full administrative permissions to the user account specified.
3. Run the Domainprep utility in the domain where Exchange 2000 will be installed. The Domainprep utility will set the appropriate permissions in the domain and identify the address list server responsible for the domain.

Once the preliminary steps have been completed, you can proceed with the installation of Exchange 2000. The installation process is the same regardless of whether you are installing the application in a clustered or non-clustered environment. The only difference is that in a clustered environment, a message will appear informing you that the cluster-aware version of Exchange is being installed.