In most deployment scenarios, you should not run Exchange 2000 on computers that also function as Windows 2000 domain controllers. It is more helpful to configure servers running Exchange 2000 and Windows 2000 domain controllers as separate computers. In this way, if one computer experiences problems, the other is less likely to be affected.

Furthermore, if your servers running Exchange 2000 do not have to perform domain controller tasks in addition to serving Exchange 2000 clients, the performance of those servers under heavy user loads improves.

The information in this article applies to:

• Microsoft Exchange Server 2003 Enterprise Edition
• Microsoft Exchange Server 2003 Standard Edition
• Microsoft Windows Small Business Server 2003, Premium Edition
• Microsoft Windows Small Business Server 2003, Standard Edition
• Microsoft Exchange 2000 Server