Exchange 2010 RC to RTM Upgrade… Can I Install into Production?

I mentioned in my last post that customers will be able to upgrade from the Release Candidate (RC) of Exchange Server 2010 to the final Release to Manufacturing (RTM) version.  This was taken from the Exchange team’s mention of this here.  Since then there has been some questions about what this means.  Does it mean that you can install the RC version in production and still be supported?

To answer that you need to look at the EULA included in the RC.  This is a legal document and I am not a lawyer.  Because of that I will only paste some of the key points that I found in it so that you can see the answer.  The English version of the EULA can be found at setup\serverroles\common\eula\en\license.htm.  There you will find the following in part:

1. INSTALLATION AND USE RIGHTS. · You may install and use any number of copies of the software on your premises to test how it runs with your programs. · You may not test the software in a live operating environment unless Microsoft permits you to do so under another agreement. 4. PRE-RELEASE SOFTWARE. This software is a pre-release version…   8. SUPPORT SERVICES. Because this software is “as is,” we may not provide support services for it.

So… In short, please don’t run the RC in your production environment. If you were to have any issues and needed support from Microsoft, you would be in a tough situation that you may not like. We have programs such as the Technology Adoption Program (TAP) program where we support customers who run non-final code in their production environment, but those customers are early-adopters who have another agreement that permits the support of their environment.

Hopefully that answers your questions. Now get back to playing with Exchange 2010 (in your lab)!