This article will examine the steps involved in installing Exchange Server 2013 with the combined Mailbox/CAS roles on Windows Server 2012. Our installation will be pretty straightforward.
We have a Windows Server 2012 Domain Controller and a Windows Server 2012 member server. As you may already know, Exchange server should be installed on a member server, not on a DC.
We are going to do a fresh, new install so migration and co-existence are topics that will not be discussed in this article.
If you do not have Exchange 2013, you can download a trial version from Microsoft Technet from this link.
Before you begin:
- Make sure that the functional level of your forest is at least Windows Server 2003, and that the schema master is running Windows Server 2003 with Service Pack 2 or later. For more information about the Windows functional level, see Managing Domains and Forests. For this demonstration, the server will have 2012 functional level.
- Make sure the target server is a member server of a domain.
- Install the latest Windows updates and security patches on the target server’s operating system
- If you are not going to set up a dual role server (CAS/Mailbox roles), the installation prerequisites vary, so please check first.
- Needless to say, make sure that both the member server as well as the DC are in good working order.
- Disable or lower UAC settings temporarily before beginning the installation.
- Make sure that the account you are using to install Exchange Server 2013 has the following permissions: Administrators, Domain Admins, Enterprise Admins, Exchange, Group Policy Creator Owners and Schema Admins.
- Make sure you are logged in as Domain\user not as local\user.
Open PowerShell on the server that will host Exchange and run the following command:
Install-WindowsFeature AS-HTTP-Activation, Desktop-Experience, NET-Framework-45-Features, RPC-over-HTTP-proxy, RSAT-Clustering, RSAT-Clustering-CmdInterface, Web-Mgmt-Console, WAS-Process-Model, Web-Asp-Net45, Web-Basic-Auth, Web-Client-Auth, Web-Digest-Auth, Web-Dir-Browsing, Web-Dyn-Compression, Web-Http-Errors, Web-Http-Logging, Web-Http-Redirect, Web-Http-Tracing, Web-ISAPI-Ext, Web-ISAPI-Filter, Web-Lgcy-Mgmt-Console, Web-Metabase, Web-Mgmt-Console, Web-Mgmt-Service, Web-Net-Ext45, Web-Request-Monitor, Web-Server, Web-Stat-Compression, Web-Static-Content, Web-Windows-Auth, Web-WMI, Windows-Identity-Foundation
This command will install the necessary components. When finished, restart the server.
Disable IE Enhanced Security Configuration so that you can download programs from the Internet.
On the member server that will host Exchange, download and install the following software programs in this order:
Open PowerShell on the server that will host Exchange and run the following command:
Install–WindowsFeature RSAT–ADDS
This will install the Remote Tools Administration Pack necessary to prepare AD.
Although not necessary, it may be a good idea to restart the server after installing the abovementioned features and programs.
Double click on the Exchange download self-extracting file to extract the setup files.
Once the extraction is complete, open PowerShell and navigate to the folder where the installation files are located.
Double click on the setup.exe file to begin the GUI installer. There is an unattended install that is easier and faster if you prefer using PowerShell.
The Exchange installer will begin. Click next.
Accept the license agreement…
Select the server roles…
Install location…
Select an organization name and split permissions if they apply…
Do not disable malware scanning unless you plan to use a third party solution. Malware scanning protects your Exchange users from viruses and malware.
The installer will perform a readiness check to make sure that you installed the prerequisites…
If your Analysis is error-free, click install to install Exchange server.
If you receive any errors during install, check the setup log located in c:\ExchangeSetupLogs\ExchangeSetup.txt to view verbose output of the installer process. This is a great way to troubleshoot any installation problems.