New features in Exchange Server 2013

Microsoft introduces a lot of new features in Exchange Server 2013 and we will discuss the notable new features here. So when it got released? General availability of Exchange 2013 released on December 3rd, 2012. Exchange Server 2013 Architecture Exchange Server 2010 and Exchange Server 2007 have 5 server roles like Mailbox Server, Client Access Server, Hub Transport Server, Unified Messaging Server and Edge Transport Server. On the new release of Exchange Server 2013, we have only two server roles, the Mailbox Server Role and the Client Access Server Role. Only two Server roles in Exchange 2013 don’t mean that the Hub Transport and Unified Messaging Roles are completely removed on the release, those roles functionality are now incorporate or merged with the existing server...

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Step by Step Guide on Exchange Server 2013 Installation

In this post we will see the step by step guide on Exchange 2013 installation. I have a test environment with this configuration and below are some of the assumption which was not shown on the step by step guide Domain Controller: Computer Name: LE-DC-1 Operating System: Windows Server 2012 Standard Edition IP Address: 10.10.0.4\255.255.255.192\10.10.0.1 with DNS IP as 127.0.0.1 Domain Name: LearnExchange.in Forest and Domain Functional Level: Windows Server 2012 Exchange 2013 server: Computer Name: LE-EX-1 Operating System: Windows Server 2012 Datacenter Edition IP Address: 10.10.0.5\255.255.255.192\10.10.0.1 with DNS IP as 10.10.0.4 Assumption: Domain Controller configuration is completed as mentioned above, where the DNS Server...

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Exchange 2013 Server Roles Installation Order

We all know that we have only two server roles in Exchange Server 2013 and this is like front end and backend architect server role in Exchange Server 2003. In this post will discuss on which Exchange Server 2013 server role to be installed first. In Exchange Server 2010 and 2007 installation, if it is a typical installation which will install the CAS, HUB & Mailbox server roles together on a single machine, then there is no need to look on the server roles installation order, but if we planned to deploy each role on a different servers, then Microsoft recommends to install the server roles in below order Client Access Server Role Hub Transport Server Role Mailbox Server Role Unified Messaging Server Role Edge Transport Server Lot of Architecture changes in Exchange...

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Exchange 2013 Server Roles in short note

We all know Microsoft Exchange Server 2013 released with only two server roles as Mailbox Server Role and Client Access Server. Other server roles components from Hub Transport Server and Unified Messaging Server are now included with MB and CAS server roles. In this post we will see those Server roles functions in short note. Mailbox Server Role: Mailbox Server Role in Exchange server 2013 has the components like Client Access Protocols, the mailbox database, the transport service and unified messaging components. So the Mailbox Server role in Exchange 2013 now functions as a legacy Mailbox Server Roles, Hub Transport Server Role, Unified Messaging Server Role and part of Client Access Server role. Mailbox Server Role in Exchange Server 2013 perform the below functions Provides...

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Types of Recipients in Exchange Server 2013

In this post we will see the type of recipients and its functions in Exchange Server 2013. Below are the types of recipients available in Exchange 2013. So what is a Recipient? Recipient is an mail-enabled active directory object to which Microsoft Exchange can deliver emails. Mailbox Mailbox is an Exchange object which is used to send or receive emails and to store messages, appointments, tasks, notes and documents. In Exchange 2013, we have the below types of Mailboxes User Mailbox: User Mailbox is an exchange object that is assigned to a user in your Exchange organization. We can create a new mailbox by creating an active directory user account or we can enable mailbox for an existing user account Shared Mailbox: Shared Mailbox is a mailbox which will be accessed...

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Exchange Server 2013 Quick Installation Steps

In this post we will see the steps on how to quickly install Exchange Server 2013. Step 1: Prepare your Active Directory Domain and DNS infrastructure, where the domain and the forest functional level has to be Windows Server 2003 or later Step 2: Install the Operating System and configure the IP Address, Windows Updates etc Step 3: Install the Exchange Server 2013 prerequisites Install Active Directory Domain Services Roles using below Shell command Install-WindowsFeature RSAT-ADDS Install the Windows Features that are required for Exchange Server 2013 using the below Shell 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,...

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Exchange Server 2013 Toolbox

In this post we will see the Exchange Tools that are available in Exchange Server 2013 installation. Many of the tools that are available on the legacy version of Exchange Management console are not available now and Exchange 2013 toolbox has only 4 Tools, which is Details Template Editor, Remote Connectivity Analyser, Queue Viewer and Tracking Log Explorer In earlier version of Exchange, the Exchange Management console has the below tools available for use Configuration Management Tools Best Practices Analyser Details Template Editor Public Folder Management Console Remote Connectivity Analyser Role Bases Access Control User Management Mail Flow Tools Mail Flow Troubleshooter Message Tracking Queue Viewer Routing Log...

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Exchange Server 2013 Deployment Assistant

Exchange Server 2013 Deployment assistant is an online guide which will help the IT Professionals to deploy Exchange Server 2013 infrastructure. Currently Exchange 2013 Deployment Assistant tools provides a guidance to deploy Exchange 2013 On-Premise – Install Exchange 2013 in your Organization Hybrid Deployment – Exchange Deployment with part of Exchange Mailboxes in your Exchange Servers and few mailboxes will be in cloud Office 365 Cloud Only – Take your Exchange deployment to the cloud in Office 365 Note: Microsoft will update this Deployment Assistant online tool with the option to upgrade earlier versions of Exchange Servers to Exchange Server 2013 How to use the Exchange 2013 Deployment Assistant Click on the link and...

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OWA 2013 Emails Stuck in Drafts folders

f you install Exchange Server 2013 for the first time and if you try to send a test emails from OWA, the emails may stuck in drafts folder. As usual, If we check the Exchange Server related services, all the services will run as normal and there won’t be any issue which cause this mail flow issue. Fix: If you add the second exchange 2013 server, the mail flow will work as normal. Not sure what is causing the Emails when the second Exchange Server is installed. Another Fix: Configure the DNS lookup to use your DNS servers IP Address. Login to Exchange Admin Center -> Select the Server -> Click on the Edit option  On the Edit Option -> Click on the DNS Look -> Internal DNS Lookup -> Custom Settings and Add...

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Recipients Management in Exchange Server 2013

In this post we will have a look on how to manage recipients in Exchange Server 2013. Before going to the topic, below are the Recipients that are available in Exchange Server 2013. User Mailbox – Normal Mailbox created for humans Linked Mailbox – Mailbox created for the active directory account on the resource forest Shared Mailbox – Common Mailbox accessed by group of user who are having permission on it. Resource Mailbox (Room and Equipment Mailbox) – Mailbox created for booking Meeting Rooms and Equipment in a company Groups (Distribution Group, Security Group and Dynamic Distribution Group) – Active directory object that hold many users as members and the email sent to a group will be distributed to all the member of the group Contacts...

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HUB and UM Server Roles removed in Exchange 2013?

In Exchange Server 2007 and Exchange Server 2010 we have 5 Server roles and below are the functions of those 5 Server Roles Mailbox Server Role – Hold the Mailbox Database and Public Folder database Client Access Server Role – All the Clients will connect to the Client Access Server to access the Mailbox content Hub Transport Server Role – Used to transfer the emails within the Exchange Organization Unified Messaging Server Role – Provides a unified mailbox, which has the email, fax and voice mail on the same mailbox Edge Transport Server Role – Provide a protection using the anti-spam agent for the internal and external emails transfer In Exchange Server 2013, we have only two Server Roles named Mailbox Server Role and Client Access Server Role, you will have a question like ...

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Exchange 2013 Error: Load Balancing failed to find a valid Mailbox Database

If you are in Exchange Server 2013 and when you create a new Mailbox, you may get an error as Error: Load Balancing failed to find a valid Mailbox Database as shown below Below are the options that you need to check to resolve the issue. Check whether all the Exchange Server related services are running on the Server. You can use the Shell command Test-ServiceHealth –Server ServerName to check that. Check whether the Mailbox Databases in your Exchange Server 2013 are mounted. If you install the Exchange Server 2013 for the first time, all the Exchange 2013 related services will run, but the mailbox database may be in dismounted state. Mount the database and check the status. You can use the Get-MailboxDatabase –Status | FT Name,...

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Deploying Exchange Server 2013 (Part 1)

In this article series the author explains how to deploy Exchange Server 2013 RTM in a brand new environment. If you would like to read the next part in this article series please go to Deploying Exchange Server 2013 (Part 2). Exchange Server 2013 is bringing a lot of exciting new features which deserve several articles to describe each one of them in detail. If you haven’t had a chance to look at this new release, I will be listing my favorite top 4 enhancements/changes, as follows. New ArchitectureThere are only two roles now: Mailbox and Client Access. The new Mailbox role will contain all components of CAS/HUB/Mailbox and UM comparing with Exchange Server 2010 roles and it will handle all processes for any given mailbox. The new...

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Deploying Exchange Server 2013 (Part 2)

If you would like to read the first part of this article series please go to Deploying Exchange Server 2013 (Part 1). Introduction In the first article of this series we went over the process to install the Exchange Server 2013 pre-requisites while, in this article we are going over the installation process using two methods: GUI and command-line. The most important thing is to make sure that all pre-requisites were configured properly and if you haven’t read the first article of this article series, please go over that to make sure that your Windows Server 2012 is ready to support the Exchange Server 2013 deployment. Installing Exchange Server 2013 using GUI If you haven’t download it yet you can do that from the following address ...

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Microsoft Exchange 2013 Architecture explained

The exchange 2000 and 2003 was a very basic model for exchange. There was a basic exchange which included everything and which administrator had to configure everything as per the organization’s requirements. It also relied on third parties for data redundancy. With the 2007, continuous replication was introduced including data and server redundancies to the picture for the first time. Also, separation of server roles which eased management and deployment flexibility. With the 2010 version of exchange, separate HA solutions were introduced along with database availability control. Role based access control and hybrid deployment were also introduced with this version. The issues with previous versions of exchange were that the deployments...

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