How to Install Exchange Server 2013

After the release of Exchange server 2013 many of the IT professionals have started testing the Exchange 2013 in their labs and thinking about the upgrade. I would recommend installing the exchange 2013 server in lab first and before you start installing Exchange server 2013 please read about Exchange Server 2013 Prerequisites. The Exchange Server 2013 setup is very simple and Microsoft has released Deployment Assistant for Exchange Server 2013 which is a web-based tool that asks you a few questions about your current environment and then generates a custom step-by-step checklist that will help you deploy Exchange. In this post we will see how to install Exchange server 2013.

The lab setup is simple and the machine info is listed below in the table.

Virtual Machine	Computer Name	IP Address	Operating System
Active Directory	AD.PRAJWAL.LOCAL	192.168.100.1/24	Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1 x64
Exchange Server	EXC.PRAJWAL.LOCAL	192.168.100.2/24	Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1 x64
Client	CLIENT.PRAJWAL.LOCAL	192.168.100.3/24	Windows 7 Professional SP1 x64

If you are installing the Exchange server 2013 for the first time then the Active Directory needs to be prepared. There are few things that you need to consider before you install Exchange Server 2013.

• The Schema master is running Windows Server 2003 with SP2, or a later version of Windows Server.
• At least one Global catalog server per site that Exchange will be installed in that is running Windows Server 2003 SP2 or later.
• At least one Domain controller per site that Exchange will be installed in that is running Windows Server 2008 or later.
• The forest functional level of your forest is at least Windows Server 2003 or higher.
• An account with Schema Admins, Domain Admins, and Enterprise Admins permissions to run Exchange setup.

The Active Directory preparation can be done before you start installing Exchange Server or it can be done during first Exchange Server 2013 setup. We will be doing the Active Directory preparation during the setup. In case you plan to prepare the active directory before the installation of exchange server 2013 then follow the steps listed below.

1)   On the Windows Server 2008 R2 Sp1, launch the powershell.

Import the server manager module by executing the command Import-Module ServerManager

AD prep requires RSAT tools so to install it execute the command Add-WindowsFeature RSAT-ADDS

2) If this is the first time you are installing exchange server 2013 in your forest type the command

setup /PrepareAD /OrganizationName: “organization name” /IAcceptExchangeServerLicenseTerms

Prerequisites for installing Exchange Server 2013

The prerequisites that are needed to install Exchange 2013 on a Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1 computer depends on which Exchange roles you want to install. In this lab we will be installing Exchange Server 2013 on windows server 2008 R2 Sp1 64 bit Enterprise Edition.we will install both the Mailbox and Client Access server roles on the same computer. 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.Read more about Exchange 2013 prerequisites here.

1) Open Windows PowerShell.

2) Run the command Import-Module ServerManager to import server manager module.

3) Run the below command to install windows components.

Add-WindowsFeature Desktop-Experience, NET-Framework, NET-HTTP-Activation, RPC-over-HTTP-proxy, RSAT-Clustering, RSAT-Web-Server, WAS-Process-Model, Web-Asp-Net, 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-Ext, Web-Request-Monitor, Web-Server, Web-Stat-Compression, Web-Static-Content, Web-Windows-Auth, Web-WMI

Now once you have completed the above steps install the following softwares.

4) Download and Install Microsoft .Net Framework 4.5.

5) Download and Install Windows Management Framework 3.0 (Computer must be restarted after installing this update)

6) Download and Install Microsoft Unified Communications Managed API 4.0, Core Runtime 64-bit

7) Download and Install Microsoft Office 2010 Filter Pack 64 bit

8) Download and Install Microsoft Office 2010 Filter Pack SP1 64 bit

9) Download and Install Windows Identity Foundation

10) Download and Install KB2619234(Computer must be restarted after installing this update)

11) Download and Install KB2533623(Computer must be restarted after installing this update)

Note:- The hotfix may already be installed if you’ve configured Windows Update to install security updates on your computer.

Once the prerequisites are installed, we will now start the Exchange Server 2013 setup. The Exchange Server 2013 can be downloaded from Microsoft site. Run the setup.

The first screen asks for checking the latest updates from Microsoft. Click on Don’t check the updates right now and click Next.

On the Intro page click on next.

Click on I accept the terms in the license agreement. Click next.

Click on Use recommended settings. Click next.

On the server role selection page check the roles that you want to install. We will install Mailbox role and Client access role on the same server. Click next.

Choose the location on drive where exchange installation files must be stored. Click next.

Specify the name of exchange organization and click next.

Malware scanning is enabled by default. You can set Diasble malware scanning to Yes if you do not require malware scanning. Click next.

As said earlier in the post the AD prep can be done before exchange setup or as a part of installation. This step will prepare the Active directory for Exchange Server 2013. Click Install.

The Exchange Server 2013 setup is completed. Check the box Launch Exchange Administration Center after finishing Exchange setup. Click Finish.

Login to Exchange Admin Center.