Migrating a small organization from Exchange 2010 to Exchange 2013 (Part 2)

If you would like to read the other parts in this article series please go to:

Getting the servers ready for Exchange

Configuring Page file sizes

Page file sizes for each Exchange Server must be configured correctly. Each server should have the page file configured to be the amount of RAM, plus 10MB, up to a maximum of 32GB + 10MB.

To configure the Page file size, right click on the Start Menu and choose System:

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Figure 1: Accessing System settings

The system information window should open within the control panel. Choose Advanced system settings, as shown below:

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Figure 2: Editing advanced system settings

Next, the System Properties window will appear, with the Advanced tab selected. Within Performance, choose Settings:

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Figure 3: Opening the performance settings

We’ll then adjust the Virtual Memory settings and perform the following actions:

  • Unselect Automatically manage paging file size for all drives
  • Set a page file size of the RAM, plus 10MB for each server, for example:
    • 8GB RAM = 8192MB RAM = 8202MB page file
    • 24GB RAM = 24576MB RAM = 24586MB page file

You’ll see the result of this for our virtual machine illustrated below:

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Figure 4: Configuring the page file size to meet requirements

After making this change you may be asked to reboot. You don’t need to do so at this stage as we will be installing some pre-requisites to support the Exchange installation.

Configuring Exchange 2013 prerequisites

To install the pre-requisites, launch an elevated PowerShell prompt, and execute the following command:

Install-WindowsFeature AS-HTTP-Activation, Desktop-Experience, NET-Framework-45-Features, RPC-over-HTTP-proxy, RSAT-Clustering, RSAT-Clustering-CmdInterface, RSAT-Clustering-Mgmt, RSAT-Clustering-PowerShell, 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, RSAT-ADDS

After installation of the components a reboot is required before we can install the other pre-requisite needed for Exchange 2013 installation, the Microsoft Unified Communications Managed API Core Runtime, version 4.0. This is available for download here.

After download, launch the installer. After copying a number of files required, the installer provides information about the components it will install as part of the Core Runtime setup:

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Figure 5: Installing the UC Managed API 4.0 Core Runtime

No special configuration is needed after install as it’s a supporting component used within the Unified Communications components of the Mailbox role.

Our final pre-requisite is to download and extract the Exchange 2013 installation files themselves. Each cumulative update or service pack for Exchange 2013 is a full, slipstreamed install; therefore you never need to install Exchange 2013 RTM and then immediately apply CUs or Service Packs.

At the time of writing, the latest update for Exchange 2013 is Cumulative Update 8, available to download here.

As cumulative updates are released approximately every quarter, there is likely to be a subsequent update, so ensure you check for the latest update to download and install from rather than CU8.

After download, run the self-extracting executable and choose an appropriate location to extract files to:

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Figure 6: Extracting Exchange 2013 components

Installing Exchange Server 2013

We will install Exchange Server 2013 via the command line. It’s also possible to perform the setup using the GUI.

Installation Locations

As recommended by the Exchange 2013 Role Requirements Calculator, we will be placing the Transport Database – the part of Exchange that temporarily stores in-transit messages – on the system drive, therefore it makes a lot of sense to use the default locations for Exchange installation.

The default installation location for Exchange 2013 is within C:\Program Files\Microsoft\Exchange Server\V15.

Preparing Active Directory

Our first part of the Exchange 2013 installation is to perform the Schema update. This step is irreversible; therefore it is essential that a full backup of Active Directory is performed before we perform this step.

While logged on as a domain user that’s a member of the Enterprise Admins and Schema Admins, launch an elevated command prompt and change directory into the location we’ve extracted the Exchange setup files, C:\Exchange2013.

Execute setup.exe with the following switches to prepare the Active Directory schema:

setup.exe /PrepareSchema   /IAcceptExchangeServerLicenseTerms

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Figure 7: Preparing the AD Schema for Exchange 2013

Expect the schema update to take between 5 and 15 minutes to execute.

Next prepare Active Directory. This will prepare the Configuration Container of our Active Directory forest, upgrading the AD objects that support the Exchange Organization. We’ll perform this preparation using the following command:

setup.exe /PrepareAD /IAcceptExchangeServerLicenseTerms

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Figure 8: Preparing Active Directory for Exchange 2013

Our final step to prepare Active Directory is to run the domain preparation.

Our smaller organization is comprised of a single domain, and therefore we can run the following command:

setup.exe /PrepareDomain /IAcceptExchangeServerLicenseTerms

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Figure 9: Preparing the AD Domain for Exchange 2013

If you have more than one domain within the same Active Directory forest with mail-enabled users then you will need to prepare each domain. The easiest way to prepare multiple domains is to replace the /PrepareDomain switch with /PrepareAllDomains.

Performing Exchange 2013 Setup

To install Exchange 2013 via setup.exe we will use the /Mode switch to specify that we will be performing an Install.

In addition to the /Mode switch we need to specify the roles that we’ll install. As this is a Multi-Role server we will be installing the Client Access and Mailbox roles.

setup.exe /Mode:Install /Roles:ClientAccess,Mailbox /IAcceptExchangeServerLicenseTerms

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Figure 10: Installing Exchange 2013 using unattended setup

As part of the installation via the command line, we’ve got a number of other options available – however for a basic installation we have used the simplest options.

After installation completes we will ensure that the new Exchange Server is available.

Choose Start and launch the Exchange Administrative Center from the menu, or navigate using Internet Explorer to https://servername/ecp/?ClientVersion=15:

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Figure 11: Launching EAC

When launching via a localhost URL and because we haven’t installed the real SSL certificate we will see a certificate warning, as shown below. Click Continue to this website to access the EAC login form:

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Figure 12: Typical certificate error on first access to the EAC

You should see the Exchange Admin Center login form. Login using an organization admin credentials:

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Figure 13: Login to the EAC as an administrator

After login, ensure that you can navigate between each section successfully:

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Figure 14: Checking the EAC and getting familiar with the new interface

If this is the first time you’ve seen the Exchange Admin Center, then you will see it is very different to Exchange Server 2010.

The focus has moved from the organization and server-centric views of settings to a recipient and task based view; for example if you want to configure Receive or Send connectors you access Mail Flow rather than editing settings at the server or organization level in different parts of the UI.

Under the hood, similar commands are used within the Exchange Management Shell and we will use the EMS where appropriate to make changes.

Post-Installation Configuration Changes

Updating the Service Connection Point for AutoDiscover

After successfully installing Exchange Server 2013, a change worth making is to update the Service Connection Point (SCP).

The SCP is registered in Active Directory and used alongside the Exchange 2010 SCP as a location Domain-Joined clients can utilize to find their mailbox on the Exchange Server.

By default, the SCP will be in the form https://ServerFQDN /Autodiscover/Autodiscover.xml; for example https://ljd-e1501.lisajanedesigns.co.uk/Autodiscover/Autodiscover.xml.

The name above however won’t be suitable for two reasons – firstly, no trusted SSL certificate is currently installed on the new Exchange 2013 server, and the SSL certificate we’ll replace it with in the next section won’t have the actual full name of the server.

This can cause certificate errors on domain-joined clients, most commonly with Outlook showing the end user a certificate warning shortly after you install a new Exchange Server.

Therefore we will update the Service Connection Point to use the same name as the Exchange 2010 uses for its Service Connection Point, which is also the name we’ll move across later on whilst implementing co-existence.

To accomplish this, launch the Exchange Management Shell from the Start Menu on the Exchange 2013 server:

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Figure 15: Launching the EMS

To update the Service Connection Point, we’ll use the Set-ClientAccessServer cmdlet from the Exchange Server 2013 Management Shell, using the AutoDiscoverServiceInternalURI parameter to update the actual SCP within Active Directory:

Set-ClientAccessServer -Identity LJD-E1501 -AutoDiscoverServiceInternalURI   https://autodiscover.lisajanedesigns.co.uk/Autodiscover/Autodiscover.xml

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Figure 16: Updating the SCP via PowerShell

After making this change, any clients attempting to use the Exchange 2013 Service Connection Point before we implement co-existence will continue to use the Exchange 2010.

Exporting the certificate as PFX format from Exchange 2010

Because we will move the same HTTPS name from Exchange 2010 to Exchange 2013 we can re-use the same SSL certificate by exporting it from the existing Exchange server.

To perform this step, log in to the Exchange 2010 server and launch the Exchange Admin Console. Navigate to Server Configuration in the Exchange Management Console, select the valid SSL certificate with the correct name, then select Export Exchange Certificate from the Actions pane on the right hand side.

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Figure 17: Exporting the SSL certificate

The Export Exchange Certificate wizard should open. Select a location to save the Personal Information Exchange (PFX) file and an appropriate strong password, then choose Export:

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Figure 18: Selecting a path and password for the PFX file

Make a note of this location, as we’ll use it in the next step.

Importing the Certificate PFX File

Back over on the Exchange 2013 server, open the Exchange Admin Center and navigate to Servers>Certificates. Within the more (…) menu choose Import Exchange Certificate:

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Figure 19: Importing the Exchange 2010 SAN certificate

In the Import Exchange Certificate wizard we’ll now need to enter a full UNC path to the location of the exported PFX file, along with the correct password used when exporting the certificate from Exchange 2010:

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Figure 20: Specifying a UNC path to the PFX location

After entering the location and password, we’ll then choose Add (+) to select our Exchange 2013 server, LJD-E1501, as the server to apply this certificate to. We’ll then choose Finish to import the certificate:

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Figure 21: Specifying the Exchange 2013 server as a target for the PFX import

Assigning the SSL certificate to services

Although we now have the SAN SSL certificate installed on the Exchange 2013 server it’s not automatically used by services. We’ll need to specify which services we want to allow it to be used with.

To perform this step, within Certificates select the certificate and then choose Edit (Pencil icon):

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Figure 22: Choosing properties for the SSL certificate

Next, choose the Services tab in the Exchange Certificate window and select the same services chosen for Exchange 2010, typically Internet Information Services (IIS):

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Figure 23: Assigning the certificate to be used for IIS

After the certificate is assigned, ensure it is in use by running the following command:

iisreset /noforce

Summary

In this article we’ve completed the Exchange install and began post-installation configuration. In part three of this series we will finish server configuration and then prepare for migration.

If you would like to read the other parts in this article series please go to:

About The Author

2 thoughts on “Migrating a small organization from Exchange 2010 to Exchange 2013 (Part 2)”

  1. Hi there. Thanks so much for this tuturial. For the most part it is very helpful in understanding how to install Exchange 2013.

    I installed Exchange 2013 on a Server 2012 VM in an existing Exchange 2010 environment. For some reason, when I go to https://EXCH2013/ecp it brings me to the new 2013 login screen, BUT, the ECP ends up at the Exchange 2010 ECP. Why would it do that. The URL still shows https://EXCH2013/ecp, but it is clearly the Exchange 2010 ECP page.

    Any help is appreciated.

    Thanks!

    Quintin

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