add a third Exchange node in a remote location

Question

Hello,
I have a couple of questions regarding a new configuration.
I currently have an exchange infrastructure 2016 in DAG based on 2 servers.
A balancer has been implemented to balance the load between the two servers.
The vitual directories are configured like this for Internal and External UR:

AutoDiscover https://autodiscover.exoip.com/Autodiscover/Autodiscover.xml
Exchange Control Panel https://mail.exoip.com/ecp
Exchange Web Services https://mail.exoip.com/EWS/Exchange.asmx
MAPI over HTTP https://mail.exoip.com/mapi
Exchange ActiveSync https://mail.exoip.com/Microsoft-Server-ActiveSync
Offline Address Book https://mail.exoip.com/OAB
Outlook Web Access https://mail.exoip.com/owa
PowerShell https://mail.exoip.com/powershell
Outlook Anywhere mail.exoip.com

The ip of the various virtual directories points to the balancer and everything works correctly.
Now my company has taken a remote office where there are about 100 users.
I would like if it were possible to install a third exchange node here and create the 100 mailboxes here. These mailboxes would not be part of the DAG. Is it possible?
How should I configure the virtual directories in this exchange?

Thank you

Greetings

Answer 1

Sure, you can do that. The virtual directories should be set to the server in the 3rd location so they can connect to it directly

You should then set the site scope so autodiscovery from that server is authoritative for users in that 3rd site

https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/powershell/module/exchange/set-clientaccessserver?view=exchange-ps

Set-ClientAccessServer -Identity "MBX-01" -AutoDiscoverServiceInternalUri "https://mbx01.contoso.com/autodiscover/autodiscover.xml" -AutoDiscoverSiteScope "Mail"  

Answer 2

@pazzoide76

Here are two ways for you second site.

You could use first site the as the Internet facing site for the second site. In this way, Internet client request will be redirected from the first site to the second site. (As the relationship between the site 1 and site 3 in the following blog)

You can also configure the second site as a stand-alone Internet facing site. (As the relationship between the site 1 and site 2 in the following blog)

For more detailed information, you could have a look about this article (it same to configure for third Exchange 2016): Client Connectivity in an Exchange 2016 Coexistence Environment with Exchange 2013

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Answer 3

AndyDavid and KyleXu-MSFT thanks for the replies.
Excuse my ignorance but I have never configured an exchange infrastructure split on two different locations and I would not want to do any damage.
KyleXu-MSFT the link you gave me talks about active copies of the database for which I guess a DAG has been implemented.
Do the configurations proposed in the Client Connectivity in an Exchange 2016 Coexistence Environment with Exchange 2013 link work in my configuration?
If I choose to use the first site configuration for the second site the as the Internet facing site from what I understand, the exetrnalURLs of the virtual directories must be $ NULL that is without any value. Correct?
What value should internal url have?
Do I always have to use the url mail.contoso.com which in the dns points to the load balancer (the load balancer then divides the load to the site 1)?
AndyDavid in my scenario I use the split-brain DNS infrastructure for which also in the second site the dns records of the exoip.com domain are resolved by this dns.
Since the dns records, for the exoip zone, that are there now point to the load balancer located in the first site in the second site, do I have to use a different name with for example mail2.exoip.com?
The exchange server in the second site will be called exch02 and the remote Active Directory site will be called Remote Office.
So to make the autodiscover use the exch02 server in an authoritative way for the remote offfice site, I have to type:
Set-ClientAccessServer -Identity "exch02" -AutoDiscoverServiceInternalUri "https://mail2.exoip.com/autodiscover/autodiscover.xml" -AutoDiscoverSiteScope "Remote Office"
Correct?
Does the autodiscover dns records always have to point to the load balancer and then the autodiscover service redirects the user base to the serevr to which it belongs?

Thank you

Greetings