Installing Exchange 2019 on Hybrid Server

Question

We will be moving our exchange mailboxes to exchange online (not all at once). We will use the hybrid deployment. Our on-prem servers are Exchange 2013. They are in a DAG. We will not have mailboxes on the hybrid server. Our consultant said that I will need to install Exchange on the server (It will be Exchange 2019). Do I just install the management tools or full exchange? Do I need to prepare the AD Schema for Exchange 2019? Thank You.

Answer 1

Hello @mara2021

Yes for Hybrid Exchange Deployemnt the full Exchange Server is installed and you dont need a License if no Mailboxes are going to be hosted on it .

For the Schema also yes and you can leave it to the Wizard , more details here:

https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/exchange/plan-and-deploy/prepare-ad-and-domains?view=exchserver-2019

Exchange uses Active Directory to store information about mailboxes and the configuration of Exchange servers in the organization. Before you install Exchange Server 2016 or Exchange Server 2019 (even if you have earlier versions of Exchange installed in your organization), you need to prepare your Active Directory forest and its domains for the new version of Exchange. There are two ways to do this:

• Let the Exchange Setup wizard do it for you: If you don't have a large Active Directory deployment, and you don't have a separate team that manages Active Directory, we recommend using the Setup wizard. Your account needs to be a member of both the Schema Admins and Enterprise Admins security groups. For more information about how to use the Setup wizard, check out Install Exchange Mailbox servers using the Setup wizard.

Important

If Exchange is deployed in a multi-site Active Directory environment and is not in the same site as the domain controller that holds the Schema Master role, you cannot prepare Active Directory using the wizard. Instead, follow Step 1 and Step 2 in this topic.

• Follow the steps in this topic: If you have a large Active Directory deployment, or if a separate team manages Active Directory, this topic is for you. Following the steps in this topic gives you much more control over each stage of preparation, and who can do each step. For example, Exchange administrators might not have the required permissions to extend the Active Directory schema.

https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/exchange/hybrid-deployment-prerequisites

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Best regards!