Exchange Server 2016 Implementation Resources

Hi TechNet blog readers. Long time reader, first time blogger. :-)

As a transactional Premier Field Engineer (PFE) I work with different customers weekly. I may be in Washington, D.C. one week then Seattle, WA the next. I may work with a Fortune 500 company today and a small school district tomorrow. Despite the unique customers and locations, the content I share is largely the same. So much so, that I keep OneNote notebook of the resources I regularly share with customers for Exchange 2013, Exchange 2016, and Exchange Online. When sending a follow-up message to a customer I copy the links which would be most relevant to the customer's situation from that notebook.

Since I now have my very own TechNet blog, I figure I will take the ideal of sharing one-step further and make a post with all of the helpful Exchange 2016 resources I have gathered over the last two years.
Please note that while there is a lot of information below, that this is not an exhaustive list of Exchange 2016 resources; these are the ones that I have found the most helpful, especially when understanding and scoping an Exchange 2016 implementation/upgrade.

Background Information

• Exchange Server 2016 Architecture – Exchange team blog post detailing the architecture of Exchange 2016.
• Exchange 2016 system requirements – TechNet entry detailing requirements for Exchange 2016.
• Exchange 2016 prerequisites – TechNet entry detailing prerequisites for Exchange 2016.
  • Note: Also run Install-WindowsFeature Failover-Clustering for DAG members.
• Exchange Server Supportability Matrix – TechNet entry detailing the supported environments & software for currently-support Exchange versions.
• What's new in Exchange 2016 – TechNet entry detailing the updates found in Exchange 2016.
• Load Balancing in Exchange 2016 – Exchange team blog post detailing load balancing requirements and strategies for Exchange 2016.
• MAPI over HTTP in Exchange 2016 – TechNet overview of MAPI over HTTP (this link details how to enable it).
• Ambiguous Exchange namespaces – Exchange team blog post noting what can occur when the RPC client namespace (Outlook connections made over ports 6005-59530) is shared with the web-based namespaces (HTTPS connections over port 443) and how to work around it.
  • Resources related to Outlook Providers:
    • The Autodiscover Service and Outlook Providers - how does this stuff work? – Exchange team blog regarding Outlook Provider settings.
    • When, if and how do you modify Outlook Providers? – Exchange team blog discussing configuration of Outlook Providers.
• Exchange 2016 Preferred Architecture – Exchange team blog post explaining the preferred architecture for Exchange 2016 (includes considerations for hardware, namespaces, sites, certificates, etc.)
  • Ignite 2015 presentation – video presentation from Ignite 2015 detailing the Preferred Architecture.
  • Understand the Microsoft Exchange Server 2016 Architecture – video presentation from Ignite 2016 on the Exchange PA and how it was leveraged by General Motors.
• Dive deep into Microsoft Exchange Server High Availability – a discussion on Exchange 2016 high availability architecture & best practices.

Planning & Sizing

• Exchange Server Role Requirements Calculator – Excel spreadsheet which can be used to help size your Exchange environment. Note that the Exchange Server Role Requirements Calculator is written to help you size your environment based on the input. Many people just "Wing it" when putting in the numbers, and if you do that, you're not getting a good representation of your environment (e.g. "Garbage in, garbage out").

  I recommend downloading it and keep a copy as "Read Only", then save new revisions off it. This will help prevent unintended changes (due to stray mouse-clicks or invalid data) and allows you to save different configuration versions (e.g. one with 4TB disks, one with 8TB disks, etc).

• Helpful calculator background resources:

  • Exchange Server Role Requirements Calculator Readme – self-explanatory.
  • SPECint2006 rate results (you only need to use one of the two below resources):
    • SPECint2006 Rate Results – website to retrieve the SPECint2006 rating for your server.
    • Exchange Processor Query Tool – Excel-based tool to retrieve the SPECint2006 rating for your CPU.
  • Create mailbox profiles (used by Step 2 of the Calculator): Generating user message profiles for use with the Exchange Calculators – Exchange team blog post for a script which will give you averages for all users' mail volume in the environment.
  • Gather log statistics (used by Step 6 of the Calculator):
    Analyzing Exchange Transaction Log Generation Statistics - Revisited – Exchange team blog post with link to download GetTransactionLogStats.ps1. Use it to gather database replication statistics for a couple of weeks then run analysis against it with this script.

• Ask the Perf Guy: Update to scalability guidance for Exchange 2016 – Exchange team blog post explaining updated maximum hardware recommendations for Exchange 2016.

• Exchange 2016 storage configuration options – TechNet entry detailing supported disk configurations and best practices

• JetStress 2013/2016 – link to download JetStress for 2013/2016.
  Do not forget to run JetStress before installing Exchange! If I had a nickel for each time I had to go over disk-related issues because Exchange was deployed without running JetStress…well, I'd have a bunch of nickels. Also, it is recommended to run it on all of your intended Exchange servers. In addition to verifying performance requirements, it will help weed-out any potentially bad disks on a physical/DAS/JBoD deployment. It is also recommended to run on all of your SAN-backed servers to ensure they will all receive the required performance.

  • JetStress 2013 Field Guide – readme/user guide for JetStress.

Deployment

• Deploy Microsoft Exchange Server 2016 – video presentation from Ignite 2016 on Exchange 2016 deployment, including "gotchas" and best practices.
• Exchange Deployment Assistant – tool to help walk through and plan your Exchange upgrade. I recommend running through it a couple of times before running your upgrade to ensure you have all the steps documented for your change management system/planning. You can also use it live while going through your upgrade.
  One note about hybrid deployments – this tool assumes that you do not have anything handled for hybrid already. If you have already stood-up a hybrid environment, simply select "On-Premises".
• Prepare Active Directory and domains – TechNet entry detailing how to prepare Active Directory (and verify it was completed successfully).
• Exchange 2016 Active Directory schema changes – TechNet entry detailing the schema changes contained with each Exchange 2016 version.
• Running Windows antivirus software on Exchange 2016 servers – TechNet entry detailing Exchange 2016 file-level anti-virus considerations.
  • Bonus: Virus scanning recommendations for Enterprise computers that are running currently supported versions of Windows Did you know that Microsoft has recommendations for virus exclusions for Windows (client and server), Active Directory, DNS, and DHCP? Well you do now!
• Install Exchange 2016 using unattended mode – TechNet entry detailing installing Exchange from the command line.
  For example, you can install Exchange to the default path, name the initial database "ExDB01", and place it in E:\Vol1 using this command: Setup.exe /Mode:Install /Roles:Mailbox /MdbName:ExDB01 /DbFilePath:E:\Vol1\ExDB01\ExDB01.edb /LogFolderPath: E:\Vol1\ExDB01\Logs /IAcceptExchangeServerLicenseTerms
  • 6 Mistakes To Avoid With Exchange 2013 CU Command Line Installations – considerations for installing Exchange from a command line from fellow PFE, Rhoderick Milne.
• Install Office Online Server in an Exchange 2016 organization – TechNet entry detailing planning & installing Office Online Server (OOS). OOS is necessary for online attachment viewing & editing in Outlook on the web (formerly OWA).
• Modern Public Folder resources:
  • Limits for public folders – TechNet entry detailing modern Public Folder limits.
  • Public Folder migration – TechNet entry detailing Public Folder migrations.
  • Migration to Modern Public Folders – Notes from the Field – Exchange team blog post on PF migrations with extra detail.
  • On-Premises Legacy Public Folder Coexistence for Exchange 2013 Cumulative Update 7 and Beyond – Exchange team blog post detailing updated migration & coexistence requirements.
  • The Latest on Modern Public Folders: Architecture & Migrations – video presentation from Ignite 2015 detailing current state of modern public folders and migrations.
  • Discover what's new with Microsoft Exchange Public Folders – video presentation from Ignite 2016 detailing updates to modern public folders.

Virtualization (note that 2013 resources are relevant to 2016)

• Exchange Server 2013 Virtualization Best Practices – video presentation from the Microsoft Exchange Conference 2014.
• Exchange 2016 virtualization – TechNet entry on the subject (including storage requirements).
• Best Practices for Virtualizing and Managing Exchange 2013 – Exchange 2013 virtualization best practices whitepaper.
• Ask The Perf Guy: What's The Story With Hyperthreading and Virtualization? – Exchange team blog post detailing hyperthreading considerations for virtualization.

Maintenance

• Managing Database Availability Groups – TechNet entry on the subject (link directs to the Performing maintenance on DAG Members section)
  The StartDagServerMaintenance.ps1 and StopDagServerMaintenance.ps1 scripts have been updated to work with 2016; however, there are a couple of manual steps you will need to complete outlined on the above-noted TechNet article.

Unified Messaging

• Upgrading UM – TechNet entry detailing upgrading UM to Exchange 2013 or Exchange 2016.
• Telephony Advisor for Exchange 2013 – TechNet entry listing supported vendors and equipment models for Exchange 2013 and 2016 UM. It is also highly recommended to check with your telephony systems' vendor/support for additional supportability details.

Other resources

• Experience Scott Schnoll's Exchange tips and tricks - LIVE – Ignite 2016 edition of Scott Schnoll's Exchange Tips & Tricks presentation
• Scott Schnoll's Exchange tips and tricks – Ignite 2017 edition of Scott Schnoll's Exchange Tips & Tricks presentation (Exchange on-prem and Exchange Online/Office 365)

I hope that this information is helpful! If there are any other resources which you have found helpful, please post them in the comments.

Paul Newell