Abhay SinghDecommissioning an Exchange 2019 Server is one of the most critical tasks that requires lots of planning and executions to ensure that it does not hamper any business operation. This step-by-step guide will help you run right from the preparation of the environment to the safe migration of data and retirement of the server. Through the process, we will look at how specific tools could help in converting EDB file format into PST, so no crucial data gets lost in transition.
There are multiple reasons why you need to decommission an Exchange Server. Some common reasons include:
- Hardware issues with the current server.
- Moving to a new hardware or new operating system.
- Downsizing from Database Availability Group (DAG).
- Issues with the currently installed operating system.
- Migrating to Microsoft 365.
- Merging two Exchange Servers into one.
However, you cannot just decommission the Exchange Server. You need to follow a proper procedure to avoid any issues and consequences. As you’re aware, all the Exchange Server configuration is stored in the Active Directory schema. So, if a server is forcedly removed, there will be trails and configurations in the schema which can cause issues when introducing a new Exchange Server or with other servers. In this article, we will discuss the procedure to decommission the Exchange 2019 Server.
Procedure to Decommission Exchange 2019 Server
Below, we will be discussing the stepwise procedure to decommission an Exchange Server.
1. Review the Exchange Server Virtual Directories
Exchange Server works with virtual directories for Exchange Web Services (EWS), Exchange Control Panel (ECP), Outlook Web Access (OWA), Offline Address Book (OAB) and others. Before decommissioning the current Exchange Server, you need to check and ensure that these are working with the internal and external URLs on the new server. For this,
- Open the Exchange Admin Center (EAC). Click on Servers and then Virtual Directories.
- Next, open the virtual directories and confirm that both internal and external URLs (if any) are working and accessible from outside and routed to the new server. You need to check this for each virtual directory.
You can also check if the Auto Discover server is pointing to the right server. To verify this, use the below PowerShell command.
Get-ClientAccessService | Select-Object AutoDiscoverServiceInternalUri
2. Confirm Send or Receive Connectors are Configured
Custom send connectors are created for various reasons, such as email relay (unauthenticated) from servers or devices, multifunctional printers to scan, alarm systems, security systems such as CCTV, etc.
So, you should check for any custom send connectors and create them on the new server. To check if send connectors are configured on the server you’re going to decommission, you can use the following command.
Get-SendConnector | Format-Table Name, SourceTransportServers -AutoSize
To check the receive connectors, you can run the following command.
Get-ReceiveConnector -Server <Server To Decommission>
The above commands will give you the details that can help you review the mail flow and transpose any custom send connectors to the new server. In addition, you will get a list of devices that are relaying through the server. This will allow you to change the devices SMTP server to point to the new server.
3. Shift the Email Delivery Service and Change Network Rules
Apart from devices configurations, you need to also change the rules on the network. You need the network team or the network administrator to change the rules in the network to pass all the email traffic internally or via other subnet. From the outside, any ports like 443 for the Outlook Web Access and other ports such as 25, need to be changed so that these are forwarded to the new server.
4. Put the Server in Maintenance Mode
Before removing the server, you can put the Exchange Server you’re going to decommission in maintenance mode. This helps you to ensure that everything is working and routing through the new server after the server is turned off.
To put the server in maintenance mode, you can run the following command.
Set-ServerComponentState "<Server Name>" -Component ServerWideOffline -State Inactive -Requester Maintenance
You can use the below command to verify that the server is in maintenance mode.
Get-ServerComponentState -Identity "<Server Name>"
From the results, check that the ServerWideOffline component is Inactive.
5. Uninstall the Exchange Server 2019
At this stage, you should have moved all the mailboxes to the new server. Now the final step is to safely decommission the Exchange Server. To do so, go to the Control Panel > Add Remove programs of the old server and uninstall the Exchange Server. This will uninstall the server as well as change the Active Directory and clean all the references of the server.
To Conclude
Above, we have explained the stepwise process to safely remove or decommission the Exchange 2019 Server. After the server has been decommissioned, it might happen that there were some mailbox databases with some important mailboxes which were not migrated to the new server. Restoring those mailboxes after decommissioning the server would be a hassle. This will consume a considerable amount of administrative effort and resources.
However, you can use specialized applications, like Stellar Converter for EDB. This application can open standalone offline databases from any Exchange version and of any size. It then allows to granularly export the mailboxes and other data from EDB file to PST and other file formats. You can also use the application to migrate user mailboxes, user archives, disabled mailboxes, shared mailboxes, and public folders, directly to a live Exchange Server or Office 365 with automatic mailbox matching.
