Install second Exchange Server in domain

We have an existing Exchange organization with only one Exchange Server. For High Availability, we like to install a second Exchange Server in the domain. The steps will work for all on-premises Exchange Server versions. In this article, you will learn how to add a second Exchange Server in domain.

Exchange Server prerequisites

Before you install Exchange Server, you need to have a Windows Server available. It’s because you will install Exchange Server on Windows Server.

You can install Exchange Server on these Windows Servers:

Exchange Server 2016

• Windows Server 2016 Standard or Datacenter (Exchange Server 2016 CU3 or later)
• Windows Server 2012 R2 Standard or Datacenter
• Windows Server 2012 Standard or Datacenter
• Windows Server Desktop Experience

Exchange Server 2019

• Windows Server 2022 Standard or Datacenter (Exchange Server 2019 CU12 or later)
• Windows Server 2019 Standard or Datacenter
• Windows Server Desktop Experience
• Windows Server Core

Read more in the article Install Exchange Server prerequisites.

Before you start to install second Exchange Server in domain

It’s good that after setting up the Exchange Server requirements on the Windows Server, to follow and configure these settings:

• Configure pagefile in Exchange Server
• Configure power plan in Exchange Server
• Disable NIC Power Management in Exchange Server
• Configure ReFS volume Exchange 2013/2016/2019

Find Exchange Server version

We recommend installing the latest Exchange Server version as the one that is running in the organization. Start Exchange Management Shell as administrator. Run the Get-ExchangeServer cmdlet to check which Exchange Server version is running in the domain.

[PS] C:\>Get-ExchangeServer | Format-Table Name, Edition, AdminDisplayVersion

Name          Edition AdminDisplayVersion
----          ------- -------------------
EX01-2019  Enterprise Version 15.2 (Build 1118.7)

Exchange Server 2019 CU12 is running in the organization, and there is no newer version of Exchange Server 2019 at the moment of writing. So we will use that version for the second Exchange Server.

Note: Install Exchange Server Cumulative Update and Exchange Server Security Update to keep up to date with the latest features, bug fixes, and security patches.

Download Exchange Server

Download the latest Exchange Server 2019 CU ISO image. Open the ISO image and check to which drive letter it’s mapped. In our example, it’s the (E:) drive.

Prepare Active Directory and domains for Exchange Server

Do you need to prepare Active Directory and domains for Exchange Server?

• No, if it’s the same Exchange Server CU version
• Yes, if it’s a newer Exchange Server CU version

Install Exchange Server

Open Command Prompt as administrator. Run the command to install the Exchange Mailbox server role.

C:\>E:\Setup.exe /IAcceptExchangeServerLicenseTerms_DiagnosticDataOFF /mode:Install /r:MB

Microsoft Exchange Server 2019 Cumulative Update 12 Unattended Setup

Copying Files...
File copy complete. Setup will now collect additional information needed for installation.

Languages
Management tools
Mailbox role: Transport service
Mailbox role: Client Access service
Mailbox role: Mailbox service
Mailbox role: Front End Transport service
Mailbox role: Client Access Front End service

Performing Microsoft Exchange Server Prerequisite Check

    Configuring Prerequisites                                                                         COMPLETED
    Prerequisite Analysis                                                                             COMPLETED

Configuring Microsoft Exchange Server

    Preparing Setup                                                                                   COMPLETED
    Stopping Services                                                                                 COMPLETED
    Copying Exchange Files                                                                            COMPLETED
    Language Files                                                                                    COMPLETED
    Restoring Services                                                                                COMPLETED
    Language Configuration                                                                            COMPLETED
    Exchange Management Tools                                                                         COMPLETED
    Mailbox role: Transport service                                                                   COMPLETED
    Mailbox role: Client Access service                                                               COMPLETED
    Mailbox role: Mailbox service                                                                     COMPLETED
    Mailbox role: Front End Transport service                                                         COMPLETED
    Mailbox role: Client Access Front End service                                                     COMPLETED
    Finalizing Setup                                                                                  COMPLETED

The Exchange Server setup operation completed successfully.
Setup has made changes to operating system settings that require a reboot to take effect. Please reboot this server
prior to placing it into production.

Restart the Exchange Server after Exchange Server setup finishes.

Read more in the article Install Exchange Server.

Get Exchange autodiscover URL

After installing Exchange Server, we will get the Exchange autodiscover URL and set the Exchange autodiscover URL. Otherwise, the users will get a security alert certificate warning.

The users will see it as a security risk and will call the IT support desk. Save the support desk from these calls and immediately change the autodiscover URL after you install the second Exchange Server to the domain.

Run Exchange Management Shell as administrator. Run the cmdlet to get the Autodiscover URL. We need to adjust the Exchange Server EX02-2019 AutoDiscoverServiceInternalUri to a generic namespace, just as EX01-2019 is already configured.

[PS] C:\>Get-ClientAccessServer | Select Name, AutoDiscoverServiceInternalUri, AutoDiscoverSiteScope | Format-List
WARNING:  The Get-ClientAccessServer cmdlet will be removed in a future version of Exchange. Use the Get-ClientAccessService cmdlet instead. If you have any scripts that use the Get-ClientAccessServer cmdlet, update
them to use the Get-ClientAccessService cmdlet.  For more information, see http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/p/?LinkId=254711.


Name                           : EX01-2019
AutoDiscoverServiceInternalUri : https://autodiscover.exoip.com/Autodiscover/Autodiscover.xml
AutoDiscoverSiteScope          : {Default-First-Site-Name}

Name                           : EX02-2019
AutoDiscoverServiceInternalUri : https://ex02-2019.exoip.local/Autodiscover/Autodiscover.xml
AutoDiscoverSiteScope          : {Default-First-Site-Name}

Read more in the article: Find autodiscover URL in Exchange with PowerShell.

Set Exchange autodiscover URL

Set the autodiscover URL and restart IIS to apply the changes. We have seen in the past that it’s better to restart the Exchange Server after we configure autodiscover URL to have the change take immediate effect.

[PS] C:\>Set-ClientAccessServer -Identity "EX02-2019" -AutoDiscoverServiceInternalUri https://autodiscover.exoip.com/Autodiscover/Autodiscover.xml

[PS] C:\>iisreset

Attempting stop...
Internet services successfully stopped
Attempting start...
Internet services successfully restarted

Read more in the article: Configure autodiscover URL in Exchange with PowerShell.

After you set the autodiscover URL, you will not bother anyone in the organization with a certificate warning.

What’s next?

Configure the next steps on the second Exchange Server:

• Enter product key in Exchange Server
• Configure Internal and External URL in Exchange
• Move mail queue to another location in Exchange Server
• Cleanup Exchange logs automatically with scheduled task
• Antivirus exclusions for Exchange Server

Conclusion

You learned how to install a second Exchange Server in the domain. It’s the same process as installing the first Exchange Server. After you install a second Exchange Mailbox server, pay close attention, and change the autodiscover record. Otherwise, a certification security alert shows up in Outlook, which will bother the users.

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