Exchange Admin Center setup on new server

Chris Melnik 5

Hello, my company currently has a hybrid environment between on-prem AD and Azure AD. Our mailboxes are stored in M365.

I'm trying to configure a new URL for the on-prem EAC, but I cannot seem to figure out how to point the URL to the new server we have created. I tried looking through DNS and IIS, but cannot find exactly where the old URL is stored/pointing to. The EAC is accessible from the old server URL (i.e https://server.mydomain.com/ecp) but would like to make it accessible with the new server (i.e https://new-server.mydomain.com/ecp). We are looking to decommission the old Exchange server, and this EAC access set up is the last step before we can.

Any help is appreciated, thank you!

Jake Zhang-MSFT 5,055 Reputation points Microsoft Vendor

2024-08-05T07:47:57.3366667+00:00

Hi @Chris Melnik ,

If an answer has been helpful, please consider accepting the answer to help increase visibility of this question for other members of the Microsoft Q&A community. If not, please let us know what is still needed in the comments so the question can be answered. Thank you for helping to improve Microsoft Q&A!

Best,

Jake Zhang
Chris Melnik 5 Reputation points

2024-08-05T14:46:12.4033333+00:00

Hello, i'm still having issues setting the virtual directory. I tried also creating a new virtual directory with the New-EcpVirtualDirectory command, but it states "The AD configuration for virtual directory 'ecp' already exists".
Jake Zhang-MSFT 5,055 Reputation points Microsoft Vendor

2024-08-29T02:15:12.1733333+00:00

Hi @Chris Melnik ,

Just checking in to see if above information was helpful. If the issue has been resolved, please mark the helpful replies as answers. Accepting an answer helps other community members to know the answer helped you. It is also a way to thank and recognize the person who helped you.

1 answer

Andy David - MVP 147.6K Reputation points MVP

2024-08-01T18:45:03.1+00:00

By default the new server should have the URL set to itself already for ECP

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

You just need to make sure that A record for the server is in your local DNS as well.
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1 person found this answer helpful.
Chris Melnik 5 Reputation points

2024-08-01T18:50:31.2133333+00:00

Thank you. Testing this now. Do i need to disable the authentication on the old before i set up the new?

Chris Melnik 5 Reputation points

2024-08-01T18:55:01.34+00:00

When it asks for identity, do i enter the new server name?

Andy David - MVP 147.6K Reputation points MVP

2024-08-01T20:00:23.32+00:00

You would logon with your AD credentials. not need to disable anything on the old server,

Chris Melnik 5 Reputation points

2024-08-05T14:48:54.24+00:00

Hello, i'm still having issues setting the virtual directory. I tried also creating a new virtual directory with the New-EcpVirtualDirectory command, but it states "The AD configuration for virtual directory 'ecp' already exists". The Set-EcpVirtualDirectory is also failing after the identity parameter

Jake Zhang-MSFT 5,055 Reputation points Microsoft Vendor

2024-08-07T08:22:31.9733333+00:00

Hi @Chris Melnik,

Thanks for your response!

It sounds like there's already an existing Exchange Control Panel (ECP) virtual directory configuration in Active Directory. This can happen if a previous virtual directory wasn't properly removed or if there's a conflict.

Here are some steps you can take to resolve this issue:

Use the Get-EcpVirtualDirectory cmdlet to list all existing ECP virtual directories and their configurations.
Get-EcpVirtualDirectory | Format-List Name, Server, InternalUrl, ExternalUrl

If you confirm that there's an existing problematic virtual directory, you may remove it using the Remove-EcpVirtualDirectory cmdlet. Ensure you understand the implications of removing this directory and that it is safe to do so.
Remove-EcpVirtualDirectory -Identity "YourVirtualDirectoryIdentity"
Replace "YourVirtualDirectoryIdentity" with the proper identity of the virtual directory you want to remove.

After removing the problematic virtual directory, you can attempt to create a new one using New-EcpVirtualDirectory.
New-EcpVirtualDirectory -Server "YourServerName"
Replace "YourServerName" with the name of your Exchange server.

To apply changes, you may need to restart Internet Information Services (IIS) or even the entire server. Use the following command to restart IIS:
iisreset

Please proceed cautiously and ensure you have appropriate backups before making any changes to your Exchange services or Active Directory configurations.

Please feel free to contact me if you have any queries.

Best,

Jake Zhang

Chris Melnik 5 Reputation points

2024-08-07T14:30:45.5233333+00:00

Hi Jake. Thank you for the info. Is there a way to create a new virtual directory without removing the old one just yet in case issues arise? is it possible to have multiple virtual directories?

Andy David - MVP 147.6K Reputation points MVP

2024-08-07T14:46:47.6233333+00:00

No, you wouldnt want to do that. The built-in one should work just fine.

Chris Melnik 5 Reputation points

2024-08-07T14:52:05.8033333+00:00

when you say built-in one, are you referring to a built in ECP virtual directory? sorry for my confusion, i just want to make sure i don't cause issues with our environment as this is my first time setting up a new link for ECP

Jake Zhang-MSFT 5,055 Reputation points Microsoft Vendor

2024-08-09T09:16:57.3833333+00:00

Hi @Chris Melnik ,

Thanks for your response.

I think that's what Andy meant. Have you solved your problem now? If you have any doubts, feel free to continue commenting.

Best,

Jake Zhang

Jake Zhang-MSFT 5,055 Reputation points Microsoft Vendor

2024-08-12T05:11:58.4566667+00:00

Hi @@Chris Melnik,

Please kindly consider this comment as a warm follow up, I want to know if your problem has been solved. If you still have any other questions, please feel free to comment here and I'm glad to provide further support.If the above info is helpful to this question, you can click "Accept Answer". Have a nice day!

Best,

Jake Zhang

Jake Zhang-MSFT 5,055 Reputation points Microsoft Vendor

2024-08-15T02:14:20.05+00:00

Hi @Chris Melnik,

Is there any update on this thread? If the issue has been resolved, please mark the helpful replies as answers, this will make answer searching in the forum easier and be beneficial to other community members as well. Thanks for your understanding.

Best,

Jake Zhang

Chris Melnik 5 Reputation points

2024-08-19T11:52:11.1466667+00:00

Okay, I will have a chance to look at this today. Thank you

Chris Melnik 5 Reputation points

2024-08-20T15:23:27.37+00:00

I cant seem to find the default built-in ECP directory. Is there a way you can point me towards that?

Chris Melnik 5 Reputation points

2024-08-20T15:54:25.4966667+00:00

For what it's worth, when i try opening the exchange management shell on the new server, it seems to still connect to the old exchange server. I have not decommissioned or removed the old server yet, as i want to ensure access on the new one is configured first.

When i run through the Set-EcpVirtualDirectory command, i get an error right after i enter the identity parameter that the object cannot be found on an old domain controller. I checked in the DNS of the old domain controller, which the new server is present. I'd curious how to get this sorted as well as having this switched to the new domain controller

Jake Zhang-MSFT 5,055 Reputation points Microsoft Vendor

2024-08-22T08:43:27.3566667+00:00

Hi @Chris Melnik,

Thanks for your response.

Here are a few steps to try and resolve these issues:

Ensure New Server is Set Up Correctly:

Confirm that the new Exchange server is fully set up and properly joined to the domain.

Check that all Exchange services are running on the new server.

Verify that the new Exchange server shows up in the Exchange Admin Center (EAC).

Connect to the New Exchange Server:

When opening the Exchange Management Shell, specify the new server explicitly:

     $Session = New-PSSession -ConfigurationName Microsoft.Exchange -ConnectionUri http://<NewServerFQDN>/PowerShell/ -Authentication Kerberos      Import-PSSession $Session

Update Virtual Directories:

To set the ECP Virtual Directory on the new server, make sure you point to the correct identity:

     Get-EcpVirtualDirectory -Server <NewServerName> | Set-EcpVirtualDirectory -ExternalUrl https://mail.example.com/ecp -InternalUrl https://mail.example.com/ecp

Domain Controller Reference:

In Exchange, you might need to set the appropriate domain controller for the new server. You can configure which domain controller Exchange uses by editing the registry on the Exchange server or by using PowerShell:

     Set-ADServerSettings -PreferredServer <NewDCName>

Double-check DNS settings and AD replication to ensure that the new server and domain controller are correctly registered.

Replication and DNS:

Ensure that AD replication has been completed across all domain controllers.

Ensure that DNS records for the new server are correct and propagated.

Please feel free to contact me if you have any queries.

Best,

Jake Zhang

Chris Melnik 5 Reputation points

2024-08-22T14:08:53.54+00:00

Hello, thank you for that. I am all set on this now. I had removed the old ECP virtual directory, then i was still unable to create the new one. I then set the new Active Directory server as the default with Set-AdServerSettings -PreferredServer 'new-AD-server'. After this, i uninstalled and reinstalled the Exchange Server tools and it gave me prompts that i didnt receive before. With these prompts, it installed some services that were not previously shown, and the ECP was created on the new server. So i am all set, thank you for all your help!!

Jake Zhang-MSFT 5,055 Reputation points Microsoft Vendor

2024-08-23T01:39:13.58+00:00

Hi @Chris Melnik ,

You are welcome. I am very happy to provide you with useful information. If you can, hopefully, you can click the button to accept the answer, so that the useful comments under the answer can be quickly found by users in need of the forum. Thank you for your understanding and help in improving the forum!

Best,

Jake Zhang

Jake Zhang-MSFT 5,055 Reputation points Microsoft Vendor

2024-08-30T09:05:02.1466667+00:00

Hi @Chris Melnik ,

Since you haven't replied for a long time, I would like to ask if your problem has been solved. If it has been solved, I hope you can click the "Accept Answer" button on the answer to the useful reply. This will help other users with similar problems in the forum to find solutions to their problems under this answer. Thank you very much for your understanding and improvement of the forum environment! Have a nice day!

Best regards,

Jake Zhang
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