Exchange 2013 (Preview) Frequently Asked Questions
Welcome to the Exchange Server 2013 (Preview) Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) page part of the Exchange TechNet Wiki. The purpose of this page is to serve as a page to which you (yes feel free to contribute this is after all a Wiki!) can add the most frequently asked questions you see in the Exchange community.
Where can I download Exchange 2013 Preview?
The Exchange 2013 Preview bits can be downloaded here.
Note
The Exchange 2013 Preview version is meant for testing purposes in a testing environment only. Needless to say it's not supported to install it in a production environment.
Can I test the next version of Exchange Online based on Exchange 2013?
Yes you can sign up for the next version of Exchange Online which is based on Exchange 2013 code here.
Where can I find the official Exchange 2013 Preview documentation?
The official Exchange 2013 Preview can be found in the Exchange Server TechNet library here.
Which Exchange Server versions will be supported by Exchange 2013?
Just as it has been the case with previous versions of Exchange server, Exchange 2013 will support two versions back. This means that it will be supported to deploy Exchange 2013 into an Exchange forest that contains Exchange 2010, Exchange 2007 or both.
Which Outlook Client versions will be supported by Exchange 2013?
Outlook 2007 latest SP,Outlook 2010, Outlook 2013
I heard people talk about Exchange 2013 front-end and back-end servers, can you explain what that is all about?
Client access Role does not handle any request anymore . All requests from client connections will be proxied by the Client Access server to the mailbox Server
What's this rumour about MAPI over RPC communication between Exchange 2013 and internal Outlook clients being replaced by RPC over HTTPS?
Yes, All Internal Clients will be Connected via RPC over HTTP
Is it true that an advanced hardware load balancer isn't required for Exchange 2013?
So compared to Exchange 2010, Exchange 2013 is far less aggressive when is comes to affinity requirements. With Exchange 2010 several Exchange protocols and services required layer 7 based session affinity to the Client Access server role. This was because rendering occurred directly on the CAS role for these protocols and services.
With Exchange 2013, we really only have two Exchange server roles - the Client Access server (CAS) and the Mailbox Server role. Because no protocols or services render on the CAS role in Exchange 2013 (this instead acts as a proxy server), layer 7 based session affinity is no longer required. This means that load balancing of incoming sessions can be done using layer 4 load balancing, which load balance incoming sessions using TCP affinity instead of session affinity.
The result of this architectural change is that you can use layer 4 based load balancing using your existing hardware or virtual load balancing appliance, Windows Load Balancing (WNLB) or even go down the DNS round robin route.
What is the high availability story for public folders in Exchange 2013?
Public Folders have been moved to Mailboxes (No More Public Folder Databases)
Where they are stored in Common Databases where they use DAG for High Availability
Exchange 2013 – Public Folders – Architecture -Part 1
Exchange 2013 – Public Folders – Creating and Managing -Part 2
Exchange 2013 – Public Folders – Features -Part 3
Is it true public folders will be supported in Exchange 2013 Online part of Office 365?
Yes this is correct. The upcoming version of Exchange Online will be based on Exchange 2013 and will support mailbox based public folders just like the on-premise version of Exchange 2013.
To test out the new mailbox based public folders, you can sign up for a trial tenant here.
Do we still have the Exchange Management Console (EMC) in Exchange 2013?
No the Exchange Management Console (EMC) as we know it is not included with Exchange 2013. It has instead been replaced by the new browser-based Exchange Management UI known as the Exchange Administration Center (EAC).
The Exchange Management Shell (EMS) and the EXchange Toolbox are still included with the product.
How to Login to Exchange Administration Center (EAC) in Exchange 2013 Preview
See Also
Minimum System Requirements and Forest Functional Level for Exchange 2013
Installation -
How to Install Exchange 2013 on Windows Server 2012
Installing Exchange 2013 on Windows Server 2008 R2 Sp1
Recipient Configuration –
How to Login to Exchange Administration Center (EAC) in Exchange 2013
Public Folders –
How to Recover Public Folder Items in Exchange 2013
Offline Address book –
How offline Address books works in Exchange 2013
ediscovery -
How to do a Proximity Search Using In-Place eDiscovery (NEAR) Operator in Exchange 2013
For Latest Exchange 2013 Articles
Certificates -
Configuring 3rd Party SSL Exchange Certificate in Exchange 2013
How to use a internal Windows CA (Certificate Authority) in Windows 2012 with Exchange 2013
Migrations -
How to migrate virtual Exchange Servers with no risk