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Test Lab Guide: Install Exchange Server 2013

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This Test Lab Guide (TLG) contains instructions for setting up a Microsoft Exchange Server 2013 test lab using three server computers and one client computer. The resulting Exchange Server 2013 test lab demonstrates Exchange Server 2013 as an intranet email server.

Important  The following instructions are for configuring an Exchange Server 2013 test lab using the minimum number of computers. Individual computers are needed to separate the services provided on the network and to clearly show the desired functionality. This configuration is neither designed to reflect best practices nor does it reflect a desired or recommended configuration for a production network. The configuration, including IP addresses and all other configuration parameters, is designed only to work on a separate test lab network.

Attempting to adapt this test lab configuration to a pilot or production deployment can result in configuration or functionality issues. To ensure proper configuration and operation for your pilot or production deployment of Exchange Server 2013, use the information in the Planning and Deployment topics.

Test lab overview

In this test lab, Exchange Server 2013 is deployed with:

  • One computer running Windows Server 2008 R2 Enterprise Edition named DC1 that is configured as an intranet domain controller, Domain Name System (DNS) server, Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) server, and an enterprise root certification authority (CA).
  • One intranet member server running Windows Server 2008 R2 Enterprise Edition named APP1 that is configured as a general application server.
  • One intranet member server running Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1 Enterprise Edition named EX1 that is configured as the Exchange Server 2013 email server.
  • One roaming member client computer running Windows 7 Enterprise or Ultimate Edition named CLIENT1 that is configured with Microsoft Office 2013.

This TLG only requires the Corpnet subnet. See the following figure for the Exchange Server 2013 test lab configuration.

This Test Lab Guide describes how to install a Microsoft Exchange Server 2013 email server on the Corpnet subnet. You add a new computer named EX1, make it a member of the corp.contoso.com domain, and then install Exchange Server 2013. Lastly, you use Outlook 2013 to send email from one mailbox to another.

Hardware and software requirements

The following are required components of this test lab:

  • The product disc or files for Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1 Enterprise.
  • Three computers that meet the minimum hardware requirements for Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1 Enterprise Edition.
  • One computer that meet the minimum hardware requirements for Windows 7 Enterprise or Ultimate Edition.
  • The setup files for Microsoft Exchange Server 2013. An evaluation version is available from Download Microsoft Exchange Server 2013.
  • The setup files for Microsoft Office 2013. An evaluation version is available from Download Microsoft Office Professional Plus 2013.

Steps for Configuring the Exchange Server 2013 Test Lab

There are five major steps to follow when setting up an Exchange Server 2013 test lab.

  1. Set up the Base Configuration test lab.
  2. Install Office 2013 on CLIENT1.
  3. Install and configure EX1.
  4. Install Exchange Server 2013 on EX1.
  5. Demonstrate EX1 as an email server.

The following sections provide the details about how to perform these steps.

Step 1: Set up the Base Configuration test lab

The Exchange Server 2013 test lab requires the Corpnet subnet of the Base Configuration test lab as its starting point. Create the Corpnet subnet of the base configuration test lab as described in the Test Lab Guide: Base Configuration.

Step 2: Install Office 2013 on CLIENT1

Install Microsoft Office Professional Plus 2013 on CLIENT1 as described in Test Lab Guide Mini-Module: Installing Microsoft Office Professional Plus 2013 on CLIENT1.

Step 3: Install and configure EX1

Install Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1 Enterprise Edition as a standalone server on a new computer.

  1. Start the installation of Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1.
  2. Follow the instructions to complete the installation, specifying Windows Server 2008 R2 Enterprise Edition (full installation), and a strong password for the local Administrator account. Log on using the local Administrator account.
  3. Connect the new computer to a network that has Internet access and run Windows Update to install the latest updates for the operating system.
  4. Connect the new computer to the Corpnet subnet.

Next, you configure the TCP/IP protocol.

  1. In Initial Configuration Tasks, click Configure networking.
  2. In Network Connections, right-click Local Area Connection, and then click Properties.
  3. Click Internet Protocol Version 4 (TCP/IPv4), and then click Properties.
  4. Select Use the following IP address. In IP address, type 10.0.0.11. In Subnet mask, type 255.255.255.0. Select Use the following DNS server addresses. In Preferred DNS server, type 10.0.0.1.
  5. Click Advanced, and then click the DNS tab.
  6. In DNS suffix for this connection, type corp.contoso.com, click OK twice, and then click Close.
  7. Close the Network Connections window.

Next, you join EX1 to the corp.contoso.com domain.

  1. In Initial Configuration Tasks, click Provide Computer Name and Domain.
  2. In the System Properties dialog box, on the Computer Name tab, click Change.
  3. In Computer Name, type EX1. In Member of, click Domain, and then type corp.contoso.com.
  4. Click OK.
  5. When you are prompted for a user name and password, type User1 and its password, and then click OK.
  6. When you see a dialog box welcoming you to the corp.contoso.com domain, click OK.
  7. When you are prompted that you must restart the computer, click OK.
  8. On the System Properties dialog box, click Close.
  9. When you are prompted to restart the computer, click Restart Now.
  10. After the computer restarts, click Switch User, and then click Other User and log on to the CORP domain with the User1 account.
  11. In Initial Configuration Tasks, click Do not show this window at logon, and then click Close.

Step 4: Install Exchange Server 2013 on EX1

Prepare for the installation of Exchange Server 2013 on EX1.

  1. On DC1, log on using the CORP\User1 account.
  2. Click Start, point to Administrative Tools, and then click Active Directory Users and Computers.
  3. In the tree pane, open corp.contoso.com\Users, right-click the User1 account, and then click Add to a group.
  4. In the Select Groups dialog box, type Enterprise Admins; Schema Admins, click Check Names, and then click OK.
  5. On EX1, log on using the CORP\User1 account. 
  6. In Server Manager, click Features in the tree pane, and then click Add Features.
  7. In the list, click Desktop Experience.
  8. When prompted with the Add Features Wizard, click Add Required Features.
  9. Click Next, and then click Install.
  10. Restart the computer when prompted.

Next, install the prerequisite software components for Exchange Server 2013 on EX1.

  1. On EX1, log on using the CORP\User1 account.
  2. Install Microsoft .NET Framework 4.5.
  3. Install Windows Management Framework 3.0 and restart the computer when prompted.
  4. Log on with the CORP\User1 account.
  5. Install Microsoft Unified Communications Managed API 4.0, Core Runtime 64-bit.
  6. Install Microsoft Knowledge Base article KB974405 (Windows Identity Foundation).
  7. Install Knowledge Base article KB2619234 (Enable the Association Cookie/GUID that is used by RPC over HTTP to also be used at the RPC layer in Windows 7 and in Windows Server 2008 R2) and restart the computer when prompted.
  8. Log on with the CORP\User1 account.

For the latest information about Exchange Server 2013 prerequisites, see Exchange 2013 Prerequisites.

Next, you download the evaluation version of Exchange Server 2013 install it.

  1. On EX1, create the C:\EX2013DL folder.
  2. Download the evaluation version of Microsoft Exchange Server 2013 from http://technet.microsoft.com/en-US/evalcenter/hh973395 and store the Exchange-x64.exe file in C:\EX2013DL.
  3. In the EX2013DL folder, double-click the Exchange-x64.exe file.
  4. When prompted for a folder to store the extracted files, specify the C:\EX2013DL folder, and then click OK. Click OK when the extraction is complete. Leave the C:\EX2013DL folder window open.
  5. Click Start, click All Programs, click Accessories, right-click Command Prompt, and then click Run as Administrator.
  6. In the Command Prompt window, enter the following command:

cd \ex2013dl

setup /mode:Install /roles:C,M /ON:Contoso /InstallWindowsComponents /IAcceptExchangeServerLicenseTerms

Restart the server after Setup has completed successfully.

Note  If you get an error and Exchange Setup cannot complete, from the C:\EX2013DL folder window, right-click Setup.exe, and then click Run as Administrator. On the Incomplete Installation Detected page, click Next to have Exchange Setup correct the problem and complete the installation.

Next, you verify the installation of Exchange Server 2013.

  1. On EX1, click Start, click All Programs, click Microsoft Exchange Server 2013, and then click Exchange Management Shell.

  2. At the Windows PowerShell command prompt, enter the following command:

    Get-ExchangeServer

    You should see a display of information about the Exchange server, starting with EX1 under Name.

    Leave the Exchange Management Shell window for the following procedure.

  3. Launch https://ex1/ecp, and then press ENTER.

  4. On the login screen, type CORP\user1  in User name and the User1 account password in Password, and then click sign in.

  5. When prompted for a language and time zone, change as needed, and then click Save. 

You should see the Exchange admin center.

Step 5: Demonstrate EX1 as an email server

Create new Active Directory Domain Services (AD DS) accounts and their mailboxes on the EX1 Exchange server.

  1. At the Windows PowerShell command prompt of the Exchange Management Shell, enter the following command:

    Get-MailboxDatabase

    This command displays the list of databases on this Exchange server. There should be only one. Note the name for the commands in step 3.

  2. At the Windows PowerShell command prompt, enter the following command:

    $password = Read-Host "Enter password" –AsSecureString

    When prompted with “Enter Password”, type P@ssword1.

  3. At the Windows PowerShell command prompt, enter the following commands:

    New-Mailbox -UserPrincipalName chris@corp.contoso.com -Alias chris -Database "<mailbox database name from step 1>" -Name ChrisAshton -OrganizationalUnit Users –Password $password -FirstName Chris -LastName Ashton -DisplayName "Chris Ashton"

    New-Mailbox -UserPrincipalName janet@corp.contoso.com -Alias janet -Database "<mailbox database name from step 1>" -Name JanetSchorr -OrganizationalUnit Users –Password $password -FirstName Janet -LastName Schorr -DisplayName "Janet Schorr"

Next, you send an email message from Chris Ashton to Janet Schorr.

  1. Connect CLIENT1 to the Corpnet subnet.
  2. On CLIENT1, log off as User1 and then log on with CORP\chris and the password P@ssword1.
  3. Click Start, click All Programs, click Microsoft Office 2013, and then click Outlook 2013.
  4. On the Welcome to Outlook 2013 page, click Next.
  5. On the Add an Email Account page, click Next.
  6. On the Auto Account Setup page, click Next.
  7. On the Searching for your mail server settings page, click Finish.
  8. On the First things first page, click Use recommended settings, and then click Accept.
  9. In Outlook, click New Email.
  10. In the new email window, on the To line, type Janet Schorr, and then click Check Names.
  11. On the Subject line, type Test message to Janet, and then click Send.

If you are prompted after step 7 with a "Cannot start Microsoft Outlook" error message, do the following:

  1. Click OK.
  2. Click Start, click Control Panel, click User Accounts, and then click Mail.
  3. In Mail Setup-Outlook, click Data Files.
  4. Click Add, and then OK.
  5. Click the new Outlook data file in the list, and then click Set as default.
  6. Click Close.
  7. Start the previous procedure at step 3.

Next, you verify that the email message from Chris Ashton was received.

  1. Log off as Chris and then log on with CORP\janet and the password P@ssword1.
  2. Click Start, click All Programs, click Microsoft Office 2013, and then click Outlook 2013.
  3. On the Welcome to Outlook 2013 page, click Next.
  4. On the Add an Email Account page, click Next.
  5. On the Auto Account Setup page, click Next.
  6. On the Searching for your mail server settings page, click Finish.
  7. On the First things first page, click Use recommended settings, and then click Accept.
  8. In Outlook, you should see the email Test message to Janet from Chris Ashton.

Snapshot the Configuration

This completes the Exchange Server 2013 test lab. The result is a test lab environment that contains a working server running Exchange Server 2013 that is configured as an intranet email server. You can now begin building out and experimenting with Exchange Server 2013 scenarios and solutions.

To save this configuration so that you can quickly return to a working Exchange Server 2013 configuration, do the following:

  1. On all physical computers or virtual machines in the test lab, close all windows and then perform a graceful shutdown.
  2. If your lab is based on virtual machines, save a snapshot of each virtual machine and name the snapshots Exchange Server 2013. If your lab uses physical computers, create disk images to save the Exchange Server 2013 test lab configuration.

Additional Resources

For additional information about Exchange Server 2013 see Microsoft Exchange Server and Exchange Online.

For additional test lab guide resources, see Test Lab Guides.