Introduction to Microsoft Exchange Server 2019
Exchange Server 2019 Configuration and TroubleshootingExchange Server 2019 is a self-hosted version of Exchange that supports hybrid deployments that include Microsoft 365 Exchange Online. A major enhancement is the ability to operate with Microsoft Windows Server 2019 Core, which reduces the target size vulnerable to a malware exploit and eliminates unneeded services that waste CPU, RAM and storage. Improvements over Microsoft Exchange Server 2016 include better security and compliance, higher performance and scale, and a multitude of new email client features.

The Mailbox and Edge Transport services plus management utilities for Microsoft Exchange Server 2019 need Windows Server 2019. Exchange Server 2019 does not include the Unified Messaging (UM) role, and therefore does not provide voicemail or auto attendant support. If your organization are migrating from Microsoft Exchange Server 2013 or Exchange Server 2016 and have implemented Unified Messaging (UM) services, Microsoft recommends that you move to the Microsoft Cloud Voicemail Service available in Microsoft 365. Skype for Business 2019 and Teams utilize this voice messaging service for Microsoft Exchange 2019 mailboxes. Essentially, moving to Exchange Server 2019 can require a comprehensive update project.

Progent's Microsoft experts can assist your business with any phase of your upgrade to Exchange Server 2019 from Exchange Server 2016, Exchange 2013, or from end-of-support (EOS) releases of Exchange Server. Progent offers remote and on-premises guidance for system design; implementing hybrid architectures; building pilot systems; incorporating fault-tolerant technology including HLB and DAG groups; checking server and CAL licensing compliance; configuring host systems based on Windows Server 2019; configuring Windows Hyper-V virtual machines; updating your voicemail system; and calculating storage needs for virtual machines, databases and logs. Progent's Exchange Server consultants are on call to provide on-demand support to assist you resolve an occasional technical bottleneck or Progent can deliver end-to-end project management or co-management services to ensure your Exchange Server 2019 upgrade is completed on time and within budget.

Exchange Server 2019 Architecture
Exchange Server 2019 is built on the efficient model introduced by Microsoft Exchange Server 2016. This design combines transport services, mailboxes, and user access services in the Mailbox server. This significantly simplifies upgrades, configuration, scale, management, and debugging compared to older releases of Exchange Server. The Edge Transport Server role comes with filtering agents that allow your perimeter network to manage Internet-facing mail flow and protect against information leakage, spam and malware.

Exchange 2019 Architecture Consultants

Exchange 2019's compact design makes it simpler to manage than older releases

Exchange 2019 Mailbox and Edge Transport servers and management utilities require Standard or Datacenter version of Windows Server 2019. To manage these servers from a Windows client you need an up-to-date 64-bit release of Windows 10. (Microsoft Exchange 2016 can be hosted by Windows Server 2012 R2 and managed using Windows 8.1 or higher.) Progent can provide remote or onsite Windows Server 2019 deployment consulting, Windows 11 system design and migration assistance, and Windows 10 deployment expertise to help your business update your Exchange environment.

Security and Speed Enhancements in Exchange Server 2019
Microsoft Exchange Server 2019 is tuned for running on Microsoft Windows Server 2019 Core, which provides the most secure environment for hosting Exchange Server 2019. You can also run Exchange Server 2019 on Windows Server 2019 with Desktop Experience, although this option presents a bigger target for malicious assaults. Out of the box, Exchange Server 2019 utilizes Transport Layer Security protocol version 1.2 (TLS 1.2) and removes legacy hashing algorithms. Some standards bodies call for the use of TLS 1.2. Another security enhancement is the capability in Exchange Server 2019 to block external users from connecting to the Exchange admin center (EAC) and the Exchange Management Shell command-line interface. This means you can require that the management of Exchange Server 2019 can be performed only from within the security perimeter of your system.

For higher performance and expandability, Microsoft Exchange Server 2019 can utilize up to 48 processor cores (as opposed to 24 with Exchange 2016) and 256GB of RAM (as opposed to 192GB with Exchange 2016). Recommended minimum in-box RAM has been upped to 128GB. The proven cloud search infrastructure used by Microsoft Exchange Online has been ported to Exchange Server 2019 to deliver enhanced search performance and quicker database failovers, support bigger files for indexing, and simplify administration. Exchange Server 2019 also supports bigger storage drives. To offset the longer latency characteristic of high-density spinning disk drives, the new MetaCacheDatabase feature of Exchange Server 2019 allows you to set up solid state disk (SSD) caching when you deploy DAGs. Powered by features originally developed for Microsoft Exchange Online, MetaCacheDatabase can significantly improve the responsiveness of the user environment. Performance is also increased by changes in Exchange Server 2019 algorithms that make more RAM available for caching active database copies. These enhancements in Exchange Server 2019 make it possible to scale each server to accommodate more users, deploy bigger drives, and improve the responsiveness of many end-user operations.

Changes for Microsoft Exchange Server 2019 Clients
Microsoft Exchange Server 2019 can be used with Outlook 2013, 2016 and 2019. Enhancements to the client interface include the Do-Not-Forward feature that enables only a meeting's organizer to invite other attendees. Out-of-Office (OOF) features have also been expanded. Also, a new Remove-CalendarEvents cmdlet allows administrators to remove events organized by a worker who no longer works for the business.

Microsoft Cloud Voicemail for Exchange Server 2019
Microsoft Exchange Server 2019 does not provide the Unified Messaging services offered in previous releases of Exchange. UM services include voicemail and auto attendant. Skype for Business 2019 relies on Microsoft Cloud Voicemail Service to provide voice messaging functions for Microsoft Exchange Server 2019 mailboxes. (Skype for Business 2019 still supports Exchange Unified Messaging services for Exchange 2013 and Microsoft Exchange Server 2016.) Microsoft recommends that organizations upgrading to Exchange 2019 migrate to Skype for Business Server 2019 and use Microsoft Cloud Voicemail Service. Exchange Server 2019 and Skype for Business 2019 can be set up in a hybrid environment with a mix of Microsoft Exchange Server 2019 and cloud-hosted Exchange Online mailboxes so that both on-premises Exchange 2019 users and Microsoft Exchange Online cloud users have full access to advanced voice messaging services.

Microsoft Exchange 2019 Voicemail Experts

Exchange 2019 enables hybrid access to Microsoft's Cloud Voicemail Service

This voice messaging environment provides voicemail answering and deposit; voice-to-text and text-to-voice services; voice mail access through either Microsoft Outlook or Skype for Business; voicemail administration via the M365 portal; and hybrid support for Microsoft Exchange mailboxes self-hosted or in the cloud. Management is made easier because of a single set of control utilities for both Microsoft Exchange Server 2019 and Exchange Online mailboxes. Progent can help you to adhere to leading practices to configure a hybrid network model that enables all your Exchange clients to connect to the Microsoft Cloud Voicemail service.

How Progent Can Help You to Deploy and Manage Microsoft Exchange Server 2019
Exchange 2003 has reached end of life (EOL). Exchange Server 2007 and Exchange 2010 have become unsupported legacy products. Microsoft Exchange 2019, Microsoft Windows 2019, Skype for Business 2019, and SharePoint Server 2019 have all been enhanced with Microsoft's proven cloud environment and optimized for hybrid network architectures. Under these circumstances, it is prudent to consider modernizing your email and groupware solutions. Progent's Microsoft-certified experts can help your organization to evaluate the strategic benefits and technical hurdles associated with migrating to Exchange Server 2019 and other advanced solutions; determine whether a self-hosted, cloud-based, or hybrid network model works best for your business; plan and record a deployment strategy that makes effective use of your existing resources; and carry out an upgrade from your current Exchange deployment to a modern messaging solution based on Exchange Server 2019.

Progent's Microsoft-certified experts can assist organizations of any size to adhere to best practices for designing and implementing a cost-effective migration to Exchange 2019 from Exchange 2016, Exchange 2013, Exchange 2010, Exchange 2007, or Exchange 2003. Progent offers a wide range of online and onsite services such as project design assessment; architecture documentation; configuring Microsoft Windows Server 2019 Core to host Exchange 2019; implementing Microsoft Skype for Business 2019 and Microsoft Cloud Voicemail Service; developing the schema, domain, and forest for Exchange 2019; defining and configuring DAGs and hardware load balancing for high availability and fast recovery; setting up DirSync; tuning your firewalls, generating SSL certs and resolving SSL problems; setting up Internet Information Services; creating PowerShell scripts; and verifying email flow.

Exchange Server 2019 Database Availability Groups Configuration Experts

Progent can help you design and set up DAGs and load balancing for Exchange 2019

Progent's certified Microsoft Windows Server 2019 experts, Microsoft Skype for Business specialists, SharePoint 2019 development experts and Microsoft 365 integration experts can help you to build modern, cohesive email solutions powered by Exchange 2019. To enable mobility with Microsoft Exchange 2019, Progent can provide iPhone and iPad integration consulting and Google Android smartphone consulting. Progent's load balancing experts are skilled at implementing and troubleshooting cost-effective solutions from leading vendors like Barracuda, Cisco, Citrix NetScaler, Coyote Point/Fortinet, and Kemp Technologies.

Progent's disaster recovery/business continuity planning consultants can assist your business to design, implement and validate a disaster recovery/business continuity strategy for Exchange Server 2019 that uses multiple physical data centers or a combination of physical and cloud-based resources. Progent's CISM and CRISC certified security and compliance experts can design and enforce company-wide mail policies that adhere to industry requirements and government regulations. Progent's Cisco CCIE-certified infrastructure engineers can help your organization to design, implement and troubleshoot an affordable, protected, and robust network architecture for your Microsoft Exchange Server 2019 solution. Progent has more than 20 years of background working with Microsoft's Exchange platform and can help you adhere to industry best practices as you move through the key phases of Exchange migration including coexistence, pilot testing, mailbox migration, technology retirement, debugging, training, and optimization.

Microsoft 365 Exchange Online Integration with On-prem Exchange
Microsoft 365 Integration with local Exchange ServerMicrosoft has made a strong effort to enable transparent hybrid environments that combine Microsoft 365 Exchange Online and on-premises Exchange. This allows you to have specific mailboxes located on your physical datacenter or private cloud and other mailboxes hosted by Microsoft 365. Progent's Microsoft-certified Exchange consultants can help you with any phase of planning, implementing and troubleshooting your hybrid Exchange network. Progent's Exchange consultants can provide as-needed expertise to help you resolve stubborn technical bottlenecks and also can provide comprehensive project management outsourcing or co-sourcing to ensure your hybrid Exchange initiative is successfully completed on time and within budget. For details about Progent's online consulting expertise for hybrid Microsoft 365 and local Exchange systems, see Microsoft 365 integration with on-premises Exchange.

Download Progent's Microsoft Exchange Server 2019 Migration Expertise Datasheet
To download a datasheet about Progent's migration support for Exchange Server 2019, click:
Progent's Exchange Server 2019 Migration Consulting Services Datasheet. (PDF - 101 KB)

To ask Progent about professional assistance for Exchange Server technology, call 1-800-993-9400 or go to Contact Progent.