Introduction to Microsoft Exchange Server 2019
Microsoft Exchange Server 2019 is an on-premises version of Exchange that enables hybrid implementations that include Microsoft 365 Exchange Online. A major feature is the ability to operate with Windows Server 2019 Core, which reduces the target size vulnerable to a cybersecurity assault and eliminates unnecessary services that use up network resources. Refinements over Microsoft Exchange Server 2016 include enhanced security, greater throughput and capacity, and a multitude of new Exchange client features.
The Mailbox and Edge Transport services as well as admin tools for Microsoft Exchange Server 2019 require Windows Server 2019. Exchange Server 2019 no longer includes the UM role, and therefore does not provide voicemail or auto attendant services. If you are upgrading from Microsoft Exchange Server 2013 or Exchange Server 2016 and have implemented UM services, Microsoft advises that you move to the Cloud Voicemail Service available in Microsoft 365. Skype for Business 2019 and Microsoft Teams use this voice messaging service for Microsoft Exchange 2019 mailboxes. Generally, migration to Exchange Server 2019 can require a serious modernization effort.
Progent's Microsoft Gold-certified experts can assist your business with any phase of your upgrade to Microsoft Exchange Server 2019 from Exchange Server 2016, Exchange Server 2013, or from end-of-support (EOS) releases of Exchange Server. Progent offers online and on-premises expertise for solution design; implementing hybrid deployment models; creating test lab environments; incorporating high availability technology including hardware load balancing (HLB) and database availability groups (DAGs); reviewing server and CAL licensing compliance; configuring host servers powered by Windows Server 2019; setting up Hyper-V VMs; upgrading your voicemail system; and calculating disk storage demands for VMs, databases and system logs. Progent's Exchange Server consultants are available to provide on-demand assistance to help your organization take care of an occasional technical issue or Progent can provide comprehensive project management services to ensure your Exchange Server 2019 migration is completed on time and on budget.
Exchange Server 2019 Architecture
Exchange Server 2019 is built on the streamlined model introduced by Exchange Server 2016. This architecture consolidates transport services, mailboxes, and user access services in the Exchange Mailbox server. This significantly simplifies upgrades, deployment, scale, management, and debugging in comparison to legacy versions of Exchange Server. The optional Edge Transport Server role includes filtering agents that allow your perimeter network to manage Internet-facing mail flow and protect against data leaks, spam and malware.
Exchange 2019 Mailbox and Edge Transport servers and management tools require Standard or Datacenter editions of Microsoft Windows Server 2019. To manage these Exchange servers from a Windows client requires a current 64-bit release of Windows 10. (Exchange Server 2016 can be hosted by Windows Server 2012 R2 and managed using Windows 8.1 or higher.) Progent can provide online or on-premises Microsoft Windows Server 2019 deployment consulting, Windows 11 system design and upgrade consulting, and Windows 10 deployment consulting to help your business update your Exchange environment.
Security and Speed Enhancements in Microsoft Exchange Server 2019
Microsoft Exchange Server 2019 is tuned for being hosted on Windows Server 2019 Core, which offers the most secure environment for Microsoft Exchange Server 2019. You can also run Exchange Server 2019 on Windows Server 2019 with Desktop Experience, although this alternative presents a bigger target for malware assaults. By default, Microsoft Exchange Server 2019 utilizes TLS 1.2 transport protocol and removes legacy ciphers. Several standards bodies mandate the adoption of TLS 1.2. Another cybersecurity improvement is the capability in Microsoft Exchange Server 2019 to block outside users from connecting to the Exchange admin center (EAC) and the Exchange Management Shell command-line interface. This allows you to require that the management of Exchange Server 2019 may occur only from within the security boundaries of your system.
For higher throughput and expandability, Microsoft Exchange Server 2019 can use up to 48 processor cores (vs. 24 for Exchange Server 2016) and 256GB of RAM (as opposed to 192GB for Exchange 2016). Suggested minimum in-box RAM has been increased to 128GB. The well-tested cloud search infrastructure used by Microsoft Exchange Online has been ported to Microsoft Exchange Server 2019 to deliver enhanced search response and more rapid database failovers, allow larger files for indexing, and streamline management. Exchange Server 2019 also works with larger disk drives. To counter the longer latency associated with high-capacity spinning disk drives, the new MetaCacheDatabase (MCDB) technology of Microsoft Exchange Server 2019 enables you to configure solid state disk caching when you implement Database Availability Groups. Based on features developed for Microsoft Exchange Online, MetaCacheDatabase can dramatically improve the responsiveness of the end user environment. Performance is further enhanced by improvements in Exchange Server 2019 algorithms that allocate more RAM for caching active database copies. These improvements in Microsoft Exchange Server 2019 make it possible to scale each server to accommodate additional users, integrate bigger disk drives, and improve the performance of many end-user processes.
Enhancements for Microsoft Exchange Server 2019 Clients
Exchange Server 2019 works with Microsoft Outlook 2013, 2016 and 2019. Enhancements to the client interface include the Do-Not-Forward feature that allows only a meeting's organizer to create invitations other guests. Out-of-Office (OOF) features have also been expanded. In addition, a Remove-CalendarEvents cmdlet enables administrators to remove events organized by an employee who no longer works for the company.
Microsoft Cloud Voicemail for Exchange Server 2019
Exchange Server 2019 does not provide the Unified Messaging services incorporated in prior versions of Exchange. UM services include voicemail and auto attendant. Microsoft Skype for Business 2019 depends on Microsoft Cloud Voicemail Service for voice messaging support for Exchange Server 2019 mailboxes. (Skype for Business 2019 continues to support Exchange UM services for Microsoft Exchange 2013 and Microsoft Exchange Server 2016.) Microsoft recommends that customers moving to Microsoft Exchange 2019 migrate to Skype for Business Server 2019 and integrate Cloud Voicemail Service. Exchange Server 2019 and Skype for Business 2019 can be configured in a hybrid architecture with a combination of Microsoft Exchange 2019 and 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.
This hybrid voice messaging solution offers voicemail answering and deposit; voice-to-text and text-to-voice services; voice mail access through Microsoft Outlook or Skype for Business; voicemail management through the M365 portal; and hybrid deployment support for Exchange mailboxes on premises or in the cloud. Administration is made easier because of a uniform set of control utilities for both Microsoft Exchange 2019 and Exchange Online mailboxes. Progent can assist your organization to adhere to best practices to configure a hybrid network model that permits all your Exchange clients to connect to the Cloud Voicemail service.
How Progent Can Help You to Deploy and Maintain Microsoft Exchange 2019
Microsoft Exchange 2003 has reached end of life. Exchange 2007 and Exchange 2010 are all unsupported legacy platforms. Exchange 2019, Microsoft Windows 2019, Microsoft Skype for Business 2019, and SharePoint 2019 have all been revamped with Microsoft's proven cloud technology and tuned for hybrid deployments. Given this situation, it is prudent to think about updating your email and groupware infrastructure. Progent's Microsoft-certified experts can help your business to evaluate the strategic benefits and integration challenges associated with migrating to Microsoft Exchange 2019 and other advanced platforms; decide whether an onsite, cloud, or hybrid network model makes sense for your business; design and document a migration plan that makes effective use of your current resources; and perform out a migration from your existing Microsoft Exchange environment to a modern email ecosystem based on Microsoft Exchange 2019.
Progent's Microsoft Gold-certified experts can assist organizations of all sizes to adhere to best practices for planning and implementing a cost-effective upgrade to Microsoft Exchange 2019 from Exchange 2016, Exchange 2013, Exchange 2010, Exchange 2007, or Exchange 2003. Progent offers a broad array of online and onsite services including process design review; network topology documentation; setting up Windows Server 2019 Core to run Microsoft Exchange 2019; integrating Microsoft Skype for Business 2019 and Cloud Voicemail Service; preparing the schema, domain, and forest for Microsoft Exchange 2019; designing and configuring Database Availability Groups and HLB for HA and rapid recovery; implementing DirSync; optimizing firewalls, creating SSL certs and resolving SSL problems; setting up Internet Information Services; writing PowerShell scripts; and verifying mail flow.
Progent's certified Microsoft Windows Server 2019 consultants, Skype for Business experts, Microsoft SharePoint 2019 solution design consultants and Microsoft 365 integration consultants can assist you to build modern, integrated collaboration environments powered by Microsoft Exchange Server 2019. To support mobile devices with Microsoft Exchange 2019, Progent offers iPhone and iPad expertise and Android smartphone expertise. Progent's load balancing experts are skilled at designing and troubleshooting cost-effective technology from top vendors such as Barracuda, Cisco, Citrix NetScaler, Fortinet, and NGINX.
Progent's disaster recovery and business continuity (DR/BC) preparedness consultants can assist your organization to create, deploy and test a disaster recovery and business continuity (DR/BC) strategy for Microsoft Exchange 2019 that uses multiple geo-dispersed data centers or a combination of physical and cloud-based resources. Progent's ISSAP and GIAC certified cybersecurity experts can create and configure company-wide mail security policies that comply with business standards and government regulations. Progent's Cisco CCIE-certified network engineers can help your business to design, implement and tune an affordable, protected, and resilient network architecture for your Microsoft Exchange 2019 solution. Progent has over two decades of background working with Microsoft's Exchange products and can guide you how to adhere to leading practices as you move through the key phases of Exchange migration including Exchange version coexistence, proof of concept, mailbox migration, legacy technology decommissioning, troubleshooting, education, and tuning.
Microsoft 365 Integration with On-prem Exchange
Microsoft has made a strong effort to enable transparent hybrid environments that combine Microsoft 365 Exchange Online and local installations of Exchange. This permits you to have specific mailboxes located at your on-premises datacenter and other mailboxes resident on Microsoft 365. Progent's Microsoft-certified Exchange consulting team can assist your organization with any facet of planning, integrating and troubleshooting your hybrid Exchange solution. Progent's Exchange consultants can provide as-needed support to help you through stubborn technical bottlenecks and also can provide comprehensive project management outsourcing to make sure your hybrid Exchange initiative is successfully completed on time and on budget. For details about Progent's consulting support for integrating Microsoft 365 and on-premises Exchange systems, go to Microsoft 365 integration solutions with on-prem Exchange.
Download Progent's Exchange 2019 Migration Expertise Datasheet
To read or download a datasheet on Progent's migration expertise for Exchange Server 2019, click:
Progent's Microsoft Exchange Server 2019 Migration Consulting Services Datasheet. (PDF - 101 KB)
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