If your organisation still uses Exchange Server 2013, upgrading to a newer version of Exchange Server is seriously advised. You can upgrade to the Exchange Server 2016 which is still supported by Microsoft to receive security patches and support. If the Exchange Server is not upgraded, your data is at risk of being compromised. So, in this article, we will help you upgrade Exchange 2013 to 2016 in detail with steps so that you can perform this process easily.
New Updates in Exchange Server 2016
Many new features have been introduced with Exchange Server 2016. Here are some of the features:
- Indexing and searching have improved – An updated search and indexing engine has been included in the Exchange Server 2016. This allows users to get faster and more accurate results when they search for some data.
- Data protection has improved – Exchange Server 2016 has improved data protection features that help organisations protect their sensitive files from accidentally being shared.
- The email archiving feature has improved – Exchange Server 2016 has improved email archiving features which includes support for Office 365 groups. It can also schedule Skype business meetings directly from Outlook.
- Performance improvements – It has features such as faster access to mailboxes and resource utilisation has also improved.
- Security improvements – Exchange Server 2016 is still being supported by Microsoft, which means that it receives regular security patches which is important to keep your files and data secure.
- Collaboration improvements – Exchnage 2016 includes features that offer improved collaboration between all the team members in the organisation. These features includes support for Office 365 groups and also the ability to schedule the Skype for business meetings.
Everything You Need to Know About the Exchange Server 2013
Microsoft Exchange server 2013 reached the end of its lifetime in April 2023. This means that Microsoft no longer provides any kind of support or security updates for the Exchange server 2013. If your business still is using the exchange server 2013, you should upgrade to a version such as 2016 as soon as you can. This will allow you to avail the technical support and the security updates from Microsoft.
Failing to upgrade can leave your data to be vulnerable to having compromised security. We recommend that you upgrade the Exchange server to a newer version to maintain the stability of the email system. This will help you maintain the productivity of the organisation.
Detailed Checklist to Upgrade Exchange 2013 to 2016
Here is the checklist you need to follow in order to have a seamless process of upgrading Exchange 2013 to 2016:
- Backup the data of Exchange 2013 – Perform a backup of all your data that you are planning to move from the 2013 server to ensure that the data is safe.
- Prepare users for the migration process – It is essential to train users for the change when you transfer your data to the new Exchange Server. This is to ensure that all the users are aware of the new features. This will help maintain productivity in the organisation.
- Planning the migration process – You can plan the type of migration, which mailboxes and other Exchange objects will be migrated along with the scope of the migration.
- Prepare the new environment – You need to ensure that Exchange Server 2016 is configured properly and all the prerequisites are met.
- Migrating other Exchange objects – You can migrate other objects in Exchange such as equipment mailboxes, distribution lists, and contacts from the Exchange 2013 Server to the Exchange 2016 Server.
- Migrate the data of the mailbox – Migrate all emails, folders and mailboxes to the Exchange Server 2016.
- Configuration of Outlook – You should configure the Outlook app to connect to the Exchange 2016 Server.
- Testing the Migration – You can ensure that everything has been properly migrated by testing the migration. This will ensure that users can access their data without any problems.
- Removing Exchange 2013 server – After the process of migration has been completed, you can now decommission the Exchange 2013 Server.
Now, we will learn the prerequisites needed to upgrade Exchange 2013 to 2016.
Prerequisites You Need to Install for the Migration
You need to ensure that all the required software has been installed and configured correctly. Here are the prerequisites:
- Download and configure the Microsoft .NET Framework (Version 4.5.2).
- Download Windows Management Framework (Version 4.0).
- Install Microsoft Unified Communications Management (API Version 4.0).
Installation of Exchange Server 2016
Follow the steps below to install the Exchange Server 2016 and start the migration process:
- Install the Exchange Server 2016.
- Run the setup file to start the installation of the Exchange server.
- Make sure that you are connected to the internet and have a stable connection. Click on the Next tab.
- If updates are found, then install them.
- The setup will copy the files and the installation process will be intialised.
- Next, the introduction page will pop up. Click on the next option.
- You will now need to accept the license, and then click on Next.
- When the server role selections screen appears, click on the Mailbox role and click on the Next tab.
- The malware protection settings will pop up. Depending on the requirements, select yes or no. You can also enable this setting anytime according to your needs.
- Now after the readiness check, the setup completed message will appear.
Before we upgrade Exchange 2013 to 2016, we will install the SSL certificates.
Installing SSL Certificates on Exchange 2016
Install the SSL certificate with the Exchange Admin Center
- Download the certificate zip file. The name of the certificate will be your_domain.cer.
- This needs to be copied on Exchange Server 2016 network shared folder.
- Now copy this file to your Exchange 2016 server’s network folder where CSR is present.
- Get the URL of the Server and access the Exchange Admin Center.
- Login using your credentials.
- Now click on the left sidebar menu.
- Select the certificate on the certificate pageant then click on the complete link
- Now enter the UNC path where the certificates are located and then click OK. For example – “\\Abc\certificates\your_domain_name.cer”
- Now the certificate will be installed successfully on your Exchange 2016 Server.
Assign the Services on Exchange 2016 Server
- In the certificate page, select the SSL certificate.
- Select the option that looks like a pencil.
- Click on the Certificate option.
- Check all the services required to enable the SSL certificate. Now click on Save.
- Enable the SSL certificate for the selected services on your Exchange 2016 server.
Upgrade Exchange 2013 to 2016
When moving Exchange 2013 to 2016, we need to make sure that there is plenty of space as this process creates a lot of logs. Also, you should create backups regularly.
Following are the types of mailboxes that we can move:
- Archive Mailboxes.
- User Mailboxes.
- System Mailboxes.
Moving Public Mailboxes from Exchange 2013 to 2016
Moving public folders is much easier as compared to other mailbox types. Before you move further, we need to get a list of all the available public folders. You can run the following command in order to do so.
To move the public folder to the new Exchange Server 2016 you have set up, You can follow the command given below:
Moving User Mailboxes from Exchange 2013 to 2016
You can move the user mailbox by using several options. A user can move a single as well as entire mailboxes. By using the commands given below, you can easily move archive as well as user mailboxes. You can run the command to move all the mailboxes from the Exchange Server 2013 to Exchange 2016.
Now, in order to know the status of the move request. You can run the command given below:
Upgrading Archive Mailboxes from Exchange Server 3013 to 2016
In order to upgrade the mailbox, you need to first run the command given below to get a list of mailbox databases located on the Exchange 2016 Server:
Now run the command given below in Exchange 2013 to shift the Exchange System mailbox to a database located on an Exchange Server.
To confirm if the mailbox has moved or not, you can run the following command:
Post Migration Tasks to Keep in Mind
There are several tasks that users should keep in mind after the process to Upgrade Exchange 2013 to 2016 is complete. These tasks ensures that the user’s Exchnage 2016 deployment is functioning properly, and that the users can access their emails, contacts, calendars, and more Exchange services easily, and without any problems.
- Verify that all the mailboxes have successfully migrated to the new Exchange Server.
- You can test the functions of the client access protocols such as Outlook web apps, and Outlook anywhere.
- Users can also test the functions of all the services in Exchnage.
- They can test the functions of the third-party applications that integrate with Exchange.
- You should ensure that you update the name of the domain in the DNS records. This is to point that the Exchnage server has been updates to the 2016 server.
- You can create new Outlook profiles for all the users in the domain.
- Users should monitor the performance fo the Exchnage server 2016 to make sure that all the functions are working properly.
- After ensuring all the points mentioned above, you can now decommission the Exchange Server 2013.
- Remove the 2013 server from the load balancer if there is one.
- Remove the 2013 server from the exchange by using the ” Remove-ExchangeServer cmdlet “
- Now, you can remove the Exchange 2013 server from Active Directory. This can be done by using the users as well as the console or the ” Remove-ADObject “ cmdlet.
- If you want to remove Exchnage 2013 completely form the server, then you can use the ” Install- WindowsFeature “ cmdlet to remove the Exchnage 2013 roles in the server.
- If users want to completely remove the exchange 2013 server from your networks, you can decommission it now.
Easier Method to Upgrade Exchange 2013 to 2016
As you can see, the manual method of upgrading Exchange 2013 to 2016 requires a lot of expertise and is extensively time consuming. Instead of getting stuck in this complex procedure, you can simply use an automated tool called the Exchange to Exchnage Migration Tool. This tool can easily upgrade Exchange 2013 to 2016 within a very short span of time, and on the click of a button.
Steps to Perform Migration Using This Tool
Before we begin with the steps, you should be aware of the prerequisites in order to complete the migration process successfully.
- The destination admin account should have the user already created.
- You need to whitelist SysTools Customer Management in the firewall.
- Install the most recent version of Microsoft Visual C++
- Ensure that you have the source and target admin accounts.
- The servers need to be located on-site.
- An antivirus should not be blocking the application.
Now, we can move on with the steps to upgrade Exchange 2013 to 2016:
- Download and install the tool.
- Select the source as well as the destination as Exchange.
- Select the categories that you want to shift to the new Exchange.
- Choose the date filter option to migrate data on the basis of the files’ dates.
- Click the next option.
- Now Select the version of the source Exchange Server.
- Input the details of the server.
- Enter the email address of the administrator in the source domain.
- Input the password for the same.
- Enter the IP address of the Active Directory for the user’s organisation and the Exchange Server.
- Click on the Next option after you have validated all the settings.
- We can add users using multiple options, or you can simply click on the fetch option.
- Select the users you want to migrate.
- Click on the validate option
- Now, you can start the migration process.
Conclusion
Using the manual method to upgrade Exchange 2013 to 2016 is a very complex process. Hence, we suggest that you use an automated tool that not only is very simple to use, but also saves a lot of time. It is one of the very best tools in the industry. In this article we have discussed the steps you can take to migrate from one Exchange server to the other. Whatever method you decide to choose, we are sure that you won’t face any issue in upgrading exchange 2013 to 2016 using these steps.