I'm a bit late to the party here, but I wanted to get some clarity on the shutdown process for our Exchange 2016 server, which is reaching its end-of-life next month. The main thing is that we only use this server for managing user accounts; we don't actually send any emails through it, and all our mailboxes and public folders are already migrated to the cloud.
We have Entra Connect Sync set up to handle password syncing. I came across a guide on how to manage recipients in hybrid environments, and it mentions that I should install the latest Exchange Management Tools from the 2019 Cumulative Update. My question is, does the end-of-life status for 2019 apply to these management tools too? Should I just go ahead and download the SE update to install the management tools, or is there another route I should consider?
1 Answer
You actually don't need the management tools since most functionalities are covered by Active Directory attributes, like GAL visibility and Litigation Hold. If you’re comfortable with PowerShell, you can handle these settings through scripts instead. We faced a similar situation and decided to completely move to Gmail, with AD automation in place, so we're just cutting ties with Exchange once migration is done.
Nice! Good luck with the Gmail move.