Hey everyone! I've just received the green light to decommission our on-premises Exchange Server 2016, which is currently running on Windows Server 2012 R2. Since all our mailboxes have already been moved to Microsoft 365, the server is only functioning as a connection via Hybrid Exchange and for SMTP purposes. I'm curious if there have been any changes to the decommissioning process or best practices since Microsoft allowed for this a few years back. Also, my team prefers to stick with the Exchange Admin Console for management, so I'm looking for a GUI solution since PowerShell isn't their thing yet. Any advice or tips from those who've gone through this process would be super helpful. Thanks!
3 Answers
You can check out some GUI management solutions like Easy365Manager. It could help streamline some of the admin tasks without needing everyone to learn PowerShell right away.
If your team is hesitant to adapt to new procedures, you might want to keep the Exchange server just for management purposes while disabling the other roles. This way, you won't disrupt their workflow too much.
I went through decommissioning my own Hybrid Exchange server recently. It was a challenge but doable. Just a heads up, if you're looking to maintain some level of Exchange functionality, think about setting up a new Exchange 2019 server on a newer Windows Server version. This can prepare you for future migrations without too much hassle. You can use the Hybrid Configuration Wizard for licensing too!
Heads up! Both Exchange 2016 and 2019 reach end of life this year, so you'll want to keep an eye on that. Also, the new version of Exchange won’t be out for a few more months, so plan accordingly.