Hey everyone! Last time I checked about two years ago, it wasn't really supported for customers to completely decommission their on-premises Exchange server if they were running a Hybrid Exchange setup. I remember hearing that even with no email routing through the on-prem server, it was still required for management purposes and customers were offered a free license for the Exchange Control Panel (ECP) as long as they didn't route any traffic. Is that still the case, or has Microsoft rolled out a supported way to finally move away from an on-prem Exchange setup?
The reason I'm curious is that during my last conversation with Microsoft, they mentioned that although you can still get the free on-prem license, you'd need to pay to keep the server updated. So, in reality, it isn't free if you have to maintain it!
I've found some conflicting information online, so I thought I'd reach out to those of you who might have real-world experience with this.
1 Answer
It’s now fully supported to decommission, but there’s a catch. You still need to download the Exchange ISO and install it. However, the management tools can function without an actual server; you can essentially just use Powershell modules from now on. Check out Microsoft’s documentation for all the details: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/exchange/manage-hybrid-exchange-recipients-with-management-tools
That's good to know! I'm concerned about what happens when you get rid of your last Exchange Server since it removes extended AD attributes. Did you run into any issues, or did you leave the old server powered off instead? Also, I've seen conflicting info about licensing – do you really need to pay for EAC even if no mail is routed?