An update has been released by Microsoft related to the Exchange Server 2019 in April Month. The Management tools in the Microsoft Exchange Server 2019 enables the organisations to use the Azure Active Directory (AD) Connect and sync with them. This will help in managing the Exchange Receipts without the requirement for a running Exchange Server.

If you are operating your server with one or more Exchange Server for the receipt management, referred as a last Exchange Server (LES), you can install the updated tools of the server on a domain joined machine and can shut down your last Exchange Server.

Here we have discussed some of the problems you may have faced while fixing your system for the Exchange Server.

Result of Uninstalling Last Exchange Server

It is recommended by the experts not to uninstall the Last Exchange Server. You can either leave the server on a running mode or may shutdown it. Uninstalling the Last Exchange Server will result in the removal of key Active Directory Schema information and it will prevent the management tools from working. So, it is better to shutdown the server and may perform some manual clean up tasks for Exchange and Active Directory, that will result in Exchange Server being removed permanently.

Also it must be noted that shutting down the Last Exchange Server, all the various built in and some custom Role Based Access Control groups, like Organisation Management will no longer work. Only some Domain admins and those ones added to a Receipt Management EMT group will now be able to manage the receipts using these tools.

And if you are looking to permanently shut down and want to eliminate the last Exchange Server, Microsoft suggests doing some clean up tasks that will improve the security posture of the environment and cannot leave behind the stable references for it.

Running a Clean Up AD Command in Exchange Server

A Clean up Active Directory or CleanupActiveDirectoryEMT.ps1 command will remove the security groups, Exchange Containers, and mailboxes from the system so that it won’t be used by any attackers in future. However, if anyone needs an Exchange Server later, they are required to prepare an Active Directory and then install the Exchange Server 2019. The older versions of Exchange Server can’t be installed.

Need of Removing the Last Exchange Server after installing New Exchange Server 2019

Instead of uninstalling the Last Exchange Server from the system, it is recommended to shut it down and make sure that the new Exchange Management Tools starts working in the system. It is not mandatory to remove the last exchange server using the removal script, however if you are sure enough to do. You can cleanup the Active Directory using the script

CleanupActiveDirectoryEMT.ps1.

Issues on Shutting Down Last Exchange Server

There won’t be any big issues, but if you are planning not to use the Exchange Server in future, you can shut down and reformat the last exchange server. Repurpose or Recycle the machine too. However, if you are still not sure, it is better to archive the server rather than uninstalling the Exchange Server.

Is IT Necessary to Install Exchange Server 2019 to Manage the Exchange Receipts

Any organisation currently using the Exchange Server 2013 or newer version is eligible to install the Exchange 2019 Management tools. It is not mandatory to have a running Exchange Server 2019 before to use the management tools. Simply we need to Prepare an Active Directory for the Exchange Server 2019 (using the 2022 H1 Exchange Server 2019 CU or newer) and then install the updated Management tools in a domain joined machine.

System Requirements For Exchange Server 2019

The Exchange Management tools server is a type of lightweight installation and it can be installed to any domain joined Windows machine. This may be a domain joined workstation.

Installing Updated Exchange 2019 Management tools which helps in managing receipts using Azure AD Connect

After uninstalling the Exchange Server, it is required to prepare the Dimple Active Directory and then install the Exchange 2019 server management tools onto a domain joined machine.

How to use SMTP relay after removal of last Exchange Server

Once the last Exchange Server has been shut down from the system, it is suggested by the experts to use the Exchange Edge Transport server which will help in relaying with the SMTP mail.