Server 2012 R2 and Exchange 2013 sp1 on the same machine

Greglsh

Greglsh

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Hi

I will be setting up a new Server 2012 R2 with Exchange 2013 sp1. What I wanted to find out was, has anybody setup this type on scenario yet. What I wanted to ask is I know that installing the 2( The server 2012 R2 will also be the domain controller with active directory) on the same server is "not recommended", but what problems will it cause. If it is a big problem what if I install Server 2012 R2 then add the Hyper-V role, install server 2012 R2 on the hyper v and load Exchange 2013 sp1 on the Server 2012 R2 in the hyper V.

Which would be the best and most reliable scenario.

Thanks
 
Several reasons...

Some exchange and AD functions wont work correctly.
Exchange Server and Active Directory are both resource-intensive applications. There are performance implications to be considered when both are running on the same computer.
You will be setting up a unsupported configuration - so it will be difficult to get external support if needed down the line.

Good practice is that you never install any resource intensive applications on your DC.
 
Which license of server 2012 do you have? If you have at least Server 2012 R2 Standard you should be able to install 2 Virtual instances of Server 2012 R2 on top of a hypervisor, check page 4 of the pdf on link ( http://download.microsoft.com/downl...EEF4F4CFFF27/WS2012_Licensing-Pricing_FAQ.pdf ) . You can then install the Domain controller in one VM instance and then another VM with exchange installed on it.

I've so far had no problems with Xenserver 6.2 (free) for the hypervisor (http://xenserver.org/overview-xenserver-open-source-virtualization/download.html) and Vmware esxi also work fine. Haven't touched Hyperv 2012 though but should be fine.

EDIT: Another consideration is if your hardware can support virtualisation& has enough resources, but i assume you have a recent box supporting hardware assisted virtualisation
 
Last edited:
Greglsh said:
Hi

I will be setting up a new Server 2012 R2 with Exchange 2013 sp1. What I wanted to find out was, has anybody setup this type on scenario yet. What I wanted to ask is I know that installing the 2( The server 2012 R2 will also be the domain controller with active directory) on the same server is "not recommended", but what problems will it cause. If it is a big problem what if I install Server 2012 R2 then add the Hyper-V role, install server 2012 R2 on the hyper v and load Exchange 2013 sp1 on the Server 2012 R2 in the hyper V.

Which would be the best and most reliable scenario.

Thanks
Click to expand...

how many users? and what are the specs of your server?
the hyper-v route will most likely work
 
Hi thanks all

The Server is a Dual xeon processor with 32 gb ram 2tb raid 1 hard drive. It is for 12 users so I am thinking of loading server 2012 r2 as the domain controller. Then installing the hyper-v role and loading server 2012 r2 as a member server and installing exchange on that. What do you guys think. Not sure how hyper visor with 2 virtual machines works.
 
I'd install two virtual machines one as the DC the other as exchange and leave the hardware to purely be a VM host with no other roles. That way you are assured the workload is completely seperated thus eliminating potential conflicts
 
Hi Guys

Thanks for the help, what I wanted to find out is what is everyone using for the hyper visor. i am looking at windows hyper visor 2012. This software is not so easy to manage from another pc, have been battling most of the day with permissions and finding tools on the net. All I want is the 2 virtual servers to be reliable and be able to make backups for disaster recovery and data loss. I have been looking at Vmware ESXi and read a little about Xenserver. Which one are other people using and why. I don't want to have to spend more money on the hyper visor later so it needs to have full functionality straight off the bat.

Thanks
 
Xenserver 6.2 has all the features for free and also all updates are free. You only pay a support license if you need but I personally havent you can always get help in the community. Am running about 6 VMs on my Xenserver host no problems and I use the xenclient(free) for remote administration. Setup is also simple, recommend it
 
Thanks kianm

Will give Xenserver 6.2 a trial run. Anything I need to look out for?
 
To be honest I havent had a single issue with xenserver6.2, am running a single host its a set up and just leave to run. Server uptime as we speak is at 238days thats how long i havent had to restart etc. Am not bothering with installing the 10 or so available updates since last year will do that if one day i run into a particular problem, ain't fixing whats not broken. All the management is basically done remotely the admin tool has all the features one would need, just works
 
Sound good, just downloading the backup software as well. What Guest operating systems are you running and what type of hardware spec? Also I just wanted to ask where to you load the backup software? Do you load it on the VM's? What do you backup to?
 
Guest OSs 4X Server 2012 (DC, ERP, RDS &Files) , then Win8 & Linux Centos VMs. The backup app is on an old decommissioned server and its backing up to NAS. Host is a Dell R520 48Gb Ram 2xXeon E5-2420 processors
 
Thanks Kianm

Great setup you have there. Will try the Xenserver 6.2 speaking to you this sounds like the way to go. I really appreciate your feedback and time. :)
 
You welcome lets see how it goes on your side
 
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