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Exchange 2013 System Requirements
Applies to: Exchange Server 2013
Topic Last Modified: 2013-04-26
Before you install Microsoft Exchange Server 2013, we recommend that you review this topic to ensure that your network, hardware, software, clients, and other elements meet the requirements for Exchange 2013. In addition, make sure you understand the coexistence scenarios that are supported for Exchange 2013 and earlier versions of Exchange.
The following table lists the scenarios in which coexistence between Exchange 2013 and earlier versions of Exchange is supported.
Coexistence of Exchange 2013 and earlier versions of Exchange Server
| Exchange version | Exchange organization coexistence |
|---|---|
| Exchange Server 2003 and earlier versions | Not supported |
| Exchange 2007 | Supported with the following versions of Exchange:
|
| Exchange 2010 | Supported with the following versions of Exchange:
|
| Mixed Exchange 2010 and Exchange 2007 organization | Supported with the following versions of Exchange:
|
Exchange 2013 supports hybrid deployments with Office 365 tenants that have been upgraded to the latest version of Office 365. For more information about specific hybrid deployments, see Hybrid Deployment Prerequisites.
The following table lists the requirements for the network and the directory servers in your Exchange 2013 organization.
Network and directory server requirements for Exchange 2013
| Component | Requirement |
|---|---|
| Schema master | By default, the schema master runs on the first Windows Server 2012 or Windows Server 2008 R2 or Windows Server 2008 or Windows Server 2003 domain controller installed in a forest. The schema master must be running any of the following:
|
| Global catalog server | In each Active Directory site where you plan to install Exchange 2013, you must have at least one global catalog server running any of the following:
For more information about global catalog servers, see What is the Global Catalog. |
| Domain controller | In each Active Directory site where you plan to install Exchange 2013, you must have at least one writeable domain controller running any of the following:
|
| Active Directory forest | Active Directory must be at Windows Server 2003 forest functionality mode or higher. |
| DNS namespace support | Exchange 2013 supports the following domain name system (DNS) namespaces:
For more information about DNS namespaces supported by Exchange, see Microsoft Knowledge Base article 2269838, Microsoft Exchange compatibility with Single Label Domains, Disjoined Namespaces, and Discontiguous Namespaces. |
| IPv6 support | In Exchange 2013, IPv6 is supported only when IPv4 is also installed and enabled. If Exchange 2013 is deployed in this configuration, and the network supports IPv4 and IPv6, all Exchange servers can send data to and receive data from devices, servers, and clients that use IPv6 addresses. For more information, see IPv6 Support in Exchange 2013. |
The use of 64-bit Active Directory domain controllers increases directory service performance for Exchange 2013.
 Note: |
|---|
| In multi-domain environments, on Windows Server 2008 domain controllers that have the Active Directory language locale set to Japanese, your servers may not receive some attributes that are stored on an object during inbound replication. For more information, see Microsoft Knowledge Base article 949189, A Windows Server 2008 domain controller that is configured with the Japanese language locale may not apply updates to attributes on an object during inbound replication. |
For security and performance reasons, we recommend that you install Exchange 2013 only on member servers and not on Active Directory directory servers. However, you can't run DCPromo on a computer running Exchange 2013. After Exchange 2013 is installed, changing its role from a member server to a directory server, or vice versa, isn't supported.
The recommended hardware requirements for Exchange 2013 servers vary depending on a number of factors including the server roles that are installed and the anticipated load that will be placed on the servers.
| Note: |
|---|
| For information about deploying Exchange in a virtualized environment, see Exchange 2013 Virtualization. |
Hardware requirements for Exchange 2013
| Component | Requirement | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Processor |
| See the "Operating system" section later in this topic for supported operating systems. |
| Memory | Varies depending on Exchange roles that are installed:
| None. |
| Paging file size | The page file size minimum and maximum must be set to physical RAM plus 10 MB | The recommended page file size also accounts for the memory that's needed to collect information if the operating system stops unexpectedly. On 64-bit operating systems, memory can be written as a dump file to the paging file. This file must reside on the boot volume of the server. For more information about the configuration options that are available for memory dump data, see Knowledge Base article 254649, Overview of memory dump file options for Windows Vista, Windows Server 2008 R2, Windows Server 2008, Windows Server 2003, Windows XP, and Windows 2000. |
| Disk space |
| The minimum space requirements detailed here don't account for disk subsystem requirements for adequate performance. |
| Drive | DVD-ROM drive, local or network accessible | None. |
| Screen resolution | 1024 x 768 pixels or higher | None. |
| File format | Disk partitions formatted as NTFS file systems, which applies to the following partitions:
| None. |
The following table lists the supported operating systems for Exchange 2013.
| Important: |
|---|
We don’t support the installation of Exchange 2013 on a computer that’s running in Windows Server Core mode. The computer must be running the full installation of Windows Server. If you want to install Exchange 2013 on a computer that’s running in Windows Server Core mode, you must convert the server to a full installation of Windows Server by doing one of the following:
|
Supported operating systems for Exchange 2013
| Component | Requirement |
|---|---|
| Mailbox and Client Access server roles | One of the following:
|
| Management tools | One of the following:
|
Exchange 2013 and Exchange Online support the following minimum versions of Microsoft Outlook and Microsoft Entourage for Mac:
-
Outlook 2013 (15.0.4420.1017)
-
Outlook 2010 Service Pack 1 with the Outlook 2010 November 2012 update (14.0.6126.5000). For more information, see Description of the Outlook 2010 update: November 13, 2012.
-
Outlook 2007 Service Pack 3 with the Outlook 2007 November 2012 update (12.0.6665.5000). For more information, see Description of the Outlook 2007 update: November 13, 2012.
-
Entourage 2008 for Mac, Web Services Edition
-
Outlook for Mac 2011
| Important: |
|---|
| The information above provides the minimum versions required for a client to connect to Exchange and Exchange Online. We strongly recommend that you install the latest available service packs and updates available so that your users receive the best possible experience when connecting to Exchange and Exchange Online. |
Outlook clients earlier than Outlook 2007 are not supported. Email clients on Mac operating systems that require DAV, such as Entourage 2008 for Mac RTM and Entourage 2004, are not supported.
Outlook Web App supports several browsers on a variety of operating systems and devices. For detailed information, see What's New for Outlook Web App in Exchange 2013.
