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Installing Exchange on a domain controller isn't recommended

  • Article
  • 02/05/2024

Applies to: Exchange Server 2013

Microsoft Exchange Server 2013 Setup has detected that the computer you're attempting to install Exchange 2013 on is an Active Directory domain controller. Installing Exchange 2013 on a domain controller isn't recommended.

If you install Exchange 2013 on a domain controller, be aware of the following issues:

  • Configuring Exchange 2013 for Active Directory split permissions isn't supported.

  • The Exchange Trusted Subsystem universal security group (USG) is added to the Domain Admins group when Exchange is installed on a domain controller. When this occurs, all Exchange servers in the domain are granted domain administrator rights in that domain.

  • 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 must make sure that the domain controller Exchange 2013 is installed on a global catalog server.

  • Exchange services may not start correctly when the domain controller is also a global catalog server.

  • System shutdown will take considerably longer if Exchange services aren't stopped before shutting down or restarting the server.

  • Demoting a domain controller to a member server isn't supported.

  • Running Exchange 2013 on a clustered node that is also an Active Directory domain controller isn't supported.

We recommend that you install Exchange 2013 on a member server.

Having problems? Ask for help in the Exchange forums. Visit the forums at Exchange Server.

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