Exchange Server SE Administration
Exchange Server SE Administration is a course in deploying Exchange Server Subscription Edition, migrating from Exchange 2016 or 2019 and running it day to day, covering mailboxes, recipients, client access, message transport, security, database availability groups, and backup and recovery. It suits administrators who run their organisation's email and Windows Server or Active Directory administrators.
- Duration24 hours · 4 days
- FormatOnsite / live online
- Next roundOn request
- CertificateIncluded
Course overview
Exchange Server 2016 and 2019 reached the end of support on 14 October 2025, so organisations that want to keep email on their own servers need to move to Exchange Server Subscription Edition (SE), the only version that still receives regular security updates from Microsoft. Administrators need to understand the upgrade paths, the new security settings that are on by default, and how to keep the system current as updates keep arriving.
This course teaches you to deploy and run Exchange Server SE: planning and preparing Active Directory, installing on Windows Server Core, upgrading or migrating from Exchange 2016 and 2019, managing mailbox databases and recipients, setting up namespaces, certificates and connections from Outlook and mobile devices, designing message transport, Edge Transport and mail flow rules, then security, RBAC, high availability with a DAG, backup and recovery, and updates and troubleshooting. Every topic is practised on virtual machines with the Exchange Admin Center and the Exchange Management Shell (4 days, 6 hours per day, 24 hours in total, Intermediate level).
What you’ll gain
- Plan, install and upgrade or migrate to Exchange Server SE in line with Microsoft's requirements
- Administer the system with the Exchange Admin Center and the Exchange Management Shell
- Manage mailbox databases, recipients, address lists and policies
- Configure namespaces, certificates, Outlook on the web and mobile device access
- Design message transport, Edge Transport, mail flow rules and spam and malware filtering
- Configure security, RBAC and audit logging according to current guidance
- Build high availability with a DAG, back up and recover, and keep the system updated and troubleshoot it
Who this course is for
- System administrators and IT teams who run their organisation's email
- Windows Server and Active Directory administrators who are responsible for Exchange
- Teams moving from Exchange Server 2016 or 2019 to Exchange Server SE
- Administrators of hybrid deployments with Exchange Online who need to understand the on-premises side
Prerequisites
- Experience installing and administering Windows Server
- Understanding of Active Directory Domain Services, DNS and TCP/IP
- Basic PowerShell, such as running commands and reading the output
- No previous Exchange administration needed, though experience of Outlook in an organisation helps
Curriculum
Course Details
This is the 2026 edition of the Exchange Server SE Administration course. It runs for 4 days, 6 hours per day (24 hours in total, 09:00-16:00), as lectures with a lab on virtual machines in every topic, at Intermediate level. It is rewritten from the edition based on Exchange Server 2016 and 2019 to match Exchange Server SE on Windows Server 2025, covering in-place and legacy upgrades, installation on Server Core, new security settings such as TLS 1.3, Extended Protection and modern authentication through AD FS, attachment inspection with DocParser, and keeping up with CU and SU releases. Learners take home a lab guide, PowerShell scripts and an upgrade checklist.
Day 1 Planning, Installation and Migration
Section 1: Exchange Server SE in 2026
- How Exchange SE differs from 2016 and 2019, and their status after end of support
- The Modern Lifecycle with cumulative update and security update releases
- Architecture: the Mailbox server and the Edge Transport server
- Choosing between on-premises, hybrid and Exchange Online
Section 2: Lab: Planning and Preparing Active Directory
- Supported operating systems and why Server Core is recommended
- Domain controller, forest functional level and .NET Framework requirements
- Planning server size, disks and DNS before installation
- Lab: prepare the schema and Active Directory with Setup /PrepareSchema and /PrepareAD
Section 3: Lab: Installing Exchange Server SE
- GUI and unattended command-line installation
- Installing a Mailbox server on Windows Server Core and the management tools on Windows 11
- Post-installation tasks: product key, virtual directory URLs and checking services
- Lab: install Exchange Server SE in a test domain
Section 4: Lab: Upgrading or Migrating from Exchange 2016 and 2019
- In-place upgrade from Exchange 2019 CU14 or CU15
- Legacy upgrade from Exchange 2016: new servers and temporary coexistence
- Moving mailboxes, namespaces and connectors, then decommissioning old servers correctly
- Lab: upgrade Exchange 2019 CU15 to Exchange Server SE
Section 5: Lab: The Exchange Admin Center and Exchange Management Shell
- Tasks for the EAC and tasks better done in the Exchange Management Shell
- Get, Set and New cmdlets, pipelines and filters
- Restricting EAC and Shell access to the internal network with Client Access Rules
- Lab: write a script that reports server and database status
Day 2 Mailboxes, Recipients and User Connections
Section 6: Lab: Mailbox Databases and Storage
- Creating mailbox databases and placing EDB files and transaction logs
- Quotas, deleted item retention and circular logging
- Database limits by edition and how to divide databases
- Lab: create a new database and move mailboxes with a move request
Section 7: Lab: Managing Recipients
- User, shared, room and equipment mailboxes
- Mail contacts, mail users, distribution groups and dynamic distribution groups
- Archive mailboxes and Full Access, Send As and Send on Behalf permissions
- Lab: create many users from a CSV file with PowerShell
Section 8: Lab: Address Lists, Policies and Offline Address Books
- Email address policies and accepted domains
- The global address list, address lists and address book policies
- Offline address books for Outlook in Cached Mode
- Lab: separate the address books of two sister companies with address book policies
Section 9: Lab: Namespaces, Certificates and Client Access
- Client Access services on the Mailbox server and proxying to the mailbox
- Planning namespaces, split DNS and Autodiscover
- Requesting and installing a SAN certificate and assigning services
- Lab: configure virtual directories and Autodiscover to use a single namespace
Section 10: Lab: Outlook, Outlook on the Web and Mobile Devices
- MAPI over HTTP and the Outlook versions Exchange SE supports
- Outlook on the web mailbox policies and attachment restrictions
- Exchange ActiveSync, mobile device mailbox policies and wiping lost devices
- Lab: connect Outlook and a mobile phone to a test mailbox
Day 3 Mail Flow, Security and Permissions
Section 11: Lab: Message Transport and Connectors
- How email moves through the Transport service and routing
- Send connectors, receive connectors and smart hosts
- MX, SPF and DMARC records to set up in DNS
- Lab: send and receive external email and check it with message tracking
Section 12: Lab: Edge Transport and Spam and Malware Filtering
- Edge Transport servers in the perimeter network and EdgeSync
- Anti-spam agents, sender filtering and recipient filtering
- The anti-malware filter and integration with AMSI
- Lab: install Edge Transport and subscribe it to the organisation
Section 13: Lab: Mail Flow Rules, DLP and Journaling
- Mail flow rules for disclaimers, quarantine and redirection
- Inspecting attachment content with DocParser, which replaces Oracle Outside In
- Data loss prevention policies and journal rules
- Lab: hold messages containing Thai national ID number patterns before they leave the organisation
Section 14: Lab: Securing Exchange Server SE
- TLS 1.2 and 1.3 enabled by default, and the TLS 1.3 limitation for SMTP
- Extended Protection, the Emergency Mitigation service and their effect on load balancers
- Modern authentication through AD FS for pure on-premises deployments
- Lab: check security settings with the Exchange Health Checker and fix what it reports
Section 15: Lab: RBAC and Audit Logging
- Role groups, management roles and management scopes
- Separating Help Desk, Recipient Management and Organization Management permissions
- Administrator audit logging and mailbox audit logging
- Lab: create a role group so the help desk manages only users in its own branch
Day 4 High Availability, Recovery and Operations
Section 16: Lab: Database Availability Groups (DAG)
- How a DAG works on Windows Failover Clustering with a witness server
- Creating a DAG, adding members and adding mailbox database copies
- Activation preference, lagged copies and DAG networks
- Lab: build a two-server DAG and check it with Get-MailboxDatabaseCopyStatus
Section 17: Lab: Load Balancing and Site Resilience
- Load balancers for Client Access services and service health checks
- How switchover differs from failover
- Designing for several datacentres and Datacenter Activation Coordination
- Lab: switch a database between servers without disconnecting users
Section 18: Lab: Backup and Recovery
- Exchange-aware VSS backups and transaction log truncation
- Single item recovery and deleted item retention
- Recovery databases and dial tone recovery
- Lab: recover a user's permanently deleted email from a recovery database
Section 19: Lab: Archiving, Retention and eDiscovery
- In-Place Archiving, retention policies and retention tags
- In-Place eDiscovery and In-Place Hold
- Compliance Search through the Exchange Management Shell
- Lab: search for and hold email related to an investigation
Section 20: Workshop: Operations, Updates and Troubleshooting
- Installing CUs and SUs safely and maintenance mode in a DAG
- Monitoring with Managed Availability, event logs, Queue Viewer and message tracking
- An overview of hybrid with Exchange Online and the Hybrid Configuration Wizard
- Workshop: troubleshoot real-world scenarios and write a monthly operations runbook
Schedule & training options
For individuals — public rounds
No public rounds are open right now. Join the waiting list and we will contact you first when the next round opens, or ask us on LINE. Or call 02-570-8449 or 088-807-9770
For organisations — in-house / private
- Tailor the content to your team’s tools and projects
- Your dates, at your office or live online
- Quotation with tax ID for procurement
Instructors
Frequently asked questions
What is Exchange Server Subscription Edition (SE)?
Exchange Server SE is the on-premises edition of Exchange Server that replaces Exchange 2016 and 2019, which reached the end of support on 14 October 2025. It follows the Modern Lifecycle, receiving cumulative and security updates on an ongoing basis, and is licensed by subscription or with licences covered by Software Assurance. The RTM release is code equivalent to Exchange 2019 CU15, so you can upgrade in place directly from Exchange 2019 CU14 or CU15.
How do you move from Exchange 2016 or 2019 to Exchange Server SE?
If you run Exchange 2019 CU14 or CU15, you can upgrade in place by running Exchange SE Setup on the existing server. Exchange 2016 cannot be upgraded in place, so you perform a legacy upgrade: install new Exchange SE or Exchange 2019 servers, run both side by side for a while, move namespaces, connectors and mailboxes to the new servers, then decommission the old ones correctly. The course practises both paths with checklists for before and after the migration.
How does a Database Availability Group (DAG) work in Exchange?
A DAG is a group of Mailbox servers that hold several copies of each mailbox database. One active copy serves users while passive copies on other servers are kept up to date from the transaction logs. If the server or disk holding the active copy fails, another copy is activated automatically. DAGs run on Windows Failover Clustering with a witness server to help decide quorum, and administrators check the copies with the Get-MailboxDatabaseCopyStatus cmdlet.
What is RBAC in Exchange Server, and how do you assign admin permissions?
RBAC (role-based access control) is Exchange's permission model, which ties permissions to roles rather than to individual people. Administrators add users to built-in role groups such as Organization Management, Recipient Management or Help Desk in the Exchange Admin Center or the Exchange Management Shell, or create new role groups with a scope limited to certain users, and turn on administrator audit logging so you can check who changed what.
Who is the Exchange Server SE Administration course for, and what should I know beforehand?
It suits system administrators and IT teams who run their organisation's email, Windows Server and Active Directory administrators, teams moving from Exchange Server 2016 or 2019 to Exchange Server SE, and administrators of hybrid deployments. You should have experience administering Windows Server, understand Active Directory, DNS and TCP/IP, and be able to use basic PowerShell. No previous Exchange administration is needed.
Can the Exchange Server SE Administration course be run in-house for our team?
Yes. It can be run in-house for your team, with examples adapted to your own work, such as planning a migration from your current Exchange servers or a high availability design for your organisation's email system. You can request a quotation from this page, or contact us on LINE @itgenius or by phone on 02-570-8449.
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