Migrating to Exchange 2016 has several advantages, such as lower IO requirements, less namespace requirements and no need for RAID. Support for Exchange 2010 also reached the end of the road on October 13, 2020.

Migrating from Exchange 2010 servers to Exchange 2016 follows four general phases:

  • Install Exchange 2016 into your existing Exchange 2010 organisation
  • Move services and other infrastructure to Exchange 2016
  • Move mailboxes and public folders to Exchange 2016
  • Decommission remaining Exchange 2010 servers

We also need to consider whether you have the system requirements to support Exchange 2016. These requirements are as follows:

  • Windows Server 2012 / 2012 R2
  • Mailbox server memory of 8GB plus an additional minimum requirement of 4GB for edge
  • Minimum of 2 CPUs with 2 cores each
  • A recommended minimum of 16GB of RAM
  • Disk space of 30GB minimum on the drive where Exchange will be installed plus 500MB of memory per Unified Messaging (UM) language pack
  • IPv6
  • NTFS disk partitions
  • NET framework

Please note: These are a snapshot of the requirements needed for Exchange 2016. Additional server requirements may apply.

Is it worth migrating?

Migrating from Exchange 2010 servers to Exchange 2016 servers can be achieved with no downtime or disruption to common services. The main reason to upgrade is because Exchange 2010 is no longer supported by Microsoft, so it is considered a legacy product. This means your Exchange 2010 servers won’t get security patches to address new threats, leaving your servers susceptible to cyberattack.

Security is not the only reason to upgrade your servers. Patches also address bugs and issues that affect performance and server usability. Without these patches, your servers will behave like an older generation product.

You can upgrade to Exchange 2016 if you want to keep your email on-premises. Migrating to Exchange 2016 offers some Office 365 features.

To ensure a smooth migration, it’s important to ensure you have the necessary server requirements for Exchange 2016. You can then go ahead and install Exchange 2016 servers and move services and infrastructure over.

The most common issues when migrating include problems with certificate errors, issues with namespace and compatibility issues. If you encounter these, you can speak with us and we will do our best to help you migrate smoothly.