Today, Microsoft published a whole series of news about Exchange Server 2019 and the next Exchange Server version. I summarize the most important news in this article.
The successor to Exchange 2019 (vNext) was first announced in September 2020 (at MS Ignite). At that time, it was said that the new Exchange version would be released in the second half of 2021. Since then, Exchange vNext has been very quiet. There is still no successor to Exchange 2019, nor have there been any further details or background to the delay.
The Exchange roadmap has been updated today. According to the new roadmap, the next Exchange Server version will be released in the second half of 2025. As the planned release of Exchange vNext coincides with the end of support for Exchange 2016 and 2019, Microsoft is extending support for Exchange 2019 and 2016 beyond October 14, 2025. In addition, the next Exchange Server version will no longer have a fixed end of support, but will be released with the "Modern Lifecycle Directive" supported "as long as there is a need".
It is still unclear what new features Exchange vNext will contain. However, migration to the new version should be much easier than before. According to the announcement, the in-place upgrade from Exchange 2019 to Exchange vNext will be supported for the first time. All on-prem customers are therefore recommended to migrate to Exchange 2019 now to ensure a smooth upgrade to Exchange vNext.
As it is still a long time until 2025, Exchange 2019 will receive even more interesting features in the near future. The focus of development is on the security of Exchange. In this context, two new features have been announced for Exchange 2019. Firstly, Exchange 2019 on Windows Server 2022 will also support TLS 1.3 next year and secondly, Modern Authentication will also be implemented for on-prem servers. Until now, Exchange has only supported "Hybrid Modern Authentication", i.e. on-prem Exchange servers can only use modern authentication methods such as multi-factor authentication in conjunction with Microsoft 365. It is now planned to implement "Modern Authentication" for pure Exchange on-prem servers, which will no longer require a hybrid environment. Modern Authentication is expected to make it possible to switch off BASIC authentication for on-prem Exchange servers and replace it with secure MFA authentication.
Exchange 2019 is expected to receive the "Software Update Dashboard" at the beginning of next year. The dashboard will then show directly which Exchange servers require updates. The dashboard will be similar to the Software Update Dashboard, which is already available for hybrid environments:
It was also announced that the update process for Exchange Server would be simplified and that user-defined settings would not be overwritten with every update. For example, all settings within the web.config were previously overwritten with every update.
Microsoft does not seem to be putting Exchange Server on-prem on the back burner just yet, but is actively developing Exchange further. The return of the MEC, at least as a virtual event, also points to this: Microsoft Exchange Community (MEC) Virtual Airlift. MEC is a free event that focuses exclusively on Exchange Online, Exchange Hybrid and Exchange Server. So far, Exchange has only been a side note at MS Ignite. Of course, I registered right away and am already looking forward to the event, which will take place from September 13 - 14, 2022.
Here you can find the blog articles by Scott Schnoll on the Exchange Team Blog:
Looks like I can continue my blog for a while ;-)
Der aktuelle Plan ist also, den Support für Exchange 2016/2019 im selben Jahr einzustellen indem die neuste Exchange-Version erscheint. Das sollte Microsoft nochmal überdenken.
Ich glaub bei MS besteht die Hoffnung, dass 2025 kaum noch jemand mit On-Prem hantiert und sie das deswegen still und heimlich entweder verlängern (2019) oder einfach komplett einstellen. ;) Ansonsten käme man normalerweise nicht auf solche Ideen, wie du so schön formuliert hast.
Die sollten mal nicht unsere Unfähigkeit unterschätzen irgendwas zu ändern ;-)
Geht denn inplace Exchange 2016 auf 2019? Meines Wissens nicht, dann braucht man immer 1x side-by-side
Nein inplace geht bisher mit keiner Version. Bei 2016 zu 2019 kommt noch hinzu, dass es wegen der Betriebssystemabhängigkeit (e2019 nur w2019 oder w2022 und e2016 nur w2012r2 oder w2016) nicht geht.
@Frank: Zu „Sieht so aus, als könnte ich meinen Blog auch noch etwas weiterführen ;-)“
… Du bringst mich jetzt auf Ideen ;-).
But: It never ends …
Ich lese da nicht, dass Microsoft den Support für die existierenden Versionen erweitern würde.
„We will maintain the current support dates for Exchange Server 2013, Exchange Server 2016, and Exchange Server 2019;“
Alles was danach kommt, bezieht sich auf die kommende Version. „however, we plan to support the next version of Exchange Server beyond October 14, 2025.“
Also Supportende für Exchange 2016 und 2019 ist weiterhin 2025.
Richtig. Wir werden es erleben, wenn es soweit ist. Für den Ex2016 sollten auch keine CUs mehr kommen, wurden dann doch noch gemacht. Somit abwarten und Heißgetränk genießen.