Exchange 2013 Cumulative Update

The latest Exchange 2013 Cumulative Update (CU) 10 was released on 15th September 2015. There was no schema changes compared to CU9 , in fact the last schema change was in CU7.

Download the CU10 Download Link, and extract the setup files to local on the Exchange Server. To upgrade the Schema, Configuration and Domain this can be done from a 64-Bit Domain Controller or from an Exchange Server with the Remote Tools Administration Pack feature installed. To install this feature:

1. Open Windows PowerShell (Run as Administrator)
2. Install the Remote Tools Administration Pack using the following command
   
   Install-WindowsFeature RSAT-ADDS

To upgrade the Schema, Configuration and Domain(s) open a command window (Run as Administrator) and run the following commands:

1. Setup.exe /PrepareSchema /IAcceptExchangeServerLicenseTerms
2. Setup.exe /PrepareAD /IAcceptExchangeServerLicenseTerms
3. Setup.exe /PrepareDomain /IAcceptExchangeServerLicenseTerms

If you you have multiple domains to in the Active Directory Forest you can use the /PrepareAllDomains.

Note: To prepare The Schema the service account used must be a member of Schema Admins and Enterprise Admins, To update the Configuration and Domain(s) the service account used must be a member of Enterprise Admins.

Reference: TechNet Prepare Active Directory and Domains

PrepareSchema, PrepareAD, PrepareDomain

Unattended Installation

Once the Schema, Configuration and Domain has been updated, allow time for this to replicate to all Domain Controllers in the forest, The easiest way to upgrade a Exchange 2013 server is with an Unattended Installation. Open a command window (Run as Administrator) and run the following command:

1. Setup.com /Mode:Upgrade /IAcceptExchangeServerLicenseTerms

The setup will check the environment to ensure that it’s ready to install, any warnings will be displayed, for instance my installation warned that I didn’t have a send connector for ‘*’, this is because my lab sits behind a dynamic IP address and I can’t send external SMTP.

Note: This upgrade was on a standalone Exchange server that was not a member of a Database Availability Group(DAG), If a server is a member of a DAG it needs to removed/suspended from the load balanced environment and put into maintenance mode, I’ll get this posted on another day.

Disclaimer: All scripts and other PowerShell references on this blog are offered "as is" with no warranty.  While these scripts are tested and working in my test environment, it is recommended that you test these scripts in your own test environment before using in any production environment.