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Install Exchange Server or SharePoint Server

Get the installation image from Microsoft, prepare Windows Server and Active Directory, and install Exchange 2016/2019 or SharePoint 2016, 2019 or Subscription Edition with your product key.

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Installation & Licensing
Platform
windows
min read
120 min

Exchange Server and SharePoint Server reach you as a product key. The installation files come from Microsoft. This guide takes you from the key in your order to a running server. The licence steps afterwards, including Standard and Enterprise, are in Activate Exchange Server or SharePoint Server.

Both products are server software for an organisation. Plan the installation with whoever manages your Windows Server and Active Directory, and test on a non-production server first if you can.

What you received

Your order confirmation email contains a 25-character product key, written in this guide as XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX. You also find it in your Lizensa account under My Library. There is no installer in your order: these products are delivered as a licence key only.

This guide covers:

The key decides the edition. Exchange and SharePoint use the same installation files for Standard and Enterprise.

Check Microsoft's support dates before you plan. Microsoft ended support for Exchange Server 2016 and 2019 on 14 October 2025. Extended support for SharePoint Server 2016 and 2019 ended on 14 July 2026.

Get the software

You download the installation image from Microsoft. Pick the build that matches the version in your order.

Exchange Server 2019. Download Cumulative Update 15 (CU15) for Exchange Server 2019 from the Microsoft Download Center. The file is an ISO image of about 6.4 GB.

Exchange Server 2016. Download Cumulative Update 23 (CU23) for Exchange Server 2016 from the Microsoft Download Center. The file is about 7.1 GB.

Each Exchange cumulative update is a complete installation. You do not need the original release or an earlier update first. Microsoft lists every build on its build numbers page.

SharePoint Server. Use the Download Center page for your version:

Choose the installation language on the page, then download. Microsoft describes this image as trial media. You license it with your own product key, during setup or later in Central Administration.

Install

Before you start

Exchange Server

  • Use a supported Windows Server. Exchange 2019 runs on Windows Server 2019, 2022 and 2025. Exchange 2016 runs on Windows Server 2012, 2012 R2 and 2016, with the Desktop Experience.
  • The server must be a member of an Active Directory domain. Do not install Exchange on a domain controller.
  • The Active Directory site needs at least one writeable domain controller that is also a global catalog server.
  • For the first Exchange server in the organisation, your account needs to be in Enterprise Admins. If the schema has not been extended for Exchange yet, it also needs Schema Admins.
  • Microsoft recommends at least 128 GB of RAM for an Exchange 2019 Mailbox server. Exchange 2016 needs at least 8 GB. Keep 30 GB free on the installation drive.
  • Install the latest Windows updates. Set the Remote Registry service to Automatic.
  • Install the components Microsoft lists for the Exchange 2019 Mailbox role: a supported .NET Framework, the Visual C++ 2012 and 2013 redistributables and the IIS URL Rewrite Module. Add the Windows feature Server Media Foundation, then Unified Communications Managed API 4.0 from the UCMARedist folder of the Exchange image. For Exchange 2016, follow Microsoft's prerequisites page for that version.

SharePoint Server

  • SharePoint 2019 runs on Windows Server 2016, 2019 and 2022 with the Desktop Experience. SharePoint 2016 runs on Windows Server 2012 R2, 2016 and 2019. Subscription Edition runs on Windows Server 2019, 2022 and 2025.
  • You need SQL Server for the databases, on the same server or a separate one. Microsoft recommends a separate server for better performance.
  • For a single-server farm Microsoft lists at least a 64-bit 4-core processor, 16 GB of RAM, 80 GB for the system drive and 100 GB for a second drive.
  • Run Setup with the farm administrator account: a domain account in the local Administrators group on each SharePoint server. Agree with your SQL Server administrator which SQL Server permissions this account receives; Microsoft describes them on its page about administrative and service accounts. Prepare a separate domain account for the farm service; the configuration wizard adds it to SQL Server with the roles it needs.

Install Exchange Server with the Setup wizard

  1. Copy the ISO to the server. Right-click it in File Explorer and select Mount.
  2. Open the new drive and start Setup.exe.
  3. On Check for Updates?, choose whether Setup looks for updates, then select Next.
  4. Setup copies its files. On Introduction, select Next.
  5. On License Agreement, select I accept the terms in the license agreement, then Next.
  6. On Recommended Settings, choose whether Exchange sends diagnostic data to Microsoft, then Next.
  7. On Server Role Selection, select Mailbox role. Also select Automatically install Windows Server roles and features that are required to install Exchange. Select Next.
  8. On Installation Space and Location, keep C:\Program Files\Microsoft\Exchange Server\V15 or choose another folder.
  9. For the first Exchange server, the Exchange Organization page appears if Active Directory has not been prepared for Exchange yet. Enter your organisation name. It can have up to 64 characters and cannot be changed later.
  10. On Malware Protection Settings, keep malware scanning on unless you have a reason to turn it off.
  11. Readiness Checks lists any missing prerequisite. Fix each error and select Retry. When the button changes to Install, select it.
  12. When Setup Completed appears, select Finish and restart the server.

Do not rename the server after Exchange is installed. Microsoft does not support it.

Command line. For an unattended installation, open Command Prompt as administrator on the mounted drive. If a separate team manages Active Directory, they can prepare it first:

Setup.exe /IAcceptExchangeServerLicenseTerms_DiagnosticDataON /PrepareSchema
Setup.exe /IAcceptExchangeServerLicenseTerms_DiagnosticDataON /PrepareAD /OrganizationName:"Your Organisation"

Then install the Mailbox role:

Setup.exe /IAcceptExchangeServerLicenseTerms_DiagnosticDataON /Mode:Install /Roles:Mailbox /InstallWindowsComponents

Use _DiagnosticDataOFF instead of _DiagnosticDataON if you do not want to send diagnostic data. The older switch without either suffix no longer works.

Install SharePoint Server

These steps use Windows Server with the Desktop Experience. For Subscription Edition on Server Core, Microsoft describes a command-line installation with a configuration file; see Activate Exchange Server or SharePoint Server.

  1. Mount the image and run splash.hta from the new drive. The SharePoint start page opens.
  2. Select Install software prerequisites. The Microsoft SharePoint Products Preparation Tool downloads components from Microsoft, so keep the server online.
  3. Select Next, accept the licence terms and select Next again. When the tool asks for a restart, select Finish. After the restart, run the tool again until Installation Complete appears.
  4. Back on the start page, select Install SharePoint Server.
  5. On Enter Your Product Key, enter the key from your order and select Continue. The key sets Standard or Enterprise.
  6. Accept the Microsoft Software License Terms and select Continue.
  7. If you want SharePoint or the search index on another drive, change it on the File Location tab. Microsoft has you set the search index location here, during installation.
  8. Select Install Now. When Setup finishes, leave Run the SharePoint Products Configuration Wizard now selected and select Close.

SharePoint Products Configuration Wizard

  1. On Welcome to SharePoint Products, select Next. Confirm that services may be restarted.
  2. Select Create a new server farm.
  3. Enter the SQL Server name, the configuration database name (default SharePoint_Config) and the farm service account as DOMAIN\username with its password.
  4. Enter a farm passphrase. Store it safely: you need it each time you add a server to the farm.
  5. Choose the server role. For one server, Microsoft recommends Single-Server Farm.
  6. Set the Central Administration port, or keep the default, and choose NTLM or Negotiate (Kerberos).
  7. Check the summary and select Next. On Configuration Successful, select Finish. Central Administration opens in the browser.

Activate

Exchange Server has no product key prompt during setup. Until you enter your key, the server runs as a trial edition. To license it:

  1. In the Exchange admin center, go to Servers > Servers, select the server and select Edit.
  2. On the General tab, enter your key in Enter a valid product key. If the server is already licensed, select Change product key first. Select Save.
  3. Restart the Microsoft Exchange Information Store service on that server.

In the Exchange Management Shell on that server, the same takes two commands. Replace EX01 with the server's name:

Set-ExchangeServer EX01 -ProductKey XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX
Restart-Service MSExchangeIS

SharePoint Server takes your key during setup, as shown above. If you started with a trial key, open Central Administration > Upgrade and Migration > Convert farm license type, enter your key and select OK. For Enterprise, also run Enable Enterprise Features and Enable Features on Existing Sites.

More detail, the Standard-to-Enterprise change and licence errors are in Activate Exchange Server or SharePoint Server.

Check it worked

Exchange Server. Open the Exchange Management Shell and run:

Get-ExchangeServer

You see your server with its role, edition and version. To confirm the licence, select the server in the Exchange admin center under Servers > Servers. The details pane shows the edition and Licensed. Setup also writes a detailed log to the ExchangeSetupLogs folder on the system drive, usually C:\ExchangeSetupLogs\ExchangeSetup.log. Search it for errors if anything looks wrong.

SharePoint Server. Central Administration opens after the configuration wizard. In Central Administration, Upgrade and Migration > Check product and patch installation status lists the installed products on each server. Convert farm license type, in the same section, shows the licence the farm uses.

If something goes wrong

Exchange Readiness Checks shows errors and only offers Retry. A prerequisite is missing or Active Directory is not ready. Read each message and install what it names. Some fixes need a restart. After a restart, start Setup again from the beginning.

Exchange Setup reports that your account lacks permissions. For the first server, the account needs Enterprise Admins and, before schema preparation, Schema Admins. If Active Directory is already prepared or other Exchange servers exist, the account needs the Organization Management role group instead. Sign in with such an account, or ask your Active Directory team to run the preparation commands shown above.

Exchange Setup reports an error with the license switch. Unattended commands need /IAcceptExchangeServerLicenseTerms_DiagnosticDataON or /IAcceptExchangeServerLicenseTerms_DiagnosticDataOFF. Correct the command and run it again.

The SharePoint Preparation Tool stops. Unless you supply the prerequisite files locally, the tool downloads them from Microsoft. Check the internet connection and proxy, then run it again. Its log is in %TEMP% and is named prerequisiteinstaller with a date and time.

SharePoint Setup does not accept your key. Check that you are installing the SharePoint version and edition named in your order. Compare the key character by character with your order email.

The SharePoint Products Configuration Wizard fails. Check the PSCDiagnostics log files in %COMMONPROGRAMFILES%\Microsoft Shared\Web Server Extensions\16\LOGS. Check that the server can reach SQL Server and that you entered the farm service account as DOMAIN\username.

SharePoint Setup itself fails. Open %temp% with the account that ran Setup. The log is named SharePoint Server Setup with a time stamp.

Still stuck? Contact our support with your order number, the product name and the exact message you see.

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