We’ve listened to your feedback for improving the on-premises and hybrid Exchange Server deployment experience, and we’re happy to announce the release of the new, consolidated Deployment Assistant!
The Exchange Server Deployment Assistant now combines all the on-premises and hybrid deployment scenarios from both the Exchange 2013 Deployment Assistant and the Exchange 2010 Deployment Assistant into a single tool. We’ve eliminated the need for the installation of Silverlight and provide guidance for all Exchange Server deployments in a true one-stop shop experience. We’ve also kept the same, convenient question-and-answer format to create a customized, step-by-step checklist with instructions to deploy Exchange 2013 or Exchange 2010.
Starting your Exchange deployment is familiar and convenient, no matter whether you’re deploying Exchange 2013 or Exchange 2010. Just select the one of the three basic deployment tracks: On-premises, Hybrid, or Cloud Only to get started, as shown in Figure 1.
Figure 1: The Exchange Server Deployment Assistant home page
After selecting your basic deployment track, you’ll be able to choose from either an Exchange 2013-based or Exchange 2010-based path for either on-premises or hybrid deployment scenarios. If you selected the Cloud Only scenario, the deployment path is the same for both Exchange 2013 and Exchange 2010 organizations and you’re on your way to getting started with an Exchange Online-only deployment.
Figure 2: Choose either the Exchange 2013 or Exchange 2010 deployment path
After you’ve chosen either the Exchange 2013 or Exchange 2010 deployment path (see Figure 2), you’ll answer a few questions about your deployment needs and you’re off to the races with your customized deployment checklist! For example, see Figure 3, which shows a checklist for an on-premises Exchange 2013 deployment.
Figure 3: Exchange 2013 on-premises deployment path
And, here’s some more good news! If you’ve bookmarked links to the Exchange 2013 and Exchange 2010 Deployment Assistants, there’s no action required to go to the new tool when using your bookmarks. You’ll be automatically redirected to the new tool when using the URL for the previous version of the Deployment Assistant.
We hope you enjoy the convenience of having all the Exchange 2013 and Exchange 2010 deployment scenario guidance in a single tool. We’d love your feedback and comments! Please feel free to leave a comment here, or send an email to edafdbk@microsoft.com directly or via the 'Feedback' link located in the header of every page of the Deployment Assistant.
Happy deploying!