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Hello,
I will be installing Cumulative Update 23 for Exchange Server 2016 tomorrow morning and have a question regarding an issue I have had with the previous installation of CU 20 and CU22.
I first installed Exchange Server 2016 in 2019. At that time the latest CU was 14. This installed successfully. Then in 2021 I installed CU 18. This too installed successfully.
However, when I installed CU 20 in early 2021 and CU 22 in October 2021, the installation process froze at Step 4 with the error that it “cannot start WinMgmt service” (Windows Management Instrumentation service) and the only option was to exit. I checked and saw that the WinMgmt service was running but I stopped it and restarted it manually. Even after doing this the wizard did not continue as the only option was to exit. I exited the wizard and rebooted the server.
After the reboot I checked to see if the exchange services were started and got the following errors and could not manually restart those services. "Windows could not start the Microsoft Exchange Compliance audit server on Local Computer. Error 1068: The dependency service or group failed to start."
The services were disabled. Some say dependency service or group failed to start and others say “The system cannot find file specified”. I believe this was likely because when the first attempt at the installation was run it removes these files before replacing them from the latest CU installation.
I launched the SetUp.exe wizard again. This time as with CU 20 it now showed only 15 steps instead of the original 18. The installation completed successfully.
My question is if the initial installation of Exchange Server 2016 and the subsequent CU 18 completed successfully, why would subsequent CU installations 20 and 22 provide the errors above, starting with the "cannot start WinMgmt service”?
Pre-requisites of .NetFramework 4.8 and the URL rewrite module were installed as well as the latest monthly updates and the server was rebooted before proceeding with the CU installation. The account used for the installation has the required Enterprise Admin, Schema Admin and ORganization Management group access. The Setup.exe was launched as an administrator.
I'm just trying to see if I can avoid the same issue tomorrow morning as I proceed with the installation of CU 23.
If anyone has had a similar issue and has been able to identify the cause of the problem and been able to fix what was wrong so that future CU installations go smoothly, please let me know. Any guidance would be appreciated.
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Are you putting the server in maintenance mode?
ref link: https://www.stellarinfo.com/article/install-exchange-cumulative-updates.php
The prerequisites for this update is Microsoft .NET Framework 4.8 which you said is already installed,
however you will need to install also a new Visual C++ component.
link: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=40784
ref link: https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/topic/cumulative-update-23-for-exchange-server-2016-kb5011155-98183ada-e4cd-465f-b201-69d40fb74678
Thanks.
I have not previously placed the server in maintenace mode. Not doing so wasn't an issue when I installed CU 18. In my case we don't have another exchange server and are not using a DAG. So in this case I would only run the commands in bold below. Is this correct? Is placing the server in maintenance mode typically done before installing the prerequesites?
Set HubTransport to draining state,
Set-ServerComponentState -Identity "ServerName" -Component HubTransport -State Draining -Requester Maintenance
If you have another Exchange Server in the organization, redirect the queued message to that server
Redirect-Message -Server ServerName -Target "ServerName-02.stellarinfo
If the server belongs to the DAG group, run the following command; otherwise, skip to ServerWideOffline
Suspend-ClusterNode "ServerName-01"
Then disable database copy auto-activation and move the active copy of the database to another DAG member.
Set-MailboxServer "ServerName-01" -DatabaseCopyActivationDis
Also, block the DatabaseCopyAutoActivation
Set-MailboxServer "ServerName-01" -DatabaseCopyAutoActivatio
Then put the Exchange Server into maintenance mode using the following command,
Set-ServerComponentState "ServerName" -Component ServerWideOffline -State Inactive -Requester Maintenance
To verify Exchange Server is in maintenance mode, run the following command,
Get-ServerComponentState "ServerName” | Select Component, State
The components must be in an inactive state.
After the CU is installed I would only need to to run the following two commands. Is this correct?
Set-ServerComponentState “ServerName” –Component ServerWideOffline –State Active –Requester Maintenance
Set-ServerComponentState ServerName –Component HubTransport –State Active –Requester Maintenance
**************************
I understand when I use the wizard it will indicate the correct prerequisites so I don't think this is an issue. I understand I will need to install the new Visual C++ component prior to installing the CU.
Are you implying that the winmgmt error I noted in my question is due to the server not being in maintenance mode prior to installing the CU, even though this was not an issue when I installed the earlier CU18?
Thanks
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Thank you. Can you comment on my question regarding the powershell commands I highlighted as being the only ones I need to run based on our environment?
Thanks
I rarely use it, even with a DAG. Moving active databases to another node is generally enough to avoid problems.
When things go wrong, the problems are the same with or without maintenance mode.
Now, it is better to know that no importants operations or messages will be impacted.
Coming back to your concern, it is difficult to avoid all problems in advance, as they are now very few testers.
There are too much combinations of configurations to predict the results.
Thank you. I was just hoping to avoid the same issues I have had with the previous CU 20 and CU 22 updates. Hopefully the installation of the CU 23 tomorrow morning will go more smoothly. I'll update with the results.
Thanks
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I manage several Exchange servers for myself and clients. I've done multiple CU installs on each of them over the last few years. In my experience, they USUALLY go ok. I have had 2 or 3 instances where the update stopped. In all cases, I was able to relaunch setup and it basically picked up where it left off and finished without further issue.
My advice would be to review the pre-requests and make sure you perform all necessary pre-requisite tasks. Then, review your event logs and make sure the server is as healthy as it can be. Perform a FULL backup and then perform the CU install on a Friday or Saturday night (or a time when the least amount of mail is received and the fewest users are likely to be using the system). All these tasks are to minimize the potential impact of an issue or delay due to error.
To Deman-Barcelo's point (though I don't know if he'd agree with me), Microsoft's Exchange installation base is MUCH smaller than it was 10-15 years ago. There aren't many people (by comparison) performing these updates and finding issues Microsoft can resolve. Microsoft, I'm sure, will tell you they test the update and update process, but given their track record in Windows Updates over the last few years (breaking things that are HEAVILY used by many), I find it difficult to believe their testing process is anywhere near as thorough as it should be. (Frankly, I believe Microsoft would much rather you be paying them monthly than hosting yourself... heck, the next version of Exchange will be an annual subscription, even if you run it on your own hardware).
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Exchange is the server side of a collaborative application product that is part of the Microsoft Server infrastructure. Exchange's major features include email, calendaring, contacts and tasks, support for mobile and web-based access to information, and support for data storage.