Usually if Exchange Servers do not start all services, you can go to Windows Event Logs and there is usually a good indication on why it is not started or delayed.
Typical cases are:
AD/DNS service not reachable in the lab. Did you start the AD service in a application group before you try to start the Exchange server in the jobs section?
Check that the DNS entry in the exchange server matches the IP addresses that you start in the virutal lab.
As well a common issue is, if you run a Availability Group memeber in the lab and a witness was not started in the application group (can be a CAS server or share depending on configuration).
Best action is:
Start DNS server in Application Group
Start the AD server in the Application Group
Start a CAS server in the application group
Start the witness share (if applicable) in the application Group.
Then use the SureBackup job with the application group to check on the other exchange roles like the database systems.
In the Application check of the SureBackup job and within the Application Group, be sure to select the right tests as it will change the timing of the testing. Basically give the systems enough time to start AD in recovery mode and Exchange in VSS recovery mode.
Another important step is that you need to ensure that the Public Firewall Profile of the Exchange server and the other server you use for testing (DNS/AD/CAS) has the same configuration as the Domain Firewall Profile. When you start a server in the virtual lab, the original router is not the same and so Windows detects that the system is started in a new network. Therefore applying the "public" firewall profile by default.
You can as well check if it make sense to add additional timeout time in the SureBackup entry for the Exchange server that you have. Maybe the service will just takes more time.
Typical cases are:
AD/DNS service not reachable in the lab. Did you start the AD service in a application group before you try to start the Exchange server in the jobs section?
Check that the DNS entry in the exchange server matches the IP addresses that you start in the virutal lab.
As well a common issue is, if you run a Availability Group memeber in the lab and a witness was not started in the application group (can be a CAS server or share depending on configuration).
Best action is:
Start DNS server in Application Group
Start the AD server in the Application Group
Start a CAS server in the application group
Start the witness share (if applicable) in the application Group.
Then use the SureBackup job with the application group to check on the other exchange roles like the database systems.
In the Application check of the SureBackup job and within the Application Group, be sure to select the right tests as it will change the timing of the testing. Basically give the systems enough time to start AD in recovery mode and Exchange in VSS recovery mode.
Another important step is that you need to ensure that the Public Firewall Profile of the Exchange server and the other server you use for testing (DNS/AD/CAS) has the same configuration as the Domain Firewall Profile. When you start a server in the virtual lab, the original router is not the same and so Windows detects that the system is started in a new network. Therefore applying the "public" firewall profile by default.
You can as well check if it make sense to add additional timeout time in the SureBackup entry for the Exchange server that you have. Maybe the service will just takes more time.
Statistics: Posted by Andreas Neufert — Jul 14, 2025 8:20 am
