Exchange 2010 Pre-Install Requirements

Lately I have found myself doing quite a few Exchange 2010 installations, and every single time the pre-install requirements trips me up.  Not really a show-stopper but it gets old quickly having to exit out of the installer, do something, start the installer and then have it error out on the very next step.  So without further ado – here is a list of things that needs doing to ensure Exchange 2010 installs smoothly

1. Target server needs to be running either
   • Windows Server 2008 R2 64-bit with SP2
   • Windows Server 2008 64-bit R2
2. Install the Microsoft Filter Pack (only if you’re going to host the Hub Transport or Mailbox Server roles).  The filter pack is available here
3. Run the following from an elevated PowerShell console: Import-Module ServerManager
4. Run the following from an elevated PowerShell console: Add-WindowsFeature NET-Framework,RSAT-ADDS,Web-Server,Web-Basic-Auth,Web-Windows-Auth,Web-Metabase,Web-Net-Ext,Web-Lgcy-Mgmt-Console,WAS-Process-Model,RSAT-Web-Server,Web-ISAPI-Ext,Web-Digest-Auth,Web-Dyn-Compression,NET-HTTP-Activation,RPC-Over-HTTP-Proxy –Restart
5. Run the following from an elevated PowerShell console: Set-Service NetTcpPortSharing -StartupType Automatic
6. Install latest patches and service packs via Windows Update
7. Proceed with the Exchange 2010 installation

If you want to go straight to the source, here is the Microsoft Technet article