Exchange Server 2010 can be installed on either Windows Server 2008 64-bit with Service Pack 2, or Windows Server 2008 64-bit R2, and either Standard or Enterprise editions.

In this post I’ll walk through installing the pre-requisites for Exchange Server 2010 on Windows Server 2008.  If you’re looking for the pre-requisites for Windows Server 2008 R2 go here instead.

First, install the following software components.

1. .NET Framework 3.5 Service Pack 1
2. .NET Framework 3.5 Family Update
3. Windows Remote Management and Windows PowerShell 2.0
4. 2007 Office System Converter: Microsoft Filter Pack (for Hub Transport and Mailbox Server roles only)

Run the following from an elevated command prompt.

C:\>sc config NetTcpPortSharing start= auto

Next we need to install the operating system components.  The Exchange source files contain a series of ServerManagerCmd.exe answer files in XML format that can be used to install the operating system pre-requisites for each of the server roles.

Each file relates to a specific Exchange 2010 deployment scenario.

• exchange-all.xml – all server roles
• exchange-base.xml – only the requirements for Forest and Domain prep operations
• exchange-cadb.xml – Central Admin Database role
• exchange-cas.xml – Client Access Server role
• exchange-eca.xml – Central Admin role
• exchange-edge.xml – Edge Transport Server role
• exchange-hub.xml – Hub Transport Server role
• exchange-mbx.xml – Mailbox Server role
• exchange-typical.xml – Typical Exchange server (Client Access, Hub Transport, and Mailbox Server roles)
• exchange-um.xml – Unified Messaging role

For example, here is the contents of the exchange-cas.xml file.

Execute any of the answer files using ServerManagerCmd.exe and the -inputPath parameter (that can be shortened to -ip).  Here I am installing the pre-requisites for a “Typical” Exchange 2010 server.

C:\Admin\Exchange 2010\scripts>servermanagercmd -ip exchange-typical.xml
.............................

Start Installation...

Skipping [.NET Framework 3.0 Features] .NET Framework 3.0 Features because it is
 already installed on this computer.

[Installation] Succeeded: [.NET Framework 3.0 Features] WCF Activation.
[Installation] Succeeded: [Web Server (IIS)] Management Tools.
[Installation] Succeeded: [Web Server (IIS)] Web Server.
[Installation] Succeeded: [Remote Server Administration Tools] Feature Administr
ation Tools.
[Installation] Succeeded: [Remote Server Administration Tools] Role Administrati
on Tools.
[Installation] Succeeded: [Remote Server Administration Tools] Active Directory
Domain Services Tools.
[Installation] Succeeded: [Web Server (IIS)] Performance.
[Installation] Succeeded: [Web Server (IIS)] IIS 6 Management Compatibility.
[Installation] Succeeded: [Web Server (IIS)] Health and Diagnostics.
[Installation] Succeeded: [Web Server (IIS)] Application Development.
[Installation] Succeeded: [Web Server (IIS)] Security.
[Installation] Succeeded: [Web Server (IIS)] Common HTTP Features.
<100/100>

Success: A restart is required to complete the installation.

C:\Admin\Exchange 2010\scripts>

If you want the restart to happen automatically add the -restart option to the command.

C:\Admin\Exchange 2010\scripts>servermanagercmd -ip exchange-typical.xml -restart

The server is now ready for installation of Exchange Server 2010.