There was a request to fix the issue below when installing Exchange 2013 CU23. When running setup the error received was «Installing Exchange Error — Server-Gui-Mgmt-Infra isn’t installed«.
If you look closely at the image below, you might be able to state the answer in advance…
Alternative Reality
As a side note. If you are installing Exchange 2016 onto Windows Server 2016 and receive this error, please ensure that you are using the latest CU. Support for this scenario was not present with the RTM build of Exchange 2016 and was added with CU3.
However, that is not the scenario shown above and is include to help those in that specific scenario that may land on this page.
Nul Points
Back to the original scenario, Exchange 2013 CU23 installing on to Windows Server 2016. The answer is — Negative Ghostrider, the pattern is full.
In short no, this can not be fixed. The clue which was mentioned in the image above is the desktop. It is Windows Server 2016.
Exchange 2013 is NOT supported on Windows Server 2016, so it would be expected to run into errors. You can review the Exchange support matrix to review the supported combinations.
The OS component Exchange 2013 is looking for is simply not present in Windows Server 2016. This is shown below:
Compare this to an Exchange 2013 server running on Windows Server 2012 R2. The expected OS component is present.
Cheers,
Rhoderick
KB ID 0001397
Problem
During the Exchange 2016 Setup Readiness Checks;
The Windows component Server-Gui-Mgmt-Infra isn’t installed on this computer and needs to be installed before Exchange Setup can begin
Solution
This is a known problem when installing Exchange 2016 on Server 2016, and was fixed in Exchange 2016 (Cumulative Update number 4). You are probably installing Exchange 2016 from the RTM media, (downloaded from Microsoft.)
You need to download a newer version of the Exchange 2016, install media, CU4 or newer. Use the following link;
Updates for Exchange 2016
Note: The update, is the full install media, (It might just look smaller, because it does not have every language pack in it!)
Related Articles, References, Credits, or External Links
NA
Installing Exchange 2016 on Windows Server 2016 the basics.
After Exchange 2016 came out I wanted to try it out, so I already downloaded the ISO. Then I had no more time to install Exchange 2016 and the installation waited longer than expected.
The Exchange readiness indicated that the Server-Gui-Mgmt-Infra feature was not installed.
So I opened PowerShell and ran:
Install-WindowsFeature Server-Gui-Mgmt-Infra, Server-Gui-Shell -restartBut unfortunately I got the following error message:
“Install-WindowsFeature : ArgumentNotValid: The role, role service, or feature name is not valid:
‘Server-Gui-Mgmt-Infra’. The name was not found.”
The first thing I did was a Google Search. Fortunately, or unfortunately I found the “solution” very quickly.
Unfortunately, Exchange 2013 will not be supported on Windows Server 2016 at all. Exchange 2016 will be supported on Windows Server 2016 at GA, however Exchange 2016 it is not guaranteed to work on TP5. Sorry for the inconvenience.
So, I’m just going to keep this short. The standard ISO of Exchange does not offer what newer CUs do offer. It is best to download and install the latest CU directly. You can find the CU on technet.
Go to the download page directly here.
See below. This time Exchange got through the readiness check.
Recap
I have updated the post in response to feedback. The link to the Exchange CU3 was a direct link. Meanwhile, there is a CU9 out. From now on the link will go to the CU website.
Do you have any more feedback or additions to this post? Please leave a comment.
For a complete guide to install Exchange 2016 you can follow the tutorial from Technet.
Bas Wijdenes
My name is Bas Wijdenes and I work as a PowerShell DevOps Engineer. In my spare time I write about interesting stuff that I encounter during my work.
View all posts by Bas Wijdenes
I was trying to install Exchange 2013 SP1 on a freshly installed Windows 2016 server when I received an error running the Exchange 2013 readiness checks.
Error:
The Windows component Server-Gui-Mgmt-Infra isn’t installed on this computer and needs to be installed before Exchange Setup can begin.
For more information, visit: http://technet.microsoft.com/library(EXCHG.150)/ms.exch.setupreadiness.ServerGuiMgmtInfraNotInstalled.aspx
Exchange 2013 readiness error
When clicking on the link for more information I received the helpful information:
“Sorry, but we haven’t added content for this Exchange 2013 readiness check yet”.
Exchange readiness error’s hyperlink page shows there is no content.
After double checking everything, I found out Microsoft Exchange 2013 is not supported on Windows Server 2016. Windows Server 2016 only supports Microsoft Exchange 2016 CU3 (and presumably later).
Workaround
Unfortunately, there are only two options. Downgrade your Windows 2016 licence to Windows 2012 R2, as I did, or go for Exchange 2016 CU3.
I hope this post helps someone find a quick answer to the issue rather than trawling the internet for hours. Why can’t the installer just tell you that it is not compatible!
Let me know if there are any other workarounds or if this helped you in the comments below,
Check out other Exchange 2013 fixes here
Thanks
Ian