Just by way of background, I have been installing and administering network servers, e-mail systems, VPN servers, and the like for many years. However, my involvement with Exchange and Windows Server has been mostly on the forensics and data recovery
level, or as a (sophisticated) user. I have never tried to deploy either from scratch before. My deployment experiences have been mostly with Linux in recent years, and with small private or personal "servers" running such cutting edge
software as Windows XP back when it was new. And even NetWare once.
When a client asked me if I could set up a server for his business, running Exchange Server (since they really want Outlook with all of its bells and whistles to work, particularly calendars) and providing VPN access for a shared file store, I figured it
could not be too difficult given that its a small business, with only a few users, and nothing sophisticated in the way of requirements. For reasons that don't bear explaining here, he was not willing to use a vendor hosting Exchange services or cloud
storage. There is no internal network behind the server; it is intended to be a stand-alone server, hanging off a static IP address on the Internet, providing the entirely mobile work-force of about 10 people with Exchange-hosted e-mail for their computers
and phones, a secure file store, and not much else. If Exchange didn't need it, I would not need to install Active Directory, for example. We have no direct need for its services.
So I did the research and it appears, more by implication than outright assertion, that I should be able to run Windows Server 2012 with Exchange Server 2013 on a server that also hosts Remote Access (VPN only) and does nothing else. And it appears I ought to be able to do it without virtualizing any of it. However, I have spent the last three or four days fighting one mysterious issue after another. I had Remote Access VPN working and fairly stable very quickly (although it takes a very long time to become available after the server boots), and it has mostly remained reliable throughout although at times while installing Exchange it seems to have dropped out on me. But I've always been able to get it back after scrounging through the logs to find out what is bothering it. I have occasionally, for a few minutes at a time, had Exchange Server willing to do everything it should do (although not always everything at the same time). At one point I even received a number of e-mails on my BlackBerry that had been sent to my test account on the Exchange Server, and was able to send an e-mail from my BlackBerry to an outside account.
But then Exchange Server just stopped. There are messages stuck in the queues, among other issues, but the Exchange Administration Center refuses now to display anything (after I enter my Administrator password, I just get a blank screen, whether on
the server or remotely).
So, I am trying to avoid bothering all of you any more than I have to, but let me just begin with the basic question posed in the title: Can I run Exchange Server (and therefore Active Directory and all of its components) and Remote Access (VPN only) on a single Windows Server 2012 server? And if so, do I have to run virtual machines (which will require adding more memory to the server, since I did not plan for it when I purchased it)? If it can be done, can anyone provide any pointers on what the pitfalls are that may be causing my problems? I am happy to provide whatever additional information anyone might like to help figure it out.
Thanks!