I have a Sever 2012 Standard domain, the exchange Server will be installed on a Server Standard 2008 R2. Would think Exchange 2013 would have better hooks with Server 2012 including Anywhere Access (i did a in-place upgrade from Essentials 2012 to Standard so that I could have some of the Access pre-setup) but I have read that it's not quite ready. Any thoughts?

Hi I preferred Exchange 2010, It is now SP3, and its performance are nice. For Exchange 2013you can wait Cumulative Update 1 (CU1)It is scheduled on Q1. CheersZi Feng TechNet Community Support

Lets have Exchange 2010 and only you have Cu1 for 2013 and SP3 for 2010 you can opts for transition to Exchange 2013.

So even though it's a Server 2012 Domain, 2013 isn't ready for primetime. Because Cu1 is close I was wondering if it's not a timesaving thing to go for 2013. As I understand there is no migration so I would have to remove 2010 and install 2013 fresh. It will have to go on the Server 2008 R2 that Exchange 2010 will be installed on. The main focus of the Server will be Exchange and don't want to put it in a VM. I have the Image of Exchange 2010 with SP1. Can I run the setup using SP3 that I downloaded as well? Or do I have to install it then upgrade to SP3?

Hello, For an IT manager in a production environment, leading edge is always risky. 2013, is very good and very stable, the only shortcoming I see for now is that Exchange 2010 is well established and has broader support when using search engines to troubleshoot ptoblems. Exchange 2013 does not have the maturity, so search results will noy yield nearly as much help when you need to troubleshoot an issue. For production, 2010 is a safer bet I would say because of this. Miguel Fra | Falcon IT Services, Miami, FL www.falconitservices.com | www.falconits.com | Blog

Yep, that is a good point, my heart want's to go with 2013 but my head says 2010. What about the install of 2010, can I do it using the SP3 Service Pack? As I understand it Exchange 2010 will not work in a Server 2012 Domain without it.

Hello, Yes, it's supported in SP3 only. Exchange 2010 SP3 rolls out support for the Server 2012 platform. http://blogs.technet.com/b/exchange/archive/2012/09/25/announcing-exchange-2010-service-pack-3.aspx Miguel Fra | Falcon IT Services, Miami, FL www.falconitservices.com | www.falconits.com | Blog

What about the install then? Do I install with SP1 then upgrade to SP3? Thanks for the help by the way

Download directly from below link and install Exchange http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=36768 This Exchange Server 2010 SP3 software may be used to perform a new installation or to update an existing Exchange Server 2010 installation to Service Pack 2 (SP2) level.