Note: This article was originally published in 2014. Some steps, commands, or software versions may have changed. Check the current Windows Server 2012 documentation for the latest information.

If you’re encountering this issue, this troubleshooting guide will help you identify the root cause and apply the appropriate fix. This applies to Windows Server 2012 environments.

Resolved: Essentials Server Integration must be done on the Domain Controller

Recently we performed a migration from our on premise Exchange server to Microsoft’s cloud solution: (http://www.microsoft.com/exchange “Microsoft Exchange Server”). Because of that I wanted to perform an integration at the domain controller level using Windows Server Essentials Experience. Unfortunately whether I tried using a member server or a domain controller I came coming across this error message:

Service Integration This task must be performed on the domain controller

As I mentioned, I did try this on a domain controller so the error message throws me off big time! It wasn’t until I read several blogs that I found out this error is generated one you have more than one domain controller. It doesn’t matter if they are both running (http://essentials.live.com “Windows Essentials”) Server Experience or only one is, the error message is still there.

Obviously at this point there are few things you could do:

  1. Forget about integrating with Microsoft Online.
  2. Demote all but one server in your environment. Remember it is one DC and one Domain… having multiple Domains is a problem too. You can always DCPromo them back up after the fact. Obviously, Essentials would only work on the one that was configured.
  3. Write to Microsoft and hope they allow more than one DC.

It took me a while to figure this out as the message did not indicate the problem correctly but at least the solution was viable in our environment. For those who can’t demote other DCs including read only ones sorry but there is no other workaround. Hope this at least helps identify the issue.

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Summary

This guide covered the common causes and solutions for this Windows Server 2012 issue. If the problem persists, check the official documentation or system logs for additional diagnostic information.