Yes, you heard that right. You just cannot do it in 2013!
Compared to Exchange 2007 & 2010 where you can add and remove Exchange roles from a server at will, 2013 doesn’t offer that flexibility. I cannot think of a good reason for this move at all.
When you try to remove a role from the control panel (the process is the same as in 2010), you get a new window saying that you are going to remove Exchange fully from the server. There is no option to select a particular role for uninstalling.
Clicking Next will invoke the readiness check & if all is good, the Uninstall button will be available. It will say that the server is being checked to see whether Exchange can be “installed”, but it will uninstall Exchange. A typo that needs to be taken care of ;)
This is an important point that the Exchange admins and architects should have in mind. If you have one or more multi-role servers and want to have role separation later on, you will need to uninstall Exchange on each box (which will remove both the roles) and reinstall the role that you need. Make sure that you put some thought into your Exchange design, as you will be in for a lot of work otherwise ;)
Can anyone think of a reason for this move from the Exchange Team?
Microsoft is focused on generating future revue from its cloud offerings. That can be done by making Office 365 more enticing OR by making on-prem installations less enticing. If all your mailboxes were in Office 365 you wouldn’t need to worry about upgrades, CU’s, and the downtime associated with adding / removing roles, right?
True Rusty.