The short answer is – not much.
Exchange 2019 was released a few weeks back, but was effectively un-usable, as Exchange 2019 requires Windows Server 2019…. and Windows server 2019 got pulled from release (like Windows 10 1809) due to some issues.
Windows Server 2019 was re-released a few days ago, which allowed nerds everywhere (including me) to put Server 2019 and Exchange 2019 into a test environment.
The most striking thing that is immediately noticeable is that everything looks the same…. The install process, the GUI, the management, all looks the same as it did in 2016. To me, this is a good thing – while Microsoft of the past seemed to believe that moving functions between areas was good – some consistency is nice to have too.
Active Directory
First appearances indicate there is nothing new in AD 2019, the installation process and management is exactly the same as 2016.
While installing, there is not even an option to set the forest and domain functional level to “2019” – only 2016.
A quick look at the schema version indicates it has increased and quick google finds this article
So, while there is something new in the schema, its an incredibly small update….. and there are no new features or functionality of any type to focus on.
Exchange 2019
Exchange 2019 is a bit the same as AD, everything appears to be the same as Exchange 2016, from the install process to the management interface.
A google comes up with this
https://practical365.com/exchange-server/should-you-upgrade-to-exchange-server-2019/
So there are some changes and feature updates – but these updates may not have an impact/matter to your organization.
I found these two releases interesting overall as
- AD is the core of many enterprise networks
- Exchange is a core business application
To see a new release of both of these products with very minimal improvements I think demonstrates where all Microsoft’s development effort is going (which, to be fair, we already knew)