SharePoint 2013: How to move Central Administration to a new farm server

Introduction

The following simple procedure enables you to move a SharePoint farm's Central Administration web application to another farm server, while also updating the URL shortcut.  There is no need to modify registry entries to accomplish this.  The SharePoint Products Configuration Wizard does everything for you.

Solution

1. Repeat the following steps on each farm server hosting the Central Administration web application:
1. As the farm setup user administrator account (eg, spAdmin), remote into the farm server currently hosting the Central Administration web application.
2. Run the SharePoint Products Configuration Wizard as administrator.
3. At the Modify server farm Settings page of the wizard, verify that the option Do not disconnect from this server farm is selected, and then click Next.
4. At the Modify SharePoint Central Administration Web Application Settings page of the wizard, select the option Yes, I want to remove this web site from this machine, and then click Next.
5. Click Next again.
6. Once the wizard has finished the configuration, exit the wizard.
7. Log out of the machine.  At this point, your farm does not have a Central Administration web application.  That's OK.  Don't fret.  You'll be re-installing it momentarily.
2. Repeat the following steps on each farm server on which you want to host the Central Administration web application:
1. As the farm setup user administrator account (eg, spAdmin), remote into a farm server on which you want to host the Central Administration web application.
2. Run the SharePoint Products Configuration Wizard as administrator.
3. At the Modify server farm Settings page of the wizard, verify that the option Do not disconnect from this server farm is selected, and then click Next.
• If this is the first time that you are running the wizard to install CA, you will be presented with the Configure SharePoint Central Administration Web Application page, where you can specify a port and authentication provider for the CA web application.  Enter this information, and then click Next.
• If you are installing CA to yet another farm server (ie, to have two or more instances of CA available), you will be presented with the Completing the SharePoint Productions Configuration Wizard page, but having the Advanced Settings button enabled:
1. Click the Advanced Settings button.  The Advanced Settings page is displayed.
2. Select the option, Use this machine to host the web site, and then click OK.  This will not remove the other instance of CA already installed.  It only installs another instance.
4. Click Next again.
5. Once the wizard has finished the configuration, exit the wizard.

References

• Sharepoint 3.0 Central Administration URL Change (scroll down to the January 26, 2008 response by Kenneth Marsner).
• Account permissions and security settings in SharePoint 2013
• Changing SharePoint 2010 Central Admin URL
• SharePoint 2013: How to Update the Central Admin URL Desktop Icon Link

Notes

• It is imperative that you engage in this procedure while logged in as the farm setup user administrator account.  Only this account (if you installed your farm as this account) has the appropriate permissions necessary to access required folders and registry keys to make the necessary changes.
• Thanks to Kenneth Marsner and his response to a Central Administation URL change posted in TechNet for describing how to do this.
• There is absolutely no need to edit the registry in order to move the CA web application and have URLs updated, such as discussed here and here.  While this registry entry is effectively how individual instances of SharePoint Server actually track the URL for CA, editing this key will not update the farm's configuration database and will cause the farm configuration database to be out-of-sync with farm servers with respect to this parameter.  You can see this more clearly by examining the actual syntax of the Central Administration URL: the URL points to psconfigui with a command specified.
• I was not able to find any specific Microsoft documentation that describes how to do this.  If any reviewer of this posting happens to know, please leave note and URL.
• After running the SharePoint Products Configuration Wizard, you may see the Missing server side dependencies issue appear again in the farm's Health Report.  I have experienced this every time I run the configuration wizard or psconfig.