Hyper-V Reporting Script

Serhat AKINCI, a Hyper-V MVP, has just posted this very useful script:

https://gallery.technet.microsoft.com/Hyper-V-Reporting-Script-4adaf5d0

In his own words:

It can be difficult to monitor and assess resources in large Hyper-V environments. This PowerShell based script helps you to understand virtualization inventory, capacity and general resource availability in your Standalone or Clustered Hyper-V Environment.

Highlights
  • More than 2600+ lines of PowerShell, HTML and CSS code examples.
  • Creates a plain but detailed and user-friendly HTML report which is compatible with all modern browsers.
  • Provides more detailed information via tooltips in the HTML report. (cells with asterisks and highlights)
  • Checks and installs required runtime environment prerequisites like Hyper-V and Clustering PowerShell.
  • Collects information by using standard Hyper-V and Clustering PowerShell cmdlets and custom WMI queries.
  • Shows alerts in the report for certain situations (utilizations, VM checkpoints, replication status, etc.)
  • Can be used directly from command-line or as a scheduled Windows task.
  • Supports report delivery via e-mail with advanced options. (authentication, TLS/SSL, multiple recipients)
  • Includes a mode that reports only alerts in the Hyper-V environment. (aka Highlights Only mode)
  • Advanced error handling and logging. (Console messages and log file)

You can see an full example report here: http://www.serhatakinci.com/files/get-hypervreport-v1-0-demo-output.html
Open-mouthed smile

Moving to Office 365/Exchange Online? A good idea?

Reducing IT costs: Especially in challenging economic times, organizations need to cut costs wherever possible—but without reducing capabilities.

Increasing predictability of IT costs: Replacing or upgrading on-premises IT systems can require significant one-time capital expenditures.

Increasing user productivity: Users face growing volumes of email, and need tools to help them manage it more efficiently.
Enhancing collaboration: Increasingly mobile and distributed workers need technology that helps them work together wherever they are.

Reducing IT administration: IT can be stretched thin and spend too much time managing hardware, updates, and upgrades.
Increasing reliability and availability of email: Email is a business-critical application, and many organizations face challenges keeping it running—especially with shrinking IT budgets.

Staying up-to-date with the latest technology: To stay competitive and recruit the next generation of talent, businesses need to have the latest functionality. But, upgrading on-premises software can be a significant undertaking.

1 Simplified Administration

Managing corporate email can be complex. With Exchange Online, many of the most time-consuming tasks are taken care of by Microsoft, including the management of hardware, updates, and upgrades. Additionally, Exchange Online delivers a streamlined administration experience, making it easier for IT administrators to configure and manage email services in ways that benefit the business.

2 Conclusion

The benefits of moving email to the cloud are clear; including lower costs, increased agility, simpler management, and higher-quality services. Exchange Online meets these expectations by delivering a wide-range of features and capabilities that support anywhere access, protection and compliance, and simplified administration.

But now the real world experience with Exchange Online

If your organization is using google DNS servers. You will be redirected to the Exchange Online servers in America not Dublin if you live in The Netherlands.

Exchange Online works the best if you use cached mode.

The Question is do you want is you using Microsoft Remote Desktop Services or Citrix XenDesktop or VMware Horizon (View)

Cached Exchange Mode in a Remote Desktop Session Host environment: planning considerations
Limits to using personal folders (.pst) files over LAN and WAN links.

My Conclusion:
Exchange Online is great for most organizations. Lower costs, increased agility, simpler management, and higher-quality services.

But is your organization using Microsoft Remote Desktop Services or Citrix XenDesktop or VMware Horizon (View). You need think twice for you migrate.

As IT admin you don’t want ost files locally on Remote Desktop or XenDesktop or VMware View Servers & Desktops or on your file server.

Saving money can mean angry & complaining customers….

Configure your Exchange 2013 server with Configure-Echange2013.ps1 Updated to V2.2 Added Check Transaction Log Growth

I love Powershell <3.

Configure & maintaining your Exchange 2013 can be a hell… I do the most things with powershell…

I have a lot of standard scripts to configure an Exchange 2013 server or DAG cluster.

So i created a freaky nice script i my say so!! :

Updated to V2.2 Added Check Transaction Log Growth
Configure-Exchange2013

Download: https://gallery.technet.microsoft.com/scriptcenter/Configure-Exchange-2013-e0ffb2a6

Exchange 2013 Managed Availabilty and why do I need 200GB free space

I  like the Managed Availability and the “self healing” aspect of Exchange 2013.
But about SpaceMonitorLowSpaceThresholdInMB is nothing about to read. 

If you check your serverhealt with:
get-serverhealth -identity servername -HealthSet Diskspace | ? AlertValue -ne unHealthy | ft -autosize

You can get lots of Databases which are in an unhealthy state because the LowLogVolumeSpaceMonitor is configured to check if you have 200 GB of free space. That would be an great idea, if you have a large organization and you have lots of disks whith a huge amount of free space. But in smaller company it would be great to change this value.

With Exchange 2013 SP1 you should now be able to configure this. Go to all of your Mailbox Servers and in regedit go to the following path:

HKLM\Software\Microsoft\ExchangeServer\v15\ActiveMonitoring\Parameters

If you have an DWORD called SpaceMonitorLowSpaceThresholdInMB then you’re lucky. If not, create a DWORD with the name and then you can change it to an Value which suits you more. But, as the dword is mentioning, its in MB not GB 😉

Updated 15-03-2015

No Reg Setting but Add-GlobalMonitoringOverride is better!!

SpaceMonitorLowSpaceThresholdInMB.ps1
write-host = “Default 175GB CU7”
$diskspace = Read-Host ‘What is the Minimum Free Disk Space in MB?’
Add-GlobalMonitoringOverride -Item Monitor –Identity MailboxSpace\StorageLogicalDriveSpaceMonitor -PropertyName MonitoringThreshold -PropertyValue $diskspace

Exchange Administrator’s toolkit

There are lots of tools for Exchange Server available, you can find most of them at the Exchange Server Wiki (some of the tools listed are for previous versions of Exchange).

Here is a short selection from the vast collection available:

Hotfix KB2899591 for Outlook 2010 add support for MAPI/HTTP

Microsoft released a hotfix  KB2899591 for Outlook 2010. This hotfix adds MAPI/http support for Outlook 2010 clients. So now can switch if you are using Exchange 2013 SP1 or later from RPC/http to MAPI/http.
See  KB2899591 for the additional fixes that are included in hotfix  as well.

You can request the hotfix for x86 and x64 versions of Outlook 2010 here.

Updated: Update Rollup 8 v2 For Exchange 2010 SP3 (KB2986475) Released

An issue has been identified in the Exchange Server 2010 SP3 Update Rollup 8. The update has been recalled and is no longer available on the download center pending a new RU8 release. Customers should not proceed with deployments of this update until the new RU8 version is made available. Customers who have already started deployment of RU8 should rollback this update.

The issue impacts the ability of Outlook to connect to Exchange, thus we are taking the action to recall the RU8 to resolve this problem. We will deliver a revised RU8 package as soon as the issue can be isolated, corrected, and validated. We will publish further updates to this blog post regarding RU8.

This issue only impacts the Exchange Server 2010 SP3 RU8 update, the other updates remain valid and customers can continue with deployment of these packages.

Check: http://blogs.technet.com/b/exchange/archive/2014/12/09/exchange-releases-december-2014.aspx

Updated: Update Rollup 8 v2 For Exchange 2010 SP3 (KB2986475) has been released

Security update available for Exchange 2007, 2010 and 2013

Microsoft has released a fix for Outlook Web App in all supported versions of Exchange.
In all cases, it comes to security issues that have been designated as Important.

Four security updates are also those offered by Microsoft Update, but here are the manually download links:

Rollup 15 for Exchange Server 2007 Service Pack 3
Rollup 8 for Exchange 2010 SP3
Security Update For Exchange Server 2013 SP1 (KB3011140)
Security Update For Exchange Server 2013 CU6 (KB3011140)
Cumulative Update 7 for Exchange Server 2013 (Provided not with Windows Update)

Versions that are not listed here are no longer supported or are not vulnerable. For more information read the security bulletin MS14-075: Vulnerabilities in Microsoft Exchange Server Could Allow Elevation of Privilege (3,009,712)

Cumulative Update 7 for Exchange Server 2013

Today, Cumulative Update 7 for Exchange Server 2013 was released by the Exchange Team (KB2986485). This update raises Exchange 2013 version number to 15.0.1044.22.

Note: Customers that run backups of their Exchange databases are advised to upgrade to CU7 and perform a post-upgrade full backup. This is due to a race condition which could prevent proper restoration of pre-CU7 Exchange databases.

Notes:

  • When using Exchange hybrid deployments or Exchange Online Archiving (EOA), you are required to stay current.
  • CU7 adds support for hierarchies containing 250,000 modern public folders. Consult this article for co-existence scenarios.
  • Be advised of OAB architectural changes introduced with CU5 which are documented here. If you are affected, it is recommended to update CAS servers prior to Mailbox servers.
  • If you have installed the Interim Update to fix Hybrid Configuration Wizard, you can install the Cumulative Update over it – there is no need to uninstall the IU prior to installing CU6.

This Cumulative Update includes schema and AD changes, so make sure you run PrepareSchema / PrepareAD. After updating, the schema version will be 15965.

Note that Cumulative Updates can be installed directly, i.e. no need to install RTM or Service Packs prior to installing Cumulative Updates. Note that once installed, you can’t uninstall a Cumulative Update nor any of the installed Exchange server roles. The order of upgrading servers is irrelevant, unlike with previous generations of Exchange.

Finally, for any Hotfix, Rollup, Service Pack or Cumulative Update, I’d recommend to thoroughly test this in a test and acceptance environment first, prior to implementing it in production.

You can download Exchange 2013 Cumulative Update 7 here; UM Language Packs can be found here.

This update resolves security issues that are described in December 2014 security update for Exchange Server 2013 Service Pack 1 and Cumulative Update 6.
Additionally, this update also resolves the issues that are described in the following Microsoft Knowledge Base (KB) articles:

  • 3004235 Exchange Server meetings in Russian time zones as well as names of time zones are incorrect after October 26, 2014

  • 3012655 New-MailboxImportRequest causes unreadable characters when you import an ANSI format .pst file of Russian language

  • 3012652 CalendarProcessing cmdlet does not generate delegate permissions to universal security groups in Exchange Server 2013

  • 3009631 Advanced Find against the Sent Items folder in Outlook returns no result in Exchange Server 2013

  • 3009612 Outlook Web App shows organization details on the contact card beyond the scope of user ABP in Exchange Server 2013

  • 3009291 Shared mailbox cannot be opened in Outlook in an Exchange Server 2013 environment that has multiple domains

  • 3008453 Cannot edit or delete forms from the organizational forms library in Exchange Server 2013

  • 3008438 User who is trying to Log on to Exchange Admin Console is logged in to OWA instead

  • 3006672 Move request fails if the IsExcludedFromProvisioning option is true in Exchange Server 2013

  • 3005391 Exchange Server 2013 Cumulative Update 5 breaks free|busy lookup from Exchange Online to Exchange Server 2007

  • 3003986 RejectMessageReasonText in transport rule appears in the user section of a DSN in Exchange Server 2013

  • 3001217 TLS 1.0 is hardcoded for SMTP traffic encryption in Exchange Server 2013

  • 3001037 Distribution group cannot send email messages to a mail enabled public folder in an Exchange Server 2013 environment

  • 2999031 A cross-forest mailbox move from Exchange Server 2007 to Exchange Server 2013 finishes with CompletedWithWarnings status

  • 2998144 New-MoveRequest cmdlet with RemoteLegacy parameter cannot perform a cross-forest mailbox move

  • 2988553 Add-ADPermission and Remove-ADPermission can be run outside the management scope in Exchange Server 2013

  • 2981538 Exchange Control Panel crashes when you proxy from Exchange 2013 to Exchange 2010

  • 3014051 Cannot migrate mailboxes in a multiple domains environment in Exchange Server 2013

  • 3012986 ContentIndexRetryQueueSize value for a passive node never drops to zero in Exchange Server 2013 Cumulative Update 6

  • 3004011 Sound alerts do not work in Outlook Web App when new email or calendar notification is received in Exchange Server 2013

  • 3003580 Event ID 4999 and 4401 when the Microsoft Exchange Replication service crashes in Exchange Server 2013

  • 3003518 “550 5.7.1” NDR when you send messages to external recipients in an Exchange Server 2013 hybrid environment

  • 3003068 Cannot see online archive mailbox after you upgrade to Exchange Server 2013 Cumulative Update 6

  • 3000944 Subfolders under the Deleted Items folder are not visible in Outlook in an Exchange Server 2013 environment

  • 2997847 You cannot route ActiveSync traffic to Exchange 2007 mailboxes after you upgrade to Exchange 2013 CU6

  • 2997355 Exchange Online mailboxes cannot be managed by using EAC after you deploy Exchange Server 2013 CU6

  • 2997209 Exchange Server 2013 databases unexpectedly fail over in a co-existence environment with Exchange Server 2007

  • 2995263 OAB cannot be rebuilt if the .flt file is larger than two GB in Exchange Server 2013

  • 2994216 PublicFolderMoveRequest deletes all read or unread state in target mailbox for each user in Exchange Server 2013

  • 2993871 Resource Booking Assistant crashes after you upgrade to Exchange Server 2013 Cumulative Update 5

  • 2983216 Category setting on an item in Outlook jumps the selection to the top of the list in an Exchange Server 2013 environment

  • 2931223 MAPI virtual directory is missing from Default Web Site node

Rollup 8 v2 for Exchange Server 2010 SP3

Exchange Team released Rollup 8 for Exchange Server 2010 SP3

Update Rollup 8 for Exchange Server 2010 SP3 resolves security issues that are described in December 2014 security update for Exchange Server 2007 and Exchange Server 2010.
Additionally, this update resolves the issues that are described in the following Microsoft Knowledge Base (KB) articles:

  • 3004235 Exchange Server meetings in Russian time zones as well as names of time zones are incorrect after October 26, 2014

  • 3009132 Hybrid mailbox moves to on-premises environment but finishes with CompletedWithWarnings status

  • 3008999 IRM restrictions are applied to incorrectly formatted .docx, .pptx, or .xlsx files in an Exchange Server 2010 environment

  • 3008370 Group members are not sorted by display name when HAB is used with OAB in Exchange Server 2010

  • 3008308 Public folder database migration issue in a mixed Exchange Server environment

  • 3007794 Hub Transport server cannot deliver messages when a database fails over to a cross-site DAG in Exchange Server 2010

  • 3004521 An Exchange server loses its connection to domain controllers if a public folder server is down in Exchange Server 2010

  • 2999016 Unreadable characters when you import ANSI .pst files of Russian language by using the New-MailboxImportRequest cmdlet

  • 2995148 Changing distribution group takes a long time in an Exchange Server 2010 environment

  • 2992692 Retention policy is not applied to Information Rights Management protected voice mail messages in Exchange Server 2010

  • 2987982 Issues caused by ANSI mode in Exchange Server 2010

  • 2987104 Email message is sent by using the “Send As” instead of “Send on Behalf” permission in Exchange Server 2010

  • 2982017 Incorrect voice mail message duration in Exchange Server 2013 and Exchange Server 2010

  • 2977279 You cannot disable journaling for protected voice mail in Exchange Server 2013 and Exchange Server 2010

Download: Rollup 8 v2 for Exchange Server 2010 SP3 (KB2986475)

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