Tag: Exchange

Exchange Server 2013 Service Pack 1 Coming in Early 2014

Today on the Office blog Exchange Team announced that service pack 1 for the 2013 set of products including Office, SharePoint and Exchange will be released early next year. We know our Exchange customers have been looking for confirmation of the release but also have a desire for an early look at what’s coming with Exchange Server 2013 Service Pack 1 (SP1). So let’s have a first look a few things you can expect to see in SP1. But wait… we haven’t released CU3 – well, news about CU3 is imminent – stay tuned for more information about CU3 coming very soon.

In this post we are highlighting a few of the notable improvements to be included in SP1. This isn’t an all-inclusive list, so stay tuned for additional details as we approach release.

  • Windows Server 2012 R2 Support First answering one the most common questions since the release of Windows Server 2012 R2. Exchange 2013 SP1 will add Windows Server 2012 R2 as a supported operating system for Exchange Server 2013 with SP1. Let your planning begin.
  • S/MIME support for OWA Support for S/MIME in OWA will be brought back in SP1. With SP1 customers will have S/MIME support across Outlook, Exchange ActiveSync clients, and OWA.
  • Edge Transport Server Role The Edge Transport server role for Exchange Server 2013 will be available with SP1.
  • Fixes and Improvements Of course, SP1 will include fixes and improvements in areas you’ve helped us identity. SP1 is the first service pack issued in the new Exchange Server cumulative update release model – thus SP1 is essentially CU4. The installation of SP1 will follow the same process as the prior Exchange 2013 CU releases. SP1 will include all fixes included in previously released cumulative updates for Exchange 2013.

SP1 will require customers to update their Active Directory schema – customers should assume this requirement for all Exchange Server 2013 updates. Plan for this required update to quickly take advantage SP1 updates. Active Directory Schema updates for Exchange are additive and always backwards compatible with previous releases and versions.

Exchange 2013 and .NET 4.5 fixes KB2803754 & KB2803755

Microsoft published an important hotfix for .NET 4.5 earlier this year. It wasn’t picked up on by many, therefor a quick write up on the matter.

Since Exchange 2013 is built on top of .NET 4.5, it is recommended to install the hotfix on all Exchange 2013 Mailbox and Multi-Role servers. The hotfix will reduce the memory consumption of the store worker processes.

If you’re using Windows Server 2008 R2, the hotfix is KB2803754 and can be requested here; when using Windows Server 2012 the hotfix is KB2803755 which can be requested here.

After installing the hotfix, you need to do one of the following things:

  • Set the following registry key:
    HKLM\Software\Microsoft\.NETFramework\DisableRetStructPinning=1 (REG_DWORD)
  • Set the COMPLUS_DisableRetStructPinning environment variable to 1

I’d prefer the first option. Note that you need to restart the server for the change to become effective.

Thanks to EighTwOne

Updated Release of MS13-061 Security Update for Exchange Server 2013

On August 14th, ExchangeTeam announced the removal of the MS13-061 Security Update for Exchange Server 2013 due to an issue where the patch changed settings for the search infrastructure, placing the content index for all databases into a failed state.  As of today, we have released updated security updates for both Exchange 2013 RTM CU1 and Exchange 2013 RTM CU2.

Download links for MS13-061:

    Kemp LoadMaster v7.0-6 Firmware Released

    LoadMaster v7.0-6 is available now. Here is a highlighted feature list over v7.0-4:
    New Features and Feature Enhancements:

    • Quickstart Wizard – Exchange 2010- The QuickStart Wizard provides a simplified method of configuring LoadMaster to work within an Exchange 2010 environment
    • RESTful API v.2.0 – The RESTful API provides a REST-like interface designed to allow remote applications access to the LoadMaster in a simple and consistent manner.
    • Cisco UCS B Series Support – The LoadMaster for Cisco UCS supports the B Series Blade Servers.
    • Call Home – Phase 1 – The Call Home licensing model will be released for selected VLM evaluations. 
    • After installing or replacing a certificate, there is now an option to return to the Virtual Service page
    • Quality of Service functionality is now configurable within Virtual Services
    • The image sets for the ESP login screens now support a number of different languages
    • The character limit within the Message of the Day has been increased
    • When applying a temporary license, feedback is now provided if a temporary license has already been applied
    • The traceroute and netstat utilities are available debug options
    • Bulk disabling of Real Servers is possible
    • L7 Transparency is available for selection within a SubVS when the parent Virtual Service uses SSL Acceleration with re-encryption enabled.


    Issues Resolved:

      • Issues configuring eth0 on a 64 bit LoadMaster have been resolved
      • Removed restriction on creating a VLAN with an identifier of 1
      • Issue with deleting VSs in a state of Security Down is resolved
      • Issue with HA time out values resolved
      • Issue with Health Checks on ESP enabled Virtual Services have been resolved
      • To conserve CPU, gathering statistics is restricted to the items displayed on the Home page, unless specified in the Collect All WUI option
      • Issue with Port Following is resolved
      • ACLs now working as expected when Virtual Services are set to additional ports
      • Initial maximum cache size on LoadMaster for UCS is now within the valid range
      • Within the LoadMaster console, an inappropriate call of Quick Help has been resolved
      • Can now configure shared interfaces in the HA setup process before rebooting
      • A failed adaptive health check disables the Real Server
      • SNORT 2.9 rules imports correctly

      Known Issues:

        • A page is not delivered when using compression and http content-length is 0 bytes
        • Issues may occur with SNMP traffic when the Drop at Drain Time End option is enabled

        LoadMaster version v7.0-6 supports the following hardware:

        • LM-2000
        • LM-2200
        • LM-2500
        • LM-2600
        • LM-3500
        • LM-3600
        • LM-5300
        • LM-5500
        • LM-Exchange
        • LM-R320
        • LMOS-UCS-B
        • VLM-100
        • VLM-1000
        • VLM-Exchange

        Learn more about LoadMaster 7.0:

        Full Release Notes
        Full Documentation

        Exchange 2010 SP3 Rollup 2 en Exchange 2010 SP2 rollup 7

        The Exchange 2010 SP2 RU7 update contains the changes for MS13-061.  For more details, see the MS13-061 security bulletin.

        The Exchange 2010 SP3 RU2 update contains fixes for a number of customer-reported and internally found issues, as well as, the changes for MS13-061. For more details, including a list of fixes included in this update, see KB 2866475 and the MS13-061 security bulletin. I would like to specifically call out the following fixes which are included in this release:

            • 2837926 Error message when you try to activate a passive copy of an Exchange Server 2010 SP3 database: “File check failed”

            • 2851419 Slow performance in some databases after Exchange Server 2010 is running continuously for at least 23 days

            • 2855083 Public Folder contents are not replicated successfully from Exchange Server 2003 or Exchange Server 2007 to Exchange Server 2010

            • 2859596 Event ID 4999 when you use a disclaimer transport rule in an environment that has Update Rollup 1 for Exchange Server 2010 SP3 installed

            • 2860037 iOS devices cannot synchronize mailboxes in an Exchange Server 2010 environment

            • 2861118 W3wp.exe process for the MSExchangeSyncAppPool application pool crashes in an Exchange Server 2010 SP2 or SP3 environment

            • 2863473 Users cannot access Outlook mailboxes that connect to a Client Access server array in an Exchange Server 2010 environment

        Exchange 2007 SP3 rollup 11

        The Exchange 2007 SP3 RU11 update contains two fixes in addition to the changes for MS13-061. For more details, including a list of fixes included in this update, see KB 2873746 and the MS13-061 security bulletin. We would like to specifically call out the following fixes which are included in this release:

        • 2688667 W3wp.exe consumes excessive CPU resources on Exchange Client Access servers when users open recurring calendar items in mailboxes by using OWA or EWS
        • 2852663 The last public folder database on Exchange 2007 cannot be removed after migrating to Exchange 2013

        Z-Hire Active Directory User Creation Tool

        I want you to inform about a great tool.

        Z-Hire automates the IT user account creation process for Exchange mailbox, and Active Directory and Lync accounts. With just a click of the button, your Exchange mailbox, and Active directory user, Lync account and SalesForce User account will be created simultaneousy. Z-Hire serves as the platform for new hire accounts by allowing auto-creation of major IT accounts with the option for custom scripts. Z-hire will decrease your account deployment time by 600%, without the need for complicated and expensive identity management solutions. This tool makes creating Active Directory users a breeze. Some of the features include:

        – Environment Auto discovery (AD/Exchange/Lync/SalesForce)
        – Support for Active Directory user, Exchange, Lync 2010 and SalesForce user accounts
        – Template based deployment (allows consistency for all user accounts)
        – Active Directory user creation with major attributes
        – Active Directory group selection
        – Active Directory user duplicate SamAccountName detection – Lync 2010 / 2013 user account creation supporting all policies
        – SalesForce user account creation supporting all attributes
        – Faster performance (compared to previous version)

        Supported Environments / IT systems
        – Active Directory (all versions)
        – Exchange 2007 (all versions)
        – Exchange 2010 / 2013 (all versions)
        – Lync 2010 / 2013 (both Standard and Enterprise versions)
        – Office 365 Cloud
        – SalesForce Cloud

        Screenshot #1 – Active Directory
        Screenshot #2 – Active Directory
        Screenshot #3 – Active Directory
        Screenshot #4 – Exchange
        Screenshot #5 – Lync
        Screenshot #6 – Supported Systems

        SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS
        – .NET 3.5 and .NET 4.0
        – Domain Joined

        COMPATIBLE OS
        – Windows 7 X64
        – Windows Server 2008 X64
        – Windows Server 2008 R2 X64
        – Windows Server 2012

        Please download administration guide:1
        http://www.zohno.com/docs/Z-Hire_V4_Administration_Guide.pdf

        Download: Z-Hire

        Z-Term Active Directory User Termination Tool

        I want you to inform a about a great tool Z-Term Active Directory User Termination Tool

        This application allows IT administrators to automate common tasks when an employee leaves the company. Usually, IT administrators use multiple consoles and perform variety of tasks to terminate user accounts. This tool allows IT administrator to automate:

        Active Directory Tasks
        – Disable Active Directory Account
        – Reset Active Directory Password
        – Move users to dedicated OU
        – Remove Active Directory Group membership
        – Clear Manager field in AD
        – Set Description field
        – Set Notes field
        – Remove Active Directory Account

        Exchange Tasks
        – Change Distribution List ownership to
        – Set customAttribute5
        – Set out of office reply
        – Forward Email
        – Grant full access permission
        – Hide user from Global Adress List
        – Remove Calendar items from resources.(remove calendar items where user is an organizer of)
        – Cancel meetings from termined user’s mailobx(cancel meetings where user is an organizer of)
        – Disable mailbox
        – Export mailbox to PST format
        – Remove ActiveSync device partnership
        – Remote wipe user’s ActiveSync device

        Lync
        – Disable Lync Account

        Office 365
        – MSOL User – Reset Password
        – MSOL User – Remove Office 365 License
        – MSOL User – Remove User
        – MSOL Exchange – Clear Out of Office Reply
        – MSOL Exchange – Hide User from GAL
        – MSOL Exchange – Change Distribution List Ownership
        – MSOL Exchange – Set CustomAttribute
        – MSOL Exchange – Set Out of Office Reply
        – MSOL Exchange – Set Grant FullAccess Permission
        – MSOL Exchange – Set email forwarding
        – MSOL Exchange – Remove calendar items from resource mailboxes

        File Operations
        – Move home folder
        – Export user settings to XML (dump all user data to xml as backup)
        – Run custom script ( for advanced users only, contact support for more info )

        Screenshot #1 – Active Directory
        Screenshot #2 – Exchange
        Screenshot #3- File Operations

        SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS
        – .NET 3.5 and .NET 4.0
        – Domain Joined

        COMPATIBLE OS
        – Windows 7 X64
        – Windows Server 2008 X64
        – Windows Server 2008 R2 X64
        – Windows Server 2012

        Please download administration guide: http://www.zohno.com/docs/Z-Term_V4_Administration_Guide.pdf

        Download: Z-Term

        Cumulative Update 2 for Exchange Server 2013

        Exchange Team released Cumulative Update 2 for Exchange Server 2013

        This CU contains the following major changes:

        • CU2 increases the maximum number of supported databases per server from 50 to 100 in the Enterprise Edition;
        • Enables silent redirection for Outlook Web App (OWA) to Exchange 2007 and Exchange 2013 when using multiple internet-facing AD sites or alternative ExternalURL settings (i.e. for legacy purposes);
        • Introduces the DAG Management Service which will offload monitoring and reporting from the Replication Service;
        • Shifting several responders from per-server throttling to per-group throttling;
        • Support for updating local help files using the cmdlet Update-ExchangeHelp;
        • Improvements in OWA Search to indicate search hit locations;
        • Introduction of *-MalwareFilterRule Cmdlets to apply custom malware policies to users, groups or domains.

        The list of bug fixes in this CU is undisclosed. Microsoft updated the following KB:

        • KB2866064 Can’t load OWA Premium by using Internet Explorer 11 in an Exchange Server 2013, Exchange Server 2010 or Exchange Server 2007 environment
        • KB2846288 Information store worker process crashes when you export mailboxes in an Exchange Server 2013 environment
        • KB2842504 EAS users incorrectly throttled in an Exchange Server 2013 environment
        • KB2830765 “MAPI_E_FAILONEPROVIDER” error when you use a MAPI application in a mixed Exchange Server 2013 and Exchange Server 2007 or Exchange Server 2010 environment
        • KB2835562 You can’t disable Outlook Web App access for users in on-premises Exchange Server

        You can download Exchange 2013 Cumulative Update 2 here. More details about these changes can be found in the original announcement.

        How to Improve Move Request Performance in Exchange 2010

        This article provides step-by-step procedure about How to Improve Move Request Performance in Exchange 2010.

        The Microsoft Exchange Mailbox Replication Service is responsible for Mailbox Move requests.
        MSExchangeMailboxReplication.exe.config is Mailbox move request configuration file located in the following location: <Exchange Installation Path>\Program Files\Microsoft\Exchange Server\V14\Bin

        How to Improve Move Request Performance in Exchange 2010:
        1. Go to Exchange Mailbox Server
        2. Navigate to the <Exchange Installation Path>\Program Files\Microsoft\Exchange Server\V14\Bin folder
        3. Make a backup copy of MSExchangeMailboxReplication.exe.config before making any changes in it.
        4. Open the Original MSExchangeMailboxReplication.exe.config file in notepad.
        image
        5.Modify the following values to increase the performance
        MaxActiveMovesPerSourceMDB = “50″
        MaxActiveMovesPerTargetMDB = “50″
        MaxActiveMovesPerSourceServer = “200″
        MaxActiveMovesPerTargetServer = “200″
        MaxTotalMovesPerMRS = “300″
        6. Save the file and Close it
        7. Go to Services console
        8. Restart the Microsoft Mailbox Replication Service

        Windows 2008 (R2) Network tuning to Increase Move mailbox Speed:
        1. Go to Start –> Command prompt –> Right Click –> Click Run as administrator
        2. Execute the following command: netsh int tcp show global
        image
        3. Disable TCP Chimney Offload and Receive Side Scaling on the network adapters
        netsh int tcp set global chimney=disabled
        netsh int tcp set global rss=disabled
        4. Run the following command and make sure Chimney Offload State & Receive-Side Scaling State is disabled.
        image
        5. Restart the Server.

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