Tag: Exchange

Kemp LoadMaster Sizing Guide for MS Exchange 2010

Kemp released a cool tool: LoadMaster Sizing Guide for MS Exchange to see which of our products is best for you.

Some info about Kemp:
KEMP LoadMaster combines versatility with ease-of-use to speed deployment (see our step-by-step guidelines in the LoadMaster Deployment Guide for Load Balancing MS Exchange 2010) of the complete portfolio of advanced messaging applications and protocols used by Exchange 2010, including Outlook Web Access, Outlook Anywhere, ActiveSync, SMTP, POP3 and IMAP and RPC Client Access (Native MAPI). With built-in SSL acceleration and/or overlay, the LoadMaster offloads a key source of CPU drain to improve the capacity of Client Access Servers. Layer 7 healthchecking at the LoadMaster ensures that should one of the servers become inaccessible, the load balancer will take that server off-line, while automatically re-routing and reconnecting users to other functioning servers. Not quite ready to make the move to Exchange 2010? KEMP LoadMasters integrate seamlessly with earlier versions of Exchange as well.
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Screenshot from de sizing tool:

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ActiveSync Random Password Prompts Fixed

Some users were getting random prompts for passwords in ActiveSync on Windows Mobile 6.1 & 6.5 en Windows Phone 7.  Environment: Exchange 2007, and TMG and Kemp Load balancers, but this problem showed up months after changing ISA 2006 to TMG.  It seemed random.  The error on ActiveSync was the generic:

Error:
please log in access was denied 0×85010002

In the TMG Monitoring you would see a denied connection on your ActiveSync rule with this status:

12239 The server requires authorization to fulfill the request. Access to the Web server is denied. Contact the server administrator.

I tested with Windows Mobile Emulator from outside the firewall and was able to reproduce the error within hours (just letting it sit there).

I first thought this was the HTTP session timeout that changed with the Kemp Loadbalancers.

I poked around the web listener settings some more and noticed the timeout settings for forms authentication were set (this same web listener was used for OWA).  TMG is supposed to be smart enough to not apply any of the forms auth settings to clients that don’t support it (falling back to basic auth as with ActiveSync).

The forms auth timeout was indeed affecting ActiveSync. To find it, look for the web listener of your ActiveSync rule, go to properties>Forms tab>Advanced> and make sure “apply session timeout to non-browser clients” is unchecked.

ISA Web Listener Advanced Form Options

Windows Phone app for the Exchange Team Blog

The Exchange Team Blog” app for your Windows Phone. You can download it from here or directly from the Marketplace on your Windows Phone.

The app allows you to read our blog posts on the go. Some notable features are:

  • Favorite posts you love and refer them quickly
  • Follow our tweets from the same app
  • Quickly filter and read posts by tags/categories
  • Send us your suggestions
  • Share posts with your social networks

Here are some screenshots:

Source: The Exchange Team Blog

System Center Data Protection Manager 2010 Doesn’t Detect Tape Drives In Library

I’ve used System Center Data Protection Manager (DPM) since the 2007 beta, primarily for SharePoint and SQL backups & Exchange Backups.  At a customer they have one  DPM server which backs up to disk and additionally to a HP MSL2024 Tape Library for long term protection. The runs Windows Server 2008 R2 with DPM 2010 since its release.

After updating de DPM Server with SP1 for Windows 2008 R2 en updated the drivers. I had some issues with DPM. What I found was that although DPM installed correctly it couldn’t see  all the tape drives in the VTL. All the tape drives were visible in Device Manager and none were showing errors. I use the RECOMMENDED * HP StorageWorks Tape Drivers for Windows

In the DPM console under Management -> Libraries, the library was listed, but Total Drives was 0, rather than the expected 2. The DPM console showed the following error:

image

I followed the instructions to remap the drives here: http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb795782.aspx. The DPMLA.xml file produced by the tool was correct, showing the correct SCSI IDs, serial numbers etc. but DPM still couldn’t see the drives.

I found the solution to the problem on the DPM forum here: http://social.technet.microsoft.com/Forums/en-US/dpmtapebackuprecovery/thread/1d599443-7bf6-437a-bf12-52847fa7c8e5/ What I did is update the tape drive driver to the Inbox LTO driver as described on the forum and below:

1) Open device manager
2) Locate the tape drive
3) Right-click and look at the properties.
3) Under the DRIVER tab, select UPDATE DRIVER
a) Select the Install from list or specific location (Advanvced) – next.
b) Select Don’t search. I will choose the driver to install. – next.
c) Uncheck the Show comtabile hardware checkbox.
d) Highlight LTO under the manufacturer.
e) Highlight the LTO tape drive under model – then next.
f) This should install the Microsoft ltotape.sys driver.
4) Rescan the tape library in the DPM console – try to take another backup.

After following the above steps, all the two tape drives were visible in the DPM console.

Microsoft Office 365 Deployment Readiness Tool

The Office 365 Deployment Readiness Tool provides analysis of your on-premises environment in preparation for an Office 365 enterprise deployment. The readiness tool is integrated with the guidance provided in the web edition of the Microsoft Office 365 Beta Deployment Guide.

Download HERE

I run the tool in my test environment. See below the results

Microsoft Office 365 Deployment Readiness Tool

Beta

Office 365 Deployment Resource Kit build 01.00.00.00
modgClick here for the Microsoft Office 365 Beta Deployment Guide for Enterprises

Domains

modg Deployment Guide: Adding Your Domain(s) to Office 365
All email domains discovered in your environment:
Total: 3

All primary email domains discovered:
Total: 2

Primary email domain suffixes with greater than 50 users:
wardvissers.local
Total: 1


User Identity and Account Provisioning

Active Directory

Statistics

Total number of domains discovered in your forest: 1
Estimated total number of users: 59
Estimated total number of contacts: 0
Estimated total number of groups: 54
Estimated total number of mailboxes: 53
Estimated total number of objects for Directory Synchronization: 113
note
Note: Filters were applied to obtain the above object counts for an Office 365 deployment.

Forest and Domains

The following domains were discovered in your Active Directory forest:
wardvissers.local
Total: 1

Trusts

No forest trusts found
green
You may deploy AD FS 2.0 and Directory Synchronization without multi-forest constraints

Schema and Forest/Domain Functionality Levels

Active Directory forest schema level: Windows Server 2008 R2
Exchange schema level: Exchange Server 2010 SP1
Domain Functionality:Windows Server 2008 R2
Forest Functionality:Windows Server 2008 R2
Domain Controller Functionality:Windows Server 2008 R2
green
It appears that your Active Directory schema is prepared for Exchange Rich Coexistence
modg Deployment Guide: Exchange Rich Coexistence Requirements


Active Directory Cleanup

modg Deployment Guide: Active Directory Cleanup

samaccountname (user name) Attribute

green
Character length test passed
green
Unsupported character test passed

givenname (first name) Attribute

green
Character length test passed
green
Unsupported character test passed

sn (last name) Attribute

green
Character length test passed
green
Unsupported character test passed

displayname Attribute

green
Character length test passed
green
Unsupported character test passed

mail (email address) Attribute

green
Character length test passed
green
Unsupported character test passed
green
No duplicates found

mailnickname Attribute

green
Character length test passed
green
Unsupported character test passed

proxyaddresses (email addresses) Attribute

green
No duplicates found
green
Unsupported character test passed

Directory Synchronization

Object count assessment:
Estimated number of objects for Directory Synchronization (entire forest): 113
modg Deployment Guide: Object Count Considerations
Enterprise Admin rights:
green
It appears that you are an enterprise admin
Directory Synchronization admin requirement met!
modg Deployment Guide: Directory Synchronization Required Permissions
Active Directory recycle bin:
warning
Active Directory recycle bin is enabled in your forest this may impact your total object count quota for Directory Synchronization.


Office 365 Single Sign On and Identity

AD FS 2.0 Directory Cleanup Check:

UserPrincipalName (logon ID for Office 365) Attribute

fyi
Update values once you have verified your organization does not have any other application dependencies on the UserPrincipalName attribute.
modg Deployment Guide: Active Directory Cleanup
green
Unsupported characters test passed
green
Spaces in logon value test passed
green
Unicode character test passed
note
Note: All Unicode characters will be converted to underscores (_) in the UserPrincipalName field.
green
No UserPrincipalName duplicates found
warning
Discovered users without a user logon name (blank value) for UserPrincipalName
You will need to provide each user a UserPrincipalName in order for these users to sign into Office 365.
fyi
Below is a list of your UserPrincipalName domain suffixes in use:
wardvissers.local
Total: 1
note
Note: During the Office 365 Beta only one namespace (root and child domains) per AD FS 2.0 farm
Example contoso.com and root.contoso.com would require 1 AD FS 2.0 farm and fabrikam.com would require an additional AD FS 2.0 farm

fyi
Password length per domain:

wardvissers.local = 7

Exchange Online

Discovered Exchange Server(s) on-premises:
Estimated total number of Exchange Servers: 1

Statistics:
Estimated total number of users with default mailbox size (True): 53
Estimated total number of users with larger than default mailbox size (False): 0
Estimated total number of objects with Exchange organization level quota: 6


Lync Online

Lync user assessment:
Estimated total number of users leveraging Office Communications/Lync on-premises: 2
Sip domains:
fyi
The following sip domains were discovered:
wardvissers.local
Total: 1

SharePoint Online

User object count assessment:
green
The number of user objects in your forest is supported.
modg Deployment Guide: Object Count Considerations

Client and End User Experience

modg Deployment Guide: Rich Experience Client Requirements

Summary of client computer readiness (Office 365 single sign-on and rich client checks):

warning
Below is an estimate of computer operating systems NOT ready for Office 365 rich client experience:
Total: 0
green
Below is an estimate of computer operating systems ready for Office 365 rich client experience:
Windows XP Service Pack 3: 3
Windows 7 Service Pack 1: 3
Total: 6

Network


fyi
IP Configuration:
IPv4 Address. . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.150.60
IPv4 Address. . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.150.1
Subnet Mask . . . . . . . . . . . : 255.255.255.255
Subnet Mask . . . . . . . . . . . : 255.255.255.0
Default Gateway . . . . . . . . . :
Default Gateway . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.150.254

fyi
Trace route to your default gateway:
Tracing route to 192.168.150.254 over a maximum of 30 hops
1 1 ms 2 ms 2 ms 192.168.150.254

fyi
Trace Route test to Exchange Online:
Tracing route to outlook.com [65.55.94.40]
over a maximum of 30 hops:
1 3 ms 2 ms 1 ms 192.168.150.254
2 * 24 ms 25 ms 82.169.11.254
3 25 ms 26 ms 26 ms 195.69.145.20
4 145 ms 146 ms 144 ms 10.14.234.234
5 * * * Request timed out.
6 * * * Request timed out.
7 10.14.234.234 reports: Destination net unreachable.
Trace complete.
fyi

For additional tests utilize the Exchange Remote Connectivity Analyzer

Port Query Tests:

modg Deployment Guide: Ports and Protocols
green
portal.microsoft.com
Made a TCP 443 connection to portal.microsoftonline.com
green
Outlook.com
Made a TCP 443 connection to outlook.com
green
Outlook.com IMAP
Made a TCP 993 IMAP connection to outlook.com
green
Outlook.com POP
Made a TCP 995 POP connection to outlook.com
green
Outlook.com SMTP
Made a SMTP TCP 587 connection to outlook.com
green
Active Directory Federation Services End Point
Made a TCP 443 connection to nexus.microsoftonline.com
green
Directory Synchronization End Point
Made a TCP 443 connection to adminwebservice.microsoftonline.com
green
Office 365 PowerShell End Point
Made a TCP 443 connection to ps.microsoftonline.com
green
Outlook.com PowerShell End Point
Made a TCP 443 connection to ps.outlook.com
green
Office 365 Community End Point
Made a TCP 80 connection to community.office365.com
green
Lync Online SIP Connection
Made a TCP 443 connection to sipdir.online.lync.com
green
Lync Online Federation
Made a TCP 5061 connection to sipfed.online.lync.com
Domain Name System (DNS) name records checks:
fyi
Found the following MX DNS record(s):
Server: localhost
Address: 127.0.0.1
wardvissers.local
primary name server = ward-dc01.wardvissers.local
responsible mail addr = hostmaster.wardvissers.local
serial = 761
refresh = 900 (15 mins)
retry = 600 (10 mins)
expire = 86400 (1 day)
default TTL = 3600 (1 hour)
Information Gathered On:
WARD-DC01
Date: za 07-05-2011
Start Time: 18:19
End Time: 18:21

GAL Photos in Exchange 2010 and Outlook 2010

With Microsoft Exchange 2010 and Outlook 2010 & Lync & Sharepoint 2010 you can finally get photos into your global address list (GAL) and see just who’s who on your emails. You can do this on 2 way’s

1. Using Powershell Smile

    A minor schema change

    First stop, the AD Schema. A minor schema modification is required to flip the thumbnailPhoto attribute to make it replicate to the Global Catalog.

    1. If you haven’t registered the Schema MMC snap-in on the server you want to make this change on, go ahead and do so using the following command:

      Regsvr32 schmmgmt.dll

    2. Fire up a MMC console (Start -> Run -> MMC) and add the Schema snap-in

    3. In the Active Directory Schema snap-in, expand the Attributes node, and then locate the thumbnailPhoto attribute. (The Schema snap-in lists attributes by its ldapDisplayName).

    4. In the Properties page, select Replicate this attribute to the Global Catalog, and click OK.

      Figure 1: Modifying the thumbnailPhoto attribute to replicate it to Global Catalog

      Loading pictures into Active Directory

      Now you can start uploading pictures to Active Directory using the Import-RecipientDataProperty cmdlet, as shown in this example:

      Import-RecipientDataProperty -Identity "Ward VIssers" -Picture -FileData ([Byte[]]$(Get-Content -Path "C:\pictures\wardvissers.jpg" -Encoding Byte -ReadCount 0))

      To perform a bulk operation you can use the Get-Mailbox cmdlet with your choice of filter (or use the Get-DistributionGroupMember cmdlet if you want to do this for members of a distribution group), and pipe the mailboxes to a foreach loop. You can also retrieve the user name and path to the thumbnail picture from a CSV/TXT file.

      2. Using a Free tool like Outlook Photos from Exclaimer

      Download the Tool HERE

      The tool is easy to use Smile.

      Prerequisites

      User Preferences

        Domain user – The logged in user’ account is required to be an Active Directory account.

        Domain computer – The computer the user is logged into needs to be joined to an Active
        Directory domain.

        Active Directory permissions – The logged in user must have permission to upload photos to the required Active Directory accounts. (Alternate credentials can be supplied or control of the thumbnailPhoto field can be delegated to the logged in user.)

      Operating System

      • Windows Server 2003 x86 (including all service pack levels).
      • Windows Server 2003 R2 x86 and x64 (including all service pack levels).
      • Windows Server 2008 x86 and x64 (including all service pack levels).
      • Windows Server 2008 R2 x86 and x64 (including all service pack levels).
      • Windows Small Business Server 2003 (including all service pack levels).
      • Windows Small Business Server 2008.
      • Windows Small Business Server 2011.
      • Windows XP x86 and x64 (including all service pack levels).
      • Windows Vista x86 and x64 (including all service pack levels).
      • Windows 7 x86 and x64 (including all service pack levels).

      Other Software

      Microsoft Outlook 2010 x86 and x64

      Microsoft .NET Framework 3.5 SP1

      Microsoft Exchange 2010 RTM and above

      Active Directory

      You must be logged into an Active Directory domain to run the application.

      Active Directory Forest
      Domain and Forest functional level of Windows Server 2008 and above.
      For Domain or Forest functional level of Windows Server 2003, the Windows Server 2008 Forest preparation must first be complete.

      Screenshots

        image image

      How Should Your Organization Deploy Microsoft® Exchange?

      image

      Microsoft released a white paper how to deploy Microsoft Exchange: as Exchange Server 2010 on-premises, Exchange Online with Microsoft Office 365 in the cloud, or using both in a temporary or permanent hybrid scenario.

      image

       

      Knowing the benefits and limitations of each deployment option can help you make the right decision for your organization. Whatever you decide, the deployment flexibility that Microsoft provides with Exchange makes it easier for you to get the right solution for your business.

      Download HERE the whitepaper

      Hotfix Rollup 3 for Forefront Protection for Exchange Server

      Microsoft released Hotfix Rollup 3 for Forefront Protection for Exchange Server (KB2538719).

      Forefront-Protection-2010

       

      Here’s the list of fixes included in this rollup:

      1. Mail queues and sluggish Exchange/Outlook performance
      2. Increased “Available Disk Space” Health Point threshold to 250MB
      3. Error: The DNS Blocklist lookup domain blocklist.messaging.microsoft.com could not be contacted
      4. The Exchange Information store crashes with Forefront Protection for Exchange installed
      5. An attempted upgrade of Forefront Protection for Exchange fails with a “Registration Service Failed” error
      6. You receive Forefront Protection Health Notifications indicating a status of “Green to Green”
      7. Forefront generates a MaxDisabledWait error within 15 minutes after starting
      8. A MaxDisabledWait error occurs and Forefront Protection does not recover
      9. Forefront Protection doesn’t apply keyword filtering within hyperlink strings
      10. Forefront Protection for Exchange crashes while scanning a TAR file
      11. An engine update fails in Forefront Protection for Exchange
      12. Emails that are 90 MB or larger are being sent to the Forefront archive folder
      13. The Microsoft Forefront Server Protection Eventing Service will not start following an upgrade from a beta version of Forefront Protection for Exchange
      14. Forefront Protection for Exchange detects files as “Engine Error” when no engines have been enabled for scanning
      15. Messages quarantined due to engine error can now be delivered as complete email
      16. High CPU conditions in EdgeTransort.exe process result in crash
      17. You receive Forefront generated email notification that the Cloudmark engine or Worm list could not update
      18. Exchange email queues at startup following an abnormal shutdown

      For more details on the fixes consult the related knowledge base article. You can request the hotfix rollup through the support center here.

      Rollup 3 for Exchange Server 2010 Service Pack 1

      exchange 2010

       

      Microsoft releasd Update Rollup 3 for Exchange Server 2010 SP1 that  resolves the following issues that are described in the following Microsoft Knowledge Base (KB) articles:

      2506998 A call is disconnected when transferring the call from the main auto attendant to an auto attendant that has a different language configured in an Exchange Server 2010 environmen

      2497682 The store.exe process crashes when you try to unmount an active copy of a mailbox database that is hosted by a mailbox server in an Exchange Server 2010 SP1 environmen

      2497669 A meeting request cannot be opened after you disable the "Display sender’s name on messages" option in the EMC on an Exchange Server 2010 server

      2494798 Certain email messages cannot be downloaded when you log on to an Exchange Server 2010 mailbox by using an IMAP4 client applicatio’n

      2494389 Unnecessary events are logged in the Application log when you run the "Test-EcpConnectivity" cmdlet in an Exchange Server 2010 environment

      2489822 "The Mailbox you are trying to access isn’t currently available" error when you use OWA Premium to try to delete an item that is in a shared mailbox

      2489713 Exchange Server 2010 SP1 supports the remote archive feature after an update changes Outlook cookies name

      2489602 The "Get-FederationInformation" cmdlet cannot query federation information from an external Exchange organization in an Exchange Server 2010 environment

      2487852 "You do not have sufficient permissions. This operation can only be performed by a manager of the group." error message when you try to change the "ManagedBy" attribute in an Exchange Server 2010 SP1 environment

      2487501 The body of an email message is empty when you try to use an IMAP client application to read it in an Exchange Server 2010 environment

      2484862 You cannot read an email message by using an IMAP client in an Exchange Server 2010 environment’

      2482471 A content search fails in an IMAP client application that connects to an Exchange Server 2010 mailbox

      2482103 It takes a long time to expand a distribution list by using EWS in an Exchange Server 2010 environment

      2482100 You cannot create or update an inbox rule that specifies the "NoResponseNecessary" value by using EWS in an Exchange Server 2010 environment

      2481283 Various issues occur after you use Outlook to sign and then forward an email message in an Exchange Server 2010 environment

      2479875 The Microsoft Exchange Mailbox Replication Service service crashes when you run the "New-MailboxImportRequest" cmdlet to import a .pst file into a mailbox in an Exchange Server 2010 environment

      2479227 Forwarding rule does not function and the EdgeTransport.exe process crashes on an Exchange Server 2010 server

      2476973 Event ID 2168 is logged when you try to back up Exchange data from a DAG in an Exchange Server 2010 SP1 environment

      2469341 Various issues occur after you forward a signed email message by using Outlook in online mode in an Exchange Server 2010 environment

      2468514 OWA 2010 removes Calendar links that you add into multiple calendar groups by using Outlook 2010 calendar

      2467565 You cannot install an update rollup for Exchange Server 2010 with a deployed GPO that defines a PowerShell execution policy for the server to be updated

      2464564 You cannot change your password if the user name that you type in OWA is in UPN format when you enable Exchange Server 2010 SP1 Password Reset Tool

      2463858 A request to join a distribution group does not contain the distribution group name in an Exchange Server 2010 SP1 environment

      2463798 Users may experience a decrease in performance in Outlook or in OWA when you use IMAP4 to access the calendar folder in an Exchange Server 2010 SP1 environment

      2458543 A memory leak occurs in the Exchange RPC Client Access service on Exchange Server 2010 servers

      2458522 Entries disappear from a junk email blocked list or a junk email safe list after you install Exchange Server 2010 SP1

      2457868 "HTTP Error 400 Bad Request" error message when you use OWA in Exchange Server 2010 SP1 to receive instant messages by using Internet Explorer 9

      2457688 Error message when you try to add an external email address to the safe sender list in OWA in an Exchange Server 2010 SP1 environment

      2457304 You receive a synchronization failed email message when you synchronize your mobile device by using ActiveSync on an Exchange Server 2010 mailbox

      2451101 7BIT is not in quotation marks when you use the "FETCH (BODYSTRUCTURE)" command to request for a specific message in an Exchange Server 2010 environment

      2447629 vent ID 4999 is logged when the Exchange Mail Submission Service crashes intermittently on an Exchange Server 2010 Mailbox server

      2445121 memory leak occurs in the Microsoft.Exchange.Monitoring.exe process when you run the "Test-OwaConnectivity" cmdlet or the "Test-ActiveSyncConnectivity" cmdlet in the EMS on an Exchange Server 2010 server

      2443688 Event ID 10003 and Event ID 4999 are logged when the EdgeTransport.exe process on an Exchange Server 2010 server crashes

      2432494 You cannot view the mailbox database copies that are hosted on certain Mailbox servers by using the Exchange Management Console after you install Exchange Server 2010 SP1

      2426952 You cannot remove a mailbox database copy from a database on an Exchange Server 2010 server

      2424801 The Microsoft Exchange Service Host service on an Exchange Server 2010 server crashes

      2423754 The recipient response status is incorrect after you add another user to an occurrence of a meeting request in an Exchange Server 2010 environment

      2417084 A public folder disappears from the Public Folder Favorites list of an Exchange Server 2010 mailbox

      2410571 A RBAC role assignee can unexpectedly change permissions of mailboxes that are outside the role assignment scope in an Exchange Server 2010 environment

      2398431 Using Pipelining in SMTP to check email addresses does not work correctly when you disable tarpitting functionality on a Receive connector in an Exchange Server 2010 environment

      2277649 You receive misleading information when you run the "New-TestCasConnectivityUser.ps1" script on an Exchange Server 2010 server

      2009942 Folders take a long time to update when an Exchange Server 2010 user uses Outlook 2003 in online mode

      You can download the update HERE

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