Tag: Microsoft

Important Hotfixes when running Exchange 2013 on Server 2008 R2 and Server 2012

Additional pre-reqs needed above and beyond Exchange requirements
.NET Framework 4.5.1 deployed on all Exchange servers with CAS role
If .NET Framework 4.5.1 cannot be installed, a hotfix for .NET Framework 4.5 is required

KB2745583 – Windows Server 2012 Download
KB2745582 – Windows Server 2008 R2 Download

Decreases CPU spent in .NET garbage collector
Benefits Mailbox & multi-role
Enable by installing hotfix and setting regkey:
HKLM\Software\Microsoft\.NETFramework\DisableRetStructPinning (REG_DWORD) = 1

A hotfix is now available for Windows Server 2012

Adds two control codes to determine which node owns the GUM lock and which node(s) is/are stuck

KB2779069

Download All Videos and Slides from MEC 2014

Microsoft has published all sessions from Microsoft Exchange Conference 2014, which was held in March, Austin, TX. The sessions are available on Channel9.This script will download all videos from Channel9 in mp4 high quality and slides (pptx) for all sessions, where available.Ins

All content are saved to C:\MEC2014.

Download Glimlach

DownloadMEC14Videoandslides.ps1

MEC 2014 Recordings are here!

A few weeks ago was MEC 2014 in Austin, TX with the farewell Austin post. Today we are happy to announce that the MEC 2014 keynote and breakout sessions are published on Channel 9. This includes the latest content on Exchange foundational topics and the latest features including groups, and many more. The conference provides content for both Exchange on-premises and Office 365 customers. If you missed the event in person, begin by watching the MEC 2014 keynote to get you up to speed on the latest initiatives the Exchange engineering team is working on plus a segment with Perry Clarke.

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MEC isn’t just an event but also a community. Keep active in Twitter using the #IamMEC community hashtag and join us in the Office 365 IT Pro Network to engage in Exchange conversations in the Exchange IT Pro group. Enjoy the MEC 2014 sessions.

Windows 8.1 Update (KB 2919355) prevents interaction with WSUS 3.2 over SSL

There is a known issue which causes some PCs updated with the Windows 8.1 Update (KB 2919355) to stop scanning against Windows Server Update Services 3.0 Service Pack 2 (WSUS 3.0 SP2 or WSUS 3.2) servers which are configured to use SSL and have not enabled TLS 1.2.

Issue Description

The problem is specific to the following scenario when all of the following are true

  1. Client PC has installed Windows 8.1 Update KB 2919355
  2. Windows 8.1 with Windows 8.1 Update KB 2919355 attempts to scan against WSUS 3.2 running on any affected platform:
    • Windows Server 2003 SP2, or
    • Windows Server 2003 R2 SP2, or
    • Windows Server 2008 SP2, or
    • Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1
  3. HTTPS and Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) are enabled on the WSUS server
  4. TLS 1.2 is not enabled on the server

Only users who have enabled HTTPS and have not enabled TLS 1.2 on their WSUS 3.2 servers and who are also using these WSUS 3.2 servers to manage PCs running the Windows 8.1 Update KB 2919355 are affected by this issue. Please note, while we do recommend the use of HTTPS on WSUS servers, HTTPS and TLS 1.2 are not enabled by default.

Workarounds

If you are using WSUS 3.2 on Windows Server 2008 R2, you may perform either of the following steps to restore the scan functionality if you have deployed the Windows 8.1 Update KB2919355.

  • Enable TLS 1.2 (follow the instructions under More Information > SCHANNEL\Protocols subkey), or
  • Disable HTTPS on WSUS

If you are using WSUS 3.2 on an operating system other than Windows Server 2008 R2, you may perform the following step to restore the scan functionality.

  • Disable HTTPS on WSUS

When Microsoft releases an update that resolves the issue, you may re-enable HTTPS on WSUS.

Microsoft plans to issue an update as soon as possible that will correct the issue and restore the proper behavior for Windows 8.1 Update KB 2919355 scanning against all supported WSUS configurations. Until that time, we are delaying the distribution of the Windows 8.1 Update KB 2919355 to WSUS servers.

You may still obtain the Windows 8.1 Update (KB 2919355) from the Windows Update Catalog or MSDN. However, we recommend that you suspend deployment of this update in your organization until we release the update that resolves this issue. You may also find the workarounds discussed in this article to be useful for testing this Windows 8.1 Update for your organization. Thank you for your patience during this time.

Microsoft Virtual Machine Converter 2.0

    Microsoft® Virtual Machine Converter (MVMC) is a Microsoft-supported, stand-alone solution for the information technology (IT) pro or solution provider who wants to convert virtual machines and disks from VMware hosts to Hyper-V® hosts and Windows Azure™.
    MVMC can be deployed with minimal dependencies. Because MVMC provides native support for Windows PowerShell®, it enables scripting and integration with data center automation workflows such as those authored and run within Microsoft System Center Orchestrator 2012 R2. It can also be invoked through the Windows PowerShell® command-line interface. The solution is simple to download, install, and use. In addition to the Windows PowerShell capability, MVMC provides a wizard-driven GUI to facilitate virtual machine conversion.
    New Features in MVMC 2.0
    MVMC 2.0 release of MVMC includes the following new features:

    • Converts virtual disks that are attached to a VMware virtual machine to virtual hard disks (VHDs) that can be uploaded to Windows Azure.
    • Provides native Windows PowerShell capability that enables scripting and integration into IT automation workflows.
      Note The command-line interface (CLI) in MVMC 1.0 has been replaced by Windows PowerShell in MVMC 2.0.
    • Supports conversion and provisioning of Linux-based guest operating systems from VMware hosts to Hyper-V hosts.
    • Supports conversion of offline virtual machines.
    • Supports the new virtual hard disk format (VHDX) when converting and provisioning in Hyper-V in Windows Server® 2012 R2 and Windows Server 2012.
    • Supports conversion of virtual machines from VMware vSphere 5.5, VMware vSphere 5.1, and VMware vSphere 4.1 hosts Hyper-V virtual machines.
    • Supports Windows Server® 2012 R2, Windows Server® 2012, and Windows® 8 as guest operating systems that you can select for conversion.
    Standard MVMC Features
    In addition to the new features previously identified, MVMC provides the following functionality:

    • Converts and deploys virtual machines from VMware hosts to Hyper-V hosts on any of the following operating systems:
    • Windows Server® 2012 R2
    • Windows Server® 2012
    • Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1
    • Converts VMware virtual machines, virtual disks, and configurations for memory, virtual processor, and other virtual computing resources from the source to Hyper-V.
    • Adds virtual network interface cards (NICs) to the converted virtual machine on Hyper-V.
    • Supports conversion of virtual machines from VMware vSphere 5.5, VMware vSphere 5.0, and VMware vSphere 4.1 hosts to Hyper-V.
    • Has a wizard-driven GUI, which simplifies performing virtual machine conversions.
    • Uninstalls VMware Tools before online conversion (online only) to provide a clean way to migrate VMware-based virtual machines to Hyper-V.
      Important MVMC takes a snapshot of the virtual machine that you are converting before you uninstall VMware Tools, and then shuts down the source machine to preserve state during conversion. The virtual machine is restored to its previous state after the source disks that are attached to the virtual machine are successfully copied to the machine where the conversion process is run. At that point, the source machine in VMware can be turned on, if required.
      Important MVMC does not uninstall VMware Tools in an offline conversion. Instead, it disables VMware services, drivers, and programs only for Windows Server guest operating systems. For file conversions with Linux guest operating systems, VMware Tools are not disabled or uninstalled. We highly recommend that you manually uninstall VMware Tools when you convert an offline virtual machine.
    • Supports Windows Server and Linux guest operating system conversion. For more details, see the section “Supported Configurations for Virtual Machine Conversion” in this guide.
    • Includes Windows PowerShell capability for offline conversions of VMware-based virtual hard disks (VMDK) to a Hyper-V–based virtual hard disk file format (.vhd file).
      Note The offline disk conversion does not include driver fixes.

Download

Windows ADK 8.1 update (for Windows 8.1 Update) is available for download:

The Windows ADK 8.1 update (for Windows 8.1 Update) is available for download:

Windows ADK 8.1 update (direct download only: http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=39982

You still run adksetup.exe to install or download the updated ADK, but you do see that the new ADK is slightly bigger than the previous kit. The Patches folder content also have a higher version number. The October 18, 2013 release of Windows 8.1 ADK had a folder named 8.100.26020, but the April 2, 2014 release of Windows 8.1 ADK have 8.100.26629.

New features in ADK 8.1 are the WIMBoot option, updates to dism, updates to WinRE and a new WinPE version (5.1). There are also fixes for USMT.

Important Change:
DISM: Does not support Windows Vista or Windows Server 2008 images.

More info about the changes here: http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/windows/hardware/dn247001.aspx

Info on updating WinPE 5.0 to WinPE 5.1: http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/dn613859.aspx

Exchange 2010 SP3 UR5 & Exchange 2007 SP3 UR13

Are available for download.

Exchange 2010 SP3 UR5: http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=42001

Exchange 2007 SP3 UR13: http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=41995

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