Tag: Updates

Exchange Updates installing slow on Windows Server 2012 R2

For customers who are running Exchange on Windows Server 2012 R2, we want to make certain you are aware of a condition which can substantially increase the amount of time it takes to install Exchange Updates on this OS. Working with the .Net team, we have discovered that systems which have applied Windows Update KB3097966 can take 50% more time to install Exchange. The .Net team is working on a resolution to this and will include a fix in a future product update. In the meantime, customers who have deployed this Windows update can take a one-time action on their server before installing Exchange or a Cumulative Update to bring installation time back to normal. This procedure needs to be done once on every Exchange server running Windows Server 2012 R2. The command to execute is:

“%windir%\Microsoft.NET\Framework64\v4.0.30319\ngen.exe update”

Errors and warnings encountered running this command can be safely ignored provided the final exit status code of 0 is reported in the output.

Rollup 13 for Exchange Server 2010 Service Pack 3

This update rollup includes the following changes: 

  • A new Office 365 Hybrid Configuration wizard (HCW) is used in Exchange Server 2010 that was bundled in the Exchange Management Console (EMC). This change makes sure that EMC always runs the latest version of the HCW that contains up-to-date experience when the HCW is initiated from the EMC.
  • An updated Secure/Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions (S/MIME) Control for Outlook Web Access. The control is signed to use aSHA-2 compliant code signing certificate. After you install this update, an updated version of the control on the Exchange server will be replaced. Users who have installed the earlier version of the control into a computer’s browser must log on to Outlook Web Access and download the updated control after the Exchange server updates are completed.
  • Exchange Server 2010 Service Pack 3 Update Rollup 13 (KB3141339) Download

Staying up-to-date with Windows Server updates for Remote Desktop Services (RDS)

Microsoft Remote Desktop Team get customer enquiries asking which RDS updates are available for a particular Windows Server platform; or when providing support we need to verify if certain hotfixes and servicing rollups are installed on the customers’ servers. To make it easier for customers and ourselves, we regularly revise KB articles that list all of the available updates specific to Remote Desktop services for each Windows Server release:

Important notice about certificate expiration for Exchange 2013 Hybrid customers

If you’re running Exchange 2013 and you’ve configured a hybrid deployment with Office 365, this post contains important information that might impact you. Please evaluate this information and take any necessary action before April 15, 2016.

On April 15 2016, the Office 365 TLS certificate will be renewed. This certificate is used by Office 365 to provide TLS encryption between Office 365 and external SMTP servers. The new certificate, which will help improve the security of mail sent to and from Office 365, will be issued by a new Certificate Authority and it will have a new Issuer and Subject.

This change has the potential to stop hybrid mailflow between Office 365 and your on-premises Exchange servers if one of the following conditions applies to you:

  • Your on-premises Exchange servers are running Exchange 2013 Cumulative Update 8 (CU8) or lower.
  • You’ve upgraded the Exchange 2013 servers that handle hybrid mailflow to Exchange 2013 CU9 or higher. However, since upgrading to CU9, you HAVE NOTre-run the Hybrid Configuration wizard (either from the Exchange Admin Center or via the direct download link).

If one of the previous conditions applies to your organization, hybrid mailflow between Office 365 and your organization will stop working after April 15, 2016unless you complete the steps below.

Note: This only affects hybrid mailflow. Regular mailflow and TLS encryption is NOT affected.

How to keep hybrid mail flowing (MUST be completed before 4/15/2016)
Let the new Hybrid Configuration wizard do it for you

You can use the latest Hybrid Configuration wizard (HCW) to configure your Exchange 2013 servers to work with the new TLS certificate. Just follow these steps:

  1. If the Exchange 2013 servers handling hybrid mailflow are running Exchange 2013 CU8 or lower, follow the instructions in Updates for Exchange 2013 to install the latest cumulative update on at least one server.
  2. After you install the latest cumulative update, download the new HCW application and run the wizard following the instructions here .

Note: For information on which releases of Exchange are supported with Office 365, see Hybrid deployment prerequisites.

Manual update

If you can’t upgrade Exchange 2013 to latest cumulative update right now (although we would like to remind you of our support policy), you can manually configure your servers to work with the new TLS certificate. On each Exchange 2013 server that’s used for hybrid mailflow, open the Exchange Management Shell, and run the following commands:

$rc=Get-ReceiveConnector |where {$_.TlsDomainCapabilities -like “*<I>*”}

Set-ReceiveConnector -Identity $rc.Identity -TlsDomainCapabilities “mail.protection.outlook.com:AcceptCloudServicesMail

http://blogs.technet.com/b/exchange/archive/2016/02/19/important-notice-about-certificate-expiration-for-exchange-2013-hybrid-customers.aspx

Microsoft Exchange Server User Monitor For Exchange 2013 and 2016

        Use the Microsoft Exchange Server User Monitor to gather real-time data to better understand current client usage patterns, and to plan for future work.
        Administrators can view details on server resource utilization as reported through server-side tracing. This tool works with Microsoft Exchange Server 2013 and 2016.
        The tool is provided as-is. At this time, there are no updates or patches planned for future release. No formal support is provided for the tool. Some minimal support may be provided by Microsoft but not all reported issues will be able to be addressed or resolved.

        Exchange Server User Monitor

      Integrate Office Updates and Hotfixes in Office 2010/2013/2016

      Office 2010/2013/2016 supports integration of Updates by placing the MSP files in the Updates folder of the installation medium.

      The challenge is more in getting all the update files. Fortunate there are a few great community users that have created WHDownloader for downloading these files and they also maintain the list of applicable updates for Office 2010 and Office 2013 and 2016

      Download the Updates

      1. 1. Run WHDownloader.
      2. 2. Click the button in the upper left to download all latest update lists.
      3. 3. Select the Office 2016 version.
      4. 4. Configure a Download Target folder.
      5. 5. Select all General Updates and Hotfixes for downloading. Tip, right click and Select All.
      6. 6. Let it download, this can take some time…

      image

      Saving a lot of time Smile

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