Gerod Serafin's WebLog

Helping to keep large organizations' e-mail running

Gerod Serafin's WebLog

  • NEW Download: Exchange Server 2003 Disaster Recovery Operations Guide

    Microsoft has released on July 13th a revised edition of the Exchange Server 2003 Disaster Recovery Operations Guide.

    Some of the things covered in this document are:

    • What not to backup when doing a full computer backup.
    • How to backup and restore Databases, SRS, Connectors, and Certificate Authorities.
    • How to backup and restore Cluster Servers (individually or the entire cluster).
    • How to restore Windows 2003.
    • What information about the server you should record before a server fails.

     

  • Gonna start playing with ISCSI

    Today I decided to set up my first Exchange 2003 cluster server using ISCSI to connect to the quorums.  I'm also going to do this through Virtual Server so this should be pretty interesting.  I'll let you know more when I have this finished.  Don't know what ISCSI is yet?  There is plenty of information available at http://www.microsoft.com/windowsserversystem/storage/technologies/iscsi/default.mspx.
  • One of the "Ten Useful Microsoft Blogs"

    I was spending some time reading one of my favorite magazines, Redmond Magazine, this morning.  If it doesn't sound familiar to you, it used to be the Microsoft Certified Professional Magazine.  On the last page I'm reading the "Ten Useful Microsoft Blogs" article and I see that at number 7 is "You had me at EHLO", and I'm happy to see that Exchange got represented.  Those guys work hard on their content and they deserve to be mentioned.  I know I read it.  Then I do a quick glance to see if I know any others that are mentioned and I see a few others that I know as well.  Then as I am putting the article down something catches my eye...  Number 4.  Me.  Wow.  "Sporadic"?  Yeah, I'll agree with you there, Mr. Desmond.  I do this when I have "spare time" that isn't better utilized helping my customers who pay specifically for my service.  I'd love to do this full time.  But wow...  I'm just glad someone noticed.  Thanks for the kudos.

  • Restricted Views and Shared Calendars

    Man what a week. Some customers are seeing that when opening someone else's calendar that it takes a long time at first but when they go back to the calendar it is fine for a while and then they see the slowness again. If you are seeing this, we may know why.

    (Credit: A lot of this is from Stephen Griffin's internal document.  His blog: http://blogs.msdn.com/Stephen_Griffin)

    *** Problem Description ***

    When viewing someone else's Calendar, contact folder, etc, there may be delays before the folder can be viewed. Once the folder has been viewed, switching away and back is fairly quick, but after a period of time, accessing the folder is again slow. This is especially long if the number of items in the calendar is over 5000.

    *** Possible Reasons ***

    When Outlook accesses someone else's folders, it applies a view which restricts the user from viewing private items.

    The act of applying a view to a folder creates search folders in the store. Once a search folder is created, it is cached for later use. If we try to create a search folder and discover there is one in the cache we can use, we don't create the search folder and instead used the cached search folder. This allows subsequent viewings to be fairly quick.

    By default, we don't cache all search folders forever. Caching too many search folders would cause server side delays associated with updating the search folders:

    216076 XADM: Accessing Information Store Folders May Become Slow

    http://support.microsoft.com/?id=216076

    However, if we don't cache *enough* of our search folders, we may run into the problem from the other direction.

    Suppose we're configured to keep 11 search folders (views) per folder. Suppose Frank has a calendar folder that he shares out to 15 other users. Sally accessed the folder and sees a delay while her search folder is built. After it's built, access is quick. Then Sally doesn't look at the folder for a day and 11 other users access it. A search folder will be built for each of them. Since we can only cache 11 search folders, when the 11th user hits the folder, we'll delete the search folder we built for Sally. Now, the next time Sally hits the folder, she'll have to wait while we build her search folder.

    Suppose we configure Frank's Calendar folder to cache 20 views instead. Then Sally and the other 14 users can all hit the folder, and only 15 search folders will be created. Since 15 is less than 20, we never have to cycle out a view, so access is quick for everyone after the initial hit to create the search folders.

    The default is 11, set store wide. This can be viewed by using ADSIEdit to view the Store Object and look at the msExchMaxCachedViews attribute. (dn: CN=Mailbox Store,CN=Storage Group,CN=InformationStore,CN=Server NAME,CN=Servers,CN=AG Name,CN=Administrative Groups,CN=Orgname,CN=Microsoft Exchange,CN=Services,CN=Configuration,DC=Company,DC=com) This is set to 11 by default. In some customer's instances we have seen that increasing this to a higher number (but no more than 50) is necessary.

    How do we verify that this is what you are seeing? It would require that you take the Information Store DB offline that contains the mailbox that is being accessed. Then we would run isinteg -s <ServerName> -dump -l <logfilename>. If this output is sent to Microsoft they can confirm what you are seeing. (Hint: We are looking for a high number of SearchFIDs values.) Or, see the perfmon counter below.

    Also, it turns out that in Outlook 2003 we are creating too many calendar search folders (indexes).

    896418 Description of the Outlook 2003 post-Service Pack 1 hotfix package:

    http://support.microsoft.com/?id=896418

    This fix resolves the issue where we are creating too many views against another user's calendar.

    The outlook 2003 fix used in conjunction with the increasing of the msExchMaxCachedViews attribute has been the resolution for many of our customers who have seen this.

    Oh, and having additional locales on the client side can create even more views as well.

    Q: What is the impact on the server?
    A: Creating too many indexes over and over can place a load on the servers. Having too many indexes stored can also slow down the clients accessing the folders as well. Gradually increasing the msExchMaxCachedViews attribute is recommended while keeping an eye on the performance of the server. It is suggested that 50 be the maximum number. It is not suggested that you go to this number first. I would increase the number by 5 or 10 each time you increase the number.

    Q: Is hotfix 896418 a scenario that only affects Outlook 2003 clients?
    A: If they have 98%+ Outlook 2002\XP users and only a handful of Outlook 2003 clients, then it is not likely that they will run across this particular bug, because this is strictly a 2003 bug.

    Q: How can we make the Event IDs show up for the Restricted Views on Folders?
    A: They can set "9030 Views" under
    "HKLM\System\CurrentControlSet\Services\MSExchangeIS\Diagnostics\9000 Private" to 1 and get event logs when views are created.
    This will show the following:
    MessageID=1167
    Severity=Informational
    Facility=Views
    SymbolicName=msgidNewRest
    Language=English
    %1 created a new restricted view on folder %2 on database "%3".

    Q: Is there a Performance Monitor counter that will show us the number of Restricted Views that are created?
    A: Yes - But only if you are running Exchange 2003 SP1.
    MSExchangeIS Mailbox
    Restricted View Cache Miss Rate - is the rate at which restricted views are created in the mailbox store...

    Q: How do I get the number of items in the Calendar?
    A: Go to the Calendar. Click View \ Arrange by \ Current View \ By Category. (This may take a while - we are creating a new view). Then look at the Bottom Left hand side - #### Items should show there.  To do this without creating another view you could use MFCMAPI.

  • Something new for Exchange 2003 SP2

    Well, we knew about it for awhile, but we had to keep our mouths shut until it was announced publicly.  Finally it was: Update on Exchange Edge Services.  Somebody leaked it before that because it showed up here before it was supposed to, but doesn't it always?  Oh well... 

    So, what does this mean?  It means that the stand-alone product known as Exchange Edge Services that would probably have come out way before the next version of Exchange will instead now be released at the same time as the full version.  But, instead of making our customers wait for the next full product to be released, we will release the finished parts of the product in the current version of Exchange in a Service Pack.  So, SP2 will have the SenderID framework and an update to the Intelligent Message Filter (IMF).

    I think that is pretty cool.

  • New and Updated list of Recommended fixes for Exchange 5.5

    I have one machine that had it's hard drive fail 4 times in one month.  I guess that is a good reason for not posting in a while.  I thought this might make up for it.

    Some of our customers are still running Exchange 5.5 even though mainstream support for the product will retire this year and extended support will retire next year (http://support.microsoft.com/gp/lifeprode).  So, this may be the last time I get to update this list.  Most of the hotfixes that are listed here are only available by calling Premier Support Services (PSS) at 1-800-936-3500 and asking for the fix. 

    All of these fixes require Service Pack 4.

    Remember that these fixes include fixes from the past as well, so even if the KB article doesn't mention a incident that may seem like that big of a deal to you, many times there were many other issues before fixed that are very important.  So, I would recommend that you stay up to date.

    Newest Admin fix
    Fax area codes below 300 may appear as ASCII characters on the Routing tab in Microsoft Exchange Server Administrator
    http://support.microsoft.com/Default.aspx?id=821352
    03-Jun-2003  01:30  5.5.2657.45  2,510,096  Admin.exe

    Newest Performance Optimizer
    XADM: "Services List of Dependent Services Could Not Be Enumerated. -800FF336" Error Message When You Try to Use the Exchange Server Performance Optimizer
    http://support.microsoft.com/?id=821543
    26-Aug-2003  17:58  5.5.2657.63  100,624 Perfwiz.exe

    CDO
    Meetings are unexpectedly moved one hour ahead or one hour behind in Exchange Server 5.5
    http://support.microsoft.com/?id=837010
    24-Nov-2004  00:39  5.5.2658.25       802,576  Cdo.dll

    Directory (DSAMAIN)
    Dsamain.exe Generates an Access Violation and Then Stops Unexpectedly
    http://support.microsoft.com/?id=829075
    11-Nov-2003  21:44  5.5.2657.78    507,152   Dsamain.exe

    Groupwise Connector
    XCON: Non-Delivery Report is Generated When You Send a Message to a Novell GroupWise Recipient Who Has a 32-Character Domain Name
    http://support.microsoft.com/?id=815228
    03-Mar-2003  16:46  5.5.2657.27       400,144  Gwrouter.exe
    (Honestly, I choose not to support this myself so I chose the above executable.  Perhaps another would be better.)

    Information Store (This fixes a regression in the May 2004 Store Roll-up Fix that was pulled from HERE)
    The Store.exe process unexpectedly quits when Exchange Server 5.5 processes a delivery receipt or a read receipt message
    http://support.microsoft.com/?id=888621
    - Or -
    Forwarded message may be discarded as a duplicate in Exchange Server 5.5
    http://support.microsoft.com/?id=823799
    23-Nov-2004  03:03  5.5.2658.25     2,635,536  Store.exe

    Jet
    XGEN: -1019 Error Messages When You Try to Recover the Database
    http://support.microsoft.com/?id=810579
    27-Nov-2002  19:38    5.5.2657.5    807,184    Ese.dll

    OWA
    MS04-026: Vulnerability in Exchange Server 5.5 Outlook Web Access could allow cross-site scripting and spoofing attacks
    http://support.microsoft.com/?id=842436

    IMC
    Public
    MS03-046: Vulnerability in Exchange Server Could Allow Arbitrary Code Execution
    http://support.microsoft.com/?id=829436
    MSEXCIMC.exe 5.5.2657.72

    I expect that there will be another IMC fix that will come out in the near future.  If I see it I will post it.

    MAPI
    Custom MAPI program quits unexpectedly with an error in Emsmdb32.dll
    http://support.microsoft.com/?id=821661
    30-Jul-2003  04:59  5.5.2657.57  565,008  Emsmdb32.dll

    Mailbox Cleanup Agent
    DM: Exchange Server 5.5 Post-Service Pack 4 Mailbox Cleanup Agent Fixes Available
    http://support.microsoft.com/?id=309010
    Mbclean.exe is incremented to version 5.5.2655.34

    Migration Wizard
    XFOR: Migration Wizard Does Not Migrate Reoccurring Meetings from Lotus Notes R5
    http://support.microsoft.com/?id=274593
    Mlmignts.dll 5.5.2654.20

    MTA
    The Message Transfer Agent service continues to accept messages after the hard disk that contains the MTADATA folder fails in Exchange Server 5.5
    http://support.microsoft.com/?id=839138
    20-Apr-2004  18:08  5.5.2658.6      1,942,800  Emsmta.exe

    I hope that this helps you all.

  • Boy I needed this today...

    So we had a thread today about why a customer's email didn't get sent to a recipient that it was intended to,  then Steve Wannenmacher replied:

    "Yeah, I've heard of something like it, waaaayy back in the OL98 days.  Back in those days, nickels had pictures of bumblebees on 'em. 'Give me five bees for a quarter,' you'd say... Now where were we? Oh yeah--the important thing was I had an onion on my belt, which was the style at the time. They didn't have white onions because of the war. The only thing you could get was those big yellow ones...
     
    We'd get a mis-indexed OAB on one client, and a message sent from that client would be delivered to the wrong recipient.  Can't for the life of me find the old bug, but I'm pretty sure bpipal found it.  I haven't heard of it in the past few years. 
     
    -Steve"
     
    Man, after the crappy day I had today, it sure felt good to laugh so hard.  Thanks Steve.
  • Outlook Live Released Today

    Today Microsoft announced the release of Microsoft Office Outlook Live.  Some of the features:

    • 2 GB mailbox
    • 20 MB send and receive limit per message
    • Spam protection
    • Virus protection
    • Outlook application
    • Calendar sharing (even side by side on same screen)
    • Offline mode.

    For more details go here.  For a tour go here.

    So...  I asked my IT guys if I paid them $45 a year if they could offer me the same services...  :)

  • A Better Monitoring Solution for Your Exchange 2003 Deployment

    You've heard it before, but just in case...

    This blog has been moved to http://blogs.technet.com/gerod_serafin/default.aspx.  The old link should still work as well as the RSS feeds.  My reasons for switching are:

    1. Better search.
    2. Ability for those who don't have RSS readers to get this in emails.  Just click on "Email" and you can subscribe to be emailed when this is updated.
    3. More current blog platform.  (Community Server vs. .TEXT)
    4. And I guess "TechNet" is a term that we are all more familiar with.

    Now for the update:

    Better information facilitates rapid failure detection, reduces time to resolution, and reduces management cost and complexity.  I've been asked a lot recently which monitoring tools to use with Exchange 2003.  It seems that everyone wants me to tell them the alternatives to MOM 2005.  If you want to do the research yourself, I ask you to look for the following things in the product:

    1. End to end monitoring of Exchange 2003. (Message tracking, Front-End Monitoring, Service Monitoring, Mailbox Availability, Mail Flow Monitoring)
    2. Baselining of server performance on a continual basis.
    3. Repository for Knowledge that can be re-used.
    4. Reports to visualize performance data, to understand usage trends, perform accurate load balancing, and manage system capacity.
    5. Reduce the need for admins who do daily checklists in the morning, by emailing the results to team instead of relying on one person to check this.
    6. Out of the box rules to monitor and preemptively send alerts about the performance, availability, and security for Exchange, AD, Hardware, and ADC.
    7. Rules updated by the developers of the products being monitored.
    8. Single interface for all monitoring: HP Insight Manager, Exchange, AD, ADC, etc.
    9. Includes an Exchange “Best Practices Analyzer” (EXBPA) Management Pack.
    10. Create scheduled reports to send management.

    If your product doesn't do all of the above, then I guess technically you still have an alternative.  Unless you can do all of the above, then you are not really aware of what is going on in your environment.  This is not your old Exchange server any more.  Your Exchange environment does a lot more than it used to do.  If you asked me for a way to keeping your valuable thing (i.e. sports car, house, phone system) in good shape, would you want me to give you an alternative to the best solution?  Does monitoring your Exchange 2003 environment that keeps your business running any less important?  Do you really want the solution to be a product that is actually a hodge-podge of other products bought from multiple companies by a hardware vendor and then forced together and re-branded as a new and improved suite?  (Oh, and you will still have to configure it.)  If so, good luck with your alternative(s).  Just don't ask me how to configure it to do what MOM 2005 does, because it can't.

    MOM 2005 does 1-10 and more, and a majority of this is straight out of the box.  I used to say: "I don't care if you have MOM 2005 or not, but just get something to monitor your Exchange 2003 deployment."  Now I realize that statement is false.  I do care.

  • Nokia to use ActiveSync in the future?

    (Credit - email from David LemsonNokia licenses Microsoft Exchange Server ActiveSync protocol for integration with Nokia's business-optimized devices

    So this is very cool.  Remember the James Bond movie "Tomorrow Never Dies" where Mr. Bond is sitting down in the back of the car and he opens up his phone sideways and starts driving the car remotely?  That was done with Nokia and ActiveSync!  OK, that is a lie.  That phone was an Erikson.  But that phone looks like the type that will be connecting to the Exchange Servers in the future.  The article mentions the series 80 phones (9300, 9500, and others) and the series 60 phones (3650 and more).  So even though Nokia won't be running the Windows Mobile OS, at least they will be connecting to Exchange Servers.

    (EDIT: Link fixed to David Lemson)

  • What are other companies using for archiving\journaling?

    First let's explain the difference. A really good article on Journaling is included below as well as the definition of the two:

    Journaling with Exchange Server 2003

    "Journaling is the ability to record all communications in an organization. E-mail communications are one of many different communication mechanisms that you may be required to journal. Therefore, journaling in Exchange has been developed to enable the messaging administrator to feed messaging data into a larger journaling solution, while using minimum overhead.

    It is important to understand the difference between journaling and archiving. Journaling is the ability to record all communications; alternatively, archiving refers to reducing the strain of storing data by backing it up, removing it from its native environment, and storing it elsewhere. That said, you may use Exchange journaling as a tool in your e-mail retention or archival strategy."

    For journaling, customers are using the journaling that is built into Exchange 2003. Some send all of this to third party solutions either on site or elsewhere for storage and they use other means to search and retrieve that data when it is needed.

    For ideas as to what our partners can provide please as far as the archiving portion of this check out the following article:

    Supporting Regulatory Compliance with Exchange Server 2003

    Our partners in this space are IXOS, KVS, LEGATO Software, and ZANTAZ.

  • New Version of MPSReports for Exchange

    It looks like Paul Flaherty has updated the Microsoft Platform Support Reporting Utility (MPSReports) for Exchange.  We have had this utility available for some time at this location, but the new version is not up there yet.  You can download the new version here.   The name of the file is MPSRPT_Exchange.zip.

    Some of the things it does:

    • Supports Exchange 5.5, 2000, and 2003
    • Gets Event Logs in multiple formats
    • Gets Cluster events
    • Runs EXBPA v2.1a locally
    • Dumps Registry information for Exchange
    • Dumps File Versions for Exchange
    • and lots more...

    An older version is still online at the downloads site, but if you have an issue and need support, the new version may be the tool that you will want to run to collect information.

  • Tip: Saving battery life on a SmartPhone

    I see numerous threads where people are complaining about their SmartPhone not being able to keep its charge for more than 8 hours to a day.  Many people suggest that they close programs or take out their SD card in order to save battery life.  Instead of doing this, I just recommend that when you are finished and about to close the phone, keep hitting the back button until it won't go back any more and you are on the Home screen.  Hitting the back button closes any other screens that are open and drastically saves on battery life.  My phone goes for about 3 days without needing a recharge.  HTH.

  • How to collect Outlook 2003 connection performance from Exchange 2003

    I found this internally and I asked one of our Exchange Program Managers why this wasn't public yet.  His reply was:  “No reason.  Should at least be a KB”. 

    So I wrote one.

    But in the meantime, I thought I would share it with you.

    Client side monitoring is used to find client errors and latency problems.  An Administrator can turn on client side monitoring on the Exchange Server via a registry key.   When enabled via a reg-key, Outlook 11 clients send data to the server based on status and state of connection including failed RPC requests and error conditions.  This information is aggregated on the server and exposed to the administrators via event log entries.

    This is controlled on the Exchange server by registry key: ClientMonitoringReportLevel (DWORD).  This registry key will be located at the following location:
    HKLM\System\CurrentControlSet\Services\MSExchangeIS\ParametersSystem\
    This registry key will have three settings: 

    ·       0 = do not collect data from any Outlook 11 clients.
    ·       1 = collect performance data only from high bandwidth Outlook 11 clients
    ·       2 = collect performance data from all Outlook 11 clients

  • BitTorrent and RSS (So happy together?)

    Ok, I just found this article linked from Slashdot and perhaps you have seen it already, but I must say, it sounds very interesting.

    Speed Meets Feed in Download Tool 

    http://www.wired.com/news/infostructure/0,1377,62651,00.html

  • Current Recommendations for Memory Optimization in Exchange 2003

    Q:  What are the current recommendations for memory optimizations in Exchange 2003?

    A:  The article 815372 “How to Optimize Memory Usage in Exchange Server 2003” mentions the current recommendations.  There you will find information about the /3GB switch as well as the /USERVA switch.   What you may not have been aware about is the recommended change in the registry having to do with the HeapDeCommitFreeBlockThreshold.  The recommended value to use for HeapDeCommitFreeBlockThreshold is 0x00040000 (in hexadecimal format). For additional information, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base: 315407 “XADM: The 'HeapDecommitFreeBlockThreshold' Registry Key“.

    You may have noticed that the Registry key name is mentioned as either HeapDeCommitFreeBlockThreshold or HeapDecommitFreeBlockThreshold (case difference) in some articles.  While some Registry key values are case sensitive, Registry key names are not, so either should work for you.

     

    UPDATE:  Changed a broken link to 315407.

  • Exchange 5.5 and the "Match Max Open Tables" Registry Key

    OK, if you are an Exchange Administrator you probably are trying to keep your hotfixes up to date, right?  The most recent version of Store.exe is probably 5.5.2658.16 which is mentioned in 841639 Delegate recipient receives two update messages when a meeting request.  I am not recommending that you install this fix however, unless you are experiencing the issue.  Most of you are probably on version 5.5.2658.4 which is part of the 841765 May 2004 Update Rollup for Exchange Server 5.5

    So, some of our customers are seeing the following errors in their event logs:

    Event ID: 1101
    Source: MSExchangeIS Private
    Type: Error
    Description: Error 0xfffffbd3 occurred on message (some number) during a background cleanup

    Event ID: 160
    Source: ESE97
    Type: Warning
    Description:  MSExchangeIS (Store.exe PID) Background clean-up skipped pages. Database may benefit from online or offline defragmentation.

    So, we do a quick search of the KBs and look to see if there is anything that mentions these event IDs (1102 and 160) and find the article 293836 Information Store performance degradation caused by excessive scanning.  Looking at the article we see that the Store.exe version of that fix is 5.5.2654.89.  Hmmm... Well since we have a newer version of Store.exe, we shouldn't be seeing this then, should we? 

    Looking deeper in the article we see the following paragraph:

    To resolve this problem in Exchange Server 5.5, the Preferred Max Open Tables value must be set equal to the Max Open Tables value when the Information Store service starts. To do this, the Match Max Open Tables registry key is added in this fix. If this key is present and set to any value other than zero, the information store automatically sets the Preferred Max Open Tables value equal to the Max Open Tables value.

    This can give the reader the idea that the registry key has been added and all is set.  But, if you look for the registry key at HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Services\MSExchangeIS\ParametersSystem you will not find it there.  The hotfix enables the key to be used to fix the issue, but it doesn't put the key in there.

    So, in an effort to be proactive and prevent this issue from occurring in the future, can you push this key out across all of your organization's Exchange servers?  Yes, you can.  There will be no harm in doing that.  In fact, I would recommend it.

    If you just want to create a .reg file and add it to your servers, just add the content below to a text file renamed with a .reg extension.

    Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

    [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\MSExchangeIS\ParametersSystem]
    "Match Max Open Tables"=dword:00000001

  • New Hotfix for Store Crashes - Exchange 2003 Post SP1

    According to an article released today, after you install Exchange 2003 SP1 you may experience a crash in your Information Store because of malformed email messages.  Should this prevent you from installing SP1?  No.  But you will want to install this fix (after testing this in your test environment) to prevent crashes.  The official Microsoft response is in the article: "Only apply it to systems that are experiencing this specific problem."  But, in an effort to be "Honest and Respectful", no one wants to experience a crash (especially the Information Store), right?  Let me say one more time that you should thoroughly test this hotfix before installing this in your production environment.

    This hotfix is not available for download without calling Product Support Services (PSS) for the hotfix and does require a restart of the Information Store.

    872963 Information Store crashes periodically after you install Exchange Server 2003 SP1
    http://support.microsoft.com/?id=872963

  • Sprint Now Offering Smartphone

    Essentially this is the same as Verizon's SPH-i600, but it called the SP-i600.  I am so glad that they are now carrying this.  I am sorry that they are so late to get into this market otherwise I wouldn't have left them over a year ago for AT&T.  I wonder how many people left them because of this?

    http://www.msmobiles.com/news.php/3095.html

    http://www1.sprintpcs.com/explore/PhonesAccessories/PhoneDetails.jsp?navLocator=%7Cshop%7CphonesAccessories%7CallPhones%7C&selectSkuId=samsungspi600&FOLDER%3C%3Efolder_id=1476015&CURRENT_USER%3C%3EATR_SCID=ECOMM&CURRENT_USER%3C%3EATR_PCode=None&CURRENT_USER%3C%3EATR_cartState=group&bmUID=1096045171627

  • Exmerge Can Rename Folders on Exchange 2003

    When using Exmerge to import content back in to mailboxes it is possible that your users may see that their “special folders” (i.e. Inbox, Calendar, etc.) may be renamed.  This is mainly seen in global organizations where customers use different languages and Inbox is spelled different.  So using an English version of Exmerge, a .pst file would be created with the Inbox folder and when imported back in, the folder would be changed.  This could cause much grief to our global customers.

    Finally we have a solution that is documented in the following KB article:

    "The Mailbox Merge Program renames special folders in a mailbox to match the special folder names in a personal folder file when you import messages in Exchange Server 2003 SP1"
    http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?kbid=884857

    What this adds is the ability to add a value RenameSpecialFolders to the exmerge.ini that specifies whether or not the folders should get modified or not.

    Right now, in order to get the fix if needed, you will need to contact PSS Support.

  • Exchange Server Best Practices Analyzer Tool - When?

    Ok,  Remember when I mentioned how excited I was about the Exchange Best Practices Analyzer being announced at Tech-Ed 2004?
    http://blogs.msdn.com/gerod_serafin/archive/2004/05/25/141644.aspx

    Well, you may be wondering when it is coming out.  I can't tell you that.  But you may notice that Paul Bowden has mentioned it in a post at http://www.microsoft.com/exchange/community/NewsGroups/default.mspx?dg=microsoft.public.exchange.tools

    There he says:  "This newsgroup will also be the anchor point for the new ''Microsoft Exchange Server Best Practices Analyzer Tool''. This tool will be supported through the newsgroup community and you should feel free to discuss your likes and dislikes, as well as your questions and suggestions regarding the generated output."

    So...  Get ready people...  It is gonna rock!

  • A picture a day

    When you are stuck in a cubical all day it can be nice to see that there is life out there somewhere else.  I like to check out this site occasionally.  They have an RSS feed as well so I can get the pictures directly in my Outlook client. 

  • News from Tech-Ed 2004 Tuesday - Exchange 2003 SP1 is released

    OK, so we released the news that SP1 is available for download a few hours sooner than I thought we would.  You can download it now.

    The release notes are probably the first place you should start to find out what is in it:
    http://www.microsoft.com/technet/prodtechnol/exchange/2003/library/sp1rn.mspx

    The ability to rename Domains is now supported with Exchange 2003.

    Those of you looking for the exprofre.exe tool will need to download the Exchange Profile Update Tool at the following link:
    http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyId=56F45AC3-448F-4CCC-9BD5-B6B52C13B29C&displaylang=en

    Gotta attend the first session of Tuesday here at Tech-Ed, where we are announcing the release of Exchange 2003 SP1 (again), so I'll post some more information later.

  • Microspotting

    Every so often I like to head over to http://www.microspotting.com/ to see some of the stories about some of my co-workers.  And yes, I want an “I am the empire” t-shirt!

  • Part 21 - I used to do it this way… Now how do I do it? Administering Exchange 2003 vs. Exchange 2007

    To return to part 1 click here

    Transport

    POP3 and IMAP4

    In Exchange 2003, POP3 and IMAP4 were both receive-only protocols that enabled a client to receive e-mail. To send e-mail, these clients had to relay SMTP traffic through the Exchange organization.

    Below you can see that the IMAP Virtual Server is disabled.

    image

    The default properties of the IMAP4 Virtual Server…

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    To enable the protocol on the users you would use the Exchange Task Wizard.

    image

    In Exchange 2007, every Hub Transport server has a default client Receive connector that allows authenticated POP3 and IMAP4 users to relay SMTP e-mail through the Hub Transport server. You must specifically enable POP3 or IMAP4 access for clients.

    The protocols are listed on the CAS servers.

    image

    Here are some of the default properties on IMAP4.

    image

    You can enable IMAP4 and POP3 on the mailboxes from within the Exchange Messaging Console.

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    More information on configuration can be found at the links below:

    How to Set Connection Limits for IMAP4

    How to Configure Authentication for IMAP4

    How to Set Connection Limits for POP3

    How to Configure Authentication for POP3

    Securing message transmission by using Transport Layer Security (TLS)

    In Exchange 2003, if you required TLS for inbound connections you configured the authentication settings on a virtual server. You accessed the virtual server properties, and then selected a check box to require SSL/TLS on the Access and Authentication settings page.

    image

    In Exchange 2007, you configure TLS on a Receive connector by specifying TLS as an available authentication mechanism. However, you need to have an X.509 certificate installed on the Exchange server. For more information see Receive Connectors.

    image

    You could also set this using :

    Set-ReceiveConnector -Identity ReceiveConnectorId -AuthMechanism Tls

    Next:  I think that is it.  Hopefully you found this useful.  It took so long to do this, I could start on Exchange 14.  Hmmm.