Exchange 2013 CU5 has been released to the Microsoft download centre!  Exchange 2013 has a different servicing strategy than Exchange 2007/2010 and utilises Cumulative Updates (CUs) rather than the Rollup Updates (RU/UR) which were used previously.    CUs are a complete installation of Exchange 2013 and can be used to install a fresh server or to update a previously installed one.  Exchange 2013 SP1 was in effect CU4, and CU5 is the first post SP1 release.  CU5 contains AD DS schema changes so please test and plan accordingly!

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This is build 15.00.0913.022 of Exchange 2013 and the update is helpfully named Exchange2013-x64-cu5.exe.  Which is a great improvement over the initial CUs that all had the same file name!  Details for the release are contained in KB2936880. 

As Ross discussed on the Exchange team blog, CU5 changes OAB behaviour in Exchange 2013.  Please read his excellent post, and the issues with OAB as discussed by Herr Brian Day at MEC 2014. 

 

Updates Of Particular Note

  • 2942609 Exchange ActiveSync proxy does not work from Exchange Server 2013 to Exchange Server 2007
  • 2926308 Sender's email address is broken after importing a PST file into an Exchange Server 2013 mailbox
  • 2941221 EWS integration for Lync works incorrectly in an Exchange Server 2013 and 2007 coexistence environment
  • 2958430 "Some or all Identity references could not be translated" error when you manage DAG in Exchange Server 2013 SP1 in a disjoint namespace domain

The Exchange 2007 fixes will be very welcome for some of the Dr Pepper loving customers I have recently visited where they upgraded directly from Exchange 2007 to 2013.  Lync clients were not functioning correctly as Exchange 2013 mailbox was not correctly generating the Autodiscover XML for the client when the mailbox was located on Exchange 2007. 

 

Issues Resolved

  • 2963590 Message routing latency if IPv6 is enabled in Exchange Server 2013
  • 2963566 Outlook Web App accessibility improvement for UI appearance in Exchange Server 2013
  • 2962439 You cannot sync contacts or tasks in Microsoft CRM client for Outlook in an Exchange Server 2013 environment
  • 2962435 CRM synchronization fails if the time zone name of a meeting is not set in an Exchange Server 2013 environment
  • 2962434 Slow performance in Outlook Web App when Lync is integrated with Exchange Server 2013
  • 2958430 "Some or all Identity references could not be translated" error when you manage DAG in Exchange Server 2013 SP1 in a disjoint namespace domain
  • 2957592 IME is disabled in Outlook Web App when you press Tab to move the focus in an email message in Exchange Server 2013
  • 2942609 Exchange ActiveSync proxy does not work from Exchange Server 2013 to Exchange Server 2007
  • 2941221 EWS integration for Lync works incorrectly in an Exchange Server 2013 and 2007 coexistence environment
  • 2926742 Plain-text message body is cleared when writing in Outlook Web App by using Internet Explorer 8 in Exchange Server 2013
  • 2926308 Sender's email address is broken after importing a PST file into an Exchange Server 2013 mailbox
  • 2925559 Users always get the FBA page when they access OWA or ECP in Exchange Server 2013
  • 2924519 "SyncHealth\Hub" folder is created unexpectedly after installing Cumulative Update 2 for Exchange Server 2013
  • 2916113 Cannot open .tif files from email messages by using Windows-based applications in an Exchange Server 2013 environment
  • 2592398 Email messages in the Sent Items folder have the same PR_INTERNET_MESSAGE_ID property in an Exchange Server 2010 environment

 

Some Items For Consideration

As with previous CUs, CU5 follows the new servicing paradigm that was previously discussed on the blog.  The CU5 package can be used to perform a new installation, or to upgrade an existing Exchange Server 2013 installation to CU5.  You do not need to install Cumulative Update 1 or 2 for Exchange Server 2013 when you are installing CU5.  Cumulative Updates are well, cumulative.  What else can I say,,,,

After you install this cumulative update package, you cannot uninstall the cumulative update package to revert to an earlier version of Exchange 2013. If you uninstall this cumulative update package, Exchange 2013 is removed from the server.

Note that customised configuration files are overwritten on installation.  Make sure you have any changes fully documented!

CU5 contains AD Schema updates – please test and plan accordingly!

 

Please enjoy the update responsibly!

What do I mean by that?  Well, you need to ensure that you are fully informed about the caveats with the CU  and are aware of all of the changes that it will make within your environment.  Additionally you will need to test the CU your lab which is representative of yourproduction environment.

 

Cheers,

Rhoderick