April, 2009

Well last weekend I tried my hands installing the Beta version of Exchange 2010 in my lab. I am enclosing the steps that I did to install my lab with the screenshots.

Lab Setup – Windows 2008 x64bit Std edition VM running in a Hyper-V environment.

• For more information about the requirements for Exchange Server 2010, see Exchange 2010 System Requirements.
• For more information about the prerequisites for Exchange 2010, including those for the Edge Transport server role, see Exchange 2010 Prerequisites.

The pre-requisites that are required for the Exchange 2010 install are as follows -

• ServerManagerCmd -i RSAT-ADDS

• IIS pre-requisites

ServerManagerCmd -i Web-Server

ServerManagerCmd -i Web-ISAPI-Ext

ServerManagerCmd -i Web-Metabase

ServerManagerCmd -i Web-Lgcy-Mgmt-Console

ServerManagerCmd -i Web-Basic-Auth

ServerManagerCmd -i Web-Digest-Auth

ServerManagerCmd -i Web-Windows-Auth

ServerManagerCmd -i Web-Dyn-Compression

ServerManagerCmd -i NET-HTTP-Activation

ServerManagerCmd -I RPC-over-HTTP-proxy

As in my lab I am running UM role on the same Virtual machine so I had installed the Desktop Experience as well on this machine.

ServerManagerCmd -i Desktop-Experience

• Next, are the software pre-requisites, which include:
  • Microsoft .NET Framework 3.5

• Windows Remote Management (WinRM) 2.0 CTP 3
• Windows PowerShell 2.0 CTP 3
• Install the extensions for ASP.NET AJAX 1.0.
• Install the 2007 Office System Converter: Microsoft Filter Pack
• Update from KB 951725
• Update from KB 950888
• Update from KB 951116
• Update from KB 952664
• Update from KB 953290
• Update from KB 958178

Once the above pre-requisites have been installed, check Microsoft Update for any additional updates that might be needed.  Make sure the system has been rebooted after installing any updates which require a reboot.

Launch Setup.exe from the AMD64 folder – (I had kept the software dump on a file share)

The first screen will check for the pre-requisites and if the pre-requisites are not met, it will highlight the Step 1 to 3. In my case, since all pre-requisites were met the Step1 to 3 are grayed out for me.

Introduction Screen will be launched once the file copy process is complete.

I had selected the default selection “Continue setup without language files” for now and will revert to it later.

Confirmation of the selection that I had done in the last screen -

Clicked Next to confirm the EULA ( License Agreement page):

Report to Microsoft for errors – I had selected the default (recommended) option as it will definitely help MS to make improvements based on error reporting.

I had selected the Custom Install as I was looking at installing all the roles on this VM for my lab -

As in Exchange 2010 we have a new concept on High Availability and clustering, there is no Installation option for any clustered mailbox server roles “Active or Passive”. 

New High Availability Functionality

Exchange 2010 integrates high availability into the core architecture of Microsoft Exchange to enable customers of all sizes and in all segments to economically deploy a messaging continuity service in their organization.

Exchange 2010 combines the key availability and resilience features of cluster continuous replication (CCR) and standby continuous replication (SCR) into a single high availability solution that handles both on-site data replication and off-site data replication. Mailbox servers can be defined as part of a Database Availability Group to provide automatic recovery at the individual mailbox database level instead of at the server level. Each mailbox database can have up to 16 copies.

The following features in Exchange 2007 and Exchange 2007 Service Pack 1 (SP1) no longer exist in Exchange 2010:

Local continuous replication (LCR)

Single copy clusters (SCC)

In addition to these features, the concept of a clustered mailbox server no longer exists in Exchange 2010. For more information about Exchange 2010 high availability features, see New High Availability Functionality.

Do refer this article on “What's New in Exchange Server 2010” to get an insight on what has been introduced in Exchange 2010

I had selected my Organization name as “E14lab” and then clicked Next

If the Exchange organization uses Outlook 2003 or earlier, or Microsoft Entourage, then a public folder database is needed so that those clients can access system data, such as Free/Busy information. In that case, you would select Yes on this page.  Since my organization does not use Outlook 2003 or earlier, or Entourage, I can leave the default setting of No and click Next.

The Customer Experience Improvement Program (CEIP) page appears – I had selected the default option here.

As you can see the readiness checks went well and all the signals are GREEN, I went ahead and clicked on Install.

I had rebooted the system after the setup was complete. (Unselected the check box).

First look at the Exchange 2010 Management console -

Microsoft Exchange Server 2010 Beta is available - http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?displaylang=en&FamilyID=1898ed2c-2f88-48ac-824e-d3d20fad77d7

Microsoft Exchange Server 2010  on TechNet - http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/exchange/2010/default.aspx

                                                               http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb124558(EXCHG.140).aspx

NOTE - BETA is time-limited, free beta version of Microsoft® Exchange Server 2010 will end 360 days after installation.

Is there a forum where I can ask questions? Yes - http://social.technet.microsoft.com/Forums/en-US/exchange2010/threads

Recently I received a query from a partner on OCS 2007 Web scheduling and do we have any web based LiveMeeting Management tool. The partner was not able to get much information on Internet how to deploy it so I am posting this blog with some details on how you can manage LiveMeeting meetings through web interface.

Microsoft has a tool called the Office Communications Server 2007 Web Scheduler  - http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyId=96B42DC8-E769-4EFD-B7A6-ECA03058F8AD

Web Scheduler is a resource kit tool for Microsoft Office Communications Server 2007. It provides a Web-based alternative to the add-in for the Microsoft Outlook messaging and collaboration client for the purpose of scheduling a meeting using Office Communications Server 2007. It also provides a browser-based conference management experience that includes operations such as:

• Scheduling a new Live Meeting conference or conference call.
• Viewing and modifying details of an existing conference.
• Listing all existing user schedules of a Microsoft Office conference.
• Deleting an existing conference.
• Sending an e-mail invitation to conference participants by using a configured SMTP mail server.
• Joining an existing conference.

NOTE – > This is a tool in resource kit and is not officially supported by Microsoft.

System Requirements

• Supported Operating Systems: Windows Server 2003

• This download works with the following Office program:
  • Microsoft Office Communications Server 2007
• An SMTP server, such as Microsoft Exchange Server, is required for sending e-mail invitations for the meeting scheduled with Web Scheduler.
• Web scheduler is designed as an ASP.NET application, which must be installed on the same Internet Information Services (IIS) 6.0 Web server on which Office Communications Server 2007 Web Components are installed

Instructions

To install this download:

1. Download the file by clicking the Download button (above) and saving the file to your hard disk.
2. Double-click the WebScheduler.msi program file on your hard disk to start the Setup program.
3. Follow the instructions on the screen to complete the installation.
4. Refer to the WebScheduler documentation installed to complete the configuration of the Web Scheduler.

After installation is complete, you need to activate Web Scheduler using the same user name and password that you used to activate Web Components on the computer. If you do not remember the user name used to activate Web Components, use the following steps. Open IIS Manager (%SystemRoot%\system32\inetsrv\iis.msc), and then navigate to Local Computer, Application Pools, and LSGroupExpAppPool. Right-click LSGroupExpAppPool, click Properties, and then click the Identity tab. Note the user name under Configurable identity type. You only need the name part of the string. If the user name string is Domain\RTCComponentService, RTCComponentService is what you need to use in the activation procedure.

To Activate the Web Scheduler

To activate Web Scheduler on Standard Edition, use the following command line:

LcsCmd.exe tool is located under %CommonProgramFiles%\Office Communications Server 2007. Use pool_name = name of the computer (for example, server1).

(you can find the OCS_ResourceKit_WebScheduler_Readme.doc in the %OCS_installation_folder%\Web Components\Conf\ folder).

To Launch the Web Scheduler  - Once the Web scheduler is activated, you can use https://<internal web fqdn>/conf/int/Login.aspx to launch the web scheduler

To remove this download:
To remove the download file, delete the file WebScheduler.msi.

1. On the Start menu, point to Settings and then click Control Panel.
2. Double-click Add/Remove Programs.
3. In the list of currently installed programs, select Microsoft Office Communications Server 2007, Web Scheduler and then click Remove or Add/Remove. If a dialog box appears, follow the instructions to remove the program.
4. Click Yes or OK to confirm that you want to remove the program.

Resources -

OCS 2007 Resource Kit link - http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?familyid=B9BF4F71-FB0B-4DE9-962F-C56B70A8AECD&displaylang=en 

Error message when you try to use the Live Meeting console to connect to Communications Server 2007: "Live Meeting cannot connect to the meeting." http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx/kb/938288

Related post - http://social.microsoft.com/Forums/en-US/ucconferencingscheduling/thread/49482f78-4e8e-44ca-bf51-02a20d16999e

Test AD domain name – Litwareinc.com

OCS server name  - OCS-STD.

I had installed the OCS in my MS lab so enclosing the step by step process in this post

OCS 2007 Installation

Schema Preparation

On ocs-std.litwareinc.com run the setup.exe application to start the installation. You’ll see a message that the Visual C++ 2005 redistributable must be installed. Click Yes.

On the main setup screen click Deploy Standard Edition Server.

Now click Prepare Active Directory.

Press the Run button under Prep Schema.

The Schema Preparation Wizard starts. Click Next.

Assuming the installation media has not been modified, the schema files should be in the same directory as setup so press Next.

Press Next again to start the schema preparation.

A success dialog will appear when it finishes. Check the box to view the log if desired, but press Finish to continue.

At this point you should wait and then verify the schema has replicated to all domain controllers in the forest before continuing.

Forest Preparation

Press the Run button under Prep Forest.

The Forest Preparation Wizard starts. Press Next.

Leave the default selection of System container in the root domain and press Next.

Select forest root domain, litwareinc.com in the drop down and press Next.

Select the external SIP domain, litwareinc.com, for default routing and press Next.

Confirm the forest preparation settings and press Next.

A success dialog will appear when it finishes. Check the box to view the log if desired, but press Finish to continue.

Again, wait for the changes to be replicated to the entire forest before continuing.

Domain Preparation

Press the Run button under Prep Domain.

The Domain Preparation Wizard starts. Press Next.

Press Next to acknowledge the warning about group creation.

Confirm the domain preparation settings and press Next.

A success dialog will appear when it finishes. Check the box to view the log if desired, but press Finish to continue.

This time wait for the changes to be replicated to the entire domain OCS is being deployed within. Run the domain preparation wizard for any other domains hosting OCS.

At this point OCS admin rights can be delegated to users and groups. This can also be accomplished later by running the wizard again. Press the Deploy Standard Edition link at the top to go back and deploy the Standard Edition Server.

Deploy Server

Click the Run button under Deploy Server to start the installation process.

The Deploy Server Wizard starts. Press Next.

Accept the license terms and press Next.

Choose an installation location and press Next.

Enter a password for the RTCService account and press Next.

Enter a password for the RTCComponent account and press Next.

Accept the default blank external web farm FQDN’s for now. The external address will adjusted later. Press Next.

Select a location for the database and transaction logs. Ideally, these should be on separate disk controllers. Press Next.

Review the configuration settings and press Next to start the installation.

A success dialog will appear when it finishes. Check the box to view the log if desired, but press Finish to continue.

Configure Server

The Deploy Server section should now have a green checkmark next to it. Click the Run button under Configure Server to continue.

The Configure Pool/Server Wizard should start. Press Next to continue.

Press Next to accept the only server installed so far, ocs-std.litwareinc.com.

The SIP domain was already entered earlier, but additional SIP domains can be added here. Press Next to continue.

Choose the option Some or all clients will use DNS SRV records for automatic logon and check the box Use this server or pool to authenticate and redirect automatic client logon requests. Press Next.

Choose the SIP domain for automatic logon, litwareinc.com and press Next.

Select Do not configure for external access now and press Next.

Review the configuration settings and press Next to begin the configuration.

A success dialog will appear when it finishes. Check the box to view the log if desired, but press Finish to continue.