Johann's Unified Communications : sp1

Exchange 2007 SP1 Virtualisation and Licensing Announcements

jkruse — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 02:18:17 GMT

Two big announcements for Exchange 2007 SP1:

Microsoft now supports Exchange Server 2007 SP1 running on Hyper-V or other hypervisors validated under the Microsoft Server Virtualization Validation Program (SVVP).
Microsoft is waiving its 90-day license reassignment policy to enable customers who virtualise Exchange to move their licenses between servers within a data farm as often as necessary.

I recommend reading the following articles for all the necessary information:

Microsoft Virtualization and Licensing Announcements - http://msexchangeteam.com/archive/2008/08/19/449621.aspx
Microsoft Support Policies and Recommendations for Exchange Servers in Hardware Virtualization Environments - http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc794548.aspx

And if you're coming to Tech.Ed in Australia or NZ make sure you attend UNC306: Exchange Server 2007 SP1 and Hyper-V where we will be doing a deep-dive on this topic - all the official technical information, recommendations, and some of the gotchas.

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Video: demo of upgrading a CCR cluster from Exchange 2007 RTM to SP1

jkruse — Wed, 05 Dec 2007 04:37:07 GMT

From You Had Me At EHLO...

To demonstrate upgrading a CCR cluster from Exchange 2007 RTM to SP1, I have created a video demo that takes you through the process of upgrading the passive node followed by upgrading the CMS to SP1 and finally upgrading the active node. This demo also demonstrates "Managing Clustered Mailbox Server" via the Exchange 2007 SP1 Exchange Management Console.

Watch it at http://msexchangeteam.com/archive/2007/12/03/447658.aspx

Technorati Tags: exchange 2007, sp1, video

Exchange 2007 SP1 - now available!

jkruse — Fri, 30 Nov 2007 01:37:00 GMT

Microsoft Exchange Server 2007 Service Pack 1 (SP1) has been designed specifically to help meet the challenges of any business and the needs of all the different groups with a stake in the messaging system. Exchange Server 2007 SP1 is a mission-critical communications tool that enables employees to be more productive and access their information anywhere and anytime while providing a messaging system that enables rich, efficient access to e-mail, calendar items, voice mail, and contacts. For the administrator, Exchange Server 2007 SP1 provides advanced protection options against e-mail security threats, such as spam and viruses, as well as the tools to help manage internal compliance and high availability needs.

In Exchange Server 2007 SP1, several new features and improvements will extend the Anywhere Access capabilities of Exchange Server 2007 to help make employees more productive on whatever device they’re using, provide additional Operational Efficiency tools for administrators seeking a streamlined management and deployment experience, and enable advanced Built-in Protection for more robust high availability and compliance scenarios.

Improvements in Exchange Server 2007 SP1 include:

Anywhere Access

Integrated Exchange Unified Messaging functionality with Microsoft Office Communicator 2007 and Microsoft Office Communications Server 2007.
Outlook Web Access additions, including public folder access, S/MIME support, personal distribution lists, and mailbox rules editor.
Webready document viewer supports Microsoft Office 2007 documents in addition to Microsoft Office 2003 documents.
Extended language support in Outlook Web Access with Arabic and Korean spell checking.

Operational Efficiency

Support for Windows Server 2008 deployments, including benefits in flexible clustering, native virtualization, advanced networking, and simplified management.
Additional tools in the Exchange Management Console, including public folder management and configuration options for clustering and POP/IMAP access.
Improvements to the Exchange Management Shell syntax and import-export PST in the move-mailbox command.
Wider variety of web services for application development, including public folder access, delegate management, and folder level permissions.

Built-in Protection

Addition of Standby Continuous Replication (SCR) for site resilient high availability deployments.
Extended Exchange ActiveSync policies for mobile policy enforcement.
Inormation rights management pre-licensing by the Hub Transport role.
Secure Real Time Protocol (SRTP) support in the Unified Messaging role.
Support for IPv6 when using Windows Server 2008.

Download it now at http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyId=44C66AD6-F185-4A1D-A9AB-473C1188954C&displaylang=en

Also download the release notes at http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=5770bd59-376e-42ec-b940-be6225cd97ff&DisplayLang=en

And download a slipstreamed trial edition at http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyId=44C66AD6-F185-4A1D-A9AB-473C1188954C&displaylang=en

Technorati Tags: exchange12rocks, exchange 2007, sp1, download

Video Series: Exchange 2007 SP1 Standby Continuous Replication (SCR)

jkruse — Fri, 14 Sep 2007 02:43:06 GMT

From You Had Me At EHLO...

Beta 2 of Service Pack 1 Exchange Server 2007 is available for public download and preview for MSDN and TechNet subscribers. As I wrote in my blog entry, Standby Continuous Replication in Exchange Server 2007 Service Pack 1, SCR extends the continuous replication technology in Exchange 2007, enabling new data availability scenarios for Exchange 2007 Mailbox servers. You can find product documentation for SCR in the recently refreshed TechCenter update at http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb676502.aspx.

To demonstrate one of those scenarios, I have created a 5-part blogcast that takes you through the process of enabling SCR, monitoring SCR, and activating an SCR storage group copy using the Exchange Management Shell and other features, such as database portability. This scenario is based on the scenario detailed in the Help topic Standby Continuous Replication: Database Portability.

An example of using SCR with a standby cluster is detailed in the Help topic Standby Continuous Replication: Site Resilience with Standby Clustering.

Download the videos at http://msexchangeteam.com/archive/2007/09/13/447006.aspx

Technorati Tags: scr, sp1, exchange 2007, dr, video

Easy ways to evaluate Exchange Server 2007 SP1 today

jkruse — Sun, 26 Aug 2007 08:50:41 GMT

From You Had Me At EHLO...

As a follow-up to our Exchange 2007 SP1 announcement, I wanted to let you know that we have finished preparing two additional ways in which you can experience Exchange 2007 SP1 Beta 2:

SP1 Hosted demo: please visit https://signmeup.exchange2007demo.com/exchange2007demo/ to register for an online trial account that is pre-populated with sample messages, calendar appointments and a voice mail to enjoy the rich experience through Outlook Web Access, Outlook, or an Exchange ActiveSync compatible device.

A Virtual Hard Disk (VHD) pre-configured with Exchange Server 2007 SP1 Beta 2 for use with Microsoft Virtual PC or Microsoft Virtual Server (both available as free downloads): Exchange Server 2007 SP1 Beta 2 (VHD) that you can download and evaluate for free in your own environment without the need for dedicated servers.

Enjoy!

Technorati Tags: exchange 2007, sp1, scr, vhd, download

Exchange Server 2007 Service Pack 1 Beta 2 released

jkruse — Wed, 15 Aug 2007 04:43:37 GMT

From the UC Group blog....

Great news from the Unified Communications Group and the Exchange Product Team. Exchange 2007 SP1 Beta 2 has been released as a commuity technology preview for subscribers of MSDN and TechNet Plus.

To learn more about it, please check out the Exchange Team Blog http://www.microsoft.com/technet/abouttn/subscriptions/default.mspx

Technorati Tags: exchange, exchange 2007, sp1, scr

Standby Continuous Replication (SCR) in Exchange 2007 SP1

jkruse — Fri, 29 Jun 2007 01:50:36 GMT

One of the best, and most talked about, capabilities coming in Exchange 2007 SP1 is Standby Continuous Replication or SCR.

This features allows you to have a standby Exchange server for DR/BCP purposes, in addition to your CCR cluster for HA - in different datacentres of course :)

So by having three servers - with no specialised/expensive replication or storage requirements - you can now have a full high-availability (CCR) and disaster recovery (SCR) plan for your Exchange messaging and voicemail platform.

A great post on SCR has just been published at http://msexchangeteam.com/archive/2007/06/28/445538.aspx

Technorati Tags: exchange 2007, sp1, ha, dr, bcp, scr, ccr