• Exchange Analyzer Tools Success Stories from Microsoft PSS

    The Microsoft Exchange Analyzer Tools, including Exchange Performance Troubleshooting Analyzer (ExPTA), Exchange Mail Flow Analyzer (ExMFA), Exchange Disaster Recovery Analyzer (ExDRA), are designed and developed to help troubleshooting various problems for customers running an Exchange Server environment. The following article shows a quick summary of the tools’ functions and provides some Microsoft Product Support Services success stories that may help to resolve typical problems in performance, mailflow and database recovery areas.

     

    http://wwwppe/technet/prodtechnol/exchange/articles/analyzersuccess.mspx

  • How to use Outlook E-mail Security Administrative Package to Trust Add-in or Other Programs

    Sometimes, we may want to grant an add-in (custom add-in) or a program (Access, Excel) the permission to access Outlook's data and send email via Outlook. By default, Outlook will prompt a security warning to let the user confirm it is not a virus or any malicious code. We can perform the following steps to use Outlook E-mail Security Administrative Package so that Outlook trusts add-ins or other programs. (For example, the code which access Outlook's data or send email via Outlook is in sendmail.dll)

     

    1.       in ESM, Locate Folders -> Public Folders

    2.       Right Click Public Folders -> Click New -> Public Folder

    3.       Use the name "Outlook Security Settings" and Click OK

    4.       Right Click "Outlook Security Settings" and Click Properties -> On Permissions tab, Click Client Permissions -> Make sure "Default" and "Anonymous" has "Reviewer" role at least and your account has owner role and Click OK

     

    5.       Download ADMPACK.EXE from http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=15673dc4-2406-4946-aa02-8a8b0e0165b0&DisplayLang=en

    6.       Run it and it will extract 4 files for you (comdlg32.ocx, hashctl.dll, OutlookSecurity.oft, readme.doc)

    7.       Copy comdlg32.ocx and hashctl.dll to C:\Windows\System32\

    8.       Click start -> Run… -> Type "regsvr32 hashctl.dll" (without quotation marks) and Click OK

    9.       Click start -> Run… -> Type "regsvr32 comdlg32.ocx" (without quotation marks) and Click OK

     

    10.   Start Outlook and log on to your Exchange mailbox

    11.   Double Click OutlookSecurity.oft to launch it

    12.   Choose "Outlook Security Settings" (under Public Folders) and Click OK

    13.   Click Tools -> Forms -> Publish Form

    14.   Select "Outlook Folders" in "Look In:" drop down box

    15.   Click Browse and Locate Public Folders -> Outlook Security Settings and Click OK

    16.   Type "Outlook Security Form" in both "Display name:" and "Form name:" box and Click Publish

    17.   Close the form and Click NO when it prompt for save changes

     

    18.   In Outlook, Click File -> New -> Choose Form…

    19.   Select "Outlook Folders" in "Look In:" drop down box

    20.   Click Browse and Locate Public Folders -> Outlook Security Settings and Click OK

    21.   Select "Outlook Security Form" and Click Open

    22.   On Trusted Code tab, Click Add…

    23.   Locate the "sendmail.dll" file (you can install the add-in or program on your machine in advance) and Click Open

    24.   Click Close and Click Yes when it prompt for save changes

     

    Now, in your Exchange environment, the "sendmail.dll" file can access Outlook's data and send emails without the security warning. More information can be found in the readme.doc file included in ADMPACK.EXE.

  • Backup and Recovery Best Practices for Windows Server 2003

    Server Cluster is a Microsoft technology to provide high availability on Windows platform. Though Server Cluster is very stable, it’s always recommended to have a backup in case any unexpected incidents occur, such as power outages or storage corruption. Please refer to the article below for how to back up and restore Sever Cluster in various circumstances.

     

    Server Clusters: Backup and Recovery Best Practices for Windows Server 2003

    http://www.microsoft.com/technet/prodtechnol/windowsserver2003/technologies/clustering/sercbrbp.mspx

  • The comprehensive technical articles and best practice of Windows Time

    Microsoft has put together a comprehensive and technical article Windows Time and the W32TM service explaining how the Windows Time service works and how the time on desktop machines is synchronized with the server. There are some best practices that you need to consider as tips as well as a comprehensive troubleshooting section at the end of the article. It's a very useful article, and one that simplifies quite a complicated topic. For more information, please read the article here.

  • Avoid Two Scenarios When Deploying Live Communications Server 2005 Enterprise Edition

    During the deployment of Live Communications Server 2005 Enterprise Edition, there are several scenarios that should be avoided. These scenarios are not supported by Microsoft. Here are two of them:

     

    Scenario 1:

    Live Communications Server Backend database and Live Communications server Front end server are installed on the same server.

     

    Scenario 2:

    When deploying Live Communications Server 2005 Enterprise Edition, hardware load balancer is not configured in front of the Front End server.

     

    These two scenarios easily occur and should be avoided. They are known to cause issues.

     

    The following Live Communications Server 2005 Enterprise Edition (EE) server configurations are supported:

     

    §          One EE server configured as an Enterprise Pool behind a hardware load balancer, with the back-end database on a separate computer.

    §          Two or more EE servers configured as an Enterprise Pool behind a hardware load balancer, with the back-end database on a separate computer.

    §          Two or more EE servers configured as an Enterprise pool behind a hardware load balancer, with a Communicator Web Access server colocated on one or more of the EE servers that make up the Enterprise Pool, and with the back-end database on a separate computer.

     

    For more information about the supportability information of Live Communications Server 2005, please refer to the supportability guide that can be downloaded from the link below:

     

    Live Communications Server 2005 Document: Supportability Guide

    http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?familyid=e71bd1cd-5bd0-4293-8586-dd998060faf8&displaylang=en