Exchange Server Support

Conversion of Primary DNS Server to an Active Directory Integrated Primary Server

2010-02-11T14:46:00.001-08:00

Every website on Internet has a unique URL, which locates the website. The URL consist of the domain name, which is converted into the corresponding IP address with the help of DNS server.
You can also convert your Primary DNS server to an Active Directory Integrated Primary server, instead of adding secondary DNS servers. The concept behind adding secondary DNS server is to avoid any failure. With the following steps you can convert Primary DNS Server to Active Directory Integrated Primary server on Windows Server 2003:
STEP 1: On the current DNS server, start DNS Manager.
STEP 2: Right-click a DNS zone, click Properties, click the General tab, and then note the Type value. This will be Primary zone, Secondary zone or Stub zone.
STEP 3: Click Change.
STEP 4: In the Change Zone Type box, click to select the “Store the zone” in Active Directory check box. When you are prompted to answer whether want this zone to become Active Directory integrated, click Yes, and then click OK.
When you complete all the steps, then in the Domain properties, type will be shown as "Active Directory-Integrated". You can supplement other DNS servers in the domain controller after its replication becomes complete. So, in this way you can supplement other DNS servers, which lead to removal of any point of failure.

Remote Support Services

2010-02-08T12:38:00.000-08:00

Remote support services are an array of technical services offered through the Internet. Many technical service providers offer remote support for a range of services. Your system should have an Internet connection in order to utilize remote support services.

Services offered through remote support are enlisted below:

· Software installation

· Virus removal

· Windows upgrades

· System tune-up and routine maintenance to speed up the computer

· Configuring settings for e-mail, or Internet, or Microsoft Office

· Removal of spyware applications

· Troubleshooting

· Internet optimization

· Support for peripheral devices

Along with these services, remote support provides you many benefits. Most important benefit is the availability; you can access remote support from anywhere in the world. You do not have to take your system to any service provider, and no need to call someone at your premises.

You just have to contact any technical service provider, and your issue gets resolved. A technician from your service provider will access your system via remote connection. After that, he will diagnose the issue that is not letting your system perform better and fix it simultaneously.

So, it is viable to say that remote support services are much better than traditional services. You just have to pay once and get access to a wide variety of services through remote support.

Windows Server Support

2010-02-07T13:25:00.000-08:00

Microsoft had launched a series of server operating systems under the brand name Windows Server. Some of the server operating systems are, Windows Server 2008 R2, Windows Server 2008, Windows Server 2003 R2, Windows Server 2003, Windows 2000 Server and others.
Microsoft offers support for all its products including server operating systems. You can visit Microsoft support website, in case you have any technical issues related to Windows Servers.
You can receive a lot of information related to Windows Servers from Microsoft support website. Some of the issues on which you can receive information are, how to configure an authoritative time server in Windows Server 2008 R2, how to troubleshoot shutdown problems in Windows Server 2003, Windows Server 2003 service pack 1 support tools, how to lock down Windows Server 2003, how to configure Internet printing in Windows Server 2003, how to enable Telnet Server in Windows 2000 Server and many others.
Beside this, you can contact a technical service provider for Windows Server support. Technicians at technical service providers make use of remote connection in order to access your system online. After accessing your system, your issues will be analyzed and resolved. So, you do not have to take pain of inviting a technician at your own place because your issues will be resolved through the Internet.

How to enable DHCP on Windows 7?

2010-02-03T12:29:00.000-08:00

DHCP Server for Windows 7
DHCP (Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol) server offers information about IP address, subnet mask and default gateway to the clients. DHCP server for Windows 7 has been enhanced in many areas like support for SSID caching, optimization for obtaining IP address and others.
Suppose, your Windows 7 computer is connected to an intranet having multiple subnets and the Internet, but having a default gateway for both adapters. In this situation, you can either communicate with all computers on the intranet or Internet, but not with both of them. In order to solve this problem, you have to configure a default gateway with the adapter connected to the Internet. This is where the role of DHCP server comes into play.
In case, you want to configure a default gateway on Windows 7 PC follow the procedure:
STEP 1: Open Network Connections by clicking the Start button, and then clicking Control Panel. In the search box, type adapter, and then, under Network and Sharing Center, click View network connections.
STEP 2: Right-click the network adapter that you want to configure a default gateway for, and then click Properties. If you're prompted for an administrator password or confirmation, type the password or provide confirmation.
STEP 3: Click the Networking tab.
STEP 4: Under “This connection uses the following items”, click either Internet Protocol Version 4 (TCP/IPv4) or Internet Protocol Version 6 (TCP/IPv6), and then click Properties.
STEP 5: In the dialog box that appears, select either “Obtain an IP address automatically” or “Use the following IP address”.
a) If you configure the network adapter to obtain an IP address automatically, the default gateway is assigned by the DHCP server.
b) If you manually specify an IP address configuration, the default gateway is the IP address in the Default gateway box on the General tab
After completing this procedure, you can configure a default gateway on your Windows 7 PC.

Benefits of Print Server

2010-01-31T09:15:00.000-08:00

Print server can be a computer or any device which is capable of connecting with one or more printers along with the client computers over a network.
Print server has many benefits because it lowers the administrative and management workload. A print server enables an administrator to manage and control access to each printer. Three level of printer permissions are available, print, manage documents and manage printer. Print permission is granted to everyone in the group. It allows a user to print documents, pause, resume, start and cancel his documents.
Manage documents permission is allocated by administrator to some selected users for controlling job settings for all documents. Manage printer permission enables the user to pause and restart the printer, share a printer, adjust printer permissions, modify printer properties and modify spooler settings.
Client computer jobs are quickly spooled to print server when compared to printer. The main point to be noted is that while printing large jobs from an own printer, resources of client computer are used and he may have to leave his computer running until printing task gets completed. But with the use of print server, if any job has been spooled to it, then user can shutdown his system without any harm.
Print server can also work according to priority of documents. The document with the highest priority will be printed first.

Windows Server 2008 - Top 5 Extraordinary Features

2010-01-23T02:00:00.000-08:00

Server 2008 is one of Microsoft Windows' server series of operating systems. It is the successor to Windows Server 2003. Like Windows Vista and Windows 7, Windows Server 2008 is built on Windows NT 6.x. In this blog we’ll discuss some of its extraordinary features.
NTFS - Windows’s server 2008 used an improved version of NTFS, a new system service works in the background that can identify a file system error, and perform an automatic healing process without anyone taking the server down.
Address Space Load Randomization (ASLR) -Probably one of the most divisive included features already, especially since it’s introduced with Vista, ASLR makes sure that no two subsequent instances of an operating system load the same system drivers in the same location in memory each time.
Powershell - It's a part of the shipping operating system: the completely new command line tool that can either supplement or completely replace GUI-based administration.
Server-Core - Windows Server 2008 introduces a variation of installation called Server Core. Server Core is a radically scaled-back installation where no Windows Explorer shell is installed. All configuration and maintenance is performed completely through command line interface windows, or by connecting to the machine remotely using Microsoft Management Console. However, Notepad and some control panel applets, such as Regional Settings, are available.
Windows System Resource Manager- It offers resource management and can be very handy to control the amount of resources a process or a user can use based on business priorities. Process Matching Criteria, which is defined by the name, type or owner of the process, imposes restrictions on the resource usage by a process that matches the criteria. CPU time, bandwidth that it can use, number of processors it can be run on, and allocated to a process can be restricted. Restrictions can be set to be imposed only on certain dates as well.

Windows 7 DHCP Server - Steps for better networking

2010-01-14T13:55:00.000-08:00

The concept of Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) is an important aspect for better network in regards with security, reliability, manageability and usability. It also avoids conflict between similar IP addresses, which are often caused due to human error. Moreover, it has simplified the job of administrator where they don’t need to assign IP address again and again.
When this technology is implemented with Windows 7 user can gain excellent internet experience over their mobile network.
Key advantage of DHCP server along with Windows 7
• Easy to locate the client with the distinct IP address
• Easy to manage the client computer
• Least resource consumption, which attributes for enhance network performance
Hence, DHCP server along with Windows 7 will be very useful for the businesses and enterprises to manage their business from remote places over the laptop and PDAs mobile. This will increase the pace of communication with utmost security.
Let’s see how we can configure DHCP server for Windows 7.
STEP 1. Click Start, Control Panel, and then click Add Or Remove Programs
STEP 2. Select “Add/Remove Windows Components”
STEP 3. It will initiate Windows Components Wizard
STEP 4. From the Components list box, select Networking Services, and then click the Details button
STEP 5. The Networking Services dialog box opens
STEP 6. In the Subcomponents Of Networking Services list box, check the Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol checkbox
STEP 7. Click OK
STEP 8. Click Next
STEP 9. On the Windows Components Wizard page you will get the prompt of Complete process. Click “Finish”
Hope, you will find this blog extremely useful.

Role of IT Server in Business Growth

2010-01-13T08:37:00.001-08:00

IT server has changed the scope of business. Now the business has gained a global dispersal leading a healthy competition and better productivity.
Role of IT server
• Facilitates quick access of data over LAN and WAN
• Allows centralized data storage
• Centralized backup
• Implement efficient data security
• Permit resource sharing
• Secure data sharing
IT server should be dynamic in function, it must manage, store, send and process data on 24/7/365 basis. Hence, it should be reliable and secure. To get the job done, it must be equipped with:
• Duel processors; either equipped or capable
• Redundant hard drives or power supplies
• Hot swappable components
• Internet security package and firewall
Different IT servers are required to accomplish different tasks. Accordingly we can have the following categories of IT server.
Application IT Server: These are deployed for managing the multiple applications over a LAN or WAN from a centralized administrator computer. Different work stations are managed with respect to data flow. In order to manage huge application an IT server must have built-in redundancy, monitors for high-availability, high-performance distributed application services and support for complex database access.
Print IT Server: Installation of Print IT Server is a cost-effective approach and reduces the number of printer. You can share a single printer over your entire LAN network. Your print IT server will manage the print file request and sends the file to the requested printer.
Database IT Server
Design and architecture of Database IT server is resembles with client/server architecture model. Total number of applications running over the server is divided into two parts: a front-end running on a workstation (where users collect and display the database information) and the back-end running on a server where you need to perform data analysis and storage.
Mail IT Server: This is a life blood of corporate networks (LANs and WANs). It would facilitate easy, fast and cheap mode of communication. It will manage your e-mail clients.
Web IT Server: It is extremely useful for processing request of web browser through HTTP communication. Hence large enterprises who owns their websites needs to have an efficient Web IT server, so that the customer request can be processed without any delay.
FTP IT Server: Enterprises who have their offices in multiple locations should amend dynamic and reliable IT server, so that the file and data can be shared over the Internet without any issue. Hence, important for both downloading and uploading of a file.
Proxy IT Server: If your server is getting overloaded with client request you can establish a Proxy IT server which intermediates between web browser and real server. Real role is to maintain a time gap and perform filtration of request. Hence, it’s important for the security concern too.

Smart IT support for healthy competition

2010-01-12T09:49:00.000-08:00

IT industry has become the backbone of every infrastructure. Hence, vitality of IT support has increased by manifolds. IT support is available for every segment of users. Home user can take the IT support for their personal desktop or laptop. Businesses and enterprises need it to keep their Windows server running in smooth condition with maximum productivity.
Scope of IT support
• Installation and upgrade of operating/application software
• Cognizant solution on feature and product
• Develop user-interface program
• Troubleshoot and fix any bug
• Data backup and recovery
• Joint product analysis with manufacturer/developer
• Manage Internet security
Different enterprises are offering reliable and authentic IT support services on both remote and onsite visit basis. Remote support is getting too much popular because it is more reliable genuine and available round the time without any restriction of territorial boundary.
If you are equipped with reliable IT support service, you can concentrate on your core business in a better way. For every segment of user, they have consolidated and specific tariff plans.
Manufacturers of computer and software giants are working in collaboration with the certified Microsoft technical groups in order to build better customer relationship. They are outsourcing IT support to make it more authentic and cost efficient. But don’t worry for customer understanding services are available in plain English. Globally recognized organizations are offering IT server support in all languages to meet their objectives.

iYogi Secures $15 Million in Funding Led by Draper Fisher Jurvetson to Fuel Surging Market Share in Rapidly Growing Consumer Tech Support Market

2010-01-11T07:47:00.000-08:00

Significant New Round of Funding to Build on iYogi’s Global Delivery Platform and Enhanced Services with Channel Partners

New York, NY, January 6, 2010: iYogi, the fastest growing on-demand consumer tech services company, announced today it has raised $15 million in funding to accelerate the company’s continued global growth in consumer remote tech support services. Draper Fisher Jurvetson joined continuing investors Canaan Partners; SAP Ventures, a division of SAP AG; and SVB India Capital Partners in the new financing.

iYogi will use the investment capital to enhance services, expand its team of Global Tech Experts, and build on the significant growth it has experienced in the last year. Since 2008, iYogi has seen 300 percent growth in revenues and subscribers, and has doubled its employee base to 1,200. For the next year, iYogi is forecasting an additional 300 percent revenue growth and an increase to 3,000 Global Tech Experts worldwide.

“The surging demand for remote technical services stems from the critical need for computer owners to keep their systems up and running and retailers to differentiate their offerings, particularly as the PC market becomes increasingly commoditized and competitive,” said Mohanjit Jolly, Executive Director at Draper Fisher Jurvetson India. “With its global team of experts, advanced support services and intelligent knowledge platform, iYogi is well-positioned for significant expansion and differentiation in this category, and is partnering with top tier retailers, ISP’s, OEM’s and software vendors to broaden its footprint.”

iYogi’s Global Delivery Platform is powered by Microsoft Certified tech experts, an extensive knowledge base and advance tools for diagnostics, repair and maintenance. The company has witnessed exponential growth through online direct marketing across four primary geographies - US, United Kingdom, Australia and Canada. In the coming year, iYogi will continue to build on its online brand presence and expand upon its channel partnerships to accelerate global expansion in the vast market for remote computer tech support.

“We are delighted to have support from successful, high-profile venture firms like Draper Fisher Jurvetson along with Canaan Partners, SAP Ventures and SVB India Capital Partners,” said Uday Challu, co-founder and CEO of iYogi. “iYogi’s progress over the last year is both a strong reflection of the tremendous market opportunity for remote technical services and an indication of iYogi’s momentum in seizing significant market share. We are able to effectively and consistently address and resolve consumer concerns through our unique Global Delivery Model across multiple geographies with the highest resolution rates and customer satisfaction in this growing industry.”

Today, iYogi has more than 100,000 annual subscribers and provides thousands of single incident sessions every day on a 24/7 basis. Its Global Delivery Platform delivers on the highest customer quality benchmarks in the industry and gets smarter with every customer interaction, building a powerful knowledge base that provides unique customer insights on predictive needs to tech support

ABOUT DFJ

Draper Fisher Jurvetson ("DFJ") backs extraordinary entrepreneurs everywhere who set out to change the world. DFJ achieves its mission through its DFJ Global Network of Partner Funds. Together, DFJ and the Network manage over $6B and have made more than 600 investments on four continents. With a 24-year history of success across diverse sectors and market conditions, DFJ has led the way investing in emerging technologies, from the Internet and life sciences to clean energy and nanotechnology. DFJ has been proud to back over 500 companies across many sectors including such industry changing successes such as Hotmail (acquired by MSFT), Baidu (BIDU), Skype (acquired by EBAY), United Online (UNTD), Overture (acquired by YHOO), Athenahealth (ATHN), EnerNOC (ENOC), TicketsNow (acquired by TicketMaster), Feedburner (acquired by Google), Interwoven (IWOV), Four11 (acquired by YHOO), Parametric (PMTC), and Digidesign (acquired by AVID). For more information, visit: www.dfj.com

About iYogi

iYogi is a global on-demand services company that provides personalized computer support for consumers and small businesses in United States, United Kingdom, Canada and Australia. iYogi’s unique model, including proprietary technology iMantra and highly qualified technicians, is designed to eliminate computer-related stress and keep millions of digitally dependent consumers and small businesses always protected and productive. Only iYogi -- with its proven global expertise delivery model, intelligent customer insight systems, easy-to-use self-help tools and automated PC optimization and computer support services – offers users a simple yet comprehensive path to digital serenity. iYogi has perfected the remote technical support model to overcome the current limitations of in-store, on-site, or call center services to become the fastest growing provider of support in the industry. Major resellers and technology companies are increasingly turning to iYogi to improve customer satisfaction, reduce return rates, and deliver a compelling new-value added offering to customers. For more information on iYogi and a detailed list of technologies supported, visit: www.iyogi.net

Media Contact

Derek Kober

Global Fluency

Tel. :650-433-4233

Email:dkober@globalfluency.com

Contact:

Vishal Dhar

President, Marketing

Tel. : +1-212-229-0901

Email : vishal@iyogi.net

IT support services optimizes your system/server

2010-01-08T09:49:00.000-08:00

IT has become the backbone of every enterprise and small business. Even on the personal level too, we can’t ignore the importance of IT. Hence, IT support services have an important role to play in the coming year. Understanding the importance, software developer and manufacturer companies are outsourcing their IT support services to Microsoft Certified technical groups.
IT support services are available for versatile segment of users. These services are available on both remote and on site-visit basis. Customer oriented enterprises are offering, IT support services in a user-friendly and cost-effective manner.

Significant role of IT support services includes:
• Intellectual counseling on the primary stage
• Optimization of the system/Server performance
• Development of qualitative IT infrastructure
• Tighten the security aspect
• Effective data backup management
• Installation of compatible software
• Perform consistent monitoring of client’s server or system

Categories of IT support services

• Support for operating system
• Support for Internet networking
• Support for Migration of system/application software
• Support for Exchange server and email client
• Support for security patches
• Support for data backup

Selection of suitable IT support services is an essential part of your business if you want to gain absolute peace of mind. In turn, you will be able to focus deeply on your business and survive in the increasing competition. Brand specific IT support services are also available like Dell support, HP support and so on.

How to manage the Network Environment using Active Directory?

2010-01-06T14:10:00.000-08:00

Active directory –a property modifier
Active directory is the protocol which provides the platform to manage the network environment. Microsoft has done enough amendment to simplify the use of Active Directory in terms of management, migration and deployment.
Important feature of Active Directory include:
• Permission of X.500 close user group professional in the same company.
• Inception of secure data management
• Presence of hierarchical system allows the system administrator to have clean information of individual user accounts
• Object-targeted storage organization, allows easy access for information from anywhere in the network.

Benefits of Active Directory
• Organizations are able to perform their regular business operating while switching over from one network to other network platform.
• Users don’t have to do much amendment in the existing network.
• Existing user accounts and resource permission will be self migrated.
• Services and application running on the existing platform would also get migrated without any effort.

Deployment of Active Directory
User should follow the below suggestion to formulate Active directory over the new server platform.
• Test and verify the deployment process.
• Against the Forest Root create a DNS.
• Create the Forest Root.
• Map a new Regional Domain.
• Import your valuable data from other sources.

Installation of DNS Server in Windows Server 2003

2010-01-04T13:00:00.000-08:00

When you browse Internet, you always write alphanumeric address in the address bar. You write these type of addresses because these are easy to remember. The main point is that any server address is in the form of IP address. Then there arises the need of translating these alphanumeric addresses in the IP addresses. Here comes the role of DNS Server. DNS Server does the task of translating the alphanumeric address into the IP address. This server is required when you write any website address in the address bar or you click on any link. Before the installation of DNS Server, you should have the information about your domain name, the IP address and host name of each server for which you want to provide name resolution.

If you want to configure your computer as a DNS Server, then the following conditions should be fulfilled:

Your operating system should be configured in the correct way. DNS service is based on the correct configuration of the operating system and its services, in case you are using the Windows Server 2003 family. You have to allocate the available disk space. All the existing disk volumes should use the NTFS file system.

If you want to install DNS Server, then follow these steps:

Click on the Start, click on Control Panel and then click on the Add or Remove Programs. After this, click on Add/Remove Windows Components. Then open the Windows Components Wizard. In the Components, pick out the Networking Services check box and then click on the Details. In the Subcomponents of Networking Services, pick out the Domain Name System (DNS) check box, click on OK and then click on the Next. If you are prompted, then type the full path of the distribution files and then click on OK. In this way DNS Server will be installed on your system.

Alteration in Terminal Server's listening port

2009-12-16T21:13:00.000-08:00

It is a well-known fact that TCP port 3389 is used by Terminal Server and Windows 2000 Terminal Services for client connections. Alteration in this port is not recommended by Microsoft. But you can change this port. You have to perform this task carefully, otherwise you will face serious problems.

You have to give more concentration while modifying the registry. If you want to change the default port, then you have to follow these steps:

You start with the task of running Regedt32 and go to this key, HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Control\Terminal Server\WinStations\RDP-Tcp. Then you have to find the port number subkey and notice the value of 00000D3D, hex is for 3389. After this, you have to change the port number in Hex and save the new value.

If you want to change the port for a particular connection on the Terminal Server, then follow these steps:

You have to run Regedt32 and go to this key, HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Control\Terminal Server\WinStations\connection. After this, you have to find the port number subkey and notice the value of 00000D3D, here hex is for 3389. Then you have to change the port number in Hex and save this new value.

After performing this, you have to make alteration in the Port on the Client Side. Follow these steps to perform this:

You have to open Client Connection Manager. Then on the File menu, click on New Connection and then create the new connection. After executing the wizard, you will view a new connection listed there. Then you have to ensure that new connection is highlighted. After this, on the File menu, click Export. Then you have to edit the .cns file using Notepad. You have to make modifications in the server port, Server Port=3389 to Server Port= new port number, that you had specified on Terminal Server. Now import the file back into Client Connection Manager. Then you will be demanded to overwrite the current one. If it has the same name, then overwrite it. In this way, you will receive a client that has the correct port settings to match your Terminal Server settings.

Microsoft SQL Backup

2009-12-07T03:55:00.000-08:00

You are aware of the problems like disk failure, system crashes and many more. Due to these problems your important data will get lost. In this situation, you will be the loser. So, to avoid these problems you have to take a backup of your data. Microsoft has developed the Microsoft SQL Server, a widely used database management system. Handy Backup gives a fast and efficient way to backup Microsoft SQL Server database. Nowadays, many businesses whether small or large are using the databases stored on SQL servers. So, it is important to backup the SQL database.

Accuracy and reliability of Microsoft SQL (MSSQL) backup - Handy Backup uses Microsoft API but other backup tools use the ODBC protocol to backup MSSQL database. Handy Backup permits you to backup MSSQL database with all views, indexes, stored procedures and other data. You do not have to interrupt your SQL server services while performing MSSQL backup with Handy Backup. You can take backup of MS SQL Server 2005, MS SQL Server 2000, MS SQL Server 2008 with Handy Backup. Handy Backup can automatically recognize all SQL server databases available on your computer and also display them. It has many options which facilitate you in compressing your MSSQL backup with an integrated ZIP-compressor with 10 levels. You can also schedule the backup for a time period that you desire. You can save MS SQL backup on any storage media. These storage devices can be DVD, external drives and many more. So, it can be deducted that Handy Backup is a perfect tool for MSSQL backup because it allows you to always feel safe about your data.

Windows Server Security 2008 Support Services

2009-10-13T02:31:00.000-07:00

This post provides Windows Server 2008 Security Guide. This guide provides instructions and recommendations to help strengthen the security of computers running Windows Server® 2008 that are members of an Active Directory® domain.

In addition to the guidance that the Windows Server 2008 Security Guide prescribes, this Solution Accelerator provides tools, step-by-step procedures, recommendations, and processes that significantly streamline the deployment process. This guide not only provides you with effective security setting guidance. It also provides you with a reproducible method that you can use to apply the guidance to both test and production environments.

The key tool that this Solution Accelerator provides for you is the GPOAccelerator. The tool enables you to run a script that automatically creates all the Group Policy objects (GPOs) you need to apply this security guidance. The Windows Server 2008 Security Guide Settings workbook that accompanies this guide provides another resource that you can use to compare and evaluate the Group Policy settings.

Microsoft engineering teams, consultants, support engineers, partners, and customers have reviewed and approved this prescriptive guidance to make it:
• Proven. Based on field experience.
• Authoritative. Offers the best advice available.
• Accurate. Technically validated and tested.
• Actionable. Provides the steps to success.
• Relevant. Addresses real-world security concerns.

Microsoft has published security guides for Windows Server 2003 and Windows 2000 Server. This guide references significant security enhancements in Windows Server 2008. The guide was developed and tested with computers running Windows Server 2008 joined to a domain that uses Active Directory® Domain Services (AD°DS).

Exchange Server Support for Backups and Single Item Recovery

2009-10-06T01:12:00.000-07:00

Naturally after understanding the features included in Exchange 2010, a logical follow up question is "Do I still need backups for single item recovery?" The answer depends on your backup requirements and your capacity planning.

Today many customers minimize the deleted item retention window, yet they maintain long backup retention time periods (from 14 days to several months to years).

Let's consider a customer that currently maintains backups for 90 days and only retains deleted items within Exchange for 5 days. This customer is performing backup restores on a weekly basis to recover deleted items for end users. If the customer moved to Exchange 2010 they could move that process into Exchange by simply increasing their mailboxes capacity for dumpster: This post Contain the exchange server support tips to make backups and single Item Recovery.

Users send/receive 100 messages per work day and have an average message size of 50KB
Single Item Recovery is enabled and the deleted retention window is configured to be 90 days
10% of items are edited
Mailbox capacity calculations

o 5 work days * 100 emails = 500 emails / week
o For Purges:
+ 500 emails / week * 13 weeks = 6500 emails / retention period
+ 6500 emails * 50KB ? 318MB
o For Versions:
+ 500 emails / week * 13 weeks = 6500 emails / retention period
+ 6500 emails * .1 = 650 emails
+ 650 emails * 50KB ? 32MB
o Total Space Required per mailbox: 350MB

By increasing each mailbox's capacity by a minimum of 350MB, backups are no longer needed for single item recovery. Single item recovery can be maintained and performed within Exchange.

But let's not stop there. What if the requirement is that items must be recoverable for 1 year? Assuming the same assumptions used in the previous example with the exception that deleted item retention is now configured for 365 days, each mailbox needs an additional minimum 1.4GB of space.

Ultimately, if the storage subsystem is planned and designed appropriately and mailbox resiliency features are leveraged, traditional point-in-time backups can be relegated to a disaster recovery mechanism, if they are even needed at all.

How Managed Exchange Can Increase Your Business?

2009-09-28T04:31:00.000-07:00

Managed Exchange can help your business by converting Microsoft Outlook from an email communication device into a critical work tool. Get Better access to critical and frequently used information, Book or reserve popular shared company resources and Coordinate your daily schedules through personal calendar tools by Managed Exchange.

Staff can access their email and Outlook work tools (mentioned above) through a number of web-enabled devices such as: Desktop PCs, laptops, PDAs with GPRS, WAP mobile phones with GPRS, Blackberry mobile devices with GPRS. Data is constantly synchronized and updated, so no matter how staffs access their work tools, they always have the most up-to-date information when online. It helps staff be more organized and get more out of their day.

Managed Exchange is ideal for any business whose staffs need to work together using frequently shared information and need to have flexible access to critical work tools such as email, contacts and calendar when they cannot make it into the office.

Service providers Managed Exchange Solution allows smaller businesses to leverage all of the functionality of Microsoft Exchange, without having to cover the associated capital and operating costs associated with running an Exchange Server in-house. Managed Exchange is also suitable for small businesses with limited IT resources because all service providers are able to manage the back-end for you.

Your Managed Exchange service can generally be activated within one business day. For larger, customized configurations, service provider will arrange with you a suitable timeframe for activation of your service. You can get protection from spam, viruses and malware before they reach your network. No software, hardware or user training required.

How To Resolve OST Synchronization Error

2009-09-14T22:01:00.000-07:00

In Microsoft Outlook, an offline folder (.ost file) is a locally stored file that is synchronized with your mailbox contents stored on Microsoft Exchange Server. The folders empower you to access them even when the mail delivery or network service is not available. The file converts into a usable .pst file as the synchronization process succeeds. But there can be several synchronization errors, due to which your .ost file might become unusable. In such cases, you might need to restore its contents from a backup stored as a .pst file. If it is not feasible, you should use a third-party tool to Convert OST to PST.

For an instance, you use Microsoft Outlook 2002 or 2003 with an offline folder. You press F9 to synchronize your .ost file with your Exchange Server mailbox, but fail to do so and come across the below error message:

"The file .ost cannot be accessed because it has been configured for use with a different mailbox."

If you close the application and try to perform synchronization again, you receive the same error message.

The Reason:
As the error message suggests, this error is encountered if you are attempting to synchronize the mailbox with an .ost file that is configured to use a different server or e-mail account. This usually occurs if you perform these steps in order:

You synchronize your .ost file with the mailbox 2-You perform some changes in name of either e-mail server or mailbox in your email account profile.

Doing so makes the current .ost file unusable.

Best Possible Solution
Create a new email profile with the desired account settings and restore data using any of the below solution:

You can then include the .pst files maintained as a backup of previous .ost file.

You can also copy this information to a .pst file from your mailbox after changing the changed email settings back to the original state.

If applying the above solutions are not possible, Convert OST to a usable .pst file.

Convert OST to PST are powerful applications that are competent to convert an usable .ost file into a usable .pst file after any type of crash.

Stellar Phoenix Mailbox Exchange Desktop is an effective utility that converts an .ost file into a .pst file. It can Convert OST by maintaining data integrity. Designed to perform safe file conversion, this utility can restore all file objects including emails, notes, journals, tasks and more. It is compatible with Outlook 2003, 2002, 2000, 98 and 97.

Benefits of Small Business Server Exchange 2003

2009-08-25T22:19:00.000-07:00

Microsoft small business server 2003 is designed for organizations with up to 50 computers who need high-level reliability and functionality but don't have the economy of scale that allows big corporations to sop up the cost and complexity of licensing best-of-breed enterprise software. SBS 2003 is a cost effective and simple way to form a solid foundation for an information network with enterprise-level security, connectivity, performance, and reliability.

Windows SBS 2003 will be available in standard and premium editions. The standard edition includes Microsoft SBS 2003 and window server 2003. Small business server 2000 included earlier versions of these products. The premium edition adds Microsoft SQL Server 2000 and Microsoft Internet Security and Accelerations Server.

Advantages of Microsoft Small Business Server 2003 include:

Windows 2003 server management and security tools deduct the cost and enhance the dependability of desktop computers by using centralized user policies, rights and configurations.

SBS exchange 2003 enhances remote and mobile access by supporting a web client that offers a nearly full implementation of the familiar outlook interface, including calendaring and tools. It means that mobile workers can have complete, secure access to email from any internet-connected computer with a standard web browser.

Windows SBS server 2003 maximizes server uptime and user availability by incorporating powerful fault tolerance aspects, including disk mirroring, cluster configurations, and distributed file system.

SBS exchange 2003 uses active directory, providing a greatly simplified administration and security model. It makes exchange server monitoring very easy and also offers complete security. Security enhancements include improved safe and block lists and junk email filtering, public folder permission enhancements and attachment in MOOWA (Microsoft Office Outlook Web Access).

ISA server features ideal support for protecting IIS servers behind the firewall, which have been the largest areas of hacker exploits for windows 2000 environments.

Microsoft Exchange Server Troubleshooting

2009-08-16T22:38:00.000-07:00

The Windows Exchange Server software suite is developed and supported by Microsoft. Microsoft Exchange is used to download, manage and organize email, contact data and calendars on a server network. The Windows-based Exchange server is also often used for mobile data, such as email on a smartphone. Occasionally, errors may be encountered when working within the Exchange framework. Learn how to troubleshoot the Windows Exchange Server network to identify problems and restore your Exchange server's functionality.

You can troubleshoot the exchange server very easily and efficiently with the following given steps;

Restart the computer or mobile device with which you are trying to access the Microsoft Exchange server. Occasionally, the issue may be due to software or hardware problems that interrupt the data transfer between the device and the server. These issues can often be easily solved by shutting down the hardware and rebooting the operating system. On a computer, click the "Start" menu and select "Shutdown" or "Restart." On a mobile device, press and hold down the power button or consult the manufacturer's manual.

Launch Internet Explorer. Visit the Microsoft Exchange support website. See the Resources section below for a link. Read the list of "Top Issues" published on the top of the web page. This list catalogs all current issues and problems that may be experienced by Exchange users, as well as solutions to the errors. Also, check that all Exchange patches and upgrades have been installed on the server. If you are a businessperson trying to access your company's Exchange server, you typically would not have permission to install upgrades. Contact your company's IT department for assistance in keeping your Exchange products synced with the latest Microsoft Exchange upgrades.

Download the official "Microsoft Exchange Troubleshooting Assistant." This program is developed and hosted by Microsoft specifically to pinpoint critical problems on an Exchange server and guide you through fixing the problem. Visit the Microsoft Exchange Troubleshooting Assistant website and click the "Download" button. See the Resources section for a link.

Click "Save" in the dialog box that pops up in the Internet Explorer browser. Wait for the download to finish before closing the browser. Depending on the speed of your Internet connection, this may take several minutes.

Double-click the "Microsoft Exchange Troubleshooting Assistant" icon on your computer desktop to begin the automated installation process. An installation wizard will appear to guide you through the process. Follow the on-screen prompts to complete the installation.

Open the "Microsoft Exchange Troubleshooting Assistant" by clicking the "Start" menu and selecting the program from the pop-up menu. Run the Troubleshooting Assistant and wait for it to generate a report on the status of your Exchange server. The Assistant will scan both the local machine and the server to determine where any potential problems may exist. If it identifies a problem, the assistant will give you a report on how to successfully solve the problem and fix the issue.

If you still unable to resolve the issue, please login at http://www.iyogibusiness.com

Ports used by Exchange Server

2009-06-30T23:44:00.000-07:00

For purposes of configuring firewalls or for troubleshooting communications issues, it may be useful to know what TCP/UDP ports Exchange 2000 Server and Exchange 2000 Conferencing Server are using. This article is also true for Exchange Server 2003 installations.

Protocol: LDAP

* Port (TCP/UDP): 389 (TCP)

Description: Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP), used by Active Directory, Active Directory Connector, and the Microsoft Exchange Server 5.5 directory.

Protocol: LDAP/SSL

* Port (TCP/UDP): 636 (TCP)
* Description: LDAP over Secure Sockets Layer (SSL). When SSL is enabled, LDAP data that is transmitted and received is encrypted.
* To enable SSL, you must install a Computer certificate on the domain controller or Exchange Server 5.5 computer.

Protocol: LDAP

* Port (TCP/UDP): 379 (TCP)
* Description: The Site Replication Service (SRS) uses TCP port 379.

Protocol: LDAP

* Port (TCP/UDP): 390 (TCP)
* Description: While not a standard LDAP port, TCP port 390 is the recommended alternate port to configure the Exchange Server 5.5 LDAP protocol when Exchange Server 5.5 is running on a Microsoft Windows 2000 Active Directory domain controller.

Protocol: LDAP

*Port (TCP/UDP): 3268 (TCP)
* Description: Global catalog. The Windows 2000 Active Directory global catalog (which is really a domain controller "role") listens on TCP port 3268. When you are troubleshooting issues that may be related to a global catalog, connect to port 3268 in LDP.

Protocol: LDAP/SSL

*Port (TCP/UDP): 3269 (TCP)
*Description: Global catalog over SSL. Applications that connect to TCP port 3269 of a global catalog server can transmit and receive SSL encrypted data. To configure a global catalog to support SSL, you must install a Computer certificate on the global catalog.

Protocol: IMAP4

*Port (TCP/UDP): 143 (TCP)
*Description: Internet Message Access Protocol version 4, may be used by "standards-based" clients such as Microsoft Outlook Express or Netscape Communicator to access the e-mail server. IMAP4 runs on top of the Microsoft Internet Information Service (IIS) Admin Service (Inetinfo.exe), and enables client access to the Exchange 2000 information store.

Protocol: IMAP4/SSL

*Port (TCP/UDP): 993 (TCP)
*Description: IMAP4 over SSL uses TCP port 993. Before an Exchange 2000 server supports IMAP4 (or any other protocol) over SSL, you must install a Computer certificate on the Exchange 2000 server.

Protocol: POP3

*Port (TCP/UDP): 110 (TCP)
*Description: Post Office Protocol version 3, enables "standards-based" clients such as Outlook Express or Netscape Communicator to access the e-mail server. As with IMAP4, POP3 runs on top of the IIS Admin Service, and enables client access to the Exchange 2000 information store.

Protocol: POP3/SSL

*Port (TCP/UDP): 995 (TCP)
*Description: POP3 over SSL. To enable POP3 over SSL, you must install a Computer certificate on the Exchange 2000 server.

Protocol: NNTP

*Port (TCP/UDP): 119 (TCP)
*Description: Network News Transport Protocol, sometimes called Usenet protocol, enables "standards-based" client access to public folders in the information store. As with IMAP4 and POP3, NNTP is dependent on the IIS Admin Service.

Protocol: NNTP/SSL

Port (TCP/UDP): 563 (TCP)

Description: NNTP over SSL. To enable NNTP over SSL, you must install a Computer certificate on the Exchange 2000 Server.

Protocol: HTTP

*Port (TCP/UDP): 80 (TCP)
*Description: Hyper-Text Transfer Protocol is the protocol used primarily by Microsoft Outlook Web Access (OWA), but also enables some administrative actions in Exchange System Manager. HTTP is implemented through the World Wide Web Publishing Service (W3Svc), and runs on top of the IIS Admin Service.

Protocol: HTTP/SSL

*Port (TCP/UDP): 443 (TCP)
*Description: HTTP over SSL. To enable HTTP over SSL, you must install a Computer certificate on the Exchange 2000 server.

Protocol: SMTP

*Port (TCP/UDP): 25 (TCP)
*Description: Simple Mail Transfer Protocol, is the foundation for all e-mail transport in Exchange 2000. The SMTP Service (SMTPSvc) runs on top of the IIS Admin Service. Unlike IMAP4, POP3, NNTP, and HTTP, SMTP in Exchange 2000 does not use a separate port for secure communication (SSL), but rather, employs an "in-band security sub-system" called Transport Layer Security (TLS).

Protocol: SMTP/SSL

*Port (TCP/UDP): 465 (TCP)
*Description: SMTP over SSL. TCP port 465 is reserved by common industry practice for secure SMTP communication using the SSL protocol. However, unlike IMAP4, POP3, NNTP, and HTTP, SMTP in Exchange 2000 does not use a separate port for secure communication (SSL), but rather, employs an "in-band security sub-system" called Transport Layer Security (TLS). To enable TLS to work on Exchange 2000, you must install a Computer certificate on the Exchange 2000 server.

Protocol: SMTP/LSA

*Port (TCP/UDP): 691 (TCP)
*Description: The Microsoft Exchange Routing Engine (also known as RESvc) listens for routing link state information on TCP port 691. Exchange 2000 uses routing link state information to route messages and the routing table is constantly updated. The Link State Algorithm (LSA) propagates outing status information between Exchange 2000 servers. This algorithm is based on the Open Shortest Path First (OSPF) protocol from networking technology, and transfers link state information between routing groups by using the X-LSA-2 command verb over SMTP and by using a Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) connection to port 691 in a routing group.

Protocol: RVP

*Port (TCP/UDP): 80 (TCP)
*Description: RVP is the foundation for Instant Messaging in Exchange 2000. While RVP communication begins with TCP port 80, the server quickly sets up a new connection to the client on an ephemeral TCP port above 1024. Because this port is not known in advance, issues exist when you enable Instant Messaging through a firewall.

Protocol: IRC/IRCX

*Port (TCP/UDP): 6667 (TCP)
*Description: Internet Relay Chat (IRC) is the chat protocol. IRCX is the extended version offered by Microsoft. While TCP port 6667 is the most common port for IRC, TCP port 7000 is also very frequently used.

Protocol: IRC/SSL

*Port (TCP/UDP): 994 (TCP)
*Description: IRC (or Chat) over SSL. IRC or IRCX over SSL is not supported in Exchange 2000.

Full info here

Microsoft Outlook Voice Access for Exchange Server 2007 by Apptix

2009-06-25T23:06:00.000-07:00

Apptix, provider of hosted Microsoft Exchange email, Microsoft SharePoint collaboration services, and hosted VoIP phone service for small and medium businesses (SMBs), has announced the launch of Voice Access for Microsoft Office Outlook 2007.

The new service enables Apptix hosted Exchange Server 2007 customers to remotely access and interact with their email, calendar, contacts, or voicemail using any phone -land line or mobile via touchtone or voice commands.

Also, Apptix customers can easily get access to their Outlook calendars via a mobile phone or landline with this latest announcement. They can use voice prompts to reschedule or alert other participants that a meeting is delayed or that its scheduled time has changed and can also reply to emails by attaching a voicemail message to a distribution list in their Outlook Contact list.

Officials at Apptix said the power of advanced text-to-speech technology together with a hands free device, make it possible to solve many safety and legal concerns while continuing to provide on-the-go business professional with a solution for their needs.

"From email and attached documents to calendar and contact information, Outlook has become a central repository for employees' critical information," said Rick Rumbarger, Vice President of Product for Apptix.

Source: hosted-voip.tmcnet.com

Exchange Server 2010 Adds New Features to Outlook Mobile

2009-06-24T00:20:00.000-07:00

Source: pocketnow.com

Here's a run down of the features: Exchange Server 2010 ActiveSync features

Block/Allow/Quarantine list: You can setup a single list to block/allow mobile devices as needed. You can also quarantine devices such as new untested devices, etc.

Over the Air Update Mode: You can now push new Outlook Mobile updates/new versions to Windows Mobile 6.1 and above. This is really nice since you no longer have to wait for a new Windows Mobile OS version to obtain a new version of Outlook Mobile.

SMS Sync: The ability to send SMS text messages through Exchange and EAS is used to sync SMS message with user’s mobile device.

Benefits of SMS sync:

•User can use OWA, Outlook, and Outlook Mobile to respond
•SMS messages are backed up on the server
•Recipients can respond to messages
•User can switch “screens” while still seeing all their messages

IMAP/POP3 service discovery: You can now autodiscover/autoconfigure the IMAP/POP3 settings from your mobile device by just specifying your email address.

Outlook Mobile features

Conversation View

Reply state: You can now see which emails you have replied to or forwarded.

Conversation actions: You can now ignore threads, move always threads to folders, etc from your mobile device. Ignore thread may become quite a popular feature.

Nickname cache: Very nice that your nicknames follow you now. Especially useful for external recipients you email often.

Voice Card: You no longer have to download the voicemail attached like before (right). You just hit play and hear the VM. The other feature that I really like is the ability to see a transcription of the voice mail in the body of the message. Very useful for meetings, noisy airports, where you can’t play the VM.

Get Free/Busy: It is awesome since you can now at a quick glance from your phone see the Free/busy info vs. breaking out the laptop, etc.

Meeting Workspaces in Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007

2009-06-18T23:20:00.000-07:00

When planning meetings, Microsoft Exchange Server and Outlook allow organizers to compare attendees' calendars and send out meeting invitations. Exchange 2007 also allows users to reserve conference rooms when sending out meeting invitations. Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007 lets you go one step further. MOSS 2007 can augment Outlook's meeting planning capabilities by creating meeting workspaces.

What is a Meeting Workspace?

A Meeting Workspace serves as a way to prepare for a meeting and a way to report the meeting's outcome once it's done. For example, suppose that you wanted to hold a meeting to discuss your organization's latest press release. You would probably want to make sure that everyone attending the meeting had a copy of the press release. Instead of manually distributing hard copies of the release in the meeting, you could include it in the Meeting Workspace. This way, all meeting attendees have access to the press release ahead of time.

Note: A Meeting Workspace isn't a forum for holding a meeting. The actual meeting will take place in person, over the phone or through an online collaboration forum such as Microsoft LiveMeeting. The Meeting Workspace does not take the place of the meeting's venue.

The anatomy of a Meeting Workspace

What a Meeting Workspace looks like varies, depending on which template is used to create it. Figure 1 shows a basic Meeting Workspace that is made of four elements: Objectives, Agenda, Attendees and a Document library.

Source: searchexchange.techtarget.com

How to setup Exchange on iPhone 2.0 Beta 3

2009-06-17T02:47:00.000-07:00

Apple made a couple of changes to the Exchange configuration interface on iPhone 2.0 Beta 3. You can no longer enter a host name. When you begin configuring your Exchange account, you're asked to type in your Email, Username, Password and Description. It looks easy enough right? Wrong. If you're like me, you'll enter your email address, your user name, password and an account description. For example, my email address is vincent@iphonebuzz.com, username is vincent_iphonebuzz.com, and vincent exch for description and changeme for the password. If that's all you did, then you're in for a long wait. Make sure you have the server information handy because you'll need it. For the sake of this example, my email server info is webmail.iphonebuzz.com and DOMAIN is IPHONEBUZZ.

The system is trying to work up some magic to set up your account but based on the information provided, it just doesn't know what to do. You're going to end up one unhappy customer unless you know exactly how to enter the info correctly. Using my previous account information, here's the correct way to enter the information so that your iPhone can understand.

* Email: vincent@iphonebuzz.com should be entered as vincent.webmail.iphonebuzz.com
* Username: DOMAIN\username = IPHONEBUZZ\vincent_iphonebuzz.com
* Password: changeme
* Description: Vincent Exch
As soon as you click NEXT, a second field called Server miraculously appears (see image above). You will NEVER see this field if you INCORRECTLY enter info in the initial four fields. Instead, you will get "Verifying Exchange account information" message with the spinning progress icon and it never connects. Next, enter your Server info. In my case, my server is webmail.iphonebuzz.com. Click SAVE to continue. You should then see the same info in the screenshot below. Click Sync and you're good to go. Make sure to take NOTE that all data in your Contacts and Calendars will be erased when you first synchronize Exchange.

Source: http://www.iphonebuzz.com/how-to-setup-exchange-on-iphone-2-beta-3-152196.php

Google targets Microsoft Exchange Server

2009-06-12T04:23:00.001-07:00

Search giant Google has kept its enterprise productivity offering - Google Apps - relatively low key until now. But a new plug-in designed to seduce businesses away from Microsoft Exchange Server as their communications back-end.

The clever bit is Google's acknowledgement that many people are just too used to the Outlook user interface to shift wholesale onto Gmail and its future derivatives. So it has created a plug-in called Google Apps Sync for Microsoft Outlook that lets you use Outlook to connect to Google Apps instead of Exchange Server.

This is an intriguing new twist to the Google, Microsoft battle. Just as Microsoft makes its move on Google's home turf with a new search engine, Google ripostes with an attack at the productivity market currently dominated by Microsoft Office. Fun!

Here's a video clip from Google explaining how it all works:

Full view here: http://channel.hexus.net/content/item.php?item=18815

Is SAN storage supported in Microsoft Exchange Server 2010?

2009-06-10T01:08:00.000-07:00

In every Exchange 2010 document, you see direct attached storage (DAS) as the storage medium for Exchange 2010. This is for a number of reasons: The I/O requirements of Exchange 2010 are 10 percent of what they were for Exchange 2003, 30 percent of what they were for Exchange 2007. This means the I/O benefits of a SAN are typically no longer required. The single copy cluster model in Exchange 2007, which required the database to be on shared storage, is no longer supported in Exchange 2010. The only high availability configuration requires every node to have its own copy of the database. DAS is typically much less expensive to purchase than SAN storage.

That's not to say you can't use a SAN for the storage of mailbox data. SANs still have advantages over DAS in terms of Higher disk utilization (when you have dedicated storage on each box a higher percentage is left empty). Central point for backup and generally faster backup/restore technologies. Single point of management.

If you already have a SAN or want to consolidate storage, then you can certainly use a SAN for the storage of Exchange 2010 databases. However, the key item is to make sure you'd don't have any single point of failure. You shouldn't have each Exchange server in a Database Availability Group (DAG) storing its replica of the database on the same SAN, as this makes the SAN a single point of failure.

Look at the messaging for Exchange 2010. Ideally, you should use DAGs with at least three copies of every database. That is a lot more storage and a lot more mail servers, and these servers will all be running enterprise editions of Windows and Exchange, which isn't cheap. The use of DAS over SAN helps offset the cost of additional hardware and licenses.

Many organizations may use the SAN for storage of one copy of the data and then DAS or another SAN for other copies. You can mix DAS and SAN.

Source

Exchange Server 2010 - New Features to Outlook Mobile

2009-06-04T03:57:00.000-07:00

If you're tied to a corporate Exchange account, you may want to push for Exchange 2010 when it gets released into the wild by Microsoft. The new features adds some notable enhancements, including threaded email messages, which offers conversation view grouping by sender, similar to GMail and threaded SMS currently available on Windows Mobile 6.1. There is also voicemail transcription if your voicemail is connected to Exchange, which will transcribe your voicemail into true "visual voicemail."

Here's a run down of the features:

Exchange Server 2010 ActiveSync features

Block/Allow/Quarantine list: You can setup a single list to block/allow mobile devices as needed. You can also quarantine devices such as new untested devices, etc.

Over the Air Update Mode: You can now push new Outlook Mobile updates/new versions to Windows Mobile 6.1 and above. This is really nice since you no longer have to wait for a new Windows Mobile OS version to obtain a new version of Outlook Mobile.

SMS Sync: The ability to send SMS text messages through Exchange and EAS is used to sync SMS message with user’s mobile device.

Benefits of SMS sync:

•User can use OWA, Outlook, and Outlook Mobile to respond
•SMS messages are backed up on the server
•Recipients can respond to messages
•User can switch “screens” while still seeing all their messages

IMAP/POP3 service discovery: You can now autodiscover/autoconfigure the IMAP/POP3 settings from your mobile device by just specifying your email address.

Outlook Mobile features

Conversation View

Reply state: You can now see which emails you have replied to or forwarded.

Conversation actions: You can now ignore threads, move always threads to folders, etc from your mobile device. Ignore thread may become quite a popular feature.

Nickname cache: Very nice that your nicknames follow you now. Especially useful for external recipients you email often.

Voice Card: You no longer have to download the voicemail attached like before (right). You just hit play and hear the VM. The other feature that I really like is the ability to see a transcription of the voice mail in the body of the message. Very useful for meetings, noisy airports, where you can’t play the VM.

Get Free/Busy: It is awesome since you can now at a quick glance from your phone see the Free/busy info vs. breaking out the laptop, etc.

Source: http://pocketnow.com/index.php?a=portal_detail&t=news&id=7500

Exchange Server 2007 Service Pack 2 available in Q3 2009

2009-05-28T02:58:00.000-07:00

Microsoft Exchange Server 2007 is the industry's leading server for e-mail, calendaring and unified messaging. Exchange Server 2007 is the foundation for a dynamic and holistic unified communications experience, and has been designed to meet the challenges and address the messaging needs of today's businesses. Exchange Server 2007 Service Pack 2 (SP2) enables customers to increase their operational efficiency and it sets the foundation for the transition to Exchange Server 2010, which is expected to be available in the second half of 2009. A public beta of Exchange Server 2010 is available for download at http://www.microsoft.com/exchange/2010.

Customer Benefits

Key new features of Exchange Server 2007 SP2 unveiled today include:

Enhanced Auditing - New Exchange auditing events and audit log repository enable Exchange administrators to more easily audit the activities occurring on their Exchange servers. It allows the right balance of granularity, performance, and easy access to audited events via a dedicated audit log repository. This simplifies the auditing process and makes review of audited events easier by segregating audited events in a dedicated location.
Exchange Volume Snapshot Backup Functionality - A new backup plug-in has been added to the product that will enable customers to create Exchange backups when a backup is invoked through the Windows Server 2008 Backup tool. Exchange Server 2007 didn't have this capability on Windows Server 2008 and additional solutions were required to perform this task.
Dynamic Active Directory Schema Update and Validation - The dynamic AD schema update and validation feature allows for future schema updates to be dynamic deployed as well as proactively preventing conflicts whenever a new property is added to the AD schema. Once this capability is deployed it will enable easier management of future schema updates and will prevent support issues when adding properties that don't exist in the AD schema.
Public Folder Quota Management - SP2 enables a consistent way to manage quotas by improving the current PowerShell cmdlets to perform quota management tasks.
Centralized Organizational Settings - SP2 introduces new PowerShell option that enable centralized management of many of the Exchange organization settings.
Named Properties cmdlets - SP2 enables Exchange administrators to monitor their named property usage per database.
New User Interface for Managing Diagnostic Logging- SP2 enables Exchange administrators to easily configure and manage diagnostic logging from within the Exchange Management Console.

Source: http://bink.nu/news/exchange-server-2007-service-pack-2-available-in-q3-2009.aspx

Update Rollup 8 for Exchange Server 2007 Service Pack 1

2009-05-21T02:57:00.000-07:00

We have released Update Rollup 8 for Exchange Server 2007 Service Pack 1 (KB 968012) to the download center. The release of the rollup via Microsoft Update will happen on May 26.

As in the previous rollups, we have done a mix of product improvements (aka Critical Design Change Requests) and bug fixes. A few key ones which I would like to call out are as follows:

1. KB 969690 - We have fixed the bug introduced in Update Rollup 7 which caused the sender of the Delivery Status Notification (DSN) to be unresolved.
2. Disable kernel mode authentication in Windows Server 2008 for CAS servers - As documented here, it was required to manually take the additional step to configure the CAS servers running Windows Server 2008 to disable kernel mode authentication. Starting this rollup, the installer will configure this for you.
3. X-Header promotion to named properties- Change to the way X-headers are promoted to named properties. More on this in Jason Nelson's blog post Named Properties, X-Headers, and You.
4. KB 961606 - We have fixed a bug where Outlook Web Access (OWA) users may find that the font size of plain text messages is extremely small on third-party Web browsers.

KB 968012 has more details about this release and a complete list of all fixes included in this rollup.

As a follow up to the Exchange Server 2007 Service Pack 2 (SP2) announcement, all fixes in this Update rollup and the previous ones we have released for Exchange Server 2007 will be included with Exchange Server 2007 SP2. We will have a blog post soon which covers:

* When update rollups can be expected for Exchange 2007 SP2.
* Support plans for Exchange 2007 SP1 which will be in support as per the timeline in Microsoft's Service Pack Support Policy.

Source: msexchangeteam.com

MailTips in Outlook 2010 and Exchange 2010

2009-05-14T06:11:00.000-07:00

The next iteration of Microsoft's email client and messaging and collaboration server under the Office 2010 brand umbrella will bring to the table a new feature dubbed MailTips. Designed to deliver information to end users about the recipients of their messages even before they start writing the emails, MailTips is set up to increase workflow, and avoid common faux pas scenarios. According to Microsoft, MailTips will be available to users of Office 2010, Outlook Web Access and Exchange 2010. The Redmond company underlined that the feature would not be tweaked to offer backward compatibility, and as such legacy Outlook/OWA releases would not be supported.

“Have you ever sent a really well thought out, important email, only to find out (through an automatic response) that the recipient is on vacation for two weeks? For most of us, this means either waiting two weeks for a response or emailing an alternate contact. For the recipient, it means dealing with tons of messages when returning from vacation,” revealed E.J. Dyksen, from the Exchange Transport team. “This scenario is one of the many reasons we developed MailTips in Exchange Server 2010. MailTips are there to give you information about your message and its recipients before you hit the send button.”

MailTip is of course capable of displaying automatic replies for recipients to emails, but the feature delivers additional functionality. In this regard, Dyksen informed that MailTips would alert the users if a message was about to be sent to a large audience, or of situations in which the Reply All options would confirm to other users that certain messages were indeed received. At the same time, MailTips is designed to alert the user on emails that are going to people outside a particular organization, if the recipient's inbox is full, if the message itself is oversized, but also on invalid or restricted email addresses.

Source:news.softpedia.com/news/MailTips-in-Outlook-2010-and-Exchange-2010-110554.shtml

New Features in Exchange 2010

2009-05-11T02:09:00.000-07:00

Here are the important changes you should know about:

* For starters, note the new orange color to the Exchange logo icon. It's not a technical facet of the new version but good to note, nonetheless.
* In Exchange 2007, clicking Microsoft Exchange at the top gave you Finalize Deployment and End-to-End Scenario tabs. In the Exchange 2010 beta, you get nothing when you click Microsoft Exchange; instead, you have to click Microsoft Exchange On-Premises to see the Finalize Deployment, Post-Installation Tasks, and Community and Feedback tabs. Also note a little option in the Actions pane called Gather Organizational Information; it kicks off a wizard that collects your organization's data for the number of servers, mailboxes, server roles, and licensing summary.
* Clicking the Organization Configuration top branch in Exchange 2007 shows you Exchange administrators and their roles. The Exchange 2010 beta displays three tabs: Federation Trusts, Sharing Relationships, and Sharing Policies. They may seem a bit cryptic if you don't understand the new concept of federation, which amounts to trust of other domains. Clicking the New Federation Trust wizard tells Echange 2010 to create a federation trust with Windows Live to prepare for secure sharing of information with external Exchange organizations. This requires a certificate for federation being deployed on all Exchange servers with client access and hub server role.
* Clicking Mailbox under Organization Configuration offers some new tabs in the Exchange 2010 beta, such as Database Management (which formerly resided under Server Configuration | Mailbox) and Database Availability Group. The Database Availability Group options are exciting to work with because they relate to your High Availability and Disaster Recovery options. Creating a New Database Availability Group launches a wizard that defines a set of servers that provide automatic database-level recovery from database failure. Note that Storage Groups are gone in favor of these new Database Availability Groups (DAGs). Also note some major changes to the High Availability options: specificall, LCR, and SCC are no longer available.
* Clicking Client Access under the Organization Configuration branch shows that ActiveSync policies are still around, and it offers a new set of policies called Outlook Live Mailbox Policies.
* For the most part, the Hub Transport settings look the same. But there are some new transport-policy settings worth looking into. One is If the Sender and Recipient's AD Attribute Are Evaluation. I had a hard time figuring that one out until I actually created the rule and discovered that it lets you change the AD Attribute and the Evaluation. Give it a try, and you will understand.
* The Unified Messaging tabs under Organization are the same. However, after creating a dial plan and going into the properties, I noticed some interesting changes: a check box on the General tab for Allow Voice Mail Preview and another one for Allow Users to Configure Personal Auto Attendants. One of the biggest interface changes I noticed when clicking through was in the UM policy settings on the General tab; new check boxes include Allow Message Waiting Indicator and Allow Play on Phone. There is also a Protected Voice Mail tab to help enforce options that may involve legal requirements for a company (for example, some companies are required to play a message on phone and not through a computer's speakers for confidentiality's sake).
* Moving on to Server Configuration. If you select this branch, you now see Exchange Certificates, which Exchange 2007 did not have. You can create a new certificate, assign services to certificates, or import/export certificates.
* Under Mailbox for Server Configuration, you see Database Copies.
* Client Access under Server Configuration holds the same four tabs as in Exchange 2007 for OWA, POP, and IMAP4, Exchange ActiveSync, and Offline Address Book Distribution.
* Under the Recipient Configuration branch is a new option called Mailbox Migration. In clicking through the properties of a mailbox user, I noticed a few interesting changes. There is a Calendar Settings tab where you can enable the Calendar Attendant and make some quick modificaitons such as Remove Meeting Forward Notifications to the Deleted Items Folder and Remove Old Meeting Requests and Responses without having to create entire policies for them. I didn't see too much else that was different other than a Federated Sharing option for a sharing policy on the Mailbox Settings tab.
* Last but not least, the Toolbox: On the surface, the two versions' interfaces match up perfectly. There are no new tools, it seems. No doubt the Exchange Best Practices Analyzer is newer. I couldn't find, however, some of my options for managing databases and working with Recovery Storage Groups.

Source: infoworld.com

Exchange Server 2010 Beta Tips

2009-05-05T02:45:00.000-07:00

On April 15, Microsoft released a public beta of Exchange Server 2010, formerly code-named Exchange 14. I've had the opportunity to spend a lot of time working with the new version of Exchange since before the public beta, and I thought I'd share a few tips and tricks that might be useful to you.

First of all, don't even think of installing the beta in production. It's not supported or licensed for production use, and there's no guarantee that you'll be able to upgrade from this beta to later betas (if any) or to the release version. Nino Bilic on the Exchange team blog also has something to say about this point.

Second, keep in mind the prerequisites you'll need to download and install before you install the Exchange 2010 beta. I had hoped that Exchange 2010 would automate installation (or at least downloading) of the prerequisite updates it requires, but it doesn't. Microsoft's Scott Schnoll posted a step-by-step installation guide on his blog that you can use as a guide. There are two sets of prerequisites: Windows features that you must have installed, such as the Windows RPC over HTTP proxy server for the Client Access server role; and patches or updates to existing features, including Microsoft .NET Framework 3.5 and the latest version of the Windows Remote Management (WinRM) management service.

Third: Exchange 2010 requires PowerShell 2.0, which supports remote management. When you use the Exchange Management Shell link on the Windows Start menu, you're actually getting a remote PowerShell session on the same machine. In some cases, remote PowerShell sessions don't start properly. If that happens, look in the Start menu again and you'll see an Exchange Management Shell (Local PowerShell) link. Use it instead, and you'll be in good shape.

Exchange Server 2010 beta by Microsoft

Source: windowsitpro

Kaspersky Security for MS Exchange Server 2003 5.5

2009-04-24T00:48:00.000-07:00

Kaspersky Security for Microsoft Exchange Server 2003 protects users of corporate mail systems against viruses, spyware and spam, and can be centrally administered. Kaspersky Security for Microsoft Exchange Server 2003 provides anti virus scanning of incoming and outgoing messages and mail stored on the server, as well as messages in shared folders.

It also helps mail system users to block unwanted mail using intelligent spam recognition technologies in addition to technologies provided by Microsoft. Advanced technologies for protection against viruses and spam. In addition to its proven anti virus technologies that ensure traditionally high detection rates of malicious programs, the product makes use of the Spam Test technology to detect unwanted mail.

Two-tier spam filtering. The product filters unsolicited mail in conjunction with Microsoft Exchange 2003 / Outlook 2003, guaranteeing high recognition of spam.

Source: zdnet.de

Save With an Online Exchange Server

2009-04-20T03:36:00.000-07:00

Get through lean times by watching your business expenses like a dieter tracking calories. Is the cost of your ISP bandwidth and IT support worth hosting your own Exchange Server? Many businesses can save money with an offsite, hosted Exchange Server.

Self-hosting, up-front fees sting the hardest. Let's first figure you'd buy Small Business Server Standard for about $1,000 and a middle-weight server for about $1,500. That'd get you support for five users at an initial cost of about $2,500. Additional user licenses run $77 each. So for a business of about 20, you'd pay more than $3,500 to get started, and you'd likely pay more for help from an IT consultant.

A hosted Exchange Server eliminates these initial costs and ongoing IT maintenance fees. In this situation, hardware, software, and user licenses are billed monthly. Depending on the host and service, expect to pay about $10 a month per user.

Based on this rough 20-person business example, you'd be even with the up-front, $3,500 cost of self-hosting after about 18 months. But that still doesn't factor in your specific, ongoing ISP and IT bills, which could double this figure. And you'll eventually have to pay for hardware and software upgrades, too.

A hosted Exchange Server makes even more sense when you further scrutinize employee needs. Does everyone need the full features of an Exchange account, or can some employees get by with a simpler POP setup?

Source: pcworld.com

Exchange Server 2010 beta by Microsoft

2009-04-15T03:09:00.000-07:00

Microsoft has unveiled the public beta of Exchange Server 2010, with the final release slated for year's end.

Among the new features, Exchange Server 2010 will allow users to opt-out of group email threads they're not interested in, and offer a voice-to-text transcription feature allowing voice messages to be stored in the inbox.

Elsewhere, Microsoft's making a big noise over privacy and Exchange Server 2010 will now offer MailTips - a series of configurable warnings that will alert users before they send out mail to large groups, people with their out-of-office switched on and those not on "trusted" organisation lists.

It will also feature to three Gmail innovations: Mail Googles which requires the user to complete a difficult sum before sending an email; Undo Send, which holds the email for ten seconds in case the user immediately regrets pressing the send button and wants to stop it going out. Outlook will also now present mail in threads, a feature pioneered by Gmail.

From: pcpro

How to install the Microsoft Exchange Server Clustered Mailbox Role during Microsoft IIS error? How can I install it??

2009-04-09T03:13:00.000-07:00

Answer:

First, make sure you've installed the required prerequisites: ISAPI Extensions Basic Authentication Windows Authentication IIS 6 Management Compatibility

The common cause for this error if you meet the prerequisites is that your .NET installation is incomplete or corrupt. When you attempt to install the Clustered Mailbox Role, you'll get the following error. An error occurred while creating the IIS virtual directory 'IIS://savdalex01.savilltech.net/W3SVC/1/ROOT/Exchange' on 'savdalex01'. Could not load file or assembly 'Microsoft.Web.Administration, Version=7.0.0.0, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=31bf3856ad364e35' or one of its dependencies. The system cannot find the file specified.

The solution is to reinstall .NET 3.0, even though it may show as installed.

Source: Windowsitpro

Exchange Tool Tests Remote Connections

2009-04-02T06:12:00.000-07:00

Microsoft announced an online service for IT pros that enables them to test incoming e-mail traffic to Microsoft Exchange Server.

The tool, called Exchange Server Remote Connectivity Analyzer, was announced last week as a beta version. However, it's apparently been available as a test version since late last year.

The Microsoft Exchange team on Wednesday pointed to the availability of the beta version. The team's blog includes a video that demonstrates how the tool works, which can be accessed here.

The remote analyzer tool helps IT administrators assess server setup problems, particularly when e-mail clients located outside an organization's firewall are having problems trying to connect. While Exchange Server comes with its own test tools, those tools can only test traffic within an organization's firewall.

The Exchange Server Remote Connectivity Analyzer will test incoming e-mail traffic by simulating three client types, including Windows Mobile clients using Exchange ActiveSync, Outlook clients using Outlook Anywhere and clients that use SMTP.

You can run the tests for Windows Mobile and Outlook with autodiscovery turned either on or off.

The beta still has some usability limitations, and it requires certificates for some tests to work, according to the Exchange team blog. The team plans make those improvements in a future version, along with adding new tests for Exchange Web Services, IMAP, Outlook Web Access and POP.

The Exchange Server Remote Connectivity Analyzer tool, nicknamed "ExRCA," can be accessed for free online here.

Source: http://entmag.com/news/article.aspx?editorialsid=10734

Difference Between Microsoft Exchange Server Unified Messaging (UM) role & Microsoft Office Communications Server 2007

2009-03-30T00:34:00.000-07:00

Exchange 2007 consists of a number of roles, one of which is the UM role. UM requires separate Client Access Licenses and enables the following additional functionality over standard Exchange: Unified store for email, fax, and voice messaging. The Exchange UM role controls the receipt of voicemail, configuration of answer message, fax receipt, and other functions.

Access to a unified store from both a computer and from a phone using voice commands (voice user interface) or numeric key presses (telephone user interface) which collectively are known as Outlook Voice Access. Phone access also includes the ability to search Global Address List, check calendars, accept/reject meetings, and an Auto Attendant is provided to give guidance on feature access.

Essentially, the UM role does exactly what the name suggests. It provides the ability to access your voice messages, fax, and email from a single location via computer or phone. The UM can hook directly into many IP PBX telephone systems that serve a specific business or company. Companies using traditional non-IP PBX systems must install a gateway between the PBX and the UM servers to facilitate communication.

OCS 2007 is a separate product from Exchange, but can integrate heavily with Exchange to give a complete communication solution. OCS 2007 focuses on real-time communication while Exchange is primarily a message store. OCS 2007 provides the following features: Secure and archivable IM for an organizations users with connectivity to public IM services such as Yahoo and Windows Live Messenger through Public IM Connectivity (PIC), which is a separate license. OCS can also federate with other organizations' OCS implementations to allow communication via IM with partner companies without the need to use public IM services.

Presence information showing if a contact is currently online, busy, in a meeting, or so on. This information is visible in many mediums, including Outlook and SharePoint, and can be used to initiate communication through IM, voice, or a meeting scheduling.
File Transfer capabilities.
Peer-to-peer and multiparty conferencing services, including voice and video with web accessibility. Live Meeting client is used to access the services or the web-based interface.

When you combine Exchange 2007, Exchange 2007 UM, and OCS, you have a Unified Communications solution which gives single store access to all your e-mail, fax, and voice messages. You also have a rich interface for real-time communication, whether it be voice, text, video, or meeting-based, with presence information available to help choose the best way to contact people. The traditional divide between your phone system and your computer-based solutions is removed with UC.

For full info visit: http://windowsitpro.com/mobile/pda/Article.cfm?ArticleID=101637&FAQ=1

Download Exchange Server 2007 Service Pack 1 Beta

2009-03-23T00:18:00.000-07:00

Exchange Server 2007 Service Pack 1 Beta is available for download via TechNet and MSDN. Both the 32-bit and 64-bit versions of Exchange Server 2007 SP1 beta can be accessed through TechNet. At this point in time, MSDN users may be experiencing problems with the x86 version of Exchange Server 2007 SP1 beta.

Microsoft has made the Release Notes for Exchange Server 2007 SP1 since March. The notes will provide comprehensive guidance through the new features that SP1 will bring to the table but also on how to install the service pack, the issues that customers are most likely to face and the adjacent workarounds.

The release of the first beta for Exchange Server 2007 SP1 was announced since back in February by representatives of the Microsoft Exchange Team. It appears that the Redmond Company is right on track with the development of the first service pack. According to Microsoft, Exchange Server 2007 Service Pack 1 will be made available in the second half of 2007.

"As far as hardware requirements are concerned, SP1 will not change the existing Exchange 2007 RTM system requirements. Regarding the operating system, SP1 for Exchange 2007 will require Windows Server 2003 SP2. This will be a hard dependency for installation, so the operating system must be upgraded to Windows Server 2003 SP2 before you upgrade the Exchange 2007 RTM installation to Exchange 2007 SP1, or before installing a fresh build of Exchange 2007 SP1," Ed Banti, Technical Product Manager on the Exchange Server marketing team, revealed.

Source: http://news.softpedia.com/news/Exchange-Server-2007-Service-Pack-1-Beta-Available-for-Download-51698.shtml

Microsoft Exchange 14: Will it be a jackpot, Some Rumors?

2009-03-16T00:07:00.000-07:00

First of all, it appears that Microsoft is making a sincere effort to make Exchange 14 more accessible to a wider user audience. Microsoft has indicated that Outlook Web Access (OWA), arguably the best Web mail product on the planet, will fully support Firefox and Safari. Until now, Microsoft has made the premium OWA experience available only to users running Internet Explorer, while users of other browsers faced limitations in the OWA Light experience.

Microsoft will also introduce Gmail-like conversation threads into OWA, helping users tame their inboxes. Finally, the new OWA will sport instant messaging capabilities with users able to see presence information for and send instant messages to other users in the organization — all from within the new Web client.

A user on the Microsoft Exchange Team Blog has also repeated a rumor that Exchange 14’s high-availability features will remove the need to use Microsoft Clustering Services. If this is true and is implemented correctly, a great level of complexity could potentially be removed from highly available configurations.

Here are some other items I’ve run across that are rumored to be included in Exchange 14:-

User-created distribution lists.
Users can manage some of their own information that is presented in the Global Address List.
Public folders. I list that here because there were questions as to whether Microsoft would jettison this legacy from the product. From most indications, public folders will remain fully supported in Exchange 14. However, an astute reader on the Exchange Team Blog did notice in the new OWA some reference to SharePoint where the Public Folder link belongs, so we’ll have to wait and see what happens.
The next version will be named Microsoft Exchange Server 2010.

I have only listed what seems reasonably true given the information that is out there. Some people are expecting that Exchange Server 14 will move away from the Jet database to a SQL backend. Personally, I doubt this will happen, but it is another rumor out there.

Source: http://blogs.techrepublic.com.com/datacenter/?p=689

Running Exchange Server 2007 in a virtual environment

2009-03-05T02:19:00.000-08:00

With the release of Exchange Server 2007 SP1 and Windows Server 2008, Microsoft began supporting Exchange Server 2007 in virtual environments. However, not every scenario is supported, and Microsoft only recommends and supports a virtual environment if specific conditions are met.

First of all, as I implied, only Exchange 2007 SP1 can run virtually. SP1introduced further improvements to Exchange’s I/O footprint, which, I imagine, led to Microsoft’s easing of restrictions on the installation in virtual environments. Second, your Exchange servers must be running under Windows Server 2008; Windows Server 2003-based Exchange servers are out of the question.

Next, your virtual environment needs to be running on Hyper-V or a third-party virtualization provider validated by Microsoft. Validated third-party products include VMware (fortunately!) ESX 3.5 updates 2 and 3 and Citrix Xen Server, among others. Microsoft prefers that you use Hyper-V as your virtualization platform, but it’s nice to see that it isn’t excluding other major players.

One major item of note: If you intend to use unified messaging, that role is not supported in a virtual environment. In fact, it’s not recommended that you use virtualization for any services for which real-time communication is required. I have tested the unified messaging role in a virtual lab and can safely say that this role really needs to run on its own physical server.

There are a number of other items to take into consideration when it comes to running Exchange in a virtual environment. The list below is just a few of the major items. Microsoft provides a complete list of requirements and limitations on TechNet.

* Don’t forget to account for the processing and disk needs of the virtual host, particularly if you’re using Hyper-V. Under Hyper-V, the root machine needs processors assigned to it, and the root machine will consume processing resources and RAM. As you build your virtual hosts and add virtual machines, makes sure that the virtual processor-to-physical core ratio is no greater than 2:1. That is, if you have a four core machine, do not assign more than eight cores worth of processor to the running virtual machines.

* Understand that Exchange’s high-availability features, such as continuous cluster replication, don’t mix well with hypervisor-based clustering, such as Hyper-V’s quick migration or VMware’s VMotion. Microsoft doesn’t support combining these technologies. If you choose to forgo VMotion or quick migration on your root server or virtual host, then Exchange’s clustering capabilities are fully supported in a virtual environment, although you do lose a significant server availability feature. Of course, you can always run clustered mailbox servers on different virtual hosts as a way to mitigate some of this downside. This limitation would only affect the virtual machines hosting the mailbox server role. The servers housing the other roles should not be limited.

* Microsoft does not support making snapshots of full Exchange virtual servers at the virtual host level due to the fact that most hypervisor-based snapshot tools are not application aware. Snapshots could end up creating a mess if used improperly.

* Even when running in a virtual environment, you need to adhere to design recommendations when it comes to building your virtual servers. If, for example, a physical machine would require 16 GB of RAM for a particular Exchange installation, the virtual machine will too.

* Under Hyper-V, VHDs are limited to 2 TB in size. Size your mailbox stores accordingly.

Source: http://blogs.techrepublic.com.com/datacenter/?p=623

Next version of Outlook Web Access to actually support popular browsers

2009-02-24T04:01:00.000-08:00

Microsoft announced on Thursday that the next version of the Exchange server, Exchange 14, will have a few useful new features including, finally, full support for browsers other than Internet Explorer.

A Microsoft demo video shows full Web access to the Exchange e-mail server from Firefox running on Vista, and Safari on OS X. The Web access product is now called Outlook Live. University users of Microsoft's free hosted e-mail service (Exchange Labs) will get the beta of the service shortly. It appears that corporate users, who know of Web access to Exchange servers as Outlook Web Access, will get it when their companies upgrade to the Exchange 14 platform. Exchange 14 is expected either late in 2009 or in 2010.

Outlook Live will also give users a threaded conversation view, useful for tracking e-mails that get more than a few replies. And the online app will integrate IM (as Gmail does), although it will likely only connect to users of Microsoft instant messaging servers.

Since corporations are generally very conservative in their upgrade plans for electronic mail platforms, business users (like my CNET co-workers) should not expect access to Exchange 14 until, at the earliest, several months after the release of the product. Until then, users who want full-featured access from a Web browser to their Exchange e-mail servers are advised to keep a copy of Internet Explorer handy on their desktop.

Source:http://news.cnet.com/8301-17939_109-10163423-2.html

Running Exchange Server 2007 in a virtual environment

2009-02-18T01:52:00.000-08:00

First of all, as I implied, only Exchange 2007 SP1 can run virtually. SP1 introduced further improvements to Exchange's I/O footprint, which, I imagine, led to Microsoft's easing of restrictions on the installation in virtual environments. Second, your Exchange servers must be running under Windows Server 2008; Windows Server 2003-based Exchange servers are out of the question.

Next, your virtual environment needs to be running on Hyper-V or a third-party virtualisation provider validated by Microsoft. Validated third-party products include VMware (fortunately!) ESX 3.5 updates 2 and 3, and Citrix Xen Server, among others. Microsoft prefers that you use Hyper-V as your virtualisation platform, but it's nice to see that it isn't excluding other major players.

One major item of note: if you intend to use unified messaging that role is not supported in a virtual environment. In fact, it's not recommended that you use virtualisation for any services for which real-time communication is required. I have tested the unified messaging role in a virtual lab and can safely say that this role really needs to run on its own physical server.

There are a number of other items to take into consideration when it comes to running Exchange in a virtual environment. The list below is just a few of the major items.

Don't forget to account for the processing and disk needs of the virtual host, particularly if you're using Hyper-V. Under Hyper-V, the root machine needs processors assigned to it, and the root machine will consume processing resources and RAM. As you build your virtual hosts and add virtual machines, make sure that the virtual processor-to-physical core ratio is no greater than 2:1. That is, if you have a four-core machine, do not assign more than eight cores worth of processor to the running virtual machines.
Understand that Exchange's high-availability features, such as continuous cluster replication, don't mix well with hypervisor-based clustering, such as Hyper-V's quick migration or VMware's VMotion. Microsoft doesn't support combining these technologies. If you choose to forgo VMotion or quick migration on your root server or virtual host, then Exchange's clustering capabilities are fully supported in a virtual environment, although you do lose a significant server availability feature. Of course, you can always run clustered mailbox servers on different virtual hosts as a way to mitigate some of this downside. This limitation would only affect the virtual machines hosting the mailbox server role. The servers housing the other roles should not be limited.
Microsoft does not support making snapshots of full Exchange virtual servers at the virtual host level due to the fact that most hypervisor-based snapshot tools are not application aware. Snapshots could end up creating a mess if used improperly.
Even when running in a virtual environment, you need to adhere to design recommendations when it comes to building your virtual servers. If, for example, a physical machine would require 16GB of RAM for a particular Exchange installation, the virtual machine will too.
Under Hyper-V, VHDs are limited to 2TB in size. Size your mailbox stores accordingly.

These are just some of the most significant limitations and items of note with regard to running Exchange in a virtual environment.

Source: http://www.builderau.com.au/program/windows/soa/Running-Exchange-Server-2007-in-a-virtual-environment/0,339024644,339294994,00.htm

Five dos & Don't for Exchange Server 2007

2009-02-11T04:57:00.000-08:00

5 must-dos:-

Read, read, read. Everything... but especially what is found on the Microsoft Exchange Team blog.
Look up various MVP sites for Exchange. These folks post information for free regarding their personal experiences. It's a key.
Nothing beats experience. Work through the how-tos in my book to ensure you have more than head knowledge.
Try and attend at least one Exchange oriented conference each year. Tech Ed is a good one, TechMentor, Windows Connections, TEC. I speak at most of these and I love attending sessions and learning from other Exchange gurus.
Teach someone else. You never learn a subject so thoroughly as when you have to teach it to others.

5 don'ts:-

Don't install the wrong version of Server when working with high availability options. If clustering services are involved, you need the enterprise version of the Server.
Don't install just an Exchange server. You need to see how the client side will work. Install an OS with Outlook 2003 and 2007 to really make sure you know what is going on in the user world. Don't forget to play with Outlook Web Access too.
Don't forget to learn how to set up your true incoming and outgoing SMTP connections. Typically in a learning environment you don't worry about that because you aren't working with a live server, but it is a must if you plan on putting a real server out on the Net. DNS records and so forth... it's all important.
If you're working with Unified Messaging, don't forget to bring in a telephony expert. Most likely, you won't fully understand the configuration for the back end without help.
Don't think you can rely completely on the GUI. Exchange has a few PowerShell-only configuration options. Get reacquainted with the command-line, my friend. It's not disappearing and any Exchange guru worth his title these days is a command-line lover.

Source: http://www.itworld.com/unified-communications/62208/five-must-dos-exchange-server-2007-and-5-donts?page=0%2C1

Microsoft plans critical patches for IE, Exchange

2009-02-06T01:07:00.000-08:00

Microsoft Corp. today said it will deliver four security updates on Tuesday, two of them pegged "critical," and will finally issue a patch for SQL Server that it's been working on since last April.

The four updates detailed in the advance notice published today will quash bugs in Internet Explorer 7 (IE7); its Exchange mail server software; the Visio application that's part of the Office lineup; and SQL Server. The IE and Exchange vulnerabilities will be labeled critical, the company's highest threat ranking, while the SQL Server and Visio bugs will be marked as "important," one step lower.

That bug is notable for several reasons. When Micosoft confirmed the vulnerability in a Dec. 22 advisory, it noted that exploit code had been published. Several days later, the company admitted that it first received a report on the bug from Bernhard Mueller of SEC Consult Security, a Vienna-based security consulting company, in April 2008.

"Three of these are all equally important, at least with the information we have today," Storms said about the IE, Exchange and SQL Server patches. "It all depends on an enterprise's infrastructure."

Companies are always sensitive to Exchange fixes, Storms continued, so the critical fix set for Exchange Server 2007, 2003 and 2000 will be parsed carefully. "Messaging is so important to the enterprise," Storms said, "that they'll want to spend a little extra time making sure the patch works." One plus, he said, is a "Does not require restart" note by Microsoft in today's bulletin.

"That could mean it's not necessarily a giant hole, or that we're just going to get lucky," said Storms. Because they won't have to restart their Exchange servers, IT administrators should be able to deploy the patch more quickly, he said.

"The IE vulnerability has to be something unique to IE7," wagered Storms. According to Microsoft, the critical vulnerability affects only that version of the browser, not IE6 or IE5.01, the latter edition specific to Windows 2000, and the oldest browser that the company still supports with security updates. Storms hesitated to guess what IE7-only issue might be patched. "It could be any number of things," he said. "Could be scripting or the antiphishing filter."

Microsoft's advance notice reported that the IE7 bug will be rated critical for both Windows XP and Windows Vista, but only "moderate" on Server 2003 and Server 2008.

Microsoft will release February's four updates at approximately 1 p.m. EST Tuesday.

Source: http://www.computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&articleId=9127438

Gaps found in Microsoft Exchange API documentation

2009-02-03T06:34:00.000-08:00

Zarafa Chief Executive Brian Joseph--having ported, as he put it, "all the Exchange features to the Linux platform with full MAPI, said there are significant gaps in the Microsoft documentation released to date. Zarafa makes an e-mail server that is compatible with Outlook

Speaking to ZDNet UK at the CeBIT conference, Joseph said Microsoft's start is not promising: "This could definitely make life easier for developers, but we have spotted over 200 undocumented exceptions, including one that allows you to create recurring calendar appointments in Exchange. It was in the documentation for Exchange 2000, but they forgot to document it for Exchange 2003 and Exchange 2007."

Zarafa produces the eponymous e-mail server that runs on Linux and is used by enterprises such as car-rental company Sixt, which recently migrated its entire e-mail server infrastructure to Zarafa. Zarafa uses the MAPI open standard to communicate to e-mail clients such as Outlook. While Microsoft Exchange uses MAPI too, it also uses a large number of proprietary APIs that let the Outlook client perform actions such as creating recurring calendar appointments on the Exchange server.

"I am very positive about unconditional publication of APIs," said Joseph, "but only time will tell if this is justified, given Microsoft's history. I think hundreds of thousands of developers around the world are very interested in full publication with regular updates, but the devil is in the detail; for policy makers, these gaps in the Exchange documentation should put another light on the value of Microsoft's announcement."

Zimbra Vice President John Robb agreed that Microsoft's announcement is a good move, but again expressed reservations. His company produces the Zimbra Collaboration Suite, which also runs on Linux platforms and servers. The Zimbra Collaboration suite runs 11 million mailboxes through the commercial version of its product and many more through the open-source version.

"The MAPI protocol is open anyway, so that doesn't affect us directly," Robb said, "but we are concerned that Microsoft has not announced which APIs have patent conditions, nor what those conditions are. We're anxiously awaiting details."

Source: http://news.cnet.com/Gaps-found-in-Microsoft-Exchange-API-documentation/2100-7344_3-6233802.html?tag=nw.3

Microsoft Exchange Server and PowerShell: Debate Continues

2009-01-28T02:41:00.000-08:00

When Microsoft Exchange Server 2007 was released a little over two years ago, one of the biggest drawbacks in the minds of many admins was its reliance on Windows PowerShell. In fact, some of our readers were quite vocal and angry over this situation. The release of Exchange 2007 SP1 added more functionality to the GUI, Exchange Management Console (EMC), but certain tasks can still only be performed through Exchange Management Shell (EMS).

Last week, KC Lemson posted the first public information about Exchange 14 on the Microsoft Exchange Team Blog and invited people to reply with what features they're most interested in hearing about in the new version. I suppose it should be no surprise that at least part of the reader dialog that followed centered on this issue of PowerShell.

A commenter named Thomas wrote:

"I applaud the efforts to make more management tasks doable via the GUI instead of just in powershell. Exchange 2007 RTM was severely lacking in that respect with even common tasks like Send On Behalf permissions requiring long power shell commands. In small/medium organization's IT depts. we need to be Jack of All Trades (and masters of none) since 2 or 3 man IT depts. don't have the manpower to specialize in Exchange Management and memorize the long powershell commands."

Taking up the other side of the argument, Hal Rottenberg said:

"If you value your time, then you should be learning PowerShell, regardless of whether you work with Exchange or not. As they say, if you repeat it, script it."

I for one am a big fan of automation. I use Word 2007 just about constantly, and while I like the Ribbon interface, I still use macros with keyboard shortcuts for any functions I use frequently. Yes, it takes a few extra minutes to set those things up, but the benefits in the long run are worth it. Likewise, it seems like scripting common Exchange tasks with PowerShell would be well worth the time investment.

With the release of Exchange 14 looming, and its expected continued use of PowerShell through EMS, I'm wondering how Exchange Server admins are feeling about their management options now. I'd love to hear your stories: If you prefer to work through the GUI, what ways have you discovered to work around limitations in Exchange 2007? Or maybe you were resistant at first but have come to embrace the control EMS gives you. If you're using Exchange Server 2007, you can't avoid PowerShell

Source: http://windowsitpro.com/article/articleid/101326/microsoft-exchange-server-and-powershell-the-debate-continues.html

Entourage to Exchange Web Services (EWS) Open to Public

2009-01-21T06:52:00.000-08:00

Microsoft Tuesday launched a public beta for software that ties Mac users more closely to Exchange mail servers, making good on a promise the company announced earlier this month.

A beta of the Entourage to Exchange Web Services (EWS) client software is now open to the public, said Mike Tedesco, a senior product manager for the company's Mac development group. Previously, the beta had been tested by a handful of corporations running Exchange server and Office 2008 for Mac.

EWS allows the Exchange server itself do most of the heavy lifting, as opposed to WebDAV, which left the bulk of the work up to the client. This results in as much as a 2x speed increase. Also, the improved compatibility means that tasks, notes, and categories are now synced with the server, names can be resolved from the Global Address List over standard HTTP connections (no more VPN!), and improved Autodiscover keeps account settings synced with your Exchange server.

With the beta, Microsoft is moving away from the WebDAV protocol it's used for the last five years to connect Entourage, the e-mail client included in the Mac version of Office, to Exchange, the popular enterprise mail server software. Rather than rely on Web DAV, the beta supports Exchange's native connectivity protocol through an API, putting Entourage on a more equal footing with Microsoft's Windows-based Outlook e-mailer when it comes to synchronizing with Exchange.

Apple licensed Microsoft's ActiveSync technology last March to give iPhone users a way to grab business e-mail from Exchange servers.

The beta also adds some new functionality to Entourage, said Tedesco, including synchronizing tasks, notes and categories in the e-mail program with Exchange.

Users interested in trying the beta of Entourage to Exchange Web Services can apply on the Microsoft Connect site, said Tedesco, but must be running Office 2008 for Mac as well as Exchange Server 2007 with Service Pack 1 with Update Rollup 4, or later.

Source: http://www.techworld.com.au/article/273747/microsoft_unveils_mac--exchange_sync_beta

Implementing and Configuring Blacklist Support in Exchange Server 2003

2009-01-16T03:44:00.000-08:00

Spam filtering software based on keywords, etc. is only one brick in the wall guarding against Spam; another one is to implement black- or block-list support within your messaging and collaboration environment. With the new release of Exchange, Microsoft implemented the functionality to filter every incoming email whether the sender is on a blacklist or not. Within this article you will learn how blacklists work and how you can configure support with Exchange Server 2003.

But Spam filtering software based on keywords, etc. is only one brick in the wall guarding against Spam; another one is to implement black- or block-list support within your messaging and collaboration environment. With the new release of Exchange, Microsoft implemented the functionality to filter every incoming email whether the sender is on a blacklist or not.

Learn how blacklists work and how you can configure Exchange Server 2003.

What are blacklists and how do they work?

f you perform a search with an internet search engine you will find lots of blacklist providers throughout the world. This means, the first thing you have to do is consider what blacklist provider you want to use. Nobody can say this or that blacklist provider is the best, you should make your own experiences but if you have a look at the recommendations of the IT press and testing results published in these magazines one of the following blacklist providers may be a good choice.

* relays.ordb.org
* relays.visi.com
* bl.spamcop.net
* blackholes.wirehub.net
* list.dsbl.org

If you have a look at one of these blacklist provider’s websites you will find an explanation on how blacklists work.

Each blacklist server is a special kind of service that can be compared with DNS services. If the SMTP-domain is on the blacklist it reports return status codes back to the checking messaging system providing special IP addresses.

Here is a list of the codes and what they mean:

127.0.0.2 è Open relay

127.0.0.3 è Dialup spam source

127.0.0.4 è Confirmed spam source

127.0.0.5 è Smarthosts

127.0.0.6 è Spamware software developer or spamvertized site (spamsites.org)

127.0.0.7 è Listserver that automates opts users in without confirmation

127.0.0.8 è Insecure formail.cgi script

127.0.0.9 è Open proxy server

By default, Exchange Server 2003 blocks all mails with one of these codes, but you can also configure the behavior as you want.

Configuring blacklist support with Exchange 2003

In Exchange Server 2003 you can find the feature for blacklist support within the global settings of your organization.

As seen above, you can implement multi-blacklist provider rules and put them in your own sequence. Exchange Server 2003 then checks every configured blacklist before it reroutes the email.

If you choose the button “Add” the following window opens:

In the field “Display Name” you should put in a brief description of the rule, in the second field you have to put in the DNS suffix of the blacklist provider itself. And by default, every return status code means a blocking of that email. If you are having trouble with your blacklist provider, just disable the rule by choosing the appropriate button.

If you want to configure a customized return status code behavior, make your choice and the following window will open and will provide your customized configuration.

“Match Filter Rule to any return code” is the default setting and provides a blocking of every email that has a return status code. If you choose “Match Filter Rule to the Following Mask”, you can implement your own status code mask, provided by the blacklist company. If you need to implement customized return status codes, you have to choose the third radio button and then add your codes as shown below:

No rule without exceptions … Therefore you have a way to put in your exceptions by choosing the appropriate button. If you want to configure global IP accept and/or deny lists, this is possible, too. Just choose the “Accept” or “Deny” button.

The next step is now to check if everything runs. If it does not, in general the reason is not your Exchange Server 2003; check your DNS- and firewall settings. The Event log may be your friend, too.

But which servers in your messaging environment should have blacklist blocking enabled? Well, that is quite easy to say: that ones that receive email directly from the internet or via a smart- or relay host within your DMZ. It should be a server that reroutes every incoming email in your organization, and if there is more than one “front-end” server in your environment, you should configure all of them. In addition, don’t forget to check the filtering directory, if there are mails from companies that are on blacklists by accident. In general their entries will be deleted within 24 hours, but within that time window your users do not receive any email from that company.

Source:http://www.msexchange.org/tutorials/Blacklist_Support_Exchange_2003.html

Microsoft Exchange Server Implementation & configuration

2009-01-14T02:56:00.000-08:00

Because of the complexity of Microsoft Exchange Server management and administration, many companies want to consolidate thousands of Exchange users on one server. As a deployment grows, its increasing number of servers can make administrative tasks such as adding, moving, and deleting users extremely time-consuming for Exchange administrators.
Administrators must use a combination of applications to administer and manage the Exchange environment, which makes administration of large implementations more difficult. Future versions of Exchange Server will simplify some of these management and administrative tasks and will enable administrators to perform all Exchange administrative tasks through one application. However, for now, Exchange Server's diversity of tasks and tools leads many companies to want to consolidate as many users as possible on each Exchange Server machine.

Microsoft has been using the Security Development Life cycle (SDL) across its product lines for several years now, and we've seen an across-the-board improvement in product security as a result. As a security practitioner, this situation makes me happy indeed, but as an Exchange Server administrator, I want functional improvements to the product as well. Given that Microsoft is already actively working on the next version of Exchange, I wanted to set down a few things I'd like to see in the Exchange Server of the future.

Keep in mind that for every feature we get, there are other features that don't make the cut. Even with the company's massive resources behind them, Microsoft's developers have constraints that prevent them from adding every desired feature while still meeting their schedules and deadlines. That said, here are a few items from my wish list for the next Exchange release.

Let's start with a relatively easy one: The next version of Exchange should include full support for Outlook Web Access' premium mode in Firefox and Safari. Multiple-browser support is an important check box for the education market (where you're likely to find more people using non-Microsoft Internet Explorer browsers), but it's also something that I would expect to see from the company that pioneered the commercial use of Asynchronous JavaScript and XML (Ajax) in Web applications--not to mention that Microsoft Office Communicator Web Access and all of IBM's Lotus products already fully support these browsers.

How about certificates? Microsoft Exchange Server has a Certificate Wizard that helps you get the right set of machine names and subject alternative names in your certificate requests. Now that the OCS and Exchange product lines are part of the same business unit within Microsoft, perhaps the two teams could collaborate to produce a single certificate tool that collects all the necessary parameters for certificate requests? Network security and Exchange administrators everywhere would greatly appreciate and benefit from such a feature.

I've heard many requests for running Exchange services on Windows Server Core, the bare bones install option with Windows Server 2008; the obstacle here is that the current version of Windows Power Shell won't run on Server Core. The Windows or Power Shell teams might address this problem on their own; personally, I'd rather they spent their engineering efforts on giving us complete support for running Exchange under Hyper-V.

Source:http://www.earticlesonline.com/Article/Microsoft-Exchange-implementation---configuration/363816

Mimosa NearPoint for Microsoft Exchange Server 1.0

2009-01-09T00:55:00.000-08:00

With an innovative approach to archiving Exchange data on the fly, Mimosa NearPoint for Microsoft Exchange Server 1.0 offers a robust solution for storing and maintaining corporate message data. Though you need some expertise and server capacity to set it up, once this solution is running, it largely succeeds at simplifying the lives of both administrators and end users.

We've all deleted or misplaced an important message in Exchange. Instead of having IT search through backup files, with NearPoint, users can search past messages (even deleted ones) using keywords and other criteria via the Quick Search option in Outlook. Matching results from the Mimosa archive are displayed, along with a message preview window, so you can find lost e-mails. An advanced search option presents more filter options and mimics Outlook's own search capabilities.

Better yet, NearPoint automatically moves user's e-mail attachments into its archive so that they are stored there instead of in user mailboxes. The admin tool let us define and tweak such rules with ease using criteria such as attachment size and message date. This ingenious approach essentially automates the all-too-common chore of users having to clean out mailboxes. We like the reporting available in the admin console, as well. There are about a half dozen reports here, including a useful size and usage report—a must to keep track of the growth and health of your Mimosa archive.

When it comes to installation, Mimosa ranks as one of the more challenging solutions that we've run up against. Setup requires a capable server (or two) with plenty of disk storage space. (One terabyte of disk space is recommended. RAID support is a virtual must for archiving.) Administrators will need to know their Exchange server infrastructure well and do capacity planning based on the number and size of user mailboxes.

Once Mimosa's MMC console is installed, it's exactly what busy IT administrators need to gain complete control over Exchange archiving. The console lets you perform both large and small tasks—like restoring an entire server, as well as individual mailboxes—with ease, along with support for scheduling jobs.

An additional potentially time-saving option in NearPoint allows designated "auditors" to search across multiple mailboxes to find relevant messages, which may be required for organizations meeting regulatory requirements or facing a legal discovery process. Behind the scenes, NearPoint admins can set policies for saving executive-level messages for a period of years, for example, to meet corporate standards. In accord with these policies, messages will be automatically saved or purged from the archive over time.

Source: http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,1922263,00.asp

Virtualization of Microsoft Exchange Server

2008-12-26T02:45:00.000-08:00

Microsoft Exchange Server is a product which is used for making the purpose of emailing faster. This software is designed to make the work more efficient. Since nowadays the e-mail pays a vital role in the business dealings, so many companies are going for the Microsoft Exchange Server which has made their work much easier and faster. Microsoft Exchange Server not only has increased the reliability but also provides the feature if adding servers for other applications and hence its utilization makes the workload much easier.

The main advantage of the Microsoft Exchange Server is that it is used for providing security enhancement to many software packages.

Harmful threats like viruses spam and hackers can be neutralized by the use of this server.

Hence it is much more reliable and provides the confidence to the customers and employees that their email system is well protected and full potential utilization of their system can be done with the help of this server.

• Going for the virtualization of Microsoft Exchange Server: -

i. This server provides a cost effective technique and hence providing a simpler business environment. The use and costs of e-mails can be managed and hence the complexities which are increasing day by day can be controlled by the use of M.E. server.

ii. Besides the helpful features like flexibility, increase availability, reduction in cost, disaster recovery simplifications, your hardware products can be tested and provided with a valid virtual solution. This is the technique used in the virtualization of this server.

iii. These services are provided by the two leading software companies - Microsoft Exchange Server 2007 and VMware (leading data storage enterprise).

• Advantages of virtualization of Microsoft Exchange Server: -

It helps in increasing the reliability of the email system and also improves the disaster tolerant system by providing efficient infrastructure.

i. By encapsulating the Exchange Servers into virtual machines, it helps in simplifying the recovery of data for the improvement in the Exchange infrastructure.

ii. The VMware Infrastructure plays an important role in protecting the servers. So it is even more powerful technique with virtual machine.

It helps in improving the performance by the information exchange.

i. With the introduction of 'New 64-bit architecture' in Microsoft Exchange Server 2007, the performance of the system has improved as much more RAM usage can be done with the better coordination with VMware virtual machine.

ii. Hence better access to the disk can be done and more memory can be used.

Source: http://ezinearticles.com/?Virtualizing-of-Microsoft-Exchange-Server&id=1156138

Protect Data with Exchange Server 2007

2008-12-19T04:31:00.000-08:00

Lucid8 delivers next-generation automated disaster prevention, optimization, protection, and recovery solutions for Microsoft® Exchange. Today, Lucid8 has over six-thousand product implementations to customers worldwide ranging from SMEs to Fortune 100 companies worldwide whose businesses depend on Microsoft Exchange 5.5, 2000, 2003, and 2007.

Fear of loss compels us to protect ourselves, our cars, our homes, our families and our friends. Our concerns for potential loss encourage us to take precautions to help mitigate risks. This is why most of us exercise, take our cars into the shop when they make unexplained noises or motions, and buy insurance policies in case of other catastrophic losses. I seriously hope that no one’s life is in danger from his or her messaging system, but I am fairly certain that most companies would be wounded should a catastrophic problem occur within the Exchange environment.

Exchange Server 2007 is as self-healing as Exchange has ever been, but without a healthy hardware platform, drivers, Active Directory, DNS, network, and regular policy management, it can go belly-up faster than you can say cardiac arrest. To make matters even worse, many Exchange administrators are not current with the latest CPR techniques nor have they been practicing preventive maintenance on their Exchange databases in order to minimize unplanned downtime. In this white paper, you will learn the bare and necessary facts you should know to proactively maintain your Exchange Server 2007 environment.

In order to download the Protecting Your Data with Exchange Server 2007 whitepaper, please fill out the form below: You will find form here:

http://windowsitpro.com/Whitepapers/Index.cfm?fuseaction=ShowWP&WPID=393a7bec-e173-483c-b887-95b1cf858e28&code=winflink

How to Creating mail users in Exchange Server 2007

2008-12-09T05:08:00.000-08:00

Mail users are actual accounts in your Active Directory, but their email does not reside within your Exchange environment; they use their own messaging system, Hotmail account, etc. This may sound a lot like a contact, but the difference is that a contact is an object that represents someone who neither has a mailbox in your Exchange environment nor an Active Directory account, whereas the mail user still has an Active Directory account.

To create a mail user in the Exchange Management Console, begin by navigating to the Mail User node under Recipient Configuration in the console tree. In the action pane, click the New Mail User link (Figure A) to start the New Mail User Wizard.

Navigate to the Mail User node:-

Beginning the New Mail User Wizard:-

Since you are creating a user within Active Directory, you first need to provide user account information on the User Information page of the wizard, as shown in Figure 3-35. Then, because the user will utilize an outside messaging system, you will need to provide his or her external email address, as shown in Figure 3-36.

Provide account information when creating a new mail user:-

Used For Referrence: http://searchexchange.techtarget.com/generic/0,295582,sid43_gci1333150,00.html

Microsoft Exchange Server 2007 Service Pack 1 Security features

2008-12-04T06:49:00.000-08:00

Microsoft announced Exchange Server 2007 Service Pack 1 and opened a technology preview for the software. Exchange Server 2007 SP1 features enhancements such as support for Windows Server 2008, enhanced integration with Microsoft Office Communications Server 2007, and improved mobile device management and advanced security technology.

Among other new features of Exchange Server 2007 SP1, these are security related ones:

Additional Exchange ActiveSync policies

New Exchange ActiveSync policies in SP1 build on Exchange Server 2007's robust security and management features with new policies for synchronization, authentication and encryption. For businesses with more advanced data protection needs, Exchange Server 2007 SP1 offers device, network and application controls. These new features allow network administrators to help manage and secure Exchange ActiveSync-enabled mobile devices.

Enhanced security

Microsoft also unveiled Forefront Security for Exchange Server SP1, which integrates with Exchange Server 2007 SP1 to provide an extra layer of security for even greater protection and control. Forefront Security for Exchange Server includes multiple scan engines from industry-leading security firms integrated in a single solution to help protect against viruses, worms and spam. The new service pack for Forefront Security for Exchange Server features improvements in content filtering and manageability as well as support for Windows Server 2008.

Source: net-security.org/secworld.php?id=5423

Rollup 5 for Exchange Server 2007 SP1

2008-11-24T04:41:00.000-08:00

This is a heads up that Rollup 5 for Exchange Server 2007 SP1 is in the final stages of getting released and should be out in a couple of days. The next step for the Exchange team will be to release the Update Rollup onto the Download Center and then publish it to Microsoft Update. Microsoft Update publishing will happen 2-3 weeks after the Download Center publishing, due to internal policies and processes. We will let you know when this happens.

Regarding the overall patching experience, we have addressed the issue of Exchange 2007 managed services might time out during certificate revocation checks. While we will have a full list of issues fixed when the Rollup releases, some of major issues are:

CDCR: Need an option to apply ELC policy to only the root instead of applying it recursively to root and all subfolders
CDCR: Add generatePublisherEvidence enabled="false" to Exchange Services Config Files
SCR does not copy logs in a disjoint namespace scenario
SCR cannot be enabled when DNS suffixes differ on source/target in disjoint namespace scenarios
Exchange 2007 CAS cannot copy the OAB from the OAB share on Windows Server 2008-based Exchange 2007 CCR clusters
Messages get stuck in outbox on Windows Mobile 6.1 devices When using CAS proxy
CDCR: MSI patching doesn't update logon.aspx if the file is modified by customer

Source:bink.nu/news/update-rollup-5-for-exchange-server-2007-sp1-is-almost-out-the-door.aspx

Microsoft Launches Online Exchange, SharePoint

2008-11-18T04:38:00.000-08:00

Microsoft on Monday officially launched hosted versions of Exchange and SharePoint, two of its biggest on-premise cash cows, and continued to drive home the message that channel partners have nothing to fear from Microsoft's plan to move all its enterprise apps to the cloud.

Exchange Online and SharePoint Online are part of Microsoft's Business Productivity Online Suite (BPOS), which also includes Live Meeting and Office Communications Server, although the latter is still in beta and won't be available until next spring.

At a launch event in San Francisco, Stephen Elop, president of the Microsoft Business Division, said companies can reap cost savings of between 10 and 50 percent by moving to Microsoft-hosted SharePoint and Exchange services.

In July at Microsoft's Worldwide Partner Conference, some solution providers were upset by the commission structure for BPOS as well as by Microsoft's revelation that it would take over control of billing customers.

Exchange Online is priced at $10 per user/month, SharePoint Online per user/month is $7.25. Office Communications Server Online will be $2.50 per user/month, and LiveMeeting will be $4.50 per user/month. Microsoft will offer these services in one-year automatically renewing agreements.

At the Monday launch event, Elop insisted that Microsoft has maintained "a deliberate dependence" on its partner ecosystem by offering VARs the chance to develop recurring revenue streams.

To illustrate what Elop described as the "absolutely overwhelming" channel response to Exchange and SharePoint Online, Microsoft had several partners on hand to discuss deployment scenarios. These case studies helped underscore Microsoft's mantra that VARs can adapt their business models by focusing on value-added migration and customization services.

"The whole world is changing. It requires change, but it's representative of what's going on in the market today," said Elop.

Adam Smith, director of marketing at Phase 2 International, a Honolulu, Hawaii-based solution provider, says in the current economic environment, his customers are finding it easier to pay a monthly subscription as opposed to a major one-time capital expenditure.

Smith admits that the Microsoft's WPC announcement was initially ominous for Microsoft hosting partners, but said the practical realities of deploying on-premise Microsoft apps quickly dissolved those fears.

"We've never had a customer who was satisfied with an out-of-the-box, Microsoft application," Smith said. "Every customer, without exception, has required some level of support, training, integration, or customization."

Source: crn.com

Why does the user name get rejected when some users log in to Exchange Server 2007 via POP3?

2008-11-10T23:23:00.000-08:00

Question:- Why does the user name get rejected when some users log in to Exchange Server 2007 via POP3?

Answer:- We're all familiar with the user principal name (UPN); it includes a user's log-on name, the @ symbol, followed by the domain name. Errors can occur when users have a UPN that exceeds 40 characters, which is the default limit for POP3 set by the MaxCommandSize setting. You can resolve this issue in one of two ways. The first method just increases the value of MaxCommandSize, this way:

Start the Exchange Management Shell.
Type Get-POPSettings to view current settings. You'll notice the default value is 40.
To increase the value to 50 (the upper limit is 1,024 bytes), type Set-POPSettings -MaxCommandSize 50
Restart POP3 for the changes to take effect.

2. The second method increases the value of MSExchPopImapCommandSize via the Adsiedit.msc snap-in. It's a bit more complicated...

Via:mcpmag.com

How To: Recreate OWA Virtual Directory - Exchange 2007

2008-11-04T02:11:00.000-08:00

How To: Recreate OWA Virtual Directory - Exchange 2007. So many times I heard that OWA doesn’t work on Exchange 2007 server. There would be many reason behind it, like permission configuration, missing files, not able to load properly, .net errors etc…

There are different solutions base on various reasons but no one works then you may try by recreating OWA virtual directory which is giving problem.

Check and note the settings of directory in EMC before recreating it, like InternalURL, ExternalURL, Forms-Based Authentication settings ect..

Procedure:

First step is to identify the directory which is giving the problem.

You can use Get-OwaVirtualDirectory to get the list of virtual directories.

Now let’s say I have problem while accessing owa directory. Remove it with below command.

Remove-OwaVirtualDirectory “owa (Default Web Site)”

Now create it again with below command.

New-OwaVirtualDirectory -OwaVersion “Exchange2007″ -Name “owa (Default Web Site)”

Note: if you are recreating other than owa directory which are legacy Exchange directories then you need to use “Exchange2003or2000″ in OWAVersion switch instead of “Exchange2007″

Now configure the “owa” virtual directory settings like InternalURL, ExternalURL, Forms-Based Authentications etc… & check the OWA by logging with some test users.

Source: exchangeshare.wordpress.com/2008/07/16/how-to-recreate-owa-virtual-directory-exchange-2007

Google Android Adds Microsoft Exchange Support

2008-10-21T23:42:00.000-07:00

When Google, HTC, and T-Mobile unveiled the first Android-powered handset in September, many mobile professionals were disappointed with the lack of Microsoft Exchange support. At the time, officials from T-Mobile and Google said that could easily be remedied by a third-party developer.

With this in mind, Wrike and Intermedia have rolled out a free Android application that will enable users to sync their G1s Exchange servers.

The app, ContactsSync, doesn't offer full Exchange syncing, but it does let G1 users load their contacts onto the phone. Changes made on the phone won't be made to your server-based contacts, but the developers said that should change in the future.

The developers also plan full calendar syncing, but e-mail syncing is not in the cards.

"Users can access their e-mail from Exchange using IMAP, so we don't have plans to sync e-mail," Wrike's Valerie Sinitskaya told gadget blog Gizmodo.

Once the application is downloaded onto the handset, setup can be completed by entering your e-mail address and password for the Exchange e-mail account. There is also an advance setup that enables the user to change or manually configure the Exchange Web Services address.

The ContactsSync application can be downloaded here, and it should eventually be in the Android Market.

The G1 will officially launch Wednesday, and users can expect multiple applications to pop up addressing the lack of Exchange support. A full syncing app may not appear in the Android Market until content developers are allowed to sell apps, but it may show up earlier at Handango.

Via:informationweek.com/news/internet/google/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=211300019

Difference between MS Exchange Server 2003 and MS Exchange Server 2007

2008-10-14T00:29:00.000-07:00

Exchange Server 2003(v6.5)(currently at Service Pack 2) can be run on Windows 2000 Server (only if Service Pack 4 is first installed) and 32-bit Windows Server 2003, although some new features only work with the latter.

Like Windows Server 2003, Exchange Server 2003 has many compatibility modes to allow users to slowly migrate to the new system. This is useful in large companies with distributed Exchange Server environments who cannot afford the downtime and expense that comes with a complete migration.One of the new features in Exchange Server 2003 is enhanced disaster recovery which allows administrators to bring the server online quicker. This is done by allowing the server to send and receive mail while the message stores are being recovered from backup.

Exchange Server 2007 was released in late 2006 to business customers as part of Microsoft’s roll-out wave of new products. It includes new clustering options, 64-bit support for greater scalability, voice mail integration, better search and support for Web services, better filtering options, and a new Outlook Web Access interface. Exchange 2007 also dropped support for Exchange 5.50 migrations, routing groups, admin groups, Outlook Mobile Access, X.400, and some API interfaces, amongst other features.

Key improvements of MCSE 2003. The principal enhancements, as outlined by Microsoft, are

Protection: anti-spam, antivirus, compliance, clustering with data replication, improved security and encryption
Improved Information Worker Access: improved calendaring, unified messaging, improved mobility, improved web access
Improved IT Experience: 64-bit performance & scalability, command-line shell & simplified GUI, improved deployment, role separation, simplified routing
Exchange Management Shell: a new command-line shell and scripting language for system administration (based on Windows PowerShell). Shell users can perform every task that can be performed in the Exchange Server graphical user interface plus additional tasks, and can program often-used or complex tasks into scripts that can be saved, shared, and re-used. The Exchange Management Shell has over 375 unique commands to manage features of Microsoft Exchange Server 2007.
Unified Messaging” that lets users receive voice mail, e-mail, and faxes in their mailboxes, and lets them access their mailboxes from cell phones and other wireless devices. Voice commands can be given to control and listen to e-mail over the phone (and also send some basic messages, like “I’ll be late”)
Removed the database maximum size limit. Database size is now limited by hardware capability and the window for backups and maintenance.
Increased the maximum number of storage groups and mail databases per server, to 5 each for Standard Edition (from 1 each in Exchange Server 2003 Standard), and to 50 each for Enterprise

Source:/blog.test4actual.com/?p=407

Exchange Server 2007 SP1 review

2008-10-07T06:08:00.000-07:00

When it released Exchange Server 2007 at the beginning of last year, Microsoft admitted to dropping a number of the expected features in order to meet its deadline. Some of these were new to the 2007 product, but others were already available in Exchange Server 2003, causing more than a little concern among customers looking to upgrade. It comes as no surprise, therefore, to find many of these features reinstated in Service Pack 1 (SP1) in a clear attempt to finally deliver the product that Microsoft originally promised.

Along with the usual performance enhancements and bug fixes, one of the new features is, naturally, support for Windows Server 2008, with SP1 required if you want to host Exchange Server 2007 on that platform. Otherwise you’ll need Windows Server 2003 with the SP2 update applied to run Exchange Server 2007 SP1. As before, the latest implementation is designed for 64-environments, although it can be deployed on 32-bit servers for unsupported testing and evaluation purposes.

Exchange Server 2007 SP1 fills in a lot of those gaps. For example, POP3/IMAP4 server settings can now be configured from the Exchange Management Console (EMC) just as before. Public folders can, similarly, be managed from the EMC again, along with user Send As permissions. With the original release, these options all had to be configured via the Exchange Management Shell (EMS), requiring programming skills that are not normally available in smaller companies. The Move Mailbox tool has also been enhanced in this release to allow import and export to personal folders.

The Outlook Web Access (OWA) Premium client in Exchange Server 2007 SP1 is yet another component to benefit from the return of lost functionality. This includes the ability to manage personal distribution lists from a browser, create and maintain custom rules, recover deleted items and select a monthly calendar view — all of which were dropped when Exchange 2007 was first launched. Support for S/MIME is similarly reinstated, but only when using IE 7.0; the list of attachments that can be converted to HTML in a message (WebReady Document Viewing) is also extended to include more of the Office 2007 formats. However, there are still document components that can’t be viewed this way.

Conclusion

The Exchange Server 2007 SP1 update can be downloaded free of charge. At 840MB it’s not small, but it can be used to install a fresh copy of Exchange as well as upgrade existing code. We found it straightforward to apply and would recommend anyone already on the new platform or installing Exchange for the first time to get hold of it. Upgrading from an earlier version of Exchange, however, can be problematic, and the support forums are full of customers who have experienced problems.

Careful planning and testing is, therefore, advisable even with this new and improved implementation. It's also still very much an enterprise solution, and there's no news yet about a small-business version of Exchange Server 2007.

Source:zdnet.co.uk/

Avoid the Top Ten Microsoft Exchange Migration Headaches

2008-10-01T07:18:00.000-07:00

Organizations are taking a serious look at Microsoft exchange Server 2007, which sits on the Microsoft Unified Communications platform. Despite its enterprise e-mail, shared calendars, contacts and voicemail integration with e-mail, some administrators are reluctant to adopt the technology, for fear of a lengthy and expensive migration process. But migrating email and data doesn’t have to be such an arduous task. Read on for our tips about how to avoid the most common Exchange migration headaches.

Headache #1: Cost

IT directors can anticipate the following costs when planning an Exchange 2007 implementation: software licenses for Exchange 2007 and any third-party vendor tools; any new equipment to support the migrated platform, including servers, networking equipment and power appliances.

Licensing and equipment costs need not be prohibitive. Prior to launching a migration project, check your license agreements, as you may already own an independent software license for Microsoft Exchange Server 2007 or it may be a part of the Microsoft Enterprise Agreement your organization already has in place.

Even with Exchange 2007’s requirement for 64-bit servers, equipment costs may be less then you budgeted. You may be surprised to learn that most of your organization’s current e-mail environment is already running on 64-bit hardware and that you can reuse it if you are careful to select an appropriate migration approach. If you do find that you require new hardware, consider a scalable solution that will make the most of your investment, such as a blade system.

Headache #2: Lack of Time and Resources

When your team is already buried eyeball deep in current projects and responsibilities, the prospect of undertaking a migration project can seem overwhelming. Tasks that will require IT staff time include: assessing current infrastructure; creating the technical architecture plan; preparing a proof of concept or pilot project for testing purposes and evaluating the results; writing a plan for product deployment; provisioning users and settings; and executing the migration while ensuring user functionality. Each of these tasks is equally important and complicated. But with the right third party tool for your migration project, none are impossible. Talk with the support team for the tool you have chosen and map out a migration plan of attack.

Headache #3: Lack of Experience

It’s a good idea to send any staff members that will be handling the migration to training prior to the project. Microsoft holds a number of on-campus sessions throughout the year that are worthwhile.

If sending staff long distances to training sessions isn’t in your budget for this year, there is an alternative: Microsoft Official Curriculum (MOC) courses were designed to help your staff understand the platform. MOC offers courses, workshops, clinics and seminars at Microsoft IT Academies located in cities around the world. So find one that’s close to you, and it’s a cost effective way for your team to learn the fundamentals about the Exchange 2007 platform.

Headache #4: Business Continuity Options

Researching and selecting which business continuity or disaster recovery options to implement with Exchange 2007 can be difficult.

You should first ignore the technical requirements and capabilities for each method and instead focus on your organization’s functional requirements and recovery situations. Only after you’ve defined your company’s uptime and recovery conditions should you compare these to the options that Exchange Server 2007 offers.

Pay attention to monetary requirements as you work through this process — you may need to cut your requirements if they exceed your budget or ask for a funding increase.

Headache #5: Downtime and Missed Messages

One of the biggest worries when migrating a mail system is downtime and missed e-mails. Proper planning is important to ensure there is no major or unexpected interruptions when redirecting internet e-mail flow and migrating user mailboxes.

If your organization communicates with customers and partners on a regular basis, you may want to consider upgrading or replacing internet facing servers early in the migration process. Inserting one or more Exchange 2007 Hub Transport or Edge servers into your internet e-mail flow is easy to do and helps guarantee that internet mail will be routed to Exchange once the mailboxes are migrated. Depending on your environment, it’s a good idea to learn about external DNS configuration and the forwarding logic of your gateway provider prior to this step.

Headache #6: Establishing Coexistence

The duration of a migration project is wholly dependent upon the size of the organization — it can take anywhere from a few weeks to a year to complete. Users need to be able to message one another and schedule appointments at all times, even while some accounts are on Exchange Server 2007 and others are still residing on the source messaging environment. All employees should see the same global address list, migrated or not.

Everyone should be able to continue work in the shared workspace; changes made to public folders should be visible to any user, regardless of whether he/she is located on the source or the target system. The two messaging environments must coexist effectively.
Coexistence requires synchronization in three key areas: directory, public folder and calendar. The two systems need to be exact copies throughout the migration project. Synchronization should be two-way so that whenever end users update one environment, the change is replicated in the other.

Third-party vendor tools can help with this part of the migration. Look for a product that can synchronize all Active Directory and Exchange data, such as public folders, calendar information and mailbox information.

Headache #7: Migrating from non-Exchange Platforms

Not all organizations are running previous Exchange platforms – some are working with non-Microsoft messaging systems, such as Novell GroupWise orIBM Lotus Notes. Migrations from these platforms to Exchange 2007 are challenging, but not impossible.
Some of the major differences between Exchange and other messaging platforms that can pose a problem are:

Exchange 2007 uses Active Directory for its user directory; other manufacturers implement their own directories. Maintaining contact information, settings and user profiles are major issues to be taken into account.
The certificate and encryption services that guarantee communication between users and external contacts are applied differently in alternate messaging platforms.
Group policies and security models for login and management are different.

There are many solutions in the market that manage migrations from non-Microsoft platforms to Exchange 2007. Companies such as Transend andQuest Software all offer migration products that work with multiple messaging systems. The most important thing to look for in a migration tool is coexistence for migrated and non-migrated users, and a product that guarantees no lost data or downtime. Additional handy features include the ability to automate processes, handle parallel migrations and move archives. Reducing costs and saving staff time are nice functionalities as well.

Headache #8: Storage and Regulatory Compliance

It is critical to evaluate your current environment. Growing organizations often don’t have the mailbox storage quotas or e-mail retention policies needed to maintain database performance. Prior to the migration, assess your current processor, memory and storage use. Talk to legal or human resources to minimize any legal risk and remain compliant with all applicable regulations if you find that mailbox sizes are out of control.

Archiving e-mail before migrating is the best way to reduce the overall volume of e-mail data that needs to be migrated, which can end up saving your organization time and money. Besides lessening storage requirements in the new environment, archiving before you migrate reduces the risk of losing messaging data.

Headache #9: Public Folders

Information stored in public folders will also need to be migrated to the new Exchange environment. The Exchange Server 2007 Service Pack 1 has a new graphical interface for public folder migration and management that helps you easily push the public folder hierarchy from one server to others in the organization.

Rather than migrate all public folders to Exchange 2007, some organizations have decided to move them to SharePoint. Look for a tool that offers automated migration (both individual or on a bulk basis), scheduled migration, content synchronization, permission mapping and multiple migration job handling.

Headache #10: Third-Party Product Integration

Many times through the course of this article, we have suggested using a third-party tool to assist your migration project – modern messaging systems are almost never deployed without one. Third-party integration usually includes one or more of the following: backup agents, antivirus software, message archiving and fax integration. Check with your vendors for versions of their software that support Exchange 2007, as well as guidance for migrating their software.

Test the new versions of software to guarantee that it has the same functionality and that it can run parallel with the old version. If the product has an Outlook component, confirm that it can run with your new version of Outlook.

Source:hdvoice.tmcnet.com

HP surprises itself with virtual Exchange servers

2008-09-25T09:57:00.000-07:00

As the volume leader in the x64 server racket, Hewlett-Packard was an early and enthusiastic supporter of VMware and its ESX Server hypervisor for virtualizing servers. But with HP (or rather, Compaq) having long ago established that systems management is one of the key control points in a customer account - and VMware wanting to get more into management tools - the potential for head butting is pretty high.

IT shops don't like head-butting any more than they like finger pointing when something goes wrong, of course, which is why HP was all lovey dovey as it made announcements this week at the VMworld 2008 show in Las Vegas.

HP owns the entire virtualization stack on its Itanium-based Integrity server line, so it doesn't have to partner. Said another way, VMware and Citrix Systems are not supporting Itanium processors with their respective ESX Server and XenServer hypervisors, leaving HP little choice but to create the Integrity Virtual Machine hypervisor from code buried inside HP-UX. Integrity VMs support HP-UX, Linux, Windows, and OpenVMS partitions on Integrity iron and are distinct from the vPar and nPar partitions that HP 9000 servers had.

In any event, HP says that its Insight Dynamics VSE systems management tool, which provisions and manages physical and virtual servers, can interact with and integrate with VMware's VirtualCenter tool, which manages the ESX Server hypervisor and its add-ons. The exact nature of this integration was not detailed, but what users of both sets of tools undoubtedly want is to have all the features of both with whatever interface they are used to seeing - and to be blissfully unaware that there are two tools at work.

With more companies wanting to virtualize Windows and Exchange Server setup to provide fault tolerance and disaster recovery, HP has launched the Virtual Exchange Infrastructure service to help customers plan and implement a virtualized Exchange Server 2007 email and groupware setup running atop VMware's Infrastructure suite of tools (which includes ESX Server for carving up VMs on the iron and management tools to care and feed them). HP says that it can show companies how to virtualize and consolidate their Exchange setups without interrupting day-to-day operations.

"It is somewhat surprising to me the number of people who are interested in this," explains Doug Strain, marketing manager for software in HP's Enterprise Storage and Servers group. "I assumed that our large customers would be more interested in doing bare metal Exchange Servers, and while it is still early days for virtualized Exchange, there is definitely a lot of interest."

One of the reasons why companies might be willing to virtualize big email and database workloads is because the x64 architecture now has hardware-assisted processor, memory, and I/O virtualization that allows VMs to be run without such a punishing performance penalty.

On the disaster recovery front, HP and VMware have integrated their respective tools so they work together on VMs. Specifically, VMware's Site Recovery Manager add-on for ESX Server now knows how to play nicely with HP's Continuous Access Replication software in its EVA midrange disk arrays, which replicates data between mirrored disk arrays. According to Strain, about 85 percent of the virtualized environments that HP has setup using ProLiant and BladeSystem X64 iron for customers uses some kind of shared storage (NAS, iSCSI, or Fibre Channel SAN), and most people probably assume it is all running on high-end XP arrays.

Not so. The midrange EVA arrays, which marry well with the two-socket servers that are for now the standard virtualization iron, are getting a lot more traction. And HP's low-end MSA arrays do not have the recovery and storage virtualization features that enable a DR setup.

Another key EVA feature now certified to deal with VMware VMs is Data Protector, which backs up software onto tape. Data Protector now waits for VMware's Consolidated Backup, which gathers all the copies of VMs into one place, before shoving archives out onto tape.

HP also said that its thin clients have been certified to be supported by VMware's Virtual Desktop Manager 2.1 software, a management program for virtualized PCs being fed from server instances to thin clients. HP announced a set of virtual desktop services to help customers figure out how to get rid of PCs and replace them with servers fronted by thin clients.

Source:theregister.co.uk/2008/09/19/hp_vmware_services/

IBM Follows Through on Data Protection for SMBs

2008-08-01T00:31:00.000-07:00

Just three months since it acquired continuous data protection (CDP) startup FilesX, IBM has rebranded its solution as IBM Tivoli Storage Manager (TSM) FastBack and today began pushing its own version to market.

CDP, also known as continuous backup, has been growing in importance as a way for companies to better ensure their files are safeguarded. The process automates file backups each time a change is made, enabling offices to not only restore lost files, but also to reconstruct files as they appeared at any point in the past.

In particular, such offerings are lower-cost offerings aimed at helping small business support (SMBs) and remote locations -- which typically lack dedicated IT staff -- deal with mounting storage concerns.

"There is more data being distributed and companies want consistent data protection strategies," John Connor, product manager for TSM FastBack, told InternetNews.com.

Big Blue said the ease of managing FastBack's disk-based, block-level storage approach makes it suitable for small and remote offices that have little tech support.

"This eliminates issues with backup windows and provides near-instant recovery," Connor said.

FastBack, which IBM acquired earlier this year, also represents a second try on the technology, Lauren Whitehouse, an analyst with Enterprise Strategy Group, told InternetNews.com.

IBM initially had attempted to tweak its TSM top-end product to create a data protection tool tailored for small to midsized firms, called TSM Express. But it wasn't a perfect approach, Whitehouse said.

"They scaled down the comprehensive offering but the TSM Express really didn't meet the need as it was still hefty to manage," she added. Instead, the new FastBack offering "is the next generation of that approach."

Still, for Big Blue, being able to swiftly integrate the product and assimilate it into its sales channel shows its proficiency at technology mergers, Whitehouse said.

"They have the formula for taking in technology they acquire and getting it rolled out in an impressive time frame," she added.

The new offering serves to build on IBM's storage flagship, the venerable Tivoli Storage Manager. IBM also said the new FastBack offering, which has been melded into TSM, complements its CDP software for laptops and desktops, IBM Tivoli Continuous Data Protection for Files.

Along with FastBack, IBM also introduced FastBack for Microsoft Exchange server and FastBack for Bare Machine Recovery, designed for system and server migrations. Together, the bundled components are sold as TSM FastBack Center.

While the suite is currently offered only for Windows platform, IBM has plans to develop additional versions, it said.

Source:internetnews.com/storage/article.php/3762211/IBM+Follows+Through+on+Data+Protection+for+SMBs.htm

Exchange Topology Discovery in Exchange 2003

2008-07-21T03:04:00.000-07:00

To enable Exchange Topology Discovery, we must first enable Agent Proxy and then configure overrides.
1. Enable Agent Proxy configuration on all managed Exchange servers. In the Administration pane, under Administration, Device Management, Agent Managed, right-click on each Exchange server, select Properties, then the Security and check the box Allow this agent to act as a proxy and discover managed objects on other computers. This step will also make exchange cluster instances to appear in the Agentless Managed section.

2.In the Authoring pane of the Operations Console, click Object Discoveries. In the Object Discoveries pane, right-click Exchange 2003 Topology Discovery, point to Overrides, point to Override the Object Discovery, and then click For a specific object of type: Exchange 2003 Role . Select the desired server running Exchange Server 2003 from Matching objects (do it for both), and then click OK . In the Override Properties dialog box, select Override for the Enabled parameter, and then select True from the Override Setting drop-down list. Select the Management Pack to save the override in, and then click OK.
The previous procedures will enable topology view of your Exchange Organization.
More on Microsoft Exchange Server Support>>
Microsoft release Exchange Servers
Exchange Server 2003
Exchange server support

Microsoft release Exchange Servers

2008-07-14T04:03:00.000-07:00

As mentioned above, that data from a Microsoft Exchange server to your computer. This means instead of you having to manually press a button to poll the server and ask for changes, or set up a scheduled polling as soon as something changes on the server, it automatically sends the update out.

Every device being handled by a single central Network Operations Center (NOC), devices can connect to any Windows Server running Exchange (typically your business’ Exchange Server).

Microsoft's prices have always been geared to be affordable for the masses. And when entering a new market, it seems to always start low-ball. Microsoft today finally revealed how it will price online services, including Exchange and SharePoint, and how it will share revenue with partners. The company used its annual Worldwide Partner Conference to detail two bundles of services, one that targets workers who spend little time with a PC and one tailored for "information workers" that includes collaboration tools, portals, instant messaging/presence and Web conferencing. When doing the math for Microsoft's new services bundles, has it continued with the affordable theme? The jury is out.

An "information worker" bundle will be priced at $15 per month (and includes hosted versions of Exchange and SharePoint services with the not-yet-popular Office Communications Server and Live Meeting). Given that the average enterprise refreshes its desktops and software every three to five years, this equates to $540 per user for a three-year cycle. Will that save you money over the per-seat licenses you pay for now for Exchange?

If desktop support really does go away because users are getting the service from the cloud (but come on, how likely is that?), then this is probably a bargain. Hardware costs are killed -- that's true -- but they are relatively cheap these days and network costs could rise. High-volume deals can certainly do better than $15 per seat, too.

The entry-level services fee at $3 per user, per month, seems more in line, but the limited service may not fit the average enterprise. And of course, Microsoft's channel gets hosed when an online service is only $36 per user, per year, and includes no hardware. At 12% for the first contract and only 6% in years after, it takes an awful lot of users to make a living selling the Microsoft cloud. Microsoft resellers tend to service the small business, not the enterprise, so it's hard to see how they will benefit from this pricing scheme, except if they can tack on additional server service fees to the sales. In that case, buyers beware.

Even so, a much bigger concern for all users will be data portability. How will Microsoft "lock in" its customers once they move to the cloud? Will it hold customer data for ransom, or will a customer be able to grab its data and switch vendors anytime it wants to?

Exchange Server 2003

2008-07-08T07:56:00.000-07:00

Exchange Server 2003 (v6.5) debuted on September 28, 2003. Exchange Server 2003 (currently at Service Pack 2) can be run on Windows 2000 Server (only if Service Pack 4 is first installed) and 32-bit Windows Server 2003, although some new features only work with the latter. Like Windows Server 2003, Exchange Server 2003 has many compatibility modes to allow users to slowly migrate to the new system. This is useful in large companies with distributed Exchange Server environments who cannot afford the downtime and expense that comes with a complete migration.
One of the new features in Exchange Server 2003 is enhanced disaster recovery which allows administrators to bring the server online quicker. This is done by allowing the server to send and receive mail while the message stores are being recovered from backup. Some features previously available in the Microsoft Mobile Information Server 2001/2002 products have been added to the core Exchange Server product, like Outlook Mobile Access and server-side ActiveSync, while the Mobile Information Server product itself has been dropped. Better anti-virus and anti-spam protection have also been added, both by providing built-in APIs that facilitate filtering software and built-in support for the basic methods of originating IP address, SPF ("Sender ID"), and DNSBL filtering which were standard on other open source and *nix-based mail servers. Also new is the ability to drop inbound e-mail before being fully processed, thus preventing delays in the message routing system. There are also improved message and mailbox management tools, which allow administrators to execute common chores more quickly. Others, such as Instant Messaging and Exchange Conferencing Server have been extracted completely in order to form separate products. Microsoft now appears to be positioning a combination of Microsoft Office, Microsoft Office Live Communications Server, Live Meeting and SharePoint as its collaboration software of choice. Exchange Server is now to be simply e-mail and calendaring.
Source:wikipedia.org

Exchange server support

2008-06-30T09:36:00.000-07:00

As Windows Server 2008 adoption becomes more widespread many of my clients are asking me about the Windows Server Backup tool and the differences between it and old school NT Backup. The most obvious is that it's a simple backup tool and not at all application aware. In other words when you set it to backup an Exchange server it won't know to truncate logs or create a restorable backup of an Exchange database. According to a recent post by the Microsoft Exchange team this is by design.

Right after we shipped Service Pack 1, we started hearing from customers who were upset with the fact that they cannot take Exchange-aware online backups with Windows Server Backup. These customers had enjoyed the integration of Exchange and Windows Backup (NT Backup) for many years, and for many versions of Exchange and Windows. We also saw quite a but of discussion activity on this issue in various Exchange communities (this blog, internal discussion groups, MVP and MCT communities, etc.).

They also added they are planning to release a VSS-based plug-in for Server Backup that will be Exchange aware. Al thought most enterprises choose a more robust backup solution like Microsoft DPM or Veritas/Symantec, many SMB customers are used to the local NTBackup paradigm and see no reason to change. I think this move by MSFT is a smart one and I applaud their effort to respond quickly to a perceived deficiency in their flagship Server product.