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
Showing posts with label Microsoft Exchange Server 2007. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Microsoft Exchange Server 2007. Show all posts
Monday, March 23, 2009
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
Microsoft Exchange Server and PowerShell: Debate Continues
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
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
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
Microsoft Exchange Server Implementation & configuration
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
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
Friday, December 26, 2008
Virtualization of Microsoft Exchange Server
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
Thursday, December 4, 2008
Microsoft Exchange Server 2007 Service Pack 1 Security features
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
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
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