Microsoft Exchange Server Troubleshooting

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;

1. 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.


2. 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.


3. 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.


4. 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.


5. 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.


6. 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.

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Gaps found in Microsoft Exchange API documentation

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

Entourage to Exchange Web Services (EWS) Open to Public

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