Ehlo All,
One of Exchange Server 2010's best new features is Database Availability Groups. This is a high availability solution for mailbox servers. So, while Microsoft advertises how you can use JBOD and no RAID for disk subsystems for Exchange Server 2010 Mailbox Servers (see the Microsoft User Group presentation on this topic), there is one weakness with this. DAG does not work for Public Folders. So, do not put your Public Folder database on a non-RAID Mailbox Server. Plan on deploying a mailbox server that runs the Public Folder database with a well protected and appropriate disk subsystem. This is unfortunate especially since every Exchange environment deployment I've seen and worked on uses Public Folders. Maybe a future service pack or E15 can fix this. This isn't an easy fix though due to how Outlook clients communicate with Exchange 2010 though. Stay tuned.
-Ben
Sunday, November 22, 2009
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
Exchange Server 2010 OWA - Missing Feature (adding notes) and Clarifcation of Multi-Browser Support
Ehlo All,
During last night's NY Exchange Server User Group meeting after Angi Livermore's excellent Exchange Server 2010 HA technical presentation and demo, I gave a demo comparing Exchange 2007 Outlook Web Access to Exchange 2010 Outlook Web App and found a missing feature. I initially called it a bug, but I bet you Microsoft omitted the feature to release the product sooner. So, while 2010 OWA add some new features (below), the loss of adding notes is a major pain point. Also, a clarification of the multi-browser support.
Some New Features for OWA 2010
Missing Feature for OWA 2010
Exchange 2010 OWA Premium Mode - attempting to add a Note. Click to view full image.
.
Exchange 2007 OWA Premium Mode - adding a Note is possible. Click to view full image.
I'm a big fan of OWA and the new support for Firefox, but the lack of adding notes is a pain since I heavily use notes. Hopefully Microsoft fixes this as soon as possible.
-Ben
During last night's NY Exchange Server User Group meeting after Angi Livermore's excellent Exchange Server 2010 HA technical presentation and demo, I gave a demo comparing Exchange 2007 Outlook Web Access to Exchange 2010 Outlook Web App and found a missing feature. I initially called it a bug, but I bet you Microsoft omitted the feature to release the product sooner. So, while 2010 OWA add some new features (below), the loss of adding notes is a major pain point. Also, a clarification of the multi-browser support.
Some New Features for OWA 2010
- Premium mode for non-IE browsers. Firefox on Windows, Mac, and Linux. Safari on the Mac. Safari does NOT work on Windows. I tested this with Safari 4.0.3 (531.9.1) on XP SP3. Safari on Windows is OWA Light only.
- Favorite Folders. Ability to add a Favorite folder. These are shown in the top left. Favorite Folders from Outlook to OWA are not shared.
- Ability for end user's to view email delivery reports. No more end users saying "did my email arrive yet?". The delivery report shows date and time the email left the Exchange Server organization and was delivered to an outside email server.
- Threaded email message conversations. All related emails are saved under one message (thread) in your Inbox. This is similar to how gmail's email conversation work or will exist in Outlook 2010 when it's released.
- Multiple Calendars. You can view multiple calendars in OWA and send a calendar share request from within OWA.
- Ability for the end user to change AD attributes [phone #, address, etc]. As per Angi, admins can disable this functionality.
Missing Feature for OWA 2010
- Unable to post a note. This existed in OWA 2003 and 2007. Below are screen shots showing this. This was tested using Microsoft's Exchange Server 2010 UC Trial Service. I debated replicated this with the RTM, but haven't had a chance. I mentioned this to a Microsoft rep to confirm this issue. If you notice, the only 2 drop-down options when in the Notes folder is to create an email message or meeting request.
Exchange 2010 OWA Premium Mode - attempting to add a Note. Click to view full image.
.
Exchange 2007 OWA Premium Mode - adding a Note is possible. Click to view full image.
I'm a big fan of OWA and the new support for Firefox, but the lack of adding notes is a pain since I heavily use notes. Hopefully Microsoft fixes this as soon as possible.
-Ben
Recap from November NY Exchange Server User Group Meeting - Exchange 2010 High Availability Technical Presentation and Demo
Ehlo All,
[UPDATED 11/18/09: Added PPTX presentation. See URL below.]
If you missed last night's NY Exchange Server User Group meeting presented by Angi Livermore of Microsoft and official presenter at the NYC Launch Event for Exchange Server 2010 a few weeks ago, you missed one of our best of all time.
Here are some highlights:
- Exchange Server 2010 technical demo of High Availability (called Database Availability Groups). Presentation by Angi can be found here [PDF] or here [PPTX - more clear version].
- most number of attendees (50) at a meeting ever!
- standing room only (we ran out of chairs)
- during my demo of OWA 2007 versus 2010, I found a bug in Exchange 2010 OWA relating to posting Notes. It's not possible based on the 2010 OWA provided by Microsoft for UC Trials. Oops. I'll blog about this later.
Other Notes from the meeting
- OS requirements to run Exchange Server 2010 DAG feature is Windows Server 2008 and later AND Enterprise Server or higher.
- Clone a VM, no need to change the SID. The application we all know called NewSID is not necessary anymore. Turns out it was a myth! NewSID developer (who now works for Microsoft) explains in this blog posting.
- Exchange 2007 will be supported on Windows 2008 R2. Microsoft reversed course on this. Microsoft Exchange Team stating such on this blog posting.
-Ben
[UPDATED 11/18/09: Added PPTX presentation. See URL below.]
If you missed last night's NY Exchange Server User Group meeting presented by Angi Livermore of Microsoft and official presenter at the NYC Launch Event for Exchange Server 2010 a few weeks ago, you missed one of our best of all time.
Here are some highlights:
- Exchange Server 2010 technical demo of High Availability (called Database Availability Groups). Presentation by Angi can be found here [PDF] or here [PPTX - more clear version].
- most number of attendees (50) at a meeting ever!
- standing room only (we ran out of chairs)
- during my demo of OWA 2007 versus 2010, I found a bug in Exchange 2010 OWA relating to posting Notes. It's not possible based on the 2010 OWA provided by Microsoft for UC Trials. Oops. I'll blog about this later.
Other Notes from the meeting
- OS requirements to run Exchange Server 2010 DAG feature is Windows Server 2008 and later AND Enterprise Server or higher.
- Clone a VM, no need to change the SID. The application we all know called NewSID is not necessary anymore. Turns out it was a myth! NewSID developer (who now works for Microsoft) explains in this blog posting.
- Exchange 2007 will be supported on Windows 2008 R2. Microsoft reversed course on this. Microsoft Exchange Team stating such on this blog posting.
-Ben
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
Article - Discussing Leapfrogging from 2003 to 2010
Ehlo All,
This is a good non-technical article from SearchExchange.com that discusses IT admins that have gone from Exchange Server 2003 to 2010 and others that are considering it. Hence bypassing Exchange 2007. I would agree with this, since the biggest change involved in moving to 2007 or 2010 is the x64 operating system. Once you have planned for x64, make the jump if you can to 2010. Jumping from 2003 to 2007 improves I/O by 70%, while going from 2003 to 2010 improves I/O by 90%. So, this will allow you to support more users on a single server than before. One of the big cost savings in upgrading.
The only word of caution is make sure your Exchange eco-system software is supported (e.g. backups, spam filtering, archiving, replication, mobile messaging [aka BlackBerry], etc). Jumping Exchange versions typically requires software upgrade especially for a x64 operating system.
-Ben
This is a good non-technical article from SearchExchange.com that discusses IT admins that have gone from Exchange Server 2003 to 2010 and others that are considering it. Hence bypassing Exchange 2007. I would agree with this, since the biggest change involved in moving to 2007 or 2010 is the x64 operating system. Once you have planned for x64, make the jump if you can to 2010. Jumping from 2003 to 2007 improves I/O by 70%, while going from 2003 to 2010 improves I/O by 90%. So, this will allow you to support more users on a single server than before. One of the big cost savings in upgrading.
The only word of caution is make sure your Exchange eco-system software is supported (e.g. backups, spam filtering, archiving, replication, mobile messaging [aka BlackBerry], etc). Jumping Exchange versions typically requires software upgrade especially for a x64 operating system.
-Ben
Saturday, November 7, 2009
Windows Server 2008 Core Supports VMware Tools Installation
Ehlo All,
Enjoy the tip,
Wednesday, November 4, 2009
Exchange 2007 will support Windows 2008 R2
Hello All,
The Microsoft Exchange Team announced today (11/4/09) that Exchange 2007 will be supported under Windows Server 2008 R2 once an update is released for this. Originally, it was not going to be supported, but MS changes their mind. Full details can be found here.
http://msexchangeteam.com/archive/2009/11/04/453026.aspx
Enjoy,
-Ben
The Microsoft Exchange Team announced today (11/4/09) that Exchange 2007 will be supported under Windows Server 2008 R2 once an update is released for this. Originally, it was not going to be supported, but MS changes their mind. Full details can be found here.
http://msexchangeteam.com/archive/2009/11/04/453026.aspx
Enjoy,
-Ben
Testing out Microsoft's Hyper-V R2 for uptime comparison to VMware's Hypervisor
Ehlo All,
I believe that virtualizing Exchange and other servers has more advantages than disadvantages. So, while VMware is the leader in the space (w/ESX and ESXi) and this is what I deploy clients using, I realize the Microsoft virtualization solutions (w/Hyper-V) will gain a significant market share in the coming years. So, I decided it was time to start to test it out. Specifically, I wanted to see how often it needed a reboot due to Windows updates and the stability of the OS.
Since a hypervisor reboot requires pausing all VMs, it's a real distruption. I realize you could move all the VMs, but that means you need 2 hypervisor servers. Sometimes clients do not have this. So, I wanted to see the stability/uptime of just the hypervisor. I know my ESX(i) can go easily months if not years without a reboot since it's a hardened OS and there are very few security updates. Curious to see how Hyper-V would fare compared to this. Keep in mind, if you loaded the full Windows 2008 Server and then added the Hyper-V Role, it would need to be rebooted a LOT due to all the extra software loaded inthe OS. So, I feel this is more of an apples (Hyper-V R2 standalone hypervisor version) to apples (ESX/ESXi) comparison.
Since it's a free product (similar to ESXi) and anyone can download it. I downloaded the free Microsoft Hyper-V Server 2008 R2 on 11/4/09. It was released on 8/28/09.
Download Microsoft Hyper-V Server 2008 R2
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=48359dd2-1c3d-4506-ae0a-232d0314ccf6&displaylang=en
Installed it in a VM on my ESXi 3.5 host and then ran the Hyper-V R2 updates. It found 4. 2 were important, and the other 2 were worthless (application compatibility for games, etc). I installed these 2 below. Both updates required reboots.
http://www.microsoft.com/technet/security/bulletin/MS09-059.mspx
KB975467 - Important - DoS via magic packet
http://www.microsoft.com/technet/security/bulletin/MS09-056.mspx
KB974571 - Important - Spoofing attack
I modified the resource allocation on my ESXi deployment, since this VM doesn't need to be a normal/high priority for ram and cpu. We shall see what happens.
-Ben
I believe that virtualizing Exchange and other servers has more advantages than disadvantages. So, while VMware is the leader in the space (w/ESX and ESXi) and this is what I deploy clients using, I realize the Microsoft virtualization solutions (w/Hyper-V) will gain a significant market share in the coming years. So, I decided it was time to start to test it out. Specifically, I wanted to see how often it needed a reboot due to Windows updates and the stability of the OS.
Since a hypervisor reboot requires pausing all VMs, it's a real distruption. I realize you could move all the VMs, but that means you need 2 hypervisor servers. Sometimes clients do not have this. So, I wanted to see the stability/uptime of just the hypervisor. I know my ESX(i) can go easily months if not years without a reboot since it's a hardened OS and there are very few security updates. Curious to see how Hyper-V would fare compared to this. Keep in mind, if you loaded the full Windows 2008 Server and then added the Hyper-V Role, it would need to be rebooted a LOT due to all the extra software loaded inthe OS. So, I feel this is more of an apples (Hyper-V R2 standalone hypervisor version) to apples (ESX/ESXi) comparison.
Since it's a free product (similar to ESXi) and anyone can download it. I downloaded the free Microsoft Hyper-V Server 2008 R2 on 11/4/09. It was released on 8/28/09.
Download Microsoft Hyper-V Server 2008 R2
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=48359dd2-1c3d-4506-ae0a-232d0314ccf6&displaylang=en
Installed it in a VM on my ESXi 3.5 host and then ran the Hyper-V R2 updates. It found 4. 2 were important, and the other 2 were worthless (application compatibility for games, etc). I installed these 2 below. Both updates required reboots.
http://www.microsoft.com/technet/security/bulletin/MS09-059.mspx
KB975467 - Important - DoS via magic packet
http://www.microsoft.com/technet/security/bulletin/MS09-056.mspx
KB974571 - Important - Spoofing attack
I modified the resource allocation on my ESXi deployment, since this VM doesn't need to be a normal/high priority for ram and cpu. We shall see what happens.
-Ben
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