Ben Lye

Ben Lye is a senior systems administrator at a multi-national software company. He has over 10 years experience supporting and administering Windows and Exchange, and has been MCSE and MCP certified since 1999. Ben is passionate about automating and streamlining routine tasks, and enjoys creating and using tools which make day-to-day administration easier.

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26 August 2010
26 August 2010

Identifying Exchange ActiveSync Users with PowerShell

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Just recently, a problem involving the iPhone/iPod's synchronisation process with Exchange 2007, made it necessary for Exchange Administrators to alert various mail users to upgrade to the latest version of Apple's iOS 4. Ben shows how easily he was able to do this for his organisation, using Exchange's Management Shell with PowerShell and some Exchange cmdlets.… Read more
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06 May 2010
06 May 2010

Troubleshooting Windows Blue Screen Errors

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The so-called 'Blue Screen of Death' has inspired fear in the hearts of mere mortals, but Systems Administrators are expected be capable of casually beating back this sinister beast. So imagine Ben Lye's distress when he discovered that many aspiring SysAdmins had no structured approach to tackling the root of the problem. Setting out to remedy the situation, Ben lays out a simple 3-step plan, and dispenses some good advice.… Read more
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09 February 2010
09 February 2010

Active Directory Snapshots with Windows Server 2008

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Snapshots are a useful feature of Windows Server 2008. Taking a snapshot of Active Directory as a scheduled task can prove to be a wise precaution in case disaster strikes. Once they are mounted, they can be accessed by any LDAP tool which allows the user to specify a host name and port number. Ben Lye shows how you can restore attributes to a large numbers of broken distribution groups from a snapshot.… Read more
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17 December 2009
17 December 2009

Customizing the Outlook Address Book

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It is possible to change the fields in the Outlook address book to make them a better fit for your organisation. Exchange provides templates for Users, Contacts, Groups, Public Folders, and Mailbox Agents that are downloaded to Outlook. Any changes will be visible in the address book. As usual with Exchange, careful planning before you make changes pays dividends, Ben Lye explains. … Read more
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19 November 2009
19 November 2009

Implementing Windows Server 2008 File System Quotas

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File system Quotas are used to restrict the amount of space users can consume or to report on the space consumed by them. They are useful for reporting on those users or folders that are consuming large amounts of disk space on a file server. Ben Lye shows that File system quotas are quick and easy to set up, with three different methods available for configuring them… Read more
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08 October 2009
08 October 2009

Using Group Policy to Restrict the use of PST Files

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Outlook PST files are a problem for Exchange users, and give no benefits over Exchange mailboxes. You have to use them on a local drive, they are difficult to back up, and tricky for the administrator to manage. It is possible to use Exchange Group Policy settings to limit the use of PST files, and thereby alleviate some of the difficulties they cause. … Read more
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29 July 2009
29 July 2009

Restricting Outlook Client Versions in Exchange 2007

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There are good reasons for preventing old versions of Outlook from connecting to Exchange Server. You'll probably, at least, want to do it for security. Before you do so, you'll also need know what versions are out there being used so you can make sure that blocking of legitimate users is prevented. Ben Lye explains how it is done. explains … Read more
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08 May 2009
08 May 2009

Emulating the Exchange 2003 RUS for Out-of-Band Mailbox Provisioning in Exchange 2007

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Exchange's Recipient Update Service was important in Exchange 2000 or 2003 in order to complete the provisioning or updating of mailboxes created from an out-of-band process or from an Active Directory User. In Exchange 2007, full provisioning is automatic, but the functionality can replaced by Powershell scripting if it is required.… Read more
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27 March 2009
27 March 2009

Message Tracking in Exchange 2007

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'Where did my mail go?' In order to answer this question, to troubleshoot mail problems and to analyse mail flow, the Exchange administrator can use message-tracking logs. Ben Lye elaborates on these essential logs and explains how you can use Powershell commands to search them for those emails that have gone adrift.… Read more
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