To keep the Exchange database healthy, it is important to make sure that online maintenance and online maintenance and online defragmentation are running properly, or are at least conforming to Microsoft's recommendations. Ben shows how easy it is to automate the maintenance and monitor the defragmentation task.… Read more
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
In his previous article "Hyper-V, an introduction" Jaap Wesselius explained about the Hypervisor, the parent partition, the child partition, and Integration Components. In this article Jaap discusses installing Hyper-V, all kinds of Virtual Hard Disks, Virtual Networks, and some best practices.… Read more
There are a number of features in Exchange that can be used in creative ways to solve problems in Exchange as they crop up. Ben Lye recently found a great use for Messaging Records Management when hit hit the problem of a meeting-room mailbox that stopped replying to booking requests. Here he shows how to apply policies that apply to all folders of a particular type, and how to schedule a regular task to do it.… Read more
Of course, changing a 32,000 mailbox system, based in 40 Exchange Servers, to a centralised 25,000 mailbox solution is not a difficult task as long as you follow the Microsoft guidelines; It just takes patience, and time to understand Exchange's storage design principles. Jaap describes the design process and shares his experiences with the chosen server hardware.… Read more
Cluster continuous replication (CCR) is a means of providing a more resilient email system with faster recovery. It was introduced in Microsoft Exchange Server 2007 and uses log shipping and failover. The host-name feature of Exchange 2007 Service Pack 1 and the use of multiple redundant private network interfaces can improve the effectiveness of CCR.… Read more
It isn't easy to measure the consumption of physical resources by servers in virtual machines, since each partition has its' own virtualised view of system resources. Not only that, but there is a subtle difference between virtual processors and physical processors. Brien Posey explains the special performance counters that can be used to get an accurate assessment, and goes on to describe how to test your physical servers to see if they are good candidates for virtualization. … Read more
Global Address Lists in MS Exchange can cause problems because the first person in the list often gets the reply. Ben Lye shows how one can eliminate any such problems with Global Address lists by creating a mail contact, a transport rule and a custom Delivery Status Notification.… Read more
For SQL Server and Exchange Server, Windows Server Virtualization is going to be increasingly important as a way for the administrator to allocate hardware resources in the most efficient way, to offer more robust services, and for deploying services. Jaap Wesellius starts his new series on Hyper-V by explaining what Hyper-V is, how it relates to Windows Server 2008 and how it compares to ESX, Virtual Server and Virtual PC. .… Read more
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
The advantage of virtualizing your servers is that it helps you make better use of your hardware resources, and reduces some of your licensing costs, However, there are disadvantages: With Exchange server, it isn't always obvious as to which server roles are suitable for virtualization, and it is rather hard to work out what system resources a virtual server is actually using. Brien Posey explains… Read more
When information is exchanged in XML format, you need an agreement between the sender and receiver about the structure and content of the XML document. This "agreement" takes the form of an XSD (XML Schema Definition Language) Schema. Jacob Sebastian's book explains all...… Read more
'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
For many years, everyone involved in the administration of offices has wished that there was a way of combining the voicemail, fax, the PBX with the Exchange Email system, particularly for highly mobile users. . With Exchange Server 2007, this has now become a reality. Even though it forces the Exchange Administrator to become familiar with telephony, the benefits are such that it is well worth the effort.… Read more
With an Exchange Server, how do you measure performance? How, in particular do you do about measuring your disk subsystem's performance? Whereas the CPU Usage and Memory usage are both easy to measure, the measurement of disk performance is often described as a 'black art'. In fact it isn't so difficult, as Michael Smith explains… Read more
Brien Posey ponders an 'off the cuff' remark that Exchange 2007 runs so well with a default configuration that you don't even have to worry about optimizing Exchange any more. He decides that there is actually plenty that can be done to help Exchange to perform even better… Read more
Microsoft now supports running Exchange Server 2007 in server virtualization environments, not just on Hyper-V, but on any virtualizing solution that is validated in the Server Virtualization Validation Program. Before virtualizing Exchange Server, you will need to be clear about the business advantages, and consider the size of the installation, otherwise the results can be a disappointment… Read more
In this new column giving practical advice on all things Sys Admin related, Ben Lye takes on the often difficult task of keeping track of mobile device activity… Read more
In Exchange Server 2007, Information Rights management is easy to set up once you have set up the prerequisites. It is also much cheaper, and easier to use. This is just as well, because of the increasing statutory regulations to prevent the mishandling of confidential information in emails… Read more
