Logu info

Escape from Expensive Licensing: RemoteApp

2011-08-09T23:01:00.001+05:30

Nowadays, the cost involved in the user license for some applications are too high. But off course we cannot avoid this, but for an extent can be minimized smartly by using the RemoteApp. Though RemoteApp is not the first to exist, prior can be done via Citrix.

For example just think about common application used internally which has the per user license, can be published in RemoteApp, in turn used for n number of users.

But there are high end application cover this loop holes, their licensing terms have the virtualizing license terms and also blocked the feasibility of terminal session publish options. As long as the application allows as to work smoothly in RemoteApp, no harm in using it. This can save some serious money for your organization.

Thanks

Logan

Directory Partitions in Active Directory:

2011-08-09T22:53:00.003+05:30

We will discuss on the directory partitions in active directory and its purpose served in the windows domain environment. The active directory database is logically separated into directory partitions:

• Schema partition

• Configuration partition

• Domain partition

• Application partition

Each partition is a unit of replication, and each partition has its own replication topology. Replication occurs between replicas of directory partition. Minimum two directory partitions are common among all domain controllers in the same forest: the schema and configuration partitions. All domain controllers which are in the same domain, in addition, share a common domain partition.

Schema Partition

1. Only one schema partition exists per forest.

2. The schema partition is stored on all domain controllers in a forest.

3. The schema partition contains definitions of all objects and attributes that you can create in the directory, and the rules for creating and manipulating them.

4. Schema information is replicated to all domain controllers in the attribute definitions.

Configuration Partition

1. There is only one configuration partition per forest.

2. Second on all domain controllers in a forest.

3. The configuration partition contains information about the forest-wide active directory structure including what domains and sites exist, which domain controllers exist in each forest, and which services are available.

4. Configuration information is replicated to all domain controllers in a forest.

Domain Partition

1. Many domain partitions can exist per forest.

2. Domain partitions are stored on each domain controller in a given domain.

3. A domain partition contains information about users, groups, computers and organizational units.

4. The domain partition is replicated to all domain controllers of that domain. All objects in every domain partition in a forest are stored in the global catalog with only a subset of their attribute values.

Application Partition

1. Application partitions store information about application in Active Directory.

2. Each application determines how it stores, categorizes, and uses application specific information. To prevent unnecessary replication to specific application partitions, you can designate which domain controllers in a forest host specific application partitions. Unlike a domain partitions, an application partition cannot store security principal objects, such as user accounts. In addition, the data in an application partition is not stored in the global catalog.

As an example of application partition, if you use a Domain Name System (DNS) that is integrated with Active Directory you have two application partitions for DNS zones -- ForestDNSZones and DomainDNSZones:

• ForestDNSZones is part of a forest. All domain controllers and DNS servers in a forest receive a replica of this partition. A forest-wide application partition stores the forest zone data.

• DomainDNSZones is unique for each domain. All domain controllers that are DNS servers in that domain receive a replica of this partition. The application partitions store the domain DNS zone in the DomainDNSZones.

Each domain has a DomainDNSZones partition, but there is only one ForestDNSZones partition. No DNS data is replicated to the global catalog server.

The below are some useful commands related to the application partitions in NTDSUTIL,

Creating and deleting application directory partitions,

#CREATE NC dc=application,dc=example,dc=com server.example.com

#CREATE NC dc=application,dc=example,dc=com null

#DELETE NC dc=application,dc=example,dc=com

Creating and deleting replicas,

#ADD NC REPLICA dc=application,dc=example,dc=com server2.example.com

#ADD NC REPLICA dc=application,dc=example,dc=com null

#REMOVE NC REPLICA dc=application,dc=example,dc=com server2.example.com

#REMOVE NC REPLICA dc=application,dc=example,dc=com null

Defining a replication schedule,

#SET NC REPLICATE NOTIFICATION DELAY dc=application,dc=example,dc=com 10 15

Displaying replica information,

#LIST NC REPLICAS dc=application,dc=example,dc=com

Thanks

Logan

BCP vs DR

2011-08-09T22:34:00.002+05:30

Organizations are only as good as their current system being used. This system encompasses all processes ranging from human capital down to the various aspects of operations such as production, quality assurance and even disaster preparedness. In this regard, an organization can only survive if it employs certain strategies that will make it live longer. Two of these strategies are the BCP and the DR. These two strategies or disciplines are related because both of them help the organization from being disrupted from any untoward variables either internal or external in nature.

BCP is completely known as Business Continuity Planning. The definition of such a term is really easy for the term already speaks of what it is all about ‘“ continuity of the business. It is simply the state of being ready for any unforeseen incident that can disrupt the day to day process or operation of businesses and organizations alike. Hence, it is a good management strategy wherein the organization is ensured that it can always maintain its standards and service levels even if there are some challenges that come its way.

In addition, BCP is a preventive and proactive strategy of ensuring business continuity. It therefore helps in lessening the probable damage that could have resulted if there were no safety preparations employed prior to the incident.

On the other hand, DR or Disaster Recovery is obviously recovering from a disaster. It is the strategy of intelligent recuperation from a negative incident of any magnitude. Thus, DR is simply a reactive approach. It is more of a treatment given to a disease rather than a preventive measure. Nowadays, the trend or focus for both BCP and DR is on the IT or information technology of the organization. With major operations being mostly shouldered by computer applications and automated programs, these businesses prioritize saving or healing their IT system above all else. Any organization will not argue that they really don’t want to be offline or un-powered for a lengthened duration.

All in all, Disaster Recovery or DR is, without a doubt, not similar BCP because:

1. BCP stands for Business Continuity Planning whereas DR is Disaster Recovery.

2. BCP is a proactive strategy whereas DR is a reactive approach.

3. BCP helps prevent and anticipates a disaster or unfavorable incident in advance whereas DR is a strategy that treats or recovers from disasters and the like.

Hope the above is informative.

Thanks

Logan

JBOD vs RAID : Storage

2011-06-25T21:32:00.004+05:30

On the Introduction of DAG in exchange 2010, the cost involved in the storage disks can have the flexible options. The below blog explains the pros and cons of usage of JBOD vs RAID storage.

http://blogs.technet.com/b/exchange/archive/2011/01/07/3411776.aspx

Adding to that, the below is the basic difference between the JBOD and RAID Disks.

Hope the above is informative.

Thanks

Logan

Kaspersky 8 Update Availability – forefront SP2 Rollup

2011-06-16T00:18:00.005+05:30

The below are some information for the exchange administrators on up gradation of forefront SP2 rollup3 for getting the Kaspersky engine 8 update.

1. Upgradation is an straight forward process, don’t panic after the up gradation also the engine folder name and in GUI mgt console it shows as kaspersky5 though the engine kaspersky8. As per Microsoft “The Kaspersky engine's names incorporates the version number '5'. Even after installing this hotfix rollup, the engine name for Kaspersky will still be "Kaspersky5" in both logs and within the Forefront Administrator client. This is purely a cosmetic issue and does not affect functionality.” So it’s fine.

2. New Engine updates are quite bigger in size compared to the old engines. So the default scan engine update time needs to be increased in the server through regedit. Also the incremental type of engine download is not available with rollup2, whereas rollup3 does have incremental type engine update

HKLM\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Microsoft\Forefront Server Security\Exchange Server

•Open Regedit

•Navigate to the following key:

HKLM\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Microsoft\Forefront Server Security\Exchange Server

•Click New DWORD Value

•Type EngineDownloadTimeout, and then press ENTER

•Right-click the new value and select Modify

•Select Decimal as the base, enter 600 in the Value data box, and then click OK. This setting causes the scan engine download process to time out after 600 seconds (10 minutes, instead of 5 minutes)

•Exit Regedit

3. On cluster make sure LocalEngineMapping.cab has been copied to the shared resource location else the engine update will fail in the clustered mailbox servers. For other roles, the file will be automatically updated in the correct installation folder itself.

As mentioned in the Microsoft site,

To install the hotfix rollup on a SCC cluster, choose one of the following methods:

Method 1

To install this particular hotfix on a SCC cluster, you should perform upgrades on all active nodes first. Setup will prompt you to allow it to take resources offline and bring them back online automatically. Check that all resources are online, and that all Forefront and Exchange services have been started afterwards. You should manually bring resources online / start services, if necessary. Once you have upgraded the active nodes, do not failover. Finally, upgrade each passive node in turn.

Installing on all active nodes first means that Forefront will be able to access the DatabasePath location, where it needs to copy a file to (LocalEngineMapping.cab).

Method 2

If you prefer not to upgrade on active nodes, you may perform a “rolling upgrade” where you install on each node only when it is in a passive state. This involves performing a series of failovers, so that each node has a chance to become passive. Once all nodes have been upgraded, you must copy LocalEngineMapping.cab from each active node’s local installation to the shared disk folder for the CMS. Forefront needs this file in the following shared disk location, in order to be able to upgrade the Kaspersky engine to version 8.

Copy LocalEngineMapping.cab from each active node’s local installation (source) to its shared disk folder (target):

Source location: \Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Forefront Security\Exchange Server

Target location: \ForefrontCluster\Engines\

Notes:

a. There is no need to restart any services or failover the cluster after you have copied LocalEngineMapping.cab to the shared disk folder.

b. If you do not copy LocalEngineMapping.cab to the shared disk folder, Forefront will continue to try to update version 5 of the Kaspersky engine (which will be retired by Microsoft after 31st January 2011).

4. After the up gradation, if the old obsolete engines are still showing, then try renaming the scandisk.fdb and template.fdb (after stopping the forefront services). On restarting the service rebuild the two files, thereby will get the latest working engines alone.

5. In case of any engine update failure, check progromlog.txt which captures the complete engine update events with timestamp and neat descriptions.

Hope the information is useful.

Thanks

Logan

BB device troubleshooting - client side

2011-06-15T23:43:00.003+05:30

The below is the basic first level troubleshooting needs to be done in the BB device client side.

1. Check the signal strength.

2. Checking the wireless network connection setting

If the signal is good, there is no need to check the wireless network connection setting, but when the signal is down make sure the wireless network options are set. Check in Menu --> Options --> Mobile network options --> Make sure data services is on (mobile network and network selection mode is set appropriately)

3. Check the availability of the PIN Number in the device. Device --> option --> status --> will find 8 digit alphanumeric PIN Number. If you don’t find the pin number, try to register the device by going to Device --> option --> advanced options --> Host routing table --> press menu key and choose register. This will register your device in the BB RIM and the new unique PIN number will be generated, still if you have the issue in getting the PIN Number, then the problem is with the device and needs to be checked with the vendor.

4. Can check the mail flow from the BB device itself to the same connected user account or can send test PIN message to the same device account.

5. If you're having mail or messaging issues, or any other BlackBerry performance problems, you should resend your device's service books.

6. We can use the Blackberry device manager for synchronizing the BB device with the server i.e., outlook email client.

If the above are fine, then troubleshooting needs to be done at the BES server side like BESAdmin account permission, mailbox quota check, BB device last contact time, BB detailed event logs and goes on. Probably I will document an article on that front in the near future.

Hope the above information is useful.

Thanks

Logan

Blackberry OS Installation/Upgradation:

2011-06-15T23:35:00.000+05:30

This article explains the installation/upgradation of the blackberry Smartphones.

1. Connect the device and take the complete backup of the BB device using the Blackberry Desktop Manager and check the backup data for entries of contacts, messages, etc.

2. Disconnect the Device.

3. Download the Blackberry device OS from Blackberry website for the appropriate model and also chose the appropriate provider (exe file).

4. Run downloaded exe file and it gets extract the files in the location (C:\Program Files\Common Files\Research In Motion\Shared\Loader Files) by default.

For example: it creates the folder 8300-v4.5.0.174_P2.7.0.105 for the device 8300 BB device.

5. Select the application loader option in Blackberry Desktop manager and choose the update software | click start.

6. Connect the device and it should detect and the device model will be shown in the drop down menu.

7. Its check the device and gives the list of application and language setting before starting the installation, leave the default value and choose next.

8. Process takes around 30-60 minutes to complete. During the course of installation, it also takes the backup and restore after the OS upgrade.

9. At the end of the successful installation and unplug the device and check for the latest version and data.

Note:

Make sure Blackberry device battery level and also computer power are good before starting the installation.

Thanks

Logan

New features in the unified messaging of Exchange 2010

2011-03-07T19:03:00.004+05:30

Hi Friends,

In this article, let’s see the new features in the unified messaging of Exchange 2010.

The following is a list of new Unified Messaging features that have been included in Exchange 2010:

Personal auto attendants (call answering rules)
Additional language support including in Outlook Voice Access and Voice Mail Preview
Enhancements to name lookup from caller ID
Voice Mail Preview
Messaging Waiting Indicator
Missed call and voice mail notifications using text messaging (SMS)
Protected Voice Mail
Built-in Unified Messaging administrative roles

For more information about the new Unified Messaging functionality and new voice mail features.

Functional Descriptions

Voice Mail Preview: Exchange Server 2010 will facilitate the cumbersome task of navigating through voice messages. With Exchange Server 2010 speech-to-text translation, the user can read the contents of the audio recording in the same fashion they would read an e-mail. Furthermore, if the resulting voice messages are opened using Microsoft Office Outlook 2010, the text of the voice mail preview will become "actionable". Recognized names, contacts, and phone numbers will all be identified with icons that the user can select to add contacts, call using Office Communicator, or send e-mail. To facilitate navigation of the audio, clicking in the text will cause the voice mail to jump to that word and continue playing.

Protected Voice Mail: Exchange Server 2010 solves the problem of unauthorized distribution of the messages by securing the message content, specifying the users who may access that content, and the operations that they may perform on it. It uses Active Directory Rights Management Services to apply Do Not Forward permissions to voice messages that are designated either by the sender (by marking the message as private) or by administrative policy. This prevents the forwarding of protected voice mails in a playable form to unauthorized persons, whatever the mail client used.

Message Waiting Indicator (MWI): Now with Unified Messaging, users are notified of the presence of new/unread voice mail by lighting the lamp and providing a count on their supported desk phone. Additionally, users can configure their text messaging notification account to receive the beginning content of the voice mail preview in the SMS.

Auto Attendant: Users are often looking for a person in an organization, but are unsure of the extension or exact phone information. Exchange Unified Messaging's Auto Attendant enables users to easily navigate to the person they are trying to reach when calling an organization with either the telephone keypad or speech inputs to navigate the menu structure, place a call to a user, or locate a user and then place a call to that user. An auto attendant gives you the ability to:

Create a customizable set of menus for callers
Define informational greetings, business hours greetings, non-business hours greetings, and holiday schedules
Describe how to search the organization's directory and connect to a user's extension
Enable external users to call the operator

Call Answering Rules: Unified Messaging enables users to have more control over their call flows. For a salesman, this could mean the difference between sending an important sales lead to his voice mail instead of finding him on his cell phone or home phone. Call Answering Rules present callers with custom greetings, Find-Me, and call transfer options, in addition to leaving a voice mail. Moreover, these rules can be preceded by conditions (such as caller-IDs, time-of -day and Exchange free/busy status), giving end-users greater control over how they can be reached over the phone.

Outlook Voice Access: Users now have control over their Inbox with Outlook Voice Access via a telephone keypad or voice inputs. This enables anywhere access to their mailbox when a user is away from a computer or Internet-connected device. Now users no longer have need to worry about being late for appointments or being disconnected when traveling, as they can instantly call into their mailbox to manage their calendar, contacts, and e-mail.

Enhanced Caller ID: Users can get more context and information about their callers with Enhanced Caller ID. Callers are often not a part of a user contact list or organization's directory. For these cases, Windows Live Search will be used to try and determine the calling party. If a match is found, the result will be placed on the calling line of the message to better inform the user where the call came from.

Language Support: More users can now listen to and interact with their e-mail and voice mail in their native language or dialect. Exchange Server 2010 offers a broad range of language support with support for 16 languages including three varieties of English, plus Mandarin, Cantonese, European and North American versions of Spanish and French, and several other European languages.

Thanks

Logan

Exchange 2010: DAG Features

2011-02-01T00:30:00.002+05:30

Hi friends,

It’s been a while since I wrote an article, busy with the office work. Let’s move on. This article gives you what is DAG and its new feature and how it is different from the previous exchange versions.

Database Availability Group is one of the most expected new features of Exchange 2010. Microsoft has invested more time in reviewing the high availability feature of the mailbox resources.

Reason for the DAG:

1. In multisite CCR Cluster solution, the complexity in case of failures are more and especially in site resilience scenarios.

2. Features like CCR, SCC and SCR in exchange 2007 was not designed for the site resilience in the multi-site environment.

3. Hard time for engineers in handling the windows cluster dependent issues in failovers in multisite environment.

So conclusion, Simple and improved method for high availability feature is indeed a must on Exchange 2010.

Features removed from Exchange 2007:

1. No CMS or EVS concept or switches

2. No Storage group.

3. Limitation on having only Clustered Mailbox sever role without any other roles installed.

4. Exchange database is no more with the server level instead moved to Organization level.

5. No need to choose for installation of clusters or non-clustered mailbox at the start, can be done after deploying the server role (can call us incremental feature for deploying).

6. No LCR, SCC, SCR, CCR (but still there is trace of SCR and CCR patterns).

Features retained from Exchange 2007:

1. Uses Enterprise edition for DAG, since it uses limited part of Windows Failover Clustering.

2. Concept of seeding between the storage group copy with the queue length, replay time, etc. are retained in DAG as well.

New features of DAG:

1. They combined the SCR + CCR and derived a framework for high availability called DAG, which will be used for all deployment scenario - local or site or disaster cases.

2. Active Manager is the brain behind the switching/failovers. It is the replacement for the Exres.dll (Exchange Cluster resource DLL) of exchange 2007. There are two components for active manager, one called PAM – Primary Active Manager which decides on the active or passive copies and the other one called SAM – Standby Active manager which detects the failover and inform the PAM to initiate the failover.

3. Incremental Deployment i.e., forming cluster prior installing the exchange 2010 is not necessary anymore.

4. Database has been changed to the organization level from the Server level.

5. Limited dependency on Windows Failover Clustering – no more exchange application related entity are carried by the windows cluster instead you will have the limited dependency of Cluster database, heartbeat and the file share witness.

6. Co-existence with other Exchange roles since Exchange 2007 Clustered mailbox doesn’t work along with any other server roles.

7. Switch/Fail-overs much quicker than in the past.

8. Backup-less: No need to have the extensive backups/backup strategy of mailbox DB of more than 3 copies.

9. Support for DAG members in separate AD sites – member of DAG can be in different AD sites, but of Course should be of same domain within the forest.

10. Change in Log shipping: instead of SMB (Server Message Block) for shipping the log files, it uses the TCP protocol.

11. Availability of Log file Encryption and Log file compression.

12. Support for Public folder database is not supported in DAG instead it uses traditional Public folder replication mechanisms.

13. Truncation lag time value in Exchange 2007 SCR has been changed from 7 days to 14 days in Exchange 2010 DAG.

Hope the above is informative.

Thanks

Logan

"Here you have" worm mail

2010-09-12T17:36:00.005+05:30

Hi friends

"Here you have" worm mails after a decade.. Soon we can expect the update in one of the engine of the Microsoft forefront for exchange.

Can be blocked by putting a rule in the edge server/hub transport using the content filter or by transport rule..

FYI

http://social.technet.microsoft.com/wiki/contents/articles/worm-win32-vb-wf-email-virus-defending-with-forefront-security-forefront-protection-antigen.aspx

http://www.networkworld.com/news/2010/090910-here-you-have-e-mail-worm.html?source=NWWNLE_nlt_daily_am_2010-09-10

Thanks

Logan

SCCM Client : Reassign Sitecode

2010-07-10T23:08:00.002+05:30

Hi Friends,

The below is the script which can be used to assign the sitecode for the SCCM Client PC remotely. There will be a scenario of changing the sitecode in the client computers after implementation of new SCCM server with different sitecode, or may be moving all the users from the earlier SMS to SCCM2007 environment of different sitecode. In this case, we can make use of the below VBScript to change the sitecode in the configuration client (SCCM Client) in all the clients remotely. The below scripts can be deployed using the GPO via Logon Script or using the remote execution of the scripts or even use remote script execution tools. The permission for the execution of the script in the client PC is obvious, for better practice can make use of the same SCCM admin account, which in turn will have the appropriate permission for the script execution.

#######

'replace with your Site Code

sSiteCode = "NEWSITECODE"

sMachine = "."

set oCCMNamespace = GetObject("winmgmts://" & sMachine & "/root/ccm")

Set oInstance = oCCMNamespace.Get("SMS_Client")

set oParams = oInstance.Methods_("SetAssignedSite").inParameters.SpawnInstance_()

oParams.sSiteCode = sSiteCode

oCCMNamespace.ExecMethod "SMS_Client", "SetAssignedSite", oParams

#######

Save the above file with the extension .vbs and replace "NEWSITECODE" with your sitecode accordingly.

Thanks

Logan

logu_microsoft@hotmail.com

Backup and Recovery

2010-07-10T22:58:00.003+05:30

This article gives information about backing up the Blackberry data and also restoration. As we know the BES and exchange are tightly integrated, the real email data’s are stored in the email servers only. In BES server level, the following needs to be backed up

* BES Database of SQL 2005 i.e., BESMgmt Database

* BES User details and Configuration details.

1. BES Database Backup and Restore:

For Blackberry, as we know the database is hosted in the SQL Server. Henceforth can make use of the backup and restore option in the SQL Server itself.

Open the backup console from the SQL 2005 studio express console,

• Go to the concern Database in the console -- right click and select Task -- Backup

• Enter the backup file name and location in the general window.

• Select the options for media writing as required to complete the backup in the option window.

For the restoration same process, select the restore option from the console.

• Select the destination of the latest backup file in the General window.

• Select the appropriate write option to complete the restoration in the option window.

2. Blackberry User Information Backup and restore

The BB user details and Configuration details can be backed up by using the built-in tool called BlackberryBackup.exe. The below is the location of the file,

C:\Program Files\Research In Motion\BlackBerry Enterprise Server\Utility

Note : Here C:\ is the source installed drive.

Backup

### To take the backup of the user information

BlackBerryBackup.exe -b -o C:\BB_Bkp\bb_user.txt -n dxb-bbs-01

### To take the backup of the BES configuration information

BlackBerryBackup.exe -r -o C:\BB_Bkp\bes_conf.txt -n dxb-bbs-01

Note:

-b –o -- Backup (-b) of BB user details to the output file (-o) C:\BB_Bkp\bb_user.txt

-n -- Blackberry servername

-r –o -- Backup (-r) of BB configuration details to the output file (-o) C:\BB_Bkp\bb_conf.txt

Restore

### To restore the user information from the file using the option "-i"

BlackBerryBackup.exe -b -i C:\BB_Bkp\bb_user.txt -n dxb-bbs-01

### To restore the configuration information from the file using the option "-i"

BlackBerryBackup.exe -r -i C:\BB_Bkp\bes_conf.txt -n dxb-bbs-01

Note:

-b –i -- Restore (-b) the BB user details from the input file (-i) C:\BB_Bkp\bb_user.txt

-n -- Blackberry servername

-r –i -- Restore (-r) the BB configuration details from the input file (-i) C:\BB_Bkp\bb_conf.txt

Thanks

Logan

Logu_microsoft@hotmail.com

Blackberry Enterprise Server Deployment

2010-07-10T22:47:00.005+05:30

This article gives you the deployment steps for the Blackberry Enterprise Server in the Exchange Server Environment. Before deploying the BES Server, we need make sure some pre requisite tasks. I have considered Blackberry Enterprise Server 4.2 application and SQL 2005 Std for this article.

1. Existence of functioning exchange 2007 Env and BESadmin Account

Before deploying the BES application, the functioning exchange 2007 is obvious.

1.1 Creation of BB admin account called BESadmin

1. On the computer that hosts Microsoft Exchange, log in as an administrator with the permission to create an account.

2. Open the Microsoft Exchange Management Console.

3. Create a Microsoft Exchange account that is named BESadmin.

1.2 BB Computer Account Permission on BESadmin

On each computer that you plan to install the BlackBerry® Enterprise Server or the BlackBerry Manager on, you must configure the Local Security Policy permissions for the Microsoft® Exchange account that you plan to use to complete the installation.

Without the proper permissions, the BlackBerry Enterprise Server cannot function.

1. Right-click My Computer – Planned BES Server Eg dxb-bbs-01.

2. Click Manage.

3. In the left pane, expand Local Users and Groups.

4. Navigate to the Groups folder.

5. In the right pane, double-click Administrators.

6. Click Add.

7. In the Enter the object names to select field, type BESadmin.

8. Click OK.

9. Click Apply.

10. Click OK.

1.3 BESadmin Account permission on Exchange

Configure Microsoft Exchange 2007 permissions for the Microsoft Exchange account

1. On a computer that hosts the Microsoft® Exchange Management Shell, open the Microsoft Exchange Management Shell.

2. Perform one of the following actions:

• If you are performing the command locally on the Microsoft Exchange 2007 server, type: addexchangeadministrator

"BESAdmin" –role ViewOnlyAdmin

• If you are performing the command from another computer, type: get-mailboxserver

"" | add-exchangeadministrator "BESAdmin" –role ViewOnlyAdmin

3. Type the following command:

get-mailboxserver " " | add-adpermission –user "BESAdmin" –accessrights ExtendedRight –extendedrights Send-As, Receive-As, ms-Exch-Store-Admin

1.4 BB Device Users permission for sending message in exchange

Enable BlackBerry device users to send messages in a Microsoft Exchange 2007 environment. In this case, we are giving the BESadmin account the sendas permission to the domain root, so that all the BB enabled in turn will be able to send message from their BB enabled device.

1. On any computer within your organization's domain, on the taskbar, click Start > Administrative Tools > Active Directory Users and Computers.

2. In the View menu, click Advanced Features.

3. Right-click the domain root.

4. Click Properties.

5. On the Security tab, click Advanced.

6. Click Add.

7. Type BESadmin.

8. Click Check Name.

9. Click OK.

10. In the Apply Onto drop-down list, click User Objects.

11. In the Allow column, select the Send As check box.

12. Click Apply.

13. Click OK.

2. Installing the SQL 2005 for BB Database

• Install the SQL server 2005 with default instance and enter the information of service account which is created for BB management (BESAdmin) while installing the SQL and install the SQL with windows authentication. Apply the latest service pack after the installation for SQL.

• Select all the components and also select the Default Instance for the SQL installation.

• Enter the information of service account created for BB(BESAdmin) for SQL service.

• On Authentication Page, Use the windows authentication mode

• Click Next in all the screens as per the default options and click Install to complete the SQL server installation.

3. BES Installation

Before starting the BES server installation, make sure the below are available with the diskette.

• client access license key

• SRP identifier

• SRP key

• SRP host

1. Click the Setup.exe

2. Enter the Appropriate name and organization, select the region.

3. Accept the license agreement.

4. Select the setup type; choose Blackberry Enterprise Server option which in turn will install all the components like MDS, Router, attachment Service, etc.

5. Accept the apache license agreement page also.

6. Pre install checklist screen.

7. Enter the BB service account name – BESadmin and password. Choose the installation folder and log file folder accordingly.

8. Installation summary and next.

9. Select Continue

10. Press yes to reboot the server and after restarting login as BESadmin and the installation window will start automatically.

11. Database integration part, leave the default values and press next

12. Enter the CAL Key and press next.

13. Enter the SRP Address srp.ae.blackberry.net and use test connection.

14. Enter the SRP info (Damac SRP details)

15. SRP Identifier

16. SRP Authentication Key

17. Leave the host routing information empty.

18. Click Validate SRP key and ID, the window pops up with the exchange server details. Enter the Exchange server name and user name BESadmin.

19. On WAN SRP setting, leave default value and press next.

20. Messaging part, leave the default.

21. Leave the default and press next for the proxy settings.

22. Check the start service option and click “start service” button.

23. It will start all the BB related services and hence the end of the installation process finish.

4. Post Installation Check

4.1 Check the installation logs

Check the installation setup logs in the below location

C:\Program Files\Research In Motion\BlackBerry Enterprise Server\Installer

4.2 Check the MDS connection

Check the MDS connection as below in the server,

Open the explorer – http://localservername:8080 , which opens the Blackberry Mobile Data Service Connection Service Page.

4.3 Checking the Blackberry Server Components

Go to Control panel --> Blackberry Server Configuration, will have all the components details like router, attachment Server, SRP details. In this case, we have installed all in the same server and hence forth it has set all the values by default, no need to change any values.

4.4 Check the Blackberry Manager Console,

Check the console in the program list in the start menu.

4.5 User creation and Mailflow with BB device

Finally, try creating the user profile in the blackberry Manager and check the mailflow with the device.

Thanks

Logan

Logu_microsoft@hotmail.com

SCOM 2007 Deployment

2010-07-03T09:13:00.003+05:30

SCOM – System Center Operation Manager 2007 which is the successor of the MOM – Microsoft Operation Manager 2005, which is used for monitoring the Server, clients in the windows active directory environment. SCOM 2007 can be used for monitoring not only server and clients in the active directory which also includes network devices and other application like Exchange, SQL, ISA, etc. by the means of corresponding available Management Packs shortly called as MP. Deployment of SCOM 2007 is quote an easy task, this article focus on this.

1.Planning:

• Selecting the OS either 2003 or 2008.

• Selection of 32 bit or 64 bit processor (it is important that if you choose the 64 bit and the reliable database package like SQL 2005 must be in 64 bit due to the factor operational database compatibility).

• Operational installation account in AD e.g., ScomAdmin (make password never expires) and related permissions.

• Check the forest and domain functional levels.

2.Pre requisite:

Since the installation first page has the prerequisite option, on clicking that will give you the availability status. Still, the below are the items which needs to be installed before deploying SCOM 2007.

• IIS 6.0 and above (IIS 7.0 needs to select some additional features like iis 6.0 compatibility, basic authentication and few. So better side can select all the features and install )

• SQL 2005 SP2 and above (SQL 2005 SP1 or express version does work for SCOM 2007) and use the ScomAdmin account during the installation of the default instance of SQL.

• Dot Net framework 2.0 with SP2 and above (Dot net framework 3 is better)

• ASP.NET 2.0 and ASP.NET AJAX Extension 1.0

• Using the tool MOMADAdmin.exe tool create a container for operation manager in AD

MOMAdAdmin.exe {Management Group Name} {Ops Mgr admin Group} {Ops Mgr account} {Domain name}

Eg.,

MOMADAdmin.exe OpsMgr ScomAdminGroup ScomAdmin Logan.com

3.SetupOM.exe

Login with the SCOM admin account (SCOM operational account that we created in the AD and also we used the same account during the installation of the SQL as well)

• Select Install operation manager 2007 to start the wizard

• Accept the end license and enter the license key.

• Installation type – choose custom type and select all the components, make sure all components and sun components are selected for installing on the local disk drive.

• Management Group Name : Enter “OpsMgr” (something meaningful and which cannot be changed later)

• User account selection: select ScomAdmin from the AD.

• Database Instance and port (1433) – leave the default values.

• Database and log file option – leave the default values

• Select the Data file and log file location.

• Management Server Action Account: accept the default domain or local account.

• Enter the SDK and Config Service account either domain or local account.(Can use ScomAdmin also)

• On the web console, choose the Windows Authentication

• Microsoft Error reporting option, choose ‘No’ option.

• Customer experience improvement program option.

• Click Install option to start the installation.

• On the end, it will ask for the Encryption key for Backup and restore option (optional).

Thanks

Logan

Logu_microsoft@hotmail.com

New Features in Windows server 2008:

2010-05-04T19:41:00.005+05:30

Hi Friends,
Getting busy on testing out some appl like SCCM 2007 and SCOM made me to stay away from blogging, so thought of writing one.
It’s been quite a time for windows server 2003, people already started using windows server 2008 and are happy with the new features available. This article gives you the new features available in Windows server 2008.
1. Role based installation
Windows server 2008 has quite number of roles in the server manager, which can be installed as when required. The below are the roles,
Active Directory Certificate Services
Active Directory Domain Services
Active Directory Federation Services
Active Directory Lightweight Directory Services
Active Directory Rights Management Services
Application Server
DHCP Server
DNS Server
Fax Server
File Services
Hyper-V
Network Policy and Access Services
Print and Document Services
Remote Desktop Services
Web Services (IIS)
Windows Deployment Services
Windows Server Update Services (WSUS)
In the above some of them are new features, which I will discuss later. Also some of the above features are specific to certain edition of the windows server 2008. Please check out http://www.microsoft.com/windowsserver2008/en/us/r2-compare-roles.aspx
2. Server core
One of the expected feature and most welcomed feature which going to drive Microsoft server OS forward is the server core feature. Like UNIX server environment, you can have the server core shell windows alone, no need of having GUI with fancy GUI drivers. But the optional GUI option also available. The trend of having the single shell for server operation in a Microsoft was a dream for most of the system administrator. This server core installation option allows us to install specific server role like DHCP or Print server. So all server operation can be done sufficiently in command prompt, no more GUI specific configuration stuffs required unlike previous versions.
3. Virtualization – Hyper V
Virtualization enables you to have multiple logical servers in a single server provided with all functionality like networking, dedicated memory, high performance, etc. Since virtualization as a technology is a revelation in IT because of its cost reduction. Already we have application like VMWARE and virtual PC making ways. Hyper V along with the server OS is definitely good. Just to make it interest, please check out the below link
http://www.milesconsultingcorp.com/Hyper-V-versus-VMware-Comparison.ASPX to find the comparison between the VMWARE and Hyper V.
4. Powershell
Powershell was as expected one. Since Powershell started making news from the release of the exchange 2007. The entire administrative task can be done with ease using the Powershell, which makes the system administrator life easier. Powershell has the built-in active directory related cmdlets which can be effectively used for multiple purposes.
5. Right Management Services
Data security has been taken to the next level by means of this service. We don’t have answers for the security on documents which the end users who have the access or the mails which have the sensitive information can be forwarded to anyone outside the organization. This service helps in preventing the above scenarios. Since it is integrated with the active directory helps in providing security for file level and also emails.
6. RODC – Read Only Domain Controllers
It is one of the new features which have excellent features in terms of both functionality and design. It provides solution for the scenario like most of the branch offices DC server lacks the quality administration, henceforth chance are there for poisoning the Home DC by replicating the faulty data’s. This RODC only acts as a Read only DC; it won’t be chance to write any data and resulting in no need of sending any update to the main office. So it is unidirectional update i.e., only from normal DC to RODC. RODC do wonders for multi-site work environment.
7. IIS 7.0
IIS 7.0 has been improved mainly in terms of security when compared to the IIS 6.0. I don’t know much about this application interiors, I leave it to you people to check out the new features from the link http://learn.iis.net/page.aspx/110/changes-between-iis-60-and-iis-7-security/ . These improvements are with respect to Authentication, Authorization, SSL, Web Service Extension Restriction List and IP restrictions.
8. Enhanced Terminal Services – Remote desktop Services
The former terminal service has been renamed to Remote desktop Services and which has been significantly improved. The features are the following.
RemoteApp – Server based remote application programs can be accessed in the local computer using the terminal services, which looks like normal execution of the local application.
Web Access – Using this they will be able to access the remote app programs through internet via browser.
Gateway – Using this feature the user will be able to take the remote connection from the outside LAN i.e., from public provided the TS gateway is configured.
9. Network access protection
Network access protection is the new features which mainly related the security. This policy enables us to have the control over the connection to domain network based upon some threshold compliance, in case of any systems which are sort of the threshold compliance; it will force the missing compliance and then allow the host to connect it to the LAN. For e.g., we have the deployed some security patches for all the users, one of the user who is not part of this activity came after a long vacation. There is a chance for some security lapse; here comes the role of NAP to enforce the missing one.
10. Group Policy Management Improvements.
Group Policy Management has many improvements in account policies, password policies, etc. We have special query option in the GPMC console in order to list out the policies which are set or also no need to search for a particular policy in the hierarchy can be easily searched with the namespace.

11. Windows Deployment Services:

Using this deployment services we can even able to deploy the OS. In previous version, this option was not available and also it can be achieved by application like SCCM. Windows Deployment service use the TFTP protocol and makes it comparatively faster. Moreover it has the option for Autocast or schedulecast deployment.

The above are main new features which come to my mind; Security of the Server OS is definitely improved much when compared to the earlier versions.
Hope the above information is useful.
Thanks
Logan
Logu_microsoft@hotmail.com

New features Available in Exchange Server 2007 SP2:

2010-01-29T13:06:00.004+05:30

Hi friends,

We all know the release of the Exchange 2007 SP2, making news around the corner. The below is the brief information about the new features that are avaiable with the SP2.

1. VSS Enabled plug-in supports exchange aware backups. WSBExchange.exe is the core plug-in file which gets installed while installing SP2. This feature is only available for exchange 2007 hosted in windows server 2008, since windows server backup feature is not available in the windows server 2003. Though it has some limitations when compared to the third party exchange aware backup application like veritas,etc. For further details check,

http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ee221172(EXCHG.80).aspx

2. Enhanced Auditing options available. Using this we can have the granular auditing reports like folder access, message access in a mailbox, etc.

3. Improvement/change in the Schema Update. New Dynamic schema update method has been introduced in SP2, which will check for the conflicts when adding a new property to the schema which in turn will avoid the future conflicts.

4. Public folder quota management is the new improvement. Set-publicfolder is the cmdlet for this particular function.

5. Apart from the above, there are bunch of new cmdlets comes along SP2,

Add-AvailabilityAddressSpace

Export-Mailbox

Import-Mailbox

Move-Mailbox

New-ActiveSyncVirtualDirectory

New-ManagedFolder

Restore-Mailbox

Set-ActiveSyncVirtualDirectory

Set-CASMailbox

Set-IMAPSettings

Set-OABVirtualDirectory

Set-OrganizationConfig

Set-POPSettings

Set-PublicFolder

Set-TransportConfig

Test-ActiveSyncConnectivity

Test-OwaConnectivity

Test-WebServicesConnectivity

In the above, some of the cmdlets seems like they are already present before, but which were improved or changed for better purposes in SP2. For eg, in import-mailbox cmdlet is not working as expected when we try for importing mails on particular date basis for large mailboxes.

6. The above mentioned are only the new features, SP2 contains all the bugs fix code which we all rolled out as a Roll ups.

Hope the above info is useful.

Thanks

Logan

Logu_microsoft@hotmail.com | 971-552596187

Online Move Mailbox feature in Exchange server 2010:

2009-12-27T10:43:00.001+05:30

This article explains the Online Move Mailbox feature in the exchange server 2010. In the previous version of exchange, during the course of the mailbox movement, the resultant mailbox user cannot access his email. The downtime during the course of mailbox movement is still an area which needs an attention from the providers, Microsoft has rightly addressed this effectively by bringing in the new feature called Online Move Mailbox feature. By means of this, user mailbox can be moved between databases without affecting the online users. So users will be able to send and receive emails as normal on the course of the movement. This functionality has been named as ”MoveRequest” in exchange 2010.

In the exchange mixed mode environment, the MoveRequest works fine (i.e., the move is online) when you are trying to move mailbox from exchange 2007 to 2010 in transition phase. But unfortunately vice versa i.e., mailbox movement from 2010 to 2007 or 2010 to 2003, the move is offline.

Hope the above is informative.

Thanks

Logan

971552596187 | logu_microsoft@hotmail.com

Script for Event log backup and clearing:

2009-12-27T10:40:00.001+05:30

The below is the simple script for backing up and clearing the event logs.

###########################################################################################

strComputer = "."

Set objWMIService = GetObject("winmgmts:" _

& "{impersonationLevel=impersonate, (Backup, Security)}!\\" _

& strComputer & "\root\cimv2")

Set colLogFiles = objWMIService.ExecQuery _

("Select * from Win32_NTEventLogFile where LogFileName='Security'")

For Each objLogfile in colLogFiles

OutputFile = "c:\eventlog\" & "Security "

OutputFile = OutputFile & Day(Now) & "-" & month(now) & "-" & year(now)

OutputFile = OutputFile & ".evt"

errBackupLog = objLogFile.BackupEventLog(OutputFile)

If errBackupLog = 0 Or errBackupLog = 183 Then

objLogFile.ClearEventLog()

Else

Wscript.Echo "The Security event log could not be backed up."

End If

###########################################################################################

In the above, you can specify the log file type accordingly and also specify the location where the event log .evt file will be stored. After taking the backup of the event log, it will clear the event log.

Thanks

Logan

971552596187 | logu_microsoft@hotmail.com

Post Step after Exchange server 2010/2007 and Make it Live:

2009-12-27T10:37:00.002+05:30

This article explains the post check steps that need to be carried after installation of internal exchange server for sending and receiving emails from internet. In other words, we are actually making the exchange server into the production world.

After the installation of all mandatory roles of exchange servers and if edge exist then after the synchronization of the edge server with the Hub transport server role, and of course after checking the internal mail flow, we need to perform the below steps to be carried out in the organizational level to make the external mail flow.

1. License Key feed.

2. Accepted Domain setting.

3. Configure Email address policy.

4. Configure a Send Connector to send email to the Internet.

5. In case if Edge server name is not used, then configure the hub transport to accept anonymous SMTP. By default, this option is not set.

6. Configure external certificate for the CAS server for public access.

7. Configure the CAS server according to your organization. The options like Outlook anywhere, Exchange Active sync, Outlook Web access - OWA (2010 called as Outlook Web app)

Thanks

Logan

971552596187 | logu_microsoft@hotmail.com

Exchange Server 2010: Previous exchange server Coexistence

2009-11-14T19:29:00.000+05:30

Exchange server 2010 have the option for coexisting with the previous version of Exchange server 2003 and 2007 in the same forest. It is not possible to have exchange 2000 or exchange 5.5 with the exchange 2010 in the same exchange organization. Integrating Exchange server 2010 into the existing exchange 2003 or 2007 is called the transition scenario, where as new deployment of exchange server 2003 in new active directory forest and then transferring/migrating the records across the forest is called migration scenario.

Hope the above is informative.

Thanks

Logan

971552596187

Message Routing in Exchange 2007 vs. Exchange 2003 Multisite Environment:

2009-11-14T19:22:00.002+05:30

The message routing architecture in multi site environment is always an interesting one to explore. We all know the role of routing groups and also routing group connector in exchange2003, this has been revised in fact completely modified in exchange 2007. Routing group and connectors concept has been removed in the exchange 2003. Lets us consider the below scenario for example,

Site1 – Amsterdam Main Office – subnet 10.10.0.0/16

Site2 – Auckland Branch Office – subnet 10.11.0.0/16

We can domain controller in both sites for user authentication and other domain info. We can also have DNS in both sites. So with the help of the site link (WAN link), we will be able to enable the replication b/w the sites. Now, coming to the messaging part, we have only option to use the routing group and connector for message transport b/w the sites. Since active directory sites and Exchange server routing groups are independent one, i.e. not compatible with each other.

Exchange 2007 has the new feature that Hub transport server role has been built in a manner that it will use the active directory sites for the message routing. In this case, transport hub server in Amsterdam will use the active directory site link to route the message to the hub transport server in Auckland and vice versa.

I end up here; you people can explore more in this for more detail. Hope the above is informative.

Thanks

Logan

9841499143 | Logu_microsoft@hotmail.com

Exchange server 2010’s new features:

2009-11-04T23:22:00.001+05:30

Hope, everyone are excited and waiting for the release of the exchange 2010. The below are some of the new features of the exchange 2010. I tried to put in simpler terms and have not described in detail, the idea is to have an overview of the exchange 2010 product. I have covered only the few important and major changes, apart from this there are still many other changes have been done. Please visit Microsoft site for more details.

1. DAG – Database Availability Group.

2. Improved Outlook Web Access called as outlook web app which has features like search options, favorites, attaching message to message, etc.

3. Edit option for user properties like username, telephone number in OWA.

4. ECP called Exchange control panel for organization level changes like user, group and distribution list creation/changes.

5. No More LCR and SCR clustering technology of exchange 2007 are removed and replaced by new Database Availability group.

6. Server Cluster failover technique also removed because still the so many system administrator are not comfortable in doing it. The Microsoft has come up with the effective and ease alternative for this.

7. No more storage groups term available in exchange 2010, so only database is the predominant one and other database files, transaction log and database type(JET) are same as of the exchange 2007.

8. SIS – Single Instance Storage is no longer available in exchange, means that traditional model has been changed. I.e. when you send a mail of 1 MB to 10 different recipients, the db potentially grows 10 MB. So obviously consumes for storage requirement but the performance on the database I/O has been improved drastically.

9. Database page file size has been increased from 4KB to 8KB, improving the I/O on the disk file system.

10. No more 32 bit processor support for testing also.

11. Microsoft is also gradually moving to the cloud technology. Microsoft Online Services helps to host the mailbox also. It can be 100% hosted or 100% in premise or can be also mixed environment.

12. Powershell V2 more powerful, also has a new feature called IDE Interactive Development Environment using which you can built a script and also run the output with the small output window. The option for remote management of exchange is also possible with Windows Remote Management, which is included with the Powershell V2.

13. Send mail GUI option available in the EMC for testing mail flow.

14. Active Directory Rights Management enables to have the control of the message after sending to the recipients like disabling the forward option of the confidential messages.

15. Cross premises routing is possible.

16. Enhanced disclaimer with HTML code, pictures, hyperlinks, etc is available.

17. In exchange 2007, after delivering the message from hub transport server to next hop, it will be deleted. The same in exchange 2010, the message will be deleted only after the successful receipt of the message from the next hop, in case of non-receipt, it will try to redeliver the message. This type reliable routing model is called as Shadow Redundancy Routing Model.

18. Role Based Access Model for implementing the permission for the administrative accounts.

19. Personnel archive folder option or can be called as Archive PST with all live mailbox.

20. Improved Unified messaging roles with some exciting new features like Voicemail preview, integration with SMS test message, additional language support, etc.

Hope the above is informative.

Thanks

Logan

Logu_microsoft@hotmail.com | 971552596187

Configuring LCR – Local Continuous Replication:

2009-10-25T14:37:00.006+05:30

Hi friends,

This article briefs the configuring LCR in the exchange 2007 server. As it name implies, the local continuous replication is the new feature in the exchange 2007 and it has the local copy of the database just like a mirror. Either you can do either in GUI or powershell, here I have explained in the powershell

Design the structure first, for example will have the below for our configuration,

SG1 – storage group name, SG1DB1 – database

Source system path (disk1): c:\SG1

Source log path (disk1): c:\SG1\log

Source edb path (disk1): c:\SG1\DB

Destination system path (disk2): D:\SG1LCR

Destination system path (disk2): D:\SG1LCR\log

Destination system path (disk2): D:\SG1LCR\DB

1. Enabling Database copy,

#Enable-DatabaseCopy –identity ‘servername\sg1\sg1db1’ –CopyEdbFilePath ‘D:\SG1LCR\DB\SG1DB1.edb’

2. Enabling Storage group copy,

#Enable-StorageGroupCopy –identity sg1 –CopyLogFolderPath ‘D:\SG1LCR\log’ -CopySystemFolderPath ‘D:\SG1LCR\DB’

3. To check the status of the replication,

#Get-StorageGroupCopyStatus

The LCR Configuration has been completed now; you can check the logs which are copied from the source to the destination and also any new generated logs will automatically seed to the destination location as we defined above.

Restore from the LCR copy:

Let us assume that if something goes wrong with the source database, we are in a position to restore from the replica. So, let’s see how to do the restore,

1. Dismount the database - #dismount-database sg1db1

2. Restore from replica - #Restore-StorageGroupCopy –identity ‘servername\sg1’

3. Mount the database back - #mount-database sg1db1

4. Now, the point to be noted is old LCR configuration of SG1DB1 is no more enabled. Please enable the LCR for this Storage group again and also clear the old logs so that it will start seeding from the source from the first.

Hope the above is useful.

Thanks

Logan

971-552596187 logu_microsoft@hotmail.com

Difference types of Mailbox in Exchange 2007:

2009-10-25T14:36:00.006+05:30

Unlike previous version of exchange, the general mailbox has been classified into four types. But there are few difference b/w each type.

1. User Mailbox – for traditional user mailbox.

2. Room Mailbox – for meeting rooms

3. Equipment Mailbox – for equipments like projector, TV, etc. It is just like creating AD accounts for such objects.

4. Linked Mailbox – Hosting mailbox for users in separate forest.

In the above, the core mailbox attributes are same except few are different.

1. Basic notification GUI symbol is different for each object.

2. Resource mailbox (i.e., both room and equipment mailbox) are by default will be in the disabled state.

3. In OWA à Options, we have the “resource setting” only for the resource mailbox.

4. In creating a calendar meeting either in outlook or OWA, we have the scheduling assistant for configuring the meeting in which, “Select room” option will there and will list the entire room mailbox available in the organisation.

5. Also while adding attendees in the address bar, in the address book window; we will have the classified option as “default global address list” and “All rooms”. The latter is specifically designed to list the room mailbox alone.

6. On the attribute side, Isresource attribute of a mailbox will be set as “True” for the resource mailbox and “False ” for the user mailbox. The attribute resourcetype attribute will be set as “room” and “equipment” respectively.

Useful Powershell command:

To get the resource mailbox,

#get-mailbox where-object { $_.isresource –eq ‘true’ }

To get the resource mailbox related attribute,

#get-mailbox where-object { $_.isresource –eq ‘true’ } fl res*

To convert user mailbox to resource mailbox

#set-mailbox mailboxname –type room

Hope the above is useful.

Thanks

Logan

971-552596187 logu_microsoft@hotmail.com

Exchange server 2007 Services.

2009-10-25T14:29:00.008+05:30

This article explains the different type of services, its description. Since exchange 2007 has so many new features, changes and different mailing architecture when compared to earlier exchange versions. We know that exchange server 2007 has five different server roles which has its specific services. In this article, I am going to concentrate only on the exchange specific services, though there are many dependent services like WWW, RPC, WMI and etc.

Common Services on all Server roles:

The below services are present in all five server roles,

1. Microsoft Exchange Active Directory Topology Service: This is the core exchange services which communicate with AD often. This service uses DSACCESS component for accessing the active directory. Since, AD tightly integrated with Exchange, all server roles will have this service up running.

2. Microsoft Exchange Monitoring Service: This service is responsible for collecting all kind of diagnostic logs from the exchange application.

Services in Mailbox server role:

1. Microsoft Exchange information store: This is the service related to core exchange databases. It is the main services in the Mailbox server role and this is services is not dependent to other exchange services.

2. Microsoft Exchange Mail Submission: This service maintains the mail queue for transferring mails from mailbox server to hub transport server. Used to notify a Hub Transport server located in the Mailbox server's Active Directory site that messages are ready for retrieval from a sender's outbox. This service is also responsible for relaying and other tasks like Transport rules, Message Records Management etc.

3. Microsoft Exchange mailbox assistants: Provides functionality for Calendar Attendant, Resource Booking Attendant, Out of Office Assistant, and Managed Folder Mailbox Assistant.

4. Microsoft Exchange Replication Service: This service responsible for the replication of database information in the LCR and SCR cluster environment. This does the log shipping/seeding b/w the cluster peers.

5. Microsoft Exchange Search Indexer: This service is responsible for indexing the mail content in the database which in turn helps in improving the faster access/searching of the mail contents.

6. Microsoft Exchange Service Host: Configures the RPC virtual directory in Internet Information Services (IIS), and registry data for Valid Ports, NSPI Interface Protocol Sequences, and Allow Anonymous for Outlook Anywhere. It basically acts as a host for holding exchange related services like IIS.

7. Microsoft Exchange System Attendant: This service is responsible for following components. It provides maintaining, monitoring and directory lookup services functionality.

• DSAccess (DSAccess.dll) – Provides Exchange Active Directory Access

• DSProxy (DSProxy.dll) – Provides Directory Service Lookup for older Outlook clients

• Server Monitor Component - Monitoring server resources

• Mailbox Manager Component - Managing mailboxes

• Metabase update service - Replicating settings from Active Directory to the IIS metabase

• System Attendant Component - Verifies computer account configuration

8. Microsoft Exchange Transport Log Search: Provides message tracking and transport log searching. It is basically used for querying of transport log remotely.

9. Microsoft Search (Exchange): Provides full-text indexing of mailbox data content. This is a Microsoft Exchange-customized version of Microsoft Search.

Services in CAS Servers:

1. Microsoft Exchange File Distribution: Used to distribute offline address book and custom Unified Messaging prompts.

2. Microsoft Exchange IMAP4: Responsible for Internet Message Access Protocol IMAP4 Clients connections.

3. Microsoft Exchange POP3: Responsible for Post Office Protocol POP3 Client connections.

4. Microsoft Exchange Service Host: Configures the RPC virtual directory in Internet Information Services (IIS), and registry data for Valid Ports, NSPI Interface Protocol Sequences, and Allow Anonymous for Outlook Anywhere. It basically acts as a host for holding exchange related services like IIS.

Services in Hub transport Servers:

1. Microsoft Exchange Anti-Spam Update: Used to automatically download anti-spam filter updates from Microsoft Update.

2. Microsoft Exchange Edgesync: Connects to ADAM instance on subscribed Edge Transport servers over secure Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP) channel to synchronize data between a Hub Transport server and an Edge Transport server.

3. Microsoft Exchange Transport: This is the new SMTP service in exchange 2007, which don’t rely on Windows server SMTP services as like in previous version of the exchange. It is the core transport stacks which process the routing of messages.

4. Microsoft Exchange Transport Log Search: Provides message tracking and transport log searching. It is basically used for querying of transport log remotely.

Services in Edge Transport Servers:

1. Microsoft Exchange ADAM: Connects to ADAM instance on subscribed Edge Transport servers over secure Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP) channel to synchronize data between a Hub Transport server and an Edge Transport server.

2. Microsoft Exchange Anti-Spam Update: Used to automatically download anti-spam filter updates from Microsoft Update.

3. Microsoft Exchange Credential Service: Monitors credential changes in ADAM and installs the changes on the Edge Transport server.

4. Microsoft Exchange Transport: This is the new SMTP service in exchange 2007, which don’t rely on Windows server SMTP services as like in previous version of the exchange. It is the core transport stacks which process the routing of messages.

5. Microsoft Exchange Transport Log Search: Provides message tracking and transport log searching. It is basically used for querying of transport log remotely.

Services in Unified Messaging Servers:

1. Microsoft Exchange Unified Messaging: Provides Unified Messaging features, such as the storing of inbound faxes and voice mail messages in a user's mailbox, and access to that mailbox via Outlook Voice Access.

2. Microsoft Exchange Speech Engine: Provides speech processing services for Unified Messaging.

Hope the above is informative.

Thanks

Logan

971-552596187 logu_microsoft@hotmail.com

Types of clustering in exchange 2007:

2009-10-25T00:22:00.016+05:30

This article explains the different types of clustering technology available with the exchange 2007 server. The exchange 2007 version has some new exciting features in terms of the high availability. It has four types of clustering and which has its own level of fault tolerance and availability. I have also added the diagram for better understanding.

1. Single copy clusters(SCC):

# This cluster type is similar to the one as in previous exchange versions. In fact it is exactly similar to the one in exchange 2003.

# Uses a single copy of database is shared between the nodes of the cluster.

# The database copy is stored in the SAN Storage device and also at any point of time the database will be owned by single node.

# Fault tolerance – There is chance of SOP i.e., Single point of failure. SCC environment works great if a node/server fails, but still Database failure in the SAN will cause the damage.

2. Local Continuous Replication (LCR):

# This is the new feature of exchange 2007.

# LCR is a single server solution which creates and maintains a copy of the database in the same server just like a mirroring concept.

# This cluster type provides usual log shipping, log replaying and can be switched to the mirror copy by manual action in case of any database issues.

# One prerequisite for implementing LCR is that Storage Group can contain only one database. So if you need to implement multiple databases you automatically need to implement multiple Storage Groups.

# This overcomes the drawbacks of single point of failure for database crashes, but it doesn’t help in server failure.

# Automatic failover will not happen, in case of database failure or any issue.

3.Cluster Continuous Replication (CCR):

# This is the new feature of exchange 2007. It is the best and highly improved version of clustering solution

# This cluster type is non-shared one, fault tolerant in terms of server and database front, high availability and site resilience. CCR is very different from clustering in previous exchange versions.

# CCR is a multi server solution which creates and maintains a copy of the database in the second servers in a failover cluster.

# CCR will automatically failover in case of any server related issues and also database related failures. So no need of manual switch action as in LCR.

4. Standby Continuous replication (SCR):

# This is the new feature introduced in exchange 2007 SP1.

# SCR is a clustered solution that is used to have the standby copies of the clustered server databases. As by its name, we can call as standby recovery servers.

# SCR uses the same log shipping and replay technology used by LCR and CCR. It is just getting seeded by and from either CCR or LCR cluster server.

# This is ideal for the situation like you need to recover from the complete site failure. We can call this for disaster recovery.

Hope the above is informative.

Thanks

Logan

971-552596187 logu_microsoft@hotmail.com

Recipient limit feature in exchange server 2003 and 2007

2009-09-30T23:26:00.000+05:30

This article explains the working of recipient limit feature in both exchange 2003 and 2007 server versions. Many people will have a questions on how the distribution list recipient is counted ?, in fact there is change in the working of recipient limits in exchange 2007 compared to the older exchange 2003 version.

In Exchange 2003:
In processing of email message, the recipient limits are applied after the expansion of the recipients. The expansion is nothing but the designated expansion server will expand all group lists, it will have the individual and non-duplicated recipient entries. So, if a user is having a recipient cap set to 50, when a user try to send a mail to a distribution list of 60 members, the result only the first 50 users of the expanded list will receive the mail, for the rest it will through the respective NDR.

In Exchange 2007:
But, in exchange 2007, the recipient limits are applied in the hub transport server role before the expansion of the recipient limits. In simpler words, expanded DL members are not counted in turn it will be counted as a single recipient. So, if a user is having a recipient cap set to 50, when a user try to send a mail to a distribution list of 60 members, the result all the users will be able to receive the mails henceforth it just count DL as a single recipient.

Hope the above is informative

Thanks
Logan
971-552596187
Logu_microsoft@hotmail.com

Deploying Edge Transport Server Role:

2009-08-22T21:38:00.003+05:30

This article gives you the step by step procedure for installing the Microsoft exchange server 2007 – edge server role and configuring the connection with the hub transport server. As we now, edge server role is used as the front end security wall with antispam and antivirus protections and not parted of domain, which is basically hosted in the DMZ zone.

1. Basic server check-up likes recommended hardware resources and server 2003/2008 OS, latest SP and appropriate patches.

2. N/w Card configuration – Two NIC cards, one for public/external and the other for private/internal.

3. Check the Name resolution between hub transport and the edge server. Also configure the edge server for the external name resolution.

Set-TransportServer -Identity ExEdge01 –ExternalDNSAdapterEnabled $false –ExternalDNSServers

Note : If the name resolution b/w hub and edge server doesn’t work, then the edge synchronisation fails.

4. Installing ADAM SP1 : Active Directory Application Mode SP1 is the one which acts as a tunnel passage for passing the limited AD related i.,e Domain related information from Hub transport server to the edge server.

5. Install Core edge exe : Run the setup.exe from the exchange installation disk, go for the custom type installation, select the edge server and complete the installation.

6. Check the Edge related configuration EMC, will find option like antispam, accepted domains and others, I will leave this up to you for exploring.

7. Since Exchange 2007 rollup 4 has some important updates, install the rollup 4 package also.

8. Restart the edge server after completing the above and run the command “test-servicehealth” to check all edge related services are up and running.

9. Ports to be opened : Edge server used custom ports for communication with the hub server. If firewall is placed in b/w hub server and edge server, the following ports have to be opened.

• LDAP 50389/tcp
• Secure LDAP 50636/tcp
• SMTP 25/tcp
• RDP 3389/tcp (optional)

10. Creating the edge subscription file in Edge server,

New-EdgeSubscription -FileName "C:\EdgeSubscriptionInfo.xml"

11. Copy the xml file to the Hub server.

12. Mapping the edge subscription file in Hub Server,

New-EdgeSubscription -filename "C:\EdgeSubscriptionInfo.xml" -CreateInternetSendConnector $true -site "Default-First-Site-Name"

13. By Default, the edge synchronisation happens at four hour intervals. For immediate sync,

Start-EdgeSynchronization

14. Edge server is ready, just verify connectors in Edge EMC console, will show the current hub server related connectors.

Hope the above is informative.

Thanks
Logan
Logu_microsoft@hotmail.com | 971552596187

Logon Event 528 Log:

2009-08-17T23:53:00.003+05:30

This article explains about finding the user logon details using the normal event log and also how to interpret to event log details. In server side, environment it is always wise to have the user logon and logoff audits. If you check for the event log 528 under the security logs, you will find some of the positive hits. The typical 528 log entry will have the below information,

user name
domain
logon id
logon type
logon process
authenication package
workstation name

In Particular, logon type is the one which needs to be paid attention.

2	Interactive	User logged on to the computer's console.
3	Network	User logged on to the computer over the network (e.g., through a drive mapping). Note: On Win2K and later systems, event ID 528 doesn't log this logon type; for network logons, Win2K and later OS versions log event ID 540 with logon type 3.
4	Batch	Batch logon (commonly logged when a COM+ server component starts up).
5	Service	Service logon (required by user accounts configured as account for services).
7	Unlock	Workstation unlocked.
8	NetworkCleartext	Network logon, but with a clear-text password. By default, Windows doesn't allow clear-text password logons unless you explicitly enable them. (However, all versions of Microsoft IIS use clear-text passwords for Basic authentication.)
9	NewCredentials	User used alternative credentials to connect to a resource on the network or used the RunAs command to start programs under a different user account.
10	RemoteInteractive	User logged on to the computer remotely using Terminal Services or Remote Desktop.
11	CachedInteractive	Domain user logged on with cached credentials. Usually logged when a traveling user logs on to a notebook with his or her domain account but no domain controller (DC) is available. Note that event ID 537, not event ID 528, logs this event.

Using the above, we can find the exact mode of logon and also the user details.

Hope the above is useful.

Thanks

Logan

Logu_microsoft@hotmail.com | 971552596187

To list the DB size in all mailbox server

2009-08-15T02:37:00.007+05:30

This script can be used to list the each database size in the exchange org. This can be easily modified as per your need.

###############################################

# Script for finding all the database size in GB present in the organization.
# please use redirect '<' for reporting# Eg, .\Tofinddbsize.ps1 > report.txt

$exchangeservers = Get-ExchangeServer where-object {$_.admindisplayversion.major -eq 8 -and $_.IsMailboxServer -eq $true }

foreach ($server in $exchangeservers)
{
$db = Get-MailboxDatabase -server $server
foreach ($objItem in $db)
{
$edbfilepath = $objItem.edbfilepath

$path = "`\`\" + $server + "`\" + $objItem.EdbFilePath.DriveName.Remove(1).ToString() + "$"+ $objItem.EdbFilePath.PathName.Remove(0,2)

$dbsize = Get-ChildItem $path $ReturnedObj = New-Object PSObject

$ReturnedObj Add-Member NoteProperty -Name "Server\StorageGroup\Database" -Value $objItem.Identity

$ReturnedObj Add-Member NoteProperty -Name "Size (GB)" -Value ("{0:n2}" -f ($dbsize.Length/1024MB))

Write-Output $ReturnedObj
}
}

###############################################

Thanks

LOGAN

logu_microsoft@hotmail.com 971552596187

To find the disconnected mailbox in the mailbox servers.

2009-08-15T01:19:00.004+05:30

This script can be used to find the disconnected mailbox in your exhange organisation by just giving display name as input. This will be helpful if you have many mailbox servers in your org. The below script has been tested and works fine.

###################################################

Write-Host
$search = read-host "Type part of DisplayName Ex Tom* *sson *middle* , searching mailbox servers one by one... "

Write-Host
Write "Press ctrl-C to stop search once you found your mailbox"

$exchangeservers = Get-ExchangeServer where-object {$_.admindisplayversion.major -eq 8 -and $_.IsMailboxServer -eq $true }

foreach ($server in $exchangeservers)
{

Write-Host
Write "Searching $server"

Get-MailboxStatistics -Server $server where { $_.DisconnectDate -ne $null } where { $_.DisplayName -like "$search" } fl

}

Write-Host
Write "Finished"

################################################

Thanks

Logan

logu_microsoft@hotmail.com 971552596187

Find the mailbox count per db in a server

2009-08-12T22:32:00.003+05:30

This script can be used to find the mailbox count per database by giving the mailbox server name. This can be modified easily as per your need.

#####################################################

# script for finding the no of mailbox's per mailboxdatabase
write-host $server = read-host "Type the server name:"
foreach ($db in get-mailboxdatabase -server $server)
{
if ($db.getType().fullname -like "*PublicFolderDatabase")
{
$dbType = "Public"
}
else
{
$dbType = "Private"
$dbUserCount = (get-mailbox -database $db -erroraction silentlycontinue).count
}
$retObj = new-object psobject
$retObj add-member noteproperty -name "Server" -value $db.Server
$retObj add-member noteproperty -name "Name" -value $db.Identity
$retObj add-member noteproperty -name "Users" -value $dbUserCount
$retObj
}

#################################################

Please let me know if you have any queastions.

Thanks

Logan
logu_microsoft@hotmail.com 971552596187

Find the mailbox which exceeds the quota limit

2009-08-12T22:19:00.003+05:30

The below is the script to find the mailbox in which the mailbox size limit has been exceeded.

##################################################

#Script to find the mailbox which exceeds the quota limit
#in the mailbox server.
Write-host
$server = read-host "Please Enter the Mailbox server name:"
get-MailboxStatistics -server $server where {"IssueWarning","ProhibitSend","MailboxDisabled" -contains $_.StorageLimitStatus} format-Table DisplayName,database,storagelimitstatus,Totaldeleteditemsize,TotalItemSize

###################################################

Thanks

Logan
971552596187

Difference between BIS and BES

2009-08-10T23:15:00.014+05:30

This article is about the blackberry service type and their differences. Also i have briefed about the respective email flow architecture. There are two types of BlackBerry service that are available to purchase.

#One is designed for individuals and small businesses (BIS)
#The other is designed for large companies and organisations (BES).

The ways in which they work are very different.

Difference between BIS and BES

BIS – (For individuals and small businesses)

The BlackBerry Internet Solution provides a wireless solution tailored to meet the needs of individual users and small and medium-sized businesses (SMB). The BlackBerry Internet Service, a component of the BlackBerry Internet Solution, allows wireless connectivity to Internet-based email and other applications. The architecture for BlackBerry Internet Service,
including Internet browsing functionality, is shown in the diagram below: BlackBerry Internet Service leverages centrally hosted wireless gateways, allowing users to access up to 10 supported email accounts and Internet browsing functionality* without the need to install and manage a BlackBerry Enterprise Server.

Fig1 : BIS (Please click on the figure to maximize)

Fig2 : BES (Please click on the figure to maximize)

BES

The BlackBerry Enterprise Solution allows the wireless extension of corporate email and applications with the BlackBerry Enterprise Server™, an important component of the solution, and would be managed by the organisations own internal I.T. department. The typical architecture of the BlackBerry Enterprise Solution is shown in the diagram below: The BlackBerry Enterprise Server is installed and managed behind the corporate firewall and includes integrated support for extending corporate messaging solutions, including Microsoft Exchange, IBM Lotus Domino and Novell GroupWise. The BlackBerry Enterprise Server also acts as a wireless gateway allowing the BlackBerry Browser and custom applications on the BlackBerry device to connect to corporate applications and web servers, as well as to Internet-based web servers.

Hope the above info is useful. Please ping me if you have any queastions.

Thanks

Logan

971-552596187

MFCMAPI Utility for Outlook - To delete the hidden or corrupted rules:

2009-08-10T22:51:00.003+05:30

This instruction set describes how to delete corrupted and hidden rules from a user’s mailbox in Outlook 2000 and Outlook 2003.

Symptoms of a client affected by Corrupted and Hidden Rules:

SPAM Appliance filter does not automatically move identified SPAM mail to Junk E-Mail Folder.
User created server or client based Outlook rules will not function or only some will not function.

Download MFCMapi.exe from the internet.

1. In Outlook 2000/2003:

a. On the Tools menu, click Rules and Alerts.
b. In the Rules and Alerts dialog box, click Options.
c. In the Options dialog box, click Export Rules.

2. Use MFCMapi to remove all rules that are applied to a client’s mailbox. To do this, follow these steps

a. Open the folder C:\_localdata, double click mfcmapi.exe and then click OK.
b. On the Session menu, click Logon and Display Store Table.
c. If you are prompted to select a profile, click the client’s mail profile in the Profile Name list, and then click OK.
d. Double-click the mailbox that contains the inbox rules that you want to delete.
e. Expand Root Container, and then expand Top of information Store.
f. Right-click Inbox and then click Open Associated Contents Table.
g. Use the Horizontal Scroll Bar to bring the Message Class column in view.
h. IMPORTANT! Highlight and delete ONLY items named IPM.Rule.Message and IPM.ExtendedRule.Message.
i. Once you hit the delete key you will be prompted to choose the type of deletion. Using the drop down box select, Permanent delete passing DELETE_HARD_DELETE (unrecoverable).
j. Close all MFCmapi windows and restart Outlook. Double check that all client rules have been removed by going into ToolsàRules and Alerts.

3. Import the backed-up rules into Outlook. To do this, follow these steps:

In Outlook 2000/2003:

a. On the Tools menu, click Rules and Alerts.
b. In the Rules and Alerts dialog box, click Options.
c. In the Options dialog box, click Import Rules.
d. Locate the rules that you backed up in step 2, click Open, and then click OK.

So, reopen the outlook, should be the end of the story.

Hope the above is informative.

Thanks

Logan
971-552596187

Reason for duplicate items in Outlook

2009-08-10T22:41:00.003+05:30

Most of the Outlook users would have faced the problem of getting duplicate emails or calendar entries. In this article, I have listed down the possible reason for getting the duplicate entries.

There can be many reasons why a user would see multiple messages in their mailboxes. The most likely ones are outlined here.

1. The message has actually been sent more than once by the originator. Check the date in the "Date:" clause. If the dates are different, then the message was sent by the originator more than once.
2. The user is an alias of another account and both accounts received a copy of the mail. To see if this has occurred, open both messages and view the complete header. Look at the last "Received:" clause. This clause will say who the message saw sent to. If there are different addresses, then this explains why the message appeared twice.
3. The user gets mail forwarded from another account and both accounts received a copy of the message. Use the same check as above to see if this is the case.
4. One mail server between the sender and recipient is (incorrectly) duplicating the message. To see if this has occurred, open both messages and view the complete header. Match each of the "Received:" clauses until you find two that are different. These two received clauses will give a different time for the receipt of the message. This clause identifies the server that is duplicating email messages. You will need to contact the owner of the server for further investigation.

Other items to help determine the cause of the duplicate messages appearing include taking a look in the headers of the messages themselves. The topmost Received header will contain a unique ID for the message consisting of 8 characters.

You can then take a look in the SMTP log for the server and search for this unique ID. This will show you the exact SMTP transaction that caused the message to enter your server. You will be able to see exactly which users the message was delivered to.

If the unique ID's are different then the messages are the result of more than one transaction. Likely reason being that the message was delivered to the server more than once. Again this can be confirmed from the logs.

When trying to debug these issues it is helpful if you enable all of the logging options for the SMTP service.

Reasons why you might see a message being sent more than once can include

1. Misconfiguration of the sending server
2. High CPU usage on your server for extended periods of time, causing connections to time out and thus the remote server retries the message again.
3. Malformed content being sent by the remote server

If you use the Anti-spam option to scan content for restricted words and do not limit the scanning to a certain number of lines, you are likely to see periods of high CPU usage on your server, particularly if you frequently process messages containing large attachments.

Hope the above detail is useful.

Thanks
Logan
971-552596187

HTTP Status Codes in IIS 6.0

2009-08-10T22:30:00.002+05:30

This article explains the need for understanding the HTTP status codes. The IIS 6.0 helps to display the appropriate status code for the built in core website. Most HTTP status codes have three digits, for example, 401. Some status codes have three digits followed by a decimal point, and one or two more digits (for example, 300.12). In such a case, the number that follows the decimal point is called the sub status code.
The following is the Status Code Range and the respective Code Types.
100 Informational
200 Successful
300 Redirection
400 Client Error
500 Server Error
Under each status code, there will be a sub status code and it will have its own description on the issue.
Thanks
Logan
Logu_microsoft@hotmail.com
971-552596187

Expansion server in exchange server 2003

2009-08-10T22:11:00.002+05:30

This article explains the function and role of expansion server in the exchange server 2003.
1. Expansion server generally routes the message that are sent to a single distribution list or group of users listed in that group.
2. It is also responsible for expanding the group to its individual members and also will resolves the name of the recipients.
3. Importantly it is used to determine the most efficient path for routing the messages.
4. To find the expansion server for a distribution group, Right click the distribution group àproperties à Exchange advanced à Expansion server à click the drop down button to list.
5. In detail,
a. When user selects group from GAL in outlook. The outlook obtains the GAL via NSPI(Name Service Provider Interface) request sent to a GC.
b. Once the name verification succeeds, it will turn the recipient address bold.
c. When user sends, outlook uses MAPI to transmit the message to the user’s home exchange server.
d. Exchange server sees that the recipient is a group, and it sends an LDAP query to GC for the member’s list along with the email attributes.
6. By default any server can in the exchange organization can acts as a expansion server. This option is recommended because it totally avoids the single point of failure. Assigning particular server as a expansion server for particular group will result in failure if that particular server is unavailable.
Hope the above is informative.
Thanks
Logan
Logu_microsoft@hotmail.com
971-552596187

Virtual Memory Fragmentation Exchange

2009-06-04T13:07:00.002+05:30

Virtual Memory:

Virtual Memory is nothing but making your hard disk acts as a temp space for swapping the data from the RAM when it is busy or fully occupied. The Process of exchanging/swapping the data back and forth from hard disk and RAM is called Thrashing. The area of the hard disk which stores the RAM data is called Page files, have a .SWP extensions.

In exchange server too allocations of the virtual memory plays a vital role for the efficient functioning of the exchange server. If the virtual memory allocation is not up to the mark, which results in hitting the performance of the exchange server in greater extend.

The below are the way to optimize the virtual memory related issues.

1. Adding the /3GB switch in the boot.ini file.
2. Adding the /userva= where Number value ranges b/w 2970 and 3030. The recommended value is 3030

Eg., boot.ini file

[boot loader]
timeout=30
default=multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS
[operating systems]
multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS="Windows Server 2003" /fastdetect /3GB
or
multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS="Windows Server 2003" /fastdetect /userva=3030

The above option can be used only in pre windows server 2003 versions alone. In windows 2000, they have the below option for fine tuning the virtual memory.

1. Edit the "HeapDecommitFreeBlockThreshold" Registry key.
2. Set the “msExchESEParamCacheSizeMax” value via ADSIEDIT.
3. Also the value “msExchESEParamMaxOpenTables” value has to be set appropraitly via ADSIEDIT.
Please let us know if you have any questions.
Thanks
Logan
9841499143

PFDAVAdmin Tool - Exchange

2009-02-22T14:00:00.000+05:30

PFDAVAdmin is an one of the useful tool in the exchange environment.The name PFDAVAdmin stands for Public Folder Distributed Authoring and Versioning (DAV)-based Administration tool. The following are the features..

1. Propagate public folder permissions.It is used to propagate public folder Access Control Entry (ACE) additions, removals and modifications without overwriting the existing Access Control List (ACL).

2. used to Rectify damaged Discretionary Access Control Lists (DACL).Bad DACL is caused due to the incorrect permission from the explorer or from other tool.

3. Import or export permissions against either mailboxes or public folders. This will be a handy option to have the portable different complex level of permission.

4. Setting up Calendar folder permissions in bulk.

Thanks

Logan

91-98414-99143

Garbage Collection and Tombstone object in AD

2009-02-22T13:11:00.001+05:30

1. Garbage collection is a housekeeping process that is designed to free space within the Active Directory database.

2. In Windows 2000 and in the original release version of Windows Server 2003, this process runs on every domain controller in the enterprise with a default lifetime interval of 12 hours.

3. You can change this interval by modifying the garbageCollPeriod attribute in the enterprise-wide DS configuration object (NTDS) using ADSIEDIT.msc or ldp.exe.

4. The Active Directory (AD) garbage-collection process performs two vital functions.First, it cleans up deleted objects. When you delete an object in AD, the system doesn't immediately delete the object because when replication occurs, a replication partner would recreate the object. Instead, the system uses a tombstone with a finite lifetime to mark the object as deleted. The tombstone replicates to all domain controllers (DCs), and after it expires, the garbage-collection agent deletes the object.

5. The garbage-collection process also performs online AD defragementation.

6. The default tombstone delete lifetime in windows 2000 and 2003 (w/o SP1) is 60 days. In 2003 Sp1, the value is increased to 180 days.

Thanks

Logan

91-98414-99143

ESEUTIL AND ISINTEG

2009-02-22T12:52:00.003+05:30

ESEUTIL

It is a life saver tool in maintainng the exchange database ie. , tool that manipulates Exchange's Extensible Storage Engine. This tool is similar to ntdsutil in term it manipulates with the Active directory.

/d - Performs off-line defragmentation/compaction of a database.

/r - soft recovery, bringing all databases to a consistent state or clean shutdown state.

/g - Verifies integrity of a database.It just fix the database tables but not the relation and others database stuff.That

can be rectified by using the isinteg tool.

/m - Generates formatted output of various database file types. It is used to take the file dump.

/p - Repairs a corrupted or damaged database.

/y - Copies a database, streaming file, or log file.

/cc - Performs a hard recovery after a database restore.It is used to replay the logs after restoring from the backups.

/mh - to check the status/state of the mailbox store. To determine whether the last shutdown was clean or dirty.

/mk - to check the last committed transastion log file into the database.

/ml - similar to /mh, except this switch performs an integrity check on log files.

/mm - Dumps metadata from the database file.

ISINTEG

It is used to do some tests on your information store and to fix some detected errors and problems.ISINTEG is the only repair for exchange database engine. ESE is a generic database engine that can be used by different applications (Exchange, ActiveDirectory).

ESEUTIL looks into the database as just another ESE database, and can see their tables and indexes. ESEUTIL just fixes the database tables.Now it is time for ISINTEG. ISINTEG is aware of the relation between database tables and records that turn them into folders and messages.

Isinteg -fix -test alltests

In case of damaged database, the below is the idle steps...

1. Run Eseutil /P.

2. After Eseutil /P completes successfully, run Eseutil /D.

3. After Eseutil /D completes successfully, run Isinteg –fix –test alltests.

Thanks

Logan

91-9841499143

System Mailbox in exchange server 2003:

2008-11-25T19:58:00.001+05:30

This article gives you the functionality of the built in system mailbox that present in the mailbox store. Every private information store in Exchange Server 2003, has 3 system mailbox by default.

The following are the three different system mailboxes are:

•SystemMailbox{GUID}
•System Attendant Mailbox
•SMTP Mailbox

System Mailbox {GUID}:

•Contains two parts to each System mailbox – the mailbox itself with its content in the corresponding information store and an associated directory object located in MESO (Microsoft Exchange System Object) folder in AD.
•GUID is related to the objectGUID i.e., to the system mailbox. The objectGUID of the mailbox store with which the system mailbox is associated.
•Whenever we mount the store, it checks for the availability of the systemmailbox{GUID}. If not it looks in the MESO directory for the same.
•Each MDB has its own GUID associated with a particular instance of SystemMailbox{guid}.
•Faulty functioning SystemMailbox{guid} then, there’s a very good chance EXOLEDB event sinks will not function.
•It will occupy some reasonable amt of space for storing the schema definitions.

System Attendant Mailbox:

•Each Exchange 200x server has one (and hopefully only one) System Attendant mailbox
•The System Attendant Mailbox contains the folder SpecialPrivateFolderForFreeBusyStorage, for Free/Busy information for Microsoft Outlook and CDO Applications (Collaboration Data Objects) which will be temporarily stored in MSExchangeFBPublish.
•The System Attendant Mailbox will also be used to send and receive Exchange monitoring messages for the Link Monitoring Service. You can find this function in the Exchange System Manager under Tools – Monitoring and Status.
•System Attendant mailbox is also required to be available during mailbox moves. For instance, if you have the mailbox store containing the System Attendant mailbox dismounted during a mailbox move, the move will fail.
•There are two parts to make up the complete System Attendant mailbox: a directory object and a mailbox object.
•Faulty system attendant mailbox, results in OWA-generated Free/Busy information not getting updated and also mailbox moves fail.

SMTP Mailbox

•The SMTP mailbox will be generated when the private information store is created and mounted.
•SMTP (servername-{guid}) mailbox is used by the mail transport of Exchange 200x as a temporary holding place for various messages as they pass through the system. In other words, every private mailbox store contains an SMTP mailbox to store temporary messages.
•For eg, The folders MTS-IN and MTS-OUT are used by Exchange Deployment Kit (EDK) connectors to transfer messages between the MTA (Microsoft Exchange Transport Agent) and the Exchange Server information store (store.exe). They are also used for X400 connectors, Exchange site connectors, and fax connectors.
•Faulty SMTP mailbox, results in failure in delivery into the store

Logging into system mailbox:

Logging into the system mailbox is not recommended, but still we can open the mailbox using the MFCMAPI.

Please revert if you have any questions.

Thanks

Logu

logu_microsoft@hotmail.com
91-9841499143

Microsoft Exchange System Attendant:

2008-11-25T19:52:00.001+05:30

This article explains the characteristic features of the Microsoft exchange system attendant services. The Microsoft Exchange System Attendant service is primarily a collection of subcomponents that work together to proxy Active Directory requests and to regulate internal Exchange Server functions.

1.It is exchange related services. It is critical for exchange server’s performance and many exchange related services will not work.
2.You cannot mount the database unless the exchange system attendant service is running.
3.It facilitates AD communications to enforce the retention policies and mailbox quotas.
4.Main executable file is the MAD.EXE, located in Program Files\Exchsrvr\Bin folder and most of the subcomponents exist as .DLL files.

The following are the components of the System Attendant services.

DSACCESS Component:

1.DSACCESS.dll is used to prevent exchange server from flooding your exchange server with excessive requests.
2. In detail, When exchange server component such as exchange store or SMTP Transport engine needs to get the receipient information from AD, the query is routed through the DSACCESS component. Generally it acts as a proxy for these AD request. The recent request are stored in the cache to avoid the repetitive queries.

DSProxy Component:

1.DSProxy.dll acts as a proxy for AD queries coming from outlook clients.
2.In detail, when client running outlook 2000 or later, refers the GC for processing the AD query (such as a request to retrieve the GAL) in direct. Whereas the client older the outlook client 2000, will acts as a true proxy for communicating the GC, so DSProxy performs he operation on behalf of the client.
3.DSACCESS performs differently, DSACCESS proxies AD request coming from the other exchange component.

RUS – Recipeint Update Service:

1.Abv_dg.DLL is the core file for the RUS.
2.It is used for applying recipient policies to mail-enabled user objects.

Mailbox Manager Component:

The Mailbox Manager's job is to enforce policies that help to control the size of an information store, including mailbox quotas and message retention policies.

Server Monitor Component:

1.It is primarily used to keep exchange server’s link state information up to date.
2.The link state information is used to calculate the optimal path to various destinations within the exchange organization. Metrics like costs, availability and hop counts are taken into account.
3.It is responsible for monitoring server resources using WMI Windows Management Instrumentation.
4.It is also responsible for managing message tracking logs (if the message tracking is enabled).

Offline Address Book Generator:

1.The idea behind OAB generator (OABgen.dll) is for mobile users to access the address book, even is the users are offline.
2.So the offline users rely on the OAB instead of GAL.
3.The OABgen.dll file is stored in an Exchange public folder subfolder called Offline Address Book. This folder contains two subfolder: OAB Version2 and OAB Version 3a.

Free/busy Component:

1.The free/busy (madfb.dll) component is responsible for publishing the free busy information.
2.In detail, free busy information of other attendee is required for scheduling meeting. So the source user needs the free busy data of the target attendee’s calendar. Since user don’t generally have access to other user’s mailbox. Like OAB, the free/busy(madfb.dll) component is stored in a subfolder of the system public folder named SCHEDULE + FREE BUSY.
3.When a user creates an appointment or meeting, the exchange store sends the corresponding free/busy information to the exchange system attendant mailbox. The madfb.dll extracts the free busy data from the message and publishes it in the SCHEDULE + FREE BUSY folder.

Metabase Update Service:

1.Metabase Update Service (ds2mb.dll) is closely related to the IIS.
2.IIS metabase is the core file for IIS. Given that, exchange is dependent on IIS, exchange is also dependent on the IIS metabase.
3.IIS metabase exists in the form of an XML file named Metabase.xml, also stores as binary file called Metabase.bin (located in System root\system32\inetsrv) and the corresponding schema file called MBSchema.xml.
4.Some Exchange configuration information related to SMTP Virtual servers, the HTTP configuration of OWA and few others are stored in AD, but are needed by IIS. This is where the Metabase Update Service comes into play. This service replicates protocol related exchange server configuration information from the AD to the IIS metabase.

Hope the above is informative. Please ping me if you have any questions.

Thanks

Logu

logu_microsft@hotmail.com
91-9841499143

Finding the mailboxes homed in particular mailbox store:

2008-11-25T19:41:00.002+05:30

This article explains the different type of methods to find the mailbox homed in particular mailbox store. In simple words, the methods used for querying the mailbox based on the mailbox store information.
When you try to delete a mailbox store from a server that is running Exchange 2000 or Exchange 2003, you may receive the following error message:
“One or more users currently use this mailbox store. These users must be moved to a different mailbox store or be mail disabled before deleting this store.
ID no: c1034a7f
Exchange System Manager”.

In that, we need to find the mailboxes that are homed in that particular mailbox store. The following are the different types of method to find that respective mailboxes.

Method 1: Use the LDP tool (Ldp.exe) to browse for mailboxes that are on a mailbox store

You can use the LDP tool to find all the accounts that have mailboxes on a particular mailbox store. This tool is included with the Microsoft Windows 2000 Support Tools package.

To use the LDP tool to find all the accounts that have mailboxes on a particular mailbox store, follow these steps:
1.Start Ldp.exe.
2.Click Connection, and then click Connect.
3.Enter the name of a domain controller, and then click OK.We recommend that you enter a domain controller in the root domain of the forest.
4.Click Connection, and then click Bind.
5.Enter the user name, the password, and the domain name of an administrative account, and then click OK.
6.On the View menu, click Search.
7.Click to select the "DC=domainname,DC=local" by Base DN check box.
8.Click the Filter box, and then type the following text:
msExchHomeServerName=Exchange virtual server name
9.Click Subtree, and then click Run.
10.Identify the users who have mailboxes on this store. Then, use the Active Directory Users and Computers snap-in to move the mailboxes to a different store or to delete the mailboxes.

Method 2: Use the LDP tool to search for mailboxes that are on a mailbox store

1.Start Ldp.exe.
2.Click Connection, and then click Connect.
3.Enter the name of a domain controller, and then click OK.
4.Click Connection, and then click Bind.
5.Enter the user name, the password, and the domain name of an administrative account, and then click OK.
6.On the View menu, click Tree.
7.Make sure that the Base DN box is blank, and then click OK.If the Base DN box is not blank, clear its contents, and then click OK.
8.Right-click the container that you want to search, such as the CN=Users container, and then click OK.
9.Click the Filter box, and then type the following:
(&(objectCategory=person)(objectClass=user)(msExchHomeServerName=/o=ORGANIZATION NAME/ou=ADMINISTRATIVE GROUP NAME/cn=Configuration/cn=Servers/cn=SERVER-NAME-TO-REMOVE))
10.Click Subtree, and then click Run.
11.When you have identified which users have mailboxes on this store, you can use Active Directory Users and Computers either to move the mailboxes to a different store or to delete the user's mailbox.

Method 3: Use Active Directory Users and Computers to browse for mailboxes that are on a mailbox store

1.Start Active Directory Users and Computers on a computer that has Exchange System Manager installed on it.
2.In Active Directory Users and Computers, click View, click to select the Advanced Features check box, and then click OK.
3.Click View, and then click Choose Columns.
4.In the Modify Columns box, click Exchange Mailbox Store in the Hidden Columns list, click Add, and then click OK to add the Exchange Mailbox Store to the Displayed Columns list.An Exchange Mailbox Store column appears in Active Directory Users and Computers that shows the mailbox store that a user has a mailbox on.
5.When you have identified which users have mailboxes on this store, you can use Active Directory Users and Computers either to move the mailboxes to a different store or to delete the user's mailbox.

Method 4: Use Active Directory Users and Computers to search for mailboxes that are on a mailbox store

1.Start Active Directory Users and Computers.
2.Right-click the domain that you want, and then click Find.
3.Click the Advanced tab, click Field, point to User, and then click Exchange Home Server.
4.In the Condition list, click Ends with, type the name of your Exchange computer, and then click Find Now.
5.If you are prompted to add the current criteria to your search, click Yes.
6.When you have identified which users have mailboxes on this store, you can use Active Directory Users and Computers either to move the mailboxes to a different store or to delete the user's mailbox.
The mailbox search results appear in the lower pane.

Method 5: Use the LDIFDE tool (Ldifde.exe) to create an export file that contains the mailboxes that are on a mailbox store

1.At a command prompt, type an LDIFDE command that is similar to the following. Then press ENTER.
ldifde -d "DC=ROOT,DC=COM" -f c:\output.txt -r "(&(objectCategory=person)(objectClass=user)(msExchHomeServerName=/o=ORGANIZATION NAME/ou=ADMINISTRATIVE GROUP NAME/cn=Configuration/cn=Servers/cn=SERVER-NAME-TO-REMOVE))"
2.Quit the command prompt.
3.Start Notepad or some other text editor, and then load the Output.txt file that you created in step 1 to view the mailboxes that are on the mailbox store.
4.When you have identified which users have mailboxes on this store, you can use Active Directory Users and Computers either to move the mailboxes to a different store or to delete the user's mailbox.

Thanks

Logu

logu_microsoft@hotmail.com
91-9841499143

Outlook Web Access – OWA in Exchange 2007:

2008-07-13T20:02:00.002+05:30

In this article, we are going to discuss all the new features that are available in the exchange 2007 OWA and also related configuration. The OWA is handy for many users in accessing their email when compared to the outlook client when they are out of their organization, probably when they are travelling different places. They will be able to access their email with ease even though they don’t have the laptop.

Key new OWA features:

1.Web ready documents allow opening office docs.
2.Email headers view.
3.Customizable toolbars.
4.Out of Office configuration.
5.Deleted Item recovery.
6.Instant language options.
7.Cleaner Calendar reminders.
8.Multiple calendars and drag gable appointments.
9.Mobile device configuration options.
10.Change password interface.
11.Open other’s mailbox within OWA.

Light vs. Premium Client

Light Version:
1.For non-IE browsers.
2.For slow connections.
3.For older systems.
4.Most secure/best for kiosks
5.Contains basic access to all resource types.

Full Version:
1.More feature-rich.
2.Deeper interaction with mailbox content.
3.Drag and drop.
4.Access to file servers and SharePoint.

Thanks

Logu

Logu_microosft@hotmail.com
91-9841499143

Address List:

2008-07-06T17:42:00.002+05:30

In this article, we are going to discuss about the functions of the address list in exchange server 2007 version. In simple words, address list contains the classified details of the contact address (user’s email address, mail contacts, public folder email address, distribution email address, etc). The address lists are built to make lookups more useable than the basic Global Address List. The Global Address list contains all the address in the exchange directory (in short contains all mail enabled objects), and by default this is available in all email clients. This pre-canned address book will suffice for small-midsized businesses. The custom address list can be created as per your company needs.

Global Address List:

1. A list from the AD with all mail-enabled containers in it.
2. By default, it is provided to every user within Outlook and OWA.
3. Additional GALs can be created for hosting environments that need isolation.

Offline Address Book:

1. Allow users to get AD info while offline.
2. It is available to both internal and external users.
3. Are distributed via web-site and via Public folder.

Dynamic Distribution Group:

1. Groups can be built based on AD properties like Department, State or Company.
2. Dynamic security group is not feasible; one dynamic distribution group is possible. For example, Suppose I need to create a group on the basis of company name and city location (custom attribute1). The above can be done by creating the dynamic distribution group. Any new addition which matches the above condition will be automatically added to the distribution group, that’s the reason why it s called as Dynamic.
3. Especially useful for location-specific communications.
4. Can’t be used as security groups.
5. Create them in the Group sub-node of the Recipient node.
6. Non-wizard filtering criteria can be used if you use the New-DynamicDistributionGroup cmdlet.
#New-DynamicDistributionGroup –Name “Groupname” –Alias “ABC_Company” –IncludedRecipeints “MailboxUsers,MailContacts” – OrganizationalUnit “Domain.com/Users” –ConditionalCompany “Domain”

Best Practice:

1.Address List:

a. Don’t create any unless you really need them, and then keep it simple.
b. Make list names clearly descriptive of contents.

2.Global Address List:

a. Stick with the default one if at all possible.
b. Create new ones only for client based isolation.

3.Dynamic Distribution List:

a. Make use of this group.
b. Don’t forget about the value of the non-wizard Dynamic lists.

Hope the above is informative.

Please feel free to contact me for any questions.

Thanks
Logu

Logu_microsoft@hotmail.com
91-98414 99143.

Public folder in the exchange server 2007:

2008-07-06T17:27:00.004+05:30

In Simple words, the Public folder is just like a general forum which is used for posting mails, documents and other common information. Actually, usage of public folder has been overcome by SharePoint portal services. Exchange server 2007 is de-emphasized i.e., there is no change or improvement in the public folder architecture in the 2007 version. Microsoft no more support public folders. This article explains the working of the public folders in the exchange 2007 server.

Public folder function:

Public folder data is kept in the public folder database.
Multiple replicas of a public folder can be maintained on separate servers.
Any sort of folder data can be kept in a public folder.
Public folders can be given their own email address.
You can configure Send-as permission on a public folder.

Public folder Creation:

In the EMC, go to toolbox PFMC – Public folder management console.

#New-Publicfolder –name TESTPUBLICFOLDER –path ‘\’ –server ‘servername’

Assigning PF Permission and PF Email address:

1.Setting Permission can be done from Outlook or the EMS.

2.There are two ways to give admin permission via EMS:

a.Add-PublicFolderadministratorPermission - Per-PF.
b.Add-ExchangeAdministrator - General Admin rights, including to PF root.

3.The easiest way is to use Add-PublicFolderClientPermission to assign ownership

#Add-PublicFolderClientPermission –Identity \TESTPUBLICFOLDER –User USERALIASNAME –AccessRights FolderOwner

4.Check permission of the PF using the Outlook or in EMS with

Get-PublicFolderClientPermission
Set perms with Add/Remove/Set-PublicFolderClientPermission

#Get-PublicFolderClientPermission \TESTPUBLICFOLDER list

5.You can use either the EMC or the EMS to mail-enable a public folder.
#Enable-MailPublicFolder \TESTPUBLICFOLDER

6.Check whether a PF is mail-enabled

#Get-PublicFolder list mailenabled
#Get-MailPublicFolder

7.Send-As Permission can be done in the console.

Hope the above is informative.

Please feel free to contact me for any questions.

Thanks

Logu

Logu_microsoft@hotmail.com

91-98414 99143.

Best Practices for FSMO role placement:

2008-07-06T17:16:00.003+05:30

In an Active Directory environment, some of your domain controllers (DCs) must be assigned certain special roles for your network to function properly. These special roles are called flexible single master operations (FSMO) roles, and DCs that hold such roles are called FSMO role holders. If you don't assign these roles properly, bad things can happen, so the focus of this article is on rules for proper placement of FSMO roles on AD-based networks. But before we proceed, please refer my blog session on FSMO roles.

Symptoms of FSMO Problems:

If one or more of your FSMO role holders has problems, bad things can happen. To help you troubleshoot such situations, the table below describes some of the symptoms that can occur when FSMO role holders go missing or don't work properly.

Symptom:

PDC Emulator

Users can't log on - If system clocks become unsynchronized, Kerberos may fail.
Can't change passwords - Password changes need this role holder.
Account lockout not working - Account lockout enforcement needs this role holder.
Can't raise the functional level for a domain - This role holder must be available when the raising the domain functional level.

RID Master

Can't create new users or groups - RID pool has been depleted.

Infrastructure Master

Problems with universal group memberships - Cross-domain object references need this role holder.

Domain Naming Master

Can't add or remove a domain - Changes to the namespace need this role holder.
Can't promote or demote a DC - Changes to the namespace need this role holder.

Schema Master

Can't modify the schema - Changes to the schema need this role holder.
Can't raise the functional level for the forest - This role holder must be available when the raising the forest functional level.

Rules for FSMO Role Placement

Since FSMO roles are crucial for the proper functioning of an AD-based network, it's a good idea to get them right from the planning stage of your deployment. By default, when you install the first DC of your forest root domain, this first DC holds all five FSMO roles. When you install the first DC of any other domain in your forest, that DC will hold all three domain FSMO roles (PDC Emulator, RID Master, and Infrastructure Master). Depending on the complexity of your network, this FSMO role must be placed.

Rule 1: The PDC Emulator and RID Master roles should be on the same machine because the PDC Emulator is a large consumer of RIDs.

Tip: Since the PDC Emulator is the role that does the most work by far of any FSMO role, if the machine holding the PDC Emulator role is heavily utilized then move this role and the RID Master role to a different DC, preferable not a global catalog server (GC) since those are often heavily used also.

Rule 2: The Infrastructure Master should not be placed on a GC.

Tip: Make sure the Infrastructure Master has a GC in the same site as a direct replication partner.

Exception 1: It's OK to put the Infrastructure Master on a GC if your forest has only one domain.

Exception 2: It's OK to put the Infrastructure Master on a GC if every DC in your forest has the GC.

Rule 3: For simpler management, the Schema Master and Domain Naming Master can be on the same machine, which should also be a GC.

Exception: If you've raised your forest functional level to Windows Server 2003, the Domain Naming Master doesn't need to be on a GC, but it should at least be a direct replication partner with a GC in the same site.

Rule 4: Proactively check from time to time to confirm that all FSMO roles are available or write a script to do this automatically.

Tip: If any FSMO role holders at a remote site are unavailable, check first to see if your WAN link is down.

Hope the above is informative.

Please feel free to contact me for any questions.

Thanks

Logu

Logu_microsoft@hotmail.com

91-98414 99143.

Exchange 2007 Database

2008-07-06T16:33:00.011+05:30

This article explains the architecture of the exchange 2007 database and also about its new feature when compared to the previous versions. As we aware exchange 2003 database uses the .edb (rich text file) and .stm files(streaming file). For more details please refer my blog session. In simple words, the rich text file holds the actual messages, the rich text information and the Message Application programming (MAPI) information. The streaming file holds non-MAPI information like MIME contents. There is no more .stm file, all stored in .edb file.

How Exchange stores data:

Database built on a heavily extended version of JET. The JET Database is an old and simple database type which is used for all mail storage in the exchange 2007. Why Microsoft relying on the JET still?, it’s a bit interesting stuff. Microsoft doesn’t want to change the database from JET to SQL database because already in exchange 2007 has enough changes like 64 bit architecture and many other new improved features. Single Instance Storage (SIS) provides large disk space saving. SIS is nothing but, when you send 1 MB attachment mail for 10 users, actually only one copy (1 MB of file) is stored in the DB. Databases use transaction logs (and memory) to initially store data. The mail flow exist as below

All incoming mails à transaction log à Database

Transaction log is like heart beat of the database. All the message routing is logged in a file before getting into the database (edb file) is called the transaction log. The analogy behind this transaction log is used for the restoring the recent data of the database in times of disaster. After successful backup, the committed logs are removed in order to avoid the disk space accumulation. So the last full backup copy plus the uncommitted transaction log will reproduce the recent copy of the database.

Storage Capacity:

In exchange, the maximum storage limit for a database is restricted to certain level, whereas in exchange 2007, it is unlimited theoretically. Please find the difference b/w the standard and enterprise edition in terms of the storage capacity.

In Standard edition:Storage group – up to 5,Database per SG – up to 5,Database limit – 16 TB.
Enterprise edition: Storage group – up to 50,Database per SG – up to 50,Database limit – 16 TB.

The above are the storage limits of the databases, but there are some size caps. The size caps are nothing but artificial size limit set at the registry level. For example for standard edition, there is artificial 50 GB cap on database sizes (for SP1 = 150 GB). This can be increased as per your wish and need, by just creating some entry in the registry as below.

HKLM\system\currentcontrolset\services\MSexchangeIS\servername\private{respective-DB-GUID}

In the above location just add a new DWORD value “Database Size Limit in GB” and set the decimal value as 200 (in this case increasing the size limit to 200 GB). In addition, the default mailbox size limit is 2 GB (can be changed).

Difference b/w exchange 2007 database and the previous version:

The following the differences between the exchange 2007 database and the exchange database of older version.

The name of the store has been changed to Database.
There is no more .stm file anymore. All data is in the .edb file.
Transaction logs have shrunk from 5 MB to 1 MB.
Transaction log numbering limits have been expanded from a million to 4 billion.
Lost Log Resilience keeps last several log files in memory.

Relationship b/w Storage groups and Database:

Storage groups are virtual containers for databases.
They can hold up to five databases each.
Transaction logs are handled at the storage group level.
LCR – Local Continuous Replication - is a new feature of exchange 2007 will enables us to have a copy of the database in some other location. LCR can be used only if you use single database per storage group.

Guidelines for Best practices:

Try 1:1 model for storage groups and databases.
Isolate DB and transaction logs on separate disk for redundancy purpose.
Leave Circular logging disabled.
Perform regular Full backups.
Check the available disk space for the transaction logs because it increases in faster rate and occupies plenty spaces.
If you have multiple DB’s, set maintenance schedules so they don’t conflict each other.
If it is 1:1 model, make use of LCR-Local Continuous Replication option.
Don’t forget about the artificial size cap.

Hope the above is informative.

Please feel free to contact me for any questions.

Thanks

Logu

Logu_microsoft@hotmail.com

91-98414 99143.

Managing File System Inconsistencies and Disk space in UNIX\Solaris:

2008-06-12T15:15:00.001+05:30

This article explains how to manage disk space and file system inconsistencies. In general, Unix file system uses a set of tables to keep track of used inodes and available blocks. Inconsistencies will arise, for example, abrupt termination of the operating system. The reason for inconsistencies are listed below

1. Software error in the kernel.

2. Turning off the system without proper shutdown procedure.

3. Defective hardware, such as problem with the disk.

fsck Command:

Used to find the inconsistencies and repair them.

Syntax:

#fsck {option} {device}

Options

-F {fstype} – limit to check the specified file system.
-m – check but do not repair, for checking the status of the file system.

df Command:

Used to monitor disk space usage at file system level, also used to determine the following,

1. The amount of disk space occupied by currently mounted or unmounted file systems.
2. The total amount of the used and available space.
3. The fraction of the file system’s total capacity that has been used.

Syntax:

#df {-F fstype} {option} {file system}

du Command:

Used to get the report on disk usage at the directory and file level, also used to determine the following,

1. Total space allocated to a directory.
2. Total space allocated to a directory subtree.
3. Total space allocated to a non-directory file.

Syntax:

#du {option} {file}

quot Command:

Used to get the report on disk usage by user name, if you want to know how much space is being used by each user on a given file system, can make use of this command.

Syntax:

#quot {option} {filesystem}

Hope this is informative.

Thanks

Logu

Logu_microsoft@hotmail.com
91-98414 99143

Managing Hard and Symbolic Links in Solaris/Unix:

2008-06-12T15:02:00.000+05:30

This article explains the purpose and usage of hard and symbolic links. A link is a file that points to another file. There are two kinds of link available

1.Hard Link:

a. A Hard Link is a pointer to a file that is indistinguishable from the original file.

b. Any changes made to a file are effective regardless of the name used to refer to the file – the link file or the original file name.

c. The link and the file are on the same file system because both have the same inode number.

d. A hard link can only point to a file, not to a directory.

e. You cannot create a hard link file without having the existing file.

f. The hard link file will consume the same amount of the disk as that of the original file.

g. If you delete the link file, the other will exist and the reverse is also applicable.

Syntax of the Hard Link file:

To create a hard link file,
#ln {source} {Target}

To remove the same file,
#rm {linkfile}

2.Symbolic Link:

a. A Symbolic Link is an indirect pointer to a file and it can span the file systems.

b. A symbolic link can be pointed to either file or directory.

c. You can create a symbolic link without having the existing file.

d. The symbolic link file will have the different inode number.

e. The symbolic link file will just have the details of the pointer information of the original file alone. Hence it won’t consume the same space as that of the original file.

f. It is just like a shortcut in the Windows.

g. If you delete the shortcut link file, the original file will exist. The reverse is obviously not applicable. It is better to clean up the shortcut files i.e, symbolic file before deleting the source file.

Syntax of the Symbolic Link file:

#ln –s {Source} {Target}

Thanks

Logu

Logu_microsoft@hotmail.com
91-98414 99143

Directory Hierarchy in Solaris:

2008-06-12T15:01:00.000+05:30

This articles the directory hierarchy structure in the Solaris file systems. Just like other OS, Solaris organized into directories and directories organized into a hierarchy called a directory tree. The understanding of the directories in Solaris file system is more important.

1./bin - symbolic link to the /usr/bin directory.

2./dev – Contains logical devices names for the devices.

3./device – device related files controlled by the file system: devfs.

4./lib – Contains shared libraries such as SMF executables.

5./etc – administrative and configuration files.

6./export – Commonly used to hold user home directories.(you can define as per your wish)

7./home – Default mount point for user home directories.

8./mnt – Default mount point used to temporarily mount file systems.

9./sbin – Contains system administration command s and utilities.

10./tmp – Contains temporary files that are deleted when the system is rebooted.

11./usr – UNIX system resources, Holds OS commands and programs.

Thanks

Logu

Logu_microsoft@hotmail.com
91-98414 99143

Package administration in the Solaris:

2008-06-12T14:56:00.002+05:30

This article helps in administering the package in the Solaris such as adding, removing, upgrading, patching, getting info, etc. As we already know that in Linux we use rpm and yum commands for installing or removing the packages. But in Solaris, the above said commands are non-functional.

1.Installing a Package:

#pkgadd – used for installing the package, the default installation spool directory is /var/spool/pkg.

Example

#pkgadd –a {admin} – indicate to use the installation administration file specified by admin instead of the default file.

#pkgadd –d {device} – the package to be installed must be copied from the device.

2.Checking a Package:

#pkgchk – used to check the accuracy of the installed files

Example

To check the content of an installed package SUNWbash,
#pkgchk –c SUNWbash

To check the file attribute of an installed package SUNWPython,
#pkgchk –a SUNWPython

3. Retrieving information about Packages:

#pkginfo – to retrieve the information about the s/w package installed in the system,

Example

To get information on the list of fully installed package,
#pkginfo –i

To get information on the list of partially installed package,
#pkginfo –p

To get the information on the selective category, can be retrieved by the category value set in the pkginfo for the attribute values.
#pkginfo –c {category value}

4. Removing a Package:

#pkgrm – to remove the completely or partially installed package

To remove the source package by using the admin specified installation file instead of the default file,
#pkgrm –a {admin}

To remove all the files of the package including those shared by other packages.
#pkgrm –A packagename

To remove the package in the non-interactive mode, the default is the interactive mode,
#pkgrm –n SUNWPython

Hope the above information is useful while dealing with some packages.

Thanks

Logu

Logu_microsoft@hotmail.com
91-98414 99143

Installation of Solaris 10:

2008-06-12T14:43:00.001+05:30

This article explains the step by step procedure for installing the Solaris 10 on the SPARC machine and X86 machines. The installation of Solaris 10 in X86 is somewhat similar to the deployment of the Linux. Installation of Solaris 10 in SPARC machine is bit different.

Hardware Requirements:

Before starting the installation process, all the hardware components must be checked for the hardware compatibility first. Please make sure all the needed drivers available for the X86 machines.

Installation in the X86 Machine:

1.Insert the Solaris 10 CD or DVD into the appropriate drive.

2.Set the Boot priority as required in the BIOS.

3.On the initial, Solaris Booting Systems. Decide whether you need to modify the device settings.
a.Install device driver or install time updates.
b.Disable ACPI – Advanced Configuration and Power Interfaces.
c.Set up a serial console.
d.Reset the default boot device.

4.Select the installation type
a.Solaris Interactive. (Default GUI)
b.Custom Jumpstart.
c.Solaris Interactive Text (Desktop session).
d.Solaris Interactive Text (Console session).

5.Two scenario to proceed
a.If it detects all the devices, then proceed to step 7.
b.If the problem in detecting the keyboard, monitor and mouse, go to step 6.

6. Two ways to go from here
a.Configure the keyboard, Monitor and Mouse as per the instruction on the screen.
b.If you want to do the text installation, press f4 to skip the steps related to the GUI display and will let directly to the step 7.

7.Select the language.

8.Please precede the installation and configure the disk space for the file system. Can use the automatic partitioning or can do the manual partitioning as well. The recommended disk partitioning is /boot (100 MB), /swap (twice the RAM) and / (remaining space).

9.Select the default package list or select the package manually.

10.Answer any additional configuration questions, if you are prompted.

11.After the installing the package, it will automatically reboot.

Installation in the SPARC Machine:

1.Insert the Solaris 10 CD or DVD into the appropriate drive.

2.Set the Boot priority as required in the BIOS.

3.Start the Solaris installation program by booting through CD / DVD
a.For GUI installation, type the below command in the ok prompt
Ok boot cdrom
b.For Text installer in a desktop session, type the below command in the ok prompt
Ok boot cdrom –text
c.For Text installer in a console session, type the below command in the ok prompt
Ok boot cdrom –nowin

4.Select the language.

5.Answer the system configuration questions such as hostname, IP address and others.

6.Select the reboot option at the end of installation and specify the media you are using to install.

7.Please precede the installation and configure the disk space for the file system. Can use the automatic partitioning or can do the manual partitioning as well. The recommended disk partitioning is /boot (100 MB), /swap (twice the RAM) and / (remaining space).

8.Select the default package list or select the package manually.

9.Answer any additional configuration questions, if you are prompted.

Please revert if you have any issue while deploying the package.

Thanks

Logu

Logu_microsoft@hotmail.com
91-98414 99143

Evolution/History of UNIX:

2008-06-09T07:18:00.001+05:30

This article gives information on the history and evolution of the UNIX. UNIX was the first operating system; it also has been a trail blazer in the field of operating systems. Other OS like windows, Linux and others have adopted the features first proposed by and implemented in UNIX. UNIX is not an operating system that was built by one company with a wonderful marketing department.

UNIX, pronounced as yoo-niks, is not the name of one operating system; it refers to a family of operating systems.

Brief History of UNIX:

1. The roots lie in Comprehensive time sharing system CTSS developed by Corbato at MIT in the early 1960s.
2. In 1969, emergence of UNIX at the AT & T Bell labs.
3. After several hits, first BSD Berkeley Software Distribution version released in 1978.
4. In 1982, Sun Microsystems released first UNIX workstation based on the BSD flavor of UNIX.
5. Finally in the year, SPARC station1 introduced.

UNIX Flavors:

UNIX is the oldest OS that pioneered several OS concepts used by other OS such as Microsoft DOS and Microsoft Windows. Originally, Bell Lab distributed UNIX along with the source code so that, anybody could modify and customize the OS to meet specific needs. The following are the different flavors of UNIX with Vendor and Chip architecture.

1. Solaris – Sun Microsystems – SPARC, X86
2. HP-UX – Hewlett Packard – IA 64 and HP PA-RISC
3. Irix- Silicon Graphics – MIPS
4. AIX – IBM – PowerPC
5. UNIXWare – SCO/Caldera – Xeon, Pentium, X86
6. Linux – Freeware – Alpha, SPARC, PowerPC and Intel

Characteristics of UNIX:

1. UNIX is built from small components; each component does one job and does it well.
2. Support for virtually all n/w protocols.
3. Many flavors of UNIX.
4. Wide variety of s/w available for UNIX.
5. Open standard and open source.
6. Multitasking and multiprocessing.

The underlying philosophy of UNIX may be classified as independence, interconnection and innovation.

Hope the above information is useful.

Thanks

Logu

Logu_microsoft@hotmail.com
91-98414 99143

SMTP Connectors in Exchange server 2007:

2008-06-07T13:48:00.001+05:30

This article explains the working of SMTP Connectors and new SMTP topology in the exchange server 2007 when compared to the previous versions. Simple Mail Transfer Protocol is a protocol used for sending messages between different servers. Because most email systems that are connected to the internet uses SMTP as a messaging standard. In exchange server 2003, SMTP relies on the service provided by the Windows OS, whereas in exchange 2007 has its own built in SMTP with interesting new features.

SMTP Connectors:

In exchange, the SMTP connectors are the logical representations of connections between a source and destination server. In previous version of exchange, SMTP connector is used for both incoming and outgoing message flow, i.e. two way communications for message flow. But in exchange server 2007, the concept of the SMTP Connector is classified into two types Send Connector and Receive Connector. Each of these types of connector represents a one way communication.

Receive Connectors:

1. Acts as an incoming point for SMTP traffic.
2. Actively listens for all incoming connections.
3. The parameters like Number of active connections allowed, Maximum incoming message size and Maximum recipients per message can be set in the Receive Connector.

Send Connectors:

1. Used for relaying outgoing SMTP communications.
2. It is not scoped to single server or single point, the end message is addressed to remote destination and reaches the appropriate Connector.

Hope the above is informative.

Thanks
Logu

logu_microsoft@hotmail.com
91-98414-99143

Information Rights Management:

2008-06-07T13:45:00.001+05:30

Introduced in Microsoft Office 2003 products, Information Rights Management (IRM) helps organizations protect digital information from unauthorized use. By integrating with a Windows Server 2003 technology called Microsoft Windows Rights Management Services (RMS), IRM enables workers to define how a recipient can use the information contained in a Microsoft Office document. Users can define exactly who can open, modify, print, forward, or take other actions with protected documents. In addition, users can specify an expiration date, after which the document cannot be viewed or acted upon.

To create IRM-protected documents and email messages, the sending user must be using the Professional or Enterprise version of Office 2007. Users of Office Standard 2007 can still read and use IRM-protected documents, but cannot create them or apply policies to email messages. The exchange server 2003 must have the windows Rights Management Services (RMS) to be installed, so that the end users will be able to protect their mail with the information rights management services.

Thanks
Logu

logu_microsoft@hotmail.com
91-9841499143

Exchange Power Shell - EMS:

2008-06-04T03:27:00.002+05:30

This article explains the features of the exchange management shell EMS. Unlike the previous version of the exchange, the exchange server 2007 has this new feature of accomplishing all the exchange related activity in the command shell. The PowerShell uses the cmdlets as a core technology. A cmdlet is a lightweight command that is used in the PowerShell and Exchange Management Shell environments. Within that environment, the PowerShell command interpreter (PS.exe) executes these cmdlets within the context of automation scripts. The .NET framework is the core package which executes the PowerShell. Nearly 350 exchange related cmdlets are available in the EMS. The EMS works in the back end of the exchange management console.

Uses of EMS:

1. EMS main usage is to perform the administrative functions such as Mailbox management, setting limits for users, Moving mailbox b/w servers, configuring the exchange related parameters, etc.
2. EMS also helps in generating the reports such as recipient details, messaging routing traffic, message size distributions, etc.

General Syntax of the PowerShell Commands:

#Verb-Noun format. The PowerShell commands are auto-tab complete.
Eg., Move-Mailbox, Get-Mailbox, etc.
The commands in the PowerShell can be chained using the pipe option.

Interpreting the PowerShell Commands:

In order to move the mailbox to other server,
In General, Move the Mailbox of the user Stephen to the Mailbox Store2. This can be put syntactically
#Move-Mailbox “Mcgrorty, Stephen” –Targetdatabase “Mailbox Store 2”

Help Option in the EMS:

1. #Get-Help command
2. #Get-Help Set-Mailbox –Parameter *quota*
3. #Get-Help -Role *Mailbox*
Eg, Get-mailboxpermission,Get-mailboxdatabase,etc.
4. #Get-Help -Role *Mailbox* | fl name, synopsis
5. #Get-Help -Component *Recipient*
Eg, Get-mailbox,get-mailboxstatistics,etc.
6. #Get-Help -Functionality *Server*
Eg, Get-mailboxserver,Get-sendconnector,etc.

Pipeline Option:

To move all mailbox in the server1 to the server2
#Get-Mailbox –server server1 | Move-Mailbox –targetdatabase “server2\Mailbox Store1”

To set the maximum send size attribute for the recipient “Andreo Nel”
#Get-Mailbox | where-object { $_.name –like “And*” } | Set-Mailbox –MaxSendSize 10mb

WhatIf and Confirm Option:

To move the mailbox with the name “sandy” to the server2. The –WhatIf parameter informs the administrator what action the script would take and the –Confirm parameter prompts for confirmation before taking action.

#Get-Mailbox | where-object { $_.name –like “sandy*” } | Move-Mailbox –targetdatabase “Server2\Mailbox Store1” –WhatIf

Sample Output:

What if: Performing operation “move-Mailbox” on Target “Move mailbox for:Administrator (Administrator@companyabc.com) to Database: Mailbox Database 2,09014bc6-f977-4961-b4eb-8829fb13e5d6. The operation can take a long time and the mailbox will be inaccessible until the move is complete”.

#Get-Mailbox | where-object { $_.name –like “sandy*” } | Move-Mailbox –targetdatabase “Server2\Mailbox Store1” –Confirm

Sample Output:

Are you sure you want to perform this action? Performing operation “move-Mailbox” on Target “Move mailbox for: Administrator (Administrator@companyabc.com) to Database: Mailbox Database 1,09014bc6-f977-4961-b4eb-8829fb13e5d6. The operation can take a long time and the mailbox will be inaccessible until the move is complete”. [Y] Yes [A] Yes to All [N] No [L] No to All [S] Suspend [?] Help (default is “Y”):

Some Important and Useful PowerShell Commands In exchange server 2007:

1. To create a new mail database in the first storage group on server2.
#New-MailboxDatabase –StorageGroup “SERVER2\First Storage Group” –name “Mailbox Store2”

2. To mount the above database,
#Mount-database “SERVER2\First Storage Group\Mailbox Store2”

3. To test the connectivity of the recipient mailbox and also to check the latency.
#Test-MapiConnectivity testuser@company.com

4. To get the list of mailbox with the maximum mailbox size,
#Get-wmiobject -class Exchange_Mailbox -Namespace ROOT\MicrosoftExchangev2 -ComputerName SERVER1 | select-object MailboxDisplayName,TotalItems,Size | sort -descending “Size” | select-object -first 25

5. The above can also be viewed in the HTML format and also can be directed to some file. This makes it portable.
#Get-wmiobject -class Exchange_Mailbox -Namespace ROOT\MicrosoftExchangev2 -ComputerName SERVER1 | select-object MailboxDisplayName,TotalItems,Size | sort -descending “Size” | select-object -first 25 | ConvertTo-html -title “Top 25 Largest Mailboxes on SERVER1” > “D:\Stats\25 Largest Mailboxes.html”

6. To get the events in the application log with the source starting with the word “Exchange” ,
#get-eventlog Application | where {$_.Source -ilike “Exchange*”} | export-csv c:\events.csv

7. To get the information of particular user mailbox
# Get-Mailbox –Identity "Rudi Kutz"
#Get-Mailbox "Rudi Kutz"
#Get-Mailbox rudi.kutz@philips.com

8. To get the list of exchange servers in the organization,
#Get-ExchangeServer
#Get-ExchangeServer -Domain loguinfo.com
#Get-ExchangeServer –Status

9. To get the mailbox database details,
# Get-MailboxDatabase -Server Server
#Get-MailboxDatabase -StorageGroup StorageGroup

10. To set the quota limit parameter for particular database,
# Set-MailboxDatabase -Identity MailboxDatabase -IssueWarningQuota 500MB

11. To set the user’s mailbox properties like external Email Email address value,
# Set-MailUser -Identity user2 -ExternalEmailAddress test@external.com

12. To get all the records which matching the namespace “logu”, it check in all the possible recipients like user mailbox, contacts, etc.
# Get-Recipient -Anr "logu"

13. To Enable/Disable the user,
# Disable-MailUser -Identity user2
# Enable-Mailbox -Identity company\user1 -Database MailboxDatabase

14. To get the mailbox statistics of the database,
# Get-MailboxStatistics -Database MailboxDatabase
#Get-MailboxStatistics -Server Server

15. To give full access permission for the user1 on the mailbox user2,
#Add-MailboxPermission user2 -User user1 -AccessRights FullAccess

16. The same case if it is a linked mailbox (external mail account which has mailbox in this server),
#Add-MailboxPermission user2 -user CODE1\user1 -AccessRights:FullAccess,ExternalAccount

Likewise there are large number of useful commands in the EMS. Hope the above is informative.

Thanks
Logu
logu_microsoft@hotmail.com
91-98414 99143

Integrating Exchange server 2007 in a Non-Windows Environment:

2008-06-04T01:06:00.003+05:30

This article explains the basic understanding of the MIIS application and the integration feature of exchange with Non-windows email systems like UNIX, Novell, Lotus Notes and LDAP directory. In most enterprises today, each individual application or system has its own user database or directory to track who is permitted to use that resource. Each has its own definition of the user’s “identity” (for example name, title, ID numbers, roles, membership in groups). Microsoft invented a tool to facilitate the administration of these multiple repositories. The product is called Microsoft Identity Integration Server.The use of MIIS 2003 for Exchange 2007 is particularly useful because it can synchronize Information between the AD forest that contains Exchange and the other messaging systems in use within the organization.

Understanding MIIS 2003:

MIIS is a system that manages and coordinates identity information from multiple data sources in an organization, enabling you to combine that information into a single logical view that represents all of the identity information for a given user or resource. MIIS enables a company to synchronize identity information across a wide variety of heterogeneous directory and non-directory identity stores. This enables customers to automate the process of updating identity information across heterogeneous platforms while maintaining the integrity and ownership of that data across the enterprise. Password management capabilities enable end users or help desk staff to easily reset passwords across multiple systems from one easy-to-use web interface. End users and help desk staff no longer have to use multiple tools to change their passwords across multiple systems.

Thanks
Logu
logu_microsoft@hotmail.com
91-98414 99143

Checking the committed transaction logs in Exchange Server:

2008-05-31T08:02:00.002+05:30

This article explains how to check the committed transaction logs in exchange server. The disk space management is more important, since the transaction logs get accumulated in faster phase. Sometimes, the committed logs may not be recycled after taking the backups. The committed transaction logs are no need any more in such cases, just only occupies some disk space. Here we are going to check how to find the committed transaction logs using the eseutil.

Checkpoint File:

In Exchange, there will be a checkpoint file for each storage group and one for the directory. The checkpoint file is a file of special note which plays a big role in keeping your exchange server database in order. The checkpoint file (edb.chk) tracks which entries in the transaction log files have already been recorded in the database, and thus which ones will need to be replayed during a restoration situation. The checkpoint file thus speeds up recovery by telling the ESE-Extensible Search Engine exactly which log file entries need to be replayed and which do not-thus preventing extra writing during the restoration process. So what is ESE, here we go, The Extensible Storage Engine (ESE) is a low-level database engine that is used internally by Windows for all sorts of things like Microsoft Exchange message store, Active Directory database, Microsoft Updates, Local Security Policy, etc.

When you try to identify the last committed log file for a storage group, note that the storage group prefix applies to the checkpoint file and to all of the log files. For example, the default first storage group's checkpoint file name is E00.chk, and its log files are E00xxxxxx.log (where xxxxx is the hexadecimal sequence number of the log file).

To check the status/details of the checkpoint file
eseutil /mk “the full path to the checkpoint file”

For example,
eseutil /mk "C:\Program Files\Exchsrvr\MDBDATA\E00.chk"

Sample Output:

Microsoft(R) Exchange Server(TM) Database Utilities
Version 6.0
Copyright (C) Microsoft Corporation 1991-2000. All Rights Reserved.
Initiating FILE DUMP mode...
Checkpoint file: C:\Program Files\Exchsrvr\MDBDATA\E00.chk
LastFullBackupCheckpoint: (0x0,0,0)
Checkpoint: (0x6A,1119,3D)
FullBackup: (0x0,0,0)
FullBackup time: 00/00/1900 00:00:00
IncBackup: (0x0,0,0)
IncBackup time: 00/00/1900 00:00:00
Signature: Create time:09/24/2001 17:10:26 Rand:522553071 Computer:
Env (CircLog,Session,Opentbl,VerPage,Cursors,LogBufs,LogFile,Buffers)
( off, 202, 30300, 1365, 10100, 128, 10240, 97940)
Operation completed successfully in 1.192 seconds.

In the above sample output, please find the checkpoint details (marked in bold red),
Checkpoint: (0x6A,1119,3D) – it means 0x6A = E000006A.log is the last committed log file, the logs sequentially above this value is committed to the database already.

Hope the above information will helps you in checking the committed logs and also in managing the disk space management.

Thanks
Logu
logu_microsoft@hotmail.com
91-98414 99143

Understanding DSProxy, DSReferral, DSAccess and the Categorizer:

2008-05-30T08:58:00.003+05:30

This article explains the features and natures of the important topology in Exchange environment called DSPROXY, DSACCESS and Categorizer. We already aware that both AD and Exchange are highly integrated, the relationship b/w AD and exchange is more complex and often misunderstood. Exchange server uses two services – Dsproxy and Dsaccess – to access the GC Global Catalog. We already know what is Global Catalog?, if not please keep in mind that Global Catalog is a database which contains the partial replicas of the directories of other domains and contains subsets of the AD attributes of all the objects in the forest( for e.g., attributes like email address). Dsproxy is an exchange specific service, whereas Dsaccess is a Windows service in turn used by the exchange server.

Dsproxy:

1. In general, Outlook 2000 clients and above can access the GC directly, but the old outlook client doesn’t.
2. To address the above lack of access, exchange server provides a proxy service called Dsproxy, acts as an intermediary b/w client and the GC.
3. Dsproxy works as a facilitator to allow outlook clients to access information within the AD through the Name Service Provider Interface (NSPI).

Dsreferral:

1. Since the dsproxy helps outlook client to reach the GC directly. Dsreferral also enhance or work to facilitate dsproxy.
2. Dsreferaal is used especially when exchange server not running on GC server. In such cases, DS Referral has the capability to update the Outlook 2000 client's MAPI profile with an appropriate GC server.

Dsaccess:

1. In general, the exchange server shares the GC functionality with the other AD services, It is important to reduce the impact of exchange server queries on GC. Dsaccess become solution for this.
2. Dsaccess implement a cache that stores recently accessed information for a configurable length of time. This cache reduces the number of direct query on GC drastically.

Role of the Categorizer:

The SMTP Categorizer is a component of Exchange that is used to submit mail messages to the proper destination. When a mail message is sent, the Categorizer queries the DSAccess component to locate an Active Directory server list, which is then directly queried for information that can be used to deliver the message. Problems with the Categorizer are often the cause of DNS or AD lookup issues. When troubleshooting mail-flow problems, please use message tracking in Exchange Server 2007 to find the course of a message. If the message stops at the Categorizer, it is often wise to start troubleshooting the issue from a directory access perspective.

Hope the above the information is short and informative.

Thanks

Logu
logu_microsoft@hotmail.com

91-98414 99143

Installing/Deploying Exchange server 2007:

2008-05-29T06:23:00.004+05:30

This article briefs about the prerequisite and installation procedure for the exchange server 2007. In the latest version of exchange server, the Microsoft has taken big step in improving the installation process.

Hardware requirements:

1. X64 Hardware Processor.
2. Min 1 GB RAM and Rec 2 GB RAM
3. 1.2 GB disk space for exchange core installation.
4. Must be a NTFS partition.

Server OS Installation:

Install the windows server 2003 server (Std or Ent Edition), latest services packs(SP1 is must), patches and needed hot fixes.

Active Directory:

Implementation of proper AD is more important since AD is highly integrated with the Microsoft exchange. Mistakes made in the AD will affect the exchange badly.

Considerable AD factors:
1. Global catalog server placement - stores partial copies of data for all other
Domains within a forest. Exchange queries a global catalog to resolve email addresses for
2. users within the organization
3. AD Sites and Services
4. Domain and forest functional levels
5. Flexible Single Master Operations role placement
6. Permissions needed to install Exchange – must be a member of schema Admin and Enterprise admin for installing the exchange server.
7. Bandwidth and latency.

Preinstallation check before deploying Exchange server 2007:

1. Test the status of the AD using netdiag, dcdiag and replication monitor. Alternatively, the Exchange Server 2007 Installation Wizard also conducts a minor health check automatically as a prerequisite task when installing Exchange Server 2007.
2. Raising the Domain functional levels accordingly.

Prerequisite for deploying Exchange server 2007:

1. Install .NET 2.0
2. Install MMC 3.0
3. Install EMS – Exchange Management Shell.
4. Configuring IIS 6.0 – Check Enable network COM+ access, IIS, Common files, WWW services, ASP.NET.
5. Preparation switches
/prepare pl – single shot install
/prepare Schema – for preparing the schema
/prepare AD - for preparing the active directory in the domain level - optional
/prepare Alldomains – for different domains
/prepare Domains “domain name” – for other domains and child domains

Installing the Exchange server 2007:

Click the core setup.exe file, the wizard for installing the exchange server will open, please select the respective roles and other inputs.
Post installation Checks:
1. Review installation logs - C:\Program Files\Microsoft\Exchange Server\logging\SetupLogs.
2. Review event logs in the event viewer.
3. Check and Obtain the latest Exchange critical updates
4. Verify server roles are installed by checking in the Exchange management console or by get-Exchange Server command in the shell.
5. Run Microsoft Exchange Best Practice Analyzer (shortly called as ExBPA tool)

Upgrading from the previous version:

It is not possible to upgrade Exch 2000/2003 to Exch 207 directly because the Exch 2007 uses X64 architecture.
Exch 5.5 (migrated to) - Exch 2000/2003 (transferred to) - Exch 2007.

Hope the above mentioned steps in deploying the exchange server 2007. The Migration from the previous version has lots to be described, probably I will write in another blog.

Thanks
Logu
Logu_microsoft@hotmail.com
91-98414 99143

NDR - Non Delivery Report

2008-05-11T08:39:00.002+05:30

Hi Friends,

This article explains how to interpret with NDR and to find the cause of non delivery of the email. Suppose, when you are sending a mail to the recipient called x@microsoft.com, it comes back with some message that the indented mail does not reach that particular recipient, it is called the NDR - Non delivery report. The reason for failure in the mail delivery may be many, though this NDR gives the related information about the cause of the message failure. Having the knowledge on the different NDR will definitely gives hands on support in case of troubleshooting.

Interpreting with the NDR :

In the NDR message first lookout for the three digit

i.e, x.y.z . eg., 5.2.1

The "x" fields give some valuable information on the type of error. When it is "5", we are dealing with the permanent error. When it is "4", the message eventually may or may not pass on. Almost all valid NDR starts with 4 or 5, none other than this numbers. Apart from the first field, it is very difficult to classify the other fields, because each numbers have its own explanation. It also have the brief description about the problem and also have the list of recipient address for whom the mail not delivered.

List of NDR codes and their meanings :

4.2.2
The recipient has exceeded their mailbox limit. It could also be that the delivery directory on the Virtual server has exceeded its limit. (Default 22 MB)
4.3.1
Not enough disk space on the delivery server. Microsoft say this NDR maybe reported as out-of-memory error.
4.3.2
Classic temporary problem, the Administrator has frozen the queue.
4.4.1
Intermittent network connection. The server has not yet responded. Classic temporary problem. If it persists, you will also a 5.4.x status code error.
4.4.2
The server started to deliver the message but then the connection was broken.
4.4.6
Too many hops. Most likely, the message is looping.
4.4.7
Problem with a timeout. Check receiving server connectors.
4.4.9
A DNS problem. Check your smart host setting on the SMTP connector. For example, check correct SMTP format. Also, use square brackets in the IP address [197.89.1.4] You can get this same NDR error if you have been deleting routing groups.
4.6.5
Multi-language situation. Your server does not have the correct language code page installed.
5.0.0
SMTP 500 reply code means an unrecognised command. You get this NDR when you make a typing mistake when you manually try to send email via telnet.More likely, a routing group error, no routing connector, or no suitable address space in the connector.(Try adding * in the address space) This status code is a general error message in Exchange 2000. In fact Microsoft introduced a service pack to make sure now get a more specific code.
5.1.x
Problem with email address.
5.1.0
Often seen with contacts. Check the recipient address.
5.1.1
Another problem with the recipient address. Possibly the user was moved to another server in Active Directory. Maybe an Outlook client replied to a message while offline.
5.1.2
SMTP; 550 Host unknown. An error is triggered when the host name can’t be found. For example, when trying to send an email to bob@ nonexistantdomain.com.(Example kindly sent in by Paul T.)
5.1.3
Another problem with contacts. Address field maybe empty. Check the address information.
5.1.4
Two objects have the same address, which confuses the categorizer.
5.1.5
Destination mailbox address invalid.
5.1.6
Problem with homeMDB or msExchHomeServerName - check how many users are affected. Sometimes running RUS (Recipient Update Service) cures this problem. Mailbox may have moved.
5.1.7
Problem with senders mail attribute, check properties sheet in ADUC.
5.2.x
NDR caused by a problem with the large size of the email.
5.2.1
The message is too large. Else it could be a permissions problem. Check the recipient's mailbox.
5.2.2
Sadly, the recipient has exceeded their mailbox limit.
5.2.3
Recipient cannot receive messages this big. Server or connector limit exceeded.
5.2.4
Most likely, a distribution list or group is trying to send an email. Check where the expansion server is situated.
5.3.0
Problem with MTA, maybe someone has been editing the registry to disable the MTA / Store driver.
5.3.1
Mail system full. Possibly a Standard edition of Exchange reached the 16 GB limit.
5.3.2
System not accepting network messages. Look outside Exchange for a connectivity problem.
5.3.3
Remote server has insufficient disk space to hold email. Check SMTP log.
5.3.4
Message too big. Check limits, System Policy, connector, virtual server.
5.3.5
Multiple Virtual Servers are using the same IP address and port. See Microsoft TechNet article: 321721 Sharing SMTP. Email probably looping.
5.4.0
DNS Problem. Check the Smart host, or check your DNS. It means that there is no DNS server that can resolve this email address. Could be Virtual Server SMTP address.
5.4.1
No answer from host. Not Exchange's fault check connections.
5.4.2
Bad connection.
5.4.3
Routing server failure. No available route.
5.4.4
Cannot find the next hop, check the Routing Group Connector. Perhaps you have Exchange servers in different Routing Groups, but no connector.
5.4.6
Tricky looping problem, a contact has the same email address as an Active Directory user. One user is probably using an Alternate Recipient with the same email address as a contact.
5.4.7
Delivery time-out. Message is taking too long to be delivered.
5.4.8
Microsoft advise, check your recipient policy. SMTP address should be cp.com.NOT server.cp.com.
5.5.0
Underlying SMTP 500 error. Our server tried ehlo, the recipient's server did not understand and returned a 550 or 500 error. Set up SMTP logging.
5.5.2
Possibly the disk holding the operating system is full. Or could be a syntax error if you are executing SMTP from a telnet shell.
5.5.3
More than 5,000 recipients. Check the Global Settings, Message Delivery properties.
5.5.5
Wrong protocol version
5.6.3
More than 250 attachments.
5.7.1
Permissions problem. For some reason the sender is not allowed to email this account.Perhaps an anonymous user is trying to send mail to a distribution list.Check SMTP Virtual Server Access Tab. Try checking this box: Allow computers which successfully authenticate to relay.User may have a manually created email address that does not match a System Policy.
5.7.2
Distribution list cannot expand and so is unable to deliver its messages.
5.7.3
Check external IP address of ISA server. Make sure it matches the SMTP publishing rule.
5.7.4
Extra security features not supported. Check delivery server settings
5.7.5
Cryptographic failure. Try a plain message with encryption.
5.7.6
Certificate problem, encryption level maybe to high.
5.7.7
Message integrity problem.

Hence use this when troubleshooting the mail delivery failure.

Thanks

Logu

logu_microsoft@hotmail.com
91-98414 99143

Outlook Command line Switches

2008-05-11T08:22:00.004+05:30

Hi friends,

This article gives you the brief explanation on the outlook command line switches. The outlook comes with different command line switched, which in turn used for troubleshooting in case of some errors. The following are the different command line switches available in the outlook.

General Syntax :

Go to Run -->

# Outlook /Switch

Outlook command line switches :

1. Outlook /c messageclass

Creates a new item of the specified message class, works for any valid MAPI form.
For example:
/c ipm.activity creates a Journal entry
/c ipm.appointment creates an appointment
/c ipm.contact creates a contact
/c ipm.note creates an e-mail message
/c ipm.stickynote creates a note
/c ipm.task creates a task

2. Outlook /CleanClientRules

Starts Outlook and deletes client-based rules. For non-Exchange users.

3. Outlook /CleanFinders

Sets Outlook 2003 Search Folders back to the default state (deletes custom Search Folders)

4. Outlook /CleanFreeBusy

Cleans and regenerates free/busy information.

5. Outlook /CleanProfile

Removes invalid profile keys and recreates default registry keys where applicable.

6. Outlook /Cleanpst

Launches Outlook with a clean Personal Folders file (.pst)

7. Outlook /CleanReminders

Cleans and regenerates reminders.

8. Outlook /CleanRules

Starts Outlook and deletes client- and server-based rules.

9. Outlook /CleanSchedPlus

Deletes all Schedule+ data (free/busy, permissions, and .cal file) from the server.

10. Outlook /CleanServerRules

Starts Outlook and deletes server-based rules. Used only with Exchange server accounts.

11. Outlook /CleanViews

Restores default views.

12. Outlook /FirstRun

Starts Outlook as if it were run for the first time.

13. Outlook /ImportPrf prffilename

Launches Outlook and opens/imports the defined MAPI profile (*.prf). If Outlook is already open, queues the profile to be imported on the next clean launch.

14. Outlook /Profile profilename

Loads the specified profile. If your profile name contains a space, enclose the profile name in quotation marks.

15. Outlook /ResetFolderNames

Resets the language of the default folders to the language of the Outlook client.

16. Outlook /ResetFolders

Restores missing folders for the default delivery location.

17. Outlook /ResetOutlookBar

Rebuilds the Outlook Bar.

18. Outlook /ResetWunderBar

Rebuilds the new Outlook Control Bar in Outlook 2003.

19. Outlook /Rpcdiag

Opens Outlook and displays the remote procedure call (RPC) connection status dialog.

20. Outlook /Sniff

Starts Outlook and forces a detection of new meeting requests in the Inbox, and then adds them to the calendar.

Hope the above information is useful and start try using the above appropriate commands when your outlook gives the problem.

Thanks

Logu

logu_microsoft@hotmail.com
91-98414 99143

Exchange server 2007 – server role:

2008-05-09T06:55:00.003+05:30

This article explains the server roles in the exchange server 2007. The exchange server 2007 is bit different when compared to the previous version in terms of the architecture. Instead of just having a Mailbox server and a front-end server to host data and provide a connecting point for client systems (in exchange 2003), these server roles provide improvements in security with servers dedicated to antivirus and antispam functions, message routing and policy compliance functions, and voice mail communications. The below are the server role. This five server roles cannot be installed in the same server, since each server plays different role in terms of the functional play. Except Edge Transport role, all other roles can be installed in the same system. The reason for the above is security, the edge transport role must be installed in the separate machine which should be independent of all the exchange stuff, so that it just act like a gateway server.

1. Edge Transport server role :

• Performs spam and virus filtering at the first point for the entry of the message.
• Stores a copy of certain active directory objects such as valid recipient email address. All incoming messages are matched with the ADAM – Active Directory Application Mode.
• Mainly for security protection.

2. Hub Transport role :

• Replaces the former bridgehead server.
• Used for effective and efficient message routing of multiple messages.
• Also acts as policy compliance management server for both incoming and outgoing message.
• Can also act as an Edge Transport role. (Without having the edge transport role also we can have the email system working by having hub transport role)

3. Client access server role :

• Connective point for the client systems like office outlook client, a Windows Mobile handheld device, OWA and Outlook anywhere.
• Just acts like a front end server.
• Provide more flexibility in providing redundancy and recoverability of mailbox access in the event of the single point of the system failure.

4. Mailbox server role :

• Holds the mailbox information i.e. the Exchange database EDB.
• New CCR – cluster continuous replication technology(which replicate the data transaction b/w mailbox server across WAN).

5. Unified Messaging server role :

• Completely new feature in the exchange server 2007 used for voice mail server of the organization.
• Phone system takes the incoming message , stores in the mailbox server and playback from the phone or by accessing the message from the outlook, OWA or Windows Mobile.

Hope the above would clarify the new server role topology in the exchange server 2007.

Please shoot if you have any queastions.

Thanks
Logu

logu_microsoft@hotmial.com
91-9841499143

Tha

Adding Domains to Exchange Hosting

2007-12-12T20:24:00.000+05:30

This article explains how to add multiple domain to exchange hosting. Exchange server can be used for hosting the email account for different domains irrespective of the current domain.

For example, suppose i have implemented exchange server for domain called domain.com and user account will be xyz@domain.com. After multiple domains for exchange hosting enables to have the virtual domain email accounts such as xyz@domain1.com, xyz@domain2.com, etc.

1. Create a OU called domain1.com.

2. Create a group with the scope as Universal and type as Distribution, name it as domain1-all. Also, create an exchange email address with the same name as that of the group name(By default will have the same name).

3. Edit the domain1-all group property - edit the default smtp address from domain1-all@domain.com to domain1-all@domain1.com.

4. Create new recipient policy - name the policy as domain1.com, create new SMTP address as @domain1.com and make it as primary , leave @domain1.com as secondary.

5. Create the filter rules for domain1.com policy as below in the advanced LDAP query
(&(&(&(&(objectCategory=*)(memberOf=CN=domain1-all,OU=domain1.com,DC=domain,DC=com)))))

The analogy behind the above LDAP query is to query the object stored inside the domain1.com OU.

6. Create the GAL(Global address list) for this domain. Name the new GAL as domain1.com and in the filter rule option use advanded menu to find the Email address ends with @domain1.com option.

7. Open the ADSIEdit.msc, Choose Domain-->DC=domain,DC=com-->OU=domain1.com-->right click property-->In attribute editor section, edit uPNSuffixes to domain1.com.

8. Try to create new user, check the drop down box near the logon name button will have @domain.com and @domain1.com in the drop down list.

So we conclued that in the domain.com email server, domain1.com email domain is hosted successfully.

Thanks
Logu
logu_microsoft@hotmail.com
91-98414-99143

PIX Firewall - Basic configuration

2007-12-12T20:19:00.000+05:30

Hi friends,

This article gives the basic configuration steps of Cisco PIX firewall series.The pix firewall is the hardware device known for delivering robust user and application policy enforcement, multivector attack protection, and secure connectivity services in cost-effective, easy-to-deploy solutions.

Setting hostname:
hostname pixfirewall

Setting Domainname:
domain-name domain.com

setting the interface speed:
interface ethernet0 100full
interface ethernet1 100full

Naming the interface:
nameif ethernet0 outside security0
nameif ethernet1 inside security100

Setting the logging:
logging on

configuring interface:
ip address outside 200.200.200.200 255.255.255.240
ip address inside 192.168.2.254 255.255.255.0

configuring NAT:
nat (inside) 1 0.0.0.0 0.0.0.0 0 0
global (outside) 1 200.200.200.201-200.200.200.200.215 netmask 255.255.255.240
global (outside) 1 200.200.200.216 netmask 255.255.255.240

enabling telnet :
telnet 192.168.2.0 255.255.255.0 inside
telnet 200.200.200.200 255.255.255.240 outside
telnet timeout 15

Setting the Telnet password:
passwd

Configuring access-list:
access-list 100 permit icmp any any
access-list 100 permit tcp any any eq www
access-list 100 permit tcp any any eq ftp
access-list 100 permit tcp any any eq ftp-data
access-list 100 permit tcp any any eq smtp
access-list 100 permit tcp any
access-list 100 permit tcp host any
access-group 100 in interface outside

Setting the Route for packet transfer:
route outside 0.0.0.0 0.0.0.0 200.200.200.200 1

saving the changes to the flash memory:
write memory

configuring the PDM:
setup - enter the related details.

Thanks
Logu
logu_microsoft@hotmail.com
991-98414-99143

Hardening Exchange server

2007-12-12T20:18:00.000+05:30

This articles list of steps that needs to be followed in the exchange server environment for hardening.

1. Basic security best practise like antivirus,secure password,correct privillage for the users,latest service packs and patches,stopping unnessary services,event logging,monitoring,basic firewall policies,good backup and restore plan,etc.

2. Full Knowledge of your infrastructure and network layouts.

3. Status of the ports that are open in the front end.

4. Aware of different types of attacks like data theft,tampering,forgery,Denial of services,Trojon horse,Virus,Spoofing,Mail-relaying,etc,.

5. Assigning proper administrative roles and delagation policy.

6. Enabling all possible logging like audit logs,security logs,SMTP, logs,http logs,etc.

7. Use of Security configuration wizard availbale server 2003 SP1.

8. Effective usage of exchnage security template based on server roles.

9. Updating the Exchange server with related updates,patches,hotfixes,service packs.

10. Maintaining strong firewall in the front end.

11. Strong SMTP settings.

12. Intelligent spam filter or other third party spam solution products.

13. Restricting the distribution list properties.

14. Securing the client.

15. ExBPA(Exchange Best Practice Analysis tool).

Thanks
Logu
logu_microsoft@hotmail.com
91-98414-99143

POP3 Vs IMAP

2007-12-12T20:14:00.000+05:30

POP3 (Post Office Protocol) and IMAP (Internet Message Access Protocol) are two different email protocols. Both allow you to access your emails offline from your preferred email client.Both POP3 and IMAP4 has some functional difference.

POP3 vs. IMAP: Technology

* POP3 always downloads all new emails locally to your computer(by default, also can store the copy of emails in the server).
* IMAP downloads message summaries and doesn't download the entire message until you explicitly select it.

POP3 vs. IMAP: Email Inbox Display

* POP3 downloads all emails into 1 mail folder called "Inbox".
* IMAP preserves your folder structure in a main folder called "imap.domain.com".Using the IMAP protocol, all your mail stays on the server in multiple folders, some of which you have created. This enables you to connect to any computer and see all your mail and mail folders.

POP3 vs. IMAP: Multi-Computer Access

* POP3 is useful if you only access your email from one computer, since the email is typically downloaded locally (this is the default and can be changed).When you open your mailbox, new mail is moved from the host server and saved on your computer. If you want to be able to see your old mail messages, you have to go back to the computer where you last opened your mail.
* IMAP allows email to be manipulated from a desktop computer at home, a workstation at the office, and a notebook computer while traveling, without the need to transfer messages or files back and forth between these computers.

POP3 vs. IMAP: Email Storage

* With POP3, your emails can be automatically erased from the server after they are downloaded freeing up space in your account.
* IMAP keeps all emails on the server until you erase them.

POP3 vs. IMAP: Internet Connectivity

* In general, IMAP is great if you have a dedicated connection to the Internet or you like to check your mail from various locations.

* With this type of account you do not have to stay logged on to the Internet. You can log on when you want to receive and send new messages. Once your new messages have been downloaded to your computer you can log off to read them. This option is good when you connect with your modem to DAS and are charged for your connection or you have an older computer.

Thanks
Logu
logu_microsoft@hotmail.com
91-98414-99143

Exchange Backup - Online vs Offline

2007-11-29T17:06:00.000+05:30

Hi friends,

This article explains the two different strtegy available in the exchange 2000 and 2003 server. The Netbackup is the backup tool used for backup and restore in the windows environment with excellent features.

Backup exchange 2000/2003 in 2 ways: Online backup and Offline backup.

Online Backup:

An Online backup is performed while the Information Store is still mounted and the Exchange server is operational. The Exchange is Online and available for transactions, therefore it still allows users to work without interruption. Online backups also automatically clear the database logs upon completion.

Another major advantage of the Online backup method is the fact that the Exchange store is checked for corruption at the file-system level. This check is done by verifying the checksums on each 4 KB (Kilobyte) block or page in the database. If there is a checksum failure, backup will terminate. Exchange will not allow you to back up an Exchange store with a wrong checksum in it.

Therefore, after an online backup is complete, you should check the Event Viewer to find out whether your Exchange store is corrupted. If you see a failed backup with a page read error event in Event Viewer, this may be an early indication of a problem in the database.

Offline Backup:

Offline backup is performed by shutting down the Exchange Information Store service and performing COPY procedures on the Exchange databases (Public Folder or Mailbox stores). Using an Offline Backup provides a method to restore the Exchange system to its last known state or specific "point in time", and is usually considered to be less attractive than the Online backup.

However, you may need to perform an Offline backup in the following situations:

* Your Online backup failed. You can complete an Offline backup in situations where an Online backup might fail (for example, due to an error such as a checksum1018 JET_errReadVerifyFailure).
* Your backup software does not support Exchange Online backup APIs, requiring you to dismount the Exchange 2000/2003 mailbox and public folder stores before you backup the server.

Some disadvantages to performing an Offline backup include:

* You must stop IS services (You do not need to stop the IS if you only want to backup the store, for that you can simply just dismount it. However if you want to backup the log files you do need to stop the IS service).
* Users will not be able to access their mailboxes during the offline backup.
* Log files that contain transactions already written to the database files will not be purged after the completion of the backup.
* The database is not checked for corruption during an Offline backup. You might have a corrupt database and backup sets that cannot be used to restore your server to full functionality.
* An increased chance of data loss due to files being copied to and from a backup location.

Thanks
Logu
logu_microsoft@hotmail.com
91-9841499143

Configuring SNMP in routers

2007-11-28T19:17:00.000+05:30

Hi Friends,

This articles explains the role of SNMP in the networks and also how to configure SNMP in the router to get the monitoring updates from the client using the tools like PRTG traffic analyser, etc.

The Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP) is an application layer protocol that facilitates the exchange of management information between network devices. It is part of the Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) protocol suite. SNMP enables network administrators to manage network performance, find and solve network problems, and plan for network growth.

SNMP Versions:

SNMPv1:
Version 1 has been criticized for its poor security. The passwords are sent in cleartext.

SNMPv2:

It revises version 1 and includes improvements in the areas of performance, security, confidentiality, and manager-to-manager communications.

SNMPv3:

SNMPv3 provides three important services: authentication, privacy and access control.

Configuring SNMP Access in Routers:

Router(config)#snmp-server community public RO

Router(config)#snmp-server community private RW

Configuring SNMP Traps in Routers:

Router(config)#snmp-server host 10.1.1.1 public

Router(config)#snmp-server enable traps

In case accessing this snmp from the windows client machine, should enable snmp service from the add or remove components. Having the firewall in between the client and router device will disturb the connection. Configure the firewall so that the respective port numbers are open.

Thanks
Logu
logu_microsoft@hotmail.com
91-98414-99143

Sendmail

2007-11-24T15:41:00.000+05:30

Hi friends

This article explains the basic configuration of sendmail. In this example, i use the sendmail package from the RHEL 5 and use mailserver.example.com(192.168.10.2) and dns1.example.com(192.168.10.1) as fqdn for this mail server and dns server. Lemme give you the step by step procedure for building the sendmail server.

1. Install the sendmail package:

# yum install sendmail

2. Check the Existence of package:

# rpm -qa | grep sendmail
sendmail-cf-8.13.8-2.el5
sendmail-.13.8-2.el5

3. Services:

# chkconfig --level 345 sendmail on
# service sendmail start|stop|restart|status or
# /etc/init.d/sendmail start|stop|restart|status

4. Sendmail configuration file :

# /etc/mail/sendmail.cf //main sendmail config file
# /etc/mail/sendmail.mc //file used to edit and push the updates to the main file

All configuration changes can be done only at /etc/mail/sendmail.mc and with the help of macro push it to the file /etc/mail/sendmail.cf

5. Macro m4 :

To find the macro path
# locate cf.m4
/usr/share/sendmail-cf/m4/cf.m4
#m4 /usr/share/sendmail-cf/m4/cf.m4 /etc/mail/sendmail.mc > /etc/mail/sendmail.cf
and then restart to make the changes to take effect.

6. Disabling line in /etc/mail/sendmail.mc file:

These statements are disabled by dnl commenting.
dnl DAEMON_OPTIONS(`Port=smtp,Addr=127.0.0.1, Name=MTA')
dnl # DAEMON_OPTIONS(`Port=smtp,Addr=127.0.0.1, Name=MTA')

This statement is incorrectly disabled:
# DAEMON_OPTIONS(`Port=smtp,Addr=127.0.0.1, Name=MTA')

This statement is active:
DAEMON_OPTIONS(`Port=smtp,Addr=127.0.0.1, Name=MTA')

7. DNS Server

The proper implementation of DNS server is important before configuring the sendmail. Please test the dns name resoultion with the tools like nslookup, host and dig tool.In this eg, consider the dns1.example.com (192.168.10.1) as primary dns server.

# host dns1.example.com
dns1.example.com has address 192.168.10.1
#host mailserver.example.com
mailserver.example.com address 192.168.10.2

8. Check /etc/resolv.conf file:
make sure /etc/resolv.conf file contains the correct dns server details
# vi /etc/resolv.conf
localdomain example.com
nameserver 192.168.10.1

9. Check /etc/hosts file:
# vi /etc/hosts
127.0.0.1 mailserver.example.com localhost.localdomain localhost mailserver

10. Edit /etc/mail/sendmail.mc file:

First, using dnl disable the line like
dnl "DAEMON_OPTIONS(`Port=smtp,Addr=127.0.0.1, Name=MTA')"

Second, disable the smarthost option
dnl define(`SMART_HOST',`mail.my-site.com')

Use macro and restart the sendmail daemon

Check the local NIC card is enabled for receive all packets by
# netstat -an | grep :25 | grep tcp
tcp 0 0 0.0.0.0:25 0.0.0.0:* LISTEN

11. Edit /etc/mail/access file:

# vi /etc/mail/access
localhost.localdomain RELAY
localhost RELAY
127.0.0.1 RELAY
192.168.30 REJECT // rejects the mails from 192.168.30.0 n/w
192.168.20.5 RELAY // relay the mails from the host 192.168.20.5
192.168.10 RELAY // relay the mails from 192.168.10.0 n/w
example.com RELAY // relay the mails from the suffix example.com

12. Edit /etc/mail/local-host-names file:

add hostnames or domain names for which the sendmail accept mail for local delivery.

# vi /etc/mali/local-host-names
example.com
otherdomain.com

13. Edit /etc/mail/virtusertable file:

# vi /etc/mail/virtusertable
// first column is the target email address
// second column may be created user mailbox in the mailserver, aliase name or groupname created in the /etc/aliase or even remote email address.

logu@example.com logu // logu - local user
sonia@example.com sonia
test@example.com test
testaliase@example.com testaliase // testaliase entry created in /etc/aliase
@example.com error:nouser User Unknown // answer for other than the above user

14. Edit /etc/aliases file:

add the below lines at the bottom of the file

# vi /etc/aliases
..........
..........

#setting new aliase
testaliase: logu,test

As per virtusertable above, the mail to testaliase@example.com will go to logu@example.com and sonia@example.com.

15. Configuring POP3/IMAP :
By configuring the sendmail for pop3/imap, we will be able to acces mail from thunderbird, evolution, Outlook, etc.

First, check the existence of dovecot and services using

# chkconfig --level 345 dovecot on
# service dovecot start|stop|restart|status or
# /etc/init.d/dovecot start|stop|restart|status

Second, edit the /etc/dovecot.conf file

# vi /etc/dovecot.conf
........
//search for protocols
//protocols = imap imaps pop3 pop3s
protocols = pop3 // configure pop3 or imap as per your need
........
........

Third, test the NIC listening for pop3 using,

# netstat -a | egrep -i 'pop|imap'
tcp 0 0 *:pop3 *:* LISTEN

Fourth, use Outlook or any client tool to test the mail flow.

16. Troubleshooting via telnet:

Please refer this article in my blog.

Thanks
Logu
logu_microsoft@hotmail.com
91-98414-99143

Bugzilla

2007-11-22T18:26:00.000+05:30

Bugzilla is server software designed to help you manage software development. It is a bug tracking tool.

1. Download
Download the bugzilla tar ball from the link http://ftp.mozilla.org/pub/mozilla.org/webtools/bugzilla-3.0.2.tar.gz.

2. Install Perl and some dependent modules.

Install Perl v5.6.0 and above. The perl comprises large number of modules and deploying the bugzilla need some modules to be configured prior.

Required Perl modules:
1. CGI 2.93 or CGI 3.11 if using mod_perl
2. Date::Format (2.21)
3. DBI (1.41)
4. DBD::mysql (2.9003) if using MySQL
5. DBD::Pg (1.45) if using PostgreSQL
6. File::Spec (0.84)
7. Template (2.12)
8. Email::Send (2.00)
9. Email::MIME::Modifier (any)

Optional Perl modules:
1. GD (1.20) for bug charting
2. Template::Plugin::GD::Image (1.20) for Graphical Reports
3. Chart::Base (1.0) for bug charting
4. GD::Graph (any) for bug charting
5. GD::Text (any) for bug charting
6. XML::Twig (any) for bug import/export
7. MIME::Parser (5.406) for bug import/export
8. LWP::UserAgent (any) for Automatic Update Notifications
9. PatchReader (0.9.4) for pretty HTML view of patches
10. Image::Magick (any) for converting BMP image attachments to PNG
11. Net::LDAP (any) for LDAP Authentication
12. SOAP::Lite (any) for the web service interface
13. HTML::Parser (3.40) for More HTML in Product/Group Descriptions
14. HTML::Scrubber (any) for More HTML in Product/Group Descriptions
15. Email::MIME::Attachment::Stripper (any) for Inbound Email
16. Email::Reply (any) for Inbound Email
17. mod_perl2 (1.999022) for mod_perl
18. CGI (2.93) for mod_perl
19. Apache::DBI (0.96) for mod_perl2

CPAN is the best tool for installing the perl modules.

# perl -MCPAN -e shell

Once the Perl interpreter has loaded (and been configured), you can install modules by issuing the command install MODULENAME.please use /var/spool/CPAN as the primary location for building the CPAN repository. The interpreter will ask for more options and preferably provide with the default values. After getting lot of inputs, it ends with the prompt "cpan>".

The first thing you should do is upgrade your CPAN:
cpan> install Bundle::CPAN (take's time to complete)

Once it's done, type:
cpan> reload cpan

Now, enter the following command to retrieve all of the required modules:
cpan> install MODULENAME
eg.,
cpan> install DBI
cpan> install DBD::mysql

2. Install MySQL version 3.23.41 or later.

3. Install Apache Webserver - "httpd".

4. Install Sendmail 8.7 or later.

5. Final Check for prerequisites before deploying bugzilla source

Start mysql,sendmail and apache service

#perl -v
#mysql -V

In browser : http://localhost (should have apache test page)

At this point, conclude that prerequisites for bugzilla installation is done.

6. Unpack bugzilla

# cd /var/www/html/
# tar zxvf bugzilla-2.18rc3.tgz
# mv bugzilla-2.18rc3/ bugzilla/ (for simplicity purpose)

7. Checking the perl modules by script

# cd /var/www/html/bugzilla
# ./checksetup.pl

Executing the script gives the status of the perl modules installed.Try to install the modules that failed the test and rerun the script.(Even after installing some modules, it may show failed test for some optional perl modules.There is no problem start continuing the next step)

8. Create a DB account for bugzilla user

# mysql
mysql> GRANT SELECT, INSERT, UPDATE, DELETE, INDEX, ALTER, CREATE, LOCK TABLES, CREATE TEMPORARY TABLES, DROP, REFERENCES ON bugs.* TO bugs@localhost IDENTIFIED BY 'enterpassword';
mysql> FLUSH PRIVILEGES;

9. Edit the bugzilla config file:

# vi /var/www/html/bugzilla/localconfig

search for $db_pass and replace with 'enterpassword'

10. Last Compile ./checksetup.pl (it will ask for bugzilla's administrative account details at the end)

11. Edit apache configuration file:

# vi /etc/httpd/conf/httpd.conf

a. uncomment the line "AddHandler cgi-script .cgi"

b. add the below two lines.
Document root
.......
Options ExecCGI FollowSymLinks <---- add this line.
AllowOverride Limit <---- add this line.
.......
/document root
c. add "index.cgi" in the below line
DirectoryIndex index.html index.html.var index.cgi

#/etc/init.d/httpd restart

12. Open browser http://localhost/bugzilla , gives you the home page of the bugzilla application successfully.

Please mail me if you have any questions.

Logu
logu_microsoft@hotmail.com
91-98414-99143

Basic DNS Server - BIND

2007-11-22T15:05:00.000+05:30

Hi friends,

This article gives you the basic configuration of Dns-bind server in linux distribution. In this example i have used the chroot bind package.

1. Install the DNS Package (either regular BIND or with BIND chroot):
Check the existence with the command

# rpm -qa | grep bind
ypbind-1.19-7.el5
bind-chroot-9.3.3-7.el5
bind-libs-9.3.3-7.el5
bind-utils-9.3.3-7.el5
bind-9.3.3-7.el5

2. Services:

# chkconfig --list | grep named
# chkconfig --level 345 named on
# /etc/init.d/named start|stop|status|restart or
# service named start|stop|status|restart

3. Firewall - open dns Port:

Open the tcp & udp port 53 from the firewall for the inbound DNS name resolution.

4. vi /etc/hosts:

Set proper name for the dns server host as shown below

127.0.0.1 dns1 localdomain.loalhost localhost dns1.example.com

5. Common location of dns configuration files:

In regular BIND server
named.conf file --> /etc/named.conf
zone files --> /var/named/
In chroot BIND server
named.conf file --> /var/named/chroot/etc/named.conf
zone files --> /var/named/chroot/var/named/

6. Getting the Test Sample File:
Find test sample file configuration using the locate command.

for eg.,

# locate named.conf
# locate .zone

7. For simpler configuration create a symbolic link as

# ln -s /var/named/chroot/etc/named.conf /etc/named.conf

8. configuring : /etc/named.conf

// options for configuring the forwarders
options {
forwarders { 200.200.200.200; };
statistics-file "/var/named/data/named_stats.txt" ;
dump-file "/var/named/data/cache_dump.db" ;
directory "/var/named" ;
};
// root hints details
zone "." {
file "/var/named/named.root";
type hint;
};
// Forward lookup zone details
zone "example.com" IN {
type master;
file "example.com.zone";
allow-update { none; };
};
// reverse lookup zone details
zone "10.168.192.in-addr.arpa" IN {
type master;
file "10.168.192.zone";
allow-update { none; };
};

9. configuring : /var/named/chroot/var/named/example.com.zone

# vi /var/named/chroot/var/named/example.com.zone

ORIGIN example.com.
$TTL 86400
@ IN SOA dns1.example.com. hostmaster.example.com. (
2002022401 ; serial
3H ; refresh
15M ; retry
1W ; expiry
1D ) ; minimum

IN NS dns1.example.com.

IN MX 10 mail.example.com.

IN A 192.168.10.1

dns1 IN A 192.168.10.1
server2 IN A 192.168.10.2
client1 IN A 192.168.10.3

server1 IN CNAME dns1
mail IN CNAME server2

10. configuring : /var/named/chroot/var/named/10.168.192.zone

# vi /var/named/chroot/var/named/10.168.192.zone

$ORIGIN 10.168.192.in-addr.arpa.
$TTL 86400
@ IN SOA dns1.example.com. hostmaster.example.com. (
2002022401 ; serial
3H ; refresh
15M ; retry
1W ; expiry
1D ) ; minimum

IN NS dns1.example.com.

1 IN PTR dns1.example.com.
2 IN PTR server2.example.com
3 IN PTR client1.example.com

11. Restart the "named" Services.

12. Client side configuration :

In Linux Client:

# vi /etc/resolv.conf

nameserver 192.168.10.1
domain example.com

In Windows Client:

Configure the preferred DNS server with DNS server ip address (192.168.10.1).

13. Check the name resolution with the following tool
nslookup
host
dig

Thanks

Logu
logu_microsoft@hotmail.com
91-98414-99143

Linux/UNIX Basic Commands - Part 2

2007-11-18T20:49:00.000+05:30

Hi Friends,

Here is the continuation of the topic Linux/UNIX Basic Commands Part 1.

SSH:

ssh user@host – connect to host as user
ssh -p port user@host – connect to host on port as user
ssh-copy-id user@host – add your key to host for user to enable a keyed or passwordless login

Searching:

grep pattern files – search for pattern in files
grep -r pattern dir – search recursively for pattern in dir
command | grep pattern – search for pattern in the output of command
locate file – find all instances of file

Compression:

tar cf file.tar files – create a tar named file.tar containing files
tar xf file.tar – extract the files from file.tar
tar czf file.tar.gz files – create a tar with Gzip compression
tar xzf file.tar.gz – extract a tar using Gzip
tar cjf file.tar.bz2 – create a tar with Bzip2 compression
tar xjf file.tar.bz2 – extract a tar using Bzip2
gzip file – compresses file and renames it to file.gz
gzip -d file.gz – decompresses file.gz back to file

Network:

ping host – ping host and output results
whois domain – get whois information for domain
dig domain – get DNS information for domain
dig -x host – reverse lookup host
wget file – download file
wget -c file – continue a stopped download

Installation

Install from source:
./configure
make
make install
dpkg -i pkg.deb – install a package (Debian)
rpm -ivh pkg.rpm – install a package (RPM)
yum install pkgname - using the yum tool

Shortcuts:

Ctrl+C – halts the current command
Ctrl+Z – stops the current command, resume with fg in the foreground or bg in the background
Ctrl+D – log out of current session, similar to exit
Ctrl+W – erases one word in the current line
Ctrl+U – erases the whole line
Ctrl+R – type to bring up a recent command
!! - repeats the last command
exit – log out of current session

Thanks

Logu
logu_microsoft@hotmail.com
91-98414-99143

Linux/UNIX Basic Commands - Part 1

2007-11-18T20:36:00.000+05:30

Hi friends

Please find the Basic linux/Unix commands below for your reference

File Commands:

ls – directory listing
ls -al – formatted listing with hidden files
cd dir - change directory to dir
cd – change to home
pwd – show current directory
mkdir dir – create a directory dir
rm file – delete file
rm -r dir – delete directory dir
rm -f file – force remove file
rm -rf dir – force remove directory dir *
cp file1 file2 – copy file1 to file2
cp -r dir1 dir2 – copy dir1 to dir2; create dir2 if it doesn't exist
mv file1 file2 – rename or move file1 to file2 if file2 is an existing directory, moves file1 into directory file2
ln -s file link – create symbolic link link to file
touch file – create or update file
cat > file – places standard input into file
more file – output the contents of file
head file – output the first 10 lines of file
tail file – output the last 10 lines of file
tail -f file – output the contents of file as it grows, starting with the last 10 lines.

System Info:

date – show the current date and time
cal – show this month's calendar
uptime – show current uptime
w – display who is online
whoami – who you are logged in as
finger user – display information about user
uname -a – show kernel information
cat /proc/cpuinfo – cpu information
cat /proc/meminfo – memory information
man command – show the manual for command
df – show disk usage
du – show directory space usage doesn't exist
free – show memory and swap usage
whereis app – show possible locations of app
which app – show which app will be run by default
locate filename - to find the location of the file
find / -name filename or namespace - to find the file with some namespace

Process Management:

ps – display your currently active processes
top – display all running processes
kill pid – kill process id pid
killall proc – kill all processes named proc *
bg – lists stopped or background jobs; resume a stopped job in the background
fg – brings the most recent job to foreground
fg n – brings job n to the foreground

File Permissions:

chmod octal file – change the permissions of file to octal, which can be found separately for user, group, and world by adding:

4 – read (r)
2 – write (w)
1 – execute (x)

Examples:
chmod 777 – read, write, execute for all
chmod 755 – rwx for owner, rx for group and world
For more options, see man chmod.

Please read Linux/UNIX Basic Commands - Part 2 also.

Thanks

Logu
logu_microsoft@hotmail.com
91-9841499143

Mysql - copy table from one database to other

2007-11-13T14:51:00.000+05:30

Hi friends

This article explains how to move the particular table from the database to other database of same machine or different machine.Obviously, the user should have sufficient access for the database.

Copy the Table

Syntax:
# mysqldump --opt databasename table1 table2 tablen > tableexport.sql

For eg.,
# mysqldump --opt projectdbname tablename > anybackupname.sql

Moving to Remote machine using SCP:

# scp anybackupname.sql root@remotename_or_ip:/tmp

Restore

# mysql resultantdbname < anybackupname.sql

Thanks
Logu
logu_microsoft@hotmail.com
91-98414-99143

Installing Ruby on Rails

2007-11-04T18:54:00.000+05:30

Hi friends,

This article explains the step by step procedure for installing the ruby on rails application in the Linux machines. The installation guidelines are found in the ruby on rail's home site. Please follow the below steps for deploying this developer suite.

Step1: Installing ruby-1.8.6

Download from the ruby on rail's home site or use
# wget http://ftp.ruby-lang.org/pub/ruby/1.8/ruby-1.8.6.tar.gz
# tar -xzf ruby-1.8.6.tar.gz
# cd ruby-1.8.6
# ./configure
# make
# make install
# ruby -v or # ruby --version (to check the installed version)

Note: make sure the availability of any c compiler, if not please use "# yum install gcc" to install the compiler.

Step2: Installing rubygems

Download from the ruby on rail's home site or use
# wget http://rubyforge.org/frs/download.php/5207/rubygems-0.8.11.tgz
# tar -zxvf rubygems-0.8.11.tgz
# cd rubygems-0.8.11
# ruby setup.rb

Step3: Install rails using gem

# gem install rails

Step4: test

Please check the installation logs for successfully completion. Can use the following command also
# rails test
# cd rails
# ruby script/server

Thanks

Logu
logu_microsoft@hotmail.com
91-98414-99143

Moving 2003 Domain Controller to new machine

2007-10-27T17:58:00.000+05:30

Hi friends

This article explains the steps to be followed when moving 2003 DC from to new built server machine. In small organisation, after some period moving DC to new server hardware happens in common. The following gives you the step by step procedure for moving domain controller to the new hardware.

Let us consider the servername as oldserver and newserver and domainname as test.com. The oldserver is the PDC with active directory integrated DNS.

Initail configuration of newserver:

Install the server OS, latest SP and patches.
Join in test.com domain.

Configure as Additional DC:

Use Dcpromo to promote the newserver as the additional domain controller.

Configuring DNS Server:

Install DNS in newserver as primary active directory integrated by giving the domain name as test.com. Add oldserver as name server and also in vice versa. Allow zone transfer between the name servers. After some time, ie, once the replication is over, change the oldserver as secondary dns server. Now the name resolution part is complete.

Test Connectivity with DCDIAG:

Use Dcdiag.exe support tool to test the connectivity between the DC's.

Role Transfer:

Now using the ntdsutil, we transfer the roles from the oldserver to the newserver.

C:\ntdsutil
Ntdsutil: roles
Fsmo maintenance: connections
Server connections: connect to server servername
Server connections: q
Fsmo maintenance: Transfer domain naming master or
Transfer infrastructure master or
Transfer PDC or
Transfer RID master or
Transfer schema master

Test the role transfer succesful completion sattus using the below command

dumpfsmos servername (here in our eg, dumpfsmos newserver)

Now, the newserver is your primary domain controller for the domain test.com

Thanks

Logu
logu_microsoft@hotmail.com
91-98414-99143

Exchange Tool - ESEUTIL.EXE

2007-10-24T20:09:00.000+05:30

ESEUTIL is a tool to defragment your exchange databases offline, to check their integrity and to repair a damaged/lost database.
ESEUTIL is located in the \EXCHSRVR\BIN directory. This directory is not in the system path so you must open the tool in the BIN directory or enhance the system path with the \EXCHSRVR\BIN directory
Exchange 2003 defragments the Exchange database every night. But this is only an online defrag of the database. An online defrag doesn’t reduce the size of the information store. To reduce the size of the databases, you must use an offline defrag.
Under normal conditions you don't need an offline defrag, but when you add tons of new users due to a merger or aquisition or when you delete many objects from the store it can be necessary to do an offline defrag.

Full list of Eseutil switches for Windows Exchange:

Eseutil /cc Performs a hard recovery after a database restore.
Eseutil /mc To determine the space.
Eseutil /d Performs an offline compaction/defragmentation of a database.
Eseutil /g Verifies the integrity of a database.
Eseutil /k Verifies the checksums of a database.
Eseutil /m Generates formatted output of various database file types. e.g. /mh
Eseutil /p Repairs a corrupted or damaged database.
Eseutil /r Performs soft recovery to bring a single database into a consistent or clean shutdown state.
Eseutil /y Copies a database, streaming file, or log file.

Examples:

1. To determine the space availability (110% free space associated with the database to perform the defragmentation):

C:\Program Files\Exchsrvr\bin>eseutil.exe /ms "C:\Program files\Exchsrvr\MDBDATA\priv1.edb"

2. To Defragment the store for compaction of space:

C:\Program Files\Exchsrvr\bin>eseutil.exe /d "C:\Program files\Exchsrvr\MDBDATA\priv1.edb"

3. To check the integrity of database(this integrity check does not support the database recovery like ISINTEG Tool)

C:\Program Files\Exchsrvr\bin>eseutil.exe /g "C:\Program files\Exchsrvr\MDBDATA\priv1.edb"

Like wise eseutil /p - repair is used in congestion with the isinteg to repair the damaged store from the scratch.

Thanks

Logu
logu_microsoft@hotmail.com
91-98414-99143

Quick Reboot - Exchange 2000 or 2003 / DC Server

2007-10-24T16:11:00.000+05:30

The reboot time of exchange server machine generaly takes time and in Domian controller it takes more time. To enable the quick reboot for the exchange server follow the below steps.

1. Create a batch file called ExchShutdown.bat.

Open notepad and type the following
net stop MSExchangeES /y
net stop MSExchangeIS /y
net stop MSExchangeMTA /y
net stop MSExchangeSA /y
net stop WinHttpAutoProxySvc /y

2. Open the gpedit.msc
Computer settings --> windows settings --> Scripts(startup/shutdown) --> right pane - shutdown properties --> add --> Choose ExchShutdown.bat

3. Close all and run gpupdate to refresh the group policy.

The procedure is completed.

Thanks
Logu
logu_microsoft@hotmail.com
91-98414-99143

Subversion

2007-10-20T21:43:00.000+05:30

Subversion is a free/open-source version control system. That is, Subversion manages files and directories, and the changes made to them, over time. This allows you to recover older versions of your data, or examine the history of how your data changed. Subversion can operate across networks, which allows it to be used by people on different computers. At some level, the ability for various people to modify and manage the same set of data from their respective locations fosters collaboration.

The goal of the Subversion project is to build a version control system that is a compelling replacement for CVS in the open source community

Install Subversion:

rpm –qa | grep subversion
yum install subversion

Plan and create the Repository Location:
Create directory for the repository
#mkdir /home/subversion
To create a repository use the below command
#svnadmin create /home/subversion

Importing Initial data into the Repository:

1. Import from local machine

svn import /home/loguinfo.com file:///home/subversion/loguinfo.com/trunk -m “Initial load for loguinfo.com by logu”

2. Import from Remote machine using Subversion client

svn import /home/loguinfo.com svn+ssh://username@server.com/loguinfo.com/trunk –m “Initial import for loguinfo.com by logu”

3. Import from Remote machine using TortoiseSVN

a. Select folder with project files
b. Right-click and select the TortoiseSVN Import option
c. Specify path of new project repository

Now, the repository has some project folders.

Getting working Copy for editing (For eg changing/editing the website code)

svn checkout svn+ssh://username@server.com/loguinfo.com/trunk /localhome/myproject/loguinfo.com

So now you have a local copy of the project code. Enter your working copy and edit a file's contents.

Run svn commit to commit the new version of your file to the repository.

Run svn update to bring your working copy “up-to-date” with the repository.

Thanks
Logu
logu_microsoft@hotmail.com
91-98414-99143