Have you ever needed to enable several users at once in Exchange 2013?
The Following PowerShell script will do just that.
Simply modify it to point to your OU with you users in, and enter the Database you wish to use.
Get-User -RecipientTypeDetails User -OrganizationalUnit “plexuk.co.uk/LDA/Users/Support” | Enable-Mailbox -Database LDA_MBX1
Have you ever need to bulk reset all user passwords, which were located in an OU?
The following PowerShell command does just that.
DSQUERY user “OU=GuestUsers,OU=Users,DC=PLEXUK,DC=CO,DC=UK” -limit 0 | DSMOD user -pwd password123
Simply type the following command into PowerShell, and modify it to point to your OU.
And all users will have their password reset.
There’s a quick fix available when your Web Apps are not working on Exchange 2013 OWA when it’s installed on Windows 2012 or Windows 2012 R2.
If your Web Apps show this behaviour:
Then here’s a quick fix:
On your Exchange 2013 Frontend server find the “<exchange>FrontEnd\HttpProxy\owa” folder and open web.config in notepad.
Find “<appSettings>” and directly after that add
<add key=”aspnet:UseLegacyRequestUrlGeneration” value=”true” />
This tells IIS to generate “@” instead of “%40″ in the urls requested by the Web Apps, which, as it turns out, is the problem when you see the behavior described above.
Save the web.config file and restart IIS.
You can quickly view the Deduplication Status / Savings, on a volumes by using the following two PowerShell commands. “Get-DedupStatus” / “Get-DedupVolume”
Here is an example of Get-DedupStatus output:
PS C:\Windows\system32> Get-DedupStatus
FreeSpace SavedSpace OptimizedFiles InPolicyFiles Volume
——— ———- ————– ————- ——
473.56 GB 71.37 GB 27746 27746 D:
You can also use the following command to get even more info “Get-DedupStatus | fl”
Below is an example of the “Get-DedupVolume” command, again the following can be added for more info “| fl”
PS C:\Windows\system32> Get-DedupVolume
Enabled UsageType SavedSpace SavingsRate Volume
——- ——— ———- ———– ——
True Default 71.37 GB 49 % D:
Exchange Server 2010 and above includes a new feature that can automatically load balance the provisioning of new mailboxes across multiple mailbox databases. Although the Exchange administrator can still specify a mailbox database if they want to, it is no longer mandatory and the Exchange server can make the decision as to where to provision the new mailbox instead.
Despite the benefits there are also situations in which the Exchange administrator would not want mailboxes automatically provisioned on a particular database.
To exclude a specific Exchange Server mailbox database from automatic provisioning use the following command in the Exchange Management Shell.
[PS] C:\>Set-MailboxDatabase -Identity "Mailbox Database 04" -IsExcludedFromProvisioning $true
To re-enable the mailbox database for automatic provisioning set the value back to $false.
[PS] C:\>Set-MailboxDatabase -Identity "Mailbox Database 04" -IsExcludedFromProvisioning $false
You should regularly check a domain controller (DC), to ensure that it is properly working and syncing all its configuration with other DC’s, one way of completing this task is by using the dcdiag.exe command-line tool.
There are 27 basic tests, including checking registration of DNS records, name resolution, AD replication, and Flexible Single Master Operations (FSMO) roles. If your DC fails any of the tests, it likely indicates a problem. To run the tool locally on a Windows Server DC, open an elevated PowerShell prompt, type dcdiag, and press ENTER.
Windows PowerShell
Copyright (C) 2013 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.PS H:\> dcdiag.exe
Directory Server Diagnosis
Performing initial setup:
Trying to find home server…
Home Server = DC1
* Identified AD Forest.
Done gathering initial info.Doing initial required tests
Testing server: PlexUK\DC1
Starting test: Connectivity
……………………. DC1 passed test ConnectivityDoing primary tests
Testing server: PlexUK\DC1
Starting test: Advertising
……………………. DC1 passed test Advertising
Starting test: FrsEvent
……………………. DC1 passed test FrsEvent
Starting test: DFSREvent
……………………. DC1 passed test DFSREvent
Starting test: SysVolCheck
……………………. DC1 passed test SysVolCheck
Starting test: KccEvent
……………………. DC1 passed test KccEvent
Starting test: KnowsOfRoleHolders
……………………. DC1 passed test KnowsOfRoleHolders
Starting test: MachineAccount
……………………. DC1 passed test MachineAccount
Starting test: NCSecDesc
……………………. DC1 passed test NCSecDesc
Starting test: NetLogons
……………………. DC1 passed test NetLogons
Starting test: ObjectsReplicated
……………………. DC1 passed test ObjectsReplicated
Starting test: Replications
……………………. DC1 passed test Replications
Starting test: RidManager
……………………. DC1 passed test RidManager
Starting test: Services
……………………. DC1 passed test Services
Starting test: SystemLog
……………………. DC1 passed test SystemLog
Starting test: VerifyReferences
……………………. DC1 passed test VerifyReferencesRunning partition tests on : DomainDnsZones
Starting test: CheckSDRefDom
……………………. DomainDnsZones passed test CheckSDRefDom
Starting test: CrossRefValidation
……………………. DomainDnsZones passed test CrossRefValidationRunning partition tests on : ForestDnsZones
Starting test: CheckSDRefDom
……………………. ForestDnsZones passed test CheckSDRefDom
Starting test: CrossRefValidation
……………………. ForestDnsZones passed test CrossRefValidationRunning partition tests on : Schema
Starting test: CheckSDRefDom
……………………. Schema passed test CheckSDRefDom
Starting test: CrossRefValidation
……………………. Schema passed test CrossRefValidationRunning partition tests on : Configuration
Starting test: CheckSDRefDom
……………………. Configuration passed test CheckSDRefDom
Starting test: CrossRefValidation
……………………. Configuration passed test CrossRefValidationRunning partition tests on : PlexUK
Starting test: CheckSDRefDom
……………………. PlexUK passed test CheckSDRefDom
Starting test: CrossRefValidation
……………………. PlexUK passed test CrossRefValidationRunning enterprise tests on : PlexUK.co.uk
Starting test: LocatorCheck
……………………. PlexUK.co.uk passed test LocatorCheck
Starting test: Intersite
……………………. PlexUK.co.uk passed test Intersite
PS H:\>
If you have ever wondered why Exchange uses Transaction Logs read on.
The Transaction Logs are an important part of Exchange Server, and are used to store data before it is written to the Database. The Transaction Logs allows uses to send / receive emails, without needing to touch the database thanks to the write-ahead method of logging.
When a message is sent, the transaction is first recorded in the transaction logs. Until the transaction is committed to the Exchange database (EDB), the only existence of this data is in the system memory and the transaction logs. In the event of a crash, you lose the contents of the memory and all you are left with is the record in the transaction log. These transaction logs are crucial to the recovery of a failed Exchange server, whether it was a minor crash that required a reboot, or a more catastrophic failure requiring the deployment of your disaster recovery plans. The same goes for other transactions such as received messages, deleted items and messages moved to different folders. For this reason, it is recommended to house the transaction files on a redundant storage system, like a RAID 1 array, so that in the event of a hardware failure, no data is lost. Losing a set of transaction logs will not prevent you from restoring from your backups, but you will lose all the messages and changes since the last full backup.
Following criticism from TechNet and MSDN subscribers, Microsoft has announced plans to release the Core and Pro RTM builds for Windows 8.1 and Windows Server 2012 R2 to users of those services. Additionally, the release candidate build for Visual Studio 2013 will be provided to TechNet and MSDN subscribers.
In late August, Microsoft announced that development of the RTM builds of Windows 8.1 and Windows Server 2012 R2 had been completed. However, the company also announced it would not offer those builds to its TechNet and MSDN subscribers ahead of the Oct. 18 launch date for both operating systems. It was a decision that upset many software developers, who complained on Microsoft’s Windows blog that keeping the RTM files would be a hindrance in creating apps for both operating systems.
In a blog post, Microsoft said that not only will Windows Server 2012 R2 launch on October 18th, it will also release System Center 2012 R2, and the latest update to Windows Intune on that same day. The blog states, “We’ll make evaluation versions available through the TechNet Evaluation Center, and these products will be available for new purchases when they hit the price list on November 1st.”
Microsoft has announced that Windows 8.1 will be coming October 18th via the Windows Store and retail outlets and will be a free update for those who already have Windows 8 installed on their machines.
If you plan on downloading the update via the Windows Store, you can grab the update on the 17th (at 4AM, PDT) as that time aligns to 12:00 AM in New Zealand on the 18th.
The following guide shows how to migrate the FSMO roles, to a new server.
Log onto the Windows Server 2012 DC, open a command prompt and enter the following command to determine current holder of the FSMO roles:
– While still logged into the Windows Server 2012 DC, open Active Directory Domains and Trust via Tools menu
– Right-click on Active Directory Domains and Trust and click on Change Active Directory Domain Controller… (Note: the current directory server is my Windows Server 2008R2 DC)
– Now select your Windows Server 2012 DC and click OK
– Right-click on Active Directory Domains and Trust and click on Operations Master…
– Now you should have your Domain naming operations master role holder as your Windows Server 2008R2 Dc and the transfer to DC as your Windows Server 2012 DC
– Click on Change and click on Yes to proceed with the role transfer
– You should get a pop-up indicating the transfer was successful.
– The Domain naming operations master holder should now be the Windows Server 2012 DC
2. Transferring PDC, Infrastructure and RID roles
– Open Active Directory Users and Computers
– Right-click on the domain name and click on Operations Master…
– On the RID tab, click Change and accept the change. Repeat same for both PDC and Infrastructure roles
3. Transferring the Schema master role
– Open command prompt as Administrator, type in the following command and press enter
regsvr32 schmmgmt.dll
– The schmmgmt.dll should successfully register
– Open the MMC console and add the Active Directory Schema object. If the domain controller connected to is the schema role holder, then right-click on the schema and click Change Active Directory Domain Controller…
– Select your Windows 2012 DC and click OK. Accept the schema message
– Right-click again on the schema object and click Operations Master…
– Click on Change to transfer the role
– Accept the change
– You should get a message indicating the schema role was successfully transferred
– Run the following command to confirm the FSMO role holder which in this case should be your Windows Server 2012 DC
netdom query fsmo
Cumulative Update 2 for Exchange Server 2013 resolves issues that were found in Exchange Server 2013 CU1 since the software was released. This update rollup is highly recommended for all Exchange Server 2013 customers.
Cumulative Update 1 for Exchange Server 2013 resolves issues that were found in Exchange Server 2013 since the software was released. This update rollup is highly recommended for all Exchange Server 2013 customers.
Download – http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=38176
Windows Server 2012 Essentials is a significant milestone in our efforts to help cloud-enable small businesses and home offices. It is designed to help you protect business data, to allow highly secure access to the information you need from virtually anywhere by using almost any device, and to offer the flexibility to choose which applications and services you want to run on-premises and in the cloud—we have even made it easier than ever before to run Essentials itself in a hosted environment. Excitement about the release of Windows Server 2012 Essentials has been growing. In 8 weeks of public previews, we’ve had more than 23,000 downloads—far surpassing pre-release downloads of past versions.
Moments ago, the Office engineering team signed off on the Release to Manufacturing (RTM) build. This milestone means the coding and testing phase of the project is complete and we are now focused on releasing the new Office via multiple distribution channels to our consumer and business customers.
This is the most ambitious release of Office we’ve ever done. It spans the full family of Office applications, servers and cloud services. The new Office has a fresh, touch friendly design that works beautifully on Windows 8 and unlocks modern scenarios in social, reading, note-taking, meetings and communications. We are proud to achieve this milestone and are eager to deliver this exciting release to our customers.
Link – http://blogs.office.com/b/office-news/archive/2012/10/11/office-reaches-rtm.aspx
