Category: Exchange

Can you skip CU’s?

The question isn’t can you but should you. What’s a CU? Starting with Exchange Server 2013, the Exchange Product Group (PG) went to a quarterly updating process titled Cumulative Updates. These CU’s literally uninstall and reinstall Exchange when they are applied to a server. This is one reason a CU install process can take several hours. You’ll want to

Is there a free way to setup a test Exchange Server?

Yes. You can leverage Azure for a test period. See this page on how to setup the environment, including a DC and a single Exchange Server. https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/mt733070(v=exchg.160).aspx

Exchange Hybrid Duplicate Mailboxes

Some customers have seen where they can end up with a duplicate mailbox within their hybrid environment. This can cause problems when a user, either on premises or in the cloud, has two mailboxes, one on premises and another one in Exchange Online (EXO). The good news is, there is now a work around. A

Schema administrator has a mailbox

Q: Why does the Schema Admin have a mailbox? A: It’s by design! What? Yes, this is normal behavior for Exchange Server 2013 & 2016.  If the account you are using for the install does not have a mailbox, one will be created for that account. Typically, engineers will use an Active Directory (AD) account with a mailbox when

EXO is safe

With the recent security updates released for all versions of Exchange: Exchange Server 2019 Cumulative Update 1 (KB4471391), VLSC Download Exchange Server 2016 Cumulative Update 12 (KB4471392), Download, UM Lang Packs Exchange Server 2013 Cumulative Update 22 (KB4345836), Download, UM Lang Packs Exchange Server 2010 Service Pack 3 Update Rollup 26 (KB4487052), Download, also available on Microsoft Update The question comes

Exchange Server 2019 shorter lifecycle

If you haven’t looked lately, and I know most of us don’t, but of possible interest to many is the Exchange Sever 2019 version only has a 7-year lifecycle. The stated end date of extended support is the same as the 2016 version. Product released Lifecycle start date Mainstream support end date Extended support end

Exchange server quarter updates posted early

While the Exchange product group does try and release every 3rd month (March, June, September, December) and 3rd week of that month for quarterly updates, with the chatter about a possible security vulnerability, the Exchange PG is releasing these security fixes for all currently supported Exchange versions as noted on the eHelo blog page. There

Safety Net has a limit

Exchange 2013 introduced another mechanism to help ensure that e-mail gets delivered to users: Safety Net. This feature creates a copy of all inbound messages cross site (by default, but configurable). Exchange stores the messages in yet another .edb file and yet another storage place on the server. You can move the location of the files,

What to name your DAG?

Was helping a customer the other day and the topic of what to name your DAG (Exchange Database Availability Group) was presented. One thought is to just name it ‘DAG’. Works well, but the issue is, when migrating from Exchange Server 2010 to Exchange Server 2013, or 2010 to 2016, or 2013 to 2019, etc.

Controlling bandwidth in a DAG reseed

Q: Is there a way to control bandwidth within a DAG (Database Availability Group) during a reseed process? A: No. However, that’s not the complete story. The question comes up when engineers need to reseed a database (DB). And while there is no native option to control bandwidth, there is a work around. Scenario: One of the