About Michel de Rooij

Michel de Rooij, with over 25 years of mixed consulting and automation experience with Exchange and related technologies, is a consultant for Rapid Circle. He assists organizations in their journey to and using Microsoft 365, primarily focusing on Exchange and associated technologies and automating processes using PowerShell or Graph. Michel's authorship of several Exchange books and role in the Office 365 for IT Pros author team are a testament to his knowledge. Besides writing for Practical365.com, he maintains a blog on eightwone.com with supporting scripts on GitHub. Michel has been a Microsoft MVP since 2013.

Exchange v15 Unattended Setup

Posted on February 18, 2013 by Michel de Rooij

241

Latest version: 3.9, February 15th, 2024

I’m pleased to announce the availability of Install-Exchange15.ps1, a PowerShell script to perform a fully automated unattended setup of Exchange Server 2013, Exchange Server 2016, or Exchange Server 2019 (Desktop and Core) is supported).

The script takes care of:

Installing requires Windows Server features
Install Exchange Server prerequisites, e.g., .NET Framework 4.5.2/4.6.1/4.6.2/4.7.1/4.7.2/4.8/4.8.1 and Visual C++ Runtime 2012 or 2013, depending on roles, OS, and Exchange version to install.
Install additional prerequisites and prepare Active Directory.
Optionally install Exchange Server 2013 / 2016 / 2019.
Optionally, install required fixes and perform post configuration, like setting your Power Plan to High Performance, reconfiguring the pagefile to best practices (memory + 10MB with a maximum of 32GB+10MB) if it is system managed, and performing .NET framework optimizations. Custom post-configuration is possible by modifying the script.
On Windows Server 2016 and later, it will configure Windows Defender exclusions when present.
For Exchange 2016 CU22 and Exchange 2019 CU11 and later, will install the required URL Rewrite 2 module.
Finally, the script will clean things up, like removing the state file and setting the startup of Transport Service back to Automatic.

Usage
This script version requires a domain-joined Windows Server, an account to perform the installation (and optionally prepare Active Directory), and the location where the Exchange Server 2013/2016/2019 installation files are stored (e.g., a UNC path).

The syntax is as follows:

Install-Exchange15.ps1 -[InstallMultiRole|InstallMailbox|InstallEdge|InstallCAS|NoSetup|Recover] [-Organization <string>] [-MDBName <string>] [-MDBDBPath <string>] [-MDBLogPath <string>] [-InstallPath <string>] [-SourcePath <string>] [-TargetPath <string>] [-Credentials <pscredential>] [-IncludeFixes] [-NoNet461] [-NoNet471] [-NoNet472] [-NoNet48] [-NoNet481] [-DoNotEnableEP] [-DoNotEnableEP_FEEWS] [-UseWMF3] [-DisableSSL3] [-DisableRC4] [-DiagnosticData] [-SCP <string>] [-EdgeDNSSuffix <string>] [-Lock] [-SkipRolesCheck] [-AutoPilot] [<CommonParameters>]
Install-Exchange15.ps1 -InstallMultiRole -SourcePath <string> [-Organization <string>]  [-InstallPath <string>] [-TargetPath <string>] [-AutoPilot] [-Credentials <pscredential>] [-IncludeFixes] [-NoNet461] [-NoNet471] [-NoNet472] [-NoNet48] [-NoNet481] [-DoNotEnableEP] [-DoNotEnableEP_FEEWS] [-UseWMF3] [-DisableSSL3] [-DisableRC4]  [-DiagnosticData] [-Lock] [-SkipRolesCheck] [-Phase <int>] [<CommonParameters>]

A short description of the parameters:

Organization (optional): Specifies the name of the Exchange organization to create. When omitted, the step to prepare Active Directory (PrepareAD) will be skipped.
InstallMailbox: Specifies you want to install the Mailbox server role. This applies to Exchange 2013 as well as Exchange 2016.
InstallCAS: Specifies you want to install the CAS role. This applies to Exchange 2013 only, ignored when installing Exchange 2016.
InstallMultiRole: Specifies you want to install both Mailbox server and CAS roles. Applies to Exchange 2013 only.
InstallEdge: Specifies to install the Edge Transport rule (Exchange 2013/2016).
MDBName (optional): Specifies the name of the initially created database.
MDBDBPath (optional): Specifies the database path of the initially created database (requires MDBName).
MDBLogPath (optional): Specifies the log path of the initially created database (requires MDBName).
InstallPath (optional): Specifies (temporary) location of where to locate – and when downloaded store – prerequisite files, the state file, and log files. The default location is C:\Install. You can also use a UNC path to use a central location, given the credentials have sufficient permissions to write at this location. This is ideal when you want the script to use previously downloaded hotfix files, for example, as some required hotfixes are quite large (e.g. KB3206632 for WS2016 ~ 1GB, KB2919355 for WS2012R2 ~ 700MB).
NoSetup (optional): Specifies you only want to install prerequisites (and optionally prepare the Exchange organization), Exchange setup and post-configuration steps are not performed. You still need to specify SourcePath because the Exchange version will determine the prerequisites to install.
Recover: Specifies you want to install this server in Recovery mode. The script will check if an Exchange server object is already defined.
SourcePath: Specifies the location of the Exchange 2013 installation files. This can point to the location of setup.exe, or you can specify the Exchange ISO file.
TargetPath: Specifies the location where to install the Exchange 2013.
AutoPilot (switch): Specifies you want to automatically restart, log on using the credentials specified, and continue the installation. When not specified, you will need to restart, log on, and start the script manually each time (without parameters).
Credentials (optional): Specifies credentials to use for automatic logon. Use DOMAIN\User or user@domain. When not specified, you will be prompted to enter credentials.
IncludeFixes (optional): Depending on the operating system and detected Exchange version to install, will download and install recommended hotfixes.
DiagnosticData (optional): This switch determines the initial Data Collection mode for deploying Exchange 2019 CU11, Exchange 2016 CU22, or later builds.
DoNotEnableEP Do not enable Extended Protection on Exchange 2019 CU14+
DoNotEnableEP_FEEWS Do not enable Extended Protection on the Front-End EWS virtual directory on Exchange 2019 CU14+
SCP (optional) allows you to reconfigure the Service Connection Point record for Autodiscover after the Exchange setup has finished. Specify the full URI, e.g. https://autodiscover.contoso.com/autodiscover/autodiscover.xml. Use ‘-‘ to clear the SCP entries of the server.
Lock (optional) locks the system when running script.
NoNet481 (optional) prevents installing .NET Framework 4.8.1 and uses 4.8 when deploying Exchange 2019 CU14+
NoNet48 (optional) to use .NET Framework 4.7.2, even when installing an Exchange version that is supported with .NET Framework 4.8.
NoNET471 (optional) to use .NET Framework 4.6.2, even when installing an Exchange version which is supported with .NET Framework 4.7.1.
NoNET472 (optional) to use .NET Framework 4.7.1, even when installing an Exchange version which is supported with .NET Framework 4.7.2.
NoNET461 (optional) to use .NET Framework 4.5.2, even when installing an Exchange version which is supported with .NET Framework 4.6.1 or higher.
DisableSSL3 (optional) to disable SSL3 protocol as per KB187498.
DisableRC4 (optional) to disable RC4 cipher as per KB2868725.
SkipRolesCheck (optional) to bypass membership checks for Schema Admin and Enterprise Admin roles.
EdgeDNSSuffix specifies the DNS suffix to configure on the primary NIC.

Note that the script uses an XML file to store the (original) parameters used to start the script but also to keep track of the the process. Of course, if required, you can use predefined XML files to run the script without parameters.

Note that when not present, the script will try to download the prerequisites from the internet. When that isn’t possible or to save bandwidth, you can put them in the location defined by InstallPath and the script will detect and use them.

The post-configuration is currently adding IFilters for OneNote and Publisher (Mailbox) only. There are comments in the script where to add your own additional post-configuration steps.

For example, assume we want to start a fully unattended install of an Exchange Server 2013 Client Access server, using a network location for the Exchange Server 2013 source files. After setting the Execution Policy to Unrestricted and storing the script locally, we start the script using:

 .\Install-Exchange15.ps1 –InstallCAS –SourcePath
'\\server\share\isos\Microsoft\Exchange2013\mu_exchange_server_2013_x64_dvd_1112105'
 –AutoPilot –Verbose

The script will perform some checks and since AutoPilot was specified without using the Credentials parameter, the script will ask for credentials.

After entering the credentials, the required features will be installed. Since OrganizationName wasn’t specified, Active Directory preparation will be skipped.

After rebooting, the system will automatically log on using the credentials specified earlier and start the script (RunOnce registry key is utilized for this purpose). It will read the last known state from the XML file and will continue with the next phase, which is downloading (when not present) and installing the Exchange prerequisites.

Next, after rebooting and the automatic logon, Exchange will be installed from the source location.

When done, the system will perform post-configuration and finalization steps.

When running in AutoPilot mode, the system will automatically perform reboots and logons between the steps. Note that it may seem like a lot of reboots, but rebooting after installing Windows features and Exchange prerequisites is required anyway, so I also put reboots after the other milestones.

Customization
If you want to perform post-setup configuration of Exchange running Exchange cmdlets from the script, you need to tailor it to your needs. Locate the line which reads:

#Load-ExchangeModule

Uncomment this line so a proper Exchange Management Shell session will be set up to the local Exchange server. You can insert Exchange-related cmdlets after the Load-ExchangeModule line to configure your server. Be advised that you need to port modifications to new versions of the installation script.

Recovery
The script also supports recovery mode (/mode:RecoverServer). After checking the Exchange server object is present in Active Directory, installation will proceed as normal, with the exception of running setup in recovery mode. For example:

.\Install-Exchange15.ps1 -Recover -Autopilot -SourcePath \server1\sources\ex2019cu13.iso

Update
The script also supports update mode (/mode:Update). After checking the Exchange server object is present in Active Directory, and checking for presence of Exchange installation, installation will proceed as normal, with the exception of running setup in Update mode.

Feedback
Feedback is welcomed through the comments. If you have scripting suggestions or questions, do not hesitate to use the contact form.

Download
You can download Install-Exchange15.ps1 from TechNet or GitHub.

Revision History
See Technet Gallery page.

Sent Items Management

Posted on February 13, 2013 by Michel de Rooij

With the release of Exchange 2010 SP3, you can now control where sent items are stored when Send-As or Send-on-Behalf permissions are configured and you’re using Outlook Web Access. In Outlook we already had the possibility to control where sent items are stored this using registry keys, but now we can do so from Outlook Web Access or using the Exchange Management Shell. Unlike Outlook, you unfortunately can’t control where deleted items are stored.

As a quick reminder, to configure permissions for user Francis to send e-mail messages as Philip or on behalf of Philip, you would use:

Add-ADPermission Philip -User Francis -Extendedrights "Send As"
Set-Mailbox Philip -GrantSendOnBehalfTo Francis

Sent Items Management from Outlook Web Access
To access the Sent Items Management option, use OWA to open the (shared) mailbox and navigate to Settings > Sent Items

You can configure the following options for Send-As or Send-on-Behalf e-mail:

From mailbox: The sent item will be stored in the Sent Items folder of the (shared) mailbox;
Sender and From mailboxes: The sent item will be stored in the Sent Items folder of the (shared) mailbox and actual sender;
Sender mailbox: The sent item will be stored in the Sent Items folder of the actual sender (default).

Sent Items Management using EMS
To inspect where sent items are stored, use Get-MailboxSentItemsConfiguration, e.g.

Get-MailboxSentItemsConfiguration Philip

To configure the settings, use Set-MailboxSentItemsConfiguration in conjunction with SendAsItemsCopiedTo or SendOnBehalfOfItemsCopiedTo specifying Sender, From or SenderAndFrom. For example, to configure the items sent as Philip to be stored in the mailbox of both Philip and the actual sender, use the following cmdlet:

Set-MailboxSentItemsConfiguration Philip –SenderAndFrom

It would be nice if Outlook would honor these settings, just like the signatures, so you configure this centrally and have consistent behavior regardless of the client setting. It shouldn’t be difficult, using Exchange Web Services as a vehicle to store and retrieve this information.

Exchange 2010 SP3

Posted on February 13, 2013 by Michel de Rooij

Exchange Server 2010 Service Pack 3 (SP3) has been released, raising the Exchange version number to 14.3.123.4.

For those still unaware, the 550 MB file (1.45 GB uncompressed) contains the full set of binaries; you can use it to upgrade existing installations or deploy new Exchange 2010 SP3 installations.

Service Pack 3 introduces the following features:

Exchange 2013 Coexistence
This Service Pack for Exchange 2010 adds coexistence with Exchange 2013. However, for coexistence Exchange Server 2013 Cumulative Update 1 (CU1) is required, which hasn’t been released yet.
Windows Server 2012 Support
This Service Pack enables you to deploy Exchange Server 2010 on WIndows Server 2012 platform.
Internet Explorer 10
You can now use Internet Explorer 10 to connect to Exchange 2010.
Sent Items Management
You can now control behavior of Send-As or Send-on-Behalf messages regarding the folder used to store a copy of the sent message, analogue to the Delegated Send Items options available in Outlook.

In addition to fixes that were part of the Exchange 2010 SP2 Rollups 1 to version 6, SP3 adds the following fixes:

2552121 You cannot synchronize a mailbox by using an Exchange ActiveSync device in an Exchange Server 2010 environment
2729444 Mailboxes are quarantined after you install the Exchange Server 2010 SP2 version of the Exchange Server 2010 Management Pack
2778100 Long delay in receiving email messages by using Outlook in an Exchange Server 2010 environment
2779351 SCOM alert when the Test-PowerShellConnectivity cmdlet is executed in an Exchange Server 2010 organization
2784569 Slow performance when you search a GAL by using an EAS device in an Exchange Server 2010 environment
2796950 Microsoft.Exchange.Monitoring.exe process consumes excessive CPU resources when a SCOM server monitors Exchange Server 2010 Client Access servers
2800133 W3wp.exe process consumes excessive CPU and memory resources on an Exchange Client Access server after you apply Update Rollup 5 version 2 for Exchange Server 2010 SP2
2800346 Outlook freezes and high network load occurs when you apply retention policies to a mailbox in a mixed Exchange Server 2010 SP2 environment
2810617 Can’t install Exchange Server 2010 SP3 when you define a Windows PowerShell script execution policy in Group Policy
2787500 Declined meeting request is added back to your calendar after a delegate opens the request by using Outlook 2010
2797529 Email message delivery is delayed on a Blackberry mobile device after you install Update Rollup 4 for Exchange Server 2010 SP2
2800080 ErrorServerBusy response code when you synchronize an EWS-based application to a mailbox in an Exchange Server 2010 environment

Be advised that after installing SP3 on Mailbox servers, the databases are upgraded to the SP3 version database schema. An SP3 database can’t be mounted on pre-SP3 Mailbox servers. Keep this in mind when upgrading your DAG (you will temporarily have limited fail-over/fall-back or switch-over options) or for example when utilizing database portability. Note that upgrading databases can be time consuming, especially with RTM or low SP databases as the database will be upgrade using interim steps, i.e. RTM to SP1, SP1 to SP2 and finally SP2 to SP3.

Also, while Exchange Server 2010 SP3 is supported on Windows Server 2012, that doesn’t mean .NET 4.5 (WMF 3.0, PowerShell 3.0) is supported on Windows Server 2008 or Windows Server 2008 R2; on Windows Server 2012, PowerShell 2.0 will be used. Also, OS upgrades (e.g. WS2008 R2 to WS2012) with Exchange installed aren’t supported.

After preparing your forest for Exchange 2010 SP3, the schema version number will have changed. Check the Schema Versions page for information on the new values for Exchange 2010 SP3.

The proper method to upgrade mailbox servers that are a member of a Database Availability Group is described here.

You can download Exchange 2010 SP3 here.

The UM language packs for SP3 can be downloaded here. Note that you need to uninstall previous UM language packs before you can install the SP3 versions.

Exchange 2010 SP2 Rollup 6

Posted on February 12, 2013 by Michel de Rooij

Today the Exchange Team released Rollup 6 for Exchange Server 2010 Service Pack 2 (KB2746164). This update raises Exchange 2010 version number to 14.2.342.3.

Here’s the list of changes included in this Rollup:

2489941 The “legacyExchangeDN” value is shown in the “From” field instead of the “Simple Display Name” in an email message in an Exchange Server 2010 environment
2717453 You cannot move or delete a folder by using Outlook in online mode in an Exchange Server 2010 environment
2733608 Corrupted Japanese DBCS characters when you send a meeting request or post a reply to a posted item in a public folder in an Exchange Server 2010 environment
2734635 Folder-associated information (FAI) items are deleted when you run the New-InboxRule cmdlet or change Inbox rules in an Exchange Server 2010 environment
2737046 AutoPreview feature does not work when you use Outlook in online mode in an Exchange Server 2010 environment
2741117 High CPU utilization by Microsoft Exchange Replication service on Client Access servers in an Exchange Server 2010 environment
2746030 Incorrect ExternalURL value for EWS is returned by an Exchange Server 2010 Client Access server
2750188 Exchange Service Host service crashes when you start the service on an Exchange 2010 server
2751417 Synchronization fails if you sync an external device to a mailbox through EAS in an Exchange Server 2010 environment
2751581 OAB generation fails with event IDs 9126, 9330, and either 9338 or 9339 in an Exchange Server 2010 environment
2760999 “The signup domain ‘org’ derived from ‘<TenantDomainName>.org’ is not a valid domain” error message when you use the Hybrid Configuration wizard in an Exchange Server
2776259 Msftefd.exe process crashes if an email attachment has an unexpected file name extension or no file name extension in an Exchange Server 2010 environment
2779387 Duplicated email messages are displayed in the Sent Items folder in a EWS-based application that accesses an Exchange Server 2010 Mailbox server
2783586 Name order of a contact is displayed incorrectly after you edit the contact in an Exchange Server 2010 environment
2783631 User-Agent field is empty when you run the Get-ActiveSyncDeviceStatistics cmdlet in an Exchange Server 2010 SP2 environment
2783633 You cannot move or delete an email message that is larger than the maximum receive or send size in an Exchange Server 2010 environment
2783649 Private appointment is visible to a delegate in an Exchange Server 2010 environment
2783771 Mailbox on a mobile device is not updated when EAS is configured in an Exchange Server 2010 environment
2783772 Edgetransport.exe process crashes after a journal recipient receives an NDR message in an Exchange Server 2010 environment
2783776 You cannot perform a cross-premises search in a mailbox in an Exchange Server 2010 hybrid environment
2783782 Error message when you use Scanpst.exe on a .pst file in an Exchange Server 2010 environment
2784081 Store.exe process crashes if you add certain registry keys to an Exchange Server 2010 Mailbox server
2784083 Week numbers in the Outlook Web App and Outlook calendars are mismatched in an Exchange Server 2010 environment
2784093 SCOM alerts and event ID 4 in an Exchange Server 2010 SP2 organization that has Update Rollup 1 or later
2784566 Exchange RPC Client Access service crashes on an Exchange Server 2010 Mailbox server
2787023 Exchange Mailbox Assistants service crashes when you try to change a recurring calendar item or publish free/busy data in an Exchange Server 2010 environment
2793274 A new option is available that disables the PermanentlyDelete retention action in an Exchange Server 2010 organization
2793278 You cannot use the search function to search for mailbox items in an Exchange Server 2010 environment
2793279 Exchange Server 2010 does not restart when the Microsoft Exchange Replication service freezes
2793488 Internet Explorer freezes when you connect to the OWA several times in an Exchange Server 2010 environment
2810616 Email message delivery is delayed on a Blackberry mobile device after you install Update Rollup 4 for Exchange Server 2010 SP2

In addition to these fixes, this Rollup also includes a fix for the security issue described in Microsoft Security Bulletin MS13-012.

As of Rollup 4, its no longer required to disable/re-enable ForeFront Protection for Exchange using the fscutility to be able to install the Rollup properly. However, if you want to remain in control, you can disable ForeFront before installing the Rollup using fscutility /disable and re-enable it afterwards using fscutility /enable.

If you want to speed up the update process for systems without internet access, you can follow the procedure described here to disable publisher’s certificate revocation checking.

If you got a DAG and want to properly update the DAG members, check the instructions here.

Note that Rollups are cumulative, i.e. they contain fixes released in earlier Rollups for the same product level (RTM, SPx). This means you don’t need to install previous Rollups during a fresh installation but can start with the latest Rollup.

As with any Hotfix, Rollup or Service Pack, I’d recommend to thoroughly test this rollup in a test and acceptance environment first, prior to implementing it in production.

You can download Exchange 2010 SP2 Rollup 6 here.

Exchange 2007 SP3 Rollup 10

Posted on February 12, 2013 by Michel de Rooij

Today the Exchange Team released Rollup 10 for Exchange Server 2007 Service Pack 3 (KB2788321). This update raises Exchange 2007 version number to 8.3.298.3.

Here’s the list of changes included in this Rollup:

This Rollup adds coexistence with Exchange Server 2013. However, for coexistence Exchange Server 2013 Cumulative Update 1 (CU1) is required, which hasn’t been released yet.
2783779 A hidden user is still displayed in the Organization information of Address Book in OWA in an Exchange Server 2007 environment

In addition to these fixes, this Rollup also includes a fix for the security issue described in Microsoft Security Bulletin MS13-012 and new daylight saving time (DST) updates.

When running ForeFront Protection for Exchange, make sure you disable ForeFront before installing the rollup and re-enable it afterwards, otherwise the Information Store and Transport services may not start. You can disable ForeFront using fscutility /disable and enable it using the fscutility /enable command.

Note that Rollups are cumulative, i.e. they contain fixes released in earlier update Rollups for the same product level (RTM, SP). This means you don’t need to install previous Rollups during a fresh installation but can start with the latest Rollup package.

You can download Exchange 2007 SP3 Rollup 10 here.