Exchange 2010 Mailbox Role Calculator 19.9

Posted on June 19, 2012 by Michel de Rooij

It’s been almost 3 months since the last update, but today the Exchange Team released version 19.9 of the Exchange 2010 Mailbox Role Calculator.

Enhancements since version 18.9:

Revised name of Offline Address Book in MailboxDatabases.csv file
Integrated revised CreateMBDatabases.ps1 script that better handles database creation with large numbers of databases
Integrated revised CreateMBDatabaseCopies.ps1 script that performs faster
Added validation check to ensure message profile has a mailbox size limit
Added 4TB disks as a disk selection option
Included prompt for 2nd site GC for on DB Export Primary DB List dialog
Included prompt for 1st and 2nd site GC on Export Copy DB List dialog
Revised default for GC on Export Primary DB List dialog to use FQDN
Revised default for Public Folder DB on Export Primary DB List dialog to clarify it is a DB name
Added problem explanation text to Distribution tab status line to show why the Calculator considers a configuration invalid
Updated CreateMBDatabaseCopies.ps1 to use GC1 and GC2 from export file
Added status information to Diskpart.ps1 to show the state of disks before and after script execution

Bug Fixes since version 18.9:

Fixed issue with “Number of Active Databases / PDC (After Second PDC Server Failure)” formula to ensure that the PDC cannot have more active databases than possible
Removed rounding on calculating number of active databases / server
Fixed “DB and Log LUN Design / Server” to accurately calculate /DAG totals when 2 LUNs / Backup Set architecture is chosen
Fixed conditional formatting issue with Number of Mailbox Servers when the design utilizes standalone Mailbox servers
Fixed bug preventing running multiple StorageCalc instances from running concurrently
Fixed bug when saving a workbook under a new name after making changes to the original workbook
Fixed “Number of Mailbox Cores Required to Support Activated Databases in Secondary Datacenter” to accurately take into account the correct number of remaining servers
Fixed diskpart.ps1 script to ensure it can be re-executed
Fixed diskpart.ps1 script to cater for embedded spaces in mountpoints
Fixed CreateMBDatabaseCopies.ps1 to read input for Primary site and Secondary site DC’s
Fixed Export Primary Databases List to use PF Database instead of PF Server

You can download the calculator here. For more information please consult the changeblog or usage instructions.

Exchange 2010 SP2 Rollup 3

Posted on May 29, 2012 by Michel de Rooij

Today the Exchange Team released Rollup 3 for Exchange Server 2010 Service Pack 2 (KB2685289). This update raises Exchange 2010 version number to 14.2.309.2.

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

2510607 “Cannot open the free/busy information” error message when you try to view folder permissions in Outlook
2514700 Extra.exe does not trace a single user whose legacyExchangeDN attribute contains one or more special characters in an Exchange Server 2010 environment
2571342 The Folder contacts list is empty when a user views the properties of a mail-enabled public folder in an Exchange Server 2010 environment
2572029 Synchronization of an organizational forms library fails when you use Outlook in Cache mode in an Exchange Server 2010 environment
2586828 The EdgeTransport.exe process consumes 100 percent of CPU resources on an Exchange Server 2010 Edge Transport server
2589233 Meeting requests bypass the requirement for delegate approval and instead book resource mailboxes automatically in an Exchange Server 2010 environment
2633043 “There were no writeable domain controllers found in Active Directory site” error message when you run the ExBPA tool in an Exchange Server 2010 organization
2647396 You cannot disable a public folder by using the “Disable-MailPublicFolder” cmdlet in an Exchange Server 2010 environment
2648263 You cannot open routing log files on Exchange Server 2010 Hub Transport servers in a mixed Exchange Server 2003 and Exchange Server 2010 environment
2667120 MSExchangeAutodiscoverAppPool application pool crashes on an Exchange Server 2010 Client Access server when you try to view the free/busy information about a user in a trusted domain
2668900 Event ID 2915 is logged when you apply a fallback policy to a service account in an Exchange Server 2010 environment
2670099 You cannot open calendar folders that are shared by hidden users in an Exchange Server 2010 environment
2671128 RPC Client Access Cross-Site connectivity issues occur in an Exchange Server 2010 environment
2673542 MRM retention policy in the Junk E-Mail folder does not work when you manually move email messages in an Exchange Server 2010 environment
2673591 Crash occurs in the Autodiscover application pool in an Exchange Server 2010 environment
2674185 MAPI_E_CALL_FAILED errors occur when a MAPI application that uses the MAPI function in Outlook 2007 MAPI or in Outlook 2010 tries to access an Exchange Server 2010 server
2674445 You cannot change the access permissions of a Calendar folder in an Exchange Server 2010 environment
2677872 You cannot use a distribution group in the hierarchical address book when you create the group in Exchange Server 2003
2681250 “550 5.6.0” NDR when a journal report is sent to an external contact in an Exchange Server 2010 environment
2682047 You cannot access a mailbox for several hours after you disconnect and then reconnect the mailbox in an Exchange Server 2010 SP2 environment
2682408 AddOrganizerToSubject parameter does not take effect when a recurring meeting conflicts with another meeting in an Exchange Server 2010 environment
2682895 Error message when a role assignee runs the Get-MailboxExportRequestStatistics cmdlet in an Exchange Server 2010 environment
2684583 You cannot delete an empty folder in a .pst file by using Outlook in an Exchange Server 2010 environment
2689810 A meeting request that you send from an EWS application is in plain text format instead of HTML format when an attendee opens the request by using Outlook in online mode
2695011 Junk Email settings do not work as expected after you migrate or move a mailbox to an Exchange Server 2010 SP1 Mailbox server
2695022 The E-mail Signature text box is not editable in Outlook Web App when you use Google Chrome in an Exchange Server 2010 environment
2695836 You cannot move a mailbox in an Exchange Server 2010 environment that has a message size limit configured
2696642 An additional line of space is added in each paragraph in an email message when you click the Printable View icon in Outlook Web App in an Exchange Server 2010 environment
2698927 Resource mailbox that has AutoAccept configured does not process a meeting request that contains custom code or script in Exchange Server 2010
2698960 You cannot move some users’ mailboxes from one Exchange Server 2010 mailbox database to another
2698976 Managed Folder Assistant does not process a mailbox that has external contacts in another tenant organization in an Exchange Server 2010 environment
2699023 Event ID 9646 is logged on the Exchange Server 2010 mailbox server when you access a mailbox that has more than 250 folders by using an IMAP4 client
2699577 GAL-related client-only message rule is not applied in Outlook after you apply RU1 for Exchange Server 2010 SP2 in an Exchange Server 2010 environment
2699582 Error message when you play a voice mail by using Outlook 2007 in an Exchange Server 2010 environment
2700544 Multiple recovery items are added to a subfolder of the Recoverable Items folder in an Exchange Server 2010 environment
2705425 UMWorkerProcess.exe consumes large amounts of memory when you try to listen to voice messages by using Outlook Voice Access in an Exchange Server 2010 environment
2705555 The Set-Mailbox cmdlet takes a long time to complete configuration in an Exchange Server 2010 environment
2705570 An error occurs when a user whose mailbox is hidden from the Exchange address list tries to open the Scheduling Assistant tab by using the light version of Outlook Web App
2705647 A user cannot log on to a mailbox that is full by using Outlook Web App in an Exchange Server 2010 environment
2705682 Post-reform spelling rules are not used in the Portuguese (Portugal) dictionary in Outlook Web App in an Exchange Server 2010 environment
2706523 You cannot create a mailbox or mail-enable a mailbox for a disabled user account in an Exchange Server 2010 environment
2708880 You cannot set the “Country/region” attribute of a user mailbox to “Curaçao,” “Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba,” or “Sint Maarten (Dutch part)” by using the Exchange Management Console on an Exchange Server 2010 server

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 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.

You can download Exchange 2010 SP2 Rollup 3 here.

Exchange 2010 SP2 Language Pack Updated

Posted on May 25, 2012 by Michel de Rooij

The Exchange team updated the Exchange Server 2010 2 Language Pack.

As you may or may not know, installing SP2 on Client Access Servers introduced the breadcrumb issue which I reported here.

Unfortunately, the Language Pack (included in SP2) which was updated to fix this issue introduced an annoyance on SP2 RU1 multi-role servers, by flooding the Eventlog with 10013 error messages for non-“en-us” users after installing SP2 RU1:

The Active Directory entry for mailbox CN contains an invalid locale for attribute MsExchUserCulture: nl-NL

You can download the updated language pack bundle here. Note that you only need to apply the update on Client Access Servers.

Exchange Setup and AD Replication Latency

Posted on April 24, 2012 by Michel de Rooij

When setting up Exchange, by default setup assumes the domain controller it talks to is up to date and replication is working almost instantly. Unfortunately, depending on your Active Directory configuration and replication scheme, this isn’t always guaranteed. In such cases, issues can arise of which one I would like to show below.

Note that the problem mentioned due to replication latency may also occur when running cmdlets or scripts.

A typical issue caused by replication lag is the following error which is shown when trying to install the Mailbox server role:

Active Directory operation failed on dc01.contoso.com. This error is not retriable. Additional information: The name reference is invalid.  This may be caused by replication latency between Active Directory domain controllers.  Active directory response: 000020B5: AtrErr: DSID-03152392, #1:  0: 000020B5: DSID-03152392, problem 1005 (CONSTRAINT_ATT_TYPE), data 0, Att 200ab (homeMTA)

In the Exchange setup log you can notice something like the following pattern (in this case setup takes place from a sub domain):

[04/18/2012 09:59:15.0328] [2] Active Directory session settings for 'Enable-Mailbox' are: View Entire Forest: 'True', Configuration Domain Controller: 'dc01.nl.contoso.com', Preferred Global Catalog: 'dc01.nl.contoso.com', Preferred Domain Controllers: '{ dc01.nl.contoso.com }' <snip> [04/18/2012 09:59:36.0945] [1] 0.  ErrorRecord: Active Directory operation failed on dc01.contoso.com. This error is not retriable. Additional information: The name reference is invalid. This may be caused by replication latency between Active Directory domain controllers.

You can see the Domain Controller used for updating Active Directory is different than the one used for checking. Assuming replication is working correctly, you have several options to get around the situation, depending on whether you’re running setup or executing a cmdlet or script:

First, when running setup, you can use the /DomainController parameter to specify a Domain Controller setup should use, e.g.:

setup.com /Mode:Install /Role:Mailbox /DomainController:dc1.contoso.com

Alternatively, when running a cmdlet or script you can configure the Domain Controller to use by using Set-ADServerSettings in conjunction with the PreferredServer parameter, e.g.

Set-ADServerSettings –PreferredServer dc.contoso.com

Of course, there’s also a 3rd option which would be to wait for replication cycle. However, this could take a while, depending on the structure and replication scheme.

Note that the (potential) problem mentioned in this blog is the reason why you should let scripts stick to the same Domain Controller after picking one or respect the Set-ADServerSettings setting, preventing potential replication issues like this.

For more information on Set-ADServerSettings, consult TechNet here.

Exchange 2010 SP2 Rollup 2

Posted on April 16, 2012 by Michel de Rooij

Today the Exchange Team released Rollup 2 for Exchange Server 2010 Service Pack 2 (KB2661854). This update raises Exchange 2010 version number to 14.2.298.4.

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

2519806 A meeting request that is sent by an external user or by using a non-Microsoft email system is stamped as Busy instead of Tentative in an Exchange Server 2010 environment
2556766 Slow performance when you create many contacts by using Exchange Web Services in an Exchange Server 2010 environment
2592398 Email messages in the Sent Items folder have the same PR_INTERNET_MESSAGE_ID property in an Exchange Server 2010 environment
2601301 Customized contact objects revert to the default form after a public folder database replication in an Exchange Server 2010 environment
2625450 You cannot generate an OAB file that is larger than 2GB in an Exchange Server 2010 environment
2630808 A user can log on to a mailbox by using Outlook for Mac 2011 unexpectedly in an Exchange Server 2010 environment
2632201 MAPI_E_INVALID_PARAMETER errors occur when a MAPI application receives notifications in an Exchange Server 2010 environment
2635223 A hidden user is still displayed in the Organization information of Address Book in OWA in an Exchange Server 2010 environment
2636387 Event ID 3022 is logged and you cannot replicate a public folder from one Exchange Server 2010 server to another
2636883 Returned message items can disappear from the search results view when you use Outlook in online mode in an Exchange Server 2010 environment
2641249 Error message when you use the “Folder.Bind” method in an Exchange Server 2010 environment
2641753 An email message from an Exchange Server 2003 user is forwarded incorrectly to an external recipient of an Exchange Server 2010 user mailbox
2644144 A read receipt is not sent when a receiver does not expand a conversation to preview the message by using OWA in an Exchange Server 2010 environment
2644920 The Get-FederatedDomainProof cmdlet fails in an Exchange Server 2010 SP1 environment
2645587 An external email message is not delivered to mail-enabled public folders and you do not receive NDR messages in an Exchange Server 2010 environment
2649499 Updates for a meeting request are sent to all attendees directly in an Exchange Server 2010 environment
2649679 Text in tables is displayed incorrectly in the Conversation view in Outlook Web App in an Exchange Server 2010 environment
2652730 You encounter failures when you run the Test-EcpConnectivity cmdlet to test Exchange Control Panel connectivity in an Exchange Server 2010 environment
2657103 CPU resources are used up when you use the Set-MailboxMessageConfiguration cmdlet in an Exchange Server 2010 environment
2660178 “More than one mailbox has the same e-mail address” error message when you try to manage a mailbox in a tenant organization in an Exchange Server 2010 SP1 Hosting mode environment
2661277 An ActiveSync user cannot access a mailbox in an Exchange Server 2010 forest
2661294 An email address policy does not generate the email addresses of recipients correctly in an Exchange Server 2010 environment
2663581 OK button is not displayed when you change your password in Outlook Web App by using Firefox in an Exchange Server 2010 environment
2664365 Certain MailboxStatistics properties are not updated when a user uses a POP3 or IMAP4 client to access a mailbox in an Exchange 2010 environment
2664761 DPM protection agent service may stop responding on Exchange Server 2010 servers that are protected by System Center DPM 2010
2665806 Error message when you open an RTF email message that has inline attachments in an Exchange Server 2010 environment
2672225 A user in a trusted account forest cannot use the EMC to manage an Exchange Server 2010 SP2 server
2673087 Error message when you try to copy the Inbox folder to another folder in Outlook in online mode in an Exchange Server 2010 environment
2677847 The Microsoft Exchange File Distribution service consumes large amounts of memory in an Exchange Server 2010 environment
2678361 The user-agent information about an Exchange ActiveSync device is not updated in an Exchange Server 2010 environment
2678414 The display name of a contact in address book is empty in an Exchange Server 2010 environment
2681464 An EWS application crashes when it calls the GetStreamingEvents operation in an Exchange Server 2010 environment
2685996 Error message when a user who does not have a mailbox tries to move or delete an item that is in a shared mailbox by using Outlook Web App Premium
2688667 W3wp.exe consumes excessive CPU resources on Exchange Server 2010 Client Access servers when users open recurring calendar items in mailboxes by using Outlook Web App or EWS
2693078 EdgeTransport.exe process crashes in an Exchange Server 2010 environment
2694280 Whatif switch does not work in the Set-MoveRequest or Resume-MoveRequest cmdlet in an Exchange Server 2010 environment
2694289 Resource mailbox does not forward meeting request to delegates after one of the delegates’ mailbox is disabled in an Exchange Server 2010 environment
2694414 The update tracking information option does not work in an Exchange Server 2010 environment
2694473 File name of a saved attachment is incorrect when you use OWA in Firefox 8 in an Exchange Server 2010 environment
2694474 Incorrect delivery report when you send an email message to a recipient who has configured an external forwarding address in an Exchange Server 2010 environment
2696857 EdgeTransport.exe process crashes without sending an NDR message when you send a message to a distribution group in an Exchange Server 2010 environment
2696905 Day of the week is not localized in MailTips in Outlook Web App in an Exchange Server 2010 environment
2696913 You cannot log on to Outlook Web App when a proxy is set up in an Exchange Server 2010 environment

Note that update 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 update rollups during a fresh installation but can start with the latest rollup.

You can download Exchange 2010 SP2 Rollup 2 here.