Tag Archives: Exchange2013

Exchange 2013 Server Role Requirements Calculator 6.1

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Excel-2013[1]The Exchange 2013 Server Role Requirements Calculator received an update to reflect changed incorporated in Exchange 2013 CU2, like the increased maximum number of databases. The new version number is 6.1.

Changes since version 5.9:

  • Fixed operator mistake in calcNumActiveDBsSF formula
  • Fixed missed validation scenario where the calculator could recommend a copy count that could not be deployed on the custom disk architecture
  • Optimized remaining servers formula
  • Fixed an issue where single datacenter, multiple databases per volume architecture with lagged copies didn’t calculate the correct number of
    copies/volume
  • Fixed VirtCPUFactor reference
  • Various comment changes
  • Improved cell highlights for insufficient disk capacity on storage design tab
  • Added additional storage capacities – 1.2TB, 6TB and 8TB
  • Fixed database count validation logic to take into consideration dedicated lagged copy servers

You can download the calculator here. For more information please consult the release notes and read me

Exchange 2013 Cumulative Update 3

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Ex2013 LogoThe long awaited Cumulative Update 3 for Exchange Server 2013 was released today by the Exchange Team (KB2892464). This update raises Exchange 2013 version number to 15.0.775.38.

This CU contains the following functional enhancements:

  • Usability improvements when adding members to new and existing groups in the Exchange Administration Console
  • Online RMS available for use by non-cloud based Exchange deployments
  • Improved admin audit log experience
  • Windows 8.1 / Internet Explorer 11 no longer requires using OWA Light

The CU contains the following fixes:

  • MS13-061 Vulnerabilities in Microsoft Exchange Server Could Allow Remote Code Execution (2876063)
  • 2865161 “Errors: Failed exporting item id: from source id” when you try to copy search results in an Exchange Server 2013 environment
  • 2871980 Child domains are not displayed for selection when you create a mailbox by using EAC in an Exchange Server 2013 environment
  • 2878160 “The Active Directory user wasn’t found” error when you create or update an In-Place eDiscovery search in an Exchange Server 2013 environment
  • 2882608 Exchange Server 2013 does not share the inproxy.dll file
  • 2886115 Retention policies are not applied to Exchange Server 2013 mailboxes when user accounts are on different domains
  • 2888274 WebClientReadFormQueryString string and WebClientEditFormQueryString string return incorrect URLs in an Exchange Server 2013 environment
  • 2888315 Event 2112 or 2180 is logged when you try to back up a database in an Exchange Server 2013 environment
  • 2888612 Retention policy does not work after you run a cmdlet in an Exchange Server 2013 environment
  • 2889786 Sign-in format for Outlook Web App on mobile devices is not adjusted according to the Set-OwaVirtualDerictory cmdlet in an Exchange Server 2013 environment
  • 2890650 Items in the Drafts folder are not stamped with the retention policy tag in an Exchange Server 2010 or 2013 environment
  • 2895487 “Copy Search Results” option does not work in an Exchange server 2013 environment
  • 2895500 DBCS characters appear garbled when you run some PowerShell scripts in EMS in an Exchange Server 2013 environment
  • 2895678 “Nombre de usuario\dominio” is displayed unexpectedly on the Spanish version of the OWA and EAC logon pages in an Exchange Server 2013 environment
  • 2902929 You cannot forward an external meeting request in an Exchange Server 2013 environment
  • 2902929 You cannot forward an external meeting request in an Exchange Server 2013 environment
  • 2902933 “Generate incident report” does not display the “Bcc” field in an Exchange Server 2013 environment
  • 2902934 Korean language localization issue in Exchange 2013 OWA user interface
  • 2902936 You cannot change SMTP addresses for distribution groups by using EAC in an Exchange Server 2013 environment
  • 2902938 You cannot preview Office documents in shared folders by using Outlook Web App in an Exchange Server 2013 environment
  • 2902939 EMS connection error when you separately install an Exchange Server 2013 Mailbox server and a Client Access server
  • 2883203 Exchange Server 2013 restarts frequently after Cumulative Update 2 is installed
  • 2890814 No redirection to the Outlook Web App URL for Exchange Online users in an Exchange hybrid deployment

This Cumulative Update includes schema and AD changes, so make sure you run PrepareSchema / PrepareAD. After updating, the schema version will be 15283.

Note that Cumulative Updates can be installed directly, i.e. no need to install RTM prior to Cumulative Updates. Note that once installed, you can’t uninstall a Cumulative Update nor any of the installed Exchange server roles. The order of upgrading servers is irrelevant, unlike with previous generations of Exchange.

Finally, and I can’t emphasize this enough: For any Hotfix, Rollup, Service Pack or Cumulative Update, I’d recommend to thoroughly test this in a test and acceptance environment first, prior to implementing it in production. When you lack such facilities, hold out a week or two and monitor the comments on the release article or TechNet forum for any issues.

You can download Exchange 2013 Cumulative Update 3 here; CU3 UM Language Packs can be found here. More details about these changes, preparing Active Directory or installing this Cumulative Update can be found in the original announcement.

Rerelease of MS13-06/KB2874216 for Exchange 2013

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Ex2013 LogoToday the rereleases of MS13-061 Security Fix for Exchange 2013 CU1 and Exchange 2013 CU2 saw daylight. This security update KB2874216 fixes the issue described in Microsoft Security Bulletin MS13-061 and supposedly fixes the issues found with the original release. After installing the v2 patch, the version will be upped 2 notches compared to the original patch.

As mentioned in an earlier article, security fixes are Cumulative Update level specific. In practice, this means there are two different versions of the security update patch file: one for CU1 and one for CU2.

Be advised both files carry the same file name, Exchange2013-KB2874216-v2-x64-en.msp. I suggest adding some form of Cumulative Update identification to the file name when you archive it, e.g. Exchange2013-KB2874216-v2-x64-en-CU2.msp.

As with any patch or update, I’d recommend to thoroughly test this in a test and acceptance environment first, prior to implementing it in production. If you don’t have the resources and risk management can agree, you might want to consider postponing implementation for a short period while monitoring for issues in the online.

You can download the security updates here:

Fix for MS13-061 breaking Exchange 2013 (Updated)

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Ex2013 LogoUPDATE: The MS13-061 security update for Exchange 2013 CU1 & CU2 has been pulled until further notice. Microsoft recommends not installing MSI13-061 at the moment and disable Data Loss Prevention and WebReady as described in the Oracle Outside In Contains Multiple Exploitable Vulnerabilities section in the MS13-061 bulletin.

After some people reported issues after installing the MS13-061 (KB2874216) security update on Exchange 2013, it turns out MS13-061 breaks your installation of Exchange 2013 and you can experience the following symptoms:

  • The Microsoft Exchange Search Host Controller service is missing;
  • You see a new service named “Host Controller service for Exchange”;
  • Content index (CI) for mailbox databases shows Failed on affected server.

This is described in KB2879739 including the ‘workaround’, which is consists of three steps:

  1. Set HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Search Foundation for Exchange\Data Directory to $exinstall\Bin\Search\Ceres\HostController\Data (REG_SZ), where $exinstall is the installation folder of your Exchange 2013 installation folder, e.g. C:\Program Files\Microsoft\Exchange Server\V15\Bin\Search\Ceres\HostController\Data;
  2. Set HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\HostControllerService\DisplayName=”Microsoft Exchange Search Host Controller” (REG_SZ);
  3. Set HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\HostControllerService\DependOnService=”http” (REG_MULTI_SZ);
  4. (Re)start the “Microsoft Exchange Search Host Controller” service.

For your convenience, I’ve create a small quick & dirty script as a potential time saver (as far as you can call a three-liner a script and don’t expect extensive error handling as well). This script Workaround-KB2879739.ps1 performs the steps described in the KB2879739 so you can run it right after deploying MS13-061 / KB2874216 on your Exchange 2013 server.

You can download the script here.

MS13-061 Security Fix for Exchange 2013 (updated)

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Ex2013 LogoUPDATE: The MS13-061 security update for Exchange 2013 CU1 & CU2 has been pulled until further notice.If you have installed it, there are issues with it which can be fixed (link). Microsoft recommends not installing MSI13-061 at the moment and disable Data Loss Prevention and WebReady as described in the Oracle Outside In Contains Multiple Exploitable Vulnerabilities section in the MS13-061 bulletin.

Today the Exchange Team released the first Security Update for Exchange 2013. This security update KB2874216 fixes the issue described in Microsoft Security Bulletin MS13-061.

As mentioned in an earlier article, security fixes are Cumulative Update level specific. How that would turn out in practice remained to be seen at the time of writing that article, but at the moment it means there are two different versions of the security update, one patch file for CU1 and one for CU2 (or the re-release of CU2 actually, version 15.0.712.24 – more information on that here). I assume the .MSP format limits the ability to merge the two and let it make an intelligent decision on what to install.

Be warned that both files carry the same file name, I suggest adding some form of Cumulative Update identification to the file name when archiving it, e.g. Exchange2013-KB2874216-x64-en-CU2.msp.

As with any patch or update, I’d recommend to thoroughly test this in a test and acceptance environment first, prior to implementing it in production.

You can download the security updates here: