KWSupport : Exchange

SBS without Exchange?

kwsupport — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 12:12:00 GMT

I hear it all the time ... my customer wants an SBS server, but they don't want to use Exchange. I don't know about you, but the only reason I can think of why either the customer or the IT consultant would suggest not using Exchange is because they've never used it themselves, and therefore are scared that it's too difficult to install or manage. I have installed SBS servers for almost 9 years. I barely know how to spell Exchange, yet I find Exchange very easy to manage.

But, if you still need convincing, here is a short list of 8 reasons why you should consider using Exchange features with your SBS server.

Group calendering
Shared public folders
Centralized storage and management of all emails
Easy recovery of deleted emails
Email archiving
Centralized scanning of email for spam/viruses BEFORE they reach the user's inbox
Access to email remotely via OWA
Access to email via ActiveSync for cellphones and PDA's

Remember, if each user is using a POP3 account via Outlook, then those emails are generally only being stored on the user's computer, and therefore they are probably NOT being backed up. With Exchange, the emails are being stored on the server as well as being cached onto the user's workstation. Sbs and Exchange make a great team!

Cheers!

Free Utility for Exchange Custom Filter

kwsupport — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 00:18:00 GMT

I've blogged previously about Exchange 2003 IMF (Intelligent Message Filter). One of the somewhat hidden features of Exchange 2003 and IMF is the ability to implement a custom weighting feature via an XML file. This feature first came out in IMF v2. MsExchange.org has a good article on how to implement the custom weighting feature of IMF.

However, there has always been a small issue with using the custom weighting feature -- the custom XML file that you create has to be put inside a specific subfolder. The problem is that when Microsoft releases an update to IMF, the installation process creates a new sub folder automatically. However, the XML file is NOT autoimatically copied to the new folder.

What to do? Until recently, one had to remember to manually copy your XML file from the old folder to the new folder.

But now, Oliver Sommer (SBS/EBS MVP from Germany) has developed a free utility (Exchange Custom Weighting Feature XML Updater) that installs on your your server (works great with SBS 2003) and automatically copies your custom XML file to the new folder whenever a new IMF update has been installed. I've been personally running various beta and early versions of this utility successfully for more than a year.

Give it a try.

And if you like it, even though Oliver is offering the utiity for free, you may want to give him a small donation via PayPal. And while you are at his site, check out his Wake on Lan for SBS 2003 RWW utility!

Cheers!

Hot Fixes for Outlook 2007 Now Available

kwsupport — Thu, 26 Feb 2009 12:49:00 GMT

For those using Outlook2007, two new hotfixes are now available that address specific speed and performance issues as well as a variety of other issues. Hotfixes, by nature, come with some warnings on their use. Hot fix 961752 and Hot fix 967688

Note #1: If you have never requested a hot fix from Microsoft, or it has been years since you have, you will be pleased to find that the process is quite fast and efficient. No longer do you need to even call Microsoft to request a hot fix!

Simply click on the links above to open up a new window with information on the hot fix. In the upper left of the window will be a clickable link" 'View and request hotfix downloads'. Click on the link, enter your email address twice plus a security code and within five minutes you will receive an email containing a link to download the hotfix and a required password. The password is only good for a certain number of days (7 days maximum), so it is best that you download the hotfix as soon as you receive the email from Microsoft.

Adding additional email addresses in SBS 2008

kwsupport — Thu, 26 Feb 2009 04:25:00 GMT

Those who have worked with SBS 2000 and SBS 2003 will find that many things are not where you expect them to be in SBS 2008! For example, let's say you want Sally to receive all email addressed to sales@yourdomain.com (in addition to receiving email as sally@yourdomain.com). In prior versions of SBS, you would go to the SBS console, drill down to Users, go to properies for that user and make the change under the Email Addresses tab.

So, how do you do it with SBS 2008? Glad you asked!

Start up the Exchange 2007 management console, and click on Recipient Configuration > Mailbox. Double click on the desired user, click on the E-Mail Addresses tab, and then click on the green plus (+) tab and enter the additionla email address. Voila! Wasn't that easy?

SBS2008 and POP3/IMAP4 Clients

kwsupport — Mon, 16 Feb 2009 06:38:00 GMT

Enabling SBS 2008 to allow remote users to use their email clients (Outlook, Outlook Express, etc.) or phones to pull down email from the SBS2008 server via POP3 or IMAP4 is just slightly more involved than on SBS 2003. For all the step-by-step details and screen shots, visit the Official SBS Blog site which details these steps in two parts (part 1, part 2).

However, you may find it helpful to view the big picture in 5 easy steps, and I will also highligh several GOTCHAS to watch out for!

Step 1: Enabling the appropriate Microsoft Exchange IMAP4 or POP3 services on the server (Start > Run > Services.msc) should be easy enough. GOTCHA #1: Be sure that you change the startup type to Automatic, and then be sure to actually Start the service!

Step 2: Enabling the required ports again should be easy enough. Port 110-POP3, 995=POP3/SSL, 143=IMAP4, 993=IMAP4/SSL. GOTCHA #2: Remember that you also need to forward port 587 as this is the listener port for SMTP/TLS mail (instead of port 25!).

Step3: From ESM (click Server Configuration > Client Access > POP3 and IMAP4), and modify the X509 certificate under the Authentication tab to point to the proper exterNal FQDN of your server (eg., remote.servername.com).

Step 4: While in ESM, move down to Server Configuration > Hub Transport, and add a new Receive Connector. Name the connector 'Client' (short and simple). GOTCHA #3: Be sure to click on the drop down box and change the intended use of the Receive connector form Custom to Client! You can default through the rest of the prompts.

Step 5: Finally we are done with the server setup. The only thing left is to configure your email client and test things out. GOTCHA #4: When setting up your mail client for POP3 or IMAP4, be sure that you specifcy that the outgoing SMTP connection is to be encrypted, and set the port to 587.

Cheers!

Windows Mobile and DST

kwsupport — Tue, 10 Feb 2009 13:41:00 GMT

I can't believe it's 2009 and we still have issues with DST and calendar items! Several of us just discovered (here on Feb-10-2009) that an event we are entering for August 2009 in Outlook 2007 is showing up an hour earlier on our WM6.1 phones. I've downloaded the latest WM/DST patch and installed it on my WM6.1 phone, but appointments are still showing up an hour earlier. I tried rebooting the phone, but no change. AFAIK, Outlook and my Exchange/SBS 2003 box are up to snuff with patches.

Very frustrating ...

Calyptix and SBS

kwsupport — Tue, 03 Feb 2009 15:36:00 GMT

I've been install Calyptix AccessEnforcer units recently in several SBS shops, both SBS 2003 and SBS 2008. The AE is a fully featured network security appliance, and comes in various models to fit different size organizations. What I like about Calyptix is its single price --- no extra costs for end user licenses or to enable various features. It interfaces nicely with Active Directory for user level filtering and email quarantine. I plan to do more posts in the future on implementing SBS and Calyptix together.

Uninstalling Live OneCare from SBS 2008

kwsupport — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 01:40:00 GMT

When SBS 2008 was first released, it included a 120 day trial of both Live OneCare (Server) and Forefront Security for Exchange (FSE). Since then, Microsoft has announced they would be dropping support for Live OneCare. When installing SBS 2008, you are asked whether you wanted to install the 120 day trial of these two products. If you did select to install them, and now wish to uninstall them, the process is very easy.

From the SBS console, click on Control Panel > Programs and Features. Click to highlight Live OneCare and then click Uninstall. The uninstall process is very straightforward, and no rebooting of the server is required to uninstall Live OneCare.

Uninstalling Forefront Security (FSE) from SBS 2008

kwsupport — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 23:54:00 GMT

In a previous blog post, I provided instructions for uninstalling Live OneCare (Server) from SBS 2008. That was pretty straightforward. If you wish to also uninstall the 120 day trial of Forefront Security for Exchange (FSE), there's a preliminary step you must perform. If you try to simply uninstall FSE, you will get a warning message saying that you need to first manually stop all Exchange services and the FSE administrator, and then the uninstall process terminates.

So, here's what you do:

1. Click on Start > Administrative Tools > Services, and then locate and stop the FSCController service, which will also stop the Exchange Transport Service and the Exchange Information Store Service.

2. Then go to Control Panel > Programs and Features, click to highlight Forefront Security for Exchange Server, and then click uninstall.

3. After FSE is uninstalled, you will be required to reboot your server.

Note: After uninstalling FSE, you may find that a Microsoft Forefront Security subfolder with some files and a Quarantine folder still remains within the Program Files (x86) folder. If you are not planning on reinstalling FSE, you may safely delete this Microsoft Forefront Security folder and its contents.

SBS2008 Wow Fact #1

kwsupport — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 19:33:00 GMT

I'm sure everyone will have (or should have) their own list of things that they really like about SBS2008. Consultants will find things that benefit a sale or installation, whereas an IT professional or an office person using SBS every day will find other things that are attractive to them. My list of SBS 2008 WOW factors tend to be right down the middle ... some have the end user in mind, while others will have either the IT administrator or consultant in mind. With each WOW factor, I will also point out things that are lacking or missing. Perhaps some of these items can make it into a future service pack or R2 release.

The very first WOW factor on my list has to be the improved OWA (Outlook Web Access). I used OWA in SBS 2003 quite a bit. But whenever I showed it to a customer, my conversation usually went something like this: "Yes, there is a web version of Outlook available in SBS. It's called OWA, but you really only want to use it to view and reply to incoming emails ...". I then went on to tell them more about the limitations in OWA, such as the effort required to find contacts or access public folders, rather than the features of OWA.

Although OWA in Exchange 2007 is still not perfect, it's come a long way, baby, from its 2003 days. The UI is cleaner and resembles Outlook 2007. Searching for contacts is easier, it interfaces with Sharepoint, and you can easily access other user's mailboxes without having to logoff. Additionally, the ability to create and manage Rooms and Equipment as users will be well received by many of my customers. The calendar interface has been completely redesigned.

What's missing? My number one complaint with Exchange 2007 / Outlook 2007/ OWA 2007 is the lack of an integrated, single source signature system for end users. A user should not have to set up their signature in Outlook, only to have to setit up again in OWA or in Outlook on a Terminal Server. For now, we must still rely on third party solutions from companies such as Symprex or Exclaimer.

Want to learn more about OWA 2007 in SBS? Check out these links:

Client Features in OWA
New Features in OWA 2007 (pdf)

More on my TrendMicro WFBS Update

kwsupport — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 13:19:00 GMT

I upgraded my Trend CSM 3.6 to their new Worry-Fress Business Security (WFBS) Advance 5.0 solution for SBS, and like the hero from the movie The Rocketeer, I can say, "I like it!". Without even digging into all the new features, I can say that the spam filtering is much improved, and the Trend console seems snappier and more responsive. The console interface otherwise is the same as before, except with a fresh, up-to-date look to it.

On the new feature side, they have a new 'location awareness' settings for laptops that move around inside and outside the office that I want to try on my laptop. This version also supports Windows Home Server.

The inplace upgrade went very smooth. I simply downloaded and installed WFBS Advance right over my current CSM 3.6 setup. One word of caution: I was installing this via an RDP connection to my SBS server, and perhaps three times during the installation process, it will appear that your RDP connection has been disconnected. Don't do anything - it will resume on its own.

Cheers!
-kw

No Telnet on Vista

kwsupport — Tue, 25 Mar 2008 19:30:00 GMT

This is for all you IT support people ... no, I don't have to use the 'telnet' command often, but when I do, I expect it to be there! So, lo and behold, I have an emergency issue with a client's SBS/Exchange server today, and I find that I cannot do a simple 'telnet' from my Vista workstation.

Why? Microsoft decided that it was a necessary tool to be installed by default.

To solve this problem, go to Control Panel, then Programs, then under Program and Features select Turn Windows Features On/Off, then scroll down and click to select the Telnet Client.

Hope this helps!

Xobni and Outlook

kwsupport — Mon, 18 Feb 2008 17:06:00 GMT

I just came across a new product, currently in beta, that turns Outlook into a "social networking tool". Not only does it give you lightning fast email searches, but it brings a wealth of information that I certainly did not think possible, much less needed. Email analytics, extract phone numbers from emails, threaded conversations, quick attachment discovery, and on, and on, and on.

They say a picture is wroth a thousand words ... so check it out here: http://www.xobni.com/learnmore/

-kw

PST on a Network Folder - Not!

kwsupport — Thu, 24 Jan 2008 02:58:00 GMT

We've had some recent posts in one of the SBS listserves asking how to manage Outlook archived PST files for users, and it was asked if the PST files could be stored on the server. Microsoft's KB 297019 specifically says that .pst, .ost, and ...(read more)

IMF Filtering

kwsupport — Sat, 12 Jan 2008 14:08:00 GMT

In one of the public newsgroups recently, there was a discussion of IMF filtering internally generated admin email (alerts, performance reports, etc.). Steve Mills suggested adding the loopback IP address (127.0.0.1) to the IP Accept List. Click here...(read more)

Outlook 2007 Calendar Printing Assistant

kwsupport — Thu, 20 Dec 2007 00:11:00 GMT

For those of you using Office/Outlook 2007, here's a Microsoft add-on that hasn't gotten much press ... it's called the Calendar Printing Assistant for Outlook 2007 -- or CPAO for short ( kapow! ). After installing it, you might have trouble...(read more)

Lookeen goes official!

kwsupport — Wed, 19 Dec 2007 16:19:00 GMT

I've been beta testing Lookeen for several months. It's a 3rd party Outlook 2003/2007 search tool that is a wonderful replacement for those who have previously used LookOut, and a step up from what Microsoft supplies. They have officially launched...(read more)

Missing Lookout? WDS too slow? Try Lookeen!

kwsupport — Thu, 08 Nov 2007 03:12:00 GMT

Lookout was a marvelous tool for quickly searching through Outlook email and local files fast. It was a mainstay of every computer I used. That is, until Office 2007 came along, and Lookout would not work. I was recently pointed to Lookeen as a possible...(read more)

Configuring IMAP over SSL with SBS2003 Standard

kwsupport — Sun, 16 Sep 2007 01:00:00 GMT

Eric Neal and Tim Barret have posted a concise, step by step, article up on the M&M SmallBizServer site - Configuring IMAP over SSL with SBS2003 Standard (No ISA 2000/2004). This will be helpful to those trying to connect up iPhones!...(read more)

IMF & Perf Counters

kwsupport — Sun, 12 Aug 2007 17:28:00 GMT

I have blogged previously on using IMF to filter out unwanted emails. The question then comes up: how do I know that it's working? The answer is: learn to use Performance counters. Here's a quick how to do it (with thanks to Les Connors!): 1....(read more)