Latest postings : Global Blog (Latest postings)

Front End ready

2009-02-06T15:53:07Z

We're now configuring the Edge server. Looks like we're gonna make it before dinner.

It's alive!

2009-02-06T14:36:54Z

Few photo impressions

2009-02-06T12:10:19Z

��

VX Company UC systems to be upgraded to OCS R2 today!

2009-02-06T11:49:08Z

It's been quite a while since we've updated this blog with news items, but we're not asleep! Today, the complete UC team is upgrading the UC environment to the newest release, only available since a couple of days.

We are a few ours on our way now, started with backing up all the current settings for easy importing in the new version. At this very moment we're providing our x64 servers with the operating systems, and after the necessary patches we're ready to install OCSR2 to the front-end servers. Keep you posted!

Update Rollup 5 for Exchange 2007 SP1 is now released

2008-11-24T08:40:03Z

The rollup is available on the Download Center here:

http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyId=652ED33A-11A1-459C-8FFE-90B9CBFE7903&displaylang=en

It will be available on Microsoft Update in 2-3 weeks from now (we will announce that). In case that you need a fix in a language that is not available right now, they are in the pipeline already so please check back.

The KB article describing this release as well as fixes is here: http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=953467

We specifically want to call out two things fixed regarding the overall installation experience:

1) Service startup issue as described in KB http://support.microsoft.com/kb/944752 as well as our previous blog post.

The rollup installer will now make the required modifications to the config files, even create new config files if not found. If customers have already modified the config files and have a generatePublisherEvidence setting, it will be left intact. Note that you still need the right version of .NET (see KB 944752) for the fix to take effect.

Un-installation of the rollup will not rollback the addition of generatePublisherEvidence to config files.

2) Blank OWA logon page after installation of rollups 3 and 4, if you have modified logon.aspx file

The rollup installer will now overwrite any OWA script files if required to ensure proper operation of OWA. You will need to redo any customization after installation of the rollup.

More on OCS R2 and new screenshots

2008-11-21T09:16:57Z

Update Rollup 5 for Exchange Server 2007 SP1 soon to be released

2008-11-19T08:21:05Z

This is a heads up that Rollup 5 for Exchange Server 2007 SP1 is in the final stages of getting released and should be out in a couple of days. The next step for the Exchange team will be to release the Update Rollup onto the Download Center and then publish it to Microsoft Update. Microsoft Update publishing will happen 2-3 weeks after the Download Center publishing, due to internal policies and processes. We will let you know when this happens.

Regarding the overall patching experience, we have addressed the issue of Exchange 2007 managed services might time out during certificate revocation checks. While we will have a full list of issues fixed when the Rollup releases, some of major issues are:

- CDCR: Need an option to apply ELC policy to only the root instead of applying it recursively to root and all subfolders

- CDCR: Add generatePublisherEvidence enabled="false" to Exchange Services Config Files

- SCR does not copy logs in a disjoint namespace scenario

- SCR cannot be enabled when DNS suffixes differ on source/target in disjoint namespace scenarios

- Exchange 2007 CAS cannot copy the OAB from the OAB share on Windows Server 2008-based Exchange 2007 CCR clusters�

- Messages get stuck in outbox on Windows Mobile 6.1 devices When using� CAS proxy

- CDCR: MSI patching doesn't update logon.aspx if the file is modified by customer

PS. The "CDCR" listed in titles above stands for "Critical Design Change Request" - as in actual design changes that we took on in this Rollup (we usually take on a few of those in every Rollup)

Voice Ignite Madrid

2008-11-17T08:55:13Z

I've been to Voice Ignite in Madrid. The training was 5 days and somehow they forgot the siesta. So it were long days and really in depth.

On Day One, in addition an overview of the Microsoft�s Unified Communications architecture, focus on Exchange Server 2007, Unified Messaging.

Days Two and Three had focus on OCS 2007, Voice over IP (VoIP).

Day Four the functionality of Unified Messaging in Exchange Server 2007 and the functionality of Voice in OCS 2007 together�

Day Five we discussed Conferencing in detail.

The sessions were not very much more then reading the slights. The labs were fun, because you can practice on the products. And how you can use audiocodes to use analog phones with OCS and Exchange. I had hoped for more information about R2 of OCS. But there was nothing more to tell then there is available on the microsoft website.

IBM Sametime Federation with OCS 2007 announced to today

2008-11-14T10:49:48Z

This is some good news on the IM interop front.

Announced at VoiceCon today:

IBM and Microsoft plan to support interoperability between Sametime and OCS, commencing with Sametime version 8.0.2 and OCS 2007

- IBM currently has a working system of OCS and Sametime in its lab

- IBM plans to make the supported interoperability described above available in late Q4 2008

- Both IBM and MS will make Presence and IM interoperability between Sametime 8.0.2 and OCS 2007 and higher commercially available to all interested�� customers, at no additional cost beyond standard licensing of Lotus Sametime and OCS respectively

- IBM and MS have leveraged SIP/SIMPLE to establish this interoperability

In other federation news, Cisco announced SIP/SIMPLE based Interdomain Federation with LCS 2005/OCS 2007 as part of their Unified Presence 7.0 in September 2008.

Net: With OCS 2007 you can now Interdomain federate with the following IM systems:

Other partners/vendors running OCS

- MSN/Live

- Yahoo

- AOL

- Cisco�s Unified Presence 7.0

- IBM�s Sametime 8.0.2

Spot the Pim!

2008-11-14T00:02:20Z

.. spot the sPimVis! :-)

http://www.microsoft.com/emea/teched2008/itpro/tv/default.aspx?vid=76

Exchange Server 2007 SP1 now supported on VMware!

2008-11-13T23:50:23Z

As of October 2008, VMware has passed the Windows Server Virtualization Validation Program (SVVP) program for hosting Exchange Server 2007 as a 64-bit guest.

Below are the requirements:

VMware ESX 3.5 Update 2

Microsoft Exchange Server 2007 Service Pack 1 later versions are supported

64-bit Windows Server 2008 as guest OS

Here is a list of support boundaries and recommendations when running Exchange Server 2007 on virtualization:

Microsoft supports Exchange Server 2007 in production on hardware virtualization software only when all the following conditions are true:

�

The hardware virtualization software is Windows Server 2008 with Hyper-V technology, Microsoft Hyper-V Server, or any third-party hypervisor that has been validated under the Windows Server Virtualization Validation Program.

The Exchange Server guest virtual machine:

Is running Microsoft Exchange Server 2007 with Service Pack 1 (SP1) or later.

Is deployed on the Windows Server 2008 operating system.

Does not have the Unified Messaging server role installed. All Exchange 2007 server roles, except for the Unified Messaging role, are supported in a virtualization environment.

The storage used by the Exchange Server guest machine can be virtual storage of a fixed size (for example, fixed virtual hard drives (VHDs) in a Hyper-V environment), SCSI pass-through storage, or Internet SCSI (iSCSI) storage. Pass-through storage is storage that is configured at the host level and dedicated to one guest machine.

Note:

In a Hyper-V environment, each fixed VHD must be less than 2,040 gigabytes (GB). For supported third-party hypervisors, check with the manufacturer to see if any disk size limitations exist.

Virtual disks that dynamically expand are not supported by Exchange.

Virtual disks that use differencing or delta mechanisms (such as Hyper-V's differencing VHDs or snapshots) are not supported.

No other server-based applications, other than management software (for example, antivirus software, backup software, virtual machine management software, etc.) can be deployed on the physical root machine. The root machine should be dedicated to running guest virtual machines.

Microsoft does not support combining Exchange clustering solutions (namely, cluster continuous replication (CCR) and single copy clusters (SCC)) with hypervisor-based availability or migration solutions (for example, Hyper-V's quick migration). Both CCR and SCC are supported in hardware virtualization environments provided that the virtualization environment does not employ clustered virtualization servers.

Some hypervisors include features for taking snapshots of virtual machines. Virtual machine snapshots capture the state of a virtual machine while it is running. This feature enables you to take multiple snapshots of a virtual machine and then revert the virtual machine to any of the previous states by applying a snapshot to the virtual machine. However, virtual machine snapshots are not application-aware, and using them can have unintended and unexpected consequences for a server application that maintains state data, such as Exchange Server. As a result, making virtual machine snapshots of an Exchange guest virtual machine is not supported.

Many hardware virtualization products allow you to specify the number of virtual processors that should be allocated to each guest virtual machine. The virtual processors located in the guest virtual machine share a fixed number of logical processors in the physical system. Exchange supports a virtual processor-to-logical processor ratio no greater than 2:1. For example, a dual processor system using quad core processors contains a total of 8 logical processors in the host system. On a system with this configuration, do not allocate more than a total of 16 virtual processors to all guest virtual machines combined.

I also recommend you contact VMware for additional recommendations prior to deployment of a production Exchange Server 2007.

For more information about the support for Exchange Server 2007 on virtualization, visit the following Microsoft Web site:

http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=124624

For more information on SVVP see here.

For a list of other Microsoft applications supported on virtualization technologies see here.

System Center Mobile Device Manager 2008

2008-11-11T22:40:25Z

Some info from the MDM blog:

Like all engineering groups at Microsoft, after shipping a version of a product, we move on to building the next version. And� like all other product groups, the SCMDM team is committed to delivering product updates that improve the quality and experience for our customers and partners. We continually focus on enhancing security, increasing reliability, and simplifying administration. MDM is no exception. Since shipping SCMDM 2008 we have� been� working on new features and fixes or Mobile Device Manager. We thought you�d like to hear the latest, so here is an update on what you will see coming with SP1.

System Center Mobile Device Manager 2008 Service Pack 1 will deliver improved performance and scalability, increased reliability, and an expanded set of supported topologies.

The key new features of SP1 are support for multiple instance, PIN reset, and support for running� with Windows Server 2008 Active Directory Domain Services.�

The SP1 update can be applied to all previously installed instances of System Center Mobile Device Manager 2008 as well as new installations. The service pack consists of the following features:

� Multiple-instance: allows large organizations with distributed IT control points to independently manage devices within the area of their control. This applies to instances within a single forest. Today when SCMDM is deployed at a company, that deployment will manage all devices in an organization; there is no ability to have multiple SCMDM installation.� With SP1, if your company has offices or divisions that have their own IT departments, these offices will be able to install an instance of MDM that does allows devices to managed separately from other offices in the company.�

� PIN reset. This feature is the same as what is currently available with Exchange 2007.� It will allow device PIN reset either by the SCMDM administrator for a specific device or self-service via the MDM Self-Service portal. This feature requires an update to the client as well.� Consequently, client support for this feature will be made available as a downloadable CAB file for WM 6.1 phones.

� Windows Server 2008 support.� Support for Windows Server 2008 including Domain functional mode, Forest functional mode. If you are running AD with functional levels raised to WinServer 2008, MDM SP1 will support that architecture. In addition, Hyper-V (virtualization) will be supported for using hosted Windows Server 2003 for testing purposes.

� Performance and scalability enhancement. The release criteria for SP1 is to increase system coverage to 40,000 users in a single instance versus the 30,000 user single instance limitation in MDM 2008. If you require large scale, but want to keep your deployment within a single instance without acquiring additional hardware, this will be very helpful. (The numbers were adjusted from the original post to more accurately reflect what the test team's release criteria is.� We will strive to get the supported number has high as possible, but our current goal for release is 40,000)

We�re currently in Beta and are soliciting feedback from customers with needs that match the SP1 feature set. We� anticipate that SP1 will be available for download in mid-to-late December and will include the installable CAB file for supporting PIN reset on 6.1 devices and later.

We hope you are as excited as we are about the benefits MDM SP1 will bring to your mobile enterprise solutions. We�re seeing a great response to Mobile Device Manager in our trial programs�if you haven�t tried it yet you can get an evaluation copy here: http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/evalcenter/cc339027.aspx.

�UPDATE:� The point regarding support for Windows 2008 in MDM SP1 has raised some questions.� MDM SP1 will not support running on a Windows 2008 server.� MDM SP1 will only support running in a Windows 2008 Domain, and support running on Windows 2003 in a Windows 2008 Hyper-v configuration.� Support for running MDM on Windows 2008 will be a post SP1 release.

Hyper-V in Server 2008 R2

2008-11-11T22:20:39Z

Windows Server 2008 R2 will include Hyper-V 2.0 which will deliver a lot of improvements.

Live Migration

Moving running VM's from one host to another without interruption of services running inside the VM's

To accomplisch this technique a new shared filesytem is needed and so will also be introduced in Hyper-V 2.0:

Clustered Shared Volumes

All nodes have acces to the data, but only 1 node owns the directory structure, while the other node(s) can own individual files (e.g. .VHD files)

Other features which will be included in Server 2008 R2 are:

Hardware NIC support for VM's (bij Intel and AMD)

Hypervisor Power Management (use the CPU cores efficient and bring the remaining ones to C3 sleep state)

And one of the coolest: Native .VHD support. You will be able to mount and boot form .VHD files. Furthermore, the VHD format is going to replace all other cabinet files like .ZIP and .CAB.

Panel Discussion on Security Threaths and the Impact on today's IT

2008-11-06T15:32:34Z

On that stage were : Mark Russinovich, Steve Riley, Jesper Johanssen and Brian Komar (all worth Googling :-))

As a bonus Mark Minasi decided to join in!

It was indeed a very good session were the panel answered and discussed questions and challenges from the audience. In the end security remains a very important subject with the problem that it is just too hard to educate the end user while you probably would want to do that.

The overall quality was very good and the guys on stage were really on top of eachother in a good and funny way while maintaining the clear discussion.

It's a shame that the follow-up presentation by Steve Riley (solo) was planned in a room that was too small so all the people that wanted to join were unable too.

Can't wait till that video ends up online!

The week until now wrap up...

2008-11-06T15:19:09Z

So the team is doing great, considering its already Thursday and the exhausting schedule kicked in by now. This is probably the reason that there we're no blogs posted yesterday as we went to the (excellent) Dutch Country party yesterday night.

We really had lots of interesting conversations and hoping to extend that even more when we attend the International Community Party tonight. For the better part of things it is in fact a good thing that we travel back to Hollanda on Friday :-)

Just to fill you in on some tech stuff that you might have missed: this year Tech Ed features a thing called Tech Ed TV were you can see and hear a little more on the sessions that were held.

Check it out @ http://www.microsoft.com/emea/teched2008/itpro/tv�(rumour has it that our own Pim was interviewed for TechEd TV as well)

Saludos de Barcelona!

Sander