Exchange Server 2007 Series (Part 7 of 24) Questions and Answers Log (02-09-07)
Here's the Q&A Log from Part 7 of the Exchange 2007 Webcast Series.
Harold Wong
harold.wong@microsoft.com
Exchange Server 2007 Series (Part 7 of 24) Questions and Answers Log (02-09-07)
Question: I have a couple of questions about the Excahnge CAL's... 1st) Is there something that breaks down in more detail what the features of the standard and enterprise cal's, more so than the diagram with the check marks? 2nd) If we are about to implement Excahnge can we buy the Standard cal's now and buy the enterprise cal's in a few months when our VOIP project gets underway?
Answer: Other than this: https://www.microsoft.com/exchange/evaluation/editions.mspx, I am not aware of anything else. You can always purchase the Exchange Enterprise CAL at a later time when you go to use the feature(s) that require it.
Question: is there any information available of when Exchange 2007 Microsoft certification will become available?
Answer: That is forth coming, but I don't have an ETA on this yet.
Question: Is there something that decribes these two features of the Enterprise CAL, Per-User/Per-Distribution List Journaling and Managed E-mail Folders?
Answer: You can look at the Product Documentation for Exchange Server 2007. There are detailed descriptions of these. - Harold
Question: When is the release date for Exc07 (all versions)?
Answer: Exchange 2007 (both Standard Edition and Enterprise Edition) Released to Manufacturing (RTM) on December 8, 2006 and was available for download by Volume Licensing customers shortly thereafter. General Availability was 1/30/2007.
Question: Hi - is there a doc explaining how to use PKI with ex 2007?
Answer: This is a very good starting point: https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/aa996775.aspx.
Question: I have a dual XEON 64bit server with 12G of ram. I am having to run it 32 bit with only 4G of ram to run SBS2003. I don't have another 64 bit server. Is there a procedure where I can install Windows 2003 64 bit and exchange 2007 on my server and get back my Exchange 2003 data?
Answer: Your scenario is much more complex than that. Since you are running SBS 2003, you would need to move that installation to another server before you can repurpose the existing hardware. That is the hardest part. Once you get the SBS 2003 installation moved to another server, you can rebuild the existing dual Xeon 64 bit server with Windows Server 2003 SP1 (x64) and join it to the SBS 2003 domain. Then you can follow the steps for performing a Transition from Exchange 2003 to Exchange 2007.
Question: When introducing an Exchange 2007 hub transport server into an existing Exchange 2003 environment will all email from Exchange 2003 be routed through the hub transport?
Answer: Not necessarily. It all depends on how you are configured.
Question: what role would you need to move mailboxes & modify email addresses?
Answer: You would need to have Exchange Recipient Administrator role rights. If you are looking to modify E-mail policies as well, then you would need Exchange Organization Administrator role rights.
Question: is the administrator tool authorized to work with vista? or do we have to wait for a new version?
Answer: Not yet.
Question: in CCR how many database in each of SG?
Answer: CCR only supports 1 Database per Storage Group.
Question: how much additional space does the system file path take up - I'm asking in case I want 50db's in one storage group each ?
Answer: Having a separate Storage Group does not mean you take up extra disk space. It will all depend on how large your database is as well as how often you perform Full Backups to clean out the Log files.
Question: is there a size limit the mailstore database should be? i.e. on Exchange2003 ... an ideal size is below 100 GB ..
Answer: There is no size limit on the database other than your actual storage hardware. In terms of ideal size, I wouldn’t say there is a universal ideal size. The size of the database that you want to support will depend on many factors such as backup / restore times, etc.
Question: Why 1 DB per SG?
Answer: That is the recommendation; you can have up to 5 databases per storage group (50 databases maximum per server in Enterprise Edition and 5 databases maximum per server in Standard Edition). Just like in Exchange 2003, log files are for the entire storage group. If you have one database per storage group, you ensure the set of log files is only for one database. Also, if you wish to take advantage of LCR or CCR, you can only have one database per storage group that you enable.
Question: Will Microsoft support more DB per SG?
Answer: We support a maximum of 5 databases per storage group.
Question: Per the recommendation of 1 DB per SG, is there a performance hit with having 1:1 Db to SG if you put them on the same volume since I'm not sure about have 50 volumes?
Answer: You may not be able have 50 volumes, but I’m sure you will be able to have more than one. The important thing is to separate based on workloads. This means Database files are separated from Log files. The more you can spread things out onto different spindles, the better disk IO performance you will get.
Question: Can the local continuous replication be placed on a different server?
Answer: No, you would use CCR for that.
Question: Can the mailstore be located on mountpoint disk in a Exchange cluster environment?
Answer: Yes, this is supported. For more information on storage requirements, please see: https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb124518.aspx.
Question: did harold say, logs and system files on different spindles?
Answer: If I remember correctly, that is what I said. It’s always better to have these files located on different spindles from an IO performance perspective.
Question: CCR?
Answer: It means Clustered Continuous Replication
Question: Which is more important to seperate, mail databases and logs, or system files and logs?
Answer: I would say mail databases and logs, because separating these onto separate drives has a positive impact on both performance and recoverability.
Question: i asked this b4 and would like to know if there is a list that describes the task that can only be done using EMS?
Answer: From the Exchange Management Shell, execute: get-excommand. This will give you a list of all the Exchange CMDLETs that exist.
Question: what is teh recommended database size?
Answer: Check the database sizes and other information in the middle of the page https://www.microsoft.com/technet/itshowcase/content/64bitexchange2007.mspx.
Question: should the chk point file and logs be in the same directory for easy DR?
Answer: From a DR perspective, it does not have to be in the same directory. If that was required, there wouldn’t be an option to specify a different Log file path versus System file path For more information on DR, please see: https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb123579.aspx.
Question: Are Public folders still recommended for use? I thought there was a move away from them to Sharepoint.
Answer: If you have a need to use Public Folders, by all means continue to do so as we still support Public Folders in Exchange 2007. If you are able to migrate things to SharePoint, then do that. Our long term strategy is to move away from PFs and to use SharePoint, but we are not 100% there yet.
Question: How do you add the “size” and “total items” fields when displaying a list of mailboxes in the Exchange Management Console? They do now show in Add/Remove columns. You could view this list in Exch03.
Answer: Unfortunately, this is not possible in the Exchange Management Console. You can get this information from the Exchange Management Shell.
Question: while changing properties for a mailbox user I received an error - An Exchange 2007 server on which an address list service is active cannot be found. What did I not set up? and is ther a link for that?
Answer: Since I don’t know exactly what you setup and what you have in your environment, this is not an easy thing to troubleshoot via a Q&A session. I would recommend that you contact Customer Support at (800) 936-4900.
Question: Is there still a storage group for restore?
Answer: Yes, there is still a recovery storage group. And it is still used as one of the primary recovery options when attempting to recover lost mailbox data.
Question: Why is the CAS role rquired if all of my clients use MAPI?
Answer: Outlook 2007 clients will connect to the CAS role for free / busy (Availability Web Service), Offline Address Book and AutoDiscover Web Service. Also, if you are using Exchange ActiveSync or Outlook Anywhere, you will still need the CAS role.
Question: what about moving the data when you move the db file path
Answer: If you use the Exchange Management Tool (Console or Shell) to specify a different partition (path) for your Database, the actual Database files will automatically be moved to the new location.
Question: what does the edge server OS Use and can you tell me who does
Answer: The Edge Transport server role requires Windows Server 2003 x64bit SP1 or higher. It is the SMTP smart host between your Exchange Organization and the Internet. It performs message hygiene and routing along with other security related functions. Here’s more information on configuring the Edge Transport server role: https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/aa996562.aspx.
Question: How do you determine if you need more than one mailbox database on an Exchange server? Are there tools that can help?
Answer: https://www.microsoft.com/technet/prodtechnol/exchange/2007/plan/hardware.mspx is a great place to start. There really isn’t anything that “forces” you to have more than one database. It is all a matter of what your internal requirements are.
Question: if the primary DB get corrupt, will the LCR copy also?
Answer: It all depends on what caused the corruption. If the primary DB and LCR copy are stored on two separate physical drives on two separate controllers, and the primary DB corrupted due to a hardware issue, then this should not translate to the LCR copy. The LCR process ships the log file to the LCR copy location and the log file is replayed into the LCR DB. This means that the two databases are not the same and are not being replicated. Usually, the corruption does not carry across if configured correctly. Once again, this does depend on what caused the corruption.
Question: Would seperating the database and logs on different volumes make any difference if you don't have seperate HDs?
Answer: If they are on the same physical drive, it won’t make a difference..
Question: Is there support for the Inter-Org replication of Free/Busy data between E2K7 and E2K3?
Answer: Yes, but you must maintain an Exchange 2003 server in your Exchange 2007 environment.
Question: is there a 64bit win 2003 os version that I need to install prior to installling ex 2007?
Answer: Yes, you must have the x64Bit version of Windows Server 2003 SP1 (Standard or Enterprise Edition depending on your needs).
Question: Migration...does EX2000/2003 need to be in Native mode to coexist with Ex2007 and migrate to E2007?
Answer: If you are performing a Transition (Upgrading your Exchange 2000 / 2003 Organization to Exchange 2007), then yes, you must be in Exchange Native Mode. If you are migrating by creating a brand new Exchange 2007 Organization, then it doesn’t matter since you aren’t co-existing.
Question: Is there a way to run exchange 2003 on a 64bit server, prier to upgrading to Exchange 2007?
Answer: Exchange 2003 can be run on x64bit hardware provided you are using a 32 bit version of Windows Server 2003. There is no in-place upgrade from 2003 to 2007. The only solution is to bring up new Exchange 2007 on 64bit into your org and then move over mailboxes from exchange 2003.
Question: how do you create the recovery storage group?
Answer: From the Exchange Management Shell. For more information, see: https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/aa997260.aspx.
Question: can i run exchange 2007 on domain controller?
Answer: Yes you can, but it is not recommended.
Question: What server role is responsible for OAB generation? Mailbox server? How many OABs could be linked per server?
Answer: The Client Access server role is responsible for the OAB. Outlook 2007 clients will connect via a URL (HTTP) to download the OAB. For more info on features in Outlook 2007 and how they compare to 2003, please visit: https://technet2.microsoft.com/Office/en-us/library/2f26b4fe-bc02-4dcf-bd7b-3dec3854aa811033.mspx?mfr=true.
Question: What improvements made on Loadsim?
Answer: The Exchange Load Generator will be replacing the current Exchange Load Simulator 2003. Exchange Load Generator will support Exchange Server 2007 and is backward compatible with Exchange Server 2003. Tests will now be run using a combination of methods, including a command line setup with which you can do many common tasks quickly. An example of a command line task is to generate a generic configuration xml file. This file then becomes the basis for achieving the setup and configuration of tasks through an easy-to-use xml configuration file. There is also a new, clean approach to a graphical user interface (think Exchange Best Practices Analyzer), with an accompanying Help file in the left pane for accessing instructions for working with the user interface. Tasks that you can do by using the user interface include setting up remote users and generating reports. For more info go to: https://www.microsoft.com/technet/prodtechnol/exchange/articles/toolsupdatese12.mspx.
Question: whats happens with mail enabled public folder ? Where do you recommend migrating that ? we have teams that prefer using it so 5 people can look at email coming in at the same time?
Answer: You can continue to use public folders in Exchange 2007 as you are doing in Exchange 2003. In Exchange 2007, you can also create a Shared Mailbox that multiple people access.
Question: Is there an easy way to migrate from Public Folders to Sharepoint? Which version of Sharepoint would be best for replacing Public Folders?
Answer: There will be tools from Microsoft to assist with this. There are also third party applications that address this specific scenario.
Question: Will there be a way to do in in place upgrade in the next year?
Answer: Not from Exchange 2003 or 2000. We do support in-place upgrades from previous versions of Exchange 2007.
Question: We use public folders for company shared calendars, contact lists, and task lists not file folders...is this going to be a problem in Exchg2k7 w/O2k7 clients?
Answer: No, this will not be a problem.
Question: are there any new import SIS solutions from 03 to 07 and or recovery process: Q2 is ther better troubleshooting tools for public folders in ex 07
Answer: If you use the Move-Mailbox feature to move a mailbox from Exchange 2003 to Exchange 2007, the SIS is maintained. I’m not sure what you are looking for from a recovery process. We have de-emphasized Public Folders in Exchange 2007, but we still support them. There are plans for an updated PFAdmin tool but outside of that, I’m not aware of any advanced troubleshooting tools for PFs in Exchange 2007.
Question: Can the local continuous replication be placed on a mapped network drive?
Answer: NO! The LCR copy can be stored on iSCSI, DAS, SAS , NAS and SAN devices that are supported by Windows Server 2003 and Exchange Server 2007. Please see this article for more details: https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb124518.aspx.
Question: We generally split our server drive into two partitions - C: being about 12G, and D: being the balance of the disk (which is a hardware RAID array). For Exchange, we're intalling it to the D: partition - is there any reason NOT to do this? Should we be configuring Exch2k7 servers with only one partition?
Answer: If I read your question correctly, it sounds like you are using one physical drive, but are creating 2 partitions. If that is the case, it doesn’t matter since it is the same physical drive or in your case logical volume on the RAID volume. I usually like to install the OS onto a separate physical drive (C:\) and then create my RAID set for the data with separate physical drives. In that scenario, I would have Exchange on the RAID set and not on C:\.
Question: Is it true that you will att some public folder administration in the GUI with SP1?
Answer: I know we will add support for the Public Folder Administrator as a Role in the Delegation Wizard, but outside of that I don’t have any more information.
Question: Could we use Lotus Notes/Domino instead of public folders?
Answer: If you are really going to use Notes / Domino, why would you consider using Exchange? Rather than Public Folders, you may consider using Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007.
Question: We have a lot of problem with zombie account (delete user) in PF, we have to delete it via pfdavadmin otherwise the users are no more able to manage it. Is that be improved?
Answer: Since we are de-emphasizing Public Folders in Exchange 2007, I doubt we did much to make this much better.
Question: How can I call E2K7 cmdlets from an ASP.NET application?
Answer: Yes you can, but I have no idea how to actually go about doing this.
Question: I'm getting an address list synchronization error, what could it be?
Answer: Not sure. I would recommend maximizing logging for the Address List Synchronization service: MSExchangeAL. To do this, open up Exchange System Manager (ESM) and drill down to Administrative Groups | Servers | Servername, right click the server you wish to configure logging on and select Properties and then go to the Diagnostics Logging tab. Under Services, select MSExchangeAL and set LDAP Operations and Address List Synchronization to maximum.
Question: how to you change the smtp address on a mail enabled public folder
Answer: Use the Set-MailPublicFolder CMDLET from the Exchange Management Shell.
Question: where will it show the email addresses associated with a public folder? I didn't see them in the FL attributes.
Answer: Use the Get-MailPublicFolder CMDLET from the Exchange Management Shell.
Question: Ex2003 has a limit of 1000 OAB's per back-end server. How many OAB's could be linked to one Ex2007 mailbox server?
Answer: I am not aware of any OAB limits. Do you have that many different address lists?
Question: What cmdlet should be used to relocate full-text catalog?
Answer: The full-text index catalog is stored on the same drive as your database. If you move your database location, your catalog will move with it.
Question: is there documentation of all the cmd-lets and their parameters?
Answer: Start here: https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb124413.aspx.
Question: What exactly LCP will be copy?
Answer: LCR copies the log files to a separate drive and then they are replayed to the LCR copy of the database on that separate drive.
Question: Is there step by step documentation on transitioning public folders from 2003 to 2007?
Answer: Unfortunately, I am not aware of one that is available at this time.
Question: If you are running Exchange 07 in a cross forest enviornment can you have two seperate Exchange Organizations and sync with MIIS like you can in 03?
Answer: Sure...MIIS doesn't care what forest the Exchange Org is in, as long as you have an account that has permissions to access the store.
Question: Do you recommend to enable Shadow Copy (Snapshot) on Exchange 2007 for every volume or volume C: only?
Answer: Enabling the VSS capability itself doesn't really matter. If you plan to perform snapshots of your Exchange database(s), then you will need to enable it for the volume that database is stored on.
Question: can LCR reside on a san or nas drive?
Answer: Yes, it can.
Question: We want to start using MIIS to provision our accounts into AD - Is Exchange 2007 supported with any MIIS version?
Answer: Since Exchange 2007 is using AD on Windows Server 2003, there shouldn’t be any issue utilizing the current released version of MIIS for account provisioning.
Question: can you create a sub public folder and set a limit to it
Answer: Yes, use the new-publicfolder cmdlet.
Question: Can users still create public folders from their outllok client
Answer: Yes, if they have permissions.
Question: is there an article that describes the PKI integration with ex 2007.. thx
Answer: This is a great starting point: https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/aa996775.aspx.
Question: Do all non-mapi clients have to connect to CAS as soon as CAS is installed into an existing E2003 org?
Answer: If the non-MAPI clients have their mailbox on the Exchange 2007 Mailbox server, then Yes.
Question: Could we keep PF in exchange 2003 environment and move user's to Exchnage 2007 and access PF ?
Answer: Sure.
Question: Is there a way to share calendars between 2 Exchange 07 Organizations?
Answer: Sure, this is possible in Exchange 2007 from a free / busy perspective. We are doing that in Microsoft today.
Question: what about move-publicfolderdabase which was GUI possible?
Answer: That's not a valid Exchange cmdlet.