Ehlo Tech - Focusing on Exchange Server & Technology

Windows Server 2008 Core Supports VMware Tools Installation

noreply@blogger.com (Ben Serebin) — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 03:01:00 +0000

Ehlo All,

Quick question. Do you think you can install a GUI app on a Core install. Answer is sometimes. I found out tonight while I installed a newer operating system for my Terminal Services environment (Windows Server 2008 R2) that one can install VMware Tools on Windows 2008 Server Core. It's very easy. Details can be found on this website. Jens also discusses how to configure the video driver as well. I tested it under ESX(i) 3.5 and it worked quite well.

http://it-experts.dk/blogs/jjonsson/archive/2009/05.aspx

Enjoy the tip,

-Ben

Exchange 2007 will support Windows 2008 R2

noreply@blogger.com (Ben Serebin) — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 02:18:00 +0000

Hello All,

The Microsoft Exchange Team announced today (11/4/09) that Exchange 2007 will be supported under Windows Server 2008 R2 once an update is released for this. Originally, it was not going to be supported, but MS changes their mind. Full details can be found here.

http://msexchangeteam.com/archive/2009/11/04/453026.aspx

Enjoy,
-Ben

Testing out Microsoft's Hyper-V R2 for uptime comparison to VMware's Hypervisor

noreply@blogger.com (Ben Serebin) — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 01:52:00 +0000

Ehlo All,

I believe that virtualizing Exchange and other servers has more advantages than disadvantages. So, while VMware is the leader in the space (w/ESX and ESXi) and this is what I deploy clients using, I realize the Microsoft virtualization solutions (w/Hyper-V) will gain a significant market share in the coming years. So, I decided it was time to start to test it out. Specifically, I wanted to see how often it needed a reboot due to Windows updates and the stability of the OS.

Since a hypervisor reboot requires pausing all VMs, it's a real distruption. I realize you could move all the VMs, but that means you need 2 hypervisor servers. Sometimes clients do not have this. So, I wanted to see the stability/uptime of just the hypervisor. I know my ESX(i) can go easily months if not years without a reboot since it's a hardened OS and there are very few security updates. Curious to see how Hyper-V would fare compared to this. Keep in mind, if you loaded the full Windows 2008 Server and then added the Hyper-V Role, it would need to be rebooted a LOT due to all the extra software loaded inthe OS. So, I feel this is more of an apples (Hyper-V R2 standalone hypervisor version) to apples (ESX/ESXi) comparison.

Since it's a free product (similar to ESXi) and anyone can download it. I downloaded the free Microsoft Hyper-V Server 2008 R2 on 11/4/09. It was released on 8/28/09.

Download Microsoft Hyper-V Server 2008 R2
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=48359dd2-1c3d-4506-ae0a-232d0314ccf6&displaylang=en

Installed it in a VM on my ESXi 3.5 host and then ran the Hyper-V R2 updates. It found 4. 2 were important, and the other 2 were worthless (application compatibility for games, etc). I installed these 2 below. Both updates required reboots.

http://www.microsoft.com/technet/security/bulletin/MS09-059.mspx
KB975467 - Important - DoS via magic packet

http://www.microsoft.com/technet/security/bulletin/MS09-056.mspx
KB974571 - Important - Spoofing attack

I modified the resource allocation on my ESXi deployment, since this VM doesn't need to be a normal/high priority for ram and cpu. We shall see what happens.

-Ben

TimeOutNY rates NY Exchange User Group as one of the best...

noreply@blogger.com (Ben Serebin) — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 16:11:00 +0000

Ehlo All,

In this week's print & web issue of TimeOutNY, they rated NYExUG as one of "the best IT Techie groups for socializing and networking in NYC". Join us at one of our upcoming meetings to learn why. Article URL below.

Amazingly, they made an error on the article even though it was fact checked by a separate person who called me. This TimeOutNY error required me to do some email admin work. So, they listed the email as register@nyexug... when in reality it should have been rsvp@nyexug or join@nyexug. So, I added the incorrect alias to my mail gateway (email hits this before my Exchange Server) to auto-reply with a thank you email and some URLs pointing people to the correct place to RSVP for the meeting. And then I ran a query on my clustered spam filtering solution to see the # and email addresses of people who emailed the wrong address so I could notify them. All for a single email address error. Then again, I could have ignored it and let people fall by the way side, but that's not my style.

TimeOutNY Article
http://newyork.timeout.com/articles/i-new-york/79899/the-best-it-techie-groups-for-socializing-and-networking-in-nyc

Our Upcoming November Meeting
November 10 Meeting Topic - Our Exchange 2010 Launch Party (e.g. Major New Feature Explained in detail [Database Availability Groups, etc])

Speaker: Angi Livermore (Principal Technology Specialist) of Microsoft. Full BIO below.

Register Now (open to the public & free pizza dinner / click to attend RSVP - by Mon November 9th at 3pm EST)
https://www.clicktoattend.com/invitation.aspx?code=141309

Meeting Topic Details - Launch Party for Exchange 2010. We have already had an "intro to 2010", so this meeting will focus on digging deeper into the new product. We'll have a presentation and demo for the following features.
- Database Availability Group (the new HA functionality that replaces CCR, SCR, & LCR)
- multi-mailbox search (ability to search content across numerous mailboxes)
- new OWA premium capabilities (premium support for 3 browsers instead of just IE)
- core store enhancements (better I/O)
- transport improvements (redundancy in transport of messages so transport server failures will not affect message delivery)
- admin audit logging (know what changes are done to your Exchange environment)

Full Speaker BIO
Angi Livermore is a UC Core Technology Specialist for Microsoft and has over 20 years’ experience in the technology industry with a strong background in messaging and collaboration technologies. Prior to this role, she worked in Microsoft Consulting Services for 4 plus years working in various Financial Services and NY district accounts.

Previously, Angi held several different positions with Merrill Lynch for five years and the latest was a Vice President of Product Delivery Services. Her last assignment was as an individual contributor focusing primarily on facilitating the release of Global Private Client (GPC) initiatives, (“Trusted Global Advisor”, also known as TGA) with a heavy emphasis on technology enhancements that reduced the total cost of ownership.

Prior to coming to Microsoft in August of 2001 and working for Merrill Lynch, Angi also worked for several Microsoft partners working with MS Mail, Exchange, Windows, Active Directory, and Mobile technologies. She is very passionate about helping customers achieve their full potential by using Microsoft technologies.

Angi lives in West Windsor, NJ with several four legged friends and her hobbies include: golf, golf, and more golf…

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Test your Exchange Restore Capability - Tips for Restoring

noreply@blogger.com (Ben Serebin) — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 04:33:00 +0000

Ehlo All,

So, I've been using AppAssure's MailRetriever (part of Replay product) on Exchange 2007 (& other types of servers) for about 9 months now, and have been impressed for it's ability for continuous data protection (aka snapshots) and ability to natively write VM files (e.g. VMware Workstation, VM Server, VM Player, ESX, ESXi, and Hyper-V). I've used it numerous times to restore individual Exchange items and traditional files. BUT, a major concern has arisen recently. I've been working with AppAssure support for over a week to resolve a significant issue with item level restores and no good news yet. My major concerns are that the Replay product reports a restore success, but it's not. I've replicated the issue 3 times and support has been notified and working on it. Restoring an entire user's mailbox folder (e.g. Sent Items) results in almost 500 missing items (from about 85k). Yet, OWA/Outlook/exmerge to PST report about 500 more items that the restore and matches the correct folder item count.

During this time, I needed a way to test restores. So, originally, I would create a test AD (Test Account1) and email account (taccount1@somefake.addomain.com) and then restore my data to this account. And then I would delete the AD and email account, and re-create on the next restore. So, I've gotten good at deleting AD accounts and purging mailboxes. But, I found a better approach. Just delete the email account and purge it from the database and then re-create it for your next test. Why delete the AD account, it's not necessary. Some helpful sites to learn the commands.

1) Delete Exchange attributes from AD User (disconnects mailbox from AD user)
http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/aa997210.aspx
Here is what you need to type in bold.
[PS] C:\Windows\System32>disable-mailbox bserebin@somefake.addomain.com

Confirm
Are you sure you want to perform this action?
Disabling Mailbox "bserebin@somefake.addomain.com" will remove the Exchange
properties from the Windows user object and mark the mailbox in the database
for removal.
[Y] Yes [A] Yes to All [N] No [L] No to All [S] Suspend [?] Help
(default is "Y"):y
-------------------------
2) Deletes disconnect mailbox(es) in Exchange Server 2007
Type the following 3 commands found on this page (skip option "Removing a single entry")
http://msmvps.com/blogs/andersonpatricio/archive/2007/10/08/removing-disconnected-mailboxes-in-exchange-server-2007.aspx

Also, In my testing of this issue, I made a full export (copy) of my DC & Exchange 2007 servers. And then I run them (NIC configured) via VMware Server to host only mode. This makes the servers visible to only the VMware Server. I then have a full shadow production environment. So, now I can test against the backup software. I originally detected the issue when I did a full mailbox restore to another AD account on my Exchange Server and compared sizes & item count and noticed the large discrepancy. I'm also in the process of getting Backup Exec 12.5 and ARCserve (r12.5) to test restores via those products as well. Curious to see how well they work.

So, far my Backup Exec 12.5.2231A x64 testing has been painful since the default install on Windows 2008 from a demo downloaded via their website does not show the Exchange Server databases. Same problem using 12.5.2231A x86 on 2003 occurred. I followed the support solution (document ID 315712) but it didn't resolve it. I'll continue troubleshooting later this week. I'll report my feedback on ARCserve later this week too.

-Ben

How a Turkish mobile provider's BlackBerry firmware helped save my BlackBerry Bold.

noreply@blogger.com (Ben Serebin) — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 13:52:00 +0000

Hello All,

I've been dealing with dropped calls and signal issues since I initially switched to AT&T in Dec 08. Surprisingly, the problem was the device (BlackBerry Bold) & 3G, and not AT&T. Now, I'm a big of BlackBerry technology, but it's to blame! The Bold is a great device except for one thing, 3G. It seems the 3G driver has a problem switching cell towers in heavily used areas and other random places. So, I would experience dropped calls (many places) and "lock" on EDGE or GSM (heavily used areas) which a quick reboot would fix. Thankfully the Bold reboots quickly (I use an app called QuickPull). The reason for the post was it looks like I finally found a more permanent "solution" to this issue, disabling 3G. I'll explain how later on.

Before I switched to AT&T I tested out the service with a BlackBerry 8820 running OS 4.2 during the end of 2008. It worked great. So, I bought a Bold and switched to AT&T and then the problems started. Initially I thought this was "normal" AT&T service people complained about. Then I noticed a pattern. Certain areas would cause the "problems" above. So, my resolution testing began.

- SIM swap did nothing (that was the 1st and last idea by AT&T support I listened to).
- borrowed another Bold, same issues.
- retested with the 8820 and loaded 4.5, no issues.
- ran a variety of cutting edge (unauthorized) BlackBerry OSes on my Bold in attempts to fix the dropped call problem. They varied from Singapore, Latin America, & UAE. All are developed by RIM, but released to different mobile phone providers for support. AT&T supports 1 version of the BlackBerry OS currently, and it has problem. So, I would load the latest BlackBerry OS I could find and see what would happen.

And then I finally had the idea, it could be the Bold & 3G. So, AT&T did release an OS with the ability to select "2G" or "2G/3G" networks, but due to a serious bug, it was pulled from the market days after release. I decided I didn't want to run that, but finally.... another OS (4.6.0.301) with this capability was released by a Turkish mobile vendor, AVEA. So, I'm running it and so far it's been working as I hoped.

This is the URL that listed it.
http://forums.crackberry.com/f83/newest-9000-os-v4-6-0-301-official-avea-multilanguage-315322/

Enjoy,
-Ben

Windows 2008 R2 and Exchange 2007? Microsoft says no.

noreply@blogger.com (Ben Serebin) — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 19:02:00 +0000

Hello All,

Anyone who has not deployed Exchange Server 2007 and wants to do it on Windows 2008 R2 (it'll be launched this month), the answer is it is NOT supported. Not a big deal, since I would just wait a bit longer and have the benefits of I suspect to be the hands down best Exchange version yet, Exchange 2010. If you are wondering, 2003 is still the king. Some articles discussing this R2 rejection: Windows IT Pro and the Microsoft Exchange Team postings.

Server OS Support
Exchange Server 2003 supports Window Server 2000, Windows Server 2003, & Windows Server 2003 R2. (3 OSes supported)

Exchange Server 2007 supports Windows Server 2003, Windows Server 2003 R2, & Windows Server 2008. (3 OSes supported)

Exchange Server 2010 supports Windows Server 2008 & Windows Server 2008 R2. (2 OSes supported currently)

Microsoft decided against QA and supporting Exchange 2007 on Windows Server 2008, which is understandable since supporting 4 OSes is a time consuming process and 2010 is getting launch within the month. So, wait a little longer, and try and deploy Exchange Server 2010 once your eco-system is supported (e.g. BES, GFI, AppAssure, Backup Exec, etc).

-Ben

Learning about the services Exchange 2007 installs?

noreply@blogger.com (Ben Serebin) — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 19:46:00 +0000

Ehlo All,

Quick question. The "Microsoft Exchange File Distribution" Service gets installed on which Exchange Server 2007 roles? The answer is Client Access and Unified Messaging server roles. This Microsoft TechNet article that explains all the services installed by Exchange setup for 2007 which can help in case of troubleshooting. If an issue occurs, you'll know where to look first which can be helpful since there are 21 services that Exchange installs depending on the server role. That's a lot services. This article can help you understand them.

-Ben

Article - Domain Controllers are critical to Exchange, Know Which DC is Used for Communication

noreply@blogger.com (Ben Serebin) — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 18:22:00 +0000

Hello All,

A working Active Directory foundation is required for Exchange Server, so have you ever wondered which Domain Controller (DC) was being used by your Exchange Server. Now you can. Read on if you're interested.

I recently read an article about how Exchange Server knows what Active Directory servers are available. For Exchange 2000, 2003, and 2007, the answer lies with an Exchange process called "Directory Services Access", aka DSAccess. It polls all DC every 15 minutes and makes optimizations based on the results. You can read the summary article here (via SearchExchange.org) or a full detailed technical article here (via MSExchange.org) or another one from SearchExchage.org here. Start with the summary, and then the technical articles.

Tidbit - Under 2000 and 2003, DSAccess ran under the Exchange service called System Attendant. Exchange 2007 changed that, and now it runs under a separate Windows service running on your Exchange Servers called "Microsoft Exchange Active Directory Topology Service".

Until next time... may your email flow well.
-Ben

Virtualization and Exchange - It's Microsoft Supported and Works Well!

noreply@blogger.com (Ben Serebin) — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 18:24:00 +0000

Ehlo All,

Sadly, there is a LOT of marketing non-truths (aka lies) being spread about Virtualization and Exchange Server (e.g. it doesn't work, Microsoft won't support it, bad performance, etc). I was so tired of hearing this, I finally decided to give a presentation at the NY Exchange Server User Group Meeting this past week that discussed an intro to virtualization and Exchange and exactly what is supported (Exchange 2003 & 2007 is VM supported, VMware ESX and Exchange 2007 SP1 is supported, and much more). My Exchange environment is fully Microsoft PSS (Professional Support Services) supported since it's Exchange 2007 SP2, Windows 2008, and VMware ESX 3.5 U2. Amazing, I know. I've included the topics presented in the evening, and feel free to spend sometime reading through PDF. I've included referenced footnotes as well.

Presentation Topics
- intro to virtualization
- pro's / con's of virtualization
- what servers work with virtualization
- Microsoft's Exchange Support Policy explained in detail
- different Exchange version support
- VM performance comparison to old school hardware deployments (and yes, it's old school)
- why virtualization is more important than performance
- what Exchange Server really needs

Review the September 8, 2009 NYExUG presentation by Ben Serebin, and post any questions you have on the blog and I'll happily answer them.

.
QUIT

An example of what not to do. Article published on setting up an Edge 2007 Server without EdgeSync.

noreply@blogger.com (Ben Serebin) — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 03:29:00 +0000

Ehlo All,

Yes, you read the title correctly, an Edge 2007 Server without EdgeSync. Why would anyone ever deploy an Edge 2007 Server without EdgeSync, the synchronization functionality? You got me. But, Neil Hobson published on msexchange.org an article how to set it up. You can check it out here, but I do not recommend this configuration, and would be very curious to know why the quoted organization couldn't use it. He really should have elaborated why it was done, since this is NOT recommended.

For some background, check out this MSDN blog which has the pro's/con's for EdgeSync. Check it out here. To summarize you lose gateway based recipient filtering, safelist block/accept, config and admin is easier on setup, and traffic is encrypted by default. If you do without EdgeSync, do not spend the money on an Exchange license. Save it for another mail gateway product. Sometimes, msexchange.org publishes article of questionable value, this is one of them until they elaborate the purpose of runnings without EdgeSync.

.
QUIT

Great Time Saving Tip for Installing Exchange 2007 SP1 on Windows 2008

noreply@blogger.com (Ben Serebin) — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 05:49:00 +0000

Ehlo All,

Want to safely speed up install times and make less mistakes (e.g. forgetting to install a prerequisite, role, or feature) on your installs of Exchange 2007 SP1 on Windows 2008. The smart creators of Exchange (aka Microsoft Exchange Server Team) via their blog announced and released a GREAT tool. Normally, you have to separately install numerous prerequisites, roles, and features which can take a while. So, they released an all-in-one way to do this via XML files for each role option. Here are the 6 options with 2 clarified. Or you can manually install the needed software via this Microsoft TechNet article.

Exchange-Base = installs Server Manager, PowerShell, and RSAT-ADDS
Exchange-CAS
Exchange-ClusMBX = clustered mailbox
Exchange-Edge
Exchange-MBX
Exchange-UM

.
QUIT

Exchange 2007 SP2 is coming soon (before Oct)

noreply@blogger.com (Ben Serebin) — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 05:34:00 +0000

Ehlo All,

According to the official Microsoft Exchange Server Team Blog posting, Exchange 2007 SP2 is arriving before October 2009. Technically, they said Q3 2009, but easier to say before October, than July, August, or September. 3 biggest changes will be:

1) ability to backup with an OS provided tool within Windows 2008 (right now you can't w/o 3rd party)
2) auditing Exchange events (e.g. configuration changes, etc)
3) interoperability with Exchange 2010 (I plan to jump as quickly as I can to 2010 once my 2 critical Exchange add-on apps work)

.
QUIT

Exchange 2007 SP1 Update Rollup 9 Released

noreply@blogger.com (Ben Serebin) — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 05:29:00 +0000

Ehlo All,

MS Exchange Server Team Blog announced on 7/17/09 that the Exchange 2007 SP1 update rollup 9 was released. You can read more about it here. I've downloaded it and loaded it on my own production server and no issues to report. I did notice when I installed it, I had skipped rollup 8, and even on reboot, Windows Updates wanted rollup 8 installed. Which is wrong, since rollups are cumulative. I hide rollup 8. Oh well, don't make a mistake and install a downgraded version.

.
QUIT

Field Notes - Exchange 2007 Edge Troubleshooting

noreply@blogger.com (Ben Serebin) — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 03:34:00 +0000

Ehlo All,

So, I figured I would share more of my daily work from the field. That means more troubleshooting, upgrade issues, successes, and all around adventure. A client of REEF Solutions (using REEF Solutions' hosted clustered spam, virus, and DoS protection solution which has handled about 550,000+ messages a day over the past month) with their own in-house IT staff was working on an Exchange 2007 migration from 2003 that had email flow problems and almost 9,000 valid messages were stuck in the Edge queue. I was called in to assist after the client's IT was on the phone with Microsoft Professional Support Services for over 3 hrs and there was no solution and they were considering reinstalling Edge. Client was restless, since email downtime was suppose to end after 7 days or so, but it didn't.

Background
The client had migrated to 2 new servers, an Exchange 2007 Mailbox/CAS/Hub & Edge both on Windows 2008 Server 64 bit. During the upgrade they implemented an Exchange 2007 Edge Server. This was to replace an existing non-Exchange smtp gateway server. They previous had a single Exchange 2003 environment. After the Edge implementation, email would flow from the Mailbox Server to Edge to Internet, but not the reverse. Client IT had tested and telneting between the Edge and Mailbox worked, and vice versa, but email would not flow. Edge was in a DMZ. MS PSS had done a lot of things, but the email was still not flowing. During the the entire week long downtime, REEF Solutions had queued up email off-site (9k of valid non-spam messages) for the client.

Troubleshooting and Solution
1) Running the built-in Exchange troubleshooting analyzer reported errors on both servers. Running it on Mailbox reported not seeing Edge, and vice versa. This was because the DMZ didn't have those ports open for RPC and other ports. Not a big deal, but makes troubleshooting harder.
2) pinging the Mailbox and Edge servers NETBIOS name worked from both servers.
3) from Mailbox and Edge, telneting via port 25 to generate "homemade" email both ways was successful.
4) on Mailbox ran "Test-EdgeSynchronization" and it passed with flying colors.
5) on Mailbox ran "Test-EdgeSynchronization -VerifyRecipient bgates@yourdomain.com" and it was successful. Obviously, pick an email in your domain. This is testing the AD Application Mode (ADAM) replication [1 way from AD -> Edge] for storage of configuration and recipient information. This is because Edge is a non-domain computer and doesn't have access to AD like a normal domain based server.
6) checked the hosts files on both servers. And added due to a known IPv6 issue, the NETBIOS and FQDN of each server and the other server in their hosts file. So, if your mailbox server was called "mailboxsrv", in the hosts file would say "192.168.1.2 mailboxsrv" and then line 2 would be "192.168.1.2 mailboxsrv.corp.yourdomain.com" and comment out the ::1 localhost entry to "#::1 localhost".
7) on Mailbox server in EMC - Organization Configuration - Hub Transport - Send Connectors - EdgeSync - Inbound to Mailbox Server - Route mail through the following smart hosts: {your mailbox server IP})
8) on Edge, saw an Event log error for a non-valid SSL cert, so on the Mailbox and Edge server, if I recall, under EMC - Hub Transport - Send Connectors - Network - unchecked "Enable Domain Security (Mutual-Auth TLS)". This is an excellent article by MVP Elan Shudnow that discusses transport layer security between Edge and Transport.
9) on Mailbox, ran "Start-EdgeSynchronization" and the configuration changes I made replicated to the Edge server.
10) since all inbound port 25 is restricted from REEF's clustered email filtering solution, I generated email from their and tested inbound flow from cluster - edge - mailbox, and it was successful. And then I tested outbound email and it worked. Then the 9k message queue quickly reduced down to 0.

FYI: if you need to reinstall the Edge or Transport Server and have messages in your queue, you can backup it up, re-install Edge or Transport services, and then restore the database. Edge queue database is ESE based, like Exchange. An excellent article by explaining the backup and restore process by Joshua Raymond is here.

Problem solved.
.
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Exploring iSCSI for the 1st Time - An Easy Intro for new beginners

noreply@blogger.com (Ben Serebin) — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 02:48:00 +0000

Ehlo All,

So, I have to admit it. I'm an iSCSI SAN newbie. While people are afraid to repair an Exchange database via eseutil, install and configure the SSL certificate for Exchange 2007's Outlook Anywhere, routing groups, and configure DNS TTLs, I'm very comfortable with all that. On the other hand, iSCSI, that's a foreign language to me. With terms like target IQN, LUN mapping, SCSI Serial No, SCSI ID, blockio, etc, it's understandable, at least to me. To summarize, iSCSI target means iSCSI sharing server, iSCSI intiator means client.

So, I finally had 2 scenarios that warranted that I setup an iSCSI environment. I needed more storage capacity in my ESXi environment and one of my "traditional" Windows 2003 Server. Traditional meaning a physical server. So, while adding internal storage is possible, it would have been a real pain since all the slots were filled. So, I had an existing Windows 2003 Server with a LOT of extra storage (4.4 trillion bytes, or 4.4 TB). I made a BIG mistake when quoting storage for it, so I have way to much storage on one server. So, how could I reliabily share storage over the network and appear as a locally connected drive letter on boot, iSCSI!

I considered 3 options, since I needed it to run on top of an existing Windows Server OS.
1) formerly LeftHand Networks (aka LHN) SAN VSA (VMware appliance). LHN was a hardware and software SAN vendor. They use to offer a free* VSA 8.0 which included a management application to configure the SAN solution. *I searched, and could not find the free unlimited usage VSA option anymore, so I would not recommend this approach.
2) open-source/free OpenFiler (aka OF) SAN (Linux, VMware, 2 Xen options, and more). This is really designed for the Linux crowd, some experience SAN users, or diligent admins.
3) Starwind (Windows). Designed for the SAN newbie and offers a free option.
[updated Starwind URL to correct one as per below comment.]

LHN VSA: I had LHN's VSA working in a cluster replicating file data, but decided I only wanted one VSA running for this. But for some odd reason when I removed it from the cluster, it would not let me add volumes to it. I spent a few hours troubleshooting this, but it looks like HP (which acquired LHN) dropped the free VSA option and the great support website. So, I decided to "drop" VSA as an option as well.

OF: I downloaded the OF 2.3 VMware VMDK, unzipped it, and placed it in a VM directory and it booted right up within VMware Server 2.0.1. Changed the IP and password via the web interface and ran the web based updater. Very clean interface, but very few wizards and little documentation. They also charge $60 for the manual. I guess the manual is not open-source. A bit frustrating especially since this is a community product. I would normally donate to the cause, but I'm not a fan of their business model approach. So, I used the following 2 websites and 1 OF forum posting to understand what I needed to do. Not surprisingly, that forum poster left OF and went to Starwind. OF is really designed for bare metal computer installs with your own hardware RAID already setup. But if you know the limitations, it can work for other purposes.

Overview with screenshots of OF iSCSI configuration
http://www.petri.co.il/use-openfiler-as-free-vmware-esx-san-server.htm

Overview with screenshots of ESX iSCSI connection to OF
http://www.petri.co.il/connect-vmware-esx-server-iscsi-san-openfiler.htm

Bonus - Good Overview of iSCSI and OF (connecting with Windows Server iSCSI initator)
http://www.montanalinux.org/openfiler-iscsi.html

At the end of the day, OF is serving iSCSI storage in my environment.
- Windows 2003 R2 Server running 3Ware 9550SXU-4LP hardware with RAID 5 configuration
- VMware Server 2.0.1 running on above Windows 2003 R2 Server
- OpenFiler VM configured for 2 additional virtual hard drives, each 100GB which are in a OF software RAID 1 setup. Protect against software corruption.
- ESXi handling the iSCSI initator to the above server (but you could easily make Windows the iSCSI initator which I plan to do in a few weeks. Microsoft offers for free the iSCSI initator.)

-Ben

Exchange 2007's Outlook Anywhere Overview Article

noreply@blogger.com (Ben Serebin) — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 21:19:00 +0000

Ehlo All,

Here is a good overview and refresher article about Exchange 2007's feature of Outlook Anywhere. I added my 2 cents via the comments about not needing expensive SAN/UCC SSL certificates for auto-discovery functionality. There's a lot of mis-information about this on the internet. Which reminds me, an upcoming blog posting will discuss Exchange 2007's auto-discovery feature and how it's not the answer to the holy grail which many make it out to be.

-Ben

In Q3 2009 - Exchange 2007 SP2 will bring backup to Windows 2008

noreply@blogger.com (Ben Serebin) — Fri, 22 May 2009 04:42:00 +0000

Ehlo All,

For Windows 2008 Server admins running Exchange 2007, Microsoft never provided a backup utility similar to ntbackup.exe for Windows 2003 Exchange admins. FYI: Exchange 2007 on Windows 2003 can be backed up, just not on Windows 2008. BK Winstead of Windows IT Pro posted about Microsoft plans in Q3 2009 to release an Exchange 2007 SP2 update that will allow backups. Microsoft's Exchange Team blogged about this and additional features (e.g. Exchange change auditing, Public Folder quotas, etc) found in SP2.

-Ben

Exchange Server Virtualization Intro Articles

noreply@blogger.com (Ben Serebin) — Fri, 22 May 2009 04:37:00 +0000

Ehlo All,

Here is a good starting (index) point article for learning about running Exchange Server in a virtualized environment on SearchExchange's website. Only issue is it's skewed toward Hyper-V. I would strongly recommend looking to run Exchange in VMware ESx. I run my production Exchange 2007 in ESXi 3.5. I plan to organize an upcoming NYExUG meeting to discuss virtualization, since it's important.

-Ben

A How-To Configure SCR for Exchange 2007 SP1

noreply@blogger.com (Ben Serebin) — Fri, 22 May 2009 04:33:00 +0000

Ehlo All,

This is an excellent how-to article to configure SCR (standby continuous replication) for Exchange 2007 SP1. Includes the scripts for easy copying and implementation. Article posted on Windows IT Pro by Tony Redmond.

-Ben

Learn about Microsoft's DPM 2007 & Exchange

noreply@blogger.com (Ben Serebin) — Fri, 22 May 2009 04:25:00 +0000

Ehlo All,

So, if you know what DPM is, you're ahead of the game already. It's Microsoft backup product called Data Protection Manager, and it's available for Exchange & SharePoint. I don't know a SINGLE tech that runs it, but don't let that stop you. Here's a SearchExchange article about DPM 2007 and Exchange by Brien Posey (MVP). Oh, and if you run it, reply to this article via the comments about why you like it over other backup products (e.g. Backup Exec, ARCserv, CommVault, etc).

Another SearchExchange article by Brien about how to deploy DPM 2007's agent on Exchange Server.

Best of luck,
-Ben

Exchange 2010 Beta Articles (Good and Bad News)

noreply@blogger.com (Ben Serebin) — Fri, 08 May 2009 19:33:00 +0000

Ehlo All,

I know it's beta, but I'm all worked up over the OWA Premium mode for non-IE browsers (e.g. Firefox and Safari will support Premium mode). Don't worry, I'll still focus on 2003 & 2007 on the blog.

The good news guy, a Tony Redmond article called "A First Look at Exchange 2010" from Windows IT Pro about all the new features. Excellent for an overview of how 2007 to 2010 has changed. Tony is technical is he dives right in.

And the bad news guy, a B.K. Winstead articled called "Exchange 2010, Problems, Problems, Problems" from Windows IT Pro about why did Microsoft force so many things on us via Exchange 2010 (e.g. Windows 2008, 64 bit, no upgrade path, no LCR, no 32 bit evaluation version, etc). It's beta, but he has valid points. Good so you know what's missing and you can plan accordingly.

Until next time, keep you're eye on your mail server.

-Ben

Pigs are flying, Pigs are flying!!! Exchange 2010 will support premium mode for IE, Firefox, and Safari.

noreply@blogger.com (Ben Serebin) — Fri, 17 Apr 2009 03:26:00 +0000

Ehlo All,

While I love (yes, I really do) Exchange Server, I haven't been this excited in a while. And everytime I think about OWA, I'm unhappy since when I jumped from 2003 to 2007, I lost a # of important features (most important, lack of access to Public Folders [aka PF] from Light/Basic Mode). Now, 2010 has me very excited (PF access is fixed) and I plan to run the beta and will jump to 2010 in production even if it's in beta once my "near-time" backup solution I use supports it. I've already downloaded it, and plan to install it in my ESX VM environment very soon. I'll post my comments when I do.

Welcoming Exchange 2010 - 1st 20 seconds are good.

http://edge.technet.com/Media/Introducing-Outlook-Live/

Good Overview of Exchange 2010 - screen shots and a handy chart

http://www.infoworld.com/d/applications/first-look-exchange-2010-beta-shines-485?page=0,0

Exchange 2010 System Requirements.

- to summarize, it's Windows 2008 x64.

http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/aa996719(EXCHG.140).aspx

MS tech (Scott Schnoll) on how to install Exchange 2010.

http://blogs.technet.com/scottschnoll/archive/2009/04/15/how-to-install-exchange-server-2010.aspx

Go download it.....

http://www.softpedia.com/progDownload/Microsoft-Exchange-Server-Download-59862.html

Let me know your thoughts on it.....
-Ben

Exchange Server 2007 SP1 Rollup 7 Released

noreply@blogger.com (Ben Serebin) — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 15:06:00 +0000

Ehlo All,

Microsoft released Exchange Server 2007 SP1 rollup 7 on March 18, 2009. I have not installed it yet, but plan to in the next 1-2 days. Windows restart is not necessary, and the update automatically restarts the necessary services. Also, this is ONLY for Exchange 2007 SP1, NOT Exchange 2007 RTM. There is a big difference between the 2 versions.

My blog posting about the difference between RTM and SP1 versions. Each has there own line of updates and there are not applicable to either. You will break your Exchange install if you load the wrong rollup on your version of Exchange. A colleague did that by mistake.

Enjoy,
-Ben

A $100,000 Question. Which Exchange 2007 roll-up is on your system?

noreply@blogger.com (Ben Serebin) — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 14:54:00 +0000

Ehlo All,

So, how do you confirm which Exchange 2007 roll-up is on your system when running Windows 2008? Uninstall or change a program (formerly called Add/Remove Programs), nope! Exchange System Console, nope! Windows file version #'s, nope! Windows Update, nope! That'll only show you if an update is available. Microsoft didn't make it easy, but someone did. Answer is a very handy PowerShell script that Paul Flaherty wrote. You literally, just need to run it, and bang, it does it's magic and you have your answer. In 3 simple steps.

1) Download and unzip it here, let me know if it goes offline, and I'll post my copy. Unzip and copy to a directory (e.g. c:\temp)
2) open Exchange Management Shell, and cd to the directory with the script.
3) type the following in bold (inside the quotes and there is no space between the . & \ characters) ".\Get-ExchangeServerPlus.ps1"

Results will say:
[PS] C:\Temp>.\Get-ExchangeServerPlus.ps1
EX [Mailbox, ClientAccess, HubTransport] [Standard] 8.0.535.0
- 20081209: Update Rollup 4 for Exchange Server 2007 Service Pack 1 (KB952580)
8.1.311.3
- 20090212: Update Rollup 6 for Exchange Server 2007 Service Pack 1 (KB959241)
8.1.340.1
- 20081217: Update Rollup 5 for Exchange Server 2007 Service Pack 1 (KB953467)
8.1.336.1

Now you know which rollup you have.

Enjoy,
-Ben