MSExchange.org Monthly Newsletter of July 2008 Sponsored by: Red Gate

Welcome to the MSExchange.org newsletter by Henrik Walther, Exchange MVP, MCA: Messaging (Exchange Ranger) Apprentice, MCTS Windows Server 2008, MCITP Exchange 2007, MCSE 2003 Messaging/Security. Each month we will bring you interesting and helpful information on Exchange Server. We want to know what all *you* are interested in hearing about. Please send your suggestions for future newsletter content to: henrik@msexchange.org

1. My Experiences with Exchange ActiveSync on the iPhone

Welcome to the July 2008 edition of the MSExchange.org newsletter!

Welcome to the July 2008 edition of the MSExchange.org newsletter! As some of you may be aware, the iPhone 2.0 software update that were handed out to a selected share of developers and enterprise customers in a beta version back in March 2008 has finally been completed and released to the public. In this newsletter, I wanted to share my experiences with the iPhone 2.0 software specifically in regards to the new Exchange ActiveSync features.

I got myself an iPhone back in January 2008 and although it gave me several "WOW!" moments, the device soon made it into the pile of other legacy devices in my gadgets closet. I really liked the clear and crisp screen, the browsing experience as well as several other features, but the iPhone simply could not compete with the two Windows Mobile 5.0 (Samsung BlackJack) and 6.0 (HTC S730) devices I used as my primary and secondary devices, respectively. The main purpose of a device is to give me a good messaging and calendaring experience. I make use of most of the features delivered by Windows Mobile 5.0/6.0 and Exchange Server 2007 SP1, all from the features in Outlook Mobile to the features/policies delivered by Exchange Server 2007 SP1. So the lack of support for the Exchange ActiveSync protocol in iPhone 1.0 forced me to connect to Exchange using IMAP and that did not really appeal to me.

Then a couple of weeks ago the iPhone 2.0 software update was made available. Since I knew iPhone 2.0 would include support for the Exchange ActiveSync protocol, I decided to give the iPhone another chance as my secondary device. Today my primary device is an HTC Touch Diamond, which I really like and do not want to replace with any other device as it suits my needs almost 100% (perhaps the soon to be released HTC Touch PRO will, but time will tell).

Okay so Apple is saying an iPhone running iPhone 2.0 is the best business phone ever (read that statement here: http://www.apple.com/iphone/enterprise). Do I agree? No! As a matter of fact it is not even close, at least not when it comes to Exchange ActiveSync. You can synchronize an iPhone 2.0 device with either Exchange 2003 SP2 or Exchange 2007 SP1. But the iPhone only supports the most basic features and policies! The following Exchange ActiveSync policies are supported:

• Enforce password on device
• Minimum password length
• Require both numbers and letters
• Inactivity time in minutes

In addition, you can remote wipe an iPhone 2.0 device as well as configure the Exchange ActiveSync profile using Autodiscover just like you can already do with a Windows Mobile 6.1 device. It is also worth mentioning you can access the Exchange Global Address List (GAL) from an iPhone with iPhone 2.0 software installed. But that is it really and when you take into consideration that Exchange Server 2007 SP1 includes more than 30 different device policies, all of which are supported by Windows Mobile 6.1 devices, supporting 4 policies is far from impressive! Moreover, iPhone 2.0 lacks support for the following features:

• Folder management
• Opening links in email to documents stored on Sharepoint servers
• Task Synchronization
• Setting an "Out of Office" autoreply message
• Creating meeting invitations
• Flagging messages for follow-up

How can you call a device that does not support the above, the best business phone on the market? Even worse is that a remote wipe can take several hours to complete, and because of this Apple actually recommends keeping the device in the cradle when a wipe is performed, so that the device does not run out of battery. Hmm okay, that is an interesting tip. Rumor also has it that Apple based the ActiveSync implementation on version 2.5, which is the version that is included with Exchange 2003 SP2. This means that none of the new features introduced with Exchange 2007 RTM/SP1 is supported. One can wonder why they made that decision.

The above means that if you apply policies like require alphanumeric passwords, encryption on device/storage card, limit allowed message sizes, etc, the iPhone will not be able to synchronize. There is also some other strange behavior I have noticed. When you uncheck the "allow HTML email" policy and disallow non-provisionable devices, the device also will not sync.

Finally you should be careful when changing any of the new Exchange 2007 SP1 policies, as this can block the iPhone from synching as well. With this in mind, I suggest you create a new Exchange ActiveSync policy specifically for the iPhone users within your organization.

Although we have the above issues/limitations with the Exchange ActiveSync in iPhone 2.0, do I use the device for messaging and calendaring today? Yes I still use it and probably will for some time. I should mention that the features they actually chose to support have been implemented very well, so I will probably use it until I get an HTC Touch PRO.

Special Offer for Newsletter Subscribers

Alright, after a rather disappointing iPhone 2.0 story it is time for some good news. MSExchange.org has teamed up with SolarWinds so that all current subscribers to this newsletter will be able to download a free copy of the new SolarWinds Exchange Monitor. The free Exchange Monitor delivers a clever desktop dashboard that continuously monitors your Exchange server to deliver real-time insight into services, mail queue sizes, and host server health.  Exchange Monitor makes it easy to:

• Quickly troubleshoot Exchange server problems
• Spot growing mail queues that can indicate bigger issues
• Start monitoring Exchange immediately
• Prevent performance issues with built-in red, yellow, and green health indicators
• Monitor disk space, CPU utilization, and memory utilization

*Please note, SolarWinds Exchange Monitor supports Microsoft Exchange Server 2000 and 2003.

Download your free copy of Exchange Monitor!

In a couple of a couple of weeks we will be publishing a short review of Exchange Monitor on my blog here at MSExchange.org.

But that is not all! You will also be able to download a free fully functioning 21-day trial version of SolarWinds ipMonitor. SolarWinds ipMonitor gives you out-of-the-box, entry-level monitoring that is perfect for keeping up with your network devices, servers, and applications. Plus, ipMonitor includes a built-in database and Web server, so you do not need to install anything but ipMonitor - making it fast, affordable, and easy to use in any environment.

Download your free trial version of ipMonitor!

Cheers,
Henrik Walther

Should you have any ideas for content in future editions of the MSExchange.org newsletter, you're more than welcome to shoot me an e-mail at Henrik@msexchange.org.

Note:
Should you have any ideas for content in future editions of the MSExchange.org newsletter, you are more than welcome to shoot me an e-mail at Henrik@msexchange.org

2. Order Henrik Walther's Exchange Server 2007 book

3. MSExchange.org Learning Zone Articles of Interest

We have a great group of articles in the Learning Zone that will help you get a handle on your most difficult configuration issues. Here are just a few of the newer and more interesting articles:

• Re-installing the Cluster nodes in an Exchange 2007 CCR-based Mailbox Server Setup (Part 2)
• Removing The Last Exchange 2003 Server From Exchange 2007 (Part 4)
• Migrating from POP/IMAP to Exchange Server 2007 using Microsoft Transport Suite (Part 2)
• Re-installing the Cluster nodes in an Exchange 2007 CCR-based Mailbox Server Setup (Part 1)
• GroupWise to Exchange 2007 - Interoperability and Migration (Part 7)
• Removing The Last Exchange 2003 Server From Exchange 2007 (Part 3)
• User Administration in Exchange 2007 using Powershell CmdLets
• Uncovering the Exchange 2007 Edge Transport Server (Part 2)
• Removing The Last Exchange 2003 Server From Exchange 2007 (Part 2)

4. KB Articles of the Month

Here are some interesting and useful MSExchange related articles posted by Microsoft in the last month:

Exchange 2007

• You are prompted for your credentials three times and you receive an error message when you use the Outlook Anywhere feature to connect to an Exchange Server 2007 Service Pack 1-based server that is running Windows Server 2008
• Error message when you try to create a Public Folder database in Exchange Server 2007: "Exchange is unable to create a public folder tree"
• Error message when you enter logon credentials after an Outlook Web Access session times out in Exchange Server 2007: "Server Error in '/ExchWeb/bin' Application"
• Error message when you import a .pst file by running the Import-Mailbox cmdlet  in Exchange Server 2007: "Unable to make connection to the server":
• The reminder is triggered earlier than expected when an Exchange Server 2007 server receives an iCalendar meeting request message over an SMTP server
• Description of Update Rollup 3 for Exchange Server 2007 Service Pack 1
• Error message when an Exchange 2007-based user sends a meeting request to a resource that is located in a Lotus Domino resource reservation database: "Error autoprocessing message"
• External e-mail message senders receive an NDR when you select the Turkish language setting on a computer that is running Exchange Server 2007 Service Pack 1
• A storage group may not mount after you move the resources from the active node to the passive node while the backup is in progress in Exchange Server 2007
• It takes a long time for the Exchange Management Console to load in an Exchange Server 2007 organization that was deployed in a multiple-domain environment
• You cannot run the New-X400AuthoritativeDomain cmdlet successfully in an Exchange Server 2007 environment if an X.400 address contains a space character
• OVA announces "Unrecognized caller" in an Exchange Server 2007 environment even though Outlook and Outlook Web Access correctly resolve the caller address
• The heading of the "State" column is translated incorrectly in the German version of the Exchange Management Console in Exchange Server 2007
• You cannot log on to Outlook Web Access in an Exchange Server 2007 environment, and you receive an error message: "HTTP Error 403.4"
• You cannot control the behavior of attachments on mobile devices by using the ActiveSync policy in Exchange Server 2007 Service Pack 1
• MS08-039: Vulnerabilities in Outlook Web Access for Exchange Server could allow elevation of privilege
• Web services sends meeting request information that has an incorrect time if a delegate modifies an appointment in an Exchange Server 2007 environment
• The W3wp.exe process may intermittently stop responding, and event ID 1000 is logged in Exchange Server 2007 Service Pack 1
• Description of Update Rollup 7 for Exchange Server 2007
• A meeting reminder is still active when you configure Outlook to send no reminders to an Exchange Server 2007 user
• How to disable the "Sent by Microsoft Exchange Server 2007" branding sentence in an Exchange Server 2007 DSN message
• The icons that represent TIFF attachments may not be shown correctly if the e-mail message is viewed by using Outlook Web Access 2007 in an Exchange Server 2007 environment
• You cannot resolve a sender name or a recipient name when the name belongs to an alternative domain tree in Exchange Server 2007
• The e-mail address of a contact does not appear in the Outlook Address Book after you use Exchange Web Services to edit the contact in Exchange Server 2007 with Service Pack 1
• The Availability service may use lots of memory on an Exchange Server 2007-based computer
• Exchange services cannot be started, and event ID 7024 is logged after you install Symantec Mail Security on a Windows Server 2008-based computer that is running Exchange Server 2007

Exchange 2003

• A MAPI application may close unexpectedly when you use an Exchange MAPI application to connect to an Exchange 2007 server that is running Windows Server 2008
• Description of the security update for Exchange Server 2003 Service Pack 2
• MS08-039: Vulnerabilities in Outlook Web Access for Exchange Server could allow elevation of privilege

5. MSExchange News of the Month

• SAN Certificates finally 100% supported by ISA Server 2006 (SP1)
• More on the Certified Master programs from me, Per, the program owner
• GFI MailSecurity supports Microsoft Windows Server 2008
• Elite Prep Academy Transforms Outlook Web Access Into Communications Hub

6. Ask Henrik Walther a question

QUESTION:

Hi Henrik,
Now that Hyper-V has been released, does that mean that it's now supported to install Exchange 2007 servers in a Hyper-V based virtualization environment?

ANSWER:

Patience, patience, patience! :-) Although Hyper-V recently was released to web; the Exchange Product group does not support any Exchange 2007 server roles running as virtual servers under Hyper-V, yet. However, the Exchange product group will come out with an announcement within 60 days after the release date of Hyper-V, so we are speaking very soon (few days) now.