MSExchange.org Monthly Newsletter of October 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. Running Multiple Simultaneous Outlook Sessions on a single Machine

Okay so this month I wanted to share with you my loyal readers, a little interesting trick I learned a couple of weeks ago. As those of you who keep an eye on the virtualization world should know, version 6.5 of VMware's popular Workstation product was recently released. So what does VMware Workstation have to do with the title of this column? Let me explain!

One thing that has always annoyed me is the fact that you only can run a single instance of Outlook on a machine at a time, well unless you have access to Outlook via a Terminal Server or use tools such as ExtraOutlook from Hammer of God (aka HOG) that is. But these methods are far from perfect. Firstly, very few people have access to Outlook via a terminal server. Secondly, it is problematic to use Outlook configured in cached mode via a terminal server. In addition, ExtraOutlook does not behave well with multiple Outlook instances open, especially not when you have heavy mailboxes or use third party tools such as XOBNI, LinkedIn and ClearContext, etc. Said in another way, I have experienced terrible performance and instability when using ExtraOutlook with multiple Outlook instances running at a time.

So what does a guy like me who wants to have 3 Outlook instances (one to my private Exchange environment currently hosted at Microsoft Exchange Labs, one at the company I work, and one for my vendor account at Microsoft) running at a time?

The solution is a well spec'ed machine and the new version of VMware Workstation, which recently was released in version 6.5. This new version includes a new feature called Unity, which allows you to run one or multiple applications in one or more virtual guests, and then have these published to the virtual host machine. End result is that the applications running in Unity mode look like they are installed directly on the virtual host machine. Now that is what I call a cool new feature.

Here is some more information from the VMware Workstation 6.5 release notes:

Unity mode - Integrate your favorite guest applications with your host. Open the application window, enter Unity mode, and the Workstation window is automatically minimized. The guest application windows look just like host application windows, but with color-coded borders. You can access the virtual machine's Start menu (for Windows virtual machines) or Applications menu (for Linux virtual machines) by placing the mouse pointer over the host's Start or Applications menu, or by using a key combination.

Finally an ideal solution for running multiple Outlook instances on the same physical machine.

Cheers,
Henrik Walther

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:

• A Closer Look at Preparing Active Directory for Exchange 2007 (Part 2)
• Configuring and Managing Database Size Limit Settings for Exchange 2007 SP1
• Managing Receive Connectors (Part 4)
• Exchange 2007 Install and Configuration from the command line (Part 1)
• A Closer Look at Preparing Active Directory for Exchange 2007 (Part 1)
• How to set the default language for OWA 2007
• Managing Receive Connectors (Part 3)
• Uncovering the Exchange 2007 Edge Transport Server (Part 3)
• Accessing and Using Shared Email Addresses (Part 2)
• Manage Client Permissions on Public Folders using built-in PowerShell scripts

4. KB Articles of the Month

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

Exchange 2007

• Wrong database name is added to Recovery Storage Group when more than one database exists in a Storage Group
• A third-party MAPI client may stop responding when a Global Catalog server goes offline and the referral service is disabled on the Exchange server
• A MAPI application does not work correctly if Exchange 2007 is installed on a Windows Server 2008 server
• Some users must enter their credentials when they access rights-protected messages even though you have deployed the Rights Management Services (RMS) prelicensing agent on an Exchange Server 2007 SP1-based server
• The "Open Message In Conflict" button is not available in the conflict notification message for Exchange Server 2007 users
• Error message when users use an SMTP client to send e-mail messages in Exchange Server 2007 Service Pack 1: "454 4.7.0 Temporary authentication failure"
• Description of the commands that support the UseRusServer option that is imported in Update Rollup 4 for Exchange Server 2007 Service Pack 1
• Event ID 1113 is logged in the Application log on a Unified Messaging (UM) server when users contact the UM server by using secured connections
• The W3svc log reports the incorrect number of attachments on an Exchange Server 2007 server that has deployed Exchange ActiveSync Service (EAS)
• Users do not receive information in DSN messages in Exchange Server 2007 with Service Pack 1
• Event ID 7034 may be logged in the Application log in Exchange Server 2007 when an MAPI application tries to access a mailbox in a certain way
• An In-Policy request that is forwarded to delegate seems to be an Out-Of-Policy request if a user submits an In-Policy meeting request against a room mailbox of Exchange Server 2007
• Messages are converted to a very small font size in Outlook Web Access and in Outlook 2003 when you use Exchange Server 2007
• Error when you use an IMAP4 client or a POP3 client to log on to a delegate mailbox of Exchange Server 2007: "800cccd1"
• An error occurs when you use the Export-mailbox or Restore-mailbox command to migrate certain mailboxes on Exchange Server 2007: "error code -1056749164"
• After you move a mailbox from Exchange Server 2003 to Exchange Server 2007 Service Pack 1, you cannot edit rules in Outlook Web Access
• Error message when Exchange users try to access public folders that are hosted on Exchange Server 2003 by using Outlook Web Access for Exchange Server 2007: "Outlook Web Access is unable to open public folders"
• Description of improvements in functionality that occur in Exchange Web Services operations after you install Update Rollup 4 for Exchange Server 2007 Service Pack 1
• Log file drives on the SCR target may eventually fill up and cause replication failure in Exchange Server 2007 Service Pack 1
• TAB symbols may be converted incorrectly to spaces in Exchange Server 2007
• You cannot configure Exchange Server 2007 so that the simple display name appears in outgoing messages
• Certificates that contain wildcard characters may not work correctly on an Exchange 2007 Service Pack 1-based server
• You can change the method for transfer encoding after you apply Update Rollup 4 for Exchange Server 2007 Service Pack 1
• The provisioning process is unsuccessful when you use Identity Lifecycle Manager (ILM) 2007 to provision user objects to an Exchange Server 2007 resource forest
• Event ID 115 may be logged intermittently on a computer that is running Exchange Server 2007 with Service Pack 1
• Event ID 5000 occurs when the Exchange IMAP4 worker process crashes intermittently in Exchange Server 2007
• An embedded message is removed from the attachment list on Exchange Server 2007 if the embedded message subject ends with .com, .exe, or any other blocked extension
• You experience issues during the Exchange Online trial period or during an e-mail coexistence period between Exchange Online and Exchange Server 2007

Exchange 2003

• In Exchange Server 2003, the Mailbox Management process is stopped at a specific user when you start the Mailbox Management process by right-clicking the server object in Exchange System Manager
• Event ID 3086 occurs on an Exchange Server 2003 when public folder owners receive a conflict notification message 
• A third-party MAPI client may stop responding when a Global Catalog server goes offline and the referral service is disabled on the Exchange server
• The memory usage of the Store.exe process increases abnormally on an Exchange Server 2003-based server 
• The envelope journal report and the attached clone message are displayed incorrectly after you enable the Envelope Journaling feature on an Exchange Server 2003 computer
• You may be unable to view free/busy calendar information when you use an Outlook 2007 application
• The logon process is unsuccessful and you receive a "MAPI_E_FAILONEPROVIDER (0x8004011D)" error message in an Exchange Server 2003 environment

5. MSExchange News of the Month

• My latest Exchange Queue & A Column for TechNet Magazine has been published
• Ilse Van Criekinge's Exchange Management Shell Book

6. Ask Henrik Walther a question

QUESTION:

According to the white paper “Microsoft Support Policies and Recommendations for Exchange Servers in Hardware Virtualization Environments” that can be found here, it is now supported to install Exchange Server 2007 SP1 on Windows Server 2008 based servers running on virtual hardware that uses Hyper-V Technology or Microsoft Hyper-V Server.

Does this mean that Exchange Server 2007 SP1 finally is supported on virtual hardware that uses VMware ESX Server?

ANSWER:

Yes, since VMware finally is in the Server Virtualization Validation Program (SVVP) and have been through the required testing, it means that it now is supported to install Exchange Server 2007 SP1 on Windows 2008 running on virtual hardware that uses VMware ESX 3.5 Update 2 (see this link for details).

Be aware that the statements in KB article 897615 still hold true. From the article:

"Microsoft will support server operating systems subject to the Microsoft Support Lifecycle policy for its customers who have support agreements when the operating system runs virtualized on non-Microsoft hardware virtualization software. This support will include coordinating with the vendor to jointly investigate support issues. As part of the investigation, Microsoft may still require the issue to be reproduced independently from the non-Microsoft hardware virtualization software. Where issues are confirmed to be unrelated to the non-Microsoft hardware virtualization software, Microsoft will support its software in a manner that is consistent with support provided when that software is not running together with non-Microsoft hardware virtualization software."