leedesmond’s blog

Exclusively for our Swiss IT Pro User Group members at our monthly event next Tue 2 Jun 2009 (1745 - 2030 hrs), we shall be holding a special edition of the “Swiss Roadshow: Exchange Server 2010 E14″ currently running across Switzerland that you should not miss.

Take this opportunity to network with the core IT Pro community team, peers, Microsoft techies and other Microsoft Most Valuable Professional at this event. To register for this free event at Digicomp Limmatstrasse 50, Zurich, send an email with your first and last name to info (a+) swissitpro {d0+} ch. More information here.

Technorati tags: Community/User Group, Events,Exchange Server, Beta

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Office Communicator Phone Edition (2007 R2)
This is an update (v6907.31) for standalone Microsoft partner IP phones (e.g. Polycom CX700, LG-Nortel IP 8540) with new functionality and enhanced user experience from single sign-on, Office Communicator 2007 R2 PC integration, support for OCS 2007 R2 voice features, use as audio device in Office Live Meeting to audio quality enhancements.

Office Communications Server 2007 R2 Release Notes
Consult these important updated documents (in .htm format) prior to deployment of Office Communications Server 2007 R2 server roles, Office Communications Server 2007 R2 clients and devices (Communicator, Phone Edition and Mobile for Java clients, and Group Chat feature).

Case Study on how MINDS reaps benefits from better Collaboration and Virtualisation
See how the solution mix of using Exchange 2007 and Windows Server 2008 enabled an organization to realize 50% reduction in management and maintenance effort and boost productivity through improved features and collaboration.

Technorati tags: LCS/OCS, OCS 2007 R2, Exchange Server

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Building an OCS 2007 R2 Enterprise pool requires a back-end database running either SQL Server 2005 SP2 or 2008. As of R2, the recommended setup is the consolidated topology although the expanded configuration continues to be supported*. The database application can be 32- or 64- bit and the edition chosen is often dependent on the features required e.g. scalability or active/passive fail-over clustering.

A dedicated machine installed with SQL Server must already be present in order to receive the Back-End database. The latter will be automatically built when the R2 Enterprise pool is created. Since the Default Instance of SQL Server communicates over TCP port 1433 by default, you must explicitly configure Windows Firewall to permit this inbound traffic (to SQL) if the operating system you are running is base on Windows Server 2008. This statement applies to both SQL Server 2008 and SQL Server 2005.

You should closely follow the guide here or here to configure Windows Firewall for SQL Server 2005/2008 access. Failure to comply with this requirement will cause R2 setup to appear to hang and then terminate with an error (need to cancel without possibility to proceed further):

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Error
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Unable to retrieve the WMI setting of MSFT_SIPLogSetting from pool backend ’sqlservername’. Please ensure the backend database exists and is reachable.
(Error code: 0×800407D0)
—————————
OK
—————————

As most non SQL Administrators would agree, a word on how to correctly install SQL Server 2005/2008 for R2 is in order. In addition to the SQL Server Database Services component, you should at least also select the Workstation components during setup. The latter is essential if you intend to perform administrative tasks on the Back-End server itself, such as creating new SQL instance via a GUI. Should you start off by installing, say SQL Server 2005 RTM and then apply SP2 later, you will not be able to add new components at a later time if you only have the original RTM media. Keep this in mind when you install SQL Server using the instructions here.

For a brand new SQL Server 2005 setup as an example, consider choosing as a starting point to keep things simple …

… the Default instance (MSSQLSERVER)

… the built-in Local system account (service account)

… Windows Authentication Mode

… and the SQL collations settings to “Dictionary order, case-insensitive, for use with 1252 Character Set” (backward compatibility)

With the Back-End database installed and properly configured, the “Partial” warning should not even appear where you execute Step 1: Add Server to Pool**. In other words, you should re-run this step if required until only “Success” is reported when you review the logs. All in all, this should pave the way for a less bumpy ride with subsequent steps in deploying R2 Enterprise Edition.

See also:
How to install Office Communications Server 2007 R2 to a SQL Server Named Instance using a non default TCP\IP port

* via command-line only
** Add Enterprise Edition Server to Pool

Technorati tags: LCS/OCS, OCS 2007 R2, SQL Server 200x/2008

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Update Rollup 8 for Exchange Server 2007 Service Pack 1 (KB968012)
You can only apply this cumulative update rollup to the SP1 version of Exchange Server 2007. Both x86 and x64 versions are available where the former is only supported for Exchange Server 2007 management tools on Windows Server 2003 or R2 with SP2, Windows Server 2008, Vista and Windows XP SP2. Note that this update rollup is expected to be included in Service Pack 2 for Exchange Server 2007 in Q3 2009 (read more). Consult KB937052 for update rollup packages that apply to Exchange Server 2007 RTM.

Microsoft Exchange Hosted Services Directory Synchronization Tool 8.1
With this DST tool, you can synchronize end-user proxy addresses from your on-premise Active Directory and Exchange Server environment with your Exchange Hosted Filtering, Exchange Hosted Archive and Exchange Hosted Continuity services .

Microsoft Online Service Level Agreement (SLA)
“You may view the SLAs if you have purchased or are considering the purchase of Online Services from Microsoft. You agree not to disclose the SLAs to any other third party …”. Check out the SLA for the respective online services: Microsoft Office Communications Online SLA, Microsoft Exchange Online (SLA) and Microsoft Exchange Hosted Filtering SLA.

Technorati tags: LCS/OCS, OCS 2007 R2, Exchange Server

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The May 2009 cumulative update for Office Communicator R2 fixes the issue described in KB971083 where a machine running MOC build 3.5.6907.9 does not initiate an Automatic Update download. This brings the MOC build to 3.5.6907.22. For organizations using the Exchange Server 2010 Web Services, this update (#2 for MOC R2) should address the communication issue of MOC with the former as well.

This update also includes 9 other previously released updates. Download the Microsoft Office Communicator 2007 R2 Hotfix KB 971083 here for MOC R2 running under Windows Vista and XP SP2 or higher.

Keywords: patch, hotfix, update, rollup package, moc, ocs, r2

Technorati tags: LCS/OCS, OCS 2007 R2

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Office Communications Server 2007 R2 has significant exciting new features which make its deployment well worth considering. In my latest article, I focus on using the side-by-side method to migrate existing OCS RTM servers and clients over to R2 that you can likewise adopt to create an entirely new R2 installation.

You will find key discussions around migration strategies, pre-migration tasks, infrastructure readiness to administrative considerations that will guide you in arriving at an environment ready for peaceful OCS and R2 coexistence.

You can read the article at simple-talk online.

Technorati tags: Community/User Group, LCS/OCS,  OCS 2007

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A very common question and popular deployment scenarios from proof-of-concept to pilot testing to live small scale rollout, virtualization of any OCS 2007 R2 server roles is not supported in production by Microsoft. This is regardless of the virtualization platform or environment - until now.

Virtualization of the core Unified Communications features and corresponding server roles - Instant Messaging, Presence and Group Chat - is now officially supported on Hyper-V and certified partner solutions under the Server Virtualization Validation Program (SVVP). All the virtualized server roles and back-end database in the consolidated Enterprise pool* topology are required to run x64 bit versions of Windows Server 2008, OCS 2007 R2 and SQL Server 2008.

In addition, the Monitoring (CDR only) and Archiving server roles can be included as part of the virtualized Enterprise pool. However, these roles must be deployed on physical machines and connected to the virtualized pool. Further, support is extended to the virtualization of the Edge Access Server role to provide federation, Public IM Connectivity (PIC) and remote access capability for Instant Messaging.

All other OCS server roles associated with real-time media such as audio/video, Enterprise Voice, Communicator Web Access, Remote Call Control (RCC), application/desktop sharing, Web Conferencing, etc. as well as a few other roles like Director and Response Group Service remain unsupported in a virtualized environment. This means that the respective server roles can only be deployed separately or in a new pool on physical boxes (internal) and on collocated Edge Web and A/V servers (external).

It is recommended that you consult the following references for more information on this exciting subject and related topics:
- Running Microsoft Office Communications Server 2007 R2 in a Virtualized Topology (link)
- Support for the Microsoft unified communications clients in Application Virtualization environments (link)
- Office Communications Server 2007 R2 Virtualization (link)
- TechNet Library Virtualization Support (link)
- OCS 2007 R2: Supported Server Role Collocation (link)

* Standard Edition server and Enterprise pool expanded configuration are not supported

Technorati tags: LCS/OCS, OCS 2007, Virtualization

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Attention VMware Infrastructure Administrators! Check out a new book by fellow MVP Hal Rottenberg entitled “Managing VMware Infrastructure with Windows PowerShell TFM” (ISBN: 0982131402). This jammed packed reference published by SAPIEN is filled with great explanations, practical tips and examples to help you deploy Windows PowerShell to better manage and administer your VI3 infrastructure.

I am glad to be one of the many contributing technical reviewers for this book in the MVP and MCT community :-). Go check it out and grab your personal copy today!

Technorati tags: Info, Community/User Group, PowerShell

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Update (Aug 2009):
This post is superseded by “Admin Pack for Windows 7 (RTM Update)“.

—

With the Release Candidate comes an update of the AdminPak or Remote Server Administration Tools (RSAT) for Windows 7 RC. Available in x86 and x64 versions, you can remotely manage some or all features and roles targeting machines running 64-bit Windows Server 2008 R2* or 32-bit / 64-bit Windows Server 2008* and Windows Server 2003.

Do not mix with the same version, different language edition of RSAT or older versions of Administration Tools (Windows 2000/2003) on the same machine. Supported for installation on Professional, Enterprise and Ultimate editions of Windows 7 RC.

More information and download here.

* full or Server Core editions

Technorati tags: Windows 7 Client, Windows Server 2008

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Two updates are now available for Internet Explorer 8 running under Windows 7 RC1:

- Description of the Compatibility View list in Windows Internet Explorer 8
- You receive an error message in Internet Explorer 8 on a computer that is running Windows 7 Release Candidate (RC): “A webpage is not responding”

You can either use the built-in Windows Update or manually download then install KB960321 and KB970858.

Update (7 May 2009)
- A folder that is created under the root of the system drive is missing entries in its security descriptor, which may cause some application failures on the English version of Windows 7 Release Candidate 32-bit Ultimate (KB970789)

Technorati tags: Windows 7 Client, Beta

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