30 de setembro de 2008

Setembro 2008 - Technical Rollup Mail - Unified Communications

O mais recente* Unified Communications technical rollup cobre os seguintes tópicos:

  • News/Blogs
  • Downloads
  • Events/Webcasts

Como já é habitual, esta informação é disponibilizada todos os meses no Technical Rollup blog.

*ACTUALIZAÇÃO: O October 2008 Technical Rollup Mail - Unified Communications também foi disponibilizado hoje.

29 de setembro de 2008

Novo blog de Unified Communications

Isto era algo que eu andava a planear há algum tempo e finalmente consegui levar avante.

Para os fans do portfolio Microsoft Unified Communications (e também do filme Trainspotting), aqui fica um novo blog: UCspotting - http://blogs.technet.com/ucspotting/.

O blog será dedicado à plataforma de Unified Communications da Microsoft, que inlcui o Office Communications Server e o Exchange.

Espero que gostem.

26 de setembro de 2008

Mailbox Server Role Storage Requirements Calculator v16.0

O Ross Smith IV anunciou no Microsoft Exchange Team Blog que a ferramenta Mailbox Server Role Storage Requirements Calculator foi actualizada para a versão 16.0.

De acordo com a página de updates no blog You Had Me At EHLO, estas são as correcções/melhorias:

  • The changes introduced in v15.6 in the Storage Design worksheet introduced a logic error where the recommended RAID Configuration / Server would recommend a null configuration when you selected "--" for the database disk type in Configuration 3.  This has been corrected to ensure that only enabled disk configurations are considered when making a recommendation.
  • Validation logic was added to the custom database size input factor to remind you that you need to enter in a value greater than 0.
  • Fixed various input factor comments.
  • Fixed RAID-0 calculations for the database and log configuration options 2 and 3.  In previous releases, the RAID-0 values for these configurations were utilizing the RAID-1/0 data points.
  • Updated the backup and restore rate input factors to indicate that these only apply for steaming backup calculations.  Also added validation logic to disable the input options when VSS backup methodologies are chosen.
  • Fixed the streaming backup rate calculations to include all transaction logs generated in a day (user generation + move mailbox).  Previous releases only considered user log generation.
  • Updated the text and note for the "Additional I/O Requirement" field to indicate that the input value is per mailbox server.
  • Added streaming restore calculations for both full database restore and incremental / differential backup restore to the Backup requirements worksheet.
  • Added the following note to the Storage Design worksheet - Important: This tool should only be used for storage modeling purposes.  Please consult with the storage vendor regarding storage design and follow recommended storage design testing processes.  The example configuration provided within this calculator is just that, an example, and as such, each input option needs to be evaluated as to how it will affect your design.

Para obter instruções detalhadas sobre a utilização da ferramenta, consultem Exchange 2007 Mailbox Server Role Storage Requirements Calculator.

Leitura de fim-de-semana

20 de setembro de 2008

Apresentações do Jim McBee das conferências Connections

Jim McBee, Exchange MVP, disponibilizou recentemente no seu blog os links para download de todas as apresentações que ele fez nas últimas conferências Connections:

16 de setembro de 2008

Update for Outlook 2003 (KB924423)

Quem ainda estiver a utilizar o Microsoft Outlook 2003, é provável que tenha interesse em fazer download deste Update for Outlook 2003 (KB924423).

Brief Description
This update provides holidays for the Microsoft Office Outlook 2003 calendar for the years 2007 through 2012.

Overview
You can get specific information about this update in the Microsoft Knowledge Base article Description of the Update for Outlook 2003 (KB924423).
Note: Users of Indonesian, Malay, Urdu, and Vietnamese language versions of Microsoft Office 2003 can download and install office2003-KB924423-fullfile-enu.exe. Refer to the Instructions section below for details.

Instructions
Note: Administrators should refer to the Administrator resources section.
Installation instructions
If you have Microsoft Outlook 2003, do one of the following:

  • Install Update for Outlook 2003 (KB924423). To do this, follow these steps:
    1. Download the .exe file by clicking on the Download button at the top of the page, and then save the file to your hard disk drive.
      • office2003-KB924423-fullfile-enu.exe: You should download this file if you have access to your original product CD-ROM. You might need to provide the installation source during patch installation if you have previously updated your product.
    2. It is recommended that you quit any programs you are running.
    3. In Windows Explorer, double-click the .exe file that you saved to your hard disk drive, and follow the instructions on the screen.

Administrator resources
Administrators working in managed environments can find complete resources for deploying Office updates in an organization on the Office Admin Update Center. On that site, scroll down and look under the Update Resources section for the product version you are updating.
The download for this update is available by clicking on the Download button at the top of the page. You can double-click the executable package to begin installation, or extract the patch files (MSP files) by using a command line. The command line and instructions are included in the Knowledge Base article
(197147): Command-Line Switches For IExpress Software Update Packages.
See the Microsoft Knowledge Base article
Description of the Update for Outlook 2003 (KB924423) for further information about this update.

15 de setembro de 2008

TechNet Magazine - Outubro 2008

A edição de Outubro da TechNet Magazine já está disponível para leitura online ou, se preferirem, podem descarregar todo o conteúdo no formato HTML Help (.chm) para leitura posterior.

E a história deste vez resume-se a um tema muito em voga nos dias que correm: virtualização.

Parece-me por isso que será boa altura para rever mais uma vez a política oficial da Microsoft sobre virtualização de servidores Exchange: Microsoft Support Policies and Recommendations for Exchange Servers in Hardware Virtualization Environments.

 

10 de setembro de 2008

Actualização do filtro Junk Email do Outlook (Setembro 2008)

Está disponível uma nova actualização para o filtro Junk E-mail do Outlook 2003/2007.

"This update provides the Junk E-mail Filter in Microsoft Office Outlook with a more current definition of which e-mail messages should be considered junk e-mail."

O download está disponível para as versões Outlook 2003 e Outlook 2007, ou através do Microsoft Update. Como é habitual, está acompanhado pelo respectivo artigo da Knowledge Base:

8 de setembro de 2008

Free: ExInsight for Microsoft Exchange

ExInsight for Microsoft Exchange é um programa grátis de monitorização em tempo real e de estatísticas para o Exchange Server. Aqui fica uma pequena descrição retirada do site da bitrunes:

ExInsight is a free monitoring and statistics tool that provides a real-time view of the internals of Exchange Server transactions and allows you to evaluate individual user's usage of Exchange Server.
This tool is especially useful for Exchange administrators and developers. By using this tool, you can gather real-time data about the users in an Exchange environment and learn more about the inner workings of MAPI, OWA, POP3, IMAP4, NNTP and other protocols.
ExInsight helps you to understand how individual users affect the performance of an Exchange Server, analyze application usage of Microsoft Exchange, and guide troubleshooting of applications that depend on Microsoft Exchange.

 

 

5 de setembro de 2008

Leitura de fim-de-semana

3 de setembro de 2008

Scalable Networking Pack (SNP) hotfix para Windows 2003

O Scalable Networking Pack (SNP) é uma funcionalidade que foi introduzida com o SP1 do Windows Server 2003 e que também existe no Windows Server 2008 (mas está desligada por omissão).

Embora o SNP seja uma boa ideia, já que pode melhorar o desempenho da rede, a verdade é que também pode causar alguns comportamentos estranhos no Exchange (para mais detalhes, leiam Windows 2003 Scalable Networking pack and its possible effects on Exchange).

Após a notícia destes problemas, a Microsoft lançou um hotfix que desligava o SNP. Um novo hotfix foi agora lançado, recomendo que quem tenha instalado o primeiro faça agora a respectiva actualização.

Links relacionados:

Exchange Server ActiveSync Web Administration Tool v08.01.0240.006

A Microsoft Exchange Server ActiveSync Web Administration Tool v08.01.0240.006 está disponível para download.

Overview
The Microsoft Exchange Server ActiveSync Web Administration tool enables administrators to manage the process of remotely erasing lost, stolen, or otherwise compromised mobile devices.

By using the Exchange Server ActiveSync Web Administration tool, administrators can perform the following actions:
• View a list of all devices that are being used by any enterprise user
• Select/De-select devices to be remotely erased
• View the status of pending remote erase requests for each device
• View a transaction log that indicates which administrators have issued remote erase commands, in addition to the devices those commands pertained to

The Microsoft Exchange Server ActiveSync Web Administration Tool is designed for use with Exchange Server 2003 Service Pack 2 and Exchange Server 2007 RTM and SP1 and compatible mobile devices.

Download Guidance
There are three versions of the Exchange Server ActiveSync Web Adminstration Tool that you may download depending on the version of Exchange deployed in your organization.

First, for Exchange Server 2003 SP2 only deployments, please select the downloadable file named "MobileAdmin (Ex2003).exe".

Second, for Exchange Server 2007 only or mixed Exchange environments (Exchange Server 2007 and 2003 SP2) where this tool will be installed on a 32-bit Windows Operating System, please select the downloadable file named "MobileAdmin (32-bit).msi".

Third, for Exchange deployments similiar to the second deployment scenario above, but this tool will be installed on a 64bit Windows Operating System, please select the downloadable file named "MobileAdmin.msi".

2 de setembro de 2008

Email Prioritizer - como gerir a sobrecarga de email

Os Microsoft Office Labs lançaram recentemente um protótipo de uma ferramenta que permite gerir a sobrecarga de correio electrónico: Email Prioritizer.

"Email Prioritizer is a plug-in for Microsoft Office Outlook 2007 (running on Exchange Server) that helps you manage email overload. This concept test provides a “do not disturb” button that temporarily pauses new email arrival, and prioritizes email with a 0-3 star rating system. We hope this prototype helps you focus on the emails that are most important to you."

Requisitos: Esta ferramenta requer o Outlook 2007 e uma conta Exchange Server.

Links Relacionados: