Exchange 2010 SP1 – prerequisites information

Before installing Service Pack 1 for Exchange 2010 there are some updates that need to be downloaded and installed first. Service Pack 1 installation will inform you that hotfixes with their appropriate KBxxxxxx numbers should be installed. When you open the links in Microsoft’s web site, you will find out that multiple files exist and it is not quite clear what file to download. I suggest you look into this table provided by MS Team.

Hotfix	Download	Windows Server 2008	Windows Server 2008 R2	Windows 7 & Windows Vista
979744 A .NET Framework 2.0-based Multi-AppDomain application stops responding when you run the application	MSDN or Microsoft Connect	Windows6.0-KB979744-x64.msu (CBS: Vista/Win2K8)	Windows6.1-KB979744-x64.msu (CBS: Win7/Win2K8 R2)	N. A.
983440 An ASP.NET 2.0 hotfix rollup package is available for Windows 7 and for Windows Server 2008 R2	Request from CSS	N. A.	Yes	N.A.
977624 AD RMS clients do not authenticate federated identity providers in Windows Server 2008 or in Windows Vista. Without this update, Active Directory Rights Management Services (AD RMS) features may stop working	Request from CSS using the “View and request hotfix downloads” link in the KBA | US-English	Select the download for Windows Vista for the x64 platform.	N.A.	N.A.
979917 Two issues occur when you deploy an ASP.NET 2.0-based application on a server that is running IIS 7.0 or IIS 7.5 in Integrated mode	Request from CSS using the Hotfix Request Web Submission Form or by phone (no charge)	Yes	N. A.	N. A.
973136, FIX: ArgumentNullException exception error message when a .NET Framework 2.0 SP2-based application tries to process a response with zero-length content to an asynchronous ASP.NET Web service request: "Value cannot be null".	Microsoft Connect	Windows6.0-KB973136-x64.msu	N.A.	N. A.
977592 RPC over HTTP clients cannot connect to the Windows Server 2008 RPC over HTTP servers that have RPC load balancing enabled.	Request from CSS	Select the download for Windows Vista (x64)	N.A.	N. A.
979099 An update is available to remove the application manifest expiry feature from AD RMS clients.	Download Center	N. A.	Windows6.1-KB979099-x64.msu	N. A.
982867 WCF services that are hosted by computers together with a NLB fail in .NET Framework 3.5 SP1	MSDN	Windows6.0-KB982867-v2-x64.msu (Vista)	Windows6.1-KB982867-v2-x64.msu (Win7)	X86: Windows6.1-KB982867-v2-x86.msu (Win7) x64: Windows6.1-KB982867-v2-x64.msu (Win7)
977020 FIX: An application that is based on the Microsoft .NET Framework 2.0 Service Pack 2 and that invokes a Web service call asynchronously throws an exception on a computer that is running Windows 7.	Microsoft Connect	N. A.	x64: Windows6.1-KB977020-v2-x64.msu	x64: Windows6.1-KB977020-v2-x64.msu X86: Windows6.1-KB977020-v2-x86.msu

Select appropriate files for appropriate operating system and install them. Restart your system afterwards. Continue with Exchange 2010 installation.

New version of Microsoft Exchange Server Public Folder DAV-based Administration Tool

New version of Microsoft Exchange Server Public Folder DAV-based Administration Tool is released and can be found on http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?familyid=635BE792-D8AD-49E3-ADA4-E2422C0AB424&displaylang=en

Outlook keeps asking for credentials when connecting to Exchange 2010 server

Strange behavior occurred after installation of Update Rollup 3 for Exchange 2010, where Outlook users were constantly asked to provide credentials despite they were logged onto domain.

The problem was in Internet Information Server (IIS) RPC virtual application folder on which suddenly Windows authentication method was disabled.

After we enabled Windows authentication, it worked for 5 minutes and then authentication was automatically disabled again.

Second restart of HUB/CAS and MAILBOX server solved the problem.

Backup/Restore of Exchange 2010 using Windows Backup

All of us, who grew up using ntbackup for backing up Exchange databases by using disk-to-disk-to-tape method, were unsatisfied when we discovered that in Windows 2008 it was not possible anymore to use ntbackup as the tool of choice. Exchange 2007 backup was therefore complicated or impossible to execute with native tools.

With Exchange 2010 and Windows 2008 R2 it is possible to backup/recover Exchange databases by using Windows Backup tool. It uses VSS engine but supports truncating the Exchange logs when proper backup method is used.

When creating Backup Schedule it is necessary to select Custom and not Full server backup. The reason lies in VSS backup method. We need to select VSS Full backup later on.

When we click Advanced settings, VSS full backup must be selected in order logs to be properly truncated.

 

Related article:

http://www.expta.com/2009/10/how-to-backup-exchange-2010-rtm-at.html

Installation of Exchange 2007 SP2 with Windows 2008 R2 Domain Controllers fails because of outdated Best Practices Analyzer files

When trying to install Exchange 2007 SP2 in a network where all domain controllers are Windows 2008 R2 version, setup fails with following error:

[ERROR] Cannot find at least one domain controller running Windows Server 2003 Service Pack 1 or later in domain 'DC=DCName,DC=com,DC=DCName'. This could be the result of moving domain controller objects in Active Directory. Check that at least one domain controller running Windows Server 2003 Service Pack 1 or later is located in the 'Domain Controllers' organizational unit (OU) and rerun setup.

1. Download and extract Exchange 2007 SP2 to a local hard drive.
2. Download the updated ExBPA.PreReqs.xml and ExBPA.Readiness.xml files [click here for download]
3. Save the files to your local hard drive
4. Locate ExBPA.PreReqs.xml and ExBPA.Readiness.Xml files which were extracted from the Exchange 2007 SP2 download. The default location is "Setup\ServerRoles\Common\<language>". Rename original XML files to something else or save them to a different location.
5. Place the ExBPA.PreReqs.xml and ExBPA.Readiness.Xml files which you downloaded into the place of original xml files.
6. Copy the Exchange 2007 SP2 setup files that you have modified to the non-Internet connected Exchange Server which you are trying to upgrade to Exchange 2007 SP2.
7. Run Setup on the non-Internet connected computer by using the files you copied as per above.

Related article:

http://msexchangeteam.com/archive/2009/09/15/452494.aspx