Pro-Exchange,Lync & Office 365

Lync 2013 Cumulative Update May 2013

Johan Delimon — Wed, 15 May 2013 13:31:00 GMT

Microsoft has released an update for Microsoft Lync 2013. This update provides the latest fixes for the 32-bit and 64-bit editions of Lync 2013. Additionally, this update contains stability and performance improvements. This update version is 15.0.4481.1004.

Note To determine the version of Lync 2013, follow these steps:

In Lync 2013, click the Options button.
Under the Help menu, click About Microsoft Lync.

This update also fixes the issues that were previously listed in the following Microsoft Knowledge Base article:

2760512 Description of the Lync 2013 updates: February 2013
2760556 Description of the Lync 2013 update 15.0.4481.1000: March 2013

Description of the Lync 2013 update 15.0.4481.1004: May 2013
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2768004/en-us

Update for Microsoft Lync 2013 (KB2768004) 64-Bit Edition
http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=39009

Update for Microsoft Lync 2013 (KB2768004) 32-Bit Edition
http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=39008

Latest Skype update on Windows Phone 8 allows for Microsoft Accounts and VOIP Calls to Lync

Johan Delimon — Wed, 15 May 2013 00:27:00 GMT

I have added my Lync account to my favorites (I cannot find how to add lync accounts to the Skype mobile app but that probably requires the Desktop Client)

I can see the presence clearly in front of the name but the name somehow gets truncated first + last name without any spaces.

I can check the profile where it says Messenger/Microsoft Account which is not correct, this must be Lync Contact

Chat Works as expected

Calling from Lync to Skype on Windows Phone 8

Skype does not recognize the Lync sip address

But the call completes successfull

Dialing from the Skype mobile client on Windows Phone 8 works

Call completes successfull

Bring up the Chat and Profile tab works

The recent call list shows the outgoing call correctly but the incomming call as Unknown Number

Microsoft promised to bring the full Skype integration by june 2013, clearly everything is not functional yet but we are almost there.

Happy Skyping and Lyncing

Microsoft releases the new (re-branded) Exchange 2013 Server Role Requirements calculator!

Michael Van Horenbeeck — Tue, 14 May 2013 13:32:00 GMT

Just moments ago, Microsoft unleashed the all-new (or should I say re-branded) Exchange 2013 Server Role Requirements Calculator to the world.

Along with it's release, Microsoft also made clear that multi-role deployments are still the way forward:

"Like with Exchange 2010, the recommendation in Exchange 2013 is to deploy multi-role servers"

Re-branding doesn't mean that it changed completely. At least not the interface.

So don't worry, the tool itself still looks very familiar and works very much in the same way as previous builds of the tool did.

Most of the changes were made under the hood. The tool now also provides sizing information for the Client Access Server role and takes into account the changes introduced by Exchange 2013's new architecture.

Alongside a series of other improvements, a lot of changes were made in the area of High Availability calculations, including:

You can now specify the Witness Server location, either primary, secondary, or tertiary datacenter.

- The calculator allows you to simulate WAN failures, so that you can see how the databases are distributed during the worst failure mode.

- The calculator allows you to name servers and define a database prefix which are then used in the deployment scripts.

- The distribution algorithm supports single datacenter HA deployments, Active/Passive deployments, and Active/Active deployments.

- The calculator includes a PowerShell script to automate DAG creation.

In the event you are deploying your high availability architecture with direct attached storage, you can now specify the maximum number of database volumes each server will support. For example, if you are deploying a server architecture that can support 24 disks, you can specify a maximum support of 20 database volumes (leaving 2 disks for system, 1 disk for Restore Volume, and 1 disks as a spare for AutoReseed).

To download the Calculator and have a look at the full article for the Exchange team, have a look here: http://blogs.technet.com/b/exchange/archive/2013/05/14/released-exchange-2013-server-role-requirements-calculator.aspx

Enjoy!

Michael

Updated Lync Bandwidth Calculator now supports both Lync 2010 & 2013

Johan Delimon — Mon, 13 May 2013 23:30:00 GMT

A Microsoft Excel spreadsheet that calculates WAN bandwidth requirements for a Lync Server deployment based on administrator-specified user profiles and network information, and a Word document user guide that accompanies the spreadsheet.

Lync 2010 and 2013 Bandwidth Calculator version 2.0
The updated version 2.0 of the Lync Bandwidth calculator tool can be used to estimate network bandwidth consumption by Lync clients in enterprise WAN networks with either Lync 2010 or Lync 2013 deployments. It can also be used to size bandwidth needed for traffic of remote Lync users.

New features and improvements:
Scalability increased to 300 branch sites

The following types of Lync 2013 clients (in addition to Lync 2010 client):

Lync 2013 client
Lync 2013 VDI plugin
Lync 2013 Web Application (LWA)

Lync 2013 client new features that have influence over bandwidth consumption

Stereo audio codec support (in calls with Lync Room Systems)
H.264 support for P2P calls and video conferencing calls
Multiview Gallery support with new video traffic model

Ability to select type of Lync client per persona, with both Lync 2010 and 2013 clients in mixed deployments or migration scenarios

Internet traffic calculations (traffic of remote Lync users)

Traffic aggregation per user definable “QoS traffic classes”

“Custom thresholds” for addressing Lync deployments with very small branch sites

Features not yet supported (but on the roadmap)

Lync 2013 Mobile clients
Lync Online deployments – although a lot of work is done already, just not yet exposed J
Internet breakouts located in branch sites

Caveats, assumptions

For VDI plugin, assumption is that it is running on regular PC or VDI terminal with 2+ cores
Tool assumes that WAN is a single MPLS cloud that interconnects all the sites

Download:
http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=19011

Finally! First Exchange 2013 Sizing Information released.

Michael Van Horenbeeck — Tue, 07 May 2013 11:12:00 GMT

Yesterday, Microsoft’s CXP team (Customer Experience Team) released a lengthy blog post containing practical information towards sizing of Exchange 2013. A moment we all have been waiting for since the product was released in October of last year.

With this new information, it will finally become possible to create a decenter design and migration approach.

Unfortunately, there’s still no trace of the Mailbox Server Role Requirements Calculator which is – let’s face it – the reference tool when properly sizing an Exchange Server environment. The only mention in the article states that it’s coming somewhere later this quarter. Looks like we’re going to have to be a little more patient, don’t we?

Nonetheless, with the information from the article, you should be set on your way as it contains all the information you need to properly size a new Exchange 2013 Server environment. Please do keep in mind that this is Microsoft’s first guidance on this topic and is likely to change over time as customers and also Microsoft gain more experience with the product in more real-life deployments.

Over the course of the next weeks, I hope to provide you with some comparative figures between Exchange 2010 and Exchange 2013, but for now it looks like Exchange 2013 is quite hungry on Memory and CPU. However, from an architecture point-of-view, it’s not all that surprising. After all, memory and CPU are relatively cheap these days.

Stay tuned for more info!

To read the original article containing the different calculations, have a look at the following article:

http://blogs.technet.com/b/exchange/archive/2013/05/06/ask-the-perf-guy-sizing-exchange-2013-deployments.aspx

Microsoft Exchange PST Capture 2.0 available for download

Johan Delimon — Mon, 29 Apr 2013 22:12:00 GMT

Microsoft Exchange PST Capture 2.0 is used to discover and import .pst files into Exchange Server or Exchange Online

PST Capture 2.0 is used to discover and import Outlook Personal Folder (.pst) File Format files into Exchange Server and Exchange Online. PST Capture helps an organization that wishes to gain more control over their email data repositories by placing them into Exchange. By optionally installing PST Capture Agents on target machines, administrators can determine where .pst files are located and who their file owner is via the PST Capture Console. Administrators can import .pst files via Import Lists to Exchange Server or Exchange Online. Data can be directly imported into the primary mailbox or associated archive mailbox.

Download
http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=36789

Lync 2013 Technet Webcast Recordings now online!

Ruben Nauwelaers — Fri, 26 Apr 2013 10:01:00 GMT

What's New For Lync 2013 Clients And Devices

About This Video

Microsoft® Lync® 2013 is an enterprise-ready unified communications platform. Lync connects hundreds of millions of people everywhere, on Windows 8 and other devices, as part of their everyday productivity experience. Microsoft Lync 2013 has a redesigned user interface and important new features, Microsoft Lync 2013 delivers a familiar and engaging communications experience accessible across a variety of devices and platforms. In this session we will focus primarily on the new client features.

Presented By: Ruben Nauwelaers

Download Slides

Watch/Download

What's New In Lync Server 2013 - Persistent Chat

About This Video

Microsoft Lync Server 2013 Persistent Chat Server enables you to participate in multiparty, topic-based conversations that persist over time. The Lync 2013 client now integrates the features previously provided by Lync 2010 Group Chat client, a separate group chat client is no longer required.

Presented By: Ruben Nauwelaers

Download Slides

Watch/Download

Microsoft Lync Phone Edition April 2013

Johan Delimon — Fri, 19 Apr 2013 12:49:00 GMT

This cumulative update fixes the following issues:

2828830 Exchange UM-disabled user cannot check call logs on an Aries or Tanjay telephone that is running Lync Phone Edition
2829269 Message waiting indicator light on an Aries telephone that is running Lync Phone Edition doesn’t turn off after a user plays all unopened voice mail
2829272 "Music on hold" feature doesn't work for Lync Phone Edition for an Aries telephone when an audio file is configured

Microsoft Lync Phone Edition for Polycom CX500, Polycom CX600 and Polycom CX3000
http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=23866

Microsoft Lync Phone Edition for HP 4110 and HP 4120
http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=28158

Microsoft Lync Phone Edition for Aastra 6721ip and Aastra 6725ip
http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=18390

Microsoft Lync Phone Edition for Polycom CX700 and LG-Nortel IP Phone 8540
http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=21644

Lync Conference 2013 Sessions (Video + PPTs) Available for FREE

Johan Delimon — Thu, 18 Apr 2013 07:20:00 GMT

You've been waiting for it and now it's here!

We're excited to announce that all of the great content from Lync Conference 2013 is now available for FREE! Go to LyncConf.com and click on Get Access Now to see all the session recordings and PowerPoints that made Lync Conference a bigger hit than we imagined.

Creation & Management of Persistent Chat Rooms Fails in Lync 2013

Johan Delimon — Wed, 17 Apr 2013 13:56:00 GMT

When trying to Edit or Create a Persistent Chat Room in Lync 2013 you may encounter a problem opening the Persistent Chat Room management web site.

Error : “Server Could not process your request. Please try again later”

While this error does not give you a clear indication what is wrong we can check other things on the server.

Check the Persistent Chat Server state
Check the Application log for ASP.NET Errors
Use OCSLogger.exe and find problems related to Persistent Chat

The state of the Persistent Chat service is normal

We find an ASP.NET error but without any clear indication what is wrong

Event code: 3005
Event message: An unhandled exception has occurred.
Event time: 4/17/2013 1:22:39 PM
Event time (UTC): 4/17/2013 11:22:39 AM
Event ID: d66e27a7a4ee4b81a7a95c97c3a48b92
Event sequence: 11
Event occurrence: 5
Event detail code: 0

Application information:
    Application domain: /LM/W3SVC/34578/ROOT/PersistentChat/RM/Handler-7-130106607609071496
    Trust level: Full
    Application Virtual Path: /PersistentChat/RM/Handler
    Application Path: C:\Program Files\Microsoft Lync Server 2013\Web Components\PersistentChat\Ext\RM\Handler\
    Machine name: SERVER

Process information:
    Process ID: 11644
    Process name: w3wp.exe
    Account name: NT AUTHORITY\NETWORK SERVICE

Exception information:
    Exception type: FailureResponseException
    Exception message: A 504 (Server time-out) response was received from the network and the operation failed. See the exception details for more information.
   at Microsoft.Rtc.Collaboration.PersistentChat.Internal.AsyncResultNoResult.EndInvoke(Int32 millisecondsTimeout)
   at Microsoft.Rtc.Collaboration.PersistentChat.Internal.MessageRouter.EndCommand(GenericAsyncResult`1 asyncCommand)

Request information:
    Request URL: https://externalurl.domain.com:4443/PersistentChat/RM/Handler/ManagementHandler.ashx
    Request path: /PersistentChat/RM/Handler/ManagementHandler.ashx
    User host address: 192.168.0.1
    User: user@domain.com
    Is authenticated: True
    Authentication Type: WebTicketAssertions
    Thread account name: NT AUTHORITY\NETWORK SERVICE

Thread information:
    Thread ID: 62
    Thread account name: NT AUTHORITY\NETWORK SERVICE
    Is impersonating: False
    Stack trace:    at Microsoft.Rtc.Collaboration.PersistentChat.Internal.AsyncResultNoResult.EndInvoke(Int32 millisecondsTimeout)
   at Microsoft.Rtc.Collaboration.PersistentChat.Internal.MessageRouter.EndCommand(GenericAsyncResult`1 asyncCommand)

Even using OCSLogger does not help us really

TL_INFO(TF_COMPONENT) [3]2D7C.10B4::04/17/2013-11:30:01.298.0000065d (ChatRoomManagement,Default.Page_Load:834.idx(63))(0000000000E11E04)Loading Room Management default page.
TL_INFO(TF_COMPONENT) [3]2D7C.10B4::04/17/2013-11:30:01.298.0000065e (ChatRoomManagement,Default.get_ValidRoomRequestFormat:834.idx(144))(0000000000E11E04)QueryString contains no 'id'.
TL_INFO(TF_COMPONENT) [3]2D7C.10B4::04/17/2013-11:30:01.298.0000065f (ChatRoomManagement,Default.get_ValidRoomRequestFormat:834.idx(144))(0000000000E11E04)QueryString contains no 'id'.
TL_INFO(TF_COMPONENT) [3]2D7C.10B4::04/17/2013-11:30:01.300.00000660 (ChatRoomManagement,Default.FoundClientSpecifiedLanguage:834.idx(336))(0000000000E11E04)Trying to find the resource for client requested language en-US
TL_INFO(TF_COMPONENT) [0]2D7C.10B4::04/17/2013-11:30:01.301.00000661 (ChatRoomManagement,Default.FoundClientSpecifiedLanguage:834.idx(343))(0000000000E11E04)Resource en-US matches the client requested language en-US
TL_INFO(TF_COMPONENT) [0]2D7C.10B4::04/17/2013-11:30:01.301.00000662 (ChatRoomManagement,Default.FoundClientSpecifiedLanguage:834.idx(336))(0000000000E11E04)Trying to find the resource for client requested language en-US
TL_INFO(TF_COMPONENT) [0]2D7C.10B4::04/17/2013-11:30:01.301.00000663 (ChatRoomManagement,Default.FoundClientSpecifiedLanguage:834.idx(343))(0000000000E11E04)Resource en-US matches the client requested language en-US
TL_INFO(TF_COMPONENT) [1]2D7C.3714::04/17/2013-11:30:09.764.00000664 (ChatRoomManagement,ManagementHandler.BeginProcessRequest:2092.idx(372))(0000000002F5F5AF)BeginProcessRequest: Trying to figure the exact request from client side
TL_INFO(TF_COMPONENT) [1]2D7C.3714::04/17/2013-11:30:09.764.00000665 (ChatRoomManagement,ManagementHandler.BeginProcessRequest:2092.idx(390))(0000000002F5F5AF)BeginProcessRequest: About to process landing page request.
TL_INFO(TF_COMPONENT) [1]2D7C.3714::04/17/2013-11:30:09.765.00000666 (ChatRoomManagement,ManagementBase.constructor:1199.idx(50))Trying to get the identity of the sip-authenticated user.
TL_INFO(TF_COMPONENT) [1]2D7C.3714::04/17/2013-11:30:09.767.00000667 (ChatRoomManagement,ManagementBase.GetNewConnection:1199.idx(84))(000000000218BE67)Primary home server: server.domain.com
TL_INFO(TF_COMPONENT) [1]2D7C.3714::04/17/2013-11:30:09.767.00000668 (ChatRoomManagement,ManagementBase.ConnectPersistentChatServer:1199.idx(178))(000000000218BE67)About to get provisioning data for userEndpoint
TL_INFO(TF_COMPONENT) [0]2D7C.3714::04/17/2013-11:30:09.824.00000669 (ChatRoomManagement,ManagementBase.ConnectPersistentChatServer:1199.idx(216))(000000000218BE67)About to establish Persistent chat endpoint to sip:GC-1-PersistentChatService-17@domain.be
TL_INFO(TF_COMPONENT) [2]3330.1B6C::04/17/2013-11:30:09.870.0000066a (ChatServer,UcmaTransport.HandleSignaling_SessionReceived:1732.idx(399))(0000000001A5B562)Session invite from <sip:server.domain.com:5041;grid>. Details=Federated: False, UserAgent: RTCC/5.0.0.0 rmweb/5.0.0.0, ClientVersion: 0.0.0.0/Current
TL_INFO(TF_COMPONENT) [1]3330.1B6C::04/17/2013-11:30:09.874.0000066b (ChatServer,ChannelServer.ShouldAcceptIncomingSession:663.idx(1379))(00000000012719D7)IncomingUser: <sip:user@domain.com:ebd59c1c-7f4c-4ac6-ae57-96bce934a6aa>, Federated: <False>, Result: <Allowed>, ActiveEndpoints: <4>, ActiveUsers: <3>, Principal: <[10]sip:user@domain.com> fetch took <00:00:00.0000573>.
TL_ERROR(TF_COMPONENT) [1]2D7C.3714::04/17/2013-11:30:10.058.0000066c (ChatRoomManagement,ManagementBase.ConnectPersistentChatServer:1199.idx(230))(000000000218BE67)Failed to establish Persistent chat endpoint to sip:GC-1-PersistentChatService-17@domain.be because of Command failed - see inner exception for details.
TL_ERROR(TF_COMPONENT) [1]2D7C.3714::04/17/2013-11:30:10.083.0000066d (ChatRoomManagement,ManagementHandler.BeginProcessRequest:2092.idx(555))(0000000002F5F5AF)Exception on BeginProcessRequest: Microsoft.Rtc.Collaboration.PersistentChat.CommandFailedException: Command failed - see inner exception for details. ---> Microsoft.Rtc.Signaling.FailureResponseException: A 504 (Server time-out) response was received from the network and the operation failed. See the exception details for more information.
   at Microsoft.Rtc.Collaboration.PersistentChat.Internal.AsyncResultNoResult.EndInvoke(Int32 millisecondsTimeout)
   at Microsoft.Rtc.Collaboration.PersistentChat.Internal.MessageRouter.EndCommand(GenericAsyncResult`1 asyncCommand)
   --- End of inner exception stack trace ---
   at Microsoft.Rtc.Collaboration.PersistentChat.Internal.AsyncResultNoResult.EndInvoke(Int32 millisecondsTimeout)
   at Microsoft.Rtc.Collaboration.PersistentChat.PersistentChatEndpoint.EndEstablish(IAsyncResult asyncResult)
   at Microsoft.Rtc.Internal.RMWebHandler.ManagementBase.ConnectPersistentChatServer(UserEndpoint userEndpoint)
   at Microsoft.Rtc.Internal.RMWebHandler.ManagementBase.GetNewConnection(CollaborationPlatform collabPlatform, String sSipUri)
   at Microsoft.Rtc.Internal.RMWebHandler.ManagementLanding..ctor(CollaborationPlatform collabPlatform, HttpContext cntx, String localRegistrarFqdn)
   at Microsoft.Rtc.Internal.RMWebHandler.ManagementHandler.BeginProcessRequest(HttpContext context, AsyncCallback cb, Object extraData)!

RESOLUTION:

While all of these logs and messages don’t say anything I decided to move my user which was currently hosted on the SBA in a branch office to the Front-End Server in the Datacenter and surprisingly this fixed the Persistent Chat Room website issues.
So I guess this must still be a big in Lync 2013

Book "Lync 2013 Unleashed" Now Available

Ruben Nauwelaers — Mon, 15 Apr 2013 06:38:00 GMT

For those of you who like a good book before bedtime, "Lync 2013 Unleashed" has been released and available through (by example) Amazon.com

The book is written by Alex Lewis, Tom Pacyk, David Ross and Randy Wintle, well known names in the Lync Technical community.

The abstract as on Amazon.com:

The most comprehensive, realistic, and useful guide to Microsoft Lync Server 2013, today’s leading Unified Communications system.

Four expert Lync consultants and implementers bring together in-the-trenches guidance for all facets of planning, integration, deployment, and administration. The authors introduce Microsoft Lync Server 2013, outline what it can do, and review the key improvements Microsoft has made in this version.

They cover every form of communication Lync Server can manage, including IP voice, instant messaging, audio/video conferencing, web conferencing, and more. You’ll find expert guidance on planning infrastructure, managing day-to-day operations, server roles, multi-platform clients, security, troubleshooting, and much more.

Microsoft Lync Server 2013 Unleashed contains a new section on Office 365 and Lync Online, a chapter covering coexistence between on-premise and Office 365 Lync deployments, and another introducing Lync online configuration and administration.

Throughout, the authors combine theory, step-by-step configuration instructions, and best practices from real enterprise environments. They identify common mistakes and present proven solutions and workarounds. Simply put, they tell you what works--and show how it’s done.

Detailed information on how to…
• Plan for any type of deployment, from simple to highly complex--including virtualized environments
• Walk step-by-step through installation, and understand important new changes in the installation process
• Overcome obstacles to successful migration from older versions of Lync or Microsoft Office Communications Server
• Manage server roles, including Front End, Edge, Monitoring, Archiving, and Director roles
• Efficiently administer Lync Server 2013 through the Lync Server Management Shell
• Leverage Lync Server 2013’s significantly improved capabilities as a PBX replacement and videoconferencing solution
• Integrate Lync with third-party video platforms, voice/video gateways, and cloud services
• Evaluate the option of providing Lync services through Microsoft Office 365 hosting
• Make the most of Lync Server 2013’s dramatically upgraded web, mobile, and desktop clients

Free Tool : Lync User Management Tool (LUMT)

Johan Delimon — Fri, 12 Apr 2013 13:47:00 GMT

Lync User Management Tool (LUMT) enables administrators to manage contacts, ACEs and Privacy settings on behalf of Lync Server 2013 users.

With LUMT, it is possible to:
- Add contacts to default group or to a named group
- Remove contacts from the contact list
- Add ACEs to change the relationship level for the contacts in the contact list
- Remove ACEs for the contacts in the contact list
- Set privacy preference settings for the user to be either Private or Public (this corresponds to the settings in Options/Status in Lync client)
- Change alert notification settings for the user (this corresponds to the settings in Options/Alerts in Lync client)

Description

LUMT tool can be used to manage contacts, ACEs, privacy settings or alert notification settings for Lync Server 2013 users.

Important: The software and source code are provided as samples. They are licensed "as-is." You bear the risk of using it. The contributors give no express warranties, guarantees or conditions. See MS-PL license description for more details.

Usage

LUMT.exe /Mode:<LUMTMode> /UsersFile:<UsersFileName> [/ContactsFile:<ContactsFileName>] [/ContactsGroup:<ContactsGroupName>] [/ACLFile:<ACLFileName>] [/PrivacyPreference:<Privacy>] [/Delete]

Generic Parameter List

Mode	Settings to manage with LUMT. Available options are:
	Contact: LUMT is used to add or remove contacts for Lync Server users.
	ACL: LUMT is used to add or remove ACEs on Lync Server users.
	Privacy: LUMT is used to manage privacy settings for Lync Server users.
	Alerts: LUMT is used to manage alert notification settings for Lync Server users.
UsersFile	Path to the text file containing user SIP addresses beginning with sip:

Download @ Codeples
http://lumt.codeplex.com/

Lync Server 2013 Update - April 2013

Ruben Nauwelaers — Thu, 11 Apr 2013 08:27:00 GMT

Microsoft released a new KB article regarding a hotfix for Lync Server 2013: KB2827772

Issue that this update fixes

This update fixes the issue that is described in the following Microsoft Knowledge Base (KB) article:

2828162 Live Meeting 2007 client microphone remains muted in an audio conference

This hotfix should only applied on systems which are affected by this specific issue and is only available by contacting Microsoft Support

Exchange Public Folder migration scripts for Office 365

Johan Delimon — Wed, 10 Apr 2013 23:17:00 GMT

Microsoft Exchange 2013 Public Folders Directory Sync Support Scripts
http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=38408

Scripts to enable creation of public folder related objects in the O365 Active Directory and synchronization of public folder related Active Directory objects between on-premise and O365 directories. Use this scripts if you need to do one of the following - - Initial creation of mail enabled public folder objects in the destination Active Directory for public folder migration from Exchange 2007 or 2010 to Exchange 2013 - Synchronization of mail enabled public folder objects from cloud to on-premise Active Directory - Synchronization of mail enabled public folder objects from on-premise to cloud Active Directory - Synchronization of public folder mailbox objects from cloud to on-premise Active Directory

Microsoft Exchange 2013 Public Folders Migration Scripts
http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=38407

These scripts are required while migrating Public Folders from Exchange 2010/2007 to O365 Exchange 2013 Public Folders. Use these scripts to migrate public folders from Exchange 2010 or 2007 to Exchange 2013. In order to migrate Exchange 2010 or 2007 Public Folders to Exchange 2013 on O365, we need to analyze the existing Public Folder hierarchy for size to figure out the number of Public Folder mailboxes that are required on O365 and the distribution of folders across mailboxes.

Lync 2010 Cumulative Update April 2013

Johan Delimon — Wed, 10 Apr 2013 23:07:00 GMT

Lync 2010 Client

Lync 2010 Hotfix KB 2815347 (32 bit)
http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=25055

Lync 2010 Hotfix KB 2815347 (64 bit)
http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=14490

This cumulative update fixes the issue that is described in the following Microsoft Knowledge Base (KB) article:

2832123 You cannot start Lync 2010 after you install the March 2013 cumulative update for Lync 2010 in Windows XP Pro or Windows Server 2003

Lync Attendee Client

Microsoft Lync 2010 Attendee - User Level Install
http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=15755

Lync 2010 Attendee Hotfix KB 2815352 (User level install)
http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=22157

This update improves the reliability, stability, and performance of Lync 2010 Attendee User level installation

Microsoft Lync 2010 Attendee - Admin Level Install
http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=23396

Lync 2010 Attendee Hotfix KB 2815354 (Admin level install)
http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=13365

This cumulative update improves the reliability, stability, and performance of the Lync 2010 Attendee - Administrator level installation.

MEC 2014: March 31st–April 2nd in Austin, Texas!

Michael Van Horenbeeck — Tue, 09 Apr 2013 17:39:00 GMT

Just a few moments ago, Microsoft announced the official dates and location for the next version of the Microsoft Exchange Conference or short MEC.

This time, MEC will be held in Austin, Texas from March 31st to April 2nd. More information will probably be made available through www.iammec.com over the course of the next weeks and months.

While 2014 might seem very far away, it doesn’t hurt to start planning ahead of time. So, don’t hesitate! Go up to your boss and ask permission to go! I, for one, will definitely be there!

Hope to see you all there,

Michael

image courtesy: the internet

Lync 2013 Webcasts - PowerPoints available for download

Ruben Nauwelaers — Tue, 09 Apr 2013 14:19:00 GMT

Today I presented 2 LiveMeetings regarding Lync 2013. I had a great time, lots of questions and hoped the attendees liked it as much as I did.

The PowerPoint presentations for both are now available for download:

Both sessions were recorded and Microsoft will put them online within approx. 1 week.
Links will be announced on our website when available.

Exchange 2013 CU1 Finally brings the promised Lync Online meeting intregration from OWA

Johan Delimon — Wed, 03 Apr 2013 15:43:00 GMT

One of the new features in Exchange 2013 CU1 is support for creation and joining of Online Meetings in Outlook Web App (OWA).

Scheduling

Joining

More info: Creating Online Meetings from Outlook Web App in Exchange 2013 CU1
http://blogs.technet.com/b/jenstr/archive/2013/04/02/creating-lync-online-meetings-from-outlook-web-app-in-exchange-2013-cu1.aspx?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter

A summary of Exchange 2013 RTM Cumulative Update 1

Michael Van Horenbeeck — Tue, 02 Apr 2013 18:49:43 GMT

A few hours ago, Microsoft (finally) released Cumulative Update 1 (CU1) for Exchange 2013 RTM. Many of us have been waiting for this update as it was the last prerequisite standing in the way of upgrading to Exchange 2013 when you already had Exchange running prior.

I’m pretty sure that over the course of the next few weeks, we will be seeing lots of interesting new information coming out. For now, we’ll have to settle with Microsoft’s promise to publish the release notes + updated documentation anytime soon. As Bharat Suneja already mentioned, it’s scheduled to be release on the 3rd of April:

Where to get it?

First things, first. The newer bits are available from the following link:

http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=38176

Yes, you’re not dreaming. It’s 1.3GB. How is that possible? Simple. Cumulative Updates are quite different from Update Rollups. They are entire new builds of the product that don’t require a prior version to be installed. Hence the size. For more information on this new “update strategy”, have a look here.

What’s new?

The CU is “huge”. And I don’t mean that literally (although it’s literally huge as well). Next to a lot of fixes (that should’ve made it in RTM to be honest), will definitely make your life running Exchange 2013 a lot easier.

Next to that, there are some things that have changed and have been added. To name a few:

Changes in some High-Availability features (http://blogs.technet.com/b/scottschnoll/archive/2013/04/02/high-availability-changes-in-exchange-server-2013-cumulative-update-1.aspx)
There’s a schema and other AD updates in CU1. Run Setup.exe /PrepareSchema, /PrepareAD and PrepareDomain (or /PrepareAllDomains) before installing.
If you are upgrading from a previous version of Exchange, mind the default OAB. Exchange 2013 will create a new OAB and if you didn’t configure your mailbox database to point to a specific OAB, all your clients might end up downloading the new OAB… Could cause some issues if you’ve got a lot of clients or clients connecting of a link with limited bandwidth. Check this article for more info!
There’s a limited support for Public Folders in OWA now. Basically, OWA will allow access to “favorite” Public Folders. However, still no access to the entire tree…
You can now configure Groups to manager Groups again. In RTM only a user could be configured to be “manager” of e.g. a Distribution Group.
As the EHLO-blog already mentioned a while back, the Address Book Policy Routing Agent has been added.
Mailbox sizes are reported more accurately (not really a CU1 feature). Why should you care? 1. It’s more accurate, 2. mailbox sizes are likely to grow when moving to Exchange 2013 > keep an eye on your configured quota's!
Some overall HA improvements

How can I deploy Exchange 2013 RTM CU1?

Deploying Exchange 2013 RTM CU1 doesn’t require you to have Exchange 2013 RTM installed. In fact, the download (about 1.3GB in size) contains a full build which you can use to run the install from.

How to deploy Exchange 2013 didn’t change over RTM. Preferably using the command line:

Setup.exe /mode:install /roles:<roles> /IAcceptExchangeServerLicenseTerms

If you *are* upgrading, than you should run the following command:

Setup.exe /mode:upgrade

Note as a CU is a build-to-build upgrade, changes you made to web.config files will be overwritten. This means that if you had integrated Lync with Exchange prior to the upgrade, you’ll have to make the changes to the web.config file again!
As always, many peers from the Exchange community have been busy with providing as much as information that is already available. Make sure to check them out!
http://www.expta.com/2013/04/the-last-missing-piece-exchange-2013.html
http://www.expta.com/2013/04/exchange-2013-rtm-cu1-stops-transport.html
http://windowsitpro.com/blog/exchange-2013-cu1-software-rtm-could-have-been
http://eightwone.com/2013/04/02/exchange-2013-cu1/
http://blogs.technet.com/b/scottschnoll/archive/2013/04/02/high-availability-changes-in-exchange-server-2013-cumulative-update-1.aspx
http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/jj150489(v=exchg.150).aspx (Official Announcement)

Exchange 2013 CU1 now available for download

Ruben Nauwelaers — Tue, 02 Apr 2013 18:12:00 GMT

As promised, Microsoft released Exchange 2013 Cumulative Update (CU) 1 today.

The download is an impressive 1.3Gbyte in size because Microsoft switched to build-to-build upgrades with the same experience as service packs.

More information @ Announcement on Exchange Team Blog

Download

Technet documentation (expected to be available on April 3rd)

KB2816900 - Description of Cumulative Update 1 for Exchange Server 2013

The curious health problems of the Office Web Apps Server

Michael Van Horenbeeck — Mon, 01 Apr 2013 19:17:16 GMT

As I described a while back, the Office Web Apps Server (formerly known as WAC) is required by both Lync 2013 and Exchange 2013 in order to make some of the functionalities work. Admitted, Exchange 2013 doesn’t actually require Office Web Apps, but if you want to take advantage of the preview-capabilities in Outlook Web App, you’ll have to deploy it anyway.

Installing and configuring the Office Web Apps Server isn’t all that difficult. If you followed my article correctly, you should end up with a working setup.

Curiously enough, it was a customer that pointed this out to me, if you run Get-OfficeWebAppsMachine on one of your servers, you’ll see that the health state of the Office Web Apps server is “Unhealthy”; even if it’s working as expected:

In the meanwhile, I have been digging into the issue but haven’t found the reason why it is reporting "Unhealthy” or even how to do anything about it. TechNet is really lacking on documentation as there’s not much info about it out there…

It seems that Office Web Apps is regularly polling for the state of several components and – based on the results – defines the health state. Given that some of these polls are failing (I have no idea why), I suspect the HealthStatus being set to Unhealthy.

If it were pure aesthetically, you could go to the following path and alter the topology.xml file, because it’s that file from where the Get-OfficeWebAppsMachine reads it state:

Anyway, as long as there’s no confirmation from Microsoft you should probably stay away from editing this file. Additionally, it will get overwritten when the server get polled for it’s health again.

Either way, I’m looking to get to the bottom of this. As soon as I’ve found something useful, I’ll get back to you. One thing is clear though: along the way of trying to get this solved, I did find some other interesting stuff I’d like to share with you soon.

In the meanwhile, if you have more information or if you see the same (weird) behavior, feel free to leave a message!

Lync Mobile 2013 for Android now available Update

Ruben Nauwelaers — Mon, 01 Apr 2013 07:33:00 GMT

Microsoft released Lync 2013 for the Android mobile operating system, completing the release of "2013" mobile clients across platforms.

**UPDATE**

Microsoft released two support articles regarding the Lync 2013 for Android client:

Normal 0 21 false false false NL-BE X-NONE X-NONE MicrosoftInternetExplorer4

Troubleshooting issues with Microsoft Lync 2013 for Android
Android smartphone devices that are supported for use with Lync 2013 for Android

From the Google Play store:

Lync 2013 for Android extends the power of Lync to your Android smartphone – including voice & video over wireless, rich presence, instant messaging, conferencing, and calling features from a single, easy-to-use interface.

Key Features:

- View colleagues’ availability in real time and select the best way to communicate – initiating an instant message (IM), email, voice or video call.

- Connect to Lync Meetings with a single touch, without requiring long numeric passcodes or conference numbers.

- Forward or simultaneously ring calls to your Enterprise Voice (Lync ID) number so you’ll never miss a call.

- Lync 2013 for Android provides transport layer security (TLS) and perimeter/internal network protection without requiring a VPN, so your communications experience is safer no matter where you are or what network you use.

Get Lync 2013 in the Google Play Store

The Lync Room System (LRS)

Johan Delimon — Tue, 26 Mar 2013 13:39:00 GMT

Lync Room System is a meeting room solution consisting of integrated hardware and software delivered by our partners and optimized to join Lync meetings. With Lync Room System you can join an online meeting with one touch and be ready to collaborate with remote attendees in seconds. It has all the equipment you need for great meetings:

High definition touch displays (1080p) for showing video and enabling collaboration. Lync Room Systems are available with 1 or 2 front of room touch displays depending on your room size
High definition video camera for capturing the room in full 1080p resolution
Wideband audio for clear sound from the room and to the room
Table-top touch meeting console to enable the meeting controller to manage the meeting without distracting the other attendees

It’s all brought together by the Lync Room System Edition software, which is a full Lync client optimized to bring the immersive meeting experience to a meeting room setting. It makes joining meetings as easy as on your PC and breaks down the barrier between in-room and remote attendees. Being able to see content and high definition video side by side makes remote collaboration more effective.

4 vendors have announced to develop and introduce LRS : Smart, Crestron, Lifesize, and Polycom

Crestron and Lifesize plan to have their first LRS available in Q2 of this CY2013.
Smart targets for Q3, while Polycom target 2H of CY2013 for first availability.

Have a sneak preview at the following weblinks, including animations from Smart and Crestron :

Lync Room System from SMART

More info
http://blogs.technet.com/b/lync/archive/2013/02/19/the-lync-room-system-lrs.aspx

Updated: script to connect to PowerShell in Exchange Online

Michael Van Horenbeeck — Tue, 26 Mar 2013 10:09:00 GMT

[Update 26/03/2013]

I wanted to share a quick update to the script with you. Over the past few weeks, I have hitting an issue at some customers that used an outbound authenticating proxy which prevented me from connecting to Exchange Online using the functions from my profile. As such, I have tweaked the script a bit to now include a switch (-ProxyEnabled) that, when used, will trigger PowerShell to authenticate the session against the proxy.

The new script now looks like this:

function Connect-ExchangeOnline{
    [CmdLetBinding()]
    param(
        [Parameter(Position=0,Mandatory=$false)]
        [Switch]
        $ProxyEnabled
    )

    if($ProxyEnabled){
        $Session = New-Pssession -ConfigurationName Microsoft.Exchange -ConnectionUri https://ps.outlook.com/powershell -Credential (Get-Credential) -Authentication Basic -AllowRedirection -sessionOption (New-PsSessionOption -ProxyAccessType IEConfig -ProxyAuthentication basic)
    }
    else{
        $Session = New-PSSession -ConfigurationName Microsoft.Exchange -ConnectionUri https://ps.outlook.com/powershell -Authentication Basic -AllowRedirection -Credential (get-credential)
    }

Import-PSSession $session
}

function Disconnect-ExchangeOnline {
Get-PSSession | ?{$_.ComputerName -like "*outlook.com"} | Remove-PSSession
}

[Original Post]

Office 365 allows you to connect remotely to Exchange online using PowerShell. However, if you had to type in the commands to connect every time, you would be losing quite some time:

$session = New-PSSession -ConfigurationName Microsoft.Exchange -ConnectionUri https://ps.outlook.com/PowerShell -Authentication Basic -Credential (Get-Credential) –AllowRedirection
Import-PSSession $session

Equally, to disconnect, each time you'd have to type in the following command:

Get-PSSession | ?{$_.ComputerName -like "*.outlook.com"} | Remove-PSSession[/sourcecode]

However, it is relatively easy to add both commands into a function which you can afterwards add them into your profile:

Function Connect-ExchangeOnline{
$session = New-PSSession -ConfigurationName Microsoft.Exchange -ConnectionUri https://ps.outlook.com/powershell -Authentication Basic -AllowRedirection -Credential (Get-Credential)
Import-PSSession $session }

Function Disconnect-ExchangeOnline{
Get-PSSession | ?{$_.ComputerName -like "*.outlook.com"} | Remove-PSSession
}

To add these functions to your PowerShell profile, simply copy-past them into your profile. To find out where your profile-file is located, type the following:

PS C:\> $profile C:\Users\Michael\Documents\WindowsPowerShell\Microsoft.PowerShell_profile.ps1

To start using the functions, all you have to do is to call them from the PowerShell prompt:

PS C:\> Connect-ExchangeOnline
cmdlet Get-Credential at command pipeline position 1 Supply values for the following parameters: Credential
WARNING: Your connection has been redirected to the following URI: "https://pod51014psh.outlook.com/PowerShell-LiveID?PSVersion=3.0 "

PS C:\> Disconnect-ExchangeOnline

Note there is no output for the Disconnect-ExchangeOnline function

Exchange 2013 CU1 delayed, now planned for April 2nd

Ruben Nauwelaers — Mon, 25 Mar 2013 18:50:00 GMT

The last piece required to support coexistence and start migrating from Exchange 2010 to Exchange 2013, just got delayed a bit:

"We found an issue with Exchange 2010 coexistence. The issue actually had an easy workaround, but we made a decision; instead of burdening you with a configuration change on all of your Exchange 2010 Client Access servers, we decided to take a code change in Exchange 2013 and solve the problem so that you will not have to make any additional configuration changes. Given that the goal of CU1 is to enable coexistence with legacy versions of Exchange, we felt this was the right decision; after all, we want to ensure that your upgrade to Exchange 2013 and your coexistence period goes as smooth as possible."

"The release date for Exchange 2013 RTM CU1 is currently planned for April 2^nd"

Read the entire announcement on the Exchange Team Blog