Exchange & Patching!!!

Microsoft recommends adopting a software update strategy that ensures all software follows N to N-1 policy, where N is a service pack, update rollup, cumulative update, maintenance release, or whatever terminology is used by the software vendor. Microsoft strongly recommend that our customers also adopt a similar strategy with respect to hardware firmware and drivers ensuring that network cards, BIOS, and storage controllers/interfaces are kept up to date.

Software patching is not simply an issue for Microsoft software. You must also ensure that all inter-dependent solutions (e.g., Blackberry Enterprise Server, backup software, etc.) are kept up-to-date for a specific release as this ensures optimal reliability and compatibility.

Customers must also follow the software vendor’s Software Lifecycle and appropriately plan on upgrading to a supported version in the event that support for a specific version is about to expire or is already out of support.

For Exchange 2010, this means having all servers deployed with Service Pack 3 and either Rollup 7 or Rollup 8 (at the time of this writing). For Exchange 2013, this means having all servers deployed with Cumulative Update 6 or Cumulative Update 7 (at the time of this writing).

For environments that have a hybrid configuration with Office 365, the servers participating in the hybrid configuration must be running the latest version (e.g., Exchange 2010 SP3 RU8 or Exchange 2013 CU7) or the prior version (e.g., Exchange 2010 SP3 RU7 or Exchange 2013 CU6) in order to maintain and ensure compatibility with Office 365. There are some required dependencies for hybrid deployments, so it’s even more critical you keep your software up to date if you choose to go hybrid.

Cumulative Update 7 for Exchange Server 2013

Today, Cumulative Update 7 for Exchange Server 2013 was released by the Exchange Team (KB2986485). This update raises Exchange 2013 version number to 15.0.1044.22.

Note: Customers that run backups of their Exchange databases are advised to upgrade to CU7 and perform a post-upgrade full backup. This is due to a race condition which could prevent proper restoration of pre-CU7 Exchange databases.

Notes:

  • When using Exchange hybrid deployments or Exchange Online Archiving (EOA), you are required to stay current.
  • CU7 adds support for hierarchies containing 250,000 modern public folders. Consult this article for co-existence scenarios.
  • Be advised of OAB architectural changes introduced with CU5 which are documented here. If you are affected, it is recommended to update CAS servers prior to Mailbox servers.
  • If you have installed the Interim Update to fix Hybrid Configuration Wizard, you can install the Cumulative Update over it – there is no need to uninstall the IU prior to installing CU6.

This Cumulative Update includes schema and AD changes, so make sure you run PrepareSchema / PrepareAD. After updating, the schema version will be 15965.

Note that Cumulative Updates can be installed directly, i.e. no need to install RTM or Service Packs prior to installing Cumulative Updates. Note that once installed, you can’t uninstall a Cumulative Update nor any of the installed Exchange server roles. The order of upgrading servers is irrelevant, unlike with previous generations of Exchange.

Finally, for any Hotfix, Rollup, Service Pack or Cumulative Update, I’d recommend to thoroughly test this in a test and acceptance environment first, prior to implementing it in production.

You can download Exchange 2013 Cumulative Update 7 here; UM Language Packs can be found here.

This update resolves security issues that are described in December 2014 security update for Exchange Server 2013 Service Pack 1 and Cumulative Update 6.
Additionally, this update also resolves the issues that are described in the following Microsoft Knowledge Base (KB) articles:

  • 3004235 Exchange Server meetings in Russian time zones as well as names of time zones are incorrect after October 26, 2014

  • 3012655 New-MailboxImportRequest causes unreadable characters when you import an ANSI format .pst file of Russian language

  • 3012652 CalendarProcessing cmdlet does not generate delegate permissions to universal security groups in Exchange Server 2013

  • 3009631 Advanced Find against the Sent Items folder in Outlook returns no result in Exchange Server 2013

  • 3009612 Outlook Web App shows organization details on the contact card beyond the scope of user ABP in Exchange Server 2013

  • 3009291 Shared mailbox cannot be opened in Outlook in an Exchange Server 2013 environment that has multiple domains

  • 3008453 Cannot edit or delete forms from the organizational forms library in Exchange Server 2013

  • 3008438 User who is trying to Log on to Exchange Admin Console is logged in to OWA instead

  • 3006672 Move request fails if the IsExcludedFromProvisioning option is true in Exchange Server 2013

  • 3005391 Exchange Server 2013 Cumulative Update 5 breaks free|busy lookup from Exchange Online to Exchange Server 2007

  • 3003986 RejectMessageReasonText in transport rule appears in the user section of a DSN in Exchange Server 2013

  • 3001217 TLS 1.0 is hardcoded for SMTP traffic encryption in Exchange Server 2013

  • 3001037 Distribution group cannot send email messages to a mail enabled public folder in an Exchange Server 2013 environment

  • 2999031 A cross-forest mailbox move from Exchange Server 2007 to Exchange Server 2013 finishes with CompletedWithWarnings status

  • 2998144 New-MoveRequest cmdlet with RemoteLegacy parameter cannot perform a cross-forest mailbox move

  • 2988553 Add-ADPermission and Remove-ADPermission can be run outside the management scope in Exchange Server 2013

  • 2981538 Exchange Control Panel crashes when you proxy from Exchange 2013 to Exchange 2010

  • 3014051 Cannot migrate mailboxes in a multiple domains environment in Exchange Server 2013

  • 3012986 ContentIndexRetryQueueSize value for a passive node never drops to zero in Exchange Server 2013 Cumulative Update 6

  • 3004011 Sound alerts do not work in Outlook Web App when new email or calendar notification is received in Exchange Server 2013

  • 3003580 Event ID 4999 and 4401 when the Microsoft Exchange Replication service crashes in Exchange Server 2013

  • 3003518 “550 5.7.1” NDR when you send messages to external recipients in an Exchange Server 2013 hybrid environment

  • 3003068 Cannot see online archive mailbox after you upgrade to Exchange Server 2013 Cumulative Update 6

  • 3000944 Subfolders under the Deleted Items folder are not visible in Outlook in an Exchange Server 2013 environment

  • 2997847 You cannot route ActiveSync traffic to Exchange 2007 mailboxes after you upgrade to Exchange 2013 CU6

  • 2997355 Exchange Online mailboxes cannot be managed by using EAC after you deploy Exchange Server 2013 CU6

  • 2997209 Exchange Server 2013 databases unexpectedly fail over in a co-existence environment with Exchange Server 2007

  • 2995263 OAB cannot be rebuilt if the .flt file is larger than two GB in Exchange Server 2013

  • 2994216 PublicFolderMoveRequest deletes all read or unread state in target mailbox for each user in Exchange Server 2013

  • 2993871 Resource Booking Assistant crashes after you upgrade to Exchange Server 2013 Cumulative Update 5

  • 2983216 Category setting on an item in Outlook jumps the selection to the top of the list in an Exchange Server 2013 environment

  • 2931223 MAPI virtual directory is missing from Default Web Site node

Exchange 2013 Cumulative Update 6

The Exchange Team released Cumulative Update 6 for Exchange Server 2013 (KB2936880). This update raises Exchange 2013 build number to 15.0.995.29.

This Cumulative Update increases the Public Folder for Exchange On-Premises to 100,000. It also fixes the ‘Hybrid Configuration Wizard ‘Subtask Checkprereqs Execution Failed’ issue (2988229).

This Cumulative Update contains the following fixes:

2991934 Duplicate mailbox folders after migration to Exchange Server 2013
2983512 RPC Client Access service crashes on an on-premises Mailbox server in an Exchange Server 2013 hybrid environment
2983426 AutodiscoverSelfTestProbe fails when external URL is not set for EWS virtual directory in Exchange Server 2013
2983423 AutodiscoverSelfTestProbe fails when external URL is not set for ECP virtual directory in Exchange Server 2013
2983422 The ServerWideOffline component is set to Inactive after Exchange Server 2013 prerequisite check fails
2983207 “532 5.3.2″ NDR when you send an email message to a hidden mailbox in an Exchange Server 2013 environment
2983066 Removed Default or Anonymous permission for Outlook folders cannot be restored in an Exchange Server 2013 environment
2982769 “Topology service cannot find the OWA service” when you perform an eDiscovery search in Exchange Server 2013
2982763 Mail-enabled public folder accepts email messages from unauthorized users in an Exchange Server 2013 environment
2982762 OAB generation arbitration mailbox can be removed or disabled in an Exchange Server 2013 environment
2982760 The Enter key submits duplicate sign-in forms to Outlook Web App in an Exchange Server 2013 environment
2982759 You cannot access the archive mailbox of a delegated user after enabling MAPI over HTTP
2982017 Incorrect voice mail message duration in an Exchange Server 2013 environment
2981835 You cannot add attachments, delete or move many email messages in bulk in Outlook Web App
2981466 MAPI/CDO client cannot connect to Exchange Server 2013
2977279 You cannot disable journaling for protected voice mail in an Exchange Server 2013 environment
2975599 Exchange Server 2010 public folder replication fails in an Exchange Server 2013 environment
2975003 Calendar item body disappears in Outlook online mode in an Exchange Server 2013 environment
2974339 OAB generation fails if FIPS is used in an Exchange Server 2013 environment
2971270 Blank page after you sign in to Exchange Server 2013 EAC (formerly ECP)
2970040 Folder Assistant rule does not work correctly in an Exchange Server 2013 environment
2965689 EAS device cannot sync free/busy status if an item is created by EWS in an Exchange Server 2013 environment
2963590 Message routing latency if IPv6 is enabled in Exchange Server 2013
2961715 “Something went wrong” error in Outlook Web App may show an incorrect date
2958434 Users cannot access mailboxes in OWA or EAS when mailbox database is removed

Download Exchange 2013 Cumulative Update 6 here; UM Language Packs download here.

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