Exchange Server Active Directory Supportability Matrix

Operating system environment

Exchange 2013 SP1

Exchange 2013 CU2 and CU3

Exchange 2010 SP3 RU5 or later

Exchange 2010 SP2

Exchange 2007 SP3 RU13 or later

Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1 Active Directory servers

X

X

X

X

X

Windows Server 2012 Active Directory servers

X

X

X

X

X

Windows Server 2012 R2 Active Directory servers

X

X

X

 

X

Domain and forest functional level

Exchange 2013 SP1

Exchange 2013 CU2 and CU3

Exchange 2010 SP3 RU5 or later

Exchange 2010 SP2

Exchange 2007 SP3 RU13 or later

Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1 domain functional level

X

X

X

X

X

Windows Server 2012 domain functional level

X

X

X

X

X

Windows Server 2012 R2 domain functional level

X

 

X

   

Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1 forest functional level

X

X

X

X

X

Windows Server 2012 forest functional level

X

X

X

X

X

Windows Server 2012 R2 forest functional level

X

 

X

   

Free e-learning course – Virtualizing Microsoft Exchange 2013 on VMware vSphere 5 Fundamentals

This self paced free eLearning course illustrates why organizations need to consider virtualizing Exchange 2013 on VMware vSphere. This course focuses on Exchange design prerequisites and considerations, when virtualizing Exchange 2013.
It also describes design, sizing, and implementation guidelines and best practices, that should be followed as part of a structured design and implementation methodology.

The course consists of three modules:

  • Introduction to Virtualizing Microsoft Exchange 2013 provides an overview of the challenges that organizations typically face when deploying Microsoft Exchange 2013 on physical hardware, and how these challenges can be addressed by virtualizing Exchange on VMware vSphere. This module also describes the benefits that organizations can realize by virtualizing Exchange 2013 on the vSphere platform.
  • Designing the Virtualized Exchange Environment evaluates the prerequisites for designing an Exchange 2013 solution when deployed in a virtualized environment. This module also covers the design considerations and guidelines for designing and sizing Exchange 2013 on vSphere.
  • Implementing the Virtualized Exchange Solution covers various implementation options that should be considered when virtualizing Exchange 2013 on the vSphere platform. This module also discusses several implementation considerations that should be factored into an Exchange 2013 design. Finally, this module discusses how to monitor and test the performance of Exchange 2013 on VMware vSphere.

Virtualizing Microsoft Exchange 2013 on VMware vSphere [V5.X] Fundamentals

Thnx to Eric Sloof

Exchange 2013 Server Role Requirements Calculator 6.1

The Exchange 2013 Server Role Requirements Calculator received an update. The new version number is 6.1.

Changes since version 5.9:

  • Fixed operator mistake in calcNumActiveDBsSF formula
  • Fixed missed validation scenario where the calculator could recommend a copy count that could not be deployed on the custom disk architecture
  • Optimized remaining servers formula
  • Fixed an issue where single datacenter, multiple databases per volume architecture with lagged copies didn’t calculate the correct number of
    copies/volume
  • Fixed VirtCPUFactor reference
  • Various comment changes
  • Improved cell highlights for insufficient disk capacity on storage design tab
  • Added additional storage capacities – 1.2TB, 6TB and 8TB
  • Fixed database count validation logic to take into consideration dedicated lagged copy servers

You can download the calculator here.

Cumulative Update 3 for Microsoft Exchange Server 2013

Issues that the cumulative update resolves

Cumulative Update 3 for Microsoft Exchange Server 2013 contains the fix for the security issue that is described in Security Bulletin MS13-061

(http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/security/bulletin/MS13-061)

and resolves the issues that are described in the following Microsoft Knowledge Base (KB) articles:

  • 2865161 “Errors: Failed exporting item id: from source id” when you try to copy search results in an Exchange Server 2013 environment

  • 2866064 Can’t load OWA Premium by using Internet Explorer 11 in an Exchange Server environment

  • 2871980 Child domains are not displayed for selection when you create a mailbox by using EAC in an Exchange Server 2013 environment

  • 2874216 Security issue that is described in Security Bulletin MS13-061 is resolved by an Exchange Server update

  • 2878160 “The Active Directory user wasn’t found” error when you create or update an In-Place eDiscovery search in an Exchange Server 2013 environment

  • 2882608 Exchange Server 2013 does not share the inproxy.dll file

  • 2886115 Retention policies are not applied to Exchange Server 2013 mailboxes when user accounts are on different domains

  • 2888274 WebClientReadFormQueryString string and WebClientEditFormQueryString string return incorrect URLs in an Exchange Server 2013 environment

  • 2888315 Event 2112 or 2180 is logged when you try to back up a database in an Exchange Server 2013 environment

  • 2888612 Retention policy does not work after you run a cmdlet in an Exchange Server 2013 environment

  • 2889786 Sign-in format for Outlook Web App on mobile devices is not adjusted according to the Set-OwaVirtualDerictory cmdlet in an Exchange Server 2013 environment

  • 2890650 Items in the Drafts folder are not stamped with the retention policy tag in an Exchange Server 2010 or 2013 environment

  • 2895487 “Copy Search Results” option does not work in an Exchange server 2013 environment

  • 2895500 DBCS characters appear garbled when you run some PowerShell scripts in EMS in an Exchange Server 2013 environment

  • 2895678 “Nombre de usuario\dominio” is displayed unexpectedly on the Spanish version of the OWA and EAC logon pages in an Exchange Server 2013 environment

  • 2902929 You cannot forward an external meeting request in an Exchange Server 2013 environment

  • 2902933 “Generate incident report” does not display the “Bcc” field in an Exchange Server 2013 environment

  • 2902934 Korean language localization issue in Exchange 2013 OWA user interface

  • 2902936 You cannot change SMTP addresses for distribution groups by using EAC in an Exchange Server 2013 environment

  • 2902938 You cannot preview Office documents in shared folders by using Outlook Web App in an Exchange Server 2013 environment

  • 2902939 EMS connection error when you separately install an Exchange Server 2013 Mailbox server and a Client Access server

  • 2883203 Exchange Server 2013 restarts frequently after Cumulative Update 2 is installed

  • 2890814 No redirection to the Outlook Web App URL for Exchange Online users in an Exchange hybrid deployment

Download

Exchange Server 2013 Service Pack 1 Coming in Early 2014

Today on the Office blog Exchange Team announced that service pack 1 for the 2013 set of products including Office, SharePoint and Exchange will be released early next year. We know our Exchange customers have been looking for confirmation of the release but also have a desire for an early look at what’s coming with Exchange Server 2013 Service Pack 1 (SP1). So let’s have a first look a few things you can expect to see in SP1. But wait… we haven’t released CU3 – well, news about CU3 is imminent – stay tuned for more information about CU3 coming very soon.

In this post we are highlighting a few of the notable improvements to be included in SP1. This isn’t an all-inclusive list, so stay tuned for additional details as we approach release.

  • Windows Server 2012 R2 Support First answering one the most common questions since the release of Windows Server 2012 R2. Exchange 2013 SP1 will add Windows Server 2012 R2 as a supported operating system for Exchange Server 2013 with SP1. Let your planning begin.
  • S/MIME support for OWA Support for S/MIME in OWA will be brought back in SP1. With SP1 customers will have S/MIME support across Outlook, Exchange ActiveSync clients, and OWA.
  • Edge Transport Server Role The Edge Transport server role for Exchange Server 2013 will be available with SP1.
  • Fixes and Improvements Of course, SP1 will include fixes and improvements in areas you’ve helped us identity. SP1 is the first service pack issued in the new Exchange Server cumulative update release model – thus SP1 is essentially CU4. The installation of SP1 will follow the same process as the prior Exchange 2013 CU releases. SP1 will include all fixes included in previously released cumulative updates for Exchange 2013.

SP1 will require customers to update their Active Directory schema – customers should assume this requirement for all Exchange Server 2013 updates. Plan for this required update to quickly take advantage SP1 updates. Active Directory Schema updates for Exchange are additive and always backwards compatible with previous releases and versions.

Exchange 2013 and .NET 4.5 fixes KB2803754 & KB2803755

Microsoft published an important hotfix for .NET 4.5 earlier this year. It wasn’t picked up on by many, therefor a quick write up on the matter.

Since Exchange 2013 is built on top of .NET 4.5, it is recommended to install the hotfix on all Exchange 2013 Mailbox and Multi-Role servers. The hotfix will reduce the memory consumption of the store worker processes.

If you’re using Windows Server 2008 R2, the hotfix is KB2803754 and can be requested here; when using Windows Server 2012 the hotfix is KB2803755 which can be requested here.

After installing the hotfix, you need to do one of the following things:

  • Set the following registry key:
    HKLM\Software\Microsoft\.NETFramework\DisableRetStructPinning=1 (REG_DWORD)
  • Set the COMPLUS_DisableRetStructPinning environment variable to 1

I’d prefer the first option. Note that you need to restart the server for the change to become effective.

Thanks to EighTwOne

Updated Release of MS13-061 Security Update for Exchange Server 2013

On August 14th, ExchangeTeam announced the removal of the MS13-061 Security Update for Exchange Server 2013 due to an issue where the patch changed settings for the search infrastructure, placing the content index for all databases into a failed state.  As of today, we have released updated security updates for both Exchange 2013 RTM CU1 and Exchange 2013 RTM CU2.

Download links for MS13-061:

    Exchange 2007 SP3 rollup 11

    The Exchange 2007 SP3 RU11 update contains two fixes in addition to the changes for MS13-061. For more details, including a list of fixes included in this update, see KB 2873746 and the MS13-061 security bulletin. We would like to specifically call out the following fixes which are included in this release:

    • 2688667 W3wp.exe consumes excessive CPU resources on Exchange Client Access servers when users open recurring calendar items in mailboxes by using OWA or EWS
    • 2852663 The last public folder database on Exchange 2007 cannot be removed after migrating to Exchange 2013

    Cumulative Update 2 for Exchange Server 2013

    Exchange Team released Cumulative Update 2 for Exchange Server 2013

    This CU contains the following major changes:

    • CU2 increases the maximum number of supported databases per server from 50 to 100 in the Enterprise Edition;
    • Enables silent redirection for Outlook Web App (OWA) to Exchange 2007 and Exchange 2013 when using multiple internet-facing AD sites or alternative ExternalURL settings (i.e. for legacy purposes);
    • Introduces the DAG Management Service which will offload monitoring and reporting from the Replication Service;
    • Shifting several responders from per-server throttling to per-group throttling;
    • Support for updating local help files using the cmdlet Update-ExchangeHelp;
    • Improvements in OWA Search to indicate search hit locations;
    • Introduction of *-MalwareFilterRule Cmdlets to apply custom malware policies to users, groups or domains.

    The list of bug fixes in this CU is undisclosed. Microsoft updated the following KB:

    • KB2866064 Can’t load OWA Premium by using Internet Explorer 11 in an Exchange Server 2013, Exchange Server 2010 or Exchange Server 2007 environment
    • KB2846288 Information store worker process crashes when you export mailboxes in an Exchange Server 2013 environment
    • KB2842504 EAS users incorrectly throttled in an Exchange Server 2013 environment
    • KB2830765 “MAPI_E_FAILONEPROVIDER” error when you use a MAPI application in a mixed Exchange Server 2013 and Exchange Server 2007 or Exchange Server 2010 environment
    • KB2835562 You can’t disable Outlook Web App access for users in on-premises Exchange Server

    You can download Exchange 2013 Cumulative Update 2 here. More details about these changes can be found in the original announcement.

    CreateCluster failed with 0×5 adding members to DAG in Exchange 2013

    Last weekend I was building a Exchange 2013 cluster. Since everything so far was working as expected, I proceeded with creation of DAG. From EAC, creating DAG itself worked with no issues. I then went ahead and added first mailbox server to DAG. this step, however, refused to complete with error:

    A server-side database availability group administrative operation failed. Error The operation failed. CreateCluster errors may result from incorrectly configured static addresses. Error: An error occurred while attempting a cluster operation. Error: Cluster API ‘”CreateCluster() failed with 0×5. Error: Access is denied”‘ failed.. [Server: ward-02.wardvissers.local]

    Assigning “Full Control” to Exchange Trusted Subsystem on , I assumed should fix the issue, however, it actually produced a completely different error when I tried to add the mailbox server to DAG again:

    An Active Manager operation failed with a transient error. Please retry the operation. Error: The fully qualified domain name for node ‘DAG01′ could not be found.

    Solution:

    Pre-stage the CNO (CLUSTER NAME OBJECT)

    1. Open Active Directory Users and Computers.
    2. Expand the forest node.
    3. Right-click the organizational unit (OU) in which you want to create the new account, select New, and then select Computer.
    4. In New Object – Computer, type the computer account name for the CNO in the Computer name box. This is the name that you’ll use for the DAG. Click OK to create the account.
    5. Right-click the new computer account, and then click Disable Account. Click Yes to confirm the disable action, and then click OK.

    Assign permissions to the CNO (CLUSTER NAME OBJECT)

    1. Open Active Directory Users and Computers.
    2. If Advanced Features aren’t enabled, turn them on by clicking View, and then clicking Advanced Features.
    3. Right-click the new computer account, and then click Properties.
    4. In <Computer Name> Properties, on the Security tab, click Add to add either the computer account for the first node to be added to the DAG or to add the Exchange Trusted Subsystem USG:
      • To add the Exchange Trusted Subsystem, type Exchange Trusted Subsystem in the Enter the object names to select field. Click OK to add the USG. Select the Exchange Trusted Subsystem USG and in the Permissions for Exchange Trusted Subsystem field, select Full Control in the Allow column. Click OK to save the permission settings.
      • To add the computer account for the first node to be added to the DAG, click Object Types. In the Object Types dialog box, clear the Built-in security principals, Groups, and Users check boxes. Select the Computers check box and click OK. In the Enter the object names to select field, type the name of the first Mailbox server to be added to the DAG, and then click OK. Select the first node’s computer

     Pre-Stage the Cluster Network Object for a Database Availability Group

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