Tag: HTTP

CPU usage is high when you use RPC over HTTP protocol in Windows 8.1 or Windows Server 2012 R2

Consider the following scenario that takes Microsoft Exchange Server 2013 as an example:

  • The Mailbox server role is enabled in Exchange Server 2013.
  • Exchange mailboxes use extended MAPI to communicate with the Exchange Server.
  • The extended MAPI uses Microsoft RPC over HTTP (remote procedure call over HTTP) protocol.
  • Many clients (such as mobile devices) are dropping connections to the Exchange Server.

In this scenario, the CPU usage on the Exchange server may reach 100 percent.\

Hotfix: https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/hotfix/kbhotfix?kbnum=3041832&kbln=en-US

EXCHANGE 2013 CU17 AND EXCHANGE 2016 CU6

On June 27, 2017 Microsoft has released its quarterly updates for Exchange 2013 and Exchange 2016. The current version is now at Exchange 2013 CU17 (15.0.1320.4) and Exchange 2016 CU6(15.1.1034.26) . But this time there are some interesting things I’d like to point out.

A couple of days before the release of Exchange 2016 CU6 (15.1.1034.26)
Microsoft blogged about Sent Items Behavior Control and Original Folder Item Recovery. With the Sent Items Behavior Control, a message that’s sent using the Send As or Send on behalf of permission is not only stored in the mailbox of the user that actually sent the message, but a copy is also stored in the delegator mailbox sent items. This was already possible for shared mailboxes, but now it’s also possible for regular mailboxes (like manager/assistant scenarios).

The Original Folder Item Recovery feature is I guess on of the most requested features. In the past (before Exchange 2010) when items were restored after they were deleted, they were restored to their original location. With the Dumpster 2.0 that was introduced with Exchange 2010 this was no longer possible, and items were restored to the deleted items folder. In this case the items had to be moved manually to their original location. With the introduction of the Original Folder Item Recovery the restore of deleted items again takes place in the original folder.

Unfortunately, both Sent Items Behavior Control and Original Folder Item Recovery are only available in Exchange 2016 CU6 (and NOT in Exchange 2013 CU17).

When it comes to security TLS 1.2 is a hot topic. Microsoft is aware of this and working hard towards an Exchange environment that only uses TLS 1.2 (so that TLS 1.1 and TLS 1.0 can be disabled). We are not yet at that stage. Exchange 2016 CU6 does have improved support for TLS 1.2, but Microsoft is not encouraging customers to move to a TLS 1.2 environment only.

.NET Framework and Exchange server continues to be a difficult scenario. This is understandable, Exchange is just a consumer of Windows and .NET so the Exchange Product Group does not have much influence on the .NET (and Windows) Product Group.

Exchange 2016 CU6 does NOT support.NET Framework 4.7 at this moment, and you should NOT install .NET Framework on a server running Exchange 2016. Not before and not after the installation of Exchange 2016 CU6. This is also true for Exchange Server 2013 CU17. More information regarding .NET Framework and Exchange server can be found here: https://blogs.technet.microsoft.com/exchange/2017/06/13/net-framework-4-7-and-exchange-server/.

The .NET Framework 4.6.2 is supported by Exchange 2016 CU3 and higher and Exchange 2013 CU15 and higher. For a complete overview of which scenarios are supported, navigate to the Exchange Server Supportability Matrix on https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ff728623(v=exchg.150).aspx.

KB articles that describe the fixes, features and information in each release are available as follows:

Version

Build

KB Article

Download

UMLP

Schema Changes

Exchange 2016 CU6

15.1.1034.26

KB4012108

Download

UMLP

Yes

Exchange 2013 CU17

15.0.1320.4

KB4012114

Download

UMLP

No

Source: jaapwesselius

Some handy URL for SQL Maintenance

2 Handy SQL Scripts

ForceDatabaseOffline:
USE master
GO
ALTER DATABASE YourDatabaseName
SET OFFLINE WITH ROLLBACK IMMEDIATE
GO

ShowOpenConnections:
SELECT
    DB_NAME(dbid) as DBName,
    COUNT(dbid) as NumberOfConnections,
    loginame as LoginName
FROM
    sys.sysprocesses
WHERE
    dbid > 0
GROUP BY
    dbid, loginame
;

The Tool that is love is SP_Blitz
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5QAL9itupMA

Do need to do some SQL Maintenance, i have for you some handy URLs:
https://ola.hallengren.com/
https://www.brentozar.com/

Exchange Edge role on Windows Server 2016 is not Recommend

Exchange Team announcing an update to our support policy for Windows Server 2016 and Exchange Server 2016. At this time we do not recommend customers install the Exchange Edge role on Windows Server 2016. We also do not recommend customers enable antispam agents on the Exchange Mailbox role on Windows Server 2016 as outlined in Enable antispam functionality on Mailbox servers.

Why are we making this change?

In our post Deprecating support for SmartScreen in Outlook and Exchange, Microsoft announced we will no longer publish content filter updates for Exchange Server. We believe that Exchange customers will receive a better experience using Exchange Online Protection (EOP) for content filtering. We are also making this recommendation due to a conflict with the SmartScreen Filters shipped for Windows, Microsoft Edge and Internet Explorer browsers. Customers running Exchange Server 2016 on Windows Server 2016 without KB4013429 installed will encounter an Exchange uninstall failure when decommissioning a server. The failure is caused by a collision between the content filters shipped by Exchange and Windows which have conflicting configuration information in the Windows registry. This collision also impacts customers who install KB4013429 on a functional Exchange Server. After the KB is applied, the Exchange Transport Service will crash on startup if the content filter agent is enabled on the Exchange Server. The Edge role enables the filter by default and does not have a supported method to permanently remove the content filter agent. The new behavior introduced by KB4013429, combined with our product direction to discontinue filter updates, is causing us to deprecate this functionality in Exchange Server 2016 more quickly if Windows Server 2016 is in use.

What about other operating systems supported by Exchange Server 2016?

Due to the discontinuance of SmartScreen Filter updates for Exchange server, we encourage all customers to stop relying upon this capability on all supported operating systems. Installing the Exchange Edge role on supported operating systems other than Windows Server 2016 is not changed by today’s announcement. The Edge role will continue to be supported on non-Windows Server 2016 operating systems subject to the operating system lifecycle outlined at https://support.microsoft.com/lifecycle.

Help! My services are already crashing or I want to proactively avoid this

If you used the Install-AntiSpamAgents.ps1 to install content filtering on the Mailbox role:

  1. Find a suitable replacement for your email hygiene needs such as EOP or other 3rd party solution
  2. Run the Uninstall-AntiSpamAgents.ps1 from the \Scripts folder created by Setup during Exchange installation

If you are running the Edge role on Windows Server 2016:

  1. Delay deploying KB4013429 to your Edge role or uninstall the update if required to restore service
  2. Deploy the Edge role on Windows Server 2012 or Windows Servers 2012R2 (Preferred)

Support services is available for customers who may need further assistance

European Skype for Business User Group Meeting about Office 365 PSTN calling

On April 6 i was attending the Dutch Skype for Business user groups event at  Microsoft Netherlands. Especially for those present in the Netherlands, we will explain the new telephony capabilities Netherlands in Office 365 (PSTN calling).

The agenda:

17: 30-18: 00 Registration

18:00 to 18:30 Skype for Business Online developments in the Netherlands (van Houttum, MVP)

18:30 to 18:45 Welcome and Key Note Session

18:45 to 19:10 Session 1 (Nordic)
Cloud PBX – Options (AA CQ CCE and more) (Lasse Nordvik Wedo, MVP), support from (Stale Hansen, MVP)

19:10 to 19:35 Session 2 (Germany)
Online Dial Pans with CloudPBX (Thomas Poett, MVP)

19: 35- 20:00 Session 3 (UK)
Trusted Server API SfB (Tom Morgen and Ben Lee, MVPs)

8:00 p.m. to 20:15 BREAK

20:15 to 20:40 Session 4 (Benelux)
Teams in O365 (Johan Delimon, MVP) with support from (van Houttum, MVP)

20:40 to 21:05 Session 5 (Italy)
Hybrid Skype4B Best Practice for Cloud PBX with PSTN Connectivity (Alessandro Appiani, MVP)

If you want to look the session back: https://join-emea.broadcast.skype.com/skype4b-ug.de/9dab4d2cc4074a25b7ab83ddbfe57821/nl-NL/

RVTools 3.9.3 vSphere 6.5 Supported

Version Info

Version 3.9.3 (March, 2017)

  • Bug fix: unhandled exception in decrypt function solved

Version 3.9.2 (February, 2017)

  • Migrated RVTools to use .NET Framework version 4
  • Migrated RVTools to use NPOI 2.1.3.1
  • Support for vSphere 6.5
  • Improved logon performance
  • RVTools will no longer write messages to the Windows eventlog
  • All VM related tab pages now have a new column: OS according to the VMware Tools
  • All tab pages now have a new column: VI SDK Server
  • All tab pages column vCenter UUID renamed to VI SDK UUID
  • vInfo tab page: new column VI SDK API version
  • Export to Excel will now use xlsx format
  • Export to Excel all columns are now auto sized
  • Excel worksheet names will use same name as the tab page names
  • Annotations fields can now be excluded! See preference window
  • vPartition tab page new column: Consumed MB
  • vHealth _replica directories are excluded for zombie checks
  • *_sesparse.vmdk files are excluded for zombie checks
  • New tab page with license information
  • New PasswordEncryption application added with which you can encrypt your password
  • RVTools command line interface accepts now encrypted passwords
  • Bug fix: URL Link to online version info issue solved.

http://www.robware.net/rvtools/

Exchange Online RPC over HTTP Deprecation(Outlook 2007) October 31 2017

Status: Active

Action Required by: October 31, 2017 at 5:59 PM UTC

Details: On October 31st, 2017, Exchange Online mailboxes in Office 365 will require connections from Outlook for Windows use MAPI over HTTP, our new method of connectivity and transport between Outlook for Windows and Exchange. In May of 2014, Microsoft introduced MAPI over HTTP as a replacement for RPC over HTTP. RPC over HTTP was a legacy connection protocol that is being deprecated from Exchange Online. Beginning October 31, 2017, Outlook for Windows clients using RPC over HTTP will be unable to access their Exchange Online mailbox. The necessary action depends on the version of Outlook in use in your organization. If you are using Outlook 2007 or earlier, you need to upgrade. Outlook 2007 does not contain support for the MAPI/HTTP protocol. We encourage you to update to the Office 365 ProPlus subscription, or access Outlook via the web browser (which is included in your current subscription plan). Outlook 2010-2016 customers will need to ensure their version of Outlook for Windows is set up to support MAPI/HTTP. At a minimum, you should ensure you have installed the December 2015 update. Lastly, ensure your Outlook clients are not using a registry key to block MAPI/HTTP.

Message Center: MC85988 – Potential service disruption for Outlook for Windows users

Posted: November 16, 2016

Additional Information: KB3201590: RPC over HTTP deprecated in Office 365 on October 31, 2017

Translate »