Great news, in words of Exchange TAP Program Manager David Espinoza: “Exchange Server 2007 SP1 has left the building”. The “pack of goodies” is Build 240.06 – download it here.
(Read the announcement on the team blog, with feedback from TAP customers, including Zenprise.)
Congratulations to the Exchange product team for shipping an unusual service pack, loaded with improvements in performance, functionality, plenty of new GUI admin interfaces in the EMC (more details in “New Exchange Management Console Features in Exchange 2007 SP1“), and quite a few new features.
On top of the list for most folks is the eagerly awaited Standby Continuous Replication (SCR), which uses the Database Continuous Replication technology to replicate Storage Groups from clustered/non-clustered sources to clustered/non-clustered targets. Designed to provide datacenter redundancy – the source and target can be on different subnets, in different AD Sites altogether.
Additionally, LCR – used to replicate Storage Groups to another volume on the same server – no longer requires 2-3x the disk IOPS on volumes where the replica is stored. LCR can also use the Transport Dumpster now (restricted to CCR earlier).
Support for Windows Server 2008 also allows Exchange Server 2007 to leverage the new Failover Clustering features in the OS – allowing CCR clusters to span across subnets, making CCR clusters across WAN links easier to deploy.
Exchange ActiveSync (EAS) comes with plenty of improvements as well – users with WinMo (i.e. Windows Mobile) 6 devices will be happy. Administrators will like the number of new settings in ActiveSync policies that allow increased control of devices. (Read previous post “Exchange Server 2007 SP1: Take control of your Windows Mobile devices“).
OWA users get Public Folder access, S/MIME support, Personal Distribution Lists, server-side rules, and monthly calendar views, amongst other improvements.
Complete list of features available in “What’s new in Exchange Server 2007 SP1“.
Make sure you read the SP1 Release Notes before upgrading.
Clichés aside, this is the best Exchange service pack ever.
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
I’m curious. Will this service pack be available via WSUS or just via the website download?
No, Exchange Server 2007 SP1 will not be pushed out using WSUS. It’s a major service pack that requires Schema updates and Domainprep to be run. Additionally, the SP1 is ‘slipstreamed’ – it includes all the code, not just the Service Pack.