Quarantine Mailbox: Displaying original SCL, sender and recipients

In Exchange Server 2007, messages delivered to the quarantine mailbox show up as DSNs sent by the postmaster address of the default domain. In HOW TO: Expose original senders and recipients of quarantined messages, we modified the QTNE.cfg form for Microsoft Outlook to reveal original senders and recipients.

Although the original sender and recipient fields were added, the original SCL stamped on the quarantined message wasn't visible. The OriginalScl property was exposed in Exchange 2007 SP1, and is now included in the updated form in that post. Installing the updated form exposes the original SCL for messages in the quarantine mailbox, as seen in Figure 1.


Figure 1: The original SCL for messages in the quarantine mailbox can be displayed using the updated Outlook form

Announced: Virtualization support for Exchange Server 2007

Exchange Server 2007 is now supported on Hyper-V and other (read "Non-Microsoft") hypervisors validated under the Microsoft Server Vitualization Validation Program. Vendors participating in the program: Citrix, Cisco Systems, Novell, Sun Micrososystems, and Virtual Iron Software.

The new support policy for Exchange in virtualized environments: Microsoft Support Policies and Recommendations for Exchange Servers in Hardware Virtualization Environments.

• What's supported: Exchange Server 2007 SP1 running on Windows Server 2008
  
• Supported Exchange 2007 Server Roles: All except Unified Messaging
  
• What Hypervisor: Microsoft Hyper-V, or any hypervisor validated by MSVVP
  
• Not supported: Differencing disks and expandable virtual disks
  
• Not supported: Taking VM snapshots (these aren't application-aware)
  
• Not supported: Combining Exchange's clustering features (SCC and CCR) with availability features from the virtualization layer, such as Hyper-V's quick migration.

A change has also been made to licensing policies allowing transfer of licenses for server applications (such as Exchange and SQL Server) between servers as frequently as required. This was earlier restricted to 90 days. This facilitates virtualization, where VMs running these server applications can be easily transferred from one server to another. More about the change in licensing policy in the Volume Licensing Brief titled Application Server License Mobility (Word DOC).

More details about the announcement in the Exchange team blog post: Microsoft Virtualization and Licensing Announcements

Exchange System Manager and Outlook on the same computer?

With the release of Exchange System Manager (ESM) for Windows Vista yesterday (Released: Exchange System Manager for Windows Vista), there's been concern about the fact that ESM is not supported on the same computer as Microsoft Outlook. However, the coexistence of the two has not been a supported scenario for long.

From KB 266418: Microsoft does not support installing Exchange Server components and Outlook on the same computer:

Microsoft does not support installing Microsoft Outlook and Microsoft Exchange Server 2003 (including Exchange System Manager), Microsoft Exchange 2000 Server (including Exchange System Manager), or Microsoft Exchange Server 5.5 on the same computer. The Product Support group does not support the coexistence of Outlook and Exchange on the same computer in a production environment.

The KBA provides an explanation of the issue related to MAPI32.DLL, and also indicates that these can be installed on the same computer for demonstration purposes. They're not supported in production.

Comments on the Exchange team blog post yesterday indicate many folks (myself included in the past) have been doing exactly that... installing ESM and Microsoft Outlook on the same computer. It's not the same thing as installing Outlook on the Exchange Server, something I haven't attempted in a long time, and wouldn't encourage you to do.

William Lefkovics (Exchange MVP and fellow coauthor of Exchange Server 2007: The Complete Reference) has a great overview about this on Slipstick: A Mixed History of Remotely Managing Exchange Servers

Released: Exchange System Manager for Windows Vista

If you've been waiting to install Exchange System Manager on Windows Vista, the wait is finally over.

Exchange System Manager for Windows Vista is now available.

Pre-requisites:
- The computer should be a member of a domain which has Exchange Server 2003 SP2.
- Windows Server adminpak (from Windows Server 2003 SP1 or Windows Server 2003 R2)

Known Issues (from the Release Notes):

• SMTP Current Sessions node is not supported (SMTPadmin.dll cannot be registered)
  
• NNTP property view is not supported (NNTPadmin.dll cannot be registered)
  
• Installing ESM on a computer which has Microsoft Outlook installed is not supported
  

Exchange Server Antispam Updates: Do I have the latest update?

Not sure if the Exchange 2007 or 2003 (IMF) updates on your system are the latest and greatest? Doubt if the automatic update process is working?

You can use the Microsoft Update Catalog web site to search for these. You can also subscribe to the RSS feeds for each update (search result on the web site).

• Exchange Server 2007 Antispam updates  
  
• Exchange 2003 Intelligent Message Filter updates  
  

You can also use the site to search for other Microsoft products and subscribe to the feeds.

TechNet Webcast: Disaster Recovery and SCR Deep Dive

Scott Schnoll's doing a TechNet Webcast on High Availability in Exchange Server 2007 SP1: Disaster Recovery and SCR Deep Dive.

What: TechNet Webast: High Availability in Exchange Server 2007 SP1 (Part 2 of 2):
Disaster Recovery and SCR Deep Dive
(Level 300)
When: Friday, August 15, 2008 9:30 AM Pacific
Who: Scott Schnoll, Principal Technical Writer
More info and registration

Standby Continuous Replication resources:

• Scott recorded a 5-part video series on SCR for the Exchange team blog last year.
  Links: Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5
  
• Scott's blog posts:
  Exchange 2007 - Continuous Replication Architecture and Behavior
  More on Continuous Replication
  
• Ross Smith IV and Scott recently wrote a white paper on Continuous Replication. Whitepaper: Continuous Replication Deep Dive
  
• Exchange product documentation: Standby Continuous Replication