Professional Documents
Culture Documents
2010
2010
Exchange Server is an email, calendaring and address book systemapplication that runs on Windows
Server 2008 operating system. In Exchange 2010, Microsoft focus on security, scalability, reliability,
mobility and unified communication
2. What are the Exchange Server 2010 editions available and their functionality?
We have to editions introduced in Exchange 2010, Standard and Enterprise Edition.
Standard Edition limited to have 5 databases, can be installed in Windows server 2008 Sp2 X64
Machine and Supports DAG (Standard edition exchange 2010 can be a member of DAG) if it is
installed in Windows Server 2008 SP2 X64 enterprise edition operating system. No size limit for
database, limited only by the hardware
Enterprise Edition Limited to have 100 databases, installed on Windows server 2008 Sp2 X64
Machine and Support DAG. Only be installed in Windows Server 2008 SP2 X64 enterprise edition
operating system. No size limit for database, limited only by the hardware
3. What is same between Exchange Server 2003/2007 and Exchange Server 2010?
Core Infrastructure of Exchange Server 2003 or 2007 versus Exchange server
2010 in same, Microsoft continued to use the JET EDB database as the main
database engine
Exchange 2010 still use the concept of mailbox servers to hold us the user
mailboxes and public folders
Users can access their email using Outlook, OWA and Active Sync Clients
Exchange 2010 uses the VSS API to freeze the exchange database to perform a
backup of exchange server database
Even if transition of mailbox from exchange server 20032007 occurs, older client
access emails using outlook or OWA wont feel much difference on their client
perspective, there is no compulsion of upgrading to Exchange 2010
Exchange Server 2007 5 roles architecture is not changed in Exchange Server
2010. But the MAPI endpoint on Mail Server role is moved to client access
server role, where in Exchange Server 2010, All the Exchange Server clients will
connect CAS to access the mailbox and the public folders access will be directly
threw or to Mailbox Database
4. What is missing in Exchange Server 2010 that are available in previous version?
A few of the missing features that are available in Exchange Server 2003 or 2007 are
Storage Groups and Recovery Storage Groups are removed and the concept of
mailbox database and Recovery mailbox database is available
STM database has been removed, so its just moved to EDB database as like
exchange 2000 and the STM database concept is incorporated with EDB
database
Administrative Group and Routing Groups is been completely removed. Routing
Groups are replaced with Active Directory sites and services to define
organizational Sites and routing of messages to those sites
EXOLEDB, WEBDAV, CDOEX and the Store Events are gone; exchange 2010
uses the new Exchange Web Services as the primary method to provide web
services to client system
Public Folders are still announced in a de emphasized state
Other features like front and back end architecture has been removed, New
Management tools EMC and Exchange Management Shell are introduced.
Normal Permission Model is replaced with powerful or granular permission
model named Role Based Access Control
5. Explain the Exchange 2010 Server roles and their functions in short?
Mailbox Server: This server hosts mailboxes and public folders.
Client Access Server: This is the server that hosts the client protocols, such as POP3, IMAP4,
HTTPS, Outlook Anywhere, Availability service and Autodiscover service. The Client Access
Server also hosts Web services.
Unified Messaging Server: This is the server that connects a Private Branch eXchange (PBX)
system to Exchange 2010.
Hub Transport Server: This is the mail routing server that routes mail within the Exchange
organization.
Edge Transport Server: This is the mail routing server that typically sits at the perimeter of the
topology and routes mail in to and out of the Exchange organization.
6. How the Mail flow has been changed respect to the introduction of Servers roles in Exchange
Server 2010?
An incoming message from the Internet first goes to the Edge Transport server.
The Edge Transport server performs first-level recipient validation, as well as
spam and virus filtering. The message is then passed on to the Hub Transport
server.
The Hub Transport server performs compliance content assessment and then
looks at the internal routing for messages and forwards the message to another
Hub Transport server or directly to a Mailbox server.
The Mailbox server places the incoming message into the users mailbox and
notifies the user that a message has arrived.
The user launches Outlook, OWA, their Windows Mobile device, or another
client system and connects to the client access server. The client access server
confirms the destination point of the users mailbox and provides the user access
to their mailbox data.
In parallel, if a voice mail message comes in for a user, the Unified Messaging
server processes the incoming voice message, and then takes the message and
places the voice message into the users mailbox residing on the Mailbox server
for the recipient
7. What Microsoft tries to focus to deliver on Exchange Server 2010?
Three important focuses on the release of Exchange Server 2010 are
Increase operational flexibility through easier deployment, high availability and
simplified administration
Support to larger and better organized mailboxes using Archive mailbox,
Discovery Mailboxes etc
Provides control with protected communication, built in compliance and
archiving functionality like Retention and Legal hold
8. How to prepare an Exchange Server 2010 Installation?
If we are going to install an new installation or a transition from earlier version, we have to follow the
below steps in preparing an Exchange Server 2010 installation
Run the EXBPA to identify the problems
Check whether all the perquisites and the hot fixes are installed
Active directory to be raised to Windows Server 2003 forest functional level,
better to have Active Directory and Global Catalog Server on 64 bit server with
Windows Sever 2003 Sp1 or later
Remove any Exchange Server 2000 or earlier version prior to the Exchange 2010
installation
If we have Exchange Server 2007 in place, that need to be update with Exchange
Server 2007 SP2
Decide which versionedition of Exchange Server 2010 we are going to install
based on the business requirement
9. What version of Windows Server is supported for Exchange Server 2010 installation?
Windows Server 2008 SP2 or R2 version was the only supported version of Windows Servers to Install
Exchange Server 2010.
Note: Windows Server 2008 Datacenter Edition was not certified to install Exchange Server 2010 and
also the Windows Server 2008, core edition and web editions are also not supported
10. Why we need to update Exchange Server 2007 to SP2 before installation Exchange Server
2010?
Main reason is, while update Exchange Server 2007 with SP2 will modify the Active Directory Schema
to allow Exchange Server 2007 and Exchange Server 2010 to co exists in same Exchange organization
11. Is it possible to install Exchange Server 2007 in a fresh installation of Exchange Server 2010
environment?
No is the answers and its not possible to install Exchange Server 2007, if Exchange Server 2010 got
installed at the first place.
If we plan to deploy exchange Server 2007 on Exchange Server 2010 deployed environment. We have
to prepare the Exchange environment with Exchange Server 2007 installation media and then if we
install Exchange Server 2010, on the later, we have an option to introduce Exchange Server 2007.
12. What are the Exchange Server 2010 Version or Edition?
We have two Edition introduced in Exchange Server 2010
Standard Edition which provides the basic functionality of Exchange server, limited to have 5
Databases, includes public folder database. Supports DAG and there is no limit for Database Size
Enterprise Edition Designed for large organization with the 100 Database as the limit. Support DAG
and there is no limit for database size
13. Where Exchange Server stores the Exchange related information in Active Directory?
Exchange Server stores the Exchange related information in Active Directory partitions, following are
the details
Domain Partition Mail enable recipient, groups and contact related to domain level are stored
Configuration Partition Stores the Exchange configuration information like, policies, global settings,
address list, connecters and it contains the information related to forest level
Schema Partition stores the Exchange specific classes and attributes
14. What are the types of Active Directory deployment that server supported in Exchange Server
2010 deployment?
Single Forest simplest design, both the AD account and mailbox resides on the same forest
Multi Forest Two or more forest that operate independently from each other in terms of the accounts
of application deployed in each forest
Resource Forest User accounts and groups are deployed in root forest and applications like Exchange
are deployed in special resource forest. Each mailbox exists in resource forest and use the disabled user
accounts that belongs to root forest
15. What will happen if you run the prepare schema and prepare AD switches?
Prepare Schema After running the Prepare Schema switch, the Active directory will contain the
classes and attributes required to support Exchange environment
Prepare AD after running the Prepare AD switch, new container will be created to hold the details of
the information from server to databases to connectors. This process also created universal security
groups to manage Exchange and sets appropriate permissions on objects to allow them to be managed
16. What are the prerequisites to install Exchange Server 2010?
Software:
Windows Server 2008 SP2 or R2 with x64 bit version
.Net framework 3.5 with SP1
Windows Remote Management Shell
Power shell 2.0
Rest of the Windows components related to Exchange Server installation can be installed using the
below command
Setup /mode:install /roles:C,H,T /InstallWindowsComponents
17. How to recover a failed Exchange Server 2010 Server?
Let us assume the functional exchange server 2010 server got crashed due to hardware failure, here are
the steps that need to build the server again
Arrange a new Server with the same operating system as like the failed server
and assign the same drive letter for the databases and the log files directory
Reset the Active Directory Account for failed server
Install and configure the perquisites that are needed to install Exchange Server
2010
Ensure the network connectivity and configure the new computer with the correct
IP address
Join the new computer with the domain controller with the same computer name
as a failed server
Run the setup Mode:recoverserver
Restore databases on the location of the new Disks
If it is non mailbox servers, restore the configuration files from back backup or
from other servers
We will add another 13 important questions and answers on the overview of Exchange Server 2010.
Person who are all viewing this topic are requested to leave your opinion on this topic to increase the
quality of this website.
Update questions and Answers on Exchange Server 2010 Service Pack 1
18. Whats New in Exchange Server 2010 SP1 in Client Access Server Level?
Client Access Server level improvements in Exchange Server 2010 Sp1
Federation certificates, Exchange ActiveSync, SMS Sync, Integrated Rights Management, Microsoft
Office Outlook Web App, and virtual directories.
Federation certificates can be a self signed certificate instead of a certificate issued by a CA to
establish federation trust.
Exchange Active sync devices can be managed using Exchange Control Panel like manage
default access level for all phones, set up and email alert when a device is quarantined and
create and manage active sync device access rules
SMS sync is a new feature is exchange active sync that works with Windows mobile 6.1 with
outlook mobile update and windows mobile 6.5, it will give an ability to synchronize messages
between a mobile phone or a device and exchange 2010 inbox
New outlook feature like OWA themes (27) and an option to customize the themes. User will
have an option to reset the expired password from OWA
Reset OWA Virtual directory wizard will resolve the damaged file on a virtual directory
Client throttling policies will help you manage performance of your Client Access servers. Only
the policies to limit the number of concurrent client connections were enabled by default.
Exchange 2010 SP1 all client throttling policies are enabled by default.
19. What are the new Transport Server level features in Exchange Server 2010 SP1?
Below are the new Transport functionality
MailTips access control over organizational relationships
Enhanced monitoring and troubleshooting features for MailTips and Message
Tracking
Message throttling enhancements
Shadow redundancy promotion
SMTP failover and load balancing improvements
Support for extended protection on SMTP connections
Send connector changes to reduce NDRs over well-defined connections
20. What are the Mailbox Server and database level improvements in Exchange Server 2010
SP1?
New shell command New-MailboxRepairRequest to detect and repair mailbox and database corruption
issues.
New script introduced to control excessive log growth of mailbox database mentioned as Troubleshoot-
DatabaseSpace.ps1
Public Folder client permissions support is added to EMC
21. Inform some High Availability improvements in Exchange Server 2010 SP1
Below are the new features on the high availability
Continuous replication block mode: This mode will allow the passive mailbox copies are up
to date, as the active database is updated; each update written to the database log file is also
shipped to the passive mailbox copies. In the event of a failure, the passive database copy is
updated with the latest log updates which minimizes data loss
Improved client experience for cross-site failover: Admin can now control if Outlook will
redirect cross-site or if it is automatically connected
Improved support for 2-node Datacenter resilient topologies ( Now supports Datacenter
Activation Coordinator mode (DAC) Mode with two servers in a DAG )
Faster failovers with improved post-failover client experience (Failover drives the database to a
clean shutdown by playing all logs. The mount process then simply brings database up, with no
recovery required, which speeds up the failover time. )
Mailbox database redistribution (New script which can move active mailbox databases back to
the copy with the highest activation preference)
22. Inform some Recipient Level improvements in Exchange Server 2010 SP1
In Outlook 2010 and Outlook 2007, Autodiscover automatically loads any mailbox for which a user has
been granted full access permission. Users cant control or disable this behavior.
Calendar Repair Assistant supports more scenarios than were available in Exchange 2010 RTM.
Mailbox Assistants are now all throttle-based (changed from time-based in Exchange 2010
RTM).
Internet calendar publishing allows users in your Exchange organization to share their Outlook
calendars with a broad Internet audience.
Importing and exporting .pst files now uses the Mailbox Replication service and doesnt require
Outlook.
Hierarchical address book support allows you to create and configure your address lists and
offline address books in a hierarchical view.
Distribution group naming policies allow you to configure string text that will be appended or
prepended to a distribution groups name when its created.
Soft-delete of mailboxes after move completion
23. Inform some Unified Messaging Server level changes in Exchange Server 2010 SP1?
UM reporting The reports for Call Statistics and User Call Logs found in the Exchange
Management Console are displayed in the Exchange Control Panel.
UM management in the Exchange Control Panel You can use the ECP to manage UM
components in a cross-premises environment.
Cross-Forest UM-enabled mailbox migration In Exchange 2010 SP1, you can use the New-
MoveRequest cmdlet with the Mailbox Replication Service (MRS) to move a UM-enabled
mailbox within a local forest and multiple forests in an enterprise.
Outlook Voice Access improvements Outlook Voice Access users can log on to their Exchange
2010 mailbox and choose the order to listen to unread voice mail messages, from the oldest
message first or the newest message first.
Caller Name Display support Exchange 2010 SP1 includes support for enhanced caller ID
resolution for displaying names for voice mails from unresolved numbers using Caller Name
Display (CND).
Test-ExchangeUMCallFlow cmdlet With this Exchange 2010 SP1 cmdlet, you can test UM
connectivity and call flow.
New UM Dial Plan wizard An additional page has been added to the New UM Dial
Plan wizard that allows you to add a UM server to the dial plan.
Lync Server 2010 Support Migrating SIP URI dial plans and Message Waiting Indicator
(MWI) notifications in a cross-premises environment has been added.
Secondary UM dial plan support You can add a secondary UM dial plan for a UM-enabled
user.
UM language packs added New UM language packs are now available in Exchange 2010 SP1.
In addition, the Spanish (Spain) (es-ES) UM language pack available for Exchange 2010 SP1
now includes Voice Mail Preview, a feature that wasnt available in the Exchange 2010 RTM
release of that language pack.
Call answering rules improvements There are three updates to Call Answering Rules for UM-
enabled users in SP1.
Unified Communications Managed API/speech platform improvements Beginning with
Exchange 2010 SP1, the UM server relies on Unified Communications Managed API v. 2.0
(UCMA) for its underlying SIP signaling and speech processing.
UM auto attendant update In Exchange 2010 SP1, a UM auto attendant will play only the
holiday greeting on a holiday
Exchange Server 2010 Client Access Server Interview Questions
September 8th, 2011 | Posted by rajkumar in Exchange Server 2010
1.What is a Client Access Server in Exchange Server 2010?
Client Access server role in exchange server 2010 help all the exchange clients to access their mailbox.
Exchange server clients like outlook, OWA, IMAP, POP3, Exchange Active Sync, ECP, Entourage
clients will connect to client access server first and the request will be passed to respective mailbox
server or mailbox database.
Addition features like auto discover and availability services are handled by client access server role.
2. What are the major changes in CAS in Exchange 2010, when compared with Exchange 2007?
When compared with client access server role in exchange server 2007, exchange server 2010 CAS
server function as a MAPI end point for all the exchange clients by replacing the MAPI end point from
mailbox server role to client access server role.
New high availability model for client access server introduced in exchange server 2010 named client
access server array.
Exchange Control Panel is a new feature supported by client access server role, which will allow users
having permission to manage certain tasks from client machine itself.
3. Name the new features introduced in Exchange 2010 CAS server?
Below are some the new feature introduced in client access server role on exchange server 2010.
RPC Client Access component that serves client request is now part of CAS
server
Client Access Server array high availability option for client access server
Outlook web app feature like conversation view, search folders in OWA and owa
mailbox policies etc
Cross-site POP3 and IMAP4 client connectivity is supported by default in
Exchange 2010
4. Explain client access Proxying and the supported clients?
Client Access server can act as a proxy for other Client Access servers within the organization by
having single internet facing client access server. This is useful when multiple Client Access servers are
present in different Active Directory sites in an organization and at least one of those sites isnt exposed
to the Internet. Proxying will be supported by OWA, ECP and exchange active sync clients
5. Explain what are client access redirection and the supported clients?
Redirection is useful when a user connects to a Client Access server that isnt in their local Active
Directory site or if a mailbox has moved between Active Directory sites. Its also useful if the user
should be using a better URL, for example, one thats closer to the Active Directory site their mailbox
resides in. Redirection will be supported by POP3 and IMAP4 clients.
6. What are the supportable clients available in exchange server 2010?
Exchange Server 2010 client access server supports, Outlook MAPI connection, OWA, ECP, IMAP4,
POP3, Exchange Active Sync, entourage clients and EWS
7. Explain Exchange Active Sync in Exchange Server 2010?
Exchange ActiveSync enables mobile phone users to access their e-mail, calendar, contacts, and tasks
and to continue to be able to access this information while theyre working offline. The protocol, based
on HTTP and XML, lets mobile phones access an organizations information on a server thats running
Microsoft Exchange. Direct Push is the technology used in synchronizing emails to mobile devices
Feature like support for HTML messages, PIN reset, auto discover over air are the additional
components inactive sync on exchange server 2010.
8. What you know about POP3 and IMAP client with exchange 2010?
POP3 is a client access method which uses outlook as the application to access the email from
exchange server. If profile is configured using pop3, then allowing certain of emails to leave in server
and rest of the emails will get download to the local machine. Email downloaded cannot be accessed
anywhere from OWA etc
IMAP is also client access method to access emails, where the IMAP wont download the emails
locally. Exact sync of the emails and the folder structure in exchange server will be in sync when
profile is configured in outlook IMAP4 configuration.
9. How outlook anywhere works in Exchange Server 2010?
Outlook Anywhere feature, formerly known as RPC over HTTP allow the exchange clients that use
Outlook 2010, Outlook 2007, or Outlook 2003 connect to their Exchange servers from outside the
corporate network or over the Internet using the RPC over HTTP Windows networking component.
The Windows RPC over HTTP Proxy component, which Outlook Anywhere clients use to connect,
wraps remote procedure calls (RPCs) with an HTTP layer. This allows traffic to traverse network
firewalls without requiring RPC ports to be opened. By default outlook anywhere is not enabled and it
has to be manually enabled.
10. What are the new features in outlook web app?
Lot of new features are there in outlook web app and few are mentioned here
Outlook Web App Mailbox Policies, Conversion view, Chat, Attach message to messages and Standard
version of OWA for all the web browsers.
OWA in exchange server 2010 is by default securely published using self signed certificate.
11. What is the function of availability service in exchange server 2010?
Exchange Server 2010 Availability service makes free/busy information available to Microsoft Office
Outlook 2007 or 2010 and Outlook Web App clients. The Availability service improves information
workers calendaring and meeting scheduling experience by providing secure, consistent, and up-to-
date free/busy information. By default, this service is installed with Exchange 2010
Outlook 2007 or 2010 and Outlook Web App use the Availability service to perform the following
tasks:
Retrieve current free/busy information for Exchange 2010 mailboxe
Retrieve current free/busy information from other Exchange 2010 organization
Retrieve published free/busy information from public folders for mailboxes on
servers that have versions of Exchange earlier than Exchange 2010
View attendee working hours
Show meeting time suggestions
12. What are the services used by Client Access Server and inform their function?
Service related to client access server are IIS Admin, MSExchange Address Book Service,
MSExchange AD topology, MSExchangeFDS, MSExchange Mailbox Replication, Protected Service
host, exchange rpc, service host, W3svc, Winrm
13. Explain the auto discover functionality in exchange 2010?
Autodiscover is a new service in exchange server 2010 where it will automatically configure user
profile settings for clients running Microsoft Office Outlook 2007 or Outlook 2010. Autodiscover uses
a users e-mail address and password to provide profile settings to Outlook 2007 or Outlook 2010
clients and supported mobile phones. If the Outlook client is joined to a domain, the users domain
account is used.
14. How the autodiscover service works in exchange server 2010?
When a Client Access server role installed on a computer, a default virtual directory named
Autodiscover is created under the default Web site in Internet Information Services (IIS). This virtual
directory handles Autodiscover service requests from Outlook 2007 or Outlook 2010 clients and
supported mobile phone
Additionally, a new Active Directory object named the service connection point (SCP) is created on the
server where you install the Client Access server role. The SCP object contains the authoritative list of
Autodiscover service URLs for the forest.
When the client connects to Active Directory, the client looks for the SCP object created during Setup.
In deployments that include multiple Client Access servers, an Autodiscover SCP object is created for
each Client Access server. The SCP object contains the ServiceBindingInfo attribute with the fully
qualified domain name (FQDN) of the Client Access server in the form
https://CAS01/autodiscover/autodiscover.xml, where CAS01 is the FQDN for the Client Access server.
Using the user credentials, the Outlook 2007 or Outlook 2010 client authenticates to Active Directory
and searches for the Autodiscover SCP objects. After the client obtains and enumerates the instances of
the Autodiscover service, the client connects to the first Client Access server in the enumerated list and
obtains the profile information in the form of XML data thats needed to connect to the users mailbox
and available Exchange features
15. How Address book service helps the exchange 2010?
In earlier version of version of exchange, Exchange provided a referral service that told clients such as
Outlook where they could find a server running the NSPI service. This referral usually pointed Outlook
to a global catalog server. This has been redesigned in exchange server 2010, where the address book
service in client access server will refer the request to global catalog server.
16. What is RPC client Access and inform its function?
In Microsoft Exchange Server 2007, the Client Access server role was introduced to handle incoming
client connections to Exchange mailboxes. Although the majority of types of client connections were
made to the Client Access server, Microsoft Office Outlook still connected directly to the Mailbox
server when it was running internally with the MAPI protocol.
A new service was introduced with Exchange Server 2010 to allow these MAPI connections to be
handled by the Client Access server. The RPC Client Access service provides data access through a
single, common path of the Client Access server, with the exception of public folder requests, which
are still made directly to the Mailbox server
17. Explain Client Access Array in short?
Client Access Array is a new feature in exchange server 2010, where it serves as a single contact point
for all client connections within that Active Directory site. A Client Access server array can include one
or many Client Access servers within a active directory site
18. What are steps to configure a CAS Array?
Steps involved in configuring the client access server array
Create a Client Access array New-ClientAccessArray -Name Name -Site AD site Name
-fqdn Name of the cas array (outlook.domainname.com). Once the cas array is created, create
the address in DNS and associate it with the virtual IP address used for the Client Access array.
Configure load balancing Load balancing is recommended for high availability, failover, and
for spreading the traffic load over multiple servers to help performance
Configure RPC encryption settings
Configure your Mailbox databases
19. Explain the virtual directories in CAS 2010 and what is the function of all those directories?
20. Users are not able to access OWA externally. How you will troubleshoot this?
If users are able to access OWA internally and externally not accessible then below troubleshooting
steps can be followed
Check whether OWA external url is mentioned on the properties OWA virtual directory in exchange
management console
Check whether OWA is externally published
21. Unable to see the free busy information. Inform what you will do, if it is a single user issue
and if it s for multi user issue?
If it is a single user issue We can run the clean free busy switch, if still an issue, we can run the test
email auto configuration to check whether the availability service url is properly resolving in outlook, if
still an issue reconfigure the outlook profile
If it is a multi user issue We can check the availability service is running on client access server or
not, if it running and still an issue we can check whether IIS service is crashed etc. Check for event logs
related to iis related issue, if everything is normal, we can go for restart of availability and IIS server in
client access server
22. One user complaints that he is not able to set OOF in his outlook. He is getting error message
like exchange server is unavailable. How you will troubleshoot?
We can check the below things
Check whether the outlook profile is showing the oof url while doing test email auto
configuration
Check whether ssl certificate is still valid
Check whether he can send oof from owa
Reconfigure outlook profile etc
23. You are checking the client Access redirection functionality and it is not working. What you
will do?
24. Can you inform a feature that is available in Outlook, which is not available in OWA?
25. Outlook 2003 clients are unable to connect to exchange 2010 mailbox. What will be the issue
and how you will troubleshoot?
By default in RTM version of exchange server 2010, rpc client access encryption is enabled on mailbox
database, when outlook 2003 user tries to connect exchange 2010 mailbox he will get an error. To avoid
this encryption needs to be disabled on the mailbox database level.
26. You are not able to open a exchange server 2010 mailbox in outlook 2007 but you are able to
access using OWA. Its a new setup with 3 servers with CAS, mailbox and hub installed
separately. How you will solve it?
May be the newly create user information may take some time to replicate across all the sites
We can check for whether MAPI mailbox feature is enabled on the mailbox properties
If hide from address is option is enable is checked, outlook profile cannot be configured, we can check
that also.
27. What are the URLs provided to auto discover clients?
Below are the urls referenced to outlook clients when outlook profile is configured using auto discover
Availability Service Url: https://servername.domainname.com/ews/exchange.asmx
OOF Url: https://servername.domainname.com/ews/exchange.asmx
OAB URL: Public Folder
Unified Message Service Url:
https://servername.domainname.com/unifiedMessaging/service.asmx
Exchange Control Panel Url: https://servername.domainname.com/ecp
28. Newly created user account is not updating in GAL after one day. What are the
troubleshooting steps you will follow?
If a user account is created newly it will take some time (6 hours to 24 hours) to replicate or update the
new information in address book, if it is still unable to get the new information in address
I will check the event logs for any issue in online maintenance, if no issues then we can check the email
address on the active directory general tab and the primary emails address on the mailbox properties are
same. If it is not same new user account wont appear.
29. Users on a particular database is facing problem in getting the OAB updated. What will be
issue?
For the first attempt, I will check the issue in OWA; if user can see the address book properly then I
will try to manually download the address book in outlook. If still an issue, Each and every mailbox
database will be pointed to offline address book, need to check whether correct offline address is
pointed. If it is pointed and still an issue, need to check whether public folder database is mounted.
30. Is it possible to add another site CAS server as a member of a CAS Array? Why not and when
you can add other site member as a member of CAS Array?
When a Client Access server array is defined in an Active Directory site, it serves as a single contact
point for all client connections within that Active Directory site. A Client Access server array can
include one or many Client Access servers inside the active directory site. After a Client Access server
array is defined within an Active Directory site, all Client Access servers within that Active Directory
site are automatically part of the Client Access server array.
CAS array is bounded within an active directory site, and if we have two AD sites, we can create two
CAS array one on each site.
31. User able set OOO in OWA but not in outlook. How you will help the user?
32. What are the things you will backup in Client Access Server?
As like mailbox server role, we need to keep a copy of client access server role configuration as a
backup. Information like Internet Information Services (IIS) metabase data that a Client Access server
uses to store Microsoft Office Outlook Web Access Virtual Directory configuration data, OWA url
details, authentication settings can be taken as a note or MS released a script to take the CAS server
configuration as backup.
33. Few of Outlook users are prompting for password again and again. What you will do?
Outlook password prompt issues can occurs, one miss configured exchange server environment
We change the auto discover configuration
We can the DNS configuration or the Domain controller and global catalog server assigned for the
mailbox server role
We can check the permission assigned in IIS
We can check whether the local client computer is correctly configured with DNS settings
34. You are able to access OWA intermittently. If you refresh the OWA page, sometimes it will
show the content, sometime it wont. What will be issue?
It may be because of intermittent network connectivity issue. Need to check the internet connectivity or
is the issue with IIS connectivity in client access server etc
35. How you will find a CAS server used by a user. We have 5 CAS servers; you have to inform a
CAS server used by a user?
By default all the mailbox database will have a RPC Client Access Sever property on each mailbox
database, it will be pointed to the client access server which is installed at first in exchange
environment. We can find the mailbox database user and get the details from shell command
If we use the outlook test auto email configuration option, it will show the client access server which is
used to configure the outlook profile in auto discover method
36. While accessing outlook, he is prompted with the certificate warning. How you will fix it?
By design, exchange server 2007 and 2010 will be assigned with the self signed certificate, where the
outlook 2007 client ignore the certificate check and the outlook profile will be configured using
autodisover. This is not the same with outlook 2010, it will check for cert and throw and error with
certificate warning
We can install the certificate from owa to the trusted root container or we can install a valid SAN
certificate for all the services that are used by autodiscover in exchange server 2010.
37. Client Access Server has been crashed where a single CAS server is in place for the whole
exchange environment. What will happen now?
All the exchange server clients connecting the exchange server mailbox will be disconnected. In
exchange server 2010 including the MAPI connection, all the client connection go via client access
server and if it goes down, all the client connection will be dropped.
5. What are retention policies? And what we can do with retention policies in Exchange Server
2010?
Retention policy is an option to move/ delete certain mails by applying rules. We can set retention
policies at Item or Folder level. Policies can be applied directly within e-mail. We can set expiration
date stamped directly on e-mail. Policies can be applied to all email within a folder. We can configure
delete policy to delete the mail after certain period and Archive policies to move certain mails with the
certain period to archive mailbox
6. What are the Retention Policies in Exchange Server 2010?
1. Move Policy automatically moves messages to the messages to the archive Mailbox with the
options of 6 months, 1 year, 2 years, 5 years and never 2 years is default. Move mailbox
policies helps keep mailbox under quota. This works like outlook Auto Archive without creating
PSTs
2. Delete Policy automatically deletes messages. Delete policies are global. Removes unwanted
items
3. Move + Delete policy automatically moves messages to archive after X months and deletes
from archive after Y Months. We can set policy priority: Explicit policies over default policies;
longer policies apply over shorted policies
7. What is Multi Mailbox Search?
This option delegated access to search to HR, compliance, legal manager. Administrator has to provide
access permission on to use this feature, this will provide an option to search all mail items ( email, IM
contacts, calendar) across primary mailbox, archives. The filtering option in Multi Mailbox search
includes sender, receiver, expire policy, message size, send/receive date, cc/bcc, regular expressions,
IRM protected Items
8. What are E-Discovery features?
Following are the E-Discovery features introduced in Exchange Server 2010
1. Search specific Mailboxes or DLS
2. Export search results to a mailbox or SMTP Address
3. Request email alert when search completes
4. Search results organized by per original hierarchy
Lot more will be added in the original release
9. What is Legal Hold and what are the features in Legal Hold?
New feature in Exchange Server 2010 to monitor or control a user from deleting a Mail or Mailbox, the
features available in Legal Hold are
1. Copy edited and deleted item this option is in Exchange server 2007 to hold the auto deleted
items
2. Set duration for auto delete indefinite or specify time period
3. Auto alert notification sends alerts to users that they are on hold, eliminates manual process
4. Search dumpster use multi mailbox search to retrieve deleted/edited items indexed in
dumpster folder
10. What is journaling and what are the journaling features in Exchange Server 2010?
Journaling is an option to track mails from particular user or from a group of users. The New Features
in Journaling for Exchange server 2010 are
1. Transport Journaling ability to journal individual Mailboxes or SMTP address and also this
gives a detailed report per To/Cc//Bcc/Alt-Recipient and DL expansion
2. Journal report de duplication reduces duplication of journal reports. Exchange server 2010
creates one report per message
11. What is journal decryption?
Journal decryption is a new feature in Exchange Server 2010, if a user sends an encrypted message to
recipient and if journaling was enabled for that user, then the Hub transport Server decrypts the
message and sends that decrypted message for journaling. The intended recipient will receive the
encrypted message
12. What is Set Quota in Archive management?
With Mailbox quota Management, we can assign mailbox size for a user. This option can be enabled
from the properties of the user account, and the default settings to Mailbox quota is 10 GB
13. Inform some new features related to archiving in Service Pack 1?
Users primary and archive mailboxes can be located on the same or separate mailbox databases
Mailboxes can be moved together or separately
Different storage hardware
Separate Database Availability Groups can used for normal mailbox and Archive mailbox
Different backup and recovery windows
14. Do we have an option to configure Retention Policies from Exchange Management Console?
In exchange server 2010 Sp1, we can create and manage Retention Policies in the Exchange
Management Console. In Previous version this can be managed only using EMS.
Also, we have an optional retention tags available in Exchange Server 2010 Sp1.
15. what are the updates in exchange server 2010 related to Journaling?
Transport Journal: Journal achieved to individual mailboxes or SMTP address. We have an option to
get a Detailed reports per To/CC/BCC/Alt-Recipient and distribution group expansion
1. Growing E-Mail Volume everyone wants to have more E-mail because of this the storage, Backup disk
should be increases
4. PSTs quota management often results in growing PSTs outlook Auto Archive
5. Discovery and Compliance issues PSTs difficult to discovery centrally, regulatory retention schedules
contribute to further volume/storage issues
2. How Archiving improved in Exchange Server 2010?
Archiving improved by providing larger mailbox architecture, simple migration of PSTs back to server, discovery
options, retention policies and legal hold.
Large mailbox Architecture maintains performance and provides option for DAS-SATA storage to reduce costs
Archiving enables simple migration of PSTs back to server. If the archiving option sin enabled for a user, a new
Mailbox will be created to the user name archive in which the user can set retention policies to move the mails to
archive mailbox or the admin can set retention policies for the user mailbox.
Archiving simplifies discovery, retention and legal hold
3. What are the archiving options introduced in Exchange Server 2010?
1. Personal Archive secondary Mailbox Node, they are the PST files of primary Mailbox
3. Multi-Mailbox search Role based GUI, admin can assign this permission to legal team
4. Legal Hold monitor or control a user from delete a mail by legal hold and searchable with Multi Mailbox
Search
5. Journaling Journal de-duplication (unwanted journaling on distributed mails). One copy of journal per
database and
6. Journal decryption HT role will do the decryption and send the decrypted copy for journaling
4. What is personal archive in Exchange Server 2010 archiving?
It is a Secondary mailbox that is configured by the administrator, this appears along with users primary mailbox in
outlook or OWA, and the PST files can be dragged and dropped to personal archive Mailbox. Mails in Primary
mailbox can be moved automatically using Retention policies. Archive quota can be set separately from primary
mailbox
5. What are retention policies? And what we can do with retention policies in Exchange Server 2010?
Retention policy is an option to move/ delete certain mails by applying rules. We can set retention policies at Item or
Folder level. Policies can be applied directly within e-mail. We can set expiration date stamped directly on e-mail.
Policies can be applied to all email within a folder. We can configure delete policy to delete the mail after certain
period and Archive policies to move certain mails with the certain period to archive mailbox
6. What are the Retention Policies in Exchange Server 2010?
1. Move Policy automatically moves messages to the messages to the archive Mailbox with the options of 6
months, 1 year, 2 years, 5 years and never 2 years is default. Move mailbox policies helps keep mailbox
under quota. This works like outlook Auto Archive without creating PSTs
2. Delete Policy automatically deletes messages. Delete policies are global. Removes unwanted items
3. Move + Delete policy automatically moves messages to archive after X months and deletes from archive
after Y Months. We can set policy priority: Explicit policies over default policies; longer policies apply over
shorted policies
7. What is Multi Mailbox Search?
This option delegated access to search to HR, compliance, legal manager. Administrator has to provide access
permission on to use this feature, this will provide an option to search all mail items ( email, IM contacts, calendar)
across primary mailbox, archives. The filtering option in Multi Mailbox search includes sender, receiver, expire
policy, message size, send/receive date, cc/bcc, regular expressions, IRM protected Items
8. What are E-Discovery features?
Following are the E-Discovery features introduced in Exchange Server 2010
1. Copy edited and deleted item this option is in Exchange server 2007 to hold the auto deleted items
3. Auto alert notification sends alerts to users that they are on hold, eliminates manual process
4. Search dumpster use multi mailbox search to retrieve deleted/edited items indexed in dumpster folder
10. What is journaling and what are the journaling features in Exchange Server 2010?
Journaling is an option to track mails from particular user or from a group of users. The New Features in Journaling
for Exchange server 2010 are
1. Transport Journaling ability to journal individual Mailboxes or SMTP address and also this gives a detailed
report per To/Cc//Bcc/Alt-Recipient and DL expansion
2. Journal report de duplication reduces duplication of journal reports. Exchange server 2010 creates one
report per message
11. What is journal decryption?
Journal decryption is a new feature in Exchange Server 2010, if a user sends an encrypted message to recipient and if
journaling was enabled for that user, then the Hub transport Server decrypts the message and sends that decrypted
message for journaling. The intended recipient will receive the encrypted message
12. What is Set Quota in Archive management?
With Mailbox quota Management, we can assign mailbox size for a user. This option can be enabled from the
properties of the user account, and the default settings to Mailbox quota is 10 GB
Describe the differences in the permission model between Exchange 2003 and
Exchange 2010.
Exchange 2003 Security and Permissions Model
To help simplify management of permissions, Exchange Server 2003 provided predefined security roles that
were available in the Exchange 2003 Administrative Delegation Wizard. These roles were a collection of
standardized permissions that could be applied at either the organization or the administrative group level.
In Exchange 2003, the following security roles were available through the Delegation Wizard in Exchange
System Manager:
Exchange Full Administrator
Exchange Administrator
Exchange View Only Administrator
This model had the following limitations:
A lack of specificity. The Exchange Administrator group was too large, and some customers wanted to manage
their security and permissions model at the individual server-level.
A perception that the Exchange Server 2003 security roles only differed in subtle ways.
There was no clear separation between administration of users and groups by the Windows (Active Directory)
administrators and Exchange recipient administrators. For example, to perform Exchange recipient related tasks,
you had to grant Exchange administrators high level permissions (Account Operator permissions on Windows
domains).
Exchange 2007 Security and Permissions Model
To improve the management of your Exchange administrator roles, which were called "security groups" in
Exchange 2003, the following new or improved features have been made to the Exchange security and
permissions model:
New administrator roles that is similar to the built-in Windows Server security groups.
You can use the Exchange Management Console (formerly Exchange System Manager) and the Exchange
Management Shell to view, add, and remove members from any administrator role.
What's New in Exchange Server 2007 SP1?
You can install Exchange 2007 SP1 on a computer that is running the Windows Server 2008 operating system
Improvement in Microsoft Outlook Web Access (OWA)
Recover Deleted Items
Local Distribution List
S/MIME feature
Public Folder
Rules
Monthly view
New themes
What's New in Exchange Server 2007 SP2?
You can deploy Exchange Server 2010 in your organization once all of the Client Access servers in your
organization have been upgraded to Exchange Server 2007 Service Pack 2 (SP2).
Exchange 2007 Service Pack 2 includes a VSS plug-in for Windows Server Backup to support Exchange
backups. Once SP2 is installed, you can use Windows Server Backup to back up and restore your Exchange 2007
SP2 databases.
New Exchange auditing events and audit log repository enable Exchange administrators to more easily audit the
activities occurring on their Exchange servers.
What's New in Exchange Server 2007 SP3?
Windows Server 2008 R2 Support
Exchange Server 2007 SP3 supports all Exchange 2007 roles on the Windows Server 2008 R2 operating system.
Windows 7 Support
Exchange 2007 SP3 supports the installation of the Exchange 2007 management tools on a computer that is
running Windows 7. Additionally, Exchange 2007 SP3 provides support for the installation of the Exchange
2007 Management Tools together with the Exchange Server 2010 Management Tools on the same Windows 7-
based computer.
Improved Password Reset Functionality
Exchange 2007 SP3 introduces password reset functionality for Internet Information Services (IIS) 7.
Updated Search Functionality
Exchange 2007 SP3 includes updates to the Exchange Search (MS-Search) component.
Support for Right-to-Left Disclaimer Text
Exchange 2007 SP3 includes support for Right-to-Left text in e-mail message disclaimers in a right-to-left
language, such as Arabic.
What are the major changes in the way Exchange 2010 stores work? Name some of
the changes in comparison with Exchange 2003 and Exchange 2007.
The following is a list of core store functionality that's included or has been changed in Exchange 2010:
Deprecated storage groups
Mailbox databases no longer connected to the server object
Improvements in Extensible Storage Engine (ESE) for high availability, performance, and database mobility
Flattened Outlook store schema
Enhanced reporting with public folders
In Exchange 2010, the store schema has been changed to remove the dependency of mailbox databases on the
server object. In addition, the new schema has been improved to help reduce database I/O per second (IOPS) by
refactoring the tables used to store information. Refactoring the tables allows higher logical contiguity and
locality of reference. These changes reduce the store's reliance on the secondary indexes maintained by ESE. As
a result, the store is no longer sensitive to performance issues related to the secondary indexes.
Store resilience and health has also been improved by adding several features related to detecting and correcting
errors and providing alerts, such as the following:
Mailbox quarantine on rogue mailboxes
Transport cut-off to databases with less than 1 GB of space
Thread time-out detection and reporting
Name the system prerequisites for installing Exchange 2007 in your existing Active
Directory forest.
Windows Server 2003/R2 x64 SP2
Windows Server 2008 x64
Microsoft .NET Framework Version 3.0/Microsoft .NET Framework Version 2.0 (with update/SP1)
Microsoft Windows PowerShell
Microsoft Management Console (MMC) 3.0
Network News Transfer Protocol (NNTP) service must not be installed.
Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP) service must not be installed.
IIS (for OWA)
Name the system prerequisites for installing Exchange 2010?
1- General Prerequisites:
Make sure that the functional level of your forest is at least Windows Server 2003, and that the Schema Master is
running Windows Server 2003 with Service Pack 2 or later.
The full installation option of Windows Server 2008 SP2-64bit or Windows Server 2008 R2-64bit must be used
for all servers running Exchange 2010 server roles.
Both Windows Server 2008 SP2-64bit or Windows Server 2008 R2-64bit Standard & Enterprise are supported
and we can use them to install Exchange 2010.
DNS must configure correctly in your Active Directory forest. All servers that run Exchange Server 2010 must
be able to locate Active Directory domain controllers, global catalog servers, and other Exchange servers.
For all server roles other than the Edge Transport server role, you must first join the computer to the appropriate
internal Active Directory forest and domain.
2- Operating System Components Prerequisites:
Microsoft .NET Framework 3.5 Service Pack 1 (SP1)
Windows Remote Management (WinRM) 2.0
Windows PowerShell V2
IIS 7
ASP.NET
In addition to the above, we need to install the following windows components (features):
RSAT-ADDS (requires a reboot)
Web-Server
Web-ISAPI-Ext
Web-Metabase
Web-Lgcy-Mgmt-Console
Web-Basic-Auth
Web-Digest-Auth
Web-Windows-Auth
Web-Dyn-Compression
Net-HTTP-Activation
RPC-over-HTTP-Proxy
3- Software Prerequisites:
For Hub Transport or Mailbox server role, Microsoft Filter Pack is required to be installed. You can download
the Microsoft Filter Pack from the Microsoft website.
How would you easily install all the Windows Server 2008 R2 roles and features
required for Exchange 2010?
Exchange Server 2010 Service Pack 1 allows us to install all Operating System prerequisites using just the
Exchange Setup wizard. When we use the Exchange Server 2010 SP1 Setup wizard, there is a new option called
Automatically install Windows Server roles and features required for Exchange Server. Just by clicking on that
option will be installed all prerequisites automatically.
Installing Exchange Server 2010 Pre-Requisites on Windows Server 2008
First, install the following software components.
1. .NET Framework 3.5 Service Pack 1
2. .NET Framework 3.5 Family Update
3. Windows Remote Management and Windows PowerShell 2.0
4. 2007 Office System Converter: Microsoft Filter Pack (for Hub Transport and Mailbox Server roles only)
Run the following from an elevated command prompt.
C:\>sc config NetTcpPortSharing start= auto
Next we need to install the operating system components. The Exchange source files contain a series of
ServerManagerCmd.exe answer files in XML format that can be used to install the operating system pre-
requisites for each of the server roles.
Each file relates to a specific Exchange 2010 deployment scenario.
exchange-all.xml all server roles
exchange-base.xml only the requirements for Forest and Domain prep operations
exchange-cadb.xml Central Admin Database role
exchange-cas.xml Client Access Server role
exchange-eca.xml Central Admin role
exchange-edge.xml Edge Transport Server role
exchange-hub.xml Hub Transport Server role
exchange-mbx.xml Mailbox Server role
exchange-typical.xml Typical Exchange server (Client Access, Hub Transport, and Mailbox Server roles)
exchange-um.xml Unified Messaging role
Execute any of the answer files using ServerManagerCmd.exe and the -inputPath parameter (that can be
shortened to -ip). Here I am installing the pre-requisites for a Typical Exchange 2010 server.
servermanagercmd -ip exchange-typical.xml restart
-restart option used to restart server automatically
How would you check your Exchange configuration settings to see if theyre right?
Run Microsoft Exchange Best Practices Analyzer tool.
Looking to install Exchange 2007 on Windows Server 2008. What SP version do
you need? And for R2?
Exchange Server 2007 SP1 required for installation on Windows Server 2008 and Exchange Server 2007 SP3
required for Windows Server 2008 R2.
Whats a Rollup Update? Whats the latest RU for Exchange 2007 2010?
An update rollup is a tested, cumulative set of hotfixes, security updates, critical updates, and updates that are
packaged together for easy deployment. A rollup generally targets a specific area, such as security, or a
component of a product.
At the time of this writing, Update Rollup 4 for Exchange Server 2007 Service Pack 2 and Update Rollup 10 for
Exchange Server 2007 Service Pack 1 are available.
How can you easily integrate a RU in the Exchange 2007 2010 installation media?
The Exchange installation folder includes an Updates folder. When you perform a new Exchange installation,
you can copy an update rollup to the Updates folder. In this scenario, the update rollup package is applied during
the installation of Exchange. The Updates folder supports only new installation of Exchange server.
Name a few reasons for using 64-bit hardware and OS version for Exchange 2007
2010.
64-bit hardware provides the system architecture that is required to support the increased memory, storage, and
enhanced security requirements in a more cost-effective manner. Trends indicate that demands on messaging
systems will continue to grow and 64-bit servers provide the system architecture to meet these demands while
reducing costs within organizations through server and disk storage consolidations. With a larger addressable
space, the Exchange servers can utilize more memory thereby reducing the required input/output per user
(IOPS), enabling the use of larger disks as well as low cost storage such as SATA2 drives.
Exchange 2007 came in both 32-bit and 64-bit versions. Name a couple of reasons
for ever needing the 32-bit version.
You need exchange 2007 32bit to export mail box into PST file.
Wanting to manage Exchange 2007 2010 from a remote computer, name a few of
your management options.
There are a few options for managing Exchange 2007 servers remotely. First off, you can install the Exchange
2007 management tools onto a separate machine from your Exchange server, as long as that machine is running
either the 32-bit or 64-bit version of Windows Server 2003 Service Pack 1 (SP1) or later, Windows Server 2003
R2, or Windows XP SP2 or later. Note that installing any of the server roles (client access, mailbox, edge, and so
on) on 32-bit hardware is not supported in production environments, but is supported for installing the
management tools on a
32-bit machine. Also note that as of the initial release of Exchange Server 2007, the management tools are not
supported on Windows Vista.
In some organizations, the IT department creates a single server to be the management server, installing all the
necessary management tools for various products on this server. Then the administrators who need to use those
tools access the management server via Terminal Server so they can perform remote administration. In other
settings, users install the management tools on their own desktops.
From the console or shell you can perform operations on the servers in your organization. In the console, the
servers are visible so you can perform operations on any of them remotely. In the shell, many of the tasks
support a filtering flag like -server if you want to scope an operation to a single server. There are a few
exceptions, however, for commands that must be run locally, such as the Get-NetworkConnectionInfo command.
What is the GAL?
The Global Address List (GAL) also known as Microsoft Exchange Global Address Book is a directory service
within the Microsoft Exchange email system. The GAL contains information for all email users, distribution
groups, and Exchange resources.
What is the OAB? When is it used?
An Offline Address Book is a container that stores a collection of Offline Address Lists. Outlook users can
choose which offline address lists they want to download. Users who work offline connect to Exchange Server
computers and download Offline Address Lists to obtain information about other users in their organization.
When an Administrator creates an Offline Address Book, the address list will be converted to a separate set of
files and stored in an Exchange Public Folder. Offline Address Books typically contain at least one address list
that represents the global address list (GAL). Users who are working offline with their Outlook clients can use
this global address while they are on the road.
What is PowerShell and why do we care?
Windows PowerShell is a task-based command-line shell and scripting language designed especially for system
administration. Built on the .NET Framework, Windows PowerShell helps IT professionals and power users
control and automate the administration of the Windows operating system and applications that run on Windows.
Built-in Windows PowerShell commands, called cmdlets, let you manage the computers in your enterprise from
the command line.
The Exchange Management Shell, built on Windows PowerShell technology, provides a powerful command-line
interface for Microsoft Exchange Server 2010 that enables automation of administrative tasks. With the Shell,
you can manage every aspect of Exchange. You can enable new e-mail accounts, configure SMTP connectors,
store database properties, store transport agents, and more. The Shell can perform every task that can be
performed by the Exchange Management Console and the Exchange Web interface in addition to tasks that can't
be performed in those interfaces. In fact, when a task is performed in the console and the Web interface, those
interfaces use the Shell to perform the task.
Name major benefits of PowerShell v2 over V1
PowerShell Remoting : Using WS-Management, PowerShell 2.0 allows scripts and cmdlets to be invoked on a
remote machine or a large set of remote machines.
Background Jobs : Also called a PSJob, it allows a command sequence (script) or pipeline to be invoked
asynchronously. Jobs can be run on the local machine or on multiple remote machines. A PSJob cannot include
interactive cmdlets.
Transactions : Enable cmdlet and provider developers to perform transactional operations. PowerShell 2.0
includes transaction cmdlets for starting, committing, and rolling back a PSTransaction as well as features to
manage and direct the transaction to the participating cmdlet and provider operations. The PowerShell Registry
provider supports transactions.
ScriptCmdlets: These are cmdlets written using the PowerShell scripting language. NOTE: The preferred name
for script cmdlets is now Advanced Functions.
SteppablePipelines: This allows the user to control when the BeginProcessing(), ProcessRecord() and
EndProcessing() functions of a cmdlet are called.
Modules : This allows script developers and administrators to organize and partition PowerShell scripts in self-
contained, reusable units. Code from a module executes in its own self-contained context and does not affect the
state outside of the module. Modules can define a restricted runspace environment by using a script. They have a
persistent state as well as public and private members.
Data Language : A domain-specific subset of the PowerShell scripting language, that allows data definitions to
be decoupled from the scripts and allow localized string resources to be imported into the script at runtime
(Script Internationalization).
Script Debugging : It allows breakpoints to be set in a PowerShell script or function. Breakpoints can be set on
lines, line & columns, commands and read or write access of variables. It includes a set of cmdlets to control the
breakpoints via script.
Eventing: This feature allows listening, forwarding, and acting on management and system events. Eventing
allows PowerShell hosts to be notified about state changes to their managed entities. It also enables PowerShell
scripts to subscribe to ObjectEvents, PSEvents, and WmiEvents and process them synchronously and
asynchronously.
Windows PowerShell Integrated Scripting Environment (ISE) : PowerShell 2.0 includes a GUI-based
PowerShell host (formerly known as Graphical Windows PowerShell) that provides integrated debugger, syntax
highlighting, tab completion and up to 8 PowerShell Unicode-enabled consoles (Runspaces) in a tabbed UI, as
well as the ability to run only the selected parts in a script.
Network File Transfer : Native support for prioritized, throttled, and asynchronous transfer of files between
machines using the Background Intelligent Transfer Service (BITS).
New Cmdlets : Including Out-GridView, which displays tabular data in the WPF GridView object.
New Operators : -Split, -Join, and Splatting (@) operators.
Exception Handling with Try-Catch-Finally : Unlike other .NET languages, this allows multiple exception types
for a single catch block.
Nestable Here-Strings : PowerShell Here-Strings have been improved and can now nest.
Block Comments : PowerShell 2.0 supports block comments using <# and #> as delimiters.
New APIs : The new APIs range from handing more control over the PowerShell parser and runtime to the host,
to creating and managing collection of Runspaces (RunspacePools) as well as the ability to create Restricted
Runspaces which only allow a configured subset of PowerShell to be invoked. The new APIs also support
participation in a Windows PowerShell managed transaction.
In the installation folder root you see setup.com and setup.exe. Which would you
use and when?
Setup.com is used for all preparation work; basically it calls different backend procedures. Setup.com is also
used in disaster recovery to reinstall all ex2k7 roles. Setup.exe is used for GIU installation.
What are the Exchange 2007/2010 server roles?
Exchange 2007 introduces a new concept to Exchange organizations, the concept of server roles. Similar to how
a Windows server can host one or more roles. Server roles allow an administrator to split the functions of an
Exchange
server and place each role, or a combination of roles, on different servers in the organization. With current
Exchange servers you can make a server a Front-End server, or a Back-End server and that is about it. Exchange
2007 introduces five roles to the Exchange organization.
Edge Transport - The last hop of outgoing mail and first hop of incoming mail, acting as a "smart host" and
usually deployed in a perimeter network, Edge Transport provides mail quarantine and SMTP service to enhance
security. One advantage of this role is that is does not require Active Directory access, so it can function with
limited access to the corporate network for increased security.
Hub Transport - The Hub Transport role handles mails by routing them to next hop: another Hub Transport
server, Edge server or mailbox server. Unlike Exchange 2003 Bridgehead that needs Exchange admin defined
routing groups, Exchange 2007 Hub Transport role uses AD site info to determine the mail flow. The Hub
Transport and Edge Transport servers are very similar and in fact, one can forgo the Edge Transport server and
configure the Hub Transport to accept mail from, and send mail to, the Internet.
Client Access - The Client Access server role provides the other mailbox server protocol access apart from
MAPI. Similar to Exchange 2003 FrontEnd server, it enables user to use an Internet browser (OWA), 3rd party
mail client (POP3/IMAP4) and mobile device (ActiveSync) to access their mailbox.
Mailbox - The Mailbox server role is responsible for hosting mailbox and public folder data. This role also
provides MAPI access for Outlook clients. Note that there is also a variation of this role called Clustered
Mailbox role, for use with high-availability MSCS clustering of mailbox data. When Clustered Mailbox role is
selected, other server roles cannot be combined on the same physical server.
Unified Messaging - This role enables end users to access their mailbox, address book, and calendar using
telephone and voice. IP-PBX or VoIP gateway needs to be installed and configured to facilitate much of the
functionality of this server role.
What are the benefits of using roles, vs. the way Exchange 2000/2003 worked?
Server role is a logical concept used to organize Exchange 2007 services and features across one or more
servers. While Exchange 2003 provided primitive server roles called BackEnd server and FrontEnd server,
Exchange 2007 has more granular divisions.
Dividing Exchange features among several server roles has advantages:
More flexible deployment topology: For a small or medium company that has only hundreds of mailboxes and
all users are centralized, customer can install all required roles on one physical server. For a large enterprise
where tens of thousands of mailboxes span multiple physical locations, customer can choose to deploy each role
on a separate server or even multiple servers per role to provide better performance and fault tolerance.
Better hardware utilization and scalability: Because each role only installs binaries and runs services for a
specific feature set. Unlike older versions of Exchange, configuring a server that has only one or two roles will
reduce Memory, CPU and disk space requirements for this server. In addition, roles are scalable so admin can
load balance work of one role to multiple servers.
Easy to maintain: Upgrading, applying hotfix, or other server changes that could cause server outage can be
isolated to one server role. This reduces maintenance down time and end user impact. Admin can also install or
uninstall roles on a server as needed.
What are the Exchange 2003 equivalents of the various Exchange 2007-2010 roles?
Exchange 2007 Exchange 2003
Edge Transport
Hub Transport Bridgehead server
Client Access Front-End server
Mailbox Back End server
Unified Messaging
The main differences Exchange 2007 Exchange 2010
between Exchange 2007
and Exchange 2010.
Feature
Database Jet EDB database Jet EDB database
Storage Groups Yes None, only data stores
Public Folders Automatically created Manual creation
Web Services ExOLEDB, CDOEX, WebDAV, Exchange Web Services (EWS)
EWS
Desktop Clients Outlook 2003, Outlook 2007, Outlook 2007, Outlook 2010
Outlook 2010
DR Technologies SCC, CCR, SCR Database Availability Group
(DAG)
Outlook clients connect to Mailbox Server Client Access Server
The database size on the physical disk is not just the number of users multiplied by the user
quota. When the majority of users are not near their mailbox quota, the databases will consume
less space, and white space is not a capacity concern. The database itself will always have free
pages, or white space, spread throughout. During online maintenance, items marked for removal
from the database are removed, which frees these pages. The percentage of white space is
constantly changing with the highest percentage immediately after online maintenance and the
lowest percentage immediately before online maintenance.
The size of white space in the database can be approximated by the amount of mail sent and
received by the users with mailboxes in the database. For example, if we have 100 2-GB
mailboxes (total of 200 GB) in a database where users send and receive an average of 10 MB of
mail per day, the white space is approximately 1 GB (100 mailboxes 10 MB per mailbox).
White space can grow beyond this approximation if online maintenance is not able to complete a
full pass. It is important that our operational activities include enough time for online maintenance
to run each night, so that a full pass can complete within one week or less.
The Eseutil utility can perform an offline de fragmentation, which releases unused hard drive
space from Exchange Server databases to the file system. Eseutil requires free hard disk space
equal to at least 110 percent of the database size (to create a temporary database that is used in
the de fragmentation).
If no local drive has sufficient space for an offline de fragmentation, we can use one of the three
following options, which are expanded on in the "More Information" section of this article:
Offline de fragmentation with redirected temporary database. Redirect the temporary
database to another logical drive, such as a mapped network drive or a temporarily
installed hard disk.
Moving information to another server and recreating empty databases. Move all of the
information that either one or both of the information store databases contain to another
server. Stop the service, delete the databases, and then restart the service to recreate
empty databases.
1. If we have deleted a large amount of data out o the store and want to reclaim the hard
drive space for whatever reason. This includes situations when databases reach the 16 GB
limit on Standard versions of Exchange server.
2. When we add more no of new users due to a merger or acquisition or when we delete
many objects from the store it can be necessary to do an offline defrag.
2. If we had to run a hard repair of the database ( eseutil /p - and that's another thing that
we do NOT recommend unless this is a last possible thing to do). After running a repair,
you should always offline defrag the database to get a new database file that has not been
repaired.
3. If we are experiencing a specific issue and have found a reference that says offline defrag
will fix it.
4. If we are working with PSS and resolving the issue requires an offline defrag.
5. As a general rule, only defrag to reclaim space if we're going to reclaim more than 30% of
the space. we can look for Event 1221 after nightly online defrag to get a conservative
estimate of how much free space is in the database.
1. We need downtime to take your databases offline in order to run ESEUTIL on them.
2. Defrag actually works by reading the original database, and copying used database pages
into the brand new database file. When that is all done, we actually delete the original
database file and rename the new one and copy it into original database file's place.
3. Not only are the used pages read, but they are renumbered /recheck summed too. All
secondary indexes in the database are discarded as well.
1. Event ID 1221:
Event: 1221
Source: MSExchangeIS Public
Type: Information
Category: General
Description: The database "<storage_group>\<mailbox_store> (<server_name>)" has <nnn>
megabytes of free space after online de fragmentation has terminated.
The Eseutil utility can perform an offline defragmentation, which releases unused hard drive space
from Exchange Server databases to the file system.
References:
Database repair:
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/259851
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/192185
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/328804
http://support.microsoft.com/?id=255035
Exchange General
1. What is the server roles in Exchange 2007?
2. What are the Exchange 2003 sever roles equivalents of the various
Exchange server 2007/2010 roles?
Exchange server 2003 Exchange server 2007/2010
Front End Server (SMTP Service) HUB Transport Server
Front End Server Client Access Server
Backend End Server Mailbox Server
Edge Transport Server (NEW)
Unified Messaging
User mailbox: This mailbox is created for an individual user to store mails,
calendar items, contacts, tasks, documents, and other business data.
Shared mailbox: This mailbox is not primarily associated with a single user and
is generally configured to allow logon access for multiple users.
Room mailbox: This mailbox is created for a meeting location, such as a meeting
or conference room, auditorium, or training room. When we create this mailbox,
by default a disabled user object account is created.
Mail contact: This is an Active Directory contact that contains e-mail address
information about people or organizations that exist outside your Exchange
organization. Each mail contact has an external e-mail address. All messages sent
to the mail contact are routed to this external e-mail address.
Dynamic distribution group: A distribution group that uses recipient filters and
conditions to derive its membership at the time messages are sent.
When we do the EdgeSync synchronization process, it creates two send connector which then
replicated to ADAM.
A Send connector that is configured to relay e-mail messages from the Exchange organization to
the Internet.
Connector Name: EdgeSync <Site Name> to Internet
A Send connector that is configured to relay e-mail messages from the Edge Transport server to
the Exchange organization.
Connector Name: EdgeSync Inbound to <Site Name>
Name EdgeSync <Site Name> to Internet EdgeSync Inbound to <Site Name>
Address Space SMTP:*;100 SMTP:;1
Edge Subscription name
Edge Subscription name
Note:
Source Servers The name of the Edge Subscription is
the same as the name of the subscribed
Edge Transport server.
TRUE TRUE
Enabled
TRUE FALSE
DNS Routing Enabled
Domain Secure Enabled TRUE
(Mutual Auth TLS)
15. What is Accepted Domains and difference?
This post contains the information on comparison of Exchange Server 2003, Exchange Server 2007 and
Exchange Server 2010. Part one holds the comparison information on basic things on Exchange
Servers
Domain & Windows 2000 Mixed Windows 2000 Native Windows 2003 Native
Forest or higher or higher
functional
Level
Flexibility &
Reliability
1. Continuous
Availability
2. Simplified
Administration
3. Deployment
Flexibility
The process that the Microsoft Exchange EdgeSync service performs to propagate data from
Active Directory to the subscribed Edge Transport server. Configuration data is synchronized
one time each hour. Recipient data is synchronized one time every four hours.
You can use the Start-EdgeSynchronization cmdlet in the Exchange Management Shell to
start immediate synchronization.
How do you enable Edge subscription?
Open the Exchange Management Shell on the Edge Transport server, and enter this
command:
New-EdgeSubscription file "C:\subscription.xml"
Answer Y
Transfer EdgeSubscription.xml to the Hub Transport server
Open Exchange Management Console
In the left tree choose Organization Configuration and then Hub Transport
In the Actions pane click New Edge Subscription
Choose active directory site, if you have multiple sites though, then you should make the
Edge Transport server a member of the site that has the fastest (or most reliable) network
connectivity to the perimeter network.
Use the Browse button to browse for and select the subscription.xml file.
Verify that the Automatically Create A Send Connector for this Edge Subscription checkbox is
selected, then click the New button to import the XML file and create the Edge Subscription.
What's the default replication interval for Edge sync?
By default, configuration data is synchronized to AD LDS once every hour , and recipient data is synchronized to AD
LDS once every four hours . You can change these intervals using the Set-EdgeSyncService cmdlet.
What's Edge subscription?
The Edge Subscription is the record of an Edge Transport server that has been subscribed to an Exchange organization. The
ADAM directory service on a subscribed Edge Transport server is updated with information from Active Directory by the
Microsoft Exchange EdgeSync service.
What is Eseutil?
It is a tool that you can use to verify, modify, and repair an Exchange database file. When a database is corrupt or damaged,
you can restore data from backup or repair it using Eseutil.
Where does Exchange store its configuration settings?
At configuration partition in the active directory
How would you verify that the schema is updated?
You can verify that you are ready to start installing Exchange 2007 by looking for the
following.
The Microsoft Exchange Systems Objects container contains a global group called Exchange
12 Domain Servers
The ESUG has the Exchange 12 Domain Servers global group as a member.
The ESUG will have permissions to the Manage Auditing and Security Log settings on all DCs
in all domains that the commands were run against
What are the different Exchange Recipient types?
http://www.scripts4it.com/interview-questions/exchange-2007-2010/what-are-the-different-exchange-
recipient-types
How many storage groups Exchange 2007 supports?
In the standard edition of Exchange 2007, you can have up to 5 databases spread over 5
storage groups. With enterprise edition, you can have 50 databases spread over 50 storage
groups