We've Moved!

Hi folks, your browser should eventually update to reflect that the blog has moved back to BeingExchanged.com again.

For now, you can click here: www.beingexchanged.com/mainblog

See you at the new site soon!

Note: If you subscribed via one of the FeedDemon links, you do NOT have to update your RSS feed. You will end up on the new site automatically.

iPhone OS4 and EAS issues

I do remember my first “real” tech job way-back-when.  Exchange 5.5 was cutting edge technology, which is dating me for sure. We had a graphics consultant come into the company for a couple of months to help re-design our website, and that required that this employee have an email address and account with our firm.  Getting them an account was no issue, as Mac systems could easily talk to an Exchange 5.5 server at that point, but once we connected the Mac to the network, it immediately took over the Exchange system. 

I don’t mean that it was easier to control Exchange via the Mac, I mean IT TOOK OVER THE @!#(%$ SERVER!

No one could get email, no one could send us email, nothing worked at all unless you were on the Mac itself.  Finally, after bringing in a Mac expert for a few hours and a ton of troubleshooting with Microsoft, we found the issue. It was a rare hiccup in the Mac networking that caused Exchange to essentially ignore anything else, and we fixed it with no future problems.

Recently, I heard of the same issue happening again, but not rare, and on the iPhone.  After the complete metal breakdown brought on by the thought of the nightmare recurring, I did some investigative work for you, my readers – and for the sake of my sanity.

As reported in Exchangepedia, the issue revolves around a bug in the iPhone OS4 software that hurls a wrench into the Client Access Services (CAS) systems of Exchange 2007 and 2010.  This isn’t an Apple-specific issue, as you could see the same problem on Google devices, but it does appear that it happens much more often with iPhone systems running OS4.  What happens is that the iPhone makes a series of requests to Exchange to perform ActiveSync.  The problem is that there is a relatively short timeout on these operations (30 seconds) and if the CAS system is busy, the iPhone will send the requests again.  And again.  And again… Eventually, the flood of requests becomes a contributing factor in the delay of the response, creating a never-ending loop.  The only way to stop it is to either stop the iPhone or the CAS system and start over, but eventually it will happen again. 

The good news is that there are ways to increase the timeout, and therefore reduce the incidence of this happening in your corporate environment.  The link above has information on how to obtain a profile update that fixes the problem in most cases.

I guess everything old *is* new again.

What’s a Rollup?

Since the news a few days ago that Microsoft has released the Exchange 2010 Update Rollup 4 for download, I figured a couple of lines on what Rollups are would be a good thing. Many are confused as to why these Rollups exist, and when to use them.

An Update Rollup (UR) is a single-installer for many different hotfixes and patches to a single product that Microsoft produces. There have been such UR’s for everything from Windows to Office over the years, and they can make life easier if used correctly. For the most part, you don’t need them for day-to-day operations anymore, but you may use them when building up new systems.

For currently-installed Exchange 2007 and up servers, running Windows Update on a regular basis will get you the critical patches, fixes and updates you need. Just make sure you’ve authorized Windows Update to download software for other software running on Windows (it’s one of your settings in Windows Update) and you’ll find yourself downloading Exchange components as well. You still need to install Service Packs as they’re available, but the individual patches can be updated when you do your regular Windows Updates. There are a couple of cases, however, where this updating process doesn’t meet your needs.

If you’re building a new Exchange 2007 or 2010 system, for example. After installation and (where applicable) Service Pack updating, there may be a large number of individual fixes and patches to be applied. As these will be installed sequentially, and will require service or server restarts in many cases, the process can be time and labor consuming. The UR can apply all patches and fixes up to the date of UR release in one shot, making things faster, easier, and with fewer opportunities for errors.

Many companies prohibit auto-updates, and you may find yourself manually applying fixes and patches for Exchange. If you keep up with this process, then you have no problems, but if you do not; you can quickly find yourself knee-deep in required updates. The UR will make life easier by bringing you up to date quickly, so you can get back to regular patching.

Note that you should still check for updates *after* you go through the UR process. This is because there may be newer patches and fixes released after the UR is built, so while it is cumulative up to the release date, it is not current to today’s date.

Keeping up to date is the best way to avoid security pitfalls and software bugs.  When you’re starting from scratch or trying to catch up, Update Rollups can provide a way to quickly get close to “up-to-date” and help you do so without as many reboots, restarts and errors.

Exchange Server is a lot like Soccer

With the World Cup in full swing, I found it interesting that Exchange Server has quite a lot in common with the world of Soccer (ok, fine, Football for everyone not in the US). This is especially true if you consider the ball to be an outgoing email message.

You start out in the center, after the outgoing mail has cleared all your internal message hygiene and routing systems. First, you have to have an open connection to the receiver’s SMTP systems, or the message can’t go anywhere. If you find that opening, you can rocket the message toward the recipient, but many things can get in the way.

You might think you’re aiming for the goal, but due to DNS issues or just TCP nuttiness, you could find your message going right out of bounds instead. When you have an eye on the goal, there’s always the chance that the recipient’s mail systems might not be properly configured to talk to yours, resulting in an off-sides call that brings everything to a screeching halt.

Let’s say that things are configured correctly and you have all the routing information down. The recipient’s guardian systems (anti-virus, anti-spam) might be tuned up high enough to block the message, sending it rocketing right back at your face.

Finally, if you manage to not get caught by their defense (because your message isn’t spam or infected, of course) and you have the right route to the recipient’s mailbox, then the message hits the goal and everyone cheers while you run screaming around the… wait… ok, I suppose the analogy might not be perfect.

On the flipside, you have all of your defenses set up to block any mal-formed messages, spam, and infected objects from ever reaching your goal. Creating a whopping offense but no defense is just as dangerous as the other way round.

Finally, if a player gets injured – or even ejected – you need to have other players pre-trained and ready to go.  Much like you’ll need to ensure you have High Availability set up in your environment in case a server gets taken out of play. 

Luckily, the messages reach goal more often than the ball does in professional soccer. But as you watch the matches, think about the analogy, and you might be surprised just how easy it becomes to explain Exchange Server methodology to a non-techie. At least it is if your listener is watching the match =)

Cluster-Funk closed the joint again!

As usual, Cluster-Funk, the Double-Take house band, played to a full house at the Republic bar in New Orleans (the site of TechEd 2010). After three solid hours of entertainment and fun, we closed down the bar!

Of course, as I get additional photos cleaned up, I will post them here.  Here’s just a few shots of the fun:

And, of course, @TheKrewe was in full force:

Thanks to everyone who turned out, hope you all had a great time!

Photos from TechEd1

The keynote and first sessions from TechEd 2010 are done, and I was able to snap a few shots of the hall itself.

Here’s the Double-Take Software booth.  We went with a “Be a Rock Star” theme this year.

Microsoft split their floor space up into two different areas this year.  One side is Development Platforms, the other is Server systems/Administration.  I like this layout, as it’s a lot easier to find the product group you’re looking for.

Noms are acquired here.  This is just one section of the HUGE meal hall Microsoft set up.  It appears that you could seat most of the 1,200 attendees at once in this place.

More info and pictures as we go on this week.

TechEd in just 4 days!

Starting next week, I will be in New Orleans for Microsoft TechEd 2010. So, as you may imagine I will be learning quite a bit about the new Exchange technologies including Exchange 2010. Since I will be blogging quite a bit during the next week or so, I'm going to keep this week's blog rather short.

If anyone is going to be at TechEd who's reading this particular blog entry; you can find me in the Double-Take Software booth, which is located at booth number 1810. I will be in the booth most of the day throughout the conference; although, I will of course be attending some of the sessions. You can always ask any of the booth staff when I will be there if you want to stop by and say hi.

In addition to working the booth, I will be attending the Cluster-Funk party which will take place on Tuesday, June 8th, from 8 PM until midnight. You can sign up for the party at the following link:

http://www.doubletake.com/english/landing/Pages/TechEd-2010.aspx

I hope to see you at the event this year, but if you can’t join us in person; I'll be blogging from the event as much as possible. So be sure to watch this space at http://www.beingexchanged.com for all the latest updates from each day of the TechEd conference.

Of course you can also follow me on Twitter. My twitter handle is TalonNYC and my updates are listed as public.

If you're coming to the event and you have not yet joined the Krewe, then be sure to sign up on their Facebook page:

http://www.facebook.com/#!/group.php?gid=108587248759

The Krewe is a group of IT professionals who attend TechEd every year, and along with being some of the most knowledgeable professionals in Microsoft technologies I've ever met, they also know the locations, times, and a way to get in to all the best parties.

Hope to see you there and if not keep an eye on the blog.