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Here are some field notes from a recent message tracking case.

If you have to find all messages from one certain domain, that have entered your Exchange environment, this is possible using Exchange Management Shell and the Get-MessageTrackingLog cmdlet.

Run the following:

Get-MessageTrackingLog -Server "ExchangeServerName" -Start "8/1/2011" -End "9/1/2011" -resultsize unlimited | where {$_.Sender -like *@domain.com}

This works on Exchange 2007 and 2010.

Here is some notes from a recent issue error that I encountered at a client.

This error may be seen on Exchange Server 2010 SP1, when removing or adding a Database Copy to the Database Availability Group (DAG).

This error will look like this:

Summary: 1 item(s). 0 succeeded, 1 failed.
Elapsed time: 00:00:00

EXDB02
Failed

Error:
Registry key has subkeys and recursive removes are not supported by this method.

Warning:
An unexpected error has occurred and a Watson dump is being generated: Registry key has subkeys and recursive removes are not supported by this method.

Exchange Management Shell command attempted:
Add-MailboxDatabaseCopy –Identity ‘EXDB02’ –MailboxServer ‘EXCH-MBX-01’ -ActivationPreference ’1′

Elapsed Time: 00:00:00

This error may occur for both adding and removing database copies. When removing a database copy from a DAG member the action is shown as successful despite the error, but when adding a database copy to a DAG member the action is not successful.

This is a known issue with Exchange 2010 SP1, previously reported by the Microsoft Exchange Team. 

The work around is to locate the Registry key and delete it.

To locate the Registry key, you will need the GUID of the database. The GUID can be retrieve using this command:

Get-MailboxDatabase “EXDB02” | fl name,guid

It will list the name and the GUID of the database.

Once the GUID is found, you can delete it using the GUI (Regedit):

Locate DumpsterInfo in the registry and delete it, it is found under:

HKLM:\Software\Microsoft\ExchangeServer\v14\Replay\State\ddec1f7e-7834-3628-ee21-99a25c22773c

or you can delete it using this Powershell command:

Remove-Item HKLM:\Software\Microsoft\ExchangeServer\v14\Replay\State\ddec1f7e-7834-3628-ee21-99a25c22773c\DumpsterInfo

After you have removed the registry key, you should be able to add the database copy to the Exchange server.

Other resources: Tim McMichael has also written about this issue:

http://blogs.technet.com/b/timmcmic/archive/2010/08/29/exchange-2010-sp1-error-when-adding-or-removing-a-mailbox-database-copy.aspx

I often get asked about Lync 2010 End User Training Material from my clients, who are in the process of deploying Lync or are piloting Lync.

I have tried to collect all resources and compile the list below:

• Lync 2010 Quick Start Guides
• Microsoft Lync 2010 Training Decks
• Lync Adoption and Training – Awareness Resources
• Lync Adoption and Training – All in one download
• Lync 2010 Work Smart Guides
• Lync 2010 Quick Reference Cards
• Lync On Demand – Public Training Webcasts

Additional Lync end user resources can be found on Lync Server TechCenter.

If you know of other Lync training resources, that I missed – please let me know

Here are some field notes from a Lync 2010 environment using the telephony and integration to Exchange Unified Messaging for the Voice mail feature.

There was a problem changing the UM Dial Plan settings from Unsecured to SIP secured or Secured.

The following error may appear on the completion page of the wizard, when you change from unsecured to secured or SIP secured from within your Dial Plan is:

The following warning(s) occurred while saving changes:

Set-UMDialPlan
Completed

Warning:
The VoIPSecurity type of dial plan ‘UMDialPlan1′ doesn’t match the UMStartupMode of the following Unified Messaging servers: ‘EXCH-UM’. Make sure that if the UMStartupMode of the Unified Messaging server is set to TCP, the VoIPSecurity type for the dial plan is set to Unsecured. If the UMStartupMode of the Unified Messaging server is TLS, the VoIPSecurity type for the dial plan should be set to either SIPSecured or Secured.

You will have to make sure that the UM Settings has the Startup mode set to TLS or Dual.

To resolve this issue, open the Exchange Management Console – go to Unified Messaging under the Server Configuration.  Right-click the unified messaging server you are using with your Dial plan and select Properties.  In the UM Settings tab change Startup mode to either TLS or Dual. 

After changing the setting, restart the Microsoft Exchange Unified Messaging service.   

You can now change the VOPIP Security settings of your Dial Plan.

In Exchange Management Console navigate back to the UM Dial Plans tab under Organization Configuration > Unified Messaging.  Open your Dial Plan and you can now change the VOPIP Security setting from unsecured to Secured.

Here is some notes from a recent issue error that I encountered at a client with SSL certificates for an Exchange 2010 server.

This error may be seen on Exchange Server 2010. It may occur even though the certificate is a public certificate, from a trusted provider e.g. GlobalSign, Verisign or anyone else. Although it is most often seen when using certificates from a private PKI infrastructure. This blog post will focus on the usage of a public certificate, in this case from GlobalSign.

The error: The certificate is invalid for exchange server usage

It is shown in the Exchange Management Console (EMC) as:

The reason for the error is because the certificate cannot be verified to a trusted Certificate Authority.

The certificate chain is broken, because of a missing or wrong Intermediate or Root CA in the Certificate store of the Exchange 2010 server.

Make sure you have the correct Intermediate and Root CA from the provider (validate with your provider, that you have the correct ones) and make sure they are imported into the Certificate store. They should be imported into the correct destination of the Certificate Store of the Computer (Exchange Server), such as Trusted Root Certification Authorities (holds the Root CA) and Intermediate Certification Authorities (holds the Intermediate CA), as shown below:

When you have imported or validated the correct versions, the next time you start the Exchange Management Console, the certificate will now be listed as valid, as shown below:

1st July 2011, I received an email from Microsoft and I am delighted to share that I have been awarded “Microsoft Most Valuable Professional (MVP) 2011” for the fourth consecutive year. Altough now I have been awarded in Exchange Server MVP, previously I was IIS MVP.

I would like to thank everyone who have supported me in any form, especially my friends, family, colleagues, community partners, MVPs, MVP Lead and of course Microsoft in Redmond.

As usual Microsoft has put all the sessions from this years TechEd online at www.msteched.com.

I have compiled a list of interesting UC sessions within:

• Exchange 2010
• Lync 2010
• Office 365

All session links include a webcast of the session along with the powerpoint.

Read more…

Microsoft is doing a free 3 day webinar on Office 365 for IT professionals.

The agenda is:

Day One — “Office 365 Platform” May 24, 2011 | 10am-4pm PDT | Live online training

• Microsoft Office 365 Overview for IT Pros
• Deploying Clients for Office 365
• Administration & Automation using PowerShell
• Identity and Access Solutions
• Directory Synchronization

Day Two — “Exchange Online” May 25, 2011 | 10am-4pm PDT | Live online training

• Exchange Online Overview for IT Pros
• Exchange Online Administration
• Staged Exchange Online Migration
• Hybrid Options with Exchange Server & Exchange Online
• Exchange Online Archiving & Compliance

Day Three — “Lync & SharePoint Online” May 26, 2011 | 10am-4pm PDT | Live online training

• Lync Online Overview & Configuration for IT Pros
• SharePoint Online Overview
• SharePoint Online Administration
• SharePoint Online Extensibility & Customization
• Office 365 Deployment Overview

More details can be found on the event website, along with registion: https://www.eventbuilder.com/microsoft/event_desc.asp?p_event=x8f7i41r