Exchange Server 2010: Using Test-MapiConnectivity cmdlet

With Exchange Server 2010, recently i used the Test-MapiConnectivity cmdlet. Because it verifies server functionality by logging on to the mailbox that you specify. This cmdlet logs on to the mailbox that you specify (or to the SystemMailbox if you don’t specify the Identity parameter) and retrieves a list of items in the Inbox. Logging on to the mailbox tests two critical protocols used when a client connects to a Mailbox server: MAPI and LDAP. During authentication, the Test-MapiConnectivity cmdlet indirectly verifies that the MAPI server, Exchange store, and Directory Service Access (DSAccess) are working.

It logs on to the mailbox that you specify using the credentials of the account with which you are logged on to the local computer. After a successful authentication, the Test-MapiConnectivity cmdlet accesses the mailbox to verify that the database is working. If a successful connection to a mailbox is made, the cmdlet also determines the time that the logon attempt occurred.

In order to test the connectivity to the server ‘Serverx’ then it should be used as,
Test-MapiConnectivity -Server "Serverx"

In order to test the connectivity to a mailbox, specified as a domain name (contoso) and user name (user1) then it should be used as,
Test-MapiConnectivity -Identity "contosouser1"/

Happy troubleshooting!!

Part 1 : Developer Roadmap – Development Technologies for Exchange Server 2010

This two part article is targeted for the developer audience, if you’re the developer who want to create a develop custom application for Exchange Server 2010 or already has custom application designed for previous versions of Exchange Server 2010.

Some Exchange programming technologies that are available in versions of Exchange earlier than Microsoft Exchange Server 2010 are obsolete and have been replaced with other technologies. Per MSDN article, the programming technologies and APIs stated below have either been removed from Exchange 2010 or earlier versions of Exchange, are no longer supported for use with the current version of Exchange, or are no longer the recommended API to use to access Exchange.

• Active Directory Services Interface still exists, but we do not recommend that you access Exchange data in Active Directory Domain Services (AD DS) by using ADSI.

Recommendation: We recommend that you use Exchange PowerShell commands to administer Exchange configuration data.

• Collaboration Data Objects for Exchange (CDOEX) is not included in Exchange 2010.

Recommendation: We recommend that you migrate your applications that use CDOEX to Exchange Web Services.

• Collaboration Data Objects for Exchange Management (CDOEXM) is not included in Exchange 2007 or Exchange 2010.

Recommendation: We recommend that you migrate your applications that use CDOEXM to use Exchange PowerShell commands.

• Collaboration Data Objects for Exchange Workflow (CDOWF) is not included in Exchange 2007 or Exchange 2010.

Recommendation: We recommend that you migrate your applications that use CDOWF to use Windows Workflow Foundation Services.

• Collaboration Data Objects for Windows 2000 (CDOSYS) is included in current versions of Windows. The functionality in CDOSYS is now available in the Microsoft .NET Framework.
• Collaboration Data Objects for Windows (CDOSYS) SMTP/NNTP Event Sinks are included in current versions of Windows.

Recommendation: Notification-based applications that work with Exchange 2010 should use transport agents.

• Collaboration Data Objects (CDO) version 1.2.1 is available for download for applications that continue to require it. CDO 1.2.1 is a de-emphasized API, and support is only available under an Extended Support agreement.

Recommendation: We recommend that you migrate any CDO 1.2.1 applications to use Exchange Web Services.

• Exchange Incremental Change Synchronization (ICS) is a MAPI-based interface, and is still supported against Exchange 2010.

Recommendation: To ensure continued future compatibility, we recommend that you consider migrating your ICS applications to use Exchange Web Services notifications.

• Exchange OLE Database Provider (ExOLEDB) is not included in Exchange 2007 or Exchange 2010.

Recommendation: We recommend that you migrate applications that use ExOLEDB to use Exchange Web Services.

• Exchange Rules DLL is part of the sample code that shipped with the Exchange 5.5 and Exchange 2000 SDKs.

Recommendation: We recommend that you migrate applications that use the Exchange Rules DLL to use either MAPI or Exchange Web Services notifications.

• Exchange Store Event Sinks are not available in Exchange 2010.

Recommendation: Where possible, we recommend that applications that use Exchange Store Event sinks be migrated to use either transport agents or Exchange Web Services notifications.

• Exchange Streaming Backup and Restore API is not included in Exchange 2010.

Recommendation: We recommend that you migrate backup and restore applications that use streaming backup to use the Windows Volume Shadow Copy Service (VSS).

• Exchange WebDAV is not included in Exchange 2010.

Recommendation: We recommend that you migrate applications that use Exchange WebDAV to use the Exchange Web Services.

• Exchange WebDAV Notifications are not included in Exchange 2010.

Recommendation: We recommend that you migrate applications that use Exchange WebDAV notifications to use Exchange Web Services notifications.

• Exchange Web Forms is not included in Exchange 2007 or Exchange 2010.

Recommendation: We recommend that you migrate applications that use Exchange Web Forms to use either Windows SharePoint Services, or Active Server Pages.

• Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP) still exists, but accessing Exchange data in AD DS by using LDAP is not recommended.

Recommendation: We recommend that you use Exchange PowerShell commands to administer Exchange configuration data.

• Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI) Providers are not included in Exchange 2007 or Exchange 2010.

Recommendation: We recommend that you migrate applications that used WMI to use the Exchange PowerShell commands.

Happy Programming!!

Issue while searching full user name with address book ?

If you type a full user name in the Display Name field in the Find dialog box of your address book when you try to search a Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP) server in Outlook 2002/2003, you may receive the following error messages:

Unable to display results because too many entries in the Internet Directory match your search criteria.

-and-

The search could not be completed. MAPI_E_CALL_FAILED.

-and-

Cannot contact the LDAP server (81) error.

Please find the following Support kb which gives resolution for Outlook 2002 and Outlook 2003.