Best Practice: Backup a copy of customized Outlook Web App files, before applying Exchange Server Roll-up update

As you know Microsoft Office Outlook Web App for Microsoft Exchange Server provides a rich Web-based environment for accessing a user’s mailbox, including e-mail, calendar, contacts, and so on. Also, it provides way to customize features of Outlook Web App as well – you can customize the sign-in, sign-out pages, change the logo, font styles & colors and color of an element etc.

When you apply an update rollup package, the update process updates the Outlook Web App files if that is required. Say, any customizations to the Logon.aspx file or to other Outlook Web App files are overwritten, and you must re-create the Outlook Web App customizations in Logon.aspx. 

As the best practice (and to avoid this scenario) I would ‘recommend’ before you apply any Exchange Server update rollup, make a backup copy of the customized Outlook Web App files; re-apply the backup files, if it’s needed.

Note:
– After patching, you can copy your customized files (after checking they don’t cause any regressions) into the new version’s folder which will also be in that OWA directory.
– Keep in mind the files you modified could always be changed in a new Service Pack or Roll-up.
– Don’t just copy your old customized one into the new version directory and overwrite the newer file. I would recommend you to take the time to open up the new version and make sure things haven’t changed, then copy/paste your changes back in.

Downloads: Microsoft Exchange Server 2013 Service Pack 1 & Microsoft Office 2013 Service Pack1

Click here to download Microsoft Exchange Server 2013 Service Pack 1 (SP1). It’s version would be “15.00.0847.032”. It resolves issues that were found in previous versions of Exchange Server 2013. This update rollup is highly recommended for all Exchange Server 2013 customers.

This service pack resolves the issues that are described in the support KB article http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2926248 

Also, you can download the following files 32-bit /64-bit of Microsoft Office 2013 Service Pack1 (SP1) from Microsoft Download Center. Microsoft Office 2013 Service Pack 1 (SP1) provides the latest updates for Office 2013.

This service pack includes two kinds of fixes:

• Previously unreleased fixes that are included in this service pack. In addition to general product fixes, these fixes include improvements in stability, performance, and security.
• All the monthly security updates that were released through January 2014, and all the Cumulative Updates that were released through December 2013.

You can download the following workbook which lists the issues that are fixed by this service pack. Microsoft Office and SharePoint 2013 Service Pack 1 Changes.xlsx. For more info you can refer: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2817430

Microsoft Office 2010 SP2 available for download

Now you can download Office 2010 SP2 which provides the latest updates for Office 2010. This service pack includes two kinds of fixes: (1) Previously unreleased fixes that are included in this service pack. In addition to general product fixes, these fixes include improvements in stability, performance, and security. (2) All the public updates that were released through May 2013, and all the cumulative updates that were released through April 2013.

Either you can install this via Microsoft Update (recommended one) or download Office 201 SP2 32-bit or Office 201 SP2 64-bit package. For more info you can refer, http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2687455

.

Office 2010 SP2 beta now available for download

Now you can download the beta for Office 2010 and SharePoint 2010 SP2. For more info, you can refer the Microsoft Office Sustained Engineering post.

Exchange Server 2010: EWS application crashes when calling GetStreamingEvents

One of my developer customer updated that he created an EWS Managed API based application which is getting crashed when they call the GetStreamingEvents operation to request notifications from a server that is running Exchange Server 2010; also the Client Access server (CAS) role installed. In general, the GetStreamingEvents response returns an array of items and events that have occurred in a mailbox since the last the notification. During investigation, we noticed that the EWS managed API sends back a compressed stream to the EWS application when the request of the GetStreamingEvents operation times out. As the EWS application cannot handle the compressed stream and crashes when it tries to parse the stream.

In order to resolve the issue, make sure you have Exchange Server 2010 Service Pack 2 Rollup 2 installed & refer Knowledgebase article 2661854. It’s documented in http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2681464.

TechEd 2012: Few Exchange 2010 sessions that I attended…

Session # 1: An Inside View of Microsoft Exchange Server 2010 SP2: Exchange Server 2010 SP2 was released at the end of 2011; it brought some fantastic new features that I like. In this session, you can hear from the Product Group about OWA Mini, the Hybrid Configuration Wizard, OWA Cross Site Silent Redirection, GAL segmentation, Address Book Policies. This session also gives a view about general process that the product group uses to create service packs and rollups. Nice Session…

https://channel9.msdn.com/Events/TechEd/NorthAmerica/2012/EXL304/player?w=960&h=544

Session # 2: Exchange Server 2010 SP2 Tips & tricks: This session talks about the Exchange Server Tips & Tricks presentation. You can learn how to get more out of Exchange 2010 SP2 in this session, filled with new tips and tricks specific to SP2.

https://channel9.msdn.com/Events/TechEd/NorthAmerica/2012/EXL305/player?w=960&h=544

Watch the sessions and make use of it. Enjoy!!

How to install the latest applicable updates for Microsoft Outlook 2003, 2007 and 2010?

The above query is a common one that we receive from our customers. Have a look at our support KB regarding this (specific to US English version only) http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2625547 . This article provides a comprehensive list of the most recent hotfix updates and service packs for Microsoft Outlook. Some Outlook features are dependent on Microsoft Word and Microsoft Office components. Therefore, you should also install the latest updates for the Word and Office core components.

The above article is applicable to Outlook 2003, Outlook 2007 and Outlook 2010. Also, the above article will be updated to reference new updates as they are released.

Note: You can visit the Update Center for Microsoft Office (http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/office/ee748587.aspx) to find links to the most recent cumulative and public updates for Microsoft Office.

Happy updating!!

PowerShell: Determine Version number, build number and Service Pack of Exchange Server

In my earlier article, we learnt how to get the Exchange Server version, version/build number of Exchange 2003 and it’s earlier. In this, we will see how to get these info & couple of additional info in Exchange Server 2007/2010 using Exchange Management Shell and Exchange Management Console.

Using Exchange Management Console:

To view the server properties in the Exchange Management console, try the following steps:

1.Start the Microsoft Exchange Management console. In the navigation pane, expand the Server Configuration objects until you locate the server object, and then select the server object.
2.On the right side, notice the Exchange version number.

Using Exchange Management Shell:

For this, I used Get-ExchangeServer cmdlet to view the server properties in Exchange Management Shell:

I want to save the above info in a .txt file (saved under c:output.txt):

Now, I want to customize the above one by the following to get more clarity:

Still I want to add more info like Site, Server Role and Edition etc..

Hope this helps you to move ahead.

Download: Update Rollup 3 for Exchange Server 2010 Service Pack 1

Here we go… you can download the latest released Update Rollup 3 for Microsoft Exchange Server 2010 Service Pack 1 (SP1). Issues that are resolved in the update is published @ http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2529939.

Download: Exchange Server 2001 SP1 standalone help

You can download a standalone version of Microsoft Exchange Server 2010 SP1 Help, which may help you plan, deploy and manage your Exchange 2010 SP1 organization.

Download: Windows 7 & Windows Server 2008 R2 Service Pack 1 (SP1)

Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1 helps keep your PCs and servers on the latest support level. It also provides ongoing improvements to the Windows Operating System (OS), by including previous updates delivered over Windows Update as well as continuing incremental updates to the Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 platforms based on customer and partner feedback. This enables organizations to deploy a single set of updates.

Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1 will help you:

• Keep your PCs supported and up-to-date
• Get ongoing updates to the Windows 7 platform
• Easily deploy cumulative updates at a single time
• Meet your users’ demands for greater business mobility
• Provide a comprehensive set of virtualization innovations
• Provide an easier Service Pack deployment model for better IT efficiency

Download: You can download it from the following link:

http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/en/details.aspx?FamilyID=c3202ce6-4056-4059-8a1b-3a9b77cdfdda.

Related articles: Also you can have a look at the following articles:

• Deployment Guide for Windows Server 2008 R2 with SP1 and Windows 7 with SP1
• Installing Windows Server 2008 R2 with SP1
• Notable Changes in SP1 for Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2

• Release Notes for Windows 7 with SP1
• Release Notes for Windows Server 2008 R2 with SP1
• Hotfixes and Security Updates Included in Windows 7 and Windows 2008 R2 SP1

For support and troubleshooting, you can anyone of the following:

• Windows 7 TechNet Forums
• Windows Server TechNet Forums
• Windows Server 2008 R2 Microsoft Support Solution Center
• Windows 7 Microsoft Support Solution Center

Feedback: Go Live, VS 2010 SP1, .Net Framework 4 KB2162169 Beta

We are pleased to declare that Visual Studio (VS) 2010 Service Pack 1 Beta and the .NET Framework 4 KB2162169 Beta will be supported as a “go live” release. This means that this software has met high standards of quality for a pre-release, and we are licensing it for developing and deploying production applications.

VS2010 SP1 Beta and the .NET Framework 4 KB2162169 Beta are licensed for use through June 30, 2011 at which point you’ll need to upgrade to the final release to continue using the product.

You can download VS 2010 SP1 Beta from http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/en/details.aspx?FamilyID=11ea69cb-cf12-4842-a3d7-b32a1e5642e2&displaylang=en. Also you can download .Net Framework 4 update from http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/en/details.aspx?FamilyID=6e3b7759-3df2-4755-8208-44955eee4d4c&displaylang=en.

We hope that you will consider using this beta for “go live” production purposes. As you do, we want to hear from you at our Connect Site if you find any bugs. In order to decide whether or not using this release in a “go live” scenario is right for you, you should carefully understand the terms and limitations of the “go live” license. Start by reading the license terms (during install or on disk afterward), which include the official “go live” licensing terms.

You can refer the blog post states the guidelines which may also help you understand the ways in which we are committed to helping you have a great experience with this release, including the following option: Our Support team is staffed to help you if you encounter problems with this release. If you plan to use it for “go live” please send email to vsgolive@microsoft.com so that we can register you for beta level support.

Hope this helps.