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ENow Software's Exchange blog built by Microsoft MVPs for IT/Sys Admins.

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Thoughts on Microsoft's latest news on Office, Office 365 and Exchange

Image of Michael Van Horenbeeck MVP, MCSM
Michael Van Horenbeeck MVP, MCSM

Over the past two weeks, Microsoft has made a range of announcements around updates and new releases of Office, Office 365 and Exchange. The fact that Microsoft announces updates is hardly surprising. By now you should be used to the never-ending cascade of new features that are constantly dropped onto the market. A good way to keep track of what’s to come is the Office 365 Roadmap website.

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Are You Automating Enough?

Image of Michael Van Horenbeeck MVP, MCSM
Michael Van Horenbeeck MVP, MCSM

Earlier this week, Tony Redmond wrote about Jeffrey Snover – also known as the godfather of PowerShell – being promoted to Technical Fellow at Microsoft; one of the highest achievable ranks.

Given that Jeffrey is considered to be the founding father of PowerShell, that does not really come as a surprise, as PowerShell has changed the way we work and interact with systems. And this does not only apply to large-scale environments or cloud solutions like Office 365.

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Let the Games Begin: The Exchange 2016 Preview Is Out!

Image of Michael Van Horenbeeck MVP, MCSM
Michael Van Horenbeeck MVP, MCSM

A few days ago, Microsoft released the public preview of Exchange 2016 to the world. For many messaging professionals, this is usually an exciting time. But is it really? I remember when Exchange 2007 'hit the market.' I spent quite a few long days and nights discovering the new features and dramatically changed architecture. Pretty much the same happened when Microsoft unleashed Exchange 2010. The newly minted Database Availability Group kept many people – including myself – fascinated and busy for a long time. One of my fondest memories about that time was a hefty, yet in hindsight very funny, discussion that followed a technical presentation at my former employer.

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Microsoft releases CU 9 for Exchange 2013

Image of Michael Van Horenbeeck MVP, MCSM
Michael Van Horenbeeck MVP, MCSM

On June 16 2015, Microsoft released Cumulative Update 9 for Exchange Server 2013 along with Update Rollup 10 for Exchange Server 2010 and Update Rollup 17 (yes, that many already) for Exchange Server 2007.

Unfortunately for some, Update Rollup 9 looks like it's going to be another uneventful update —provided that no post-installation issues arise. Except for changing where Sent Items are stored when a message is sent as or on behalf of a Shared Mailbox, Microsoft reported no new features or changes in existing functionality. That is not too surprising, given that Exchange Server 2013 is now in its third year.

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Planning for Public Folders in Exchange 2013

Image of Michael Van Horenbeeck MVP, MCSM
Michael Van Horenbeeck MVP, MCSM

When designing for a migration to Exchange Server 2013, chances are you’ll have to deal with public folders. Given that Exchange 2013 has been around for a while, you might think such a task would be a proverbial walk in the park. Of course, if you are looking at a cookie-cutter environment, you might be right. However, in every design there are elements specific to the customer that require a different approach.

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CPU Contention and Exchange Virtual Machines

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Andrew Higginbotham

Overview

Virtualization has been around for a while now and its best practices are well known amongst virtualization experts. Unfortunately, as I’ve seen with many different customers, some guidance isn’t followed or taken as seriously as it should. This can be the case when someone who isn’t a virtualization specialist (maybe an Exchange admin or an IT generalist) is tasked with managing a virtual infrastructure.
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A Closer Look at the New ActiveSync Redirection Feature in Exchange 2013 CU8

Image of Michael Van Horenbeeck MVP, MCSM
Michael Van Horenbeeck MVP, MCSM

On March 17th, Microsoft released Cumulative Update 8 for Exchange Server 2013. By now, we're all used to the idea that cumulative updates and not only Service Packs have also become a vehicle to introduce new features into Exchange. Hence, it is no surprise that CU8 comes with a bunch of new features and improvements alongside a myriad of bug fixes.

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Tracking Down Overactive Mailboxes with Get-StoreUsageStatistics

Image of Andrew Higginbotham
Andrew Higginbotham

Overview

Often times I’ll find myself writing a blog post because the topic recently became relevant due to customer need. Other times I spend hours banging my head against the keyboard trying to resolve an issue and would like to keep others from going through the same ordeal.

In this particular case, I found myself thinking of this fall’s release of Apple iOS 8 & some of the traditional unexpected consequences that arose when used to connect to Exchange via ActiveSync.

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